Author's note: I mention one of Mary's drawings and it is lines. Refer to the scene in the show where she made the deal to revive John. I'm not sure how to explain it well enough without you seeing the real scene.
(Flashback: Mary)
Mary Campbell was born into a hunting family. Her father's father was a hunter. His father was a hunter. They weren't sure who was the first hunter in their family but they lived centuries ago. As soon as Mary could walk, she was shown what was out in the world and how to defend herself. She wasn't allowed to hunt until she was older but the groundwork was done before she learned to ride a bike or tie her shoes.
Young Mary was a happy child. She liked to color and play with dolls. She liked to pick flowers and play house with her friends and cousins. She was a normal, happy, healthy little girl. However, she started to have night terrors. She would wake up and be inconsolable until she exhausted herself and fell back to sleep. The night terrors moved to morning terrors and middle of the day terrors. When she was five, she had a dream that her uncle was killed. She saw the whole thing happen and told her parents what she saw in detail.
Samuel Campbell, her father, quickly dismissed the dream as a nightmare. He downplayed the terror she felt and told her to go back to bed.
Three days later, they got a call that the very same uncle had been found beside the road.
Mary tried to talk to her parents. Her mom was more sympathetic but never went against her father's wishes. "Daddy, I saw it."
"You didn't see anything." Samuel snapped. "You had a bad dream."
"I saw him die and he did for real." Mary argued.
Samuel crouched down and roughly took his daughter by the chin. "You had a dream. I don't want to hear any more about this."
Mary frowned but dropped the subject. It would be an entire year before one of her dreams came true again. She started to draw her dreams so that she would remember them. She used crayons and sometimes, it made the drawings less scary. When the family had hunters over, she stayed in the cellar in a special room. Her mom told her it was so that she stayed safe. Some hunters weren't nice people and they didn't want her to hear everything being said. She also stayed there when her parents got worried about something attacking them. She didn't mind the room. It was cozy and had toys in it. She did get a little lonely though.
A string of murders rocked the small town that they lived in. Samuel and some other hunters left to investigate the murders.
Young Mary stayed on the couch in the family's living room and tried to stay quiet. She had an uneasy feeling. She had a drawing balled up in her hand but was afraid to tell anyone about it.
Deanna, Mary's mother, asked Mary why she was crying. "He will come back. He is just checking out things in town."
Mary frowned deeply. She wasn't worried about her dad. She sniffled and handed the drawing to her mother.
Deanna straightened the paper and studied it. The drawing was mildly disturbing. It looked as though a dark figure had killed three people. Two more people were standing to the side. "What is this?"
"I had a dream." Mary said, folding her hands in her lap.
Deanna felt sick. "What happened in the dream?"
"Daddy and Uncle Ray and some hunters found the thing killing people." Mary said.
Deanna sighed and hugged her daughter. She just had to wait for Samuel to return to share the drawing with him.
Mary felt hopeful since her mom wasn't mad at her. That hope got squashed when Samuel roughly marched her to the cellar. She looked at the small door and then to her dad.
"We have hunters staying here. Do you want them to hear you talking crazy like that? Do you want them to think you are a psychic? We kill psychics so you can drop the act." Samuel growled.
"I'm scared." Mary said.
Samuel opened the door for her. "They are dreams."
Mary sat down on her bed and cradled a doll in her arms. She didn't want to be bad. She didn't want to hurt her parents. She fell asleep a few minutes later and didn't wake until she heard a knock at the door.
Deanna opened the door and sat down on the ground. "I brought you some food."
Mary wiped her eyes. "Can I come out now?"
Deanna disagreed with Samuel but she kept that to herself. "No. It isn't safe." She patted the floor beside her and had Mary sit with her to eat. "Your father is under a lot of stress."
Mary nodded and ate her sandwich. "I'm sorry."
Deanna smoothed Mary's hair down. "I'll talk to him."
Mary didn't think that her mom could change his mind. He was stubborn like that. Maybe if she never talked about her dreams again, he would be happy.
The next day, Samuel left again with his brother and three other hunters. They had a lead and wanted to take care of whatever was killing people. The hunt would leave three men dead, Ray severely injured and Samuel with a broken arm. It was a demon. It was a strong demon and they didn't stand a chance.
Mary got the news and ran down to her room. She curled up on her bed and stared at the opposite wall. She knew it was going to happen. She tried to tell them. She was just a little kid though. She was just having dreams. She fell asleep briefly but woke up when her head hurt. She took a piece of paper and placed it on the floor. She grabbed a crayon and scribbled red all over the paper. She sat back and stared at the paper. If she tried to talk to her dad, he would get very angry. Demons had black eyes and black smoke. Demons weren't red. So, it really was just a bad dream.
As years went by, Mary still had visions. She learned quickly not to talk about them. As she got older, she was more convinced that they weren't visions. Her dad brainwashed her into forgetting about them. When she had a dream, she would go back to sleep. She didn't tell anyone. She even stopped drawing. Her relationship with her dad was strained but civil.
They remained civil until Mary met a boy. He was handsome. He was annoying until she gave him the time of day. Then, he was perfect. She fell in love with him but kept their dating a secret. Samuel would find out though. He would find out thanks to a busybody that saw the two teens holding hands in town. Samuel was livid and made his thoughts known.
Mary was old enough to not be swayed. She didn't listen to the claims that Samuel made. "I'm almost 18. I love him."
Deanna had grown tired of Samuel's raised voice and convinced him to go with Ray to get some drinks. She found Mary in her room upstairs in the house. "He just needs some time."
"He won't change his mind." Mary said.
Deanna sighed and sat beside Mary. "Tell me about the boy."
Mary smiled softly. "He is handsome."
Deanna nodded. "What else?"
"Mama, he is not like dad or the other guys. He is gentle. He is sweet and funny. He brings me flowers he finds beside the road. I've got a book of pressed wildflowers. He listens to me." Mary said.
"He sounds like a catch." Deanna said. "I'm sorry that your father doesn't think so. You are his only daughter and no boy or man will ever be good enough for you."
"John is." Mary said, sadly. She didn't tell her mom that she had dreams about John before he showed up. "I love him."
Deanna kissed the side of Mary's head. "He's in the service isn't he?"
Mary sighed." Yes, he is a Marine."
"What will you do when he leaves?" Deanna asked.
"Wait." Mary said.
"I'm not going to tell you not to see him. I do want to tell you to guard your heart. Your father was sweet and kind and gentle at first. The world just weighs on him." Deanna said.
Mary heard the crunch of gravel and gave her mom a sad smile. "You should go."
Deanna patted her leg. "He will come around."
John deployed and returned.
Mary waited for him. They were young adults and decided to get married.
Samuel lost it.
Mary didn't let him yell at her. She left the house and disappeared into the night.
John met her and picked her up. He talked to her and soothed her frayed nerves.
The following days were surrounded by despair. A demon would attack and kill Deanna and Samuel. They would kill Ray and his family and every hunter they could find. John would fall victim to the demon as well.
Mary held John and begged him to wake up. A man with yellow eyes approached her and offered her a deal. He would revive John if she would make him a promise.
With John alive and Mary needing to leave her grief behind, they got married and settled down in a small home in Lawrence Kansas. The home would welcome two boys, one four years after the first. The home would be filled with love and laughter, everything Mary dreamed of. Upon her second son's birth, Mary started to have dreams again. She had been told for so long that they were just dreams that she refused to let herself panic. She carried on with her life until the night that the baby turned five months old. The dreams got worse. She got antsy.
John noticed Mary's anxiety and tried to comfort her.
Mary wouldn't tell him about the dreams that came true. She was out of the life. She had nothing to worry about. It was just normal postpartum anxiety.
The signs were there. The warnings were given. A month later a young man was left a widower with two young boys. Mary's life was taken and destiny was changed.
(Bobby's house)
Dean sat with Kate in silence until she was ready to talk.
"Can you get Mary's drawings?" Kate asked.
"What are you going to do with them?" Dean asked.
"I know I got upset and everything. I want to start over and show you some things that I noticed." Kate said with a sigh.
Dean entered the kitchen through the basement door and asked Taylor where the drawings were.
Taylor ran up to get them. "The house doesn't feel like it is going to cave in."
Dean took the folder from Taylor. "She is calm for now."
"Let me know if you want me to talk to her." Taylor said.
Dean flicked his forehead. "I know you have been talking in your heads."
"What? Why would you think that?" Taylor asked.
"I just know things. You two have a look." Dean said.
"You and Sam do too." Taylor countered.
"Exactly." He lightly cuffed Taylor on the side of the head. "Stay in your lane. I'll let you know if you can talk to her." He carried the folder down after grabbing two sodas and unlocked the door to the panic room.
"Supernatural timeout." Kate said.
Dean looked around the room. "Dad just didn't want you to blow up like last time."
"I could still blow up." Kate said. "This place is demon proof, not me proof." Kate said with a yawn.
"Yet you are still here." Dean said with a smirk.
Kate sighed. "I realize I was wrong with how I treated you."
Dean sat down in a chair. "Show me."
Kate rearranged the drawings and handed them to Dean.
Dean flipped through the papers. "Do you want to feed me a line?"
Kate pointed to the first page. "Some are just drawings. Some are from visions. Taylor and I can see those. This would be in chronological order."
"You placed them in order but she didn't draw them in this order." Dean reminded her.
"I had visions about you going to hell before I had visions about freaks." Kate said. "It is like a flip book. You can leaf through those and tell which ones came first."
Dean tilted his head. "They are not all related."
"Just go with me." Kate said. "Some of the ones we thought were dreams could have been visions. The ones that look different to me could be points in time where things were changed."
"Like you went back and changed them?" Dean asked.
"No. Like a defining moment. The one of baby me in my crib the night dad found me." Kate explained. "Without that event, so many other minor events could not have happened."
Dean slowly nodded.
"This one is her making a deal with Azazel." Kate said.
Dean squinted his eyes. "That is just four lines."
Kate slightly turned the paper. "A pink line for Mary. A blue line for dad. A yellow line for Azazel."
"Okay, so what is the black line?" Dean asked.
"A dead person." Kate said.
Dean rubbed the top of his head. "That is your interpretation."
"It is but it makes sense." Kate said.
"It also makes sense that she started to draw something but stopped." Dean said.
"If it means nothing, why is it glowing?" Kate asked.
"I don't know. I'm not an expert at any of this." Dean said.
Kate met eyes with him. She raised both eyebrows as if he completely missed her point. "I am an expert so maybe you should just stop arguing and let me explain."
Dean snorted.
"Symbols and lines can mean nothing to someone and everything to someone else. You've seen some of the letters in the Enochian alphabet. I read Enochian and I read drawings." Kate said, waiting for him to catch up. "Sam has had visions. He didn't draw about them but some of them were simple and had meaning beyond what he was seeing. If you see the color pink, what do you think of?" Kate asked.
He thought for a moment. "A properly cooked steak."
Kate palmed her face. "With visions, sometimes that is all we get. We get a color, like red. Red means Abaddon." She held up her hand. "You asked to go down the rabbit hole with me. For me, red means Abaddon the way that gray skies mean rain."
Dean sat back. "I'm following."
"If you are driving through a town and happen to see an American flag being flown upside down, that means someone is in distress." Kate said.
Dean blinked. "Really?"
"Yes. How did you not know that?" Kate asked. She shook her head. "It is subtle. Only certain people will understand the placement. There are hunters' symbols that look like nothing but can tell you a lot about the place you fine it in." She chewed her lip. "If you see a certain symbol on the glass of a store front, you will know that they sell real supernatural stuff and not just crystals."
"Still following." Dean said.
"So, you see things and your mind absorbs what it means. You process a lot of information and act on it." Kate said. "If I come upon a door with a biohazard symbol, I immediately know not to open that door. It is a warning and there are things behind the door that could kill me or infect me with a pathogen." Kate let him soak in the words. "Mary's drawings are the same thing. I can piece it together because I know what some of it means."
"Alright. So that one is the night she made a deal." Dean said.
Kate patted the drawing. "That is one. There is a drawing of you and Sam."
Dean tilted his head again. "How is that." He paused. "Continue."
"She made the deal before you two were born but the drawing of you happened before the drawing of the deal." Kate said. "Look at the drawing styles."
"Well yeah. The deal drawing is lines." Dean said.
"The lines are straight. The ones on the family drawing are not perfectly straight. That means that she had better fine motor skills when she drew the deal." She took a deep breath. "I'm not saying I do this but if I had a vision and needed to quickly draw it before it slipped away, I would draw the least amount of detail but enough that I would understand it. No one else could understand it but I could."
Dean smiled. "Like the 'are you fucking kidding me' symbol for dad?"
Kate blushed. "He told you about that?" She narrowed her eyes. "Was he complaining about it or was he proud of me for it?"
Dean made a zipping motion across his mouth. "You'll never know."
Kate pulled the red drawing from the stack. "These are buildings. That is red smoke or sand or something."
Dean started to ask how she knew that.
Kate held the paper up. "At the top, it is all red. As it goes down the paper, the red shifts to the middle. Surely, you've drawn a tornado before."
Dean saw it.
"The street around the bottom of the tornado is drawn in dark colors. To me, this means there is a storm coming." Kate said.
"I agree with you. That one is pretty clear." Dean said. "So, Abaddon is on the horizon."
"Yes. This is massive." She tapped the paper. She tilted it to the side so that Dean could see indentions along the bottom. "These are people."
Dean slowly looked at the paper from bottom to top. "If those are people, that tornado is bigger than any tornado that I've heard of."
Kate blinked slowly. "Exactly. That is what I was trying to tell you."
"I never doubted that something big was coming. Older you said there would be good times and bad times and really bad times and then good times again." Dean said. "What I was trying to get you to understand was that we cannot make quick decisions. We need to tell Bobby and dad. Taylor needs to know. Caleb's family needs to know. You and Taylor built the extra panic room because Abaddon was going to show up here. If we just jump and run, Caleb won't know that he should be listening for tornado sirens."
Kate swallowed. "You have a point."
Dean just smirked.
"I have to end this though." Kate said.
"We will end this." Dean said. "We have too many people around to have them going into this blindly. Even if you are the muscle, we have to use our brains and make sure everyone is on the same page."
Kate frowned. "I just got frustrated."
"I know you did." Dean said. "We have worked it out and I think we have reached an understanding."
Kate nodded.
Dean looked toward the stairs. "Do you feel like blowing the house up?"
Kate shook her head.
((TW))
Dean moved the drawings to the top side of the cot and sat up straight in the chair.
Kate blanched as he rolled up his sleeves. "Come on, Dean. This is big stuff."
"I sat down here with you after you were a total brat." Dean said. "I know it is big stuff. You were disrespectful and I gave you plenty of warnings."
Kate bounced on her toes. "You aren't the nicest person when you are that kind of mad."
"Do I take it out on anyone?" Dean asked.
Kate tried to think of a time where he had done such a thing. "When you were my age."
"And what do you think happened?" Dean asked. "Why do you think I don't lash out at people now?"
Kate licked her lips. "You got too tall to do that?"
Dean patted his leg. "Dad or Bobby corrected me. I learned to control myself and not make personal digs at someone that was trying to help me."
Kate whined. "I know it was wrong. I apologized. We are friends."
"If I let you get away with it, you are going to get big headed. Dad will come home, and you will say something that pisses him off. This way, you have a good grasp of why you should not challenge him."
"He's going to whip me anyway." Kate said.
"Who were you rude to?" Dean asked. "Who has stayed down here for hours with you and would really like to get this over with so they can go upstairs?"
Kate sighed. "You."
"Yahtzee." Dean said. He leaned forward to grab the edge of her shirt and gently tugged her toward him."
Kate gave him her best sad eyes, but they weren't working.
Dean placed her over his lap. "You think about it before you mouth off to dad. I would like the same courtesy."
Kate groaned. "I have also thrown a knife and cut open his side. Do you want that courtesy too?"
Dean smacked her twice. "You did that, so you didn't kill him."
"I rattle his head." Kate said.
"Which you are going to talk to him about." Dean said. "Focus."
Kate let her head drop. He was only using his hand so she should have been grateful, but his stupid hand hurt. She wondered if the bones in Winchester hands were harder to break than everyone else's bones. No, Dean had for sure broken his hand more than once while punching something. That was punching though. Tendonitis? Carpal tunnel? Surely, they would have some type of ailment. She healed them though. She needed to stop that. "Ow!"
Dean smacked her thigh again. "Do I need to take my belt off?"
Kate whined. "No, your hand is bad enough."
"Where were you?" Dean asked.
Kate sighed. "Debating the structural integrity of the bones in your hand."
Dean swatted her again. "Katelyn."
Kate dropped her head again. "Sorry." She squirmed as the heat grew. "Ow. Dean, I'm sorry."
Dean kept up his tempo. "You do not treat anyone with disrespect, but I expect more than that from you. I think I've helped you enough for you to not take your anger out on me."
Kate crossed her ankles. "I'm sorry. I love you. You are just my safe target."
Dean snorted. "Do I feel like a safe target right now?"
Kate groaned. "No." She whined when he moved down to the tops of her thighs. Her pajama shorts did nothing to protect her.
Dean shook out his hand and let her stand up. "Get your head on straight."
Kate sniffled. "Our talk about drawings did that."
Dean smacked her leg.
Kate rubbed the new patch of fire away. "I really am sorry."
"I'm the mediator. I can talk to dad and get him to work with you." Dean said. He held his arms out for her.
Kate fell into the hug. "Thank you."
Dean let her curl into him. "I want to sit in a chair that doesn't make my back hurt."
Kate let go of him. "You volunteered to stay down here."
Dean patted her back. "You start thinking of things when you are alone for too long."
Kate felt the backs of her legs and her eyes flew open. "Dean!"
Dean turned back toward her.
Kate pulled the edges of her shorts down. He had smacked lower than the shorts hit.
Dean chuckled. "Go change."
Kate stomped her foot. "Please get me pants."
"I'm not going to get you pants." Dean said.
Kate ran up the steps but opted to slide with her back against the wall until she got to the stairs that lead to her room. She ran up those as well and quickly shut her door behind her.
Bobby looked at Dean. "What was that about?"
Dean waved him off. "Nothing important."
Bobby just nodded. "There's more coffee in the pot."
((ETW))
(April)
The boys took off as soon as they got back to the house. They were both tired from sledding but boys never truly ran out of energy. She got some spit up in her hair and asked Karen to take Lauren.
Karen gently rocked Lauren. She sang to her and smiled as her little eyes tried to focus well enough to see beyond her nose. She wasn't big Lauren's clone but she was similar. She was the perfect mix of April and Caleb but some of her features were so familiar. It was comforting. She sat down and checked Lauren's arm again. The red mark was still there. It hadn't changed. "Did Lauren send you?" Karen said as she gently bounced baby Lauren.
April heard her. She ran a brush through her wet hair as she walked into the living room. "I believe that Elizabeth handpicked her." She didn't know if that was possible but Lauren was a dream baby.
"Either way, she is absolutely perfect." Karen said. She heard barefooted steps. "Just like Andy and Ian are absolutely perfect." The foot steps got louder but more distant. She smiled. She loved the boys just like she loved Lauren. Andy shared big Lauren's features. It was one of the things that Karen had noticed early on. It made since sense she was his birth mother. She was honored to be allowed the opportunity to watch them grow. She got a second chance. She remembered what her heaven looked like. It was incredible. She was oblivious. That was boring though. There was no progress. Now, she had plenty of things and people to make life less boring. She adored Bobby just the same as she always had. He was more romantic the second time around and she thought that was because he knew it was a second chance too. "Thank you."
April furrowed her eyebrows. "You are doing me a favor by holding her."
Karen sighed. "No. You could have thought I was crazy when I mentioned Lauren. You could have shut me out to keep the kids safe since Lauren and I died due to demons. You didn't."
"You are their aunt." April said, sitting down beside Karen. "Even if you were not Elizabeth's sister, I would have let you be a part of their lives. You are kind. You are so helpful and have so much to teach them." She gave Karen a soft smile. "They've got the guys to teach them things but you help balance it out. Lord knows I would be on my own trying to mother the rough edges off of them."
"They are very loved." Karen said. "I could see why you'd need to do that though. Caleb and Dean are something else and the rest of them are characters."
April laughed. "Caleb without Dean is an amazing husband and father. Caleb with Dean is a 17-year-old boy. I love both sides of him." The child like glee that Caleb showed when he and Dean came up with something really did make her happy. They had history that April could see just by watching them interact.
Karen stroked Lauren's hair and hummed a soothing melody.
April leaned her head back. It was the same tune that Elizabeth hummed to her when she was little. It was the same tune that she hummed as they were crying together before they said goodbye. "Where is that from?"
Karen stopped humming. "I heard it one day when I was a little girl. I thought it was pretty."
"Elizabeth hummed it all the time." April said.
"That is no surprise. I hummed until I could hum no more. She would just ask me to do it again." Karen said.
They shared stories about their sister until Caleb came home.
Caleb walked through the door and got attacked by the boys. He shook each leg pretending to throw the boys off of him. He picked Ian up and tickled him. He dug his fingers into Andy's collar bone and crouched to keep him from hitting the floor.
Andy held his hands up. "I surrender. I surrender."
Caleb sat Ian down. "If only real monsters were that easy to deal with."
Andy thought that was funny. "Have you ever tried to tickle a vampire?"
Caleb smiled. "No, I haven't."
"So maybe they are ticklish and wouldn't hurt you." Andy said.
Caleb laughed. "I don't want to get that close to one." He grabbed Andy's ribs.
Andy screeched and folded to the floor. His legs stopped working when he got tickled.
Caleb acknowledged April and Karen. "How was your day?"
"It was good." April said. She got up to kiss Caleb. "The boys will have to tell you about the slide made out of snow."
(Bobby's house)
Kate ate dinner with the others. She was calm although she still had a lot going through her head. She snapped her head up. "What?"
"I asked if you wanted to share what you shared with Dean." Bobby said.
"Oh. Um, sure." Kate said. She looked beside her. The folder was on the empty chair. Had she zoned out? She told Bobby and Taylor what she had told Dean.
Taylor could see it more clearly than the other two. "I don't think you just grow out of visions."
"I don't think so either." Kate said. "If Samuel brainwashed her, she may have stopped listening to them. I would like to see her journal or papers from when she was a teenager."
"Why?" Bobby asked.
"When I'm in history class, I doodle on my paper. Sometimes it is vision related but it isn't obvious." She left to grab her backpack. She opened one of her binders and pointed to the top left corner of a sheet of paper. "The time stream."
Dean squinted his eyes.
Kate turned the paper on its side. "The circles are memories."
Dean leaned closer. "I kind of see circles."
"I drew a bunch and then erased them and then drew more and erased those." Kate explained. "Time isn't linear."
"We can look for doodles." Bobby said.
Dean felt his phone buzz. He answered it and gave Kate a side eyed glance. "Yes, sir. I did. She calmed down."
Kate crossed her arms.
Dean held his phone out. "Try not sassing him."
Kate sighed and put the phone to her ear. "Yes. I'm sorry." She chatted with John for a few minutes. She got a little lower in her chair as the conversation persisted. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes, sir. I will."
Dean took his phone back once the call was over.
Kate groaned. "I have to figure out how electricity can effect someone negatively."
"Well it can kill you." Dean said.
Kate looked at him like she was annoyed. "Neurological."
"Because you decided to rattle his brain?" Dean asked.
Kate pressed her head to the table. "Uh huh. I don't think anyone has done a study on what happens when a psychic messes with your head."
Bobby smiled. "One day you could write such a thing."
"To write a scientific article, I need to have data to back up my words. You can't get data without gathering it. I can't gather it because you all won't let me use you as subjects. One day some other kid will get in trouble over the same thing and won't have valuable information to learn from."
Dean blew air through his nose. "You are the only one."
"Times are changing. People evolve. Beings lace bloodlines with grace. There very well could be more like me now or in the future." Kate said.
Dean ruffled her hair. "There is no one like you."
Kate knew what he meant. Taylor was like her but she was Kate. No one would ever be Kate.
(A few days later)
Dean was clearing snow from the walk way. The kids were at school. Bobby and Karen were in town. He slowly turned around. "You are as bad as Cas."
Older Kate smirked. "I do not show up in your back pocket."
Dean sat down on the steps. "If you are here, there must be something wrong."
Kate frowned. "I enjoy coming back to talk to you. You know, before you got boring."
"Little you thinks I'm boring." Dean said.
Kate sat beside him. "I came back to do a few things. Don't worry, they aren't big things. They are fate approved." She reached behind her back. "Here."
Dean took the box wrapped in paper. "What is this?"
"It is almost Christmas." Older Kate said.
Dean gently shook the box. "Why would you bring a gift?"
"Everything happens for a reason." Kate said.
Dean blinked a few times.
"Sometimes, things happen. We can go back and change things but Atropos is an ass. We helped reduce the amount of demon deaths by finding that knife. I didn't go back and revive anyone. It was a natural occurrence due to the tool you were given." Kate said.
"So, what is going to happen that involves a gift?" Dean asked.
Kate snorted. "Open it."
Dean shook it again. "You don't want to give me a hint?"
"It is something you truly love." Kate said.
Dean had no idea what it was. It could have been something for baby but he didn't think Kate would come back just to give him car parts. He peeled the paper off and found a white box. He furrowed his brows deeply. He read the box and tilted his head. "A drone?"
"Yeah. In 2006, people start buying drones that aren't military issued. In my time they are pretty easy to get." Kate said.
Dean ran his hand over the box. "Is it like an RC car?"
Kate told him to open the box. "I charged it. I figured I'd need to show you a few things before I left you alone with it."
Dean carefully opened the box and slid a contraption from within. It looked complicated. He studied it.
"I painted it like one the Army uses. I think it would be easier to explain if you said you got it from the military. People now do not have personal drones." Kate said. She turned it over and flipped a switch. "This one is a few years ahead of me."
"Huh?" Dean asked.
"I wanted certain features that are not available in my time. So, I got it sent back." Kate said.
Dean looked at the tiny blades. He didn't know how drones worked. "Who sent it back?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Focus on the cool flying thing."
Dean looked at the control. "How does it work?"
Kate turned that on as well. She sat the drone on a barrel. "Push the lever up."
Dean's eyes flew open and his head snapped back to look at the sky.
Kate cringed. "Gently. Push it gently. Here, make it come down."
Dean tapped the lever down until the drone was at his eye level.
Kate showed him how to steer it. She saw his face and nearly cried. He loved it when they got their first drone although it was not nearly as sturdy as the one she brought him. He looked like a little kid with light twinkling in his eyes.
Dean's breath was choppy. "Cool."
Kate got close to his side and pushed another button.
Dean stared at the light coming from under the drone. He tapped the button again as it cycled between different colors.
Kate reached her hand in the box and told him to hand her the remote.
Dean looked from her to the drone. He wasn't exactly ready to relinquish it.
Kate attached a black rectangle to the controller and showed him how to take it off if he wanted to. She pushed another button and the rectangle flickered with light.
"Is that a tiny tv?" Dean asked.
Kate laughed. "Oh man. Phones change a lot between now and then. This is just a display screen though."
"For what?" Dean asked.
Kate told him to fly again. "This."
Dean was enthralled. "How is it doing that?"
"A camera." Kate said. Now do you understand how a tool like this could change things for the better?"
Dean flew over the salvage yard. "Will it fly in caves?"
"Yeah, but you need to practice a lot before you try that." Kate said.
Dean pumped his arm. "No more going into caves!"
"I mean, it only goes so far without you and you have to avoid cave walls and creature paws." Kate said.
Dean brought the drone back over their heads. "That isn't a problem."
Kate found it funny how quickly he learned to control the thing. "I cannot tell you what this changes specifically but sometimes life is easier with a bird's eye view."
Dean landed the drone and wrapped Kate in a strong hug. "This is so freaking cool."
Kate patted his arm. "Air."
Dean let her go.
"You just need to attach a gun and you're good to go." She saw the look on his face. "Do not do that. A gun is too heavy and the logistics of weight balance and ammo is a nightmare." She produced another box from her backpack. "Here are some of the parts to it. You can fix minor issues. If it totally takes a nose dive you can contact me." Kate said.
The gravel at the end of the drive way started to crunch. Dean stood up and saw John's truck rolling in. He stood by Kate until the truck stopped. He asked John how the hunts went and pulled his duffle from the truck. "I got something. It will sound crazy but.." He turned to motion to older Kate but she wasn't there. He groaned loudly. "Older Kate gave it to me."
John dropped his stuff off by the couch and took the bag from Dean. "She gave something to you? Is it another book?" He saw Dean shift slightly from foot to foot. He was excited and trying to be a 'man' about it.
Dean stepped back. "She explained everything to me." He picked up the controller and let the drone fly a foot above the ground.
John flinched at the sudden high-pitched sound. "What the hell is that?"
Dean grinned sheepishly. "A drone."
John was staring at it like it would attack. "A drone?"
"People have them in the future." Dean said. He flew around John's truck.
"She brought you a toy?" John asked.
Dean whipped his head around. "No, dad. This is a hunting tool."
John raised an eyebrow.
Dean showed him the camera option. "If we need to check out something that isn't safe for us, we can send this in and see what is in there. It lets you listen to sounds too." He handed the controller to John and showed him what to do. "This level makes it go up and down but just tap it." He carried the drone to the end of the driveway and spoke in a normal tone of voice.
John could hear him loud and clear. He tapped the lever and heard the engine whine.
Dean let go of it. He ducked as it tried to take off his head and shouted that the other lever made it turn. He walked back up to the house. John looked just as amazed as he had been. He held his hand out to take the controller back and did not get a controller placed in his hand.
John ignored him. He had never controlled something like that before.
Dean sat down on the porch steps and sighed deeply. "It is pretty cool."
John didn't look at him. "Yeah."
"It could prove useful during a hunt. A hunt that I am on specifically. There is a learning curve and it can't hit anything or it could break." Dean said.
John smirked and landed the drone. "Do you want to go ahead and say what you want to say instead of skirting around it like a little kid?"
Dean sat up straighter. "She brought it to me and I want my toy back."
John chuckled and handed him the controller. "Get good at flying that thing. It could help on the next hunt."
Dean sat outside until his fingers were numb. He saw a red light on the drone and brought it inside. He found a weird cable and figured out where to plug it into the drone. He plugged the other end into the wall and stepped back.
John looked at the time. "Kids will be home any minute."
Dean unplugged the drone and took it up to his room. He wasn't being stingy with it. It just needed to charge.
Kate soured a little when she saw John's truck. She was glad he was home but not glad to be facing him after her stunt a few days prior. She got her report from her room and presented it to him. Electricity could cause brain damage. That was the gist of it.
John nodded. "This goes for telepathy as well."
Kate sighed. "Yes, sir."
John handed her the paper. "I am assuming you are of sound mind."
Kate looked at the floor. "Yes, sir."
"Good. We will talk about it after dinner. I'm hungry." John said.
(At dinner)
'We will talk about it after dinner.' Kate mumbled in her head. She stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork and brought it to her mouth. "Did you meet Mary's dad."
John nodded. "A few times. Her mom was nicer."
"Why did you name Sam after him?" Taylor asked.
John took a sip of water. "I didn't know my father hadn't left us. Mary wanted to use family names and she said that our Sam would be different than his grandfather. She said he would be sensitive and a good person."
"She did have abilities." Kate said.
John sighed. "He is a good person." He answered questions to the best of his knowledge. "She had dreams when we were together. She would wake up upset but go back to sleep."
"Her father brainwashed her." Kate said.
"He may have." John said. "He was a controlling, egotistical, bear of a man."
Taylor heard Kate's response before she said it. He quickly kicked her under the table and met eyes with her.
Kate's eyes flashed blue.
Taylor's flashed blue back at her.
John slowly sat his knife down and waited for both of them to meet his eyes.
Taylor's face turned red. "Um, she just keeps whistling in her head and it is annoying. I'm sorry Kate."
Kate dropped her eyes. "I'll stop."
John narrowed his eyes but the conversation turned to hunting and tracking.
After dinner, Taylor and Kate took to the hallway to speak in forced whispers.
"Are you insane?" Taylor hissed.
John stepped into the hallway and cleared his throat. "Kate, go upstairs."
Kate groaned and spun on her heel to go up the stairs.
Taylor's shoulders shot to his ears. He licked his lips and stayed where he was.
"She was not whistling." John said.
Taylor stared at him.
John approached him and put a hand on the back of his neck to steer him to the living room. "Do not lie to my face again."
Taylor stood his ground. "I didn't…"
"Taylor." John said, firmly. "She was about to mouth off and you stopped her."
Taylor let his shoulders drop. "I'm supposed to do that."
"Do not lie to me." John repeated. "If you have to lie to anyone to save your life, you are as good as dead."
Taylor snapped his head up.
"I'll know if you are lying. So, don't try that. If you got stopped by the cops, you'd be in jail in a second." John said.
Taylor grimaced. "I did that once already."
"I'm going to go deal with her. I'll let what ever that was slide this time and only this time." John said.
Taylor let out a breath as John walked away. He held his stomach and cringed as he sucked in another breath.
Dean asked him what that was all about.
Taylor gave him a sheepish grin. "I suck at lying."
Dean gave him a look. "No shit Sherlock."
"I didn't want her to get into more trouble." Taylor said.
"What was she doing?" Dean asked.
"Dad said that Samuel was egotistical and controlling and she was going to say, 'wow I guess it is true, we really do marry our parents.' I panicked." Taylor said.
Dean sucked air through his teeth. "Damn." He rubbed the back of his head. "I tried to chill her out before he got home."
Taylor crossed his heart and swallowed. "We tried, man. We tried."
Dean started to go outside with him but smacked his upper arm. "I have to show you this new hunting tool."
John snorted softly. He wondered if the gift was an attempt to butter him up before young Kate did something older Kate regretted.
Dean hopped down the steps. "This is really cool and could help save lives." His voice got quieter with the door shut. "Stand back. This is a tool, not a toy."
