Howdy, amigos! I cannot thank you all enough for your awesome reviews and adding my story to your favorites and alerts. You guys rock! Thank you for sticking with me, even though the updates have been rather infrequent lately. If you have a chance, check out my new story One Day at a Time. It goes through the series, starting with season 2, all told from Kate's POV. Let me know what you think!

This chapter was a special request by SPNxBookworm and then sweetkiwi604 gave me a great idea to add with it! You both are fabulous and thank you SSOO much for your help :) Don't forget to check out all of their stories! You will not regret it!

A/N: There is mention of a specific Wishbone episode in this chapter and I just wanted to clarify that Jensen Ackles in fact DOES appear in the episode I mention. Shock...I know! I just happened to find it one day while I perusing youtube, haha. Very short appearance, but the episode fit with my chapter, so I threw it in. It will all make more sense soon :)

Don't forget to read and review!

Dean-20

Sam-16

Kate-12

"Ready?" Sam asked as he approached Kate, who was waiting for him in front of the school.

"Yes, sir," Kate joked as she jumped off the last two steps and started walking beside her brother as they headed back to the motel.

"Don't call me that," Sam said as he looked over at her.

"Why not? We say it to Dad sometimes. Even to Dean! It's not a bad word!" Kate said, not understanding what the big deal was.

"Well it's a stupid word." Sam looked straight ahead. Lately he had been even more fed up with his father than normal.

"Sam's a stupid word too," Kate retorted, not liking that Sam was telling her she was wrong.

Flashback- 2 days ago

Kate and Sam were sitting on the floor playing a game of Go Fish while Dean was over by the bed packing some of his things.

"You know if you have the card I ask for, you have to give it to me," Sam reminded her, knowing there was a 50/50 chance she was cheating because she hated to lose.

"I don't have your card! Promise," Kate replied, slightly offended she was being accused of cheating.

Sam stared right at her and raised his left eyebrow, as if questioning the truthfulness of that statement. Kate tried really hard to mimic his face, but no matter how she moved her face muscles, she couldn't get that one darn eyebrow to raise up.

"You look constipated," Dean interjected. Kate immediately stopped trying and felt her cheeks blush. Sam and Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing.

All of a sudden the motel door came flying open and in stormed John Winchester. "Dean, are you ready?" his voice echoed through the room. Kate and Sam returned to their game as Dean shoved one last shirt in his small bag.

"Yeah, just have to grab one thing," Dean said as he went to the bathroom to get his toothbrush.

"Hey Dad, wanna play with us?" Kate looked up at him innocently. She always wanted to spend more time with her dad, but he was always too busy for her. However that never stopped her from asking.

John was staring at the bathroom door, impatiently waiting for Dean to come out. "Sorry, Kate, I can't. Dean and I are getting ready to go hun…," he was cut off by Dean who came walking out of the bathroom.

"..go hundreds of miles away from here to work," Dean finished as he threw the last of this stuff into his bag, throwing John an evil glare over his shoulder.

"Oh, maybe next time," Kate replied before she went back to looking at the cards she was holding in her hands. It was hard for John to miss the hard glare Sam was giving him also. He almost let it slip. Hunt. Just that one small word would open Kate up to a whole different world of monsters and things that go bump in the night. But he hadn't clued her in yet, thanks to Dean's persistence more than anything. He had wanted all of his kids to know for a while now, but Dean had made him promise to keep Kate out of the loop as long as possible, saying it was what their mom would have wanted and John didn't have the heart to argue with that. He had already dragged his 2 boys into this; maybe there was still hope for Kate.

End Flashback

Sam and Kate continued walking on in silence for a few blocks. They only had 3 more to go.

"Since Dean's not home to say no, can we watch Wishbone when we get back?" Kate asked. She remembered watching Wishbone with Sam growing up, but Dean always hated that show, saying that a talking dog who read books was just too absurd.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sam replied. Even though he would never admit it, he loved watching it with her too because after Wishbone would tell the story through his eyes, Kate would always have a bunch more questions and Sam got to put his knowledge on literature and history to the test.

Once they got back to the motel room, they threw their school bags on the bed and plopped down on the couch to watch the show. Kate had always wanted a dog, but her dad would never let her, so watching Wishbone was as close as she was ever going to get.

The episode was about Mexico's history of the "Virgin de Guadalupe" and the miracles she performed and the faith one man had in her. Once Wishbone was done acting out the tale and the show went back to 'present day', Kate turned to Sam.

"So is that who you and Dean were talking about last week?" Kate asked innocently.

"What are you talking about?" Sam responded, very confused.

"I heard you guys talking about a virgin." Kate stared at Sam, waiting for an answer. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. How was it that Kate never heard the things she was supposed to and always managed to hear things that weren't meant for her.

"Um…eh…no. It wasn't about her. It was a..uh..different one," Sam explained as he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh," Kate replied, satisfied with his weird answer. She turned her attention back to the TV show just as a young boy began talking to 3 ladies who were sitting on the couch, Wishbone by their side. The sat silently while watching the last part of the show before Kate spoke up again. "So what's virgin mean anyway?"

Sam squeezed his eyes closed at hearing the question. He rolled his head to the side, hoping he had just imagined it all, but when he saw Kate's green eyes staring at him waiting for a response, he let out a small sigh. "It's uh…a girl…who is special-," he began.

Kate was trying to listen to his response, but her gaze was drawn back to the TV because Sam was taking too long to speak. "Holy guacamole!" she spat out as she pointed at the TV screen.

Sam's brows scrunched up, not realizing what Kate was talking about. He turned to look at the TV and felt his jaw drop.

"The front door was open just a crack, so I let myself in...I hope that's okay," came the male voice from the show. Both Kate and Sam scooted as close to the TV as they could without actually falling off the couch. The boy on the screen looked like the exact replica of Dean.

"It can't be," Sam said, still shocked.

"There's no way," Kate replied.

"But it looks just like…," Sam trailed off.

"Dean has an evil twin out there!" Kate sat back in her seat, still not believing the resemblance this Wishbone character shared with her brother.

"More like that guy is the good twin. Dean's the evil one," Sam said as he also sat back. "He wouldn't even believe us if we told him."

"Yeah, I bet…," Kate began but was cut off by the sound of the motel door being unlocked and opened. John came into the room and stared at his two younger children for a brief second. His face looked drained and exhausted.

"Sam, I need to talk to you," he said firmly. Sam and Kate shared a confused look before he got up and walked over to his father.

"Where's Dean?" Kate asked as she leaned to look behind John, thinking Dean must be hiding.

"Sam, outside," John said, ignoring her question as he motioned for Sam to follow him. "We'll be back." And with that he closed the door, leaving a very confused Kate sitting alone on the couch.

She could hear John's muffled voice through the paper-thin walls. All of a sudden, Sam gasped, "What!" and Kate's head jerked up, staring at the closed door. Not wanting to be left out of something that was important, she made her way towards the door and slid down along the wall beside it, pressing her ear against the small crack.

"What do you mean he's hurt?" Sam yelled.

"It was an accident, Sam. It's a dangerous line of work. Shit is going to happen, but the doctors say he's going to be fine," John explained.

"Fine? Fine would mean he's not laid up in the hospital unconscious. What happened?" Sam retorted. His anger was building up. Kate felt her heartbeat increase at the mention of Dean being in the hospital. Why was her brother hurt? What was going on?

"Vampires are damn good hunter, Sam. They must have picked up his scent and tracked us back to the truck. They got to him before I could stop all of them," John explained as he ran a hand over his face. He was just as upset as Sam was, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with this teenage drama crap. "I came by to pick up a few of his things before I head back to the hospital. I'll keep you posted on any news. And don't tell your sister. I don't need her knowing about this."

"Yes, sir," Sam replied in a dry tone.

Kate let the words roll over in her mind for a few seconds, then it registered that John was going to be coming inside! She quickly ran back over to the couch and sat down just as the door opened. John made his way over to Dean's duffle that he had left discarded along the wall by the bed. "Hey, Katie. Just came to grab a few things Dean forgot. We should be back in a few days, okay?" John was already back over by the door with the bag in hand.

She couldn't find words, so she just shook her head and lightly smiled as John left. Sam came back inside and closed and locked the door behind him. He looked a lot paler than Kate had remembered.

"Why did Dad come back?" she pried. She needed to know about this hunting stuff her dad had mentioned and the vampires. She knew what they were because she had seen them in movies, but it was all make believe. Why was her dad talking about them?

"He told you. Dean forgot something," Sam replied as he made his way back over to the couch.

"Dean doesn't forget things when he goes to work. Not ever," Kate said, gluing her eyes on Sam.

"Well there's a first time for everything," Sam replied as he stared at the TV, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Don't lie! I heard what you and Dad said. Dean's in the hospital, isn't he?" Kate demanded, her voice rising slightly.

"You're making stuff up. Dean's fine," Sam said as he turned the channel, hoping to find some show to distract Kate.

"No, you're making stuff up. I heard Dad talk about hunting, but I know they don't actually hunt, Sam! And then Dad said a vampire attacked Dean and he's in the hospital! What's going on? You have to tell me. Stop lying!" Kate said as she felt her voice crack. She knew what she had heard and nothing made sense. She needed answers now.

Sam turned off the TV and slowly sat the remote down. He took a long, deep breath. He knew what he had to do now. There was no way getting around this one. The three of them had managed to lie and trick their way around Kate before, but now she had cornered him and there was no way out. She had overheard too much.

"Well first off, you know that Dean is going to be fine. He always is. So don't worry. And about the stuff you heard Dad saying…," Sam trailed off. Kate turned her body so she was entirely facing Sam, eagerly awaiting his explanation. "Well, Dad and Dean…and even myself…we hunt. But we don't hunt animals, like you think. We hunt…um…monsters…," Sam began.

Kate listened intently with eyes as large as saucers as Sam continued to explain what 'the family business' really was. He explained how their dad got into this mess to begin with. About their mom and what they think killed her. The revenge mission of their father. How monsters go bump in the night. That everything she had known before was basically a lie, but it was to protect her.

When he had finished talking, Kate had no idea how to respond. She wanted to form words, say something, but nothing came out. Her body was paralyzed in a state of shock. She had asked for the truth and that was what she got. As crazy as all of it sounded to her, she knew it had to be true because it all made sense now: why her family had guns in the back of their cars, knives under their pillows, and spent days away from her at a time. But never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that this would be the reason.

"Come on, Katie…say something," Sam begged in a soft voice. He couldn't take the blank stare he was receiving from his little sister. He had never thought he'd be the one to tell her the truth and seeing that look absolutely broke his heart. It had really only ever been a matter of time. The older she got, the easier she picked up on the little things that didn't add up. "Katie…," he tried again.

"Sam. I…um…when can we see Dean?" she asked, quietly.

That was not the response Sam expected. "He should be home from the hospital in a few days," he replied.

"Oh," she said as she got up and made her way towards the bathroom door. "I'm going to shower now, if that's okay." Sam offered her a sympathetic and apologetic nod, as if giving her permission. He wanted her to talk about this, but he also didn't want to push anything right now. It just needed some time to sink in.

While Sam heard the water running, he quickly dialed John's number to tell him everything that had happened. His dad was going to want to know that Kate was in the loop now. At first John had been upset, but by the end of their conversation, he honestly felt relieved that his daughter knew. Now they didn't have to worry about letting anything slip or tip-toeing around her. As much as he never wanted any of his kids to be a part of this kind of life, he was glad they could do it as a family now.

Kate walked out of the bathroom wrapped up in a towel to grab some new clothes from her bag. "Hey, I talked to Dad. He said Dean's awake so we can go see him, if you want," Sam said. He hoped that seeing Dean would cheer her up.

"Yeah, that's good," she replied softly as she grabbed some new clothes and went back into the bathroom to change.

She came back out and without saying a word to Sam, slipped on her shoes and grabbed her coat. She stood at the door and waited for Sam to catch up. Without saying a word, they left the hotel and got in the Impala to go to the hospital.

They went up to the third floor and were told that Dean Wilson was in room 3689. Sam and Kate stood in the doorway for a brief moment before entering and Sam immediately noticed that John was nowhere in sight. He assumed he must be off researching or something.

"I hope you brought pie," Dean said as he noticed their presence at the door. He was sitting up on the bed with the TV on. He had a small cut across his cheek and multiple bruises on his ribs and chest hidden by the hospital gown.

Kate slowly walked over to the side of Dean's bed and Sam stayed back in the doorway, wanting to give them a moment together. Dean immediately noticed that something was different with his sister. He shot Sam a questioning look, but didn't receive anything in response.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked in an almost inaudible tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine…," Dean responded, wondering where this was going. She looked at Dean's arm and saw an IV. She followed the chord and realized it led to a bag filled with a clear liquid inside.

"Why aren't they giving you blood?!" Panic was clear in her voice.

"Because I don't need blood…I'm fine. Katie, what's going on?" Dean gently grabbed on to her upper arm to get her to turn to face him. Her eyes were full of fear.

"Yes you do! Dad said the vampire got you and that means it drank all of your blood. Why is nobody trying to help you!" Kate spat out in one, rushed, meshed together sentence. Sam had explained to her monsters are real and all, but he hadn't went into specific details yet.

Now it was Dean's turn to panic. When he heard the word vampire come out of her mouth, his eyes grew about twice their size. She wasn't supposed to know why he was in the hospital. His glance went from Kate to Sam, who was now looking at the ground, not wanting to see Dean's reaction.

"Vampire?" Dean said slowly, not wanting to believe any of this himself.

Kate seemed to ignore his question and continued, "And then today I was watching Wishbone and I saw this guy who looked just like you. I joked and said it was your evil twin and I didn't think it could be real, but now that Sam told me that monsters exist and that a vampire hurt you, so I don't know what to believe! Dean, I just...I just don't want you to get hurt!" Kate felt tears sting her eyes. The whole monster bombshell had been dropped on her and she was having trouble processing through it all, but knowing something had attacked her brother filled her with all kinds of fear of what else could happen to her family.

Dean felt his heart drop out of his chest. He had no idea what the evil twin comment was able, but the fact that she just admitted to knowing monsters exist took precedence. His littler sister was never supposed to know about any of this. He had tried, and succeeded, to keep her in the dark for 12 years. And now her innocence was ruined. She was no longer going to be so carefree and energetic. It was all about to change and it was just too much for him to take in.

"Katie…," Dean said as he reached out and motioned for her to sit on the bed beside him. "I don't have an evil twin and the…the…vampire didn't get me. Dad saved me in time. I'm good." He searched her face to see if she understood. "I promise." And with that, Kate leaned over and rested her head against Dean's chest, feeling the weight of everything finally come crashing over her and not knowing how to hold it all in anymore. He flinched slightly at the pain, but he fought through it; this was more important. He rested a hand on her back and could tell that she was silently crying by the irregular breaths he could feel.

Sam finally entered the room and walked up to the side of the bed. He stared at Kate, curled up at Dean's side crying. And then he did it. He finally met Dean's gaze. He expected to see hatred, anger, pure rage, but instead he saw hurt, sadness, pain. Sam had already felt awful, but now his inner turmoil increased as he felt his throat clench shut and tears fill his eyes. "I'm sorry," he mouthed to Dean.

Dean slightly nodded his head and mouthed "It's okay." He didn't know the whole story yet about how she had found out or why Sam had told her everything, but he knew there was a good reason. Sam wouldn't do it unless there had been no other option. To be honest, he was surprised they had managed to keep it all a secret this long. At least Kate got 12 great years of a normal childhood. That was more than both he and Sam had gotten.

Dean could hear as Kate began crying harder. Sam sat down on the bed behind her and gently laid a hand on her back, rubbing small, soothing circles. Dean closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of her head. All of the hurt, sadness and pain he had been feeling finally spilled over as one lone tear streaked down his face. Things were about to change for the Winchesters.