Hi there, everyone! I know I've been gone a LONG time, but believe it or not, I have been working on this chapter. It was just very hard for me to write for a whole bunch of reasons that I'm not going to get into here. But I do hope you enjoy it, and I hope to be back to posting regularly, until this story is complete. Kind words are always appreciated.

Kate sat back into the sturdy wooden chair and allowed herself to process Dean's last statement before she responded to it. The first thing that hit her was that she could tell he was being completely honest with her. He was a hunter, first and foremost, and no matter how much fun they had in bed it wasn't enough to get him to walk away from what he did. She had to respect that. But secondly, she could not help her thoughts from lingering over the last bit of what he'd said. Was he implying that he had actually died? He certainly didn't look like anyone who had come back from the grave that she'd ever heard of.

But then, perhaps he just meant that his heart had stopped and he'd been brought back. She could certainly imagine that happening in his line of work. However, something told her it was more than that. It was difficult to process the idea of the very virile specimen of manhood sitting in front of her had actually DIED.

"I'm sorry, Dean," she said with a shake of her head, "I'm just having a hard time wrestling with what you just told me. I believe you, and I know it's really none of my business but how many times have you died?"

Dean snorted with derision. "Honestly, Sam and I lost count a long time ago. I suppose that since I've managed to not get dead permanently, that makes me lucky, in a way."

"I wouldn't say that all. It almost sounds like a curse to me. No one should have to endure that, Dean. No one deserves that kind of suffering." Unbidden, Kate could feel her heart going out to this deeply wounded man. He might try to shrug off what had happened to him, but the pain that lingered behind his eyes belied his nonchalance.

Dean could only gaze back at her, unnerved by her empathy. God, if she only knew the truth about him! He'd triggered the capital -A Apocalypse! Of course he deserved to suffer. And it wasn't like his death was going to bring him any kind of peace either. He had no doubt of where his soul was going to eventually end up. His good deeds would never outweigh his many sins. But fuck it! If he was doomed, he might as well have as much fun as he could before he turned up his heels for good.

He took a swing of his beer, knowing that he should turn the conversation around to a more pleasant topic. If he was going to get her back into bed, it would be best to avoid any more discussion of the hazards of his profession. Kate didn't seem the type to get off on death. Her glasses couldn't hide the soft look of concern that she was giving him across the table. She was allowing herself to care about him, an inherently dangerous proposition that he knew he should discourage. But with her, he found he didn't want to.

"I might not deserve it, but it is what it is. I'm the one of the only people I know who can legitimately say they've 'been to hell and back'. That's got to be worth something, even if it isn't a great conversation starter," he mused, attempting to take a light tone. Her skeptical expression told him she didn't buy it. Kate's ability to see through him was damned inconvenient even though her intelligence was one of the sexiest things about her.

"If you don't want to talk about it, Dean, I understand. But I want you to know that if you do want or need to talk about it, I'm here to listen." Despite the voice in her head telling her to leave it at that, she continued. "I want to know more about you, Dean. You know a lot about me, and you always seem to manage to get me to talk about myself, but you're rather closed mouthed when it comes to your past. I admit, the whole brooding-mystery guy thing totally works on me, but I can't help wondering about you and where you came from."

He had to admit she had a point. He did know a lot about her. And even when there were things she held back, she wasn't very good at hiding her emotions from him. He'd been able to infer a lot about her unhappy childhood and adolescence just by watching how she had reacted when he and Sam had questioned her. She had demonstrated her trust in him in so many ways, and yet what she knew about him was pretty much limited to his taste in cars, music, and how he made a living.

He took a deep breath and allowed himself to speak about things he's never really discussed with any woman he'd ever slept with. "Sam and I were born in Lawrence, Kansas, but when Sam was little we left and started moving around a lot. Dad was hunting full-time so we just tagged along."

Immediately, questions began to crop up in Kate's mind, but she bit her tongue so that Dean could continue. She could hardly imagine exposing small children to the kinds of things that Sam and Dean had described to her.

"We were always the new kids, which Sam really hated. Just as soon as he'd get really comfortable in a school, Dad would decide that it was time to move on. And that's pretty much how it's been ever since."

"So aside from the year you were with Lisa, you've never really had a place to call home since you were a child," she said, thinking out loud. Kate might not exactly have great memories of her home town, but Clearwater had always been her home, no matter how bad things had been. Dean and Sam were essentially homeless, and had been since they were small children. That had to have left a mark on both of them. She had understood that Dean was not like most men of her acquaintance, and this little revelation just underlined and put an exclamation point under that fact.

At Kate's statement and concerned expression, Dean found himself explaining, "Sam and I had a close friend, a hunter like us whose place we've stayed at a lot. His place has been more of a home to us than any other." Dean wondered if she'd pick up on his past tense usage. Just saying the word caused an uncomfortable tightening in his chest. He'd felt the loss of Bobby as acutely as the death of his own father, maybe even more if he really dwelled on it. He and Sam had certainly been closer to Bobby than their dad at the time of his death.

Kate didn't need to ask why Dean has used the past tense when discussing his friend. It obvious to her there had been no falling out that ended the friendship. The friend had died, and if she had to guess the wound was probably still pretty fresh. She would lay money Dean had never really allowed himself the time to mourn properly. He kept so much of his pain bottled up. Once day he was going to explode and it wasn't going to be pretty.

All the more reason she really shouldn't keep prying into his background. The more she knew about him, the more she could easily imagine convincing herself that she could be the one to save him from himself. It would seem that aside from his brother, Dean's closest companion was Death. It clung to him like stale cigarette smoke in an old bar. Her brain kept raising the red flags, but her heart kept knocking them down, urging her that she couldn't abandon him.

It really made no sense; and if there was something Kate prided herself on, it was her common sense. Some part of her insisted that Dean needed her. And for more than just a roll in the hay.

For God's sake, they had dreamed about each other! That was certainly odd. She had to wonder if Dean had any explanation for that. He certainly knew more about stuff like that than she did.

Kate's train of thought was interrupted by an all too familiar male voice that appeared to be heading in the direction of their table.

"Hey there, Kate, it's been a while," the man commented.

Dean immediately noticed that Kate visibly cringed as the man approached their table. He was wearing a conservative, but well-tailored and expensive looking navy blue suit, complete with white shirt and tie. The tie was loosened a bit, the only indication that the man did not intend to return to work. The man looked like he was a couple of years older than him and Kate. If he had to guess, this guy was probably someone she used to work with. Although that didn't totally explain her reaction to him.

Kate felt like she had fallen into one of her worst nightmares. The last person she wanted to see while she was out with Dean was her ex-fiancé and boss, Steve Morton. Of course, he was impeccably turned-out as always, and she was sitting there in an old tank top and her work pants.

She forced herself to smile, and silently prayed that he would leave after a quick exchange of pleasantries. "I guess it has, Steve. It's good to see you."

She might have politely greeted the man, but Dean could tell Kate didn't mean a word of what she said. Instinctively, Dean found himself disliking him.

"Kate, aren't you going to introduce me to your gentleman friend? This must be the guy who everyone's talking about."

Now Dean was SURE he didn't like him.

Kate seethed, suspecting that Steve knew exactly who this was, but he was enjoying the opportunity to make her uncomfortable. If she had known about his vindictive streak she never would have started dating him in the first place. "Steve Morton, this is Dean Winchester. He's in town with his brother, Sam. They've been paying me a visit."

"Nice to finally meet you, Dean," Steve replied, extending a hand to Dean that he pointedly ignored. This guy was clearly an ex-boyfriend of some sort. He wasn't sure if the guy was just jealous or naturally dickish. Frankly, he didn't give a shit. He just wanted the guy gone.

Dean supposed he could have thrown the asshole out, but he doubted Kate would appreciate the scene.

He rose from his seat, and Steve took a step back, perhaps anticipating that things might get physical.

"Steve, the lady and I are having dinner. We'd appreciate it if we could have some privacy," he stated, sharply biting off each word, the threat of violence implicit.

The man might be a dick, but he wasn't stupid, and he retreated to the bar. Dean's cold eyes followed him until he pulled up a bar stool. Only then did he return to his seat.

"So how long since you two broke up?" Dean asked, cocking his head in the direction of the bar. He saw no reason to beat around the bush, even though he was pretty sure this was the last conversation Kate wanted to have.

She sighed. This was probably going to come up at some point. Clearwater was small enough that it had been inevitable that they would run into Steve at some point. That didn't mean she had to like being put in this position. At least Dean had gotten rid of him quickly. It was almost enough to get Kate to crack a smile.

"About a year ago," she admitted. "It was not particularly pleasant."

"Was he always that much of a jerk, or was this a special occasion?" He took a long swig of his beer, needing to feel the buzz of alcohol in his veins.

"Dean, we were engaged. I broke it off a month before the wedding." At her reply, Dean nearly choked on his drink. No wonder she had been so uncomfortable.

"He didn't take it well, OK? And I really don't want to talk about it." Kate set aside her napkin on the table, indicating she had lost her appetite. It seemed that their cozy little dinner was over.

Dean had not failed to notice that Steve's last name matched the name on the biggest business in town, which had been her former place of employment. He could have even conceivably been her boss. In fact, with that last name, he probably had been at some point.

He raised his hand to signal their waitress, intending to ask for the check; however before he could make his request, Kate placed an order for a martini.

Dean tried to make light of her request, teasing, "I thought it was a school night!"

Kate gave him a withering look and replied, "My ex-fiance just saw me on a date with the guy he knows was the first man I slept with. The guy who disappeared for almost five years and then mysteriously breezed back in town with his brother a couple of days ago. The guy who the entire town assumes, and correctly, that I'm sleeping with again. Excuse me if I need a drink."

She had a good point.

Figuring if Kate was going to indulge, he might as well join her, Dean ordered a double of Jack Daniels on the rocks. The corners of Kate's mouth turned up, showing the ghost of a smile. She remembered.

Dean also remembered that booze had loosened Kate up that night years ago, and that maybe if got her to have another one, she might be willing to talk about her ex. She might not WANT to talk about it, but that wasn't the same thing as not being able to talk about it.

Dean silently berated himself for being overly curious and not respecting Kate's privacy. Nevertheless, he made up his mind to ask her about the guy at the bar once she'd had her drink.

As it turned out, Dean didn't have to wait very long. Their waitress brought the drinks as quick as humanely possible, as if she sensed the reason why they had been ordered in the first place. No sooner had she laid the glass down in front of Kate, she leaned forward and took a quick sip since the glass was nearly filled to the brim. That accomplished, she picked the glass up by the fragile glass stem, and knocked it back, draining half the drink in one gulp.

Even though Kate had eaten, she felt the effects of the alcohol right away. The tension in her shoulders melted away, and where she had felt cold a few moments ago, now she felt bathed in a warm glow. It just added to the unreality of the entire situation.

Dean must have noticed the change in her demeanor because he prodded her again about Steve.

"I find it hard to believe you were going to marry that guy."

In almost any other circumstance Kate would have ignored his comment, but she felt compelled to respond. "What's so hard to believe? I know I'm not exactly gorgeous, but I'm not entirely horrible to look at, Dean."

"I would have thought you had better taste than that guy, that's all. The way you look has nothing to do with it. Everything about him just screams, 'I'm a huge tool.'"

Dean's remark caused Kate to crack a faint smile. Trust the imitable Dean Winchester to size up Steve so quickly and so thoroughly. It had taken her a long time to realize that he was not the man she had thought he was. As it had turned out, he cared more about his name and position in Clearwater than herself. "He wasn't so toolish when we first got together. I had a little bit of a crush on him for a long time, and I was flattered when he asked me out," she admitted.

In fact, it had been a complete shock. He'd strolled into the bakery late one afternoon, not long after it had opened. At the time she had not been able to afford much counter help, and she had been waiting on customers herself. He picked out the most expensive item in the case, and while she had been boxing it up, he asked her if she was available Friday night. He'd thrown it out so casually, Kate nearly thought she had dreamed it.

Feeling dazed, she managed to mumble her assent, and they agreed he could pick her up at eight so she would have time to clean up after work. From that night on they were together exclusively until she had broken it off. Although her memories of Dean always lingered, for a while Steve was able to convince her that he was the man she was supposed to be with.

Not one to beat around the bush, Dean just came out and asked, "If he was so great, then why did you dump him?"

Before she responded, Kate finished the remains of her drink, and uncharacteristically left the olives untouched. Carefully setting the glass back on the napkin, Kate folded her hands together, and looked at her companion directly in the eye. "Fine, Dean. I'll tell you why I broke up with Steve, but you have to tell me the real reason why those angel friends of yours were looking out for me."

Dean's eyes widened for only a moment, but it was enough that Kate was able to discern that she had surprised him. She reveled for a moment at being able to get a reaction of the usually stoic Dean.

"You wanna play 'Truth or Dare' then, huh. Then we'd better take this somewhere a bit more private, wouldn't you say," he replied silkily, not betraying that he was dreading revealing the truth. But he had to admit, it was a fair exchange.

Kate settled the bill, and in short order they were back at her place. Dean trailed behind Kate, allowing her to choose the place where they would have their chat. Instead of the living room, Kate gravitated to the back to the house, where the kitchen was. When she gestured toward a stool pulled up to the island, Dean made himself comfortable. Although the stool's twin was right next to him, Kate declined to take a seat next to him. She stood across from him, leaving the expanse of the countertop between them.

Dean didn't wait for Kate to get things rolling. On the way over he'd decided the best way to handle this was the Band-Aid method. Best to just rip the thing off than to try to remove it carefully. It always ended up being more painful that way.

"We're soul mates," he revealed, and then he paused to allow Kate time to take it in. The news didn't seem to come as great a shock to her as it did to him. She drew back a bit, but rapidly a wave of acceptance swept over her. Kate casually crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned into the counter, bumping her pelvis against it.

"Was that so hard to admit, Dean?" she asked. Although she had guessed that the angel protection squad had been dispatched for something more than a hunch that they would make a good couple, hearing Dean confirm her silent suspicions was a combination of relief and apprehensiveness.

Having said the words aloud, the truth of her statement was obvious. He shouldn't have lied to her. But then again, hindsight was always twenty-twenty.

"It's not that it was hard to say. I'm just not sure if I believe it. Cas has been known to lie if it serves his agenda."

"Think logically, Dean. Why would your friend lie about something like that? I can't see where there would be anything to gain for him," Kate said, trying to help him reason through it.

"Maybe he's trying to get me to settle down. Give up hunting," he guessed, running a hand through his shortly cropped hair.

"You told me that you did that once though and it didn't exactly work out. What I don't understand is why even if I am your soul mate, why I would merit that kind of protection? Who are you, Dean Winchester?" Her question was an honest one.

Dean wasn't sure how to respond to it. Most days he wasn't sure who he was anyway. When pressed, he defined himself as Sam's big brother and a hunter of the bad things that went bump in the night. Shouldn't he be more than that? Or were those things enough in themselves to define him?

His soul, or what was left of it, told him different. There was, and had been a gaping hole in his life. He had tried to fill it with various things over the years: his job, women, his obsession with his car, drinking too much, and protecting Sam. Through it all he'd never, ever felt anything like being fulfilled. Sure, there had been those small moments of victory; and he'd relished each one, but the hollowness had remained. Even his short experience as a dad hadn't worked.

"You know, Kate, I wish I could tell you why Cas would do something like that for me. I KNOW I sure as hell don't deserve it."

Impulsively, Kate grabbed his hand, and gave it a sharp squeeze. "Dean, clearly Cas, or someone else thinks you do. Isn't that enough?"

The weight of her words hit Dean like an eighteen wheeler, something he unfortunately had previous experience with. He looked down at where her hand covered his, and as he raised his head to meet her steady gaze, he could feel his eyes welling with guilty tears. He felt one slip down his cheek, but before he could brush it away, she did it for him. Her hand lingered briefly, and then she pulled it back, knowing he wouldn't want her to comfort him too much.

She had made him cry. Without ever meaning to, she had made this man feel incredibly vulnerable. Kate felt vaguely embarrassed, and wondered if she should walk out of the kitchen and leave him alone. But that almost seemed like it would be equally cruel, if not more so.

Silence lingered between them for a moment, both at a genuine loss of what to say to each other. But Dean hadn't survived all these years to be undone by a woman seeing him cry. It seemed that old saying about the truth being painful wasn't all that far off. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was relieved she knew the truth now. Now he wanted the same from her.

"So tell me why you finally dumped your fiancé," he reminded her. Had she caught him cheating on her? He could easily imagine that jerk thinking he could get away with it and that Kate would look the other way.

"Fine, Dean, but I want you to know that you're the first guy I've ever talked to about this. I barely even discussed it with my mom. It was probably the worst day of my life." It didn't get much worse than your fiancé making a scene in front of his whole family , including calling her every vile name in the book because she'd finally stood up for herself after months of letting him crush her spirit.

Since the tale of their break-up wouldn't make much sense without some context, Kate did her best to give Dean a brief recap of how they had gotten together in the first place. Their initial dates had been very low key, and not in public. Both of them worked long hours, and really didn't have the energy to go out and do much after work. Instead he'd just come by her place, bringing take-out and DVD, and they would just hang out.

Steve let things develop slowly, realizing it was hard for Kate to think of him as something other than her boss. He didn't push for a physical relationship either. The make-out sessions and heavy petting on her couch seemed to satisfy him. For her part, Kate was pleased because despite her experience with Dean she wasn't very comfortable with her body.

Within a couple of months though, their relationship did progress. It had been entirely different from the night of passion she'd had with Dean. It had been awkward, and Steve kept the lights off. In the end, she faked it, but told herself it would get better. It had, but only marginally so. Still, Kate told herself that orgasms didn't make for a great relationship. What mattered was that Steve cared about her.

She knew that she was important to him. He began inviting her to family functions where she spent more time with the entire Morton family. They'd all been nice to her, at least to her face. She was pretty sure Steve's parents weren't thrilled about their golden boy dating a lady that sold cookies for a living. But Steve encouraged her, told her it was great she was doing so well with her business. It had meant everything to her at the time.

Once the bakery stabilized Steve convinced her to hire more help so she didn't have to be there every moment it was open. Not long after, he proposed, and she had accepted, feeling incredibly lucky that he had chosen her. Steve could have had his pick from women younger and better looking than her, but SHE was the one he wanted. Their engagement even made the front page of the local paper.

Kate immersed herself in wedding plans, but almost immediately problems began to arise. Her preference was for a small wedding without too much fuss. Steve insisted it had to be big because the Morton's were so important in Clearwater. He had to invite important customers, and that wouldn't be possible with an intimate event. In the end, she gave in order to stop his complaints.

Slowly but surely, all of her suggestions and desires were pushed aside in favor of those provided by a professional wedding planner the Morton's imported from Chicago. The only areas she was allowed to have input in were her dress and the wedding cake (since she was going to make it herself). Kate could have forgiven Steve turning into groomzilla, but when he began to drop broad hints about what their life would be like after they were married, she began to wonder if she was making a huge mistake.

"Kate, excuse me for being dense, but you were still gonna marry this guy, even though he couldn't make you come and didn't even let you have the wedding you wanted?" She must have really loved the idiot. It was the only possible explanation.

"Just wait, Dean, it gets better." And by that, Kate clearly meant the opposite.

They had been attending a cocktail party after hours at Morton Vinyl when Kate overheard Steve telling people she wasn't going to be returning to work after the marriage. That had been news to her, and when they were alone that night she told him so. She fully intended to keep working. She loved her job, and she wasn't going to walk away from it. She had worked too long and too hard to give it up, she had thought he understood that.

He informed her that Morton women didn't work. It just wasn't seemly. He was willing to compromise and let her continue running the bakery if that would make her happy, but her days of getting her hands dirty were going to be over. Besides, if they were going to have a couple of kids, she was going to have to get pregnant as soon as possible. She couldn't be a good mom if she was working all the time.

For the first time in her life, Kate was struck dumb, her jaw literally dropping open of its own accord. She could not believe what she was hearing.

"Please tell me that five seconds later you unloaded on him and told him where he could shove that barefoot and pregnant 50s housewife crap," Dean growled, eager for her to continue.

"Actually, I didn't do anything. I told myself that I could convince him that he was wrong. God, I was stupid." And desperate. Her chances of getting married were getting less each year. He'd had a good point about having children. If they were going to have kids, she probably would need to get pregnant the first year.

A month before the wedding her mom and step-dad flew in from Boston to see her as a surprise. Kate had been thrilled to see them. Steve invited them both to the traditional Morton family Sunday dinner as a way to welcome them both to the family. Her mom has been seated across from Steve, and when he told her Kate was going to stop working after the wedding so she could focus on being a wife and mother, she had become incredulously wide-eyed. She demanded that Kate tell her if it was true. Was she going to give her life up for a man?

"It was like her words brought me out of a trance. I realized Steve couldn't possibly love me if he was going to take my life over like this. I was better off alone and doing what I love."

"And so I ended up pushing back from the table, standing up, pulling the ring off, placing it on my plate, and I walked out, with my mom and step-dad following me. As we walked out he screamed some truly terrible things about me in front of everyone." Kate stopped for a moment, and then added, "So you can understand why I don't like discussing it with anyone."

"You know, Kate, just give me his address, and Sam and I can arrange for his ass to get shot full of rock salt. No questions asked," Dean deadpanned.

Kate instantly got a mental picture of Steve in the emergency room, and she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Thanks Dean, but I don't think I can take you up on your generous offer. The bastard might deserve it, but you and Sam would get into an awful lot of trouble with the local cops." She didn't doubt they could do it either. Kate had witnessed first-hand how good they were with guns.

"Oh please, Sam and I have gotten away from much tougher guys than them," Dean said, dismissing her concerns. "And I'm not even talking about the supernatural tough guys. Sam and I have had the privilege of being wanted by the Feds."

Relaxing for the first time since she had begun confiding in Dean, Kate finally let herself take a seat beside him. Just being near him felt incredibly good, like being wrapped up in her favorite fuzzy blanket.

Leaning in toward him she purred, "Now that's a story I'd really like to hear."

Dean slipped off his jacket, and laid it out neatly on the counter. They were going to be here a while.