Casey's first night with Sam, Dean, and John was more eventful than Dean would have liked...
Dean - 15; Sam - 11; Casey - 6
Dean held Casey's hand as they walked into the motel room that night. He could tell that she didn't really trust John at all yet, and honestly, he couldn't blame her. John was pretty rough around the edges. And with what she'd gone through, he doubted she would be able to trust grown men for a long, long time.
To be completely honest, he was surprised that she even trusted him. She had been tucked into his side the entire drive here, holding her doll tightly in one hand and his jacket sleeve in the other. She was incredibly tiny for a six-year-old; Dean suspected that years of malnourishment and going without had stunted her growth somewhat. He was still trying to get over the shock that learning her circumstances had left him in.
Casey didn't say anything as she walked through the door; she hadn't said anything since they'd left her house. She was feeling extremely overwhelmed and confused. She didn't trust John at all. He yelled a lot, something that scared her immensely. Sam seemed okay, but she still wasn't sure about him. The only person she really trusted was Dean. She wasn't sure why she trusted him; logically, she shouldn't. She still didn't know a thing about him. But there was something about the way he looked at her, the way he listened to what she had to say, the way he pushed her behind him to keep her out of harm's way, that made her feel safe. Dean felt safe. And safe was an emotion she didn't normally have the luxury of feeling.
She yawned loudly as they walked in. Dean turned to look at her.
"You sound tired, sweetheart," he said with a chuckle. "Let's get you something to eat so you can go to bed. You've had one heck of a day."
"I'm not hungry," she said honestly. She was used to making food stretch for as long as possible, so her appetite was very small.
"Well, I'm gonna getcha somethin' to eat anyway. You've gotta be hungry. You haven't eaten anything since we picked you up this morning."
She shrugged. "I had a piece of bread and a glass of milk for breakfast. I'm really not hungry."
"That's all you've had all day?" Dean asked incredulously.
She nodded. "That's what I normally have. Then I have an apple for lunch and some bread and cheese for dinner. The neighbors used to bring me dinner sometimes, but they stopped doing that a long time ago."
Dean shook his head. "Not anymore. You're not eating like that anymore. We're gonna make sure you have enough to eat from now on."
"Dean!" John shouted from the doorway. "I'm going out to get food. Keep an eye on your brother."
"Yes sir," Dean answered.
John left the room, locking the door behind him.
Sam sat down on one of the beds and pulled a book out of his duffel bag.
"I want to take a bath," Casey announced suddenly.
"You wanna take a bath?" Dean repeated.
She nodded. "I know how to do it myself."
"Okay then. The bathroom is just through that door. Do you have pajamas?"
She shook her head sadly. "I used to, but I got too big for them. Now I sleep in my clothes."
Dean went to his duffel bag and rummaged through it until he found an old shirt.
"Here," he said. "Wear this." He tossed it toward her.
He was surprised when he saw her shriek and dive under the small table in the room.
"Casey?" He bent down under the table.
She was shaking, her eyes wide.
Dean realized his mistake.
"Hey sweetheart, you're safe. Nobody is gonna hurt you while I'm here. You're safe. Nobody's gonna throw anything at you ever again, I promise you that. Okay?"
She nodded slowly, realizing that he hadn't meant to scare her.
He sighed. "C'mere."
She crawled out from under the table and toward him. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
"I've got you, sweetheart. You're safe."
"What if my Daddy comes back?" she asked quietly.
"He won't. He doesn't know where we are," Dean promised.
"But what if he finds us?"
"Then we'll give him a one-way trip six feet underground."
Casey understood what Dean was saying and relaxed. She knew that he wouldn't let her Daddy hurt her anymore.
"Do you still want to take a bath?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I'm scared to be by myself," she admitted.
"That's okay," he said. "Just change into the pajamas then. You can always take a bath tomorrow."
She nodded. "Okay."
She wriggled out of his hold and picked the shirt up off the ground, disappearing briefly into the bathroom.
"Is she gonna be okay, you think?" Sam asked.
Dean shook his head. "I dunno, Sammy. She's been shattered into a million pieces. It's up to us to glue her back together again. And that's not something that will happen overnight. It's gonna take years, and we'll most likely never fix her completely, but I'm sure gonna try my best."
Casey came out of the bathroom in Dean's shirt. It went all the way down to her ankles. She held her other clothes in her hands, heading over to her backpack to put them away neatly inside.
The neck of Dean's shirt was much too wide on her small frame and kept slipping down over one of her shoulders. When her back was turned, Dean noticed something distressing on her little shoulder.
"Casey?" he asked gently.
"What?" she asked, turning to him.
"What's that on your shoulder?"
She immediately tensed and pulled the shirt back up over her shoulder.
Dean was making an effort to be gentle and quiet so he wouldn't scare her. "Can I see?"
She eyed him warily but began inching closer just the same. When she reached Dean, he sat her down in front of him with her back facing him and gently pulled the shirt collar down off her shoulder once more.
There was a series of bandaids covering her upper back. He could tell that she had done them herself and that she hadn't been able to see what she was doing because there were several areas that had been missed by the bandaids, revealing a very long, very deep, very fresh gash below them.
Dean swore. "Casey, did your daddy do this to you?"
She nodded slowly, hanging her head.
He sighed heavily. "We need to get this taken care of. How long have you had this?"
"I got it last night," she said softly. "I fixed it myself."
"You did a good job," Dean said, "but this cut is pretty deep. I think we're gonna need some more heavy duty stuff than band-aids to fix it. When my dad gets back ill get the first aid kit from the car and patch you up, okay?"
"Okay," she said in a small voice.
"Do you have any other cuts or anything anywhere else?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. Not anymore."
"Not anymore?"
"I fixed all the other ones myself. They're gone now, but they left these funny lines behind."
John walked through the motel door at that moment.
"I got burgers," he said gruffly, tossing a bag onto the table. He went to his duffel and pulled out a worn journal. He sat on the bed and began scribbling in it.
"Cmon Sam, put the book down and come eat," Dean said, standing up. "I'm gonna go get the first aid kit. I'll be right back."
Sam grabbed the bag and pulled out four identical burgers.
"Here Casey," he said, handing one to her.
She took it from him and sat on the floor, staring at it with a contemplative expression.
Dean came in and saw her staring at her burger.
"What's the matter? Never eaten a burger before?" he joked.
He was surprised to see her turn to look at him and nod solemnly.
You've really never eaten a burger before?" he asked incredulously, taking a seat behind her.
She shook her head. "No. Do they taste good?"
"Do they taste good? Kid, burgers are as close to heaven as your gonna get here on this rock. Try it. You won't regret it."
She raised an eyebrow but complied, unwrapping the burger and taking a small bite. Her eyes widened.
"This is the best thing I've ever eaten in my life," she said honestly, taking a bigger bite.
"I told you so," Dean chuckled. "Are you okay with taking your shirt off so I can see your back?"
She nodded, handing him her burger and pulling the large t-shirt over her head so she was wearing nothing but shorts.
Dean bit back a gasp when he saw her back. In addition to the wide gash he'd noticed earlier, there were bruises all over the place. Small, silvery scars littered her back and arms. He could only imagine what her legs looked like.
He put a hand on her shoulder, handing her burger back to her. "This isn't gonna happen to you again, sweetheart. That I can promise."
He began to slowly remove the bandaids from her back, being careful not to cause her more pain than she already was obviously in. When that was done, he poured peroxide on one of the motel towels and started cleaning it. She flinched when he touched the gash, but didn't say anything. That action in and of itself spoke volumes about what she'd been through in her short life.
Once everything was clean, he closed up the gash with butterfly band-aids. He didn't think it was deep enough to need stitches, but he'd keep an eye on it, just in case. Finally, he covered the whole thing in gauze and taped it in place.
"There," he said when he was finished. "All done."
Casey was only able to manage half of her burger. She wasn't used to being able to eat as much as she wanted. But for the first time in a long while, she felt completely full. It was a good feeling.
She grabbed her shirt off the floor and slid it back on before turning and giving Dean a hug.
"Thank you, Dean," she said.
Dean hugged her back, feeling more and more attached to her. He wondered what his father was planning on doing with her when they got to Bobby's. Would he leave her with him? Would they drop her off at some child protective services office? Or would he let Casey come with them?
Dean wasn't going to let his father drop her off somewhere and leave her there. He had made her a promise, one he intended to keep. This little girl needed someone she could count on, and he decided that he was going to be that person.
ooOOoo
Later that night, Dean put Casey to bed with Sam.
"You and Sam are gonna share this bed," he explained, "and John is gonna take the other one."
"What about you?" she asked.
"I'm gonna sleep on the couch over there."
She nodded, holding her doll tightly.
"You don't have to be scared, Casey," Sam said comfortingly. "I'll keep you safe."
Dean turned out the lights and laid down on the couch.
Not ten minutes later, he heard the sound of rustling sheets and quiet footsteps and then felt a small, warm body curl up next to him. He didn't say anything, didn't tell her to go back to her own bed. He just held her tight, letting her know without words that he was there, he would keep her safe.
When he woke up the next morning, Casey was still there, snuggled up next to him.
That was the moment Dean decided to unofficially adopt her as his younger sister.
Hi guys, happy New Year! I wrote this one a while back and forgot about it. I was going through my archives today, found it, and decided to post it for y'all. I hope you enjoy it! I take requests for this story arc, so if you have a storyline for Casey and the boys PM me or put it in a comment and I'll get to work!