Chapter 9
Present
"Dean, I think we need to start looking for a doctor," Sam said. "It's been three days and Alec's arm is still shaking, he can't stomach hardly anything, and he can't sleep because his back hurts so bad."
"I know," Dean snapped. He took a deep breath, and then said, "I'm sorry…I know it's been too long, but where are we gonna take him? He has terrible luck with doctors…one of them even tried to eat him!"
"Dean, that was a leviathan," Sam reasoned. "Besides, what about that guy you took him to see after Crowley tortured him?"
"Dude, that guy was ancient seven years ago, there's no way he's still alive," Dean said.
"Ok…maybe Jody knows someone he can see," Sam suggested. "We could use her help anyway, with the whole alternate universe thing…"
He nodded, "That's a good idea. Let's call her and see if she wants us to come to her or if she wants to come here."
"You think Alec can handle the drive?" Sam asked.
"I don't know…" Dean muttered. "I'll check on him again while you call Jody."
Sam nodded his agreement, so he walked out of the room to go find his boys. He knew they would either be in their room or in the rec room, so he went to their room first. He still thought it was funny that they had wanted to share even though they had plenty of rooms to choose from in the bunker. But the two of them hadn't wanted to be apart. He couldn't blame them; it was still weird to be sleeping in separate rooms instead of one motel room, but they were slowly getting used to it.
The boys weren't in their room, so he headed for the rec room. He'd told Alec that he was only allowed in those two rooms until he recovered, and surprisingly, his son had listened to him.
He walked into the room and found that Ben and Jack were sitting on the floor playing a video game while Alec told Jack what to do from the sofa. Mary was sitting at the table looking through some of the Men of Letter's books, while at the same time, she was keeping an eye on the boys.
"Dad, Jack's actually pretty good at this," Alec said once he spotted him. "Ben's still kicking his ass, but he's not hopeless."
He sat down next to Alec on the sofa and watched whatever game Ben and Jack were playing. He'd decided that he'd get the boys some video games if they were ever in one spot for more than a week since they seemed to like them the few times they'd gotten to play them. He'd gotten them some handheld games when they were little, so they could play them in the car, but it had been a great day when he'd brought a PlayStation into the bunker.
"How're you doing?" Dean asked after a few minutes.
"I'm exhausted and my back is killing me," Alec admitted. "But watching them play video games is making me feel better…"
"We're calling Jody to see if she has someone we can take you to…" Dean said.
"Dad, a normal doctor isn't going to know what's going on," Alec said. "The best they can do is give me a muscle relaxant and some sleeping pills."
"I don't know what else to do, kiddo," Dean said, rubbing Alec's back. "There are no leads on any of the scientists from Manticore, and maybe if Jody doesn't have someone we can see, then she might be able to help us find one of the scientists."
"Is she coming here, or are we going there?" Alec asked.
"I don't know yet," Dean said.
"Because I'm telling you right now, it'll take a few days at least to get there," Alec said. "I can't stay in one position for more than two hours without it hurting."
"That's ok," Dean reassured. "We'll take our time if we're going there."
Alec nodded, and was quiet for a few minutes, focusing on the video game again. He knew Ben, Jack, and Mary were all listening to what they were saying, but none of them showed that they were listening, so that was good. That meant Alec would keep talking to him.
"Dad…it's just going to get worse, isn't it?" Alec asked.
He took a deep breath, and then said, "Well, it might get better for a while, but I think it's going to keep getting worse. And eventually, I think Ben's going to get worse too."
"So, what do we do?" Alec asked.
"For starters, we go find a doctor to look you over," Dean said. "Even if they just give you muscle relaxers, at least you might get a little break from the pain."
Alec nodded again, "I would like a break…"
"Alec, do you want to lay down again?" Ben asked, turning to look back at them.
"I'm alright…" Alec muttered.
"Do you want the heating pad?" Ben asked.
"Get back to the game," Alec said. "If I need something, I'll tell you."
"Ok," Ben said, turning to look at the tv again.
"It's so typical of Crowley to drop a bomb on us, like Jack being able to open the door to an alternate universe, and then just disappear," Alec said, changing the subject to get their attention away from him.
"I'm just glad he disappeared," Dean said. Alec winced as a tremor ran up his spine, and he gently massaged the back of Alec's neck. He wanted to tell Alec to lay down again, but he knew that was the best way to get his son to shut him out. So, he sat with him, even though he knew Alec was in pain. It killed him that his son was in pain and there was nothing he could do to help. He hated the seizures so much more because of that.
"Hey, so, Jody says she knows someone in South Dakota who is discreet and owes her a few favors," Sam said as he walked in.
He looked at Alec and asked again, "You sure you're up for a drive?"
"I'll be alright," Alec said.
2013
"Dad?"
"Ben, thank God," Dean said, running over to his 12-year-old son and hugging him close. Ben had been standing right next to him when he stabbed Dick Roman, and even though he had no idea where they were, he was thankful that Ben was ok.
"Dad, where are we?" Ben asked, looking up at him.
He looked around them, but it was dark, and it looked like they might be in a forest. "I don't know, buddy," Dean said. "But we just gotta find Cas and he can get us back to Sam and Alec."
"Dad…we're not alone," Ben whispered, suddenly going on high alert.
He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. But he trusted his son's senses, so he asked, "How many?"
"A lot…" Ben said.
"Human?"
"No…there's too many to tell…" Ben muttered. "But definitely not human."
"Ok…are you good? Are you hurt?" Dean asked.
"I'm good," Ben replied.
He nodded once before he grabbed Ben's hand and ran. Footsteps immediately followed them; branches snapped and leaves rustled as they ran through this new place. His heart was pounding, and it had everything to do with the fact that his son was in as much danger as he was. He couldn't lose his boys.
He grunted as something suddenly slammed into him and Ben. They both rolled, but Ben popped up before he did. His boy snarled at the man who had tackled them, but he stood up as fast as he could and got in front of Ben to try to protect him. The man growled at them and bared his fangs. So, it was a vampire they were dealing with; too bad they didn't have any weapons.
Ben must have been thinking the same thing. Ben blurred and tackled the vampire before he blurred back to him, and they started running again. For now, that was all they could do.
They stopped again when they physically couldn't go anymore. Even Ben was breathing hard, so he knew they'd been running for a long time.
"We need to find some water," Dean breathed as soon as he had enough air back in his lungs.
Ben nodded in agreement, but then asked, "D'you think Alec and Uncle Sam are ok?"
"I hope so…they weren't near the blast, so I don't think they're here," Dean said.
"But Crowley was still there and Alec was starting to get the seizures again," Ben said.
"Sammy will take care of him," Dean reassured. "But it's kind of good he was getting the seizures again…"
Ben frowned and looked over at him, "Why?"
"Because I stuck a brand-new bottle of pills in my pocket for him, and I still have them," Dean said. "Which is good because I think it's going to take some time to get out of here, and you're gonna need these before then."
"Where d'you think we are?" Ben asked, looking around at the trees surrounding them.
"It's just a guess," Dean said, "But I think we might be in Purgatory…"
Present
"Hey boys," Jody greeted with a warm smile. She walked over and gave Sam and Dean a hug, and then gave him the last hug. She pulled back from him and scowled, "Alec, how is it that you look worse than you did the last time I saw you?"
"I'm just that lucky I guess…" Alec muttered.
"It looks like you haven't slept in days…" Jody said.
"That's because I haven't," Alec said with a small smirk.
"Ok, let's get you inside and get you comfy," Jody said, taking his arm and leading him into her house. "Took you boys a few days longer than I thought…" Jody said as they walked.
"I couldn't ride that long…" Alec muttered, looking down. "It started to hurt less, but…it's still pretty bad…Plus, we had to stop a lot and play musical cars so I could lay down every so often…"
"Well, luckily for you, Alex is off work for the next few days, so she's going to do whatever you need," Jody said.
His cheeks heated in embarrassment, so he quickly changed the topic, "So, when's this doctor supposed to see me?"
"Tomorrow afternoon," Jody said. "She wanted to fit you in today, but her schedule is booked."
"Hey, I'd be ok if she couldn't get to me until next week…" Alec said.
"The sooner she checks you over, the better," Jody said. "Now, lay down and try to rest." She fluffed his pillow and pulled a blanket over him before she gently brushed his hair from his forehead.
"Hey Jody?" Alec asked before she could go talk to Dad and Uncle Sam.
"Yeah?" Jody asked.
He smirked and asked, "Is Claire coming around anytime soon?"
"You leave your brother alone or else I'm telling him that I caught you and Alex kissing," Jody warned.
"But it's so funny," Alec said with a laugh. "He can't get two coherent words together when she's around. It's impossible not to make fun of him."
"Leave him alone," Jody said again.
"Hey, I'm the one who's sick or dying or whatever, I should be allowed to make fun of him," Alec said.
"Go to sleep," Jody said in amusement. "And leave your brother alone."
He chuckled, but he did as he was told. Jody brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead as he drifted off.
She stood there for a few more seconds, relieved when Alec's breathing slowed in sleep. She put the back of her hand against his cheek, but frowned when she felt his fever. She quickly walked over to where Sam and Dean were and said, "He's got a pretty high fever…"
"The drive wore him out," Dean said. "His fever will probably go back down once he's had a couple hours of sleep."
"He's looking bad, Dean," Jody whispered. "A lot worse than he did last time, and he'd almost died then."
"I know. He wore himself out and had a seizure and we haven't been able to get him back ever since," Dean said.
"That's why we need him to see a doctor," Sam said. "We need him to be able to sleep long enough to heal, but he can't do that with his arm shaking like it is and his back killing him."
"We know they won't know exactly how to help him, but just a little bit of sleep would help him," Dean added.
"So you're looking for a Band-Aid," Jody guessed. "What's the long-term plan? I've seen him have seizures before, but this…"
"We know," Dean breathed. "We thought maybe you could help with this too…We're looking for one of the scientists from Manticore. They might know of a way to stop the seizures permanently."
"Manticore? Are you serious?" Jody asked in surprise. "I thought the angels wiped them all out…the transgenics and the scientists…"
"That's what they say, but people can slip through the cracks," Dean said. "And we just need one."
"And we don't have any proof that the angels wiped them out, we just have their word," Sam said.
"And their word means crap to us," Dean said. "So, they could all still be out there, we just haven't checked."
She nodded, and then looked around the room, "Where's Ben, Mary, and Jack?"
"They were a few miles back from us," Dean said. "I started speeding once we crossed state lines so I could get him here sooner."
"I'm gonna go check on him," Sam said. "Make sure he's still asleep…"
"Here, take him some water too," Jody said, giving him a cup of water. Sam left the room, and she watched as Dean sank into one of the kitchen chairs, running his hand through his hair. He looked almost as tired as Alec, which made sense because Dean worried about his boys. "Dean, we'll find something to help him."
"The last time he was this bad…" Dean said shaking his head. "It took months to get his muscles to relax after Crowley had him. That son of a bitch screwed up his whole system when he took him and now it's like each seizure is worse than the last. I don't know if he's stressing out about something and that's making it worse, or if his body just can't deal with the seizures anymore…I don't know what to do."
She walked over to Dean and gently rested her hand on his shoulder. "My friend is good at what she does. I know she won't know exactly what's going on with him, but she'll find a way to help him," she said. "But you need to calm down. He knows you're worried about this, and that's making him worry. Just keep things as normal as possible. I get that going on hunts is out of the question for him, but keep him in the loop and keep him as active as you can. The more active he is, the more tired he'll be by the end of the day."
Dean nodded, and then smiled, "That's actually the best advice I've heard." She cocked her head to the side in a silent question, so he said, "It's a lot harder to keep Alec on the sofa than it is to keep him busy."
2010
"Why can't we just go to Bobby's house?" Alec asked, holding his hand as they walked over to the diner. "If he's not answering the phone, we should just go over there."
He adjusted his stupid tie as he and Alec met up with Sam. "Because I don't think he's home," Dean said. "He would've already checked this out if he was here."
"Still no answer," Sam said.
"Alright…Guess we just do it ourselves," Dean said. He crouched down in front of Alec and asked, "What's our cover?"
"Bring your kid to work day," Alec said, rolling his eyes. "Dean, I already know what our cover is."
"I'm just making sure," Dean said with a smile. He stood up again and ruffled Alec's hair before he followed Sam inside the diner. They walked over to a scraggly looking guy and sat across from him. He sat Alec in his lap, ignoring the guy's weird look. "Mr. Wells, why don't you tell us what you saw in your own words."
"Call me Digger," the guy said.
Alec giggled, but Sam quickly cut in, "Digger? Who gave you that name?"
"I did," Digger said.
"You gave yourself your own nickname?" Dean asked. "You can't do that."
"Yeah, someone else has to give you the nickname," Alec said. "Otherwise you just look lame."
"Who died and made you queen?" Digger asked with a scowl.
"Ok," Sam said before he could snap back. "Uh, why don't you just tell us what you saw?"
"I saw Clay Thompson climb into Benny Sutton's trailer through the window. Couple minutes later, Clay walked out, and Benny's dead," Digger said.
He pulled out a picture and asked, "Is this the guy you saw?"
"Well…he was all covered with mud, but, yeah. That's Clay," Digger said.
"And you are aware that Clay Thompson died five years ago?" Sam asked.
"Yep."
"And you're positive that it was this guy," Dean asked to make sure.
"You calling me a liar?" Digger asked angrily.
"No, no, no. Of course not," Sam quickly placated. "Can you think of any reason why Clay Thompson, alive or dead, would want to kill Benny Sutton?"
"Hell, yeah," Digger said. He looked at Alec guiltily, but then said, "Well, five years ago, Benny's the one that killed Clay in the first place."
"Is that a fact?" Dean asked.
"Well, yeah, so-called 'hunting accident'," Digger said. "Now, if you ask me…Clay came back from the grave to get a little payback."
"Go on," Dean said.
The guy opened his mouth, but his eyes shifted to the side, and then he warned, "Heads up. 'Fargo.'"
A woman walked over to them wearing a sheriff's uniform and said, "Digger."
"Sheriff…" Digger mumbled.
The sheriff looked at them and introduced, "Gentlemen. I'm Sheriff Jody Mills. I don't believe we've had the pleasure."
"Agents Dorfman and Neidermeyer. FBI," Dean said easily.
"And it's what? Bring your kid to work day?" Sheriff Mills asked.
"Yep," Dean replied.
Alec threw his arms around his neck and smiled sweetly at the woman. "I wanna be just like my Dad when I grow up." He felt his heart swell hearing that from his little boy, even though Alec still would only call him Dad in public and this was technically just their cover. He really hoped some day Alec would actually think of him as his Dad and would actually call him that, he just didn't know how to bring it up with his little boy that it was ok.
Sheriff Mills smiled back at Alec, and then said. "Welcome to Sioux Falls, gentlemen. Can I ask what you're doing with Digger here?"
"They're doing their jobs," Digger said angrily. "They believe me, Sheriff."
Sheriff Mills looked at them in disbelief and asked, "The FBI believes a dead man committed a murder?"
"Look," Sam said. "We're just asking a few questions, Sheriff. That's all."
"Of course, if a dead man didn't commit the murder, then, uh, who did?" Dean challenged. He just couldn't let Sam smooth things over, and he knew his brother was shooting him his famous bitch-face right now.
"What'd you say your jurisdiction here was again?" Sheriff Mills asked.
"Our jurisdiction is wherever the United States government sends us," Dean said with a smirk. He was laying it on thick, but it was ok. He was pretty confident this was no big deal.
"Oh, yeah," Sheriff Mills said, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "How 'bout me and your supervisor have a little chat about that?"
"Absolutely," Sam easily agreed. His brother handed her his business card, and she immediately dialed the number on it.
It was quiet for a minute, and Dean expected it would just go to voicemail since Bobby wasn't actually home to answer the phone. But then Jody said, "Agent Willis, this is Sheriff Jody Mills…Bobby?" His eyes widened and he shared a panicked look with his brother. "Is this Bobby Singer?" Sheriff Mills asked. She hung up and said, "FBI, huh?"
"So…uh…So you know Bobby Singer?" Sam asked sheepishly.
"That is…a fun coincidence…" Dean muttered.
"Here's what I know about Bobby Singer," Sheriff Mills said. "He's a menace aroud here, ass-full of drunk-and-disorderlies and mail fraud."
"No he's not!" Alec yelled. "Bobby's awesome and you don't know anything!"
Sheriff Mills looked at Alec in surprise and he quickly wrapped his arm around his little boy. He should have been expecting Alec to defend Bobby as soon as the sheriff said something, but he hadn't thought fast enough to stop him from saying anything.
Sheriff Mills took a deep breath, and then snapped, "Whatever you are planning, it ends here. Now. Ten-four on that, Agents?"
"Yeah…" Dean muttered.
He ran over to Bobby as soon as they got inside and jumped up on his lap. Bobby laughed and messed up his hair, but he felt Bobby tense when he spotted Dean and Sam.
"You know how many times we called? Where have you been?" Dean asked angrily.
"Playing murderball," Bobby grumbled back.
Dean scowled, "What's that smell? Is that soap? Did you clean?"
"What are you, my mother?" Bobby asked sarcastically. "Bite me!"
Dean motioned for him to come over there, and reluctantly he did. He loved Dean, and thought of his as his Dad, but he was still afraid Dean wasn't ready for that yet. But he also loved being at Bobby's, and he didn't want to leave if Dean was mad at Bobby. He didn't really know what was going on, but he had to admit that it was weird Bobby hadn't answered any of their calls. Bobby always answered whenever they called.
"Bobby, seriously," Sam said as he ran over and stood between the two taller men. Sam was a giant, and he kind of hoped that later maybe they could play outside. He knew there was a case and everything, but they were at Bobby's and they usually got to have some fun when they were at Bobby's. Dean tried to stop at parks when they were driving, but he still got really bored in between hunts. He'd never been to a park before he found Dean, but he liked them. They were even better when Sam and Dean decided to play with him.
"I've been working. You know, trying to find a way to stop the devil," Bobby said.
"Find anything?" Dean asked. He reached up and grabbed Dean's hand to see what he would do. Sometimes, he would pull him against his side or squeeze his hand or even smile at him. Dean pulled him against his side this time, and he couldn't help his small smile. He really loved living with Sam and Dean.
"What do you think?" Bobby snapped.
"Bobby, it's just…there's a case less than five miles from your house," Sam said slowly.
"What, the-the Benny Sutton thing?" Bobby asked in confusion. "That's what this is about?"
"You knew about this?" Dean asked back.
"Hell yes," Bobby said. "I checked into it already. There's nothing here."
"Except a witness who saw a dead guy commit murder," Sam said. He had to agree with Sam. This seemed like something Bobby should have checked out or at least he should take this more seriously.
"What witness? Digger Wells?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah. So?" Dean challenged.
"So, he's a drunk," Bobby said like it was obvious.
"Well, what about the lightning storms? They look like omens," Sam pointed out.
"Except in February in South Dakota in storm season," Bobby said. "Guys, I thought it was something too. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
He tugged on Dean's hand and asked, "What's a cigar?"
"Something you smoke," Dean said. "You aren't allowed to have one."
"Oh…ok," Alec said. He smiled to himself thinking about all the things Dean said he wasn't allowed to have. Dean was very protective and he liked that. He felt really safe when he was with Dean.
"So who killed the guy?" Sam asked.
"Take your pick," Bobby said with a shrug. "This Benny Sutton guy was a grade-A son of a bitch. There's a list of the living a year long wouldn't mind putting a cap in his ass."
"Don't repeat anything Bobby just said," Sam said, giving him a stern look. He rolled his eyes and was rewarded with Sam's grumpy face. He thought it was hilarious now when Sam gave him a grumpy face. He used to think he was in trouble, but now it was just funny. Sam gave Dean the grumpy face all the time, so it was like he really was Dean's kid.
"So, you're telling us…nothing?" Dean asked.
"Sorry. Looks like you wasted a tank of gas on this one," Bobby said dismissively. He frowned; that sounded like Bobby wanted them to leave. He didn't want to leave. They just got here, and he wanted to stay a few days.
"Great…" Dean muttered.
He sat in the back of the Impala, mad that they were leaving Bobby's and mad that Sam and Dean wouldn't let him sit up front with them. Dean didn't think it was safe for him to sit up there, even though he'd sat up there with him before. Of course, that was when he was having seizures, but he liked sitting up front.
His head popped up in surprise when Dean suddenly stopped the car next to a cemetery. He smiled; this meant they were actually going to go do something. Dean wouldn't have stopped if he thought the hunt was really over.
"What's up?" Sam asked.
"Isn't that the graveyard back there?" Dean asked.
"Yea. So what?" Sam asked. "Bobby already checked it out."
"And? What, Bobby's never wrong?" Dean asked. "C'mon. We'll take a peek, and then we'll hit the road. Can't hurt." He smiled, and then smiled even wider when Dean turned to look back at him. "C'mon kiddo, let's go check this out." He quickly scrambled to get out of the car and immediately ran over to Dean while Sam walked back to the trunk to get some things. The older man smiled at him, and then knelt down. "You want a piggyback ride?" Dean asked. He nodded and quickly jumped on Dean's back, loosely wrapping his arm's around the man's neck. Dean stood up again, making him remember that Dean was really tall too, just not as tall as Sam. "Since we didn't get to stick around Bobby's, this is the best I can do for some fun."
"I'm having fun," Alec reassured. Honestly, anything was better than Manticore, but he didn't say that. Dean always got sad when he mentioned Manticore, and he didn't want to make Dean sad. "Do you really think something's going on?" Alec asked.
"Something fishy is goin' on," Dean said. "Bobby's not acting right."
"Do you think it's zombies?" Alec asked, feeling just a little bit of excitement. Dean had shown him lots of zombie movies, but they'd never gotten to hunt one before. He thought it'd be a lot of fun to hunt zombies.
Dean chuckled, "I don't know about zombies…We haven't seen a zombie in years…"
"You've hunted a zombie?!" Alec asked excitedly.
"Sam, remember that zombie chick?" Dean asked, nudging his brother. Sam rolled his eyes, so Dean said, "She broke Sammy's hand."
"You made me be the bait," Sam grumbled. "She got mad when I shot her and shoved me out of the way."
"You're just too delicate, Sammy," Dean teased.
"I am not," Sam argued.
He smiled and rested against the back of Dean's shoulder. This just felt so right to him. He wished he could have escaped from Manticore a lot sooner and found Dean.
"Hey," Sam said, stopping suddenly beside a grave with overturned soil. He focused on the tombstone and saw the name 'Clay Thompson'.
"That look fresh to you?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, actually," Sam said.
He wiggled off of Dean's back and landed lightly on the ground. He held out his hand expectantly, and Sam smiled and gave him the flashlight. For some reason, Sam and Dean thought he was too little to dig up a grave, so he was delegated to holding the flashlight while they dug up the graves. He guessed he should just consider himself lucky that he wasn't left in the car.
He watched as Sam and Dean dug up the grave, but he smiled when they opened the coffin and it was completely empty. They definitely had a case and his money was on zombies.
No matter how much he whined, complained, bargained, and begged, Dean wouldn't let him break into the dead guy's house with them. He was relegated to staying in the car until they decided it was safe. It was so stupid, but he was afraid to break the rules again. He definitely couldn't sneak out of the car again without getting in some major trouble. He didn't think Dean would get rid of him, but he didn't want to be stuck in the motel room while Sam and Dean went on hunts.
He played with the little army men Dean had given to him while he waited. He wanted to know what was going on, but he was bored just waiting here. He wanted to go back to Bobby's, especially since this was definitely a case again, but he figured Dean would go back there once they cleared this house. Something weird was definitely going on.
He quickly dropped the army men and looked up when he heard a noise. Sam and Dean were leaving the house with another man. If that was supposed to be the dead guy, he didn't look very dead. And he didn't look like any zombies he'd ever seen. Maybe this was a new species of zombies who could look mostly alive still until they decided they wanted to eat your brains out.
His eyes widened in alarm when he saw a sheriff's car screech to a stop and Sheriff Mills and another cop jumped out with their guns trained at Sam and Dean. He quickly got out of the car and ran towards Sam and Dean.
"Freeze! Drop your guns!" Sheriff Mills yelled.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Alright. Hey," Dean quickly placated, his eyes jumping from the Sheriff to him, and then back again. He froze when Dean looked at him because he knew that look. Dean didn't like it when guns were pointed in his direction, and he usually did something reckless and stupid if he thought he was in danger. So, he froze and decided to wait so Dean wouldn't do something dangerous. "Remember the guy you said that was dead and couldn't possibly commit murder? There he is," Dean said, pointing to the possible zombie.
"And?" Sheriff Mills challenged.
"'And?'" Dean asked back, incredulously. "And you're welcome- for catching the undead killer zombie." He smiled; he was right that this guy was a zombie.
"Whatever he is or isn't, that doesn't give you the right to shoot him in the middle of the street," Sheriff Mills said.
He frowned, and then his mouth dropped open in surprise when Sheriff Mills suddenly handcuffed Dean. He ran over, but had to restrain himself from pushing the woman away from Dean. Instead, he decided to go with the little kid routine. "Why are you arresting my Daddy?" He asked, letting tears fill his eyes.
"Shoot me?" the zombie asked, actually sounding affronted.
"You're free to go, Mr. Thompson," Sheriff Mills told the zombie, completely ignoring him.
"Free to go?!" Dean exclaimed.
"I can't believe you were gonna kill me," zombie man muttered.
"You're a zombie!" He and Dean yelled at the same time.
"I'm a taxpayer," Zombie man responded.
He looked back at Sheriff Mills, but she was already leading Dean over to the police car. "Hey, hey, wait," Dean said. Sam was getting arrested too, and he was definitely feeling some panic overtake him. Sam and Dean were being taken away and he was being left alone. "Wait," Dean ordered when Sheriff Mills didn't stop. "Alec's gotta come too," Dean said. "He can't just stay here by himself. He's my kid. He's gotta come with me. Please."
"You really think I was gonna leave him here alone?" Sheriff Mills asked back. "He's a little kid. Of course he's coming with us."
"Alec, c'mon kiddo," Dean said with relief. He quickly ran over, feeling the same relief, and crawled into the cruiser, sitting between Sam and Dean in the back. He leaned against Dean, feeling a lot better knowing he wasn't going to lose the two people who mattered most to him. Dean actually leaned over and kissed the top of his head since his hands were cuffed behind his back. "Everything's gonna be ok," Dean whispered to him.
He saw Sheriff Mills look at them in the rearview mirror, but he decided he didn't like her. She arrested Dean and Sam, which meant he couldn't like her. He glared back at her, but he saw her smile as she looked away. He ignored her the rest of the ride, and then stuck as close to Dean as he could once they were at the jail.
"Alec, let's get you something to eat," Sheriff Mills said as she led Sam and Dean into one of the cells.
"No," Alec growled. "I want to stay with my Dad."
"Alec, go with Sheriff Mills," Dean said. "Me and Uncle Sammy will be right here the whole time, ok?"
"No, I wanna stay with you," Alec said, tears springing to his eyes again.
Sheriff Mills sighed as she unlocked the cuffs around Sam and Dean's wrists. "If you're ok with him being in there, I'm ok with it," she said.
He ran into the cell before Dean could say anything and slammed against the man's side. He heard Dean chuckle as he rubbed his back, and then Dean reassured, "He'll be ok." He let Dean pick him up, and he snuggled against his neck as soon as the older man sat down on the bench. "Alec, everything's ok," Dean whispered. "This isn't our first brush with the law. We'll find a way out of here."
"I don't want to be left alone," Alec whispered back.
"Alec, I know," Dean said. "I wasn't gonna let you be alone. And Sheriff Mills wasn't gonna let you be alone either."
"I don't like her," Alec said.
Dean chuckled, "You just don't like her because she arrested us."
"And she's pro-zombies," Alec muttered.
Dean actually laughed and ruffled his hair, "Yeah, you've got a point there."
Dean rubbed his back and held him close as they sat in the jail cell. Sam played thumb wars with him and 'would you rather', which Dean played too. It was a lot of fun and he made them both laugh when it was his turn to ask. They didn't care that he asked silly things like if they would rather eat crickets or worms. Dean tickled him and said gummy worms while Sam said crickets as long as they were chocolate crickets.
"Hey," Sam said, leaning forward suddenly and looking towards the front. He and Dean both looked and saw that Bobby was talking to Sheriff Mills.
"So, what? Now they're friends?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged, but either way it was ok because Sheriff Mills came over a few minutes later and let them out of the cell. He let Dean carry him as Sam pushed Bobby's wheelchair down the hallway. He was feeling pretty tired now, especially since there had been so much excitement and now it was suddenly over.
"Bobby, I thought the sheriff hated you?" Sam asked.
"She did till five days ago," Bobby grumbled.
"What happened five days ago?" Dean asked.
"The dead started rising all over town," Bobby stated. He was way too calm to be talking about zombies like that. It sounded like it was very common occurrence around here, so maybe that was why Sheriff Mills was pro-zombie.
"So you knew about this?" Sam asked.
"Yep," Bobby simply replied.
"I think what Sam meant to say it, you lied to us?" Dean asked incredulously.
"Look, I told you there was nothing here. And there isn't. Not for you," Bobby said.
"There are zombies here," Dean stated.
"There are zombies…And then there are zombies. Come with me," Bobby muttered.
They swung by to get the Impala and he and Dean moved to it while Sam stayed with Bobby. He didn't know what was going on, and he could tell Dean didn't know either.
"Whatever's goin' on, you stay with me or Sammy, ok kiddo?" Dean said once they got closer to Bobby's. "I don't know what's up with Bobby, but he doesn't usually keep things like this from us."
"Ok," Alec easily replied. He was more used to Dean's overprotectiveness now, and it made him feel good to know Dean wanted to keep him safe.
"But hey, you were right," Dean said, smiling at him in the rearview mirror. "It is zombies we're dealin' with."
He gave him a wide smile and nodded; he just hoped he wouldn't be stuck in the car for the entire hunt this time.
More soon...
