Kate and John

The relationship between John Winchester and Kate Milligan started in January of 1990 when John came into the ER after getting torn up by a ghoul he had been trying to hunt in the small town of Windom, Minnesota. Kate worked in the ER as a nurse and had been for the past several months. She worked the late shift so when he came in late, she was on call to help. Over the two or three days that John was in the hospital, she took it upon herself to become his main caregiver and friend, even. She listened to him, but never asked exactly what had happened, sensing perhaps that it was a private matter and she wouldn't get the answers she sought anyway. Besides caring for him, she also brought him comfort when she brought in a phone so John could call his boys and let them know his situation. She found it incredibly endearing that this tough as nails, rugged looking man also had a heart of gold for his two boys. He explained to her that his wife had died when the boys were very little and he had been a single parent since then, never moving on, never forgetting his true love.

She explained to him that she had dated a string of losers and was currently off the market. That didn't stop Kate, though from asking him out the second he got released from the hospital. He accepted and they went out on a date for dinner at the local diner. When the evening was over, Kate couldn't bear to say goodbye to him just yet. She invited him back to her place for a continuation of their date. He accepted and they made their way back to her condo. Soon, Kate and John found themselves talking about things that Kate never thought she'd ever talk with him about.

They both could see the growing, mutual attraction between them. John explained to her that because of his life, he couldn't ever enter into a lasting relationship with her, that anything that happened between them would be a one-time thing. She was secretely heartbroken by this but insisted that it didn't matter, that anything would be better than nothing. She knew that her behavior might be considered "scandalous" by her family but she knew that this was something different.

He hesitantly agreed and they retired to her bedroom for the rest of the night. By the next morning, John had to go. She was sad to see him go, but also strangely satisfied. She had had one of the best nights of her life with this stranger and intended to store it away into the back of her brain and consider it a rare treat. Before he left, John gave her his cell phone number to call him if she ever needed anything. She took the number and stored it away somewhere safe, she neve intended to use the number but felt it was nice to have it on hand just in case.

About a month later, Kate got the shock of her life when she discovered that she was pregnant by John. She wrestled with her decison to keep the baby, but based her final decision on a firm belief that whatever happened, it was meant to be. This pregnancy was meant to be. She employed a trusted friend to babysit nights while she worked and worked with that arrangement for as long as she could.

When she first found out she was expecting, she honestly thought about calling John and letting him know, but she also knew that chances were, it wouldn't have worked out anyway. She knew that his life was tied up in whatever work he did with his boys and she knew that she would not settle for an absentee father. She decided to keep the news to herself and her trusted family and friends for twelve years.

Once Adam was eleven, she started leaving him alone at nights after installing a state of the art security system and making sure that he knew all the typical rules of the house: Don't open doors, don't answer the phone unless you know who it is, etc. Over the next year, she saw a deep yearning in Adam for a father--especially his real father. She tried to make up for the lack of his real father by dating several men over the decade, but all turned out to be disappointments and that only reinforced Adam's desire for his real father.

It was only when Adam found John's number in Kate's room that she finally gave in and tried calling him, not even sure the number would still work after all these years. To her pleasant surprise, it did work and they had a nice talk before the conversation got around to why she was calling all of a sudden. She explained to him that she had discovered she was pregnant shortly after he had left and that he was now about to turn twelve and wanted desperately to meet him.

John, on his part, was understandably shocked by the call from Kate and also from the bombshell that she dropped on him. He was speechless but also yearning for a chance to know Adam. He arranged a time to see Kate again, and she gave him the address of her new home in Windom. He drove all night in his eagerness to get to the small town. When he finally did get there, he was stunned to see how much Adam looked like him right down to the dimples and attitude.

Kate was thrilled for Adam that he finally had John in his life, but a secret part of her was also jealous, not wanting Adam to be far away from her, but she also knew that he needed this. She and Adam and John soon settled into a comfortable routine that worked well for each side: John would visit Windom about once a year and take Adam to do various activities for the weekend. This worked well for Kate, who got to finally enjoy rare alone time and also spend some much needed time catching up with her friends and family who lived out of state.

During one difficult period, Kate had started going out with Davidson Miller, an investment banker that she had met at the hospital in much the same manner she had met John, but this guy, unlike John, was a complete jerk and loved to show Kate off to his friends like she was his trophy girlfriend and a piece of meat instead of his girlfriend. Things didn't go much better with Adam, who Davidson did not like and treated like he was yesterday's trash. He constantly grabbed Adam and tried to tell him what to do, and for reasons unkown even to herself, Kate stood by and watched it all happen.

She didn't know how much this had effected Adam until he was practically halfway out the door. She tried calling him, tried calling John where she knew Adam was, but all John told her was to make sure she got rid of Davidson before he brought Adam back. She knew she should feel angry that John was witholding Adam from her, but she also knew that he was right: She had let love blind her actions and she realized that finally. She broke things off with Davidson for good and called to let her boys know the decision.

When Adam came back, she knew there was still room for change: She talked with John and told him that they needed to do more things together as a family. He agreed. She admitted to him that she was sad. Sad that they couldn't be what Adam wanted them to be. John shared her feelings, but told her that with his job, he wouldn't be someone that could be there all the time and that he would probably end up hurting them.

Later the next year in spring 2005, the family took a trip to Yosemite National Park in California. The trip was special to Kate for two reasons: One was that she and John and Adam were finally doing something together, just the three of them. And two, she finally got to get away from her job--as much as she liked it--she needed the time away to bond and reconnect with the men in her life.

The trip went off without a hitch, she enjoyed camping and enjoyed getting to see Adam put to work the skills he had learned in Eagle Scouts. She also immensely enjoyed seeing the relationship between John and Adam grow, something that she hadn't beared witness to before. When the trip ended, Kate was disappointed but also satisfied that it had gone off so well.

In late 2005, something mysterious happened: She and Adam were suddenly unable to get hold of John. She thought that was odd, but didn't dwell on it too much, knowing that John would call when he was good and ready to. A few months later, with still no contact from John, she began to get worried but not worried enough to call anyone, knowing that he could take care of himself better than just about anyone.

In Februrary 2006, she was sitting home along while Adam was at a friend's house for the weekend. The unthinkable happened: She was attacked and killed by a demon, Meg. She was out seeking revenge against John for the killings of several of her relationships and decided to take her anger out on Kate. Kate succumbed to her injuries before the police ever got there. After she died, Meg took her body and hid it in a field, knowing it was sloppy work but also knowing that the police would assume it was a murder mystery--something that would never get solved.

When John heard of her death, he was devastated by this blow, knowing that her death meant that he had no other option but to train Adam up to become a hunter, the very thing that John fought against for so long.