Chapter 4: Adjustments

Because Castiel did not need sleep he was acutely aware of when the first Winchester woke up. Dean had gotten out of bed shortly after seven and went to check on Sam's room. Sam was still asleep, so he had returned to his room. Castiel thought it may be a good time to begin to prepare sustenance for the children. Growing boys needed 1400-1600 calories daily to be healthy, as well as a balanced diet of plants and animal based products to meet their bodies' demands. He had read a few books on dietary planning as well as proper cooking techniques the previous evening and hoped that the information would assist him in keeping the boys well fed.

Operating household appliances was a bizarre experience for Castiel. He did not understand why humans had to overcomplicate everything. If all he wanted to do was cook an egg, why should there be so many different switches and dials? Why not just make one labeled 'egg'? He was frustrated, as he knew it would be a giveaway if the Winchesters saw him struggling with the appliances. Few humans his age would struggle to use a stove. He decided he would study the manuals later that day to make sure he knew how to use them thoroughly. For now, he appeared to have gotten the burner on and placed a greased pan on it (apparently greasing a pan was important, nearly every recipe mentioned it). He then cracked an egg into the pan and watched it sizzle. Mercifully the toaster was a much simpler appliance, all he had to do was push down a small lever and the device made bread slightly crisp, as most humans prefer it with their breakfasts.

When he had made three plates of food (as it would be odd to the boys if he did not eat) he went upstairs to tell them that breakfast had been prepared. Dean was in his room, awake, looking at the ceiling. He appeared to be deep in thought. Castiel wished he had the ability to read Dean's mind and so engage him better, but seeing as he was not a seraph, he simply told him good morning, "Hello Dean. I have prepared a breakfast for us downstairs. It is eggs and toast with an option of bacon."

He attempted to smile cheerfully, mimicking the muscle movements of some humans he had seen, but based on how Dean's eyes grew wide he may have accidentally scared the child. Castiel quickly relaxed the muscles in his face as he went to Sam's room. The younger boy was still asleep in his bed, though he had gotten nearly ten hours of sleep the night before. Due to this Castiel decided it was time to wake him up for breakfast.

"Sam, it is your Uncle Castiel. I would like you to awake from your slumber. I have prepared a meal and would like the three of us to dine together." Castiel stood with his face inches from Sam's sleeping body, causing him to jump slightly when he awoke.

"Uncle Castiel, can you back up a bit. You're really close."

Castiel realized that humans were quite protective of their personal boundaries and remembered that one of the books he had read mentioned the concept of a child's personal space 'bubble'. He had figured it referred to their aura, but it appeared he had misinterpreted the information.

"I apologize, I had forgotten your 'bubble'." He took a small step back, leaning up. "Come Sam, it is time to eat."

Breakfast had gone well, with Dean and Sam both enjoying Castiel's surprisingly good cooking. After the meal Castiel informed the Winchesters that he was going to take them to school to be registered.

"I understand that Sam is too young for kindergarten, but the school does offer a pre-kindergarten program that I will register him for. You Dean, will be registered for the third grade." Castiel addressed Dean as he helped Sam tie his sneakers. "Let us go to the school. We must not waste time, I have an appointment for you both this morning."

The town was quite small, and as a result the school was also much smaller than the ones Dean was used to. Dad usually enrolled him for a few weeks or months here and there as they moved around. He did okay, but never really bothered because he knew he'd be somewhere else soon enough. Here, however, he realized he was going to be staying-so he had to make a good first impression-it mattered that the other kids like him, he wouldn't be able to blow them off and try again with the next group.

The one story brick building had a small playground enclosed in a chain link fence. As Castiel parked the car Dean looked at the play equipment and saw a few children running around. They looked about his age, so he figured it made sense to be polite in case they ended up as his classmates. He waved as Castiel walked him and Sam to the main door, a girl returned his greeting and smiled. Inside the school was quite simple. A single hallway divided the building, with one room for each grade, a combination gym/cafeteria/auditorium at the end, and a small office directly in front of the entry doors. Castiel escorted Sam and Dean to the office and motioned for them to sit down in some of the wait chairs while he spoke to the receptionist.

"Hello, I am Castiel Winchester. I have an appointment to register my nephews Dean and Sam."

The woman smiled, "Mr. Winchester, yes, you're right on time."It was exactly 9:15. "Principal Martin is in his office, why don't you and the boys go to meet him. I'm sure he'll be pleased."

She gestured towards the door behind her. Castiel nodded politely, refraining from trying to smile, as he assumed it would have a similar result on her as Dean. Sam and Dean sat side-by-side with Castiel on the end in front of a small wooden desk. Like the rest of the school the principal's office was also quite small, barely having enough room for all three of them along with the principal and few pieces of furniture in the room.

"So, Mr. Winchester, I see you've just recently moved to the area…" He glanced at the admissions paperwork Castiel had submitted. "And that your two nephews are going to be are newest pupils here at North Plains Elementary." He smiled at the boys. "I'm sure you two are going to do just great here. I do have a few questions, however, about Dean's education. It looks like he has attended nineteen different schools, many in vastly different parts of the country."

Dean cringed. He was unsure if Cas knew about hunting or his father, and if he did, he certainly didn't want his principal thinking his family was nuts by hearing about the supernatural before he even started classes…

"His father was a professional hunter, often moving from area to area to follow the big game. As a result, Dean and Sam followed him and Dean was enrolled in the schools in the area. Now that their father has passed," Castiel paused, "I have been given their charge, and I fully intend to have them enrolled here for the foreseeable future."

Did Cas know about his Dad? It made sense, they were brothers…

"I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Boys, I certainly hope if you need anything you feel comfortable letting someone know. Our guidance councilor, Mrs. Beckett, would be more than willing to listen if you ever need to talk to someone."

After the brief interview Sam and Dean had to go to the library and take a few tests while Castiel filled out paperwork, apparently the application form was just the beginning to enroll the boys. Given his limited knowledge of their medical history he knew he would have to take them to a doctor soon to see if they were up to date on everything.

While Sam sat on a rug and got to identify colors and letters Dean had to work on a packet. There were a bunch of different parts, some of them were timed-the woman helping him would use a stopwatch-but most of it wasn't bad. That was, until the last two pages. There were two blank pages at the end of the packet with a small box at the top containing a writing prompt. Dean hated writing, especially when he had to do a lot of it, and two full pages would be a lot.

"Can I skip this part?" He looked at the proctor, who he would later learn was Mrs. Beckett.

"I want you to try your best on every part of the test. If you need a break before we do the last part, that's fine. We can take a five minute break and you can get some water." She smiled. "A lot of kids have trouble with one part of the test or another, so far you've been doing pretty well!"

Dean smiled, he'd never been told he was particularly bright, especially by a teacher. Usually they didn't get a chance to know him well enough for him to make an impression before they moved on. He took her up on the water break and then tried to answer the first prompt. By the time he was finished half the sheet his hand felt like it was on fire. He wanted to write a lot more. He knew the words he wanted to say, but his hand didn't let him say them right. He sighed as he put the pencil down and rubbed his wrist.

"Are you okay Dean?"

"I'm fine. My hand just hurts when I write."

She looked concerned for a minute before asking, "Does it always feel like that, or just right now because it's a test?"

"Any time I write it feels bad."

"Does it ever feel odd when you do other things?" Dean didn't know why she asked, but figured he might as well be honest, maybe he could get out of writing if she knew.

"Whenever I try to be really careful with my hands-like eating or tying my shoes or playing with Legos. Then it kind of hurts, but not as bad as with writing."

"Do you want me to write the rest of your response for you?" She pointed at the paper where Dean's handwriting had broken down into scribbles shortly after the third line.

"Yes please."

After rewriting what he had written, Dean finished saying his response to the first question, then dictated his response to the second one. Sam had finished earlier on and was now happily flipping through a picture book while sitting in a chair in the corner of the library.

"You are a very articulate little boy." Mrs. Beckett complimented Dean, impressed that he had picked up so easily on the theme of the story-something many children his age found tricky.

"I'm not little." Dean stated, but realized he shouldn't get mad-this woman wasn't insulting him, it was a compliment, "But, thank you."