"Hello?"
"Jim? What happened? What are you doing there?"
"Dean broke his hand. He told the school to call me, that I was taking care of the kids while you were out of town."
"Is he ok? What happened?"
"He's fine. I took him and got it set and a cast put on. Where are you?"
"Just outside La Crosse, WI. Poltergeist."
"You were over 200 miles from your kids? What if the school hadn't been able to reach me? As it was, I'm still 100 miles away. It took me nearly two hours to get there."
"Did the school say anything?"
"No, Dean lied and told them I was staying here at your place with the boys, but that I had to run up to the church for something while they were at school. I forgave him for it."
"How did he break his hand?"
"He got in a fight."
"Put him on the phone."
There was a shuffling noise, and then a soft "Hello?"
"Dean Eric Winchester! What the hell has gotten into you? Did you even think about what you were doing before you got in that fight?"
"No sir."
"Obviously not! You don't get into fights, while I'm gone! You're just asking for trouble! What if the school people hadn't been able to get in touch with Pastor Jim? Were you gonna tell them I was away on a job?"
"No sir"
"I damn sure hope not, because you and Sam both would have ended up in foster care! And they probably would have sent you to different homes! You're lucky you didn't end up in juvenile detention! Broken arm or not, when I get home, I'm going to beat your ass!"
"Yes sir."
There was a shuffling noise again.
"John. You were loud enough I could hear what you said to Dean."
"Jim, he was ... "
"Wait a minute. Not that you asked, but Sam is ok."
"Wait. What? What do you mean, Sam is ok?"
"Just what I said. Sam is ok. I had the emergency room check him over too. Nothing's broken, but he's got a black eye and a busted lip. Teeth are ok, none of them loose."
"Wait. Dean got in a fight with Sam?"
"No, Dean got in a fight to rescue Sam. Three bigger kids attacked him. Dean jumped in and beat up the other three. One of those kids is already in foster care and the juvenile justice system. He's still in sixth grade but he's fourteen years old. He beat a kid so bad the boy had to be hospitalized last year."
A heavy sigh. "You said Dean's ok, other than the broken hand?"
"Yeah. He broke two bones in his hand, he's got a split lip, and his eyebrow was split open. The doctor glue the eyebrow, didn't have to stitch it. The three kids that attacked Sam, on the other hand, all had to have medical attention. Dean knocked out a total of seven teeth, gave all three boys at least one black eye, gave two of them cuts that required stitches. The fourteen year old was hitting Sam while the other two held him. Dean dislocated the kid's shoulder and hyperextended the kid's elbow and wrist."
"Sounds like he tried to rip the boy's arm off."
"That's pretty much what the principal said. They told me it took three adults to pull Dean off, and even then, with the broken hand, he was trying to wrestle away from them until Sam came over, put his arms around Dean and said he was ok and for Dean to stop and breathe."
"Three bigger kids were beating on Sam?"
"Well, actually only one was hitting him, the other two were just holding Sam so he could do it."
"Why were they messing with Sam?"
"He was wearing Dean's coat and one of them wanted it."
"They were Dean's size?"
"Two of them were bigger. They were all sixth graders, but like I said, one is fourteen. I figure the other two were probably twelve or thirteen."
"They could have killed Sam. Kid's only seven and he's small for his age."
"Well, I sure hope an adult would have stepped in before it came to that, but they could have really hurt him."
"And Dean took them on by himself to defend Sam."
"Yup."
"Why was Sam wearing Dean's coat?"
"Sam spilled something on his. Dean washed it in the sink last night but it wasn't dry."
"What was Dean wearing?"
"A tshirt, a sweatshirt, and one of your flannel shirts."
"There was snow on the ground when I left. He must have been freezing."
"There's still snow on the ground, John. I'm sure he was freezing. How long have you been gone?"
"Three days. But I'm on the way back now, should be there in two hours or so."
"Good. Because otherwise I was going to take the boys home with me for the night."
"Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Dean and all three of the bullies were expelled from school. I got a copy of his records so you can take him somewhere else. He insisted Sam wasn't going back there without Dean to protect him, so I got a copy of Sam's too. You need to know you're an idiot for leaving a twelve year old and a seven year old home alone for three days. And you need to know that I think you owe your son an apology."
"Yeah, you're right Jim. Thanks for being there. I'll talk to both boys when I get there."
"All right. They've already had dinner. See you then."
John walked in with pie and ice cream. He let both boys eat as much as they want. He checked their injuries and signed Dean's cast. He ruffled his oldest son's hair, told him he was proud of him for taking care of Sammy this time, and sent the boys off the bed.
He walked Jim out to the car.
"That wasn't what I meant about apologizing." Jim looked pointedly at John.
John sighed. "I know." He ran his hand through his hair. "I'll talk to Dean in the morning, make it right with him."
They both knew he was lying.