Hello, hello! Thank you guys for the reviews and following my story! As always, please review! I love hearing your feedback.

I wanted to write about Kate and Dean's relationship as they got older and decided it probably would have 2 sides to it. This will be one and I'll be posting another chapter, maybe later this weekend, that shows a more lighthearted side to their relationship. Let me know what you guys think!

Thank you, ispiltthemilk, for helping me with this chapter!

Disclaimer: If you think I own something other than Kate, you be crazy.

Dean-25

Sam-21 (away at Stanford)

Kate-16

Lately Dean and Kate had been down each other's throats. They had barely talked over the last 2 days and when they did, it always escalated. "Don't chew with your mouth open" turned into "why is your voice so annoying", which logically led to "why does Dad have to always get shitty hotels". Dean blamed it all on Kate being a moody girl and Kate blamed it on him just being an ass.

It was times like these when Kate wished Sam were still there. He always was the mediator when things got bad between them. He knew when to intervene before it all got out of hand. But what she really needed was someone to talk to, not so much someone to break up the fight. She needed a brother; something Dean seemed to have forgotten he was.

Dean pulled the Impala into a parking space as Kate looked up through the windshield to see a large neon sign. "Great. Yet another run down diner," she thought. What she really wanted was to be at the motel and under the covers forgetting that the last 2 days had happened. She got out of the car and slammed the door—whether it was on purpose or by accident is still up for debate.

"Watch it, would ya?!" Dean exclaimed as he got out and shut his door tenderly, as if setting an example. Kate didn't even acknowledge him as she headed inside and grabbed a booth in the back. Dean shortly followed after her.

"What can I get for you guys?" said the waitress. Kate figured she was pushing 50 judging by the growing amount of grays hairs she had.

"Chicken fingers. Fries. Coke," Kate said as she handed the lady her menu.

"Bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon, and fries. Oh, and a Dr. Pepper," Dean said as he also handed over his menu.

"Okay, great! I'll put those orders right in," she said as she walked away.

"Man, why couldn't she have been our waitress?" Dean said as he nodded towards a girl working behind the counter. Kate half turned her head in that direction, but once she saw a blond haired girl, she didn't even bother to see more.

"Shock," she replied.

They sat in silence for a long time. They both continued to just stare around the diner, even pulling out their phones at times to pretend to be doing something. After what seemed like an eternity, their food finally came and they both eagerly dug in.

After a few moments of peaceful eating, Dean broke the silence. "So how about we hit up that college library up the road? It says its open till 10 tonight."

"No thanks," Kate replied between shoving handfuls of fries in her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. We will be hitting up that library when we're done eating," he replied, already getting pissed off.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. Fuck no." Kate was tired of research. She was tired of being told what to do. And most of all she was just tired of constantly replaying what happened at school 2 days ago in her head. She just couldn't catch a break.

"Dad needs our help. He's gonna call tomorrow morning and expect us to have the information." Dean narrowed his gaze.

"You mistake me for someone who cares." Kate lifted her head to meet his glare. People always say looks can kill, but they've never seen 2 Winchesters go at it. They were both glaring so hard at the other that at any second they might start shooting fireballs out of their eyes.

"What is your problem!?" Dean said in a low voice. "Dad is on a hunt. He needs our help, unless you want him to be unprepared and get killed. So cut the teenager soap opera crap. You're going to the damn library. End of discussion, " he finished.

She recognized that tone. It was that one that told her to back down. She knew if she continued, it was very likely he would drag her ass out of this diner and 'teach her a lesson'. Wouldn't be the first time, but she really didn't want to add that on top of everything else lately.

"Whatever," she replied as she returned her gaze to her food once again. They both finished their meals in silence, each still fuming with anger.

Finally the waitress came over to give them the check and told them to pay upfront. They got up and made their way to the register, where much to Dean's delight and Kate's disgust, the blond bimbo waited on them.

"Was everything okay?" she asked them as she took the receipt to ring it up.

"It is now." Cue Dean's infamous pick-up-chick grin. Kate was already pissed off and now she had just become extremely annoyed. A deathly combination.

"Hi, my name's Kate," she said as she extended her hand towards Blondy. Dean stared at her, not sure what to make of this.

"Hey! I'm Ashley," the waitress replied. She shook her hand and they shared a polite smile.

Kate quickly turned to Dean and said rather loudly, "Oh my gosh, Dean! You were right! Slut bags ARE friendly!" Words cannot explain the face that Dean made at her. It was a mix of horror, embarrassment, and mad as hell.

And with that, Kate turned on her heel and slammed out the main doors. She had no idea how Dean would turn that one around and quite frankly didn't care in the slightest. She also knew he would come out and leave her ass in the parking lot for that, but she was one step ahead of him. She had swiped the car keys from his coat pocket. So she settled into the passenger's seat and closed her eyes for a moment trying to escape from everything. Suddenly she heard the bells jingle, signaling that Dean had just walked out of the diner. He got into the car and closed the door. There was a moment of silence. Then Dean held out his hand, waiting for Kate to give him the keys and she reluctantly handed them over.

"You're grounded." She wasn't surprised. She continued to ignore him and watched the street lights fly by as they took off in the direction of the library.

They spent 3 hours at the library researching some pagan god that Kate didn't even care to remember the name of. They only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. Finally at 9pm, Dean declared they had enough information for their dad and could head back to the hotel.

Once they got back, Kate mumbled that she was going to hop in the shower. As soon as Dean heard the water start up, he went over to Kate's bag. He knew he shouldn't do it. He wasn't that kind of person, well normally not. You know, the kind that reads their little sister's journal. But he knew something was up because of how she had been acting and wanted answers. He searched through her bag until he found it. He sat down on the bed and flipped to the most recent entry. Just as he expected, it was written 2 days ago. He quickly skimmed through it because he was sure Kate would be out soon. He ran his hand through his hair; he couldn't believe what he was reading.

Worst day ever…Overheard girls in the bathroom…Called me weird…A freak…Butt ass ugly…

I just want Sam back. He'd make it better. I just need my brother back…

Dean's heart sank. Why wouldn't she tell him these things? But he already knew why. Because lately he had been acting like anything but a friend to her. His head jerked up when he heard the shower turn off. He hurriedly shoved the journal back where he found it and made his way over to the couch. He flipped on the TV and searched for something interesting to watch. Minutes later Kate stepped out in her pjs and her hair still damp.

"Hey, you have to see this episode of South Park. It's friggin' hilarious," Dean called over.

Kate was taken off guard. "Didn't he just ground me? Could this be the Dean way of apologizing?" she thought. She didn't have the energy to argue and actually wouldn't mind a good laugh, so she went over and plopped down on the small couch by him.

They shared many laughs throughout the show and as it came to an end, he noticed a small yawn escape from her. "Get over here," he said as he moved the pillow from his side over to his lap. Kate just wanted to put this whole mess behind them, so she leaned over and laid down facing the TV. Shortly later Dean began to comb his hands through her hair—something he used to do when she was little and refused to sleep. She closed her eyes enjoying a peaceful, relaxed moment.

"You have mom's hair." At the mention of her mom, Kate instantly sat up, now facing Dean. She stared at him in disbelief. He never brought up mom.

"Well you do. She secretly hated that all 3 of us ended up with brown hair. She always held out hope that her daughter would get her wavy hair. Looks like she got her wish," Dean said as he smiled softly. Kate ran her hands through her hair and grabbed a strand to look at, wanting to make sure it was true.

"You really think so?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah. She'd say you were beautiful," he said as he held out his arm, inviting her to sit closer. She couldn't help but smile as she scooted beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his other arm around her.

Dean wasn't one for moments like this, but after reading in her journal how she "just wanted my brother," it occurred to Dean that Sam didn't need to be there. Dean was still there and he was her brother too. It was about time he started remembering that.

Kate had no idea what got into Dean, but the timing was perfect. This is what she needed. Not a father. Not a drill sergeant. Not some authoritative dick. She needed a special kind of friend—a brother. And she finally had him again.