"Are you ready to leave, sweetheart?" Bonnie asked, turning to Cas, car keys in hand and her overloaded purse sitting uncomfortably on her shoulder.
Cas was finishing up putting his belongings at the top of the stairs near Dean's bedroom door, not wanting to put them in the room just yet so he didn't disturb Dean while he slept. He looked down the staircase at Bonnie, who was now standing in the doorway with the front door open. "I'm almost done." He said, heading back downstairs to grab his game station equipment, and then bringing it back up the stairs to set it down next to the rest of his luggage. He counted the bags, taking inventory to ensure all of his belongings were there and nothing seemed out of place.
Cas then stomped back down the stairs, the wood creaking some beneath his feet. He followed Bonnie out the door and to the car, getting in and strapping on the seatbelt in the passenger's seat. He looked over to Bonnie who had just started the car and was adjusting the mirrors. He took a moment to look her up and down, observing her intently. Cas narrowed his eyes at the charms on her bracelet that indicated she was probably a religious type person, judging by the symbols of the cross, jesus fish, peace sign, and other miscellaneous charms.
Bonnie looked at Cas, noticing his admiration for her bracelet and she met his eyes with a bright smile in her own. "I got it at a thrift shop." She said sweetly, playing with some of the other loose charms, turning it around her wrist some.
"Oh.." Cas nodded and gave a brief smile, then turned his head away in embarrassment for her catching him staring at her bracelet.
Bonnie turned away from him as well, looking through her mirrors as she backed out of the yard, careful not to hit anything behind her. "What kind of bed are you thinking of getting?" She asked, placing the gear shifter to the illuminated "D" and hauling off down the street.
"Um, I guess the same kind as Dean; you know, so it fits in the room and doesn't take up too much space..." Cas let his voice trail off as he looked at the window, taking in his surroundings and trying to familiarize himself with the local area.
"Well, let's see what we can find. We'll check out Salvation Army first."
Cas nodded in concurrance to her suggestion and continued looking out the window.
The rest of the drive was quiet. No music, no talking - just the peaceful sound of the occasional turn single and the other cars on the road sweeping by. A couple minutes later, they pulled up to a large factory-structured building.
"This isn't Salvation Army...Is it?" Cas asked in confusion, looking up at the large sign on the building that said "Furniture sales".
"It's inside, dear." Bonnie replied as she turned off the engine, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out of out the car.
Cas did the same, following her up to the entrance of the building. Like the gentlemen his mother taught him to be, Cas held the door for Bonnie, who nodded sweetly at him as a thank you.
The two wandered down the large hallway stacked with boxes towards the sign that introduced them to the actual Salvation Army they came here to browse through. Immediately, upon crossing the threshold into the store, Cas saw a bed he thought would be a suitable fit for the room, and also seemingly comfortable just by looking at it. It came with a wire base, and didn't sit too high up off the ground, which is actually how he liked it. A stream of excitement filled his eyes and he pranced on over to the bed, waving to Bonnie as she sauntered after him.
"This is the one you like?" Bonnie asked, watching Cas fully examine the bed by sitting on it, laying on it, and bouncing on it some. She subtly looked at the price tag and pursed her lips, thankful the bed wasn't out of her budget.
"Yep, it's perfect." He smiled up at her and nodded his head in approval, content that he found something so quick.
"Well, if you're really sure that's the one you want, I'll let a store clerk know so we can have it delivered later tonight. How's that sound?" She placed a hand on Cas' shoulder and patted it lightly, gesturing him to stand up and follow her to discuss delivery arrangements.
Upon their return home from the Salvation Army, Bonnie and Cas got out of the car to find Walter out in the yard digging through a patch of ripped up flowers with his arm shoved tightly into a hole in the ground.
Bonnie slung her oversized purse onto her shoulder and walked over to Walter, giving him a light kick in the butt to gain his attention. "What on earth are you doing?"
Walter fell forward a little, his face planting further into the soft pile of dirt infront of him. He pulled back, shaking his head to rid some of the dirt from his face and spitting out the dirt that made its way into his mouth. He turned his head up to look at Bonnie, obvious frustration showing on his face. "Those damn moles are diggin' under the house again. If we don't find 'em and get rid of 'em, they'll sink our whole damn yard and maybe the house!" He yelled, his face turing a vibrant red from anger. He shook his head in annoyance and turned back to the hole, removing his arm to dig at the sides and widen it some so he had more room to dig around inside.
"Are you sure it's moles? Maybe it's sink holes..." Bonnie commented snidely, walking away to follow Cas who was just getting inside the house.
"I'd know if it were sink holes, Bon, but-" Walter turned his head to see she'd had already walked away and he threw his other fist down on the ground, slamming it onto a soft pile of dirt. He continued shoving his other arm down into the hole in search of the mole.
Inside the house, Cas made his way up to the bedroom to see if Dean was still asleep or if he had woken up by chance so Cas could share his exciting news with his new aquaintance. He slowly cracked the door to their bedroom and peered in, resting his eyes on a still sleeping Dean. Cas sighed softly and closed the door slowly, careful not let it slam.
He turned around to face the other side of the hallway with the other bedrooms and ventured down to corridor, glancing into each room to see what they looked like and scope out the place he'd be living in for a while. He explored the closets in the hallway, taking note which one was the linens closet and which one acted as a small storage space for each kid's bathroom essentials. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, which was nice to know, considering this entire place was just very new to him and he was still very skeptical despite meeting someone he already felt comfortable with.
Cas didn't really know what to think of Bonnie or Walter at this point, except that he could tell Bonnie was just trying to be a nice person at heart and Walter had to have something crawling up his ass all the time for him to be that angry, regardless of the situation.
And although it wasn't much of a cookie cutter home, Cas was thankful that someone wanted to take him in to put a roof over his head and feed him - even make him comfortable. He stood in the hall for a couple minutes, digesting the surroundings a bit more. He turned around to look into one of the bedrooms and sauntered in, checking out the small trinkets resting on one of the side tables next to a twin sized bed. He figured this space belonged to one of the younger kids, given the amateur drawings and toys displayed on the bed and on the floor around the bed.
Cas pursed his lips and picked up what looked like a year book and opened it, observing the young faces neatly lined up on each page. He flipped through a couple more pages and set it back down on the side table where he found it. Something shining in the corner on the window sill caught his eye and he walked over to it, picking up a slim silver band with one charm laced around it that read "mom". A sorrow feeling washed over him and he began to remember his own mother - how beautiful she was. It was only a month since she'd died from a car accident and he was then put into the foster care system when his school noticed she wasn't returning any of their calls about Cas' fast slipping grades.
Times were very rough for Cas, what with his father falling into alcoholism like a never ending cliff of mistakes and regret, his mother being gone, and now being in a strange place with even stranger people. It was a wonder to him how his father got to be that way, but he had no doubt in his mind that it was actually because of his mother. And even though she wasn't exactly a saint, she wasn't a liar, either. She came clean to her husband about her wrongs, which was the concrete cause of his downfall. She had cheated on Cas' father, and for the sake of Cas, the two decided to stick together and hide their pain. However, it didn't work out as well as planned, considering their constant bickering back and forth about even the simplest of things.
Cas shook off the memory and let out a heavy sigh, setting the bracelet back down on the window sill, making sure to tuck the charm back into the corner where it originally sat.
He turned to scan the room once more before deciding to finally leave and see what was going on downstairs, and maybe even explore the rest of his new home. Being the regularly shy guy that he was, he felt already a little comfortable here in this new place, thanks to Dean welcoming him with open arms and good conversation. It was a nice feeling - being wanted and feeling secure, despite the skepticism that still lingered.
The events downstairs weren't as interesting as he thought they would be. Bonnie was now in the kitchen preparing dinner for him and Dean and the other kids who Cas figured would be home soon. He was both eager and nervous to meet them. Walter was still outside, now with a shovel, digging around in search of what he claimed to be a mole digging up the yard.
Cas walked over to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching Bonnie cut up some carrots for a stew. He looked the petite woman up and down, endlessly studying her movements. He drew in a deep breath and cleared his throat. Bonnie looked up at him and gave him a quick smile with her eyes and then turned her attention back to her brisk chopping of the carrots.
"What's for dinner? It smells delicious." Cas complimented, taking a large whiff of the salty aroma of beef boullon.
"Oh, just a simple stew, dear." Bonnie replied, her voice soft and sweet as usual. Once she was finished with the carrot she was working on, she moved over to grab an onion and pulled the garbage can over to her side so that she can start peeling it.
Cas stepped forward, offering to take the onion from her. Their eyes met as Bonnie looked up at him and tilted her head in curiosity of his actions. "Oh, you don't have to help me. Maybe you can set the table?" She said, taking back the onion and pointing with her chopping knife to the large round table in the other room adjacent to the kitchen.
Cas followed the knife in the direction it was pointing and nodded his head at sight of the table, and then turned back to Bonnie, his eyes squinting some. "I've never set a table before."
Bonnie chuckled some and walked over to the counter, setting down the onion and chopping knife, and taking out the tray of silverware sitting in the utensil drawer. She turned and handed it to Cas, and he accepted it, holding it up to his chest horizontally to make sure nothing slipped out.
"Forks on the left. Knife and spoon on the right. Knife goes on the inside, closest to the plate, with the serrate facing in." Bonnie instructed, now going back to peeling the onion over the garbage can.
Cas bobbed his head as he walked over to the table, setting each piece of silverware as Bonnie told him so, noticing there were already plates set out for 11 people.
After he was finished placing the silverware accordingly, he returned the silverware organizing tray back to its rightful drawer and turned to Bonnie. "Anything else, um...Bonnie?" He asked, pushing a piece of hair out of his eyes.
"You can just call me 'Mother' if you like, dear. Might make you feel more at home." She said, still focused on the onion in her hand.
Cas forced a slight smile and waved his hand to her in dismissal, fleeing from the kitchen after her awkward comment to address her by "Mother." He stood in the living room for a moment, leaning against the wall closest to the dining area, staring up at the ceiling, pondering his next move.
Cas had barely been at this house for more than four hours and already, he was bored out of his mind. What was there to do around this place, anyways? But as soon as questions started sifting through his head, he heard the door bust open, and three young girls swarmed in.
They were incredibly loud, talking all at the same time, excited and proud and seemingly happy. Cas turned his head to get a good look at them and figured it might be a good idea to introduce himself. He pushed himself away from the wall and approached the tallest girl, who looked to be probably about 14 or 15.
"Hi, uh.. I'm.." He started, but could feel the tightness in his larynx, and he let his voice trail off as the girl stared at him blankly.
She raised her brows high on her forehead, giving him an impatient stare. "You're...?" She started, but was then cut off.
"My name is Castiel, but you can call me Cas, and I'm not from around here, but I just got here, and I'm new, and I'll be staying in Dean's room because there's no other room for me here other than bunking with the sick child." He spat out in one solid breath, as quick as he possibly could. His eyes widened some at his nervous ramble and he let out a deep sigh of discomfort.
The girl smiled cheekily at him and gave him a light pat on the shoulder, easing her way towards him. She looked up and into his eyes, focusing on the deep blue orbs staring back at her. "You don't have to be nervous. We're all pretty nice here, except...Walt...just steer clear of him and you'll be golden." She advised, following her suggestion with a light smile and brightened eyes.
"Thanks, but I already got that hint after trying to speak with him myself, earlier. He's not very friendly." And stating the obvious wasn't very attractive, but Cas went with it.
The girl stared into Cas' eyes for a couple more moments before breaking the gaze and walking around him. "I'm Naomi. And the two little girls that came in behind me are Charlie and Anna."
Cas nodded slowly at the brief introductions and turned to meet Naomi's face again, this time taking in her persona, analyzing her like he did everyone else at the house. "Where are the others? Aren't there eight of you?"
Naomi grinned cheekily and licked her lips, pondering at the enormous amount of curiosity flowing in Cas' tone. "They'll be back just in time for dinner. There's still Michael, Gabriel, Samandriel, and Zachariah. They're all brothers, and they're really annoying." Naomi caught a glint of annoyance growing in Cas' eyes as he learned that there were so many of the same family in one foster home. She pursed her lips and extended a hand, gliding her nails softly against his cheek to brush off a spat of dirt. "They're orphans, you know? And they're young. Dean is the big brother and takes in everyone under his wing, and we all consider each other siblings here. So, you just have to get over it."
Cas nodded again, pushing her hand down from his face with his own. "So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" Cas asked, the nervousness still shaking his tone a bit. He reached his hand to the back of his neck and played around with the short hairs, trying to pass off his obvious nervousness.
Naomi walked around Walter's recliner and took a seat on the couch, looking around for the remote to change the station. "We usually go outside; you know, to the park or the mall or something. Have you ever been in Arizona?" Naomi asked, lifting some of the couch cushions next to her up in search of the remote.
"My mom got a job here about a year go and me, her, and my dad moved up here together...But I don't know very much about this area. The state is still pretty new to me." He explained, now helping her look for the remote.
Naomi flipped over one of the back rest cushions and snapped her fingers, victoriously locating the remote. She turned and sat straight on the couch, and flicked the channel button up to find a decent station. "Tomorrow we're going to the flea market, so you should come along. We all go there. It's pretty fun."
"I've never been to one." Cas said dryly, watching the channels flip as Naomi scanned through.
"To a flea market?"
"Yeah, I've never been." Cas shrugged and leaned back against the couch.
"You're not missing much," a husky voice said behind them as Walter shoved the door open and kicked his muddy boots off. He shook his feet out on the rug in the doorway, and stripped off his over shirt, wiping the sweat off of his face and arms with the dirtied plaid.
Cas turned around and stared at Walter for a moment and bit his lip, not sure how he should respond. Deciding it would be best to just not say anything, he turned back around and looked at Naomi for reassurance, hoping she'd accept his motions to ignore Walter's comment.
"It's fun for some of us," Naomi bit back, a small grin teasing at the corners of her mouth.
"Give me that," Walter snapped, leaning over Naomi and snatching the remote from her grip. He brought his face close to hers, his heavy breath showering her shoulder with warmth and some spittle. "If you knew what's good for you, you'd watch your mouth."
Naomi inched her face a little away from his, disgusted at his filth, and scowled in his face. She stood up from the couch, putting one foot on the cushion she was sitting on and hoisted herself up to stand on the cushion completely.
Cas' eyes went wide at her bravery, and stupidity, and stood up from the couch as well, prepared to back her up if she needed it.
"You're tracking mud in the house, and you stink!" Naomi shouted, reaching out to grab the remote from Walter's grasp, but failed and toppled over the back of the couch, landing on the ground infront of him.
Walter gave a snorting laugh and bent down, waving the remote infront of her face. "Get upstairs and wash up for dinner." He demanded, straightening up and walking around to sit in his recliner.
Cas stared intently at Walter, his body still, and his glare seemingly apprehensive.
Walter glared back at Cas, his stare deepening with anger. "You get on up there, too, newcomer."
Cas stood there, stiff, unmoving until he noticed Naomi walking around after picking herself up off the floor. She grabbed at Cas' hand, pulling him towards the stairs since it was futile to try and stick around to argue with Walter.
Cas allowed Naomi to drag him up the stairs, bringing him into her bedroom where the other two girls were. He pressed his lips together, aggravation showing in his furrowed brow. "I really don't know what his problem is."
Naomi rolled her eyes at his comment and opened the drawer next to her bed, pulling out a notebook and a green pen, and handing it over to Cas. Cas looked down at the notebook, accepting it as well as the pen, and opened it, scanning some of the pages some before looking back at Naomi.
"Just write down your thoughts in here when ever Walter's mean to you, and you'll feel better. We all use it." Naomi soothed, patting Cas on the shoulder and walking past him towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. Cas backed up to her bed, letting the edge of the bed break his fall as his knees buckled. He continued to flip through the pages, scanning through it and reading short passages on each page, handwriting both neat and sloppy and so different from the writers' before it. Uninterested, Cas slowly closed the notebook and set it down on Naomi's bed, topping it with the green pen.
Charlie looked up at him, her eyes carefully watching his movements. She let a weak smile slide neatly across her young face, and turned away quickly when Cas caught her looking at him. He smiled back at her and grunted as he laid back on Naomi's bed, examining the room from an upside down view. He noticed a couple more items floating about the room in hidden places; there were notebooks scattered under beds, stray papers lying in multiple stacks, messily covered with the skirts from the box springs, and a mutltitude of toys lying about.
A few moments later, Naomi came back into the room from the bathroom and noticed Cas sprawled out over her bed, the notebook probably untouched. She picked it up and held it to her chest as she flipped through the pages to the back of it to see if he had written anything down. Disappointment crossed her face when she saw the pages after her own writing were blank, and she closed the notebook slowly, setting it back down on the bed. "You didn't write in it?" she questioned, dismay showing in her tone.
"I might later." He replied shortly, his eyes still wandering around the room.
"It's important." Naomi said simply, turning to Cas as she laid back on the bed next to him.
"Is it?" He turned his head to face her; her face was calm and flushed with a slight rose saturation. He blinked slowly at her and let his mouth hang open some, taking in the soothing calmness of the room, listening to the scribbles from the other girls in the room.
"You should come with us tomorrow," she offered again, halfway smiling at him.
"Will Dean be able to come?" Cas sat up at this point, folding his hands between his legs, glancing out into the hall at his room where Dean was still sleeping.
Naomi sat up as well, looking off into the empty corner space at the other side of the room. "He's sick. Didn't anyone tell you?"
Cas nodded along and turned to look at her. "I talked to him briefly when I first came here today, but he didn't talk much about it. What do you suspect it is?"
"Mother calls it a bad flu, but Walter says it's some n word that I can't pronounce. It's kinda deadly if you don't take care of it."
Cas sighed softly and dropped his head, now staring at the peach carpet. "I think I know what you're talking about," he said softly, and drew in another breath. "Why don't they just take him to the hospital? They'll help him there."
Naomi shook her head and groaned, wiping her tired eyes with the backs of her hands. "We used to have a doctor who came here for the first week, but they couldn't pay her."
Now it was all coming clear to Cas. Dean was sick, and was quarantined because no one wanted him passing on his sickness, but they couldn't take proper care of him because they were low on money. Cas leaned back against Naomi's pillows and stared out the window for a moment, blankly pondering to himself about Dean's situation. It was bothering him that no one was doing anything about this sick teenager who could possibly die if left without medical attention.
"How long has he actually been sick? I remember him telling me that he's been here a couple months, but has he been sick for that long?"
Naomi hummed a little as she rocked back and forth on the bed. "Mmm, I think so."
Cas chewed the inside of his mouth some and brought himself to the edge of the bed where he stood again. He turned around, glancing at Charlie and Anna still scribbling away in coloring books, and then focused his attention directly on Naomi who was still rocking back and forth. "Do you not understand that this is very serious, Naomi? You just said it yourself - Dean could DIE."
Naomi forced her gaze to meet Cas', and sadness instantly grew in her eyes, water forming in the corners. "I don't think Walter really likes Dean," Naomi whispered, and then drew her head back in a shy manner, placing an index finger to her mouth and pursing her lips.
"You think that Walter's not taking care of Dean because he doesn't like him? Or because these people don't have money?" Cas was extremely concerned now, and anger was building up in him quicker than he could control.
Abusers. These people were abusers. Hoarding eight kids, one of them seriously ill, and they have the nerve to accept a newcomer? This was absurd. Cas wrung his hands in disbelief, his eyes darting around the corners of the room as his anxiety set in.
"I don't really know," Naomi admitted, her rocking now halted, and her head lowering in shame.
Cas' eyes softened as his shoulders slumped, feeling bad for upsetting the girl. He kneeled down in front of her and looked up into her deep blue orbs. Naomi shifted her gaze to another corner of the room, refusing to look Cas in the eyes, for she felt sorrow for Dean and couldn't explain to Cas what he wanted to hear. Cas drew in a deep breath and patted Naomi's knee softly, then stood back up and exited the room, Naomi maintaining her current position.
"Dinner's ready!" Bonnie called from the bottom of the stairs. She wiped her hands off on the rag she held and turned to look at Walter, who was still lounging in his recliner and watching television. Bonnie shifted over to Walter, grabbing the remote and clicking off the television set, hushing a protesting Walter and pointing to the kitchen. "Go get washed up for dinner. You're filthy. The boys will be back soon and we can start." Bonnie instructed, and Walter grumbled something haughty under his breath.
She smirked as he obeyed, walking to the door after hearing a series of knocks. She flung the door open to two men in red polos with Salvation Army's logo in them. She nodded her head in approval of their appearance and looked past them at their truck, indicating the delivery of Cas' bed. "Well, that was quick. We were only there about four hours ago."
"We just need you to sign here," one of the men said, handing her a clipboard with delivery papers attached to it. Bonnie provided her John Hancock and handed the clipboard back to the delivery men.
"It'll go in the bedroom just right off the top of the stairs, boys." Bonnie called out as they started walking towards the truck to unload the bed.
Weary green eyes fluttered open as Dean came to, woken up by the fierce sound of stomping and banging and yelling going on downstairs. Slowly, he stretched his arms out under his pillow and extended his legs just past the foot of the bed, then recoiled back under the covers for a few extra moments of comfort. He turned over at the sound of the room door opening, looking at Cas who was standing in the doorway. Dean shrugged the blanket off of his shoulders and sat up some, trying to come to, and rubbing the tired out of his eyes.
"You look like shit." Cas said dryly as he walked over to Dean and sat on the bed next to him. He reached a hand out and felt the warmth on Dean's forehead, frowning at how hot his skin was. He wasn't expecting to see Dean looking like he felt worse after getting sleep, but it was also quite hot in their room now, especially without the fan on. Cas pressed his lips together and ran his hands through Dean's hair, comforting him some.
Dean sat up fully and ran his hands over his face, rubbing them up and down to soothe and loosen his skin. "Thanks." Dean responded lately, his voice scratchy from coughing so much. He looked over at the clock on his side table that read 6:04 and slowly leaned back against the backboard of the bed. His head was pounding, his brain slamming against his skull, and the pressure of the headache making it hard for Dean to hear. He let out a light groan and sat there staring at Cas, his face pale from exhaustion. "Dinner ready?"
"Yeah," Cas spoke softly, almost at a whisper. He studied Dean for a long while; the two of them just sitting there in silence. Dean coughed a few times and Cas grimaced, and placed a hand on Dean's ankle. "Pneumonia." Cas' voice was still soft, but it was prominent enough to catch Dean's attention, and Dean lifted his head to look at Cas.
Dean stared blankly at Cas with a sorrow expression painted on his face. He tilted his head a little and pushed himself forward, coming to the edge of the bed to sit next to Cas. "You might be miserable in here with me." Dean coughed out, careful to cover his mouth each time he'd cough.
Cas sighed and put a hand on Dean's back, rubbing it gently to comfort him again, but Dean shrugged it off as he stood and turned to look down at Cas. "Dinner's ready." Dean said nodding his head in the direction of the door, gesturing to Cas that they should probably head downstairs.
Cas chewed the inside of his mouth again, pondering his next response, but he didn't really have one. There was nothing he could say to Dean. He felt so bad for him, and just wanted to help him get out of this abusive situation. There wasn't much that Cas knew about him, but he could tell a lot about his character just by looking at him. Dean was a stubborn person - very stubborn - to the fact that he avoided confrontation when it came to matters regarding himself. How he got this way, Cas didn't know, but he wanted to. And it bothered him that it was such a secret, and such a treat, to get to know this person who came into his life so perfectly.
It wasn't often that Cas felt like he needed to help someone, but something was different about Dean. He seemed like a sarcastic, but very sweet person - someone Cas could see himself becoming extremely good friends with. The only downfall to wanting to help someone, is that they couldn't be helped if they didn't want it in the first place. And by judging from Dean's attitude, he seemed so far gone to not even care about seeking help, even if it was just for emotional support.
Cas bowed his head and stood up from the bed, slowly walking towards Dean and moving him out of the way to make room for the Salvation Army delivery movers who were hauling his bed up the stairs. They watched as the men placed the bed on the opposite side of the room and clunked it down, and starting to set up the frame to make it ready for sleeping. Dean looked at Cas and shrugged, nudging him towards the stairs so they could go down and have dinner with the rest of the household.
The other boys had come home from their outside adventures and joined the table for dinner during the short time that Cas was upstairs with Naomi and Dean. Surprisingly, Cas hadn't realized that they came into the house, despite their rough entrance that actually woke Dean up.
The pack of 11 ate dinner mostly quietly. Bonnie and Walter exchanged glances once in a while, but mainly kept their faces in their bowls as they ate; Dean and Cas sat next to each other, Naomi and the other girls sat next to each other - Naomi sure to sit next to her newfound friend Castiel, and the other four boys sat in close quarters as well. Everyone kept to their own clique, and not very many conversations were to be had over dinner.
It seemed odd to Cas that a household with so many people - so many kids - could be this silent over what was supposed to be the loudest and most social event of the day. However, he wasn't complaining. He'd had a long day as is, and his thoughts were focused elsewhere, not really concerned about the others around him, besides Dean of course.
He didn't know what it was, but Dean had a special thing about him that made Cas instantly attracted to want to know him. He was this bundle of secret insecurities, someone who was locked away in a closed shell and seemingly not one who would open up at the hint of a question. He was mostly reserved, and Cas respected that, but that still didn't stop him from wondering.
Not only did Cas wonder about Dean, but Dean was thinking about Cas' past, too. Thinking about the first thing he said when he snidely cut off his case worker and blurted out his reason for coming to this place. Dean could understand Cas' frustration for wanting to feel nervous and out of place; he also understood that it was hard to deal with the death of a parent, although he lost his mother at such a younger age compared to Cas' new hardship.
The two exchanged brief glances as they finished up their meals together and Dean offered to take Cas' bowl to the kitchen to wash them, and then head back up to their room to get some more rest. Cas was happy to accept, and Dean did as he offered, and the two booked it up to their room. On the way in, Cas settled into his bed, bringing his belongings into the room from the hallway, and unpacking some of his easily accessible items. He mostly unpacked clothes because he didn't want to get too comfortable here, in hopes that some how he'd get picked up by a relative and he wouldn't have to pack up all of his stuff again.
Dean was sitting back on his bed at this point, watching as Cas unpacked, and also turning up to watch more cartoons on the television set now restationed closer to his bed to make room for Cas' bed.
Bonnie and Walter finished up their dinners last, watching as the other children in the household bolted from the table, washing their dishes, and going outside to spend more time in the yard before the sun went down and the day finally ended. It seemed like a pretty happy household for the most part, but there were many things that Bonnie and Walter had to discuss about Cas' new sleeping arrangements.
Bonnie knew that nurturing nine children, three who were well old enough to 'fend for themselves, would be a hassle, and she was in a hurry to find them forever homes. Money was running tight, and the disability check that Walter provided wasn't sufficient enough to keep the household going and paying for the necessities of all the children. Bonnie spent a lot of time contemplating the situation on the couch while Walter resumed his regular television watching.
The sun was quick to set on the little household of 11 and when it was time, Bonnie called the others in to come in and get ready for bed, with little social time in between. It was a nice feeling having these children here, but the Taylors were growing irritable and old and they just didn't have it in them anymore to provide a stable environment for the kids. It was a usual case that when Walter went to sleep, Bonnie would stay up and ponder some more about living arrangements, and then fall asleep on the couch.
And there she lay, asleep, while the kids were upstairs socializing still at the late hours. Walter was fast asleep in the master bedroom, drunk from the exhaustion of the monotonous lifestyle he lived. It wasn't always easy going to sleep at night with such heavy thoughts, but all of the members in the house had something to think about before they drifted off into dreamland. And in the morning when they would wake, the new day would bring them just as much stressful excitement as one before it.