𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍

𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎

The Donovans have cabins and hideaways nestled all around the country for friends looking to lay low or the family itself seeking refuge.

After the fire, Katherine Louise would drive around and check the ones east of the Mississippi, looking for the survivors of that house fire. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, South Carolina. She'd check in with Haley's police department. They even programmed her number into the call log after she'd called so many times.

They've done composites of what Olivia and Dylan would look like now, at ages eleven and nine, respectively. 

She knows she's grasping at straws. It's been seven years.

Dean went to the police station with her anyway...he quickly figured out it was the primary reason she wanted to go home so urgently.

They met a contact in the back of the place who knows of her hunting roots. Revisiting the fact that all of Katherine's family was either dead or missing raised several questions, like where is her father, Clay? He's hardly been a blip on anyone's radar.

After checking Illinois, they head back south for Katherine's birthday. They went to that whiskey bar across town. Dean had to look away every time Katherine was near Charlie. Especially when they kissed.

Eugh.

Even just thinking about it now, sitting at the bartop in Harvelle's, it made his stomach turn. 

He'd never been thrown for a loop before...not by a woman, anyway. And here he was...looping. Staring. Pining. Wondering. 

What the fuck was he supposed to do now, when she's leant against the pool table, sullen and love-sick? What was he supposed to do? He'd made it clear he wasn't moving on. She's hinted at what she wants...or at least he thought. Maybe she did, he just interpreted it as with him.

Really, she's just...sick. Worry-sick. Ever since Charlie picked up that stupid penny, it's all she could do to worry about him. When they weren't hunting, she was worrying about Charlie. Every. Waking. Moment.

That's not how it's supposed to be, right? He knows not to pick up pennies in parking lots now. He lines his windows and his doors with salt...he wears that protection amulet Katherine gave him when she first left.

He's fine.

Jo notices the younger girl's deflated aura. She was usually a ball of positive energy, smirking or toying...generally becoming the bane of every man's existence. But Katherine is quietly toying with her polaroid camera, resting her elbows on the pool table and curling her spine to get just the right light on the ball. Preoccupied. Obviously looking for a distraction.

"What's wrong with Katherine Louise?" Jo asks, leaning up against the bar beside Dean.

"She's goin' through some stuff," Dean answers with a shrug.

Jo looks at him with raised eyebrows. "Existential crisis?"

"More like a festival of self-loathing."

"Why?"

Dean shrugs. "Her boyfriend picked up a penny last month. She's been wacky every since."

Jo's brows knit together. "A penny?"

Dean makes a face and amends, "A not-penny."

She shrugs. "What the hell is a not-penny?"

Dean blinks. "You know...a not penny. A penny that isn't a penny." Jo grimaces. Dean sighs. "Never mind. The point is, he got messed with by a little ghost and she's all out of sorts and always worrying about him."