Chapter 7
It did not seem real to Caleb that he had lost the case. A judge who heard all the same evidence he heard, sided with the people who had the power of taking the boys from them if they defied a single order given to them. The problem was that Caleb had no idea how he and Jim were supposed to follow the order when they were stronger as a team. Jim could not be left vulnerable by himself, and Caleb could not envision separating from them.
Sitting in his seat as he tried to overcome the immediate shock of such a thing happening, he was dimly aware of Dawn standing to say something to the judge. Her argument was that the boys should be allowed to stay in their home until the proceedings were over; be allowed to stay with Caleb. The judge swiftly turned down her argument on the grounds that the pictures of the boy's arms proved intent and probable cause.
Supposing he should consider himself lucky that he was still being granted visitation rights, he rose from his chair and tried to gather his thoughts enough to move from the crowded courtroom into the cool air that slashed his face like a whip. Moving to his car, his entire body was numb while he tried to think about the implications of their family separating from each other. They could not; not when the demon was still after them.
One person against a whole army? That would never work. For that reason, Caleb immediately denied the notion that he would be forced to separate from the boys unless it was with a court-appointed monitor. No matter what consequences he would face from defying the court, he would not sacrifice the safety of the boys for anything.
Swallowing the baseball-sized lump in the back of his throat, he hurried to his car to get out of the cold. Dawn was walking behind him, but he barely noticed her appearance. His mind was going through all the potential repercussions from either obeying the order, or defying it. Either he would bend to what they wanted, or he would do something risky and avoid having to part with them.
Either option was not desirable in the least, and only presented them with more pain later on. His hands shook when he retrieved his keys from his pocket, and tried to unlock the car. Fury was the one other emotion that was on his mind as he sought to escape from the chatter in his mind.
If only those people knew.
If only they knew the horrific danger they would be putting the boys in if they allowed their family to be parted with each other. If only they had the slightest inkling what caused the marks on Dean, and the training session that ended with the bruise marks on Sam's arm. Marks that Caleb did not mean to cause. None of his explanations mattered when the office believed they had enough evidence to send the case forward.
Somehow he had to return home and inform his family of the ruling the court made. As if they did not have enough worry in their minds, they now had to contend with something like this happening. It was not fair, but there was nothing they could do now. An appeal was going to be made by Dawn, but would it happen in enough time to affect the ruling?
"I'm so sorry," Dawn said, catching up to him by his car.
"It's—it's not your fault."
Caleb would have loved nothing more than to place the blame on her for not securing his victory for him, but he knew it was not her fault. How could it be when CPS was simply stronger in their argument? Especially with the evidence to back their claims up. Dawn was a powerful attorney, but the presence of CPS and the prosecutor, proved to be too much for even her to combat.
Dean and Sam were the two beings he thought about as he forced himself to talk with her and not give in to the pressing temptation to lose his sanity in the face of this happening. Even though the possibility had ran through his mind that he might end up losing, he never seriously entertained it until he heard the judge make the ruling.
"I thought we had it," Dawn said, shaking her head. "They can't prove where the marks came from, only that it was consistent with being hit or punched. It does not directly point to you."
"That's the way they think," Caleb said. "Why wouldn't they?"
He was the one who was in charge of their day-to-day life, along with Jim. Although his friend had been lucky to avoid prosecution for the same charges, he wondered how he would feel when he sat him down and told him about the decision in court. Caleb had been a daily fixture in their lives for the last ten years, and ending that was inconceivable to him.
"I know that I haven't seen you with the boys much, but I can tell you that you must be pretty amazing with them. I know a good parent when I see one, and you're definitely one of the good ones. This hearing does not change that fact, Caleb."
"I hope so," Caleb said. "Now? I have to tell them that I can't see them without some monitor supervising my every move with them. If I hug them? It will be judged. If I kiss them? Same thing. If I do anything with the boys from now on, it will be put under a microscope."
Caleb always viewed people who had to see their children under supervision with a look of pity. Until a judge made the same ruling only minutes before, he never thought something like that would happen to him. There had been no reason for anyone to suspect something as atrocious as abuse until the principal made the fateful call.
"The judge has some leeway when appointing a monitor. If you want, I can make a request for either Jim, Bobby, or myself to supervise the visits."
"That's be great. Thanks."
"If you want, I can go with you to tell them."
"That's okay; thank you."
He could not bear to imagine the thought that his time with them later that evening, would be the last he would spend with them as a family. He could not fathom having to go home and shatter the stability they had. More than that, he had no clue where he was supposed to go at such short notice.
"I'll file an appeal first thing."
"Will it be there in time for the judge to see before tonight?"
"No," Dawn replied softly. "You have to have the boys at CPS by five. It will take a day or so for the request to be approved, and then for the judge to see it."
"Okay," Caleb said, bowing his head as he squeezed the tears from his eyes. "Thank you."
"I'm sorry. Again."
"I appreciate it."
Hugging her goodbye, he climbed into his car and started the short drive home. Dean's birthday was in a few days—he would be sixteen and he would not even be there to help him celebrate it if the judge was serious about imposing this restriction on him. For the last decade, he had been there to spoil both boys on their special days and make it unforgettable for them.
For the first time since he gained custody of them, he would be unable to be there. It was the big things as much as it was the little things. Their bedtime routine that almost always ended in a pillow fight, would be no more. Their movie nights? That would be a thing of the past as long as he was not allowed to see them without supervision.
Five o' clock was only a few hours away. Too soon. Their hearing had not been called on time, and as a result, he and Dawn had to wait longer before their case was called. Now it was pushing three 'o clock, and the window of time he was allowed to enjoy with the boys, was rapidly dwindling.
Scrubbing a hand down his face when he turned into their street, he wrote a script in his mind of what he could say to lessen the blow of telling them something like that. Was there a guidebook for how to gently break the news that he no longer had custody of them? That CPS thought he was an abusive monster?
Pulling his car into the garage, he wished anyone but him could tackle the task of telling them. Both boys would have vastly different reactions to what was going to happen. Sam would react the strongest on the outside, but it would be Dean who would have the toughest reaction on the inside. Swinging his keys on his finger, he hesitated before opening the door.
The house was silent when he walked in—it was not a surprise to him. The boys were either watching TV, or were resting. Striding into the living room, he noticed Dean lounging on the sofa. There was something on the TV that looked like an older cartoon.
"Hey," Caleb said, announcing his presence.
"Hey," Dean said, adjusting his position so Caleb could sit with him. "What's up?"
"A lot," Caleb said with a sigh. "Where's Sam?"
"He's upstairs," Dean grinned. "Trying to finish some volcano science project."
Caleb had never known a kid to be as obsessed with school as Sam was—each day he came home with a certificate for completing a task, or even helping someone. It was a wonderful outlet for him.
"Is that the one that was assigned last week?"
"Yep. Remember when I had to do that?" Dean asked, shaking his head.
"Um, yes," Caleb replied with a laugh. "I remember the giant mess in the kitchen."
"I remember the goop that was on the floor...and the walls."
It was hard for Caleb to forget the many adventures he shared with the boys, and the various school projects they were assigned. The messiest ones always involved the science projects their teacher gave them. Like Dean correctly deduced, the volcano experiment had been the messiest, but also the most thrilling one for both of them.
"That's difficult to forget."
"So," Dean said, scooting closer to him. "Where were you today?"
"I had a court hearing with Dawn. It was pretty early, and it lasted up until tonight."
"You...did?" Dean replied slowly, his usually confident voice, wavering in doubt and uncertainty. "What happened?"
Caleb hated to look at the uncertain and scared look on Dean's face. It was a result of having everything go wrong for them. If it was not the YED, it was their friend dying. If it was not even that, it was now CPS starting the investigation into their lives. There was only so much one family could bear.
"The judge...he..."
"He what?" Dean demanded.
"He agreed with what CPS was saying. He took my rights to you and Sam, and he slapped me with supervised visits."
There was dead silence from Dean as he tried to process the bombshell Caleb dropped on his crowded shoulders. In the space of time it took for him to speak again, Sam appeared in the room. His bright eyes were alight with suspicion as he sat himself in-between Caleb and Dean. It did not take Sam long to take notice of the tears in Dean's eyes, and the blank look on Caleb's face.
"We have to go somewhere," Dean whispered. "We have to."
"Where's Jim?" Caleb asked, not willing to do anything without talking to him.
"He's working," Sam said. "What's going on?"
If telling Dean proved to be a challenge on its own, Caleb could not imagine what Sam would think of the latest development. Pulling him close, Caleb tried to tell him as gently as he could. Watching Sam's shoulders slump in defeat, it took all of the self-control the hunter possessed not to start crying with them.
"When do you have to leave us?" Sam asked, his resolve starting to falter.
"In about two hours...that's why I need to know where Jim is so we can discuss this."
"He's working out of town," Dean said. "Some deacon in another church had an emergency."
"Okay."
Caleb had no clue what he was supposed to do now that his friend was out of town. It made the burden of the decision rest on his shoulders. Staring at the house he had grown to love in the small town of Steele County, he could not bring himself to think about leaving it. Their memories were there, both good and bad. It was where Sam learned to walk and talk. Where Dean learned to shoot, and where he started training with Caleb.
"I can't believe this," Dean said, watching Caleb as he tried to call Jim. "Why? Why us? Why do you have to go anywhere?"
"Because the judge believes everything CPS is feeding to them. It's crappy, and it's not fair. It's what we have, though."
It was laughable to him that he would be accused of abusing Sam and Dean, when he knew the truth, when the boys knew that he would never hit or punch them, and had certainly never denied them medical treatment when it was warranted. It was one of the many downfalls of the hunting part of their life, and how the authorities who couldn't understand, were now punishing him for something they had no clue about.
Unfortunately, it was the boys who ended up paying the price for their choice. Not him. Even though his heart was breaking at the idea of saying goodbye to them, of having to walk away when he had done nothing to deserve it.
"But you didn't," Sam argued, shaking his head, denying what Caleb and the courts were telling him. "You have never hit us or done anything to hurt us."
"I know that," Caleb said patiently, winding an arm around both boys. "If only the judge thought about your opinions."
"You shouldn't have to go anywhere," Dean said.
"Dean-"
"We can't be separated, Caleb. You know that. With Yellow-Eyes trying to find us, we can't be left vulnerable."
"So what choice do we have?" Caleb said. "We don't have one."
"Yeah, we do. We run. We get back to the safe house, and call Jim to go there from his meeting. That way, the police may not even know until it's too late. We can't be separated, Caleb. You know that."
Even though running went against everything that Caleb believed in, and what he felt comfortable with, he knew that he couldn't afford to do anything else. Dean was right, Yellow-Eyes was still out there, still waiting for the next opportunity to strike, and they could not afford for them to be separated from one another.
After calling Jim and arranging a time where they could meet up at the safe house, they left. Sam, while not entirely understanding the gravity of the situation at hand, thought it was a fun (but confusing) adventure, as they once again had to leave their home in Minnesota, for the relatively safer one in South Dakota.
Caleb's hands were taut around the steering wheel as he kept a habitual eye on the traffic behind him to look for cops. The time showed that it was just after five. He was not supposed to be seen with the boys after that time passed, and was instead supposed to be somewhere else. Taking a deep breath, he tried not to panic.
"How far?" Dean asked, reaching into the cupholder to grab the shared travel mug of coffee Caleb had.
"We just passed over into South Dakota. It should be another hour or two. Sam, how are you?"
"Good," Sam answered.
It had gone much longer this time around—instead of the leisurely, fun drive that they normally took to Sioux Falls, this time everything was different. The occupants in the car, except maybe for Sam, were on edge, terrified of the unthinkable happening.
"Alright," Dean said, taking a look himself to make sure they were not being followed. "Do you think we're okay?"
"I think so. Just stay cool."
The words had no sooner left his mouth than the sight of a police car coming up behind them, caught his attention. Any doubt that the car was meant for them, was quickly erased from Caleb's mind when the sirens went on. With that siren, his heart catapulted into his stomach.
Caleb knew he had a micro—second to make a choice. Either keep driving and risk a nasty ending, or stop and see what they wanted, even though there was no compunctions in his mind about what they wanted, and it made him want to throw up. When the cars showed no sign of stopping, he slowed his car down and began to pull off to the side of the road.
"Caleb," Dean said. "You didn't do anything."
"In their eyes I did. If we keep driving, this thing ends very badly, and I don't want you or Sam caught in the crossfire."
He meant that literally.
As he hugged the shoulder of the highway, he tried to stop the frantic pounding of his heart to make sure that his every action and look, showed nothing but his complete willingness to cooperate with them.
"Caleb," Sam said, grabbing his arm. "They can't take us. They can't-"
"They won't. Just don't say anything to them. Let me handle this, okay?"
It was obvious Dean didn't like that order, but he wisely didn't argue against it, either. He watched quietly as the officer signaled for Caleb to roll down his window, and tried hard not to glare his distrust at the uniformed officer standing there.
"Good afternoon," the officer said, peering into the car. "Can I see some license and registration?"
"Yes."
Caleb's hands shook as he handed the office his information. He had no idea what this officer thought of him. His expression was unreadable as he took the information back to his car to call it in. Glancing at the boys, he hoped this would be nothing but a routine traffic stop.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Sam asked.
"I don't know."
The unknown was making Caleb nervous as he watched the officer walk back toward the car after spending the last several minutes in his patrol car.
"Are you Caleb Rivers?"
He could lie, and say that he was not. Or he could avoid a catastrophe for the boys, and comply with what they wanted from him.
"Yes."
"I need you to step out of the car."
That was what he had been afraid of—the idea of the police catching him during his dash to the safe house. No longer did he have the option of hiding in the safe house. Dean's face drained of all color when he took in the startling words from the police officer.
"Caleb-"
"Dean," Caleb said, looking back at him as he started to get out. "Just stay here, okay? Stay with Sammy."
Dean was clearly torn, but he eventually nodded his consent. "Okay."
"Thank you."
Feeling slightly better now that he knew that Dean would listen and obey what he was telling him, he got out of the car to talk to the officer, as they went to stand behind the car. Caleb was acutely aware of Dean leaning around in his seat, observing everything that was going on.
"We have a situation," the officer said, not bothering to beat around the bush. "There's a court order that states that you had to surrender custody to the CPS offices, an hour ago."
Caleb nodded; he had suspected this would be the problem. "Yes," he said, bowing his head briefly before looking up at the officer. "It was a mistake-"
"It becomes a problem, because we have an order from a judge in a court of law saying that you had to hand over physical custody of Sam and Dean Winchester to the CPS offices. When there's a failure to present them, and then we catch you traveling outside of Minnesota, and across state lines, it becomes a felony."
"A...what?" Caleb stammered, struggling to understand what this officer was saying. He had expected to hear a lot from this man, but that was the last thing he had expected to hear, as he tried to keep himself calm and not fly off the handle until he had all the facts.
"When there's an order," the officer repeated, "saying that you no longer had custody and had to give it up, and then you fail to arrive with them at CPS, and then we catch you outside of the state, it becomes an issue of kidnapping."
Caleb never expected that he would be facing a kidnapping charge if he took the boys. "You have to be kidding me."
The officer shook his head. "I'm not. This is serious."
And it certainly would prove to be catastrophic for him in his attempts to regain custody of them. Feeling tears of pure panic and fear come to his eyes, he hastily wiped them away, as he tried to find a way out of this situation, and came up blank.
"It was a mistake," Caleb said. "I was trying to spend some more time with them. It was never my intention to create more problems."
"Well, regardless," the officer said. "The law is clearly defined where it concerns this kind of thing, and this is considered kidnapping."
"I'm sorry-"
"I don't have a choice," the officer said. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."
This was what Caleb had been afraid of from the start. If he made the choice to run, he would run the risk of being caught and jailed for something he did not even do. His heart slammed erratically in his ribcage as he forced himself to think about the consequences of his actions.
"No," Caleb said. "Not here. Please, don't do this here. I don't want them to see that," he said, looking over again at the boys. Dean was still keenly observing everything that he could see from his limited view, and Caleb knew it would completely shatter him to see him be put in handcuffs.
"Let's walk behind my car."
Supposing he should be grateful the office was granting him that one mercy, he walked with him behind his squad car. When the officer instructed him to turn and place his hands behind his back, he did not resist. Wincing when the smooth metal of the cuffs fastened around one wrist, and then the other, he fought to control his reaction while the officer read him his rights. If nothing else, he knew they would be with Bobby and Jim.
Teaser: Next chapter is :O
