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Gabriel watched with wide eyes as Mary took the cake they'd made out of the oven. It was golden brown, and had risen nicely. It looked delicious. "We'll wait for it to cool," she smiled, "And then you can help me decorate it."
"Okay," he nodded – it seemed like a good idea to him.
"Let's go and get cleaned up then," she said, helping him untie his apron and ushering him towards the downstairs toilet. Just as Gabriel started washing his hands in the small sink, there was a knock on the front door. "Is that the people coming to see me and Castiel?" he asked, looking up at Mary.
"Probably," she nodded, "You finish cleaning up and I'll go let them in."
At the door stood two men in police uniform and a man and woman dressed in smart suits. "Good afternoon, ma'am," one of the officers said, "I'm Officer Henriksen, this is my partner, Officer Washington, and this is Emily Granger and Arran Fetcher from social services. We got a call this morning about a case of child abuse?"
"That's correct," Mary nodded, "I'm the one that called in," At that moment, Gabriel left the bathroom and stood in the hall, facing the officers.
"Is that your boy, Mrs Winchester?" the woman from social services asked.
"Oh, no, that's Gabriel." Mary replied, "He's the little guy that alerted me to the problem in the first place. Please, come on in."
"So, Mrs Winchester," Officer Henriksen started, "Can you explain how this claim came about?" She nodded, explaining that Mr Novak had pretty much shoved the boys into her care for the weekend and when she'd taken Gabriel upstairs, he'd told her that his father had hurt his brother and himself. "On removal of Gabriel's shirt, I saw the bruising and a deep wound that he told me was inflicted by his father," she continued, "He warned me that his brother, Castiel, was in a worse state than he was and then later begged me not to send them back to live with their father."
"And what immediate action did you take upon hearing this awful news?" he questioned.
"I cleaned the wound on Gabriel's shoulder, and at the same time, I asked my husband to retrieve Castiel so that I could do the same with the three wounds on his back, which were slightly infected," she said, "John, using his military training, then bandaged them back up so that they'd stay clean overnight. The bandages were changed again this morning."
"Right, we've got your statement recorded," Officer Washington said with a straight face, stopping the recording device. "Do you mind if the social services team take a look at the boys?"
"Not at all," Mary said, "I'll go and get them."
"Can you bring Dean, too?" Emily Granger asked, "We'd like to speak to him about his friends."
Mary had sent Gabriel to play with Cas and Dean until he was needed, and when she interrupted them, they were all lying on the floor on their stomachs making crayon drawings of each other.
"Come on boys, you're needed," Mary smiled warmly. Gabriel was the first to his feet, knowing the seriousness of the situation. Castiel and Dean probably didn't fully understand, but then, they were only young.
"Even me, mommy?" Dean asked.
"Especially you!" Mary said, "Go and head on through to the dining room and introduce yourselves."
Dean arrived ahead of the Novak boys, climbing up onto the chair Mary had previously occupied. "Hi," he grinned, "I'm Dean Winchester!"
"Hello, Dean," Officer Henriksen smiled, "Have you been being good for your mother?"
"I'm always good for my mommy," he nodded enthusiastically.
"Do you know why we're here, Dean?" Emily asked gently.
"Uh huh," he said, his tone more serious, "You're here because Cas and Gabe's daddy isn't very nice." At that moment, Castiel and Gabriel walked in, holding hands. Gabriel's expression was almost unreadable, whereas Castiel looked like a deer caught in headlights. His face was white and he looked terrified. Dean hopped down from his chair and headed towards his friends. "This one is Gabe," he pointed to Gabriel, "And this is my best friend in the whole world Cas," he placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder.
"Hello, boys," Emily spoke calmly. "We need to check your injuries, if that's okay?"
"And then we'll ask you how you got them," Arran Fetcher smiled.
"Okay," Gabriel nodded, and Castiel copied, but still didn't speak.
Mary stood at the door while Emily and Arran unravelled the bandaged from the boys, watching their faces drop as they saw the severity of the wounds. Emily's fingers traced over the bruises on Gabriel's back, causing him to wince slightly. "Sorry, hon," she said apologetically, "I take it they're very sore?"
"Uh huh," he nodded.
"How did you get them?" she asked gently as she wrapped him back up.
"Dad hits me a lot, so I have them all the time," he answered, "He has a whip thing with that razor wire stuff wrapped around it and he dragged it across me and that's how I got the cut thing,"
"Is that the same for you, Cas?" Arran asked as he assessed his wounds, which had stayed clean this time. The boy, who still hadn't spoken, nodded.
"I think we have enough proof now," Emily helped Gabriel with his shirt and then stood, turning to the Officers that had been watching from afar. "I'd like to file a case against Mr Novak for child abuse, and to obtain a warrant to remove the boys from his care immediately."
"We'll take you to the station to fill out the forms," Officer Henriksen told her, "I'll tell the men to look up everything there is to know about Mr Novak, find out his car registration and where it was last seen, then move in to arrest him."
"And we'll never have to see him again?" the light had returned to Gabriel's eyes. It was heart breaking to see a little boy seem really happy that he would never have to lay eyes on his father again.
"No, you won't," Emily smiled, "We may need to speak to you again though, to record a statement, just in case your daddy denies the charges and we have to take him to court."
"But I won't have to see him," Gabriel said, "So that's good."
"Mrs Winchester, is it alright for the boys to stay with you for a few nights, until we can find a more permanent solution?" Arran asked.
"Of course, they're no trouble," she replied, "And Dean loves the company."
Two months later, Gabriel and Castiel were honorary members of the family. Mary had refused to let them go into care, and had insisted on looking after them until they were suitable for adoption, or until such a time as their mother could be traced. When she'd left, she hadn't made it easy to be found. The guest room had been transformed into a room for Gabriel, and Dean's room now had bunk beds for him and Cas. Mary was close to her due date and all three boys were excited for the arrival of baby Sam, who was to be the fourth boy in the family.
One day, though, about a week before Mary was due to give birth, she received a phone call. She'd been home all day, and John had gone out to pick the boys up from playgroup, so she pushed her enormous self from the chair and hobbled towards the phone. Pregnancy had always made her limbs feel like lead, and today was no exception. "Hello, Winchesters," she said, trying to sound less tired than she was.
"Is this Mrs Winchester?" the voice at the other end asked.
"Yes, may I ask who is calling?" she replied.
"It's Emily Granger, from social services," the woman spoke, "We have some news for you, so you might want to sit down."
"I'm sitting," Mary said with an exhausted sigh, trying to get into a comfortable position on the dining room chairs.
"We've found the mother of Gabriel and Castiel Novak," Emily said.
"Oh…"Mary sounded dejected.
"She expressed an interest in taking full custody of her children, so we met her at our office yesterday and asked her a few questions," Emily said cheerfully, "And she checks out. She says she'll be able to take the boys back within two weeks."
"They're a big part of the family now," Mary frowned, "It'd break Dean's heart if he had to say goodbye."
"Mary, hon, we all knew this might happen, that there was always a possibility that she'd want them," the woman tried to reason.
"So I'm just expected to hand over two boys we've looked after like our own to an absolute stranger?" she argued, not ready to let the situation go.
"I'm sorry, Mary, there's nothing we can do," Emily said sympathetically, "The woman is their legal parent and has every right to take them back."
"Right," Mary sighed, leaning back against the chair, "I supposed I'd better prepare them for the inevitable."
"I'm truly sorry, Mary. I'll speak to you over the next week with the details." The receiver clicked off, and Mary rested her pounding head in her hand. Where had this headache come from? She wasn't sure, but when she stood up, she immediately fell forwards onto her knees, and then onto her side. She could remember hearing the front door open and close, the sound of little feet on the laminate, and the shouts of John before she fell unconscious.
CLIFF HANGER! ;)