Soo... this is my first chapter fic of Supernatural and hopefully not the last. The first part of this has 5 chapters, so it's pretty short.
Don't worry, there IS a sequel, but I don't know whether to post it as more chapters here or to give it an entirely new story thing. It really doesn't and won't ever make sense if you haven't read this one!
Anyway, I'm going to upload a chapter every week or so. Quick notice - the more reviews I get, the quicker I update!
Dean Winchester grumbled as he trudged into the living room, dragging his Batman backpack along the floor. "Don wanna go," he sniffed to his mother, who was buttering him a piece of toast.
"Dean, you're a big boy now," Mary knelt beside her son, "And big boys have to go to play group."
"I'm only four!" he said, holding up three fingers, causing his mom to chuckle.
"Yep, and all four year olds go to play group," she countered, lifting her son and placing him in a chair. "Now, eat your toast before your father comes down." Dean huffed and began pulling apart his toast, getting butter all over his fingers. They'd need to be washed before he left, meaning he could splash water all over his clothes and change, delaying their start to day care.
John came downstairs dressed in a navy suit over a white shirt and a blue tie. "How do I look?" he asked Mary, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Extremely well dressed," she replied, straightening his tie.
"And how's my little champ this morning?" John directed his attention to the messy boy sitting at the table.
"Don wanna go to play group," the four year old said resolutely.
"Yeah, well, daddy doesn't want to go to this interview but we can't all get what we want," he replied, "Your hands are all sticky, Dean, let's get them washed up!"
"Do NOT take that boy into the bathroom," Mary called from the stairs, "There are baby wipes on the coffee table."
"Busted," John grinned at his son, who was now sulking, "Your mother knows you too well!" Dean said nothing, but didn't refuse when his dad gave his hands a clean.
Dean didn't say anything more until they arrived at the play group. "I'm not gonna know anyone," he sulked.
"That's the best part, Deano," his dad grinned from the driver's seat. "You get to make loads of new friends!"
"I don't want to make new friends!" his lip quivered and his eyes teared up, "I want to go back to the old place and play with Jared and Jensen and Misha!" The waterworks had started now, and Mary jumped out of the car to cradle her child in her arms.
"It'll be okay, Dean," she whispered to her son, "We'll all go out for ice cream tonight, how does that sound?" Dean nodded, wiping his closed fist over his eyes.
"Okay mommy," he forced himself to smile, although he really didn't feel like smiling.
"And who knows, they might have Batman toys inside!" John joined them at the side of the car, watching as Dean's face lit up. If there was one thing that could stop Dean from crying, it was the thought of there being anything to do with Batman inside.
Dean grasped his mother's hand as they walked up to the front desk, where a woman was checking in two boys, while their father glanced at his watch and glared at the poor receptionist.
"Is this going to take much longer?" he said in a monotone, "I have a meeting I'd rather not be late to."
"I'm sorry, Mr Novak, Castiel is new here so we need to get the documents in order before we can-" she tried to explain, but was rudely cut off.
"Well, I don't have time to wait for flimsy pieces of paper," he said coldly, with a hint of anger in his voice. Alarmed at the sudden outburst, the receptionist looked back at her computer and quickly printed something off and handed it to Mr Novak.
"You need to sign that during the day and bring it back when you come to collect Gabriel and Castiel," she spoke calmly but quickly, "It's to declare that you're willing to allow us to take Castiel in for the day, Gabriel's is still valid for this year."
"Great," he said, roughly folding the piece of paper and shoving it inside his suit pocket.
"Don't leave, daddy," the youngest, presumably Castiel, grabbed the corner of the man's suit.
"Don't be such a baby," the man replied, pushing the little hand away from him, "I'm out of here." And with that, he turned and left his two children without as much as a goodbye. The little dark haired boy scrunched his face up and began to wail hysterically, while the older of the two, with blond hair, just shrugged and waited for the receptionist to open the door that led to the play area.
"Hey, Castiel," the receptionist took the boy in her arms, "You wanna join me behind the desk for a little while?" The boy nodded, tears and snot still pouring down his face. "You go on and play, Gabe." The blond boy pushed open the door and sauntered inside, a scowl on his face. John had never seen a boy look so unhappy.
"Hi," the receptionist gave John and Mary a smile, "I'm Ellen Harvelle, the life and soul of play group,"
"Hi," John returned her smile, "I'm John Winchester, and this is my wife, Mary."
"And the little guy must be Dean!" Ellen sat at the desk, a grizzly Castiel placed on her knee, and smiled down at Dean, who had cowered behind his father's legs. "We've had five new starts this year, and Dean's the last to arrive,"
"Well, he tried to get out of coming," Mary said sympathetically, "He's always had trouble making new friends,"
"Oh, well, I'm sure he'll make plenty here!" Ellen smiled, "How about Dean and Castiel go into the play area together, while I sort out the paperwork?" Castiel looked like he was going to turn on the waterworks again, but Dean took it in his stride.
"Cas-tel…" he tried, but realised it didn't sound quite right. "Can I call you Cas? I can't say your full name." Castiel just nodded, putting his thumb in his mouth. Ellen lifted him down and Dean grabbed his other hand. "Come on Cas," Dean grinned, "Let's go play!" The boys disappeared through the door into the play area.
"Well, that was easy," Ellen sighed, "I didn't think Castiel would leave my side all morning!"
"Hmm…"John mused, "Is their father always that…" he searched for the right word.
"Cold?" Ellen suggested, "Unfortunately, yes. Gabe's been coming here since he was two – he's five now – but I refused Cas entry last year because he was so small and could hardly walk."
"Poor lad," John shook his head, "I bet their dad didn't much appreciate that!"
"Well, between you and me," Ellen lowered her voice to a whisper, "I've tried to find a way to get the boys taken off him, to no avail. They didn't care that there was a three year old in the house that was still crawling."
"He was three before he could walk properly?" Mary gasped, her head turning towards the playroom door that was firmly closed. "Dean was tottering around at one!"
"Yeah, well, Castiel didn't seem too enthusiastic to come last year either… At least he can walk and sort of talk now," Ellen shook her head, pulling a piece of paper from the printer, "I just need you to sign here, and here, and then we're good to go!" John and Mary exchanged glances, but both signed their names on the dotted lines.
"Do you mind if we say goodbye?" Mary asked as she handed back the papers.
"Not at all, come on through," Ellen stood and led them through to the playroom, where at least fifteen children ranging from three to five were playing noisily in different areas. "We try to rotate the playing – some play with costume, some with dolls, some with the cars, and so on, then after about an hour we rotate them round so they're doing something new and playing with different children. I do think we'll keep Castiel with Dean for today, at least," she gestured to where the two four year old boys were sitting on the floor, with Batman action figures in their hands while Dean explained the whole game to Castiel, who was watching him with wide eyes.
When Dean saw his parents had entered, he placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder and said something they couldn't hear, before running to his parents. "Me and Cas are gonna play Batman!" he grinned, "He's gonna play as the baddies and I'm gonna play as the goodies!"
"Sounds great, Deano," John ruffled the boy's hair, "We'll see you at three, then?"
"See you at three," Dean nodded, hugging both his parents before running back to where Castiel was waiting for him.
"Yep, definitely going to keep those two boys together today!" Ellen smiled as the two boys began to play. She showed the Winchesters out and reassured them Dean would be in capable hands, before returning to the playroom to help her co-workers, Jody and Ash, watch the children.
Gabriel sulked in the corner, glancing over at his little brother who seemed to be happily playing with Dean. Dad wouldn't like that. Castiel would be bending his ear all the way home, and that never ended well for either of them. Gabriel had long since learnt to keep his mouth shut about playgroup, and he didn't join in with the other children anymore. He found it easier not to get too excited when asked about his day when he hadn't done anything too exciting in the first place. He supposed Castiel would learn that tonight, when he got a beating, because no doubt the little brat would be full of himself. Gabriel had tried so hard in the past year or so to shelter his brother from their father, who had taken the leave of their mother when Castiel was a baby very hard. He couldn't remember a time when their father was loving and warm, but the photos on the mantelpiece in their home, showing pictures of the four of them together, showed that those times had existed. In every single one, his dad was smiling at the camera, one or sometimes both children in his arms and one around their mother. Gabriel didn't have any memories of her. He knew what she looked like only from the pictures – she had the same golden hair as him, but her eyes were bright blue like those of Castiel. Gabriel's eyes were grey, like his father, and occasionally expressed the same steely glare his father wore all the time. Maybe he'd spent too much time with the man.
Gabriel was right about his predictions. When their father came to collect them, Castiel started crying. Again. He didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay with Dean and Garth, his two new friends that had played with him all day. "Castiel," the man said sternly, grabbing his arm, "We're leaving, I don't have time for your blubbering!" Castiel froze in shock, and allowed his father to drag him out of playgroup and to the car outside. Dean stood at the window and waved, a confused frown on his face.
"Miss Ellen?" he asked, when it was just him and four others left while he waited for his parents to arrive.
"Yes, Dean?"
"Why doesn't Cas' daddy love him?" Dean asked, sitting beside the older woman, "My daddy and mommy love me, but Cas' daddy doesn't seem like he loves him at all!"
"I think Castiel's daddy does love him," Ellen said hesitantly, "He just… loves him differently than you're used to,"
"But he looks evil, like Penguin from Batman." Dean frowned, resting his head in his hands, "I don't like him, and I don't think Castiel does either."
It wasn't long before Mary and John arrived to collect Dean, who had gone back to playing with the cars on the play mat. "MOMMY!" he yelled when he saw them, "DADDY!" The grin on his face told them he'd had a great day and was glad to see them. "You'll never guess all the things I've done today!"
"Well," John grinned, picking up his son, "You'll have to tell us all about it!"
"And we have some news for you, too, Dean," Mary joined in, a soft smile on her face.
"What?" Dean looked at his mother, the confused frown was back, "News for me?"
"News for us all," John grinned widely, "but we'll wait until after dinner, when we have that ice cream mummy promised."
"Okay!" Dean latched his arms around his dad's neck. "Goodbye Miss Ellen and Miss Jody and Mr Ash!"
"See you tomorrow, Dean-o!" Ash called from where he was playing Barbies with a little girl.
"See you tomorrow kiddo," Ellen ruffled the boy's hair, a smile on her face. John carried him out to the car and buckled him in to his car seat.
"Can't wait to go back and play with Cas tomorrow!" Dean grinned as his dad started up the engine.
"See?" Mary said, "I told you it'd be fun!"
Oh, the chapters are pretty short... I can't write for long periods of time because I get bored. But, short and sweet is good sometimes, and in the coming chapters you'll be glad of it!
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