Craig had been sent away for a few days to get his head on right before working through what had been holding him back. John and Jim took over assessing the extent of psychological damage that had been done.

Taylor met Kate at the front door of the school. "I wanted to say thank you.. again."

Kate smiled. "It is no problem."

Taylor frowned. "It isn't that simple. None of you had to help me."

Kate smirked. "I got to practice on someone besides Dean."

Taylor touched his side. "I get to carry that around with me forever." He said with a smile.

Kate shrugged. "Some people get friendship bracelets and others get scars from being sewn up."

They finished the school day in the exact way they had every other day but Taylor rode home with Kate instead of Ellie.

Sam looked nervous.

"What is wrong?" Kate asked.

Sam groaned. "Dad is leaving and I have to tell him."

Kate sighed. "You could wait."

"No, he would be pissed. He's going to be already." Sam said.

Taylor shifted uncomfortably.

Sam looked in the mirror. "He just yells and gets mad."

Taylor nodded. "I know how that is."

Kate drug Taylor along with her toward the shop when Sam went inside. She wanted to be there for Sam but figured that Taylor didn't need to be around.

Dean was at the table with John mapping out a hunt when Sam walked in. Dean looked up and grimaced at the look on Sam's face.

Sam cleared his throat. "Dad, do you have a minute?"

John turned and nodded.

"I have something I need to tell you." Sam said.

John sat back in his chair and motioned for Sam to speak.

"After talking to my guidance councilor I decided to take the SATs."

John narrowed his eyes but didn't speak.

"I did really well on them and she convinced me to apply for some colleges." Sam added.

John sighed. "Spit it out."

Sam cringed. "I got accepted into more than one but the one I'm really interested in offered me a full ride and I can go to college for free and afford housing and food."

John blinked slowly. "What college is this?"

Sam swallowed. "Stanford."

John paused. "Stanford in California?"

"Yes sir." Sam said slowly.

"No." Was all John said and turned around.

Sam felt his frustration building. "What do you mean no?"

John pinched the bridge of his nose. "I mean no you aren't going. California is days away and you have a job here."

Sam tossed his bag down. "I wasn't asking for permission. You know a normal dad would be thrilled that their son got into a prestigious college and on a scholarship no less."

John glared at him. "I'm not a normal dad and you aren't a normal kid. You can't just walk out on your family when you know what there is out there."

Sam growled. "I'm not a kid. I turn 18 soon. No matter what I do, it is never good enough for you. Why shouldn't I walk out? You do every damn time the wind blows."

John stood up to his full height. "Lower your voice."

Sam clinched his fists. He knew they weren't going to see eye to eye but a small part of him hoped that John would at least think about it. He pulled a paper from his bag and slammed it on the table. "Day and time of my graduation. Show up or don't. I don't care." He said and stormed out.

Dean got up and blocked John from following him. "Not now."

John rubbed his face. "I'm guessing you have known about this."

Dean nodded. "Yes sir."

"Did you even try to talk him out of it?" John asked.

Dean shrugged. "He is going to be an adult. This is something he wants to do. He is a smart kid, dad."

John shoved the chair under the table. "I'm going out."

Dean stepped to the side and let John storm out of the house. He sighed. He wanted them to get along but they never did for long. He waited until John's truck started to pull away before going after Sam. He knocked on the bedroom door. "Hey, Sammy, can I come in?"

Sam mumbled "Sure."

Dean opened the door and sat on the foot of Sam's bed. "That went better than I thought it would."

Sam scowled. "Give him a chance to think about it and he will show his true colors."

Dean sighed. "I'm sorry, Sammy."

"It isn't your fault that he is an asshole." Sam said.

Dean chewed his cheek. "He can be at times." Dean let Sam sit in silence for a while. "I don't know where Taylor and Kate are but I think I should probably put eyes on them. We could take them down to the pond."

Sam sat up. He smiled weakly. "I need to get out of here anyway."

They walked outside and looked around for the kids.

Dean stepped into the shop and saw them sitting on one of the saw horses. "What are you two doing out here?"

Kate shrugged. "Avoiding going inside."

Sam stepped in. "He knows and he left."

Kate jumped down and hugged Sam. "Was he mad?"

"He wasn't happy." Sam said and patted her.

Dean cleared his throat. "Let's head down to the pond. I think some fresh air is needed."

Taylor followed them out of the shop and down a dirt path. "What is on the trees?"

Kate looked. "Sigils. They keep certain creatures out."

Taylor got a closer look. "How?"

Dean spoke up. "It is like a supernatural fence."

"What are you trying to keep out of here?" Taylor asked.

Sam smirked. "I thought Kate asked too many questions."

Taylor furrowed his brows. "I might as well learn this stuff."

Dean shook his head. "No, you know enough."

Kate scrunched her face. "I know about it."

Dean turned. "You know too much because you don't know when to stop."

Kate heard the edge in his voice. "Noted."

They arrived in the clearing that the pond was in. It was quiet and peaceful.

Taylor sat down on the edge and threw a rock in.

Kate sat beside him and let the sun warm her face.

Dean pulled Sam to the side and spoke to him in a low voice. "How much do you think she has told him?"

Sam looked over to the pair. "Probably more than we would have."

"We don't need another kid trying to hunt." Dean said.

Sam chuckled ruefully. "Why not? Maybe dad will get the son I never could be."

Dean smacked his arm. "Shut up."

"You are his favorite." Sam said with a smirk.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Focus. When you ditch me, I will be the one mostly in charge of Kate. She isn't you. How am I going to do that?"

Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "You will do fine. She worships you. You have almost 18 years of practice."

Dean snorted. "With the whining and attitude maybe but whew she out does you on the impulsiveness and stunts."

Sam smiled. "It is like payback for all the crap you have pulled."

Dean smiled at that. "I fear she is going to out do me on that as well."

"She said that she would become a doctor so she could fix you up when you got hurt and I could become a layer to bail you out of jail. I'm not sure you are the one I'm going to be bailing out." He said.

Dean laughed. "She has her 10 year planned mapped out. I get myself out of jail just fine, thank you."

Sam sighed. "Am I doing the right thing?"

Dean shrugged. "I can't tell you one way or the other."

They walked back over to Taylor and Kate and watched the fish bubble up in the pond.

Taylor liked hanging out with Kate. She was a good friend. He didn't have to put up a wall and pretend to be someone he wasn't. "What kind of fighting style do you use?"

Dean popped his back. "A mix. Most of it my dad learned in the Corps."

Taylor considered that. "I know a lot about it but maybe you guys could teach me what I don't know."

Dean sat back. "After your side heals you can show me what you know."

Kate grinned. "I can spar with someone my own size."

Taylor got wide eyed. "Oh no. I can't hit a girl."

Dean laughed. "She is likely to wipe the floor with you."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Dean still knocks me on my butt every time."

Dean shrugged. "If you are ever in a true fight your opponent isn't going to go easy on you."

Taylor had fought other kids and won a couple competitions but he hadn't had to use his training on anyone much bigger than he was. "Can you show me the knife stuff too?"

Dean looked at Kate. "What knife stuff?"

Kate scooted farther away. "Ah you know the basics."

Dean sighed. He was going to have to talk to her about not showing off. "I can teach you how to throw knives."

Taylor perked up. "Kate is really good at it. She said you taught her."

Dean tilted his head. "Huh. When did she show you that?"

Kate shook her head and Taylor shut his mouth.

Dean tsked. "How about if you want to learn things or someone wants to tell other people things you run it by one of us first so you don't wind up in jail for bringing a knife to school?"

Kate turned red. "That is a great idea."

Dean shook his head and chuckled. "I think two miles should clear your head. Don't you think?"

Kate frowned. "Aw, come on."

Dean stood up. "Shoes, two miles and then wash up for dinner."

Kate got up and headed back to the house.

Taylor caught up with her. "Two mile run?"

Kate shrugged. "It is better than five."

Taylor told her that he would run with her.

"What about your side?" Kate asked.

Taylor smiled. "Stitches aren't in a place that I could hurt from running."

Kate shrugged and grabbed two water bottles.

They ran the normal path and Taylor was impressed with Kate's pace. "Do you have to run a lot?"

Kate steadied her breath. "Every morning."

Taylor nodded. "Me too. So two miles really isn't that bad."

Kate smiled. "No. Dean was annoyed about the knife thing but he isn't' cruel."

They busted through the two miles quickly and ran back to Bobby's.

"That didn't take long." Dean said, looking at his watch.

Kate took a long drink of water. "I did the full two miles."

Dean looked at Taylor. "Hmm, maybe you should run with her more often." He dodged Kate's foot as she tried to kick the back of his knee. "Watch it. I can make you run two more."

Kate stuck her tongue out at him. "Just testing your reflexes."

Dean smiled and ruffled her hair. "Dinner is almost done so hop to it."

Kate showed Taylor the bathroom and went to her bedroom to get a second set of clothes for herself.

Taylor finished and stood in the hallway. "You share a room with them?"

Kate shrugged. "When my dad was still alive he slept in that room and I just don't want to sleep in there."

Taylor understood.

"I'll be down in a minute."

Taylor found the others and stood awkwardly to the side. "Uh, can I help with anything?"

Bobby turned around. "Sure, you can set the table."

Taylor did that and stepped back beside Sam.

Kate hopped down the stairs and said hi to Bobby.

All of them sat down and ate the spaghetti that Bobby had made.

John still wasn't back but no one wanted to ask where he was. It was the elephant in the room that caused a certain level of tension to remain.

Taylor finally spoke up. "Could Kate check out the gym I go to?"

Bobby looked up. "What kind of gym?"

"The one I fight at."

Bobby sat back. "Is that something you want to do?"

Kate shrugged. "It would be cool to check out."

Bobby didn't see why it would be an issue.

Taylor smiled at Kate and returned to eating.

"Hey, if you get really good at beating up other kids you can go to those competitions that you win money in and support the family." Dean said.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I don't think it is legal to pay kids to fight."

Dean smirked. "Maybe not legal."

"The case for law school gets stronger every day." Sam said with a chuckle.

Bobby shook his head. "Idjits."

After dinner Sam took Taylor back to his house. They felt comfortable doing so as Craig would be elsewhere that week. He dropped Taylor off and drove down a side road to clear his head. He was so torn on college and what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't want to watch his friends and family die in horrible ways.

John returned to Bobby's not long after Sam left.

Bobby and Dean didn't ask him any questions but made sure he had dinner ready.

He ate in silence and took a drink of beer as he thought. Once he was done he cleared his dishes and walked outside.

Kate bypassed Dean because she knew he would stop her and stood beside John.

"What?" John said with a sigh.

"Are you mad at Sam?" Kate asked.

John gripped the railing of the porch. "That is between me and Sam."

Kate bristled. "You should be proud of him."

John bowed his head. "Stay out of it."

Dean cleared his throat which caused Kate to turn around. "Come back inside."

Kate shook her head. "No. What good is family if they don't try to talk you out of being stupid?"

John shifted and glared down at her. "Go inside."

Kate glared right back at him.

John felt a cool pressure growing behind his eye and rubbed his face. He grabbed her arm and got right in her face. "Are you trying to get in my head right now?"

Kate's eyes got big and she licked her lips.

"Are you trying to compel me?" John asked in a low tone.

Kate shrunk. "I just want you to listen."

Dean froze in place.

"You need to listen. This defiant attitude you have going is starting to piss me off. I will do as I see fit with Sam. I do not need to explain anything to you and so help me god if you even think of trying to get in my head again I will blister your ass." John said coolly.

Kate squeaked. "Yes sir."

Dean side stepped and took Kate's other arm. He glanced at John and then pulled Kate toward the door. "Inside. Now." He shoved her through the door and turned to John. "I am sorry, sir."

John looked at him. "You may find the sass and defiance enduring but it is going to come back to bite you in the ass."

"Yes sir." Dean said and quickly stepped inside. He closed the door and took a solid breath.

Kate looked at him with wide eyes.

"Upstairs. Now." Dean said.

Kate turned and ran up the steps.

Dean followed her. "What the hell, Kate?"

Kate shifted from foot to foot. "He is being unfair to Sam."

Dean sat on his bed. "Look, I'm not happy with how things are going either but he just found out. He and Sam are like fire and gasoline. You have to let them have a chance to cool off before forcing an issue on them."

Kate rubbed her hands down the sides of her pants. "Okay. I know."

Dean looked at her. "Did I not tell you to leave it be?"

Kate looked at the ground. "Yes."

"Did you sneak around me to go talk to him and did you really try to compel him?"

Kate's mouth dropped open. "Well, kind of."

Dean sighed. "Come here."

Kate stepped back. "Why?"

Dean reached for the ruler. "I'm going to remind you to listen when I tell you to do something."

Kate slumped but did as she was told.

Dean grabbed her around the waist and smacked her with the ruler eleven times. He let her go and put the ruler down.

Kate rubbed the sting away with her hands and stared at him, confused.

Dean motioned for her to sit down beside him. "I do understand why you are upset and why you want to intervene. Dad is pissed off right now and I just saved you from a real attitude adjustment."

Kate furrowed her brows. "I don't think I would call that a fake one."

"Was my point made?" Dean asked.

Kate nodded her head. "Yes."

"If dad asks if I dealt with the attitude and disobedience will you be able to say that you learned your lesson?" He asked.

Kate nodded again. "Yes."

He ruffled her hair. "Then don't make me have to repeat myself."

Kate smiled. "I'm going to stay up here and think about things."

Dean nodded. "I expect full contrition. I know you can act."

Kate laid down on her bed. "No acting. I got your point."

Dean crouched down. "Good because both our necks are on the line if you cop an attitude again."

Kate pulled her pillow over her face and waved him away. She made a bad choice in confronting John but she hated to see Sam upset. She wanted John to realize how amazing Sam was. She made a mental note to stay out of it and let Dean handle it if need be. She didn't want to be on Dean's bad side and knew he let her off easy. She also didn't want to make things harder on him. He was the best big brother and she wasn't going to make his job more difficult. With Sam leaving, she had big shoes to fill and needed to focus on making mature decisions.

Dean stepped back outside to see if Sam had gotten back. He made eye contact with John and fought the urge to go back in the house. "I took care of it." He said to break the awkward silence.

John made a sound in the back of his throat.

Dean stood beside him and looked over the railing. Dean hated being in the middle of things but there was no place he would rather be when it came to protecting Sam or Kate.

"How long has she been able to compel people without touching them?" John asked.

Dean paused. "I'm not sure. She did somehow when she and Brian were still at the cabin."

John spit over the railing. "She can compel without touch or voice."

Dean sighed in understanding. "She is getting stronger."

John stepped back and looked Dean in the eye. "If she doesn't get her head on straight we are going to wind up with a monster on our hands."

"Dad, don't say that." Dean said defensively.

"What happens the next time she gets an idea in her head? What if she learns to use her abilities defensively and then gets mad at you?" John asked.

"She isn't a monster. She is a kid." Dean said.

"A kid that just tried to compel me over me being against Sam going to college." John said and looked back over the railing.

Dean sighed. He had a point. Kate was pure sunshine but had a temper. She didn't think before throwing herself into things and Dean didn't want to think about the day that her abilities overshot her control. "I will talk to her."

John saw headlights approaching. "You do that, because you don't want me to."

Dean bit back a remark. "Yes sir."

Sam parked and pressed his head against the steering wheel. He didn't have to look at John's face to know that his opinion hadn't changed. He got out and walked slowly to the porch.

John didn't say anything or look at Sam as he walked inside.

Dean stared at the back of John's head. He wanted to shake him and tell him to go talk to Sam. He followed Sam and shut the door.

Sam started to go upstairs but Dean stopped him. "What?"

Dean sighed. "Just stay away from him for now. Let things cool down."

Sam smirked. "I don't plan on talking to him."

Dean rubbed his face and told Sam about what happened with Kate.

Sam chuckled in disbelief. "Does she have a death wish?"

Dean smirked. "He is more angry at her than you now, so you can thank her for that."

Sam nodded and went up to talk to Kate.

Kate sat up when he walked in. "Was Taylor's dad home?"

Sam sat his stuff down. "No. Just his mom. Listen, Dean told me."

Kate frowned. "He isn't an easy person to talk to."

Sam smiled. "I know. I can go to Stanford wither he wants to or not so don't get in the way and become collateral damage."

Kate pulled her knees up. "If he would just listen."

Sam shook his head. "I'm asking you to stay back. This is my problem and I want to handle it the way that I want to."

"I'm out. I'm staying 50 miles away from it." Kate said.

Sam ruffled her hair. "Thanks."

Dean opened the door. "Kate, you should grab a shower and go to bed."

Kate frowned. "It is early."

Dean gave her a look. "Would you prefer to go down there and explain to him that it is too early?"

Kate jumped up. "Nope, contrite. Got it."

Dean gently smacked the back of her head as she walked through the door. "In and out and straight to bed." He said loudly.

Kate said "Yes Dean" and quickly shut the door.

Sam smirked. "Laying it on a little thick."

Dean raised his brows. "I don't know what you are talking about." He shut the door to the bedroom and across from Sam. "There is a bit of a problem."

Sam sat down. "What kind?"

Dean flicked his eyes toward the door. He told him what John had said.

"She isn't a monster." Sam said.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I know that Sammy but she is getting more bold."

Sam sat back. "So we keep her away from him until he leaves."

Dean rubbed his face. "And then what? She is a great kid. He does have a point though."

"We talk to her. She is smart. She can control her abilities like I do." Sam said.

Dean sighed. "Why are hers so much stronger?"

Sam shrugged. "I have been busy and am not actively trying to hone mine."

Dean stood up. "Make sure she actually goes to bed when she gets done. I'm going to go run interference."

Sam relaxed his shoulders. He rubbed the back of his neck and waited for Kate to get out of the shower.

Dean found Bobby and updated him.

Bobby took a deep breath. "I don't even know what to say to that."

Dean clapped him on the back. "Nobody does."

Bobby poured a glass of whiskey and went to find John. He knew John well and whiskey never hurt.

John gladly took the glass and took his time savoring the contents.

Bobby didn't say anything as he stood beside John.

John knew that he needed to talk to Sam but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Sam had always pushed his buttons and he struggled to understand his younger son. He didn't understand how Sam could think of going off to college when people were at risk every day. He didn't want Sam's skills to get rusty. Deep down he was afraid that he would be a sitting duck without Dean's ever present eye. He had a thin veil of comfort knowing that Dean always had Sam's back and that the chances of either of them being harmed was lower when they were together. His boys were a team. Sam leaving meant so much more than just turning his back on family. It meant that he was no longer safe. He thought that Sam was arrogant and selfish for running.

Bobby watched John fight through the thoughts in his head. "When are you leaving?"

John sat the empty glass down. "Tonight."

Bobby closed his eyes. "You aren't going to talk to him?"

John turned away from Bobby. "He doesn't want to hear anything I have to say."

Bobby shook his head. John didn't want to hear anything Sam had to say. "I'll let them know."

John went inside and grabbed his duffle.

Bobby went up and opened the bedroom door. He put a hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed. "He is headed out."

Sam bit back the hurt. "Good."

Bobby offered him a sympathetic shrug. "Just give him time."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, time."

Bobby patted his shoulder and went back down.

Dean didn't hide his anger. "Is he really about to leave?"

Bobby nodded. "It is for the best. He and Sam both need time to calm down."

Dean scoffed. "Do you ever feel like this is all just deja vu? It is always the same shit, just a different day."

Bobby squeezed his shoulder. "Let the storm pass."

Dean grabbed a beer and went upstairs to do what he always did; put Sam back together as John drove away.