Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respective owners, Eric Kripke, the CW.

A/N: I love Wee!chester stories, so I thought "Why not write another one?" So, this one is "What if the boys had a Parent/Teacher Interview day." But John's still full of lots of angst. So, read on...

Emotional Torture

Ms. Stewart couldn't help it. There was something about those two boys. Something about them that just wasn't quite right.

The Winchesters, Sam, grade 1, and Dean, grade 5, had only been in the school for the past month, but she noticed something about them. As a grade-school teacher, Ms. Stewart got to see an interesting aspect of children that high school professors didn't get to see. And being Dean's teacher, she really got to see something in him and his brother.

They were different than the other kids. Something stood out with them.

Maybe it was the way they were always together. Every lunch, Ms. Stewart would observe Dean scanning the playground until he found Sam. Then they would go off to the sidelines, watching the other kids having fun, while they sat alone, eating whatever lunch they had, and sometimes that was nothing at all.

Maybe it was the way they dressed. In all her years, Ms. Steward had seen spoiled children, all dressed in brand new clothes, clean, ironed clothes. But Sam and Dean... they wore tatters. Every piece of clothing they owned had some sort of hole in it or some speck of dirt, oil stain. Hell, Ms. Stewart could have sworn she saw blood once, but when class had started, Dean had changed his clothes to something else torn.

Maybe it was the dead look the older boy exhibited. She could tell he tried to hide it, but when he thought no one was looking he would let loose, and the look would plaster his face. It was the look like he had given up, like he was scared, alone, angry. Sam was still too young to understand the kind of emotion that Dean had. But Dean knew something... something Sam didn't possibly.

Or maybe it was the fact that she had never once seen their father, which was, as far as she knew, all they had left. Neither boy ever took the bus, someone picked them up. She tried to get a sneak-peek at the one inside the classic car, but she only ever got close enough to hear a deep voice bark for them to hurry.

The teachers had all noticed the Winchesters. One of the other teachers, who seemed to have too much time on his hands, had a serious theory that maybe the boys' mother walked out on them, left them alone with their father. It was rude to even say something like that, but it was something to speculate, and something easy to do when her class was working quietly with Dean sitting in the back, clearly not doing his work... again.

But it felt true. These boys didn't seem to act like they had a mother figure at all. They looked like they hadn't been cradled to sleep or sung to in a long time. Maybe their mother did walk out on them. Maybe it was just their father figure who picked them up, who looked after them like he did, kept them looking like they did.

Either way, Ms. Stewart was excited and a little nervous at the same time. Ms. Stewart had told the class about Parent/Teacher Interview day. That day was one week away. The days moved fast and suddenly that day was here.

--

When John Winchester entered the room, Ms. Stewart knew it. The man brought a sense of foreboding about him. Almost a sense of death. It was hard for Ms. Stewart not to tell he was in the room, especially when it was one full of school things, like desks, papers, etc. John Winchester just didn't seem like he fit in at all. He looked exactly like his sons, forlorn and ragged. Then another parent entered the room. It was like a switch had flipped. John Winchester went from solemn to silent, backing into the shadows at the side of the room, melding in with the background. The other parent, dragging her snotty little girl behind her, asked if coming back in 10 minutes would be all right. Ms. Stewart nodded. Surprisingly, the other parent exited the room as if there wasn't somebody standing in the shadows right beside the door. And when she was gone, John came back into the light.

It wasn't something that one would have noticed. But Ms. Stewart was looking for something in John Winchester, so she noticed. And she didn't like it.

John stared at the teacher for a short moment, while Ms. Stewart gathered her thoughts. Finally Dean's teacher cleared her throat and asked, "Where's Dean?"

John, who had a grave look on his face, lingering among is shadowed eyes, replied, "He's coming." His voice was quiet.

As if on cue, Dean, with little Sammy clutching his hand, walked into the room. Upon seeing his father, Dean suddenly gave of the same air of confidence that John did. Incredible. He had never really shown much emotion in class. But apparently this single father figure had a big influence on him.

"Come on, Dean!" John's voice was rough, hollow.

"Yes, dad," Dean replied leisurely as he attempted to re-adjust his brother's grip to his other hand. Eventually, Dean wounds his way through the desks to where John stood facing Ms. Stewart.

Ms. Stewart was determined not to get flustered now. "This is a routine interview to make sure you know how your child is doing in school."

John nodded.

"Presently... Dean could be doing better. He seems to slack a bit on his work."

John's eyes flashed to where his son stood to the right of him, his shoulders slightly bent. But the look didn't linger, and John returned his eyes to Ms. Stewart.

She cleared her voice again. "It's something that should be taken seriously. If your son is going to succeed in life, get a good education and a job, he's going to need to learn the basics."

Ms. Stewart could tell John really wanted to say something, and judging by the look on his face it wouldn't have been very nice. But she watched as John seemed to bite his tongue to hold back whatever snide remark he wanted to make.

"Anyway, I feel this needs to be corrected soon."

John nodded. In the same rough voice John replied, "I'll be sure to get right on that." But Ms. Stewart could clearly hear right through his sarcasm. He wasn't planning on fixing anything.

"Look Mr. Winchester. You may not feel an education is important, what with your unemployed status, but this boy could have a good future. You just have to help him!"

John didn't respond. His eyes almost seemed to flash black at the remark.

But Ms. Stewart was irritated... hell she was beyond that. "Mr. Winchester, I don't much know about what happened to these children's mother but..."

At that point Ms. Stewart saw it. Something sprang across John's face, like a rage hidden deep inside that finally boiled over. And for once in her life. Ms. Stewart was truly scared for her life. She couldn't help herself and she took a step backward, bumping into her own desk, and then stood frozen to the spot. Her eyes moved to John's and locked on. John Winchester's mouth opened, his fists were raised to his side. Ms. Stewart felt it then that she might actually die. She could definitely tell this man in front of her was completely capable and totally willing.

Then something happened, and Ms. Stewart was finally able to divert her eyes away from John's. Dean had taken his own stance between John and herself, facing toward Ms. Stewart. She couldn't believe it. Dean, the Dean, the one who showed no emotion ever, actually had the same look of complete anger on his face as well... only something else was hidden on his face. It was profound sadness. Ms. Stewart was struck speechless. Then she heard a little whisper.

Dean's head was still dipped a little, but she heard a soft voice coming from him. He said, "Don't talk about my mom." He then looked her right in the eye and yelled, "Don't you dare!"

She was breathless. These two Winchesters were pissed. Something awful happened, way worse then just having mommy walk away. Something bad went down. At the mere mention on her, it set off a flare.

Movement. Something moved to her left. Little Sammy. Sam had come forward and was now holding his big brother's had, and, with a pleading voice, asked, "Come on, Dean. Can we go home now?"

Upon hearing his little brother's pleading, Dean released his death grip on his own hands, and grabbed Sam's tiny hands.

"Please, Dean?"

Dean then finally looked at his brother. He sighed. "Yea Sammy. Yea, we can go home. Right dad?"

John's face had gone red. Beat red. He was still fuming. Dean grabbed his father's balled fist. "Dad?" It was time for the fire to calm the blaze. "Come on, Dad." A pause. "Please."

That little word seemed to finally get through John's momentary insanity. He was pulled out of his stupor, quicker than he was in he was out. His eyes turned back into shadows. His face turned peach/pale. He sighed and his mouth closed. Though his hands remained in fists, he was calm now. Definitely calm enough that Ms. Stewart felt it safe to breathe again.

Ms. Stewart couldn't believe it. This young man, the quiet one of her class, had calmed the beast. He had brought the calm with a single word. Suddenly, Ms. Stewart could see the trust these three shared. Each one trusted the other to help each other, even to get through something like a night of anger. These three were truly a family. Although a scary one.

Dean then grabbed little Sammy's hand, and whispered, "Come on, buddy. What'say when we get home we put on a movie. You can stay up late to watch it, 'k?"

"'k, Dean," Sam replied with a grin.

They started to walk away when Dean suddenly looked backward and gave Ms. Stewart a very apologetic look. The look was very sincere and Ms. Stewart found it very hard not to forgive. Dean then shot John a look and John followed his sons out of the room without a second glance at the dumbfounded teacher.

--

The next day, Dean wasn't there. No one knew where he'd gone. The next day and the day after that were the same. It went on and on, but there was no sign on the Winchesters. Finally someone stopped by their rented place and found it empty, completely stripped of everything, no evidence that they were even there. It was Ms. Stewart. She noticed immediately that no one at school even noticed Dean or Sam to be gone. Things just went on as if they were never there.

But they left a lasting impression on Ms. Stewart. Not that they scared the shit out of her, but that they were a family, that's for sure. But they were more than that. They were a family of great pain. Something had happened to them. Something that made them strong and weak at the same time. Something that she couldn't even begin to understand. And though she was scared shitless when the eldest, John Winchester, stared her down, she would never forget them for another reason. It was their togetherness. Family forever.

To be Continued...

A/N: Well? It wasn't my greatest, but I HAD to write it. Please review!

And make sure you read Part Two too!