Gertrude Primer prided herself on being a pretty splendid high school counselor. In the small town of Hope Falls, she knew and had personal relationships with each and every one of the students that were under her, as well as their parents. Everyone knew everyone, and the graduating class this year would total in just over twenty kids. Because of her closeness to all of the students, Gertrude was always open to listen to her students, and they found her easy to talk to since most of them had known her all their lives. There wasn't a student under her whom she didn't have at least one memory of from when they were a kid. She loved her job, and all of Hope Falls Secondary School loved her for doing her job.

Life was great, going along quite superbly, until Dean Winchester sauntered into her office.

He'd just moved here a two weeks ago and was expected to leave again in a month or more due to his father's job that caused the family of three to move around the country. His mother had died nearly thirteen years ago, and he had a younger brother who was just starting ninth-grade, Sam. Gertrude didn't know the pair of brothers that well, as it seemed they like to keep to themselves for the most part. So when Dean made his way to her office one ugly Thursday morning, she was more than shocked.

"Hi," he mumbled, seemingly uncomfortable in the present situation. He was wearing a leather jacket that was much too large for him and a strange amulet hung from a cord around his neck. His dark blonde hair was spiked up, and a cocky grin was plastered on his face. His demeanor suggested that he didn't have a care in the world, a look that Gertrude hated to see in people his age. If they couldn't bring themselves to care, then how would they ever make it past high school? "Mrs. Hanson said I had to come here?"

"She did?" Gertrude asked. She didn't remember requesting to see Dean, but then again she had wanted to hear about the fight that had taken place yesterday afternoon. Fights were an uncommon event at her school, so whenever one transpired Gertrude liked to get down to the bottom of the issue so that future events could be avoided. Mrs. Hanson was one of the school's many capable secretaries, and was undoubtedly one of the teachers to intervene in the fight. She must have flagged down the new kid and told him to see Gertrude.

Dean flashed a smirk. "Well if you don't wanna see me, I'll go back to Chem. Have a nice day, Miss Primer."

He certainly held an air of arrogance and confidence. His accent was unplaceable, though according to his transcript, he was born in Kansas and has lived in each of the contiguous forty-eight at least once. Traveling all over will give you a pretty mixed accent. "No, I do need to speak with you," she said, and motioned for the student to sit down. He obliged with a slight wariness in his step, though his strong and calculating gaze never wavered.

"What's the problem, Ma'am?" he questioned politely. His well-mannered attitude didn't match his bad boy appearance, and Gertrude didn't know if the whole "Have a nice day" and "Ma'am" thing was an act or solely the boy trying to act kind. He looked genuinely concerned about why he would be in the guidance counselor's office, though Gertrude suspected that behind his clever mask that he knew exactly the reason.

"The fight," she stated simply. "I may be able to not get you suspended if you tell me exactly what happened, and why."

Dean's eyes darkened. "I punched somebody," he said bluntly, voice tight and withdrawn. "That's about it, Miss."

Gertrude frowned, not believing a word coming from the senior's mouth. As much as he was withholding his true intentions from her, she could sense an ulterior motive. "I don't believe you," she said. "Now, let's try this again. Tell the truth this time, please."

"I have anger issues," he replied quickly, though the line sounded rehearsed. His gaze was hard, and almost dangerous. Gertrude nearly wanted to send the boy from her office in fear that he would lunge. "Dad's got me in therapy here, though, so it's not a big deal."

"It must be a big deal, since you punched Connor Swaight yesterday."

The boy in front of her worried his lower lip, hands clenching into tight fists. "Well he deserved what he got," Dean ended up retaliating, the statement sounding rushed.

Gertrude clasped her hands calmly, trying to keep her eyes steady as she focused on Dean's angry ones. "How so?"

Dean smiled in a sarcastic sympathy. "Look, lady," he said, all tones of prior politeness leaving his stature, "it ain't any of your business."

Had she been a yelling kind of person, she would have exploded at the young man then and there. However, she smoothly replied, "I'm afraid it is my business, Mr. Winchester. This is my school, and you attacked one of my pupils, one that I happen to love very dearly. So you can tell me your reason and possibly get a pass, or I can call your father in here to discuss things with him. I'm sure he could tell me all about your therapy, yes?"

The poor child looked frozen. His manically tapping foot froze and his jaw clenched. He took a few breaths, then leaned forward, placing his face close to Gertrude Primer's, so close that she could smell the leather, motor oil, and gunpowder on him, making her wonder of the lifestyle of this student. The cocky grin was back as if his mask had never faltered. "For you loving that kid so much," he whispered in a gravelly voice, "you sure don't know about his after-school activities."

"W-what?" Gertrude stammered, caught off-guard by this boy's behavior. She'd known Connor's family since he was a wee tot, and the now-ninth-grade boy was as perfect as they get.

"Beating up little boys half his age, pulling a knife on defenseless kids…" Dean made a tsk tsk sound with his tongue. "You see, Miss Primer, when someone threatens my baby brother, I get mad. All consequences be damned, I'll run in there and beat the bully to a pulp. Now Sammy, he tends to attract a lot of bullies for some reason and is crap at defending himself. He actually looked like he had it handled yesterday, but when Connor-boy brought out a butterfly knife…"

Realization dawned on Gertrude: Dean was not a bully, just a protective brother. And the idea that Connor had a knife with him yesterday…

"You're suspended for two days," she ended up saying, rising from her desk.

His face was pure bafflement. "Huh?" he oh-so-eloquently iterated.

"Your motives may have been pure, but your actions were still wrong. You broke his nose and three of his fingers," she pointed out. "You're lucky his parents are too kind to press charges."

"Okay… But suspension?" Dean repeated. "My dad will kill me if he knows I have to stay home…"

"Then will in-school-suspension work for you?" she asked with a short-clipped smile. At the sight of his wife and gaping mouth, she nodded. "Wonderful. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Dean nodded slowly, a muttered "Yes, ma'am" slipping from his mouth before he left the office.

Later that day, Gertrude watched out her office window and saw the two boys her mind had been wondering about all day. There, walking side by side, were Sam and Dean Winchester, the latter's arm slung around his brother's shoulders leisurely. They seemed to be deep in conversation, and Gertrude watched as Sam's nose crinkled at some joke his brother had told. The, Dean looked backwards, eyes meeting Gertrude's through the window. He smiled earnestly, then turned back.

See you tomorrow, Dean Winchester.

Gosh, this has been sitting on my phone untouched for… four months? But I finally got it published! :D

Hope you enjoyed, please feel free to leave a review! I love to hear what you think!