WHAT HAPPENED TO KAT? well read the chapter to find out, silly!

thank you Squidtastik- you just earned everyone the next chapter!

"No." The broken sigh reached Sam and John from where they knelt, checking on a stunned Dean. The oldest and the youngest turned in unison to see who'd made the heart-breaking sound. Castiel, broken and beaten crawled slowly towards the crumpled form of his love. "No, no, no." He whispered over and over. A shaking hand reached out and gently cupped her slack face; his thumb traced the curve of her cheek. Sam had to look away from the private seen as tears rolled down his face.

"No." This time the word came out differently. This time it was stronger, a steely resolve coating that simple word.

The angel scooched closer to Kat, his face set in stone. Placing one hand on top of another and lacing his fingers, Cas got into the classic CPR position. Sam felt his heart clench painfully. "Cas..." he said slowly. "You can't bring her back with CPR. You can't bring her back at all. She's- she's gone."

But Cas paid no attention to him. Hands glowing with his angel Grace, he shoved them against Kat's chest, right over her heart. "You will not die." He did it again. "We will get married." Again. "Have kids." Again. "I'll grow old beside you because goddammit, I love you." With hands glowing brighter than the sun, he shoved one more time and the effect was like an atomic bomb. All three Winchester men were knocked to the ground like bowling pins; none of them saw what happened to Cas or Kat.

Sam scrambled over towards his sister and the angel, heart in his throat. They lay next to each other, their faces peaceful, their chests rising and falling in perfect unison-

They were breathing. Both of them were breathing. "Kat!" he sounded more like a strangled cat than a person, but at this point, he didn't give two shits. He roughly shook her shoulder, desperately wanting this to be real, for her to be real.

Like a princess awaking from a curse, Kat's green eyes flickered open, locking with Sam's after a moment of wandering. A demure smile graced her features as she breathed. "Sammy."

"You're alive!" That was all the warning Kat got before her not so little brother tackled her. Their laughter bounced off the walls of the warehouse. Soon the hug turned into a vicouis tickle war, and it was like the years had been shaved off and Sam was ten again, playing with his best friend and sister.

"Katty?" The hushed whisper silenced the tussling siblings. With the help from Sam, Kat rose to her feet and walked towards her father. "Katty, is that really you?" A tear rolled down his cheek.

She nodded wordlessly, too overcome to speak. That was all it took. Suddenly she was up in the air and flying, flying like she'd done back when she was four and everything was alright in the world. After spinning her around a few more times, John set her back down, his broken arm making itself known with mind-searing pain. Kat's eyes locked onto the broken limb; her brow creased.

"Don't you even think about it- this isn't your fault." John said gruffly, lowering the offending limb as if he could hide it from her sight. She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. There was one more person she had to see.

She fell before him roughly, her knees protesting instantly. Empty green met tear-filled green, the exact shade, and yet so different. Her hands shook as she gently cupped his face, her hands snagging on his unshaven cheeks. "Dean." She whispered, so softly that Sam and John couldn't hear. "Dean, I'm okay. It's me, I'm here." She studied his face worriedly; there was no reaction. They sat there together for what felt like centuries, Kat staring intently at her twin. With trembling lips, she began to sing. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better." Her soft voice washed over them all as she cupped her twin's face. She licked her lips and started again, this time her voice was stronger. "Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better." As she finished the first line of their mother's favorite song, Kat leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her twin's forehead, just like Mary used to do every night.

John's eyes filled with tears- Kat looked so much like his beloved Mary. Sam felt his own eyes well up at the sight of the tender moment. Even though he'd never really met his mom, he'd managed to weasel out a few stories from his older siblings. Kat had been the one to tell him about this little ritual. "It was our moment- Mom's, Dean's, and mine. It was just the three of us" She'd told him, a fond, but said smile on her face. Sam felt the overpowering urge to look away; it was their moment after all.

"Princess?" A happy sob escaped Kat's mouth as Dean spoke. She nodded, eyes filling with tears of joy. "Oh my god." Dean's green gaze took in her face, finally comprehending that she was alive. With a laugh he swept her up in a bear hug, her feet dangling off the ground as he held her tight. She was back- everything was okay now. He hadn't lost his whole world. She gently combed his hair as he cried into her neck.

"It's okay to cry Dean. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." She promised as he gently set her down. She wiped at her own wet eyes as she took in her beloved family. They were together again at last, all thanks to-

The blood vanished from her face as she looked past Sam's right shoulder and saw his prone form. "Cas, oh God. No." She breathed as she pushed passed her brothers to get to him. Kneeling in the filth of the warehouse, she took in his still face. "Please tell me you didn't. Not for me. Not like this." Her bottom lip trembled as she traced the shape of his face with her eyes. She let out a choked sob as she stroked his cheek. His warm cheek. Green eyes widened as she took in his chest rising and falling. Angels didn't breath- they didn't need to. Did that mean...

"Cas!" She called out to him as she shook him. A hopeful smile broke across her face at the sound of his groan. Angels certainly didn't groan. "Cas, wake up and see what's happened." She said, happy tears running freely down her cheeks.

Slowly, electric blue eyes cracked open and winced against the brightness of the sun. Why did the sun bother him? It never had before. Everything felt so solid... and why did his head hurt so much? Cas readied his Grace to heal himself- only to find nothing. Slightly worried now, he stretched out his wings- but they weren't there. Turning, he faced the Winchesters, and locked gazes with his love. "What's happened?" He breathed, brow furrowed in confusion.

"You did it for me, for us. You're human now." Kat beamed down at him, eager to see his reaction.

At first he was confused, then comprehension dawned on him, and a grin of his own stretched across his face. "I'm human." He breathed, voice full of wonder. "We can be together now?" He asked Kat uncertainty. All these emotions he'd never really felt before washed over him - joy, love, doubt, fear - things he'd never really known until now. What if Kat didn't want him anymore because he was human?

She giggled at his adorableness. "Til death do us part."

yay for happy endings! did you guys really think i'd end it with Kat staying dead? well, tbh i kinda wanted to end it that way, but some of you told me that happy endings were okay, so i changed my mind. i have to say i like this ending better than the one i had in mind. let me know if it was too sappy, or too stupid, okay?

also- THIS STORY ISN'T OVER YET! put in a review and i'll publish the *sob* last chapter of this story. i love you guys! :D