Chores
Jack sat at the library table in the bunker; he had a book in front of him that he had been reading through in an attempt to glean as much as he could on monster lore. He flipped the page; he was still a hunter in training. He knew this fact. However, that didn't stop him from feeling a need to learn as much as possible. Jack heard heavy booted feet steps and knew that a Winchester was walking up to him.
"Hey Jack," Dean started as he got closer.
Jack looked up at him. "Yes, Dean?" He asked with a smile
"Listen man me and Sam are going to head out on a little hunt,"
"You want me to come with you?" He asked cutting off Dean. He sat up in his chair excitement coursed through him. He was ready to go on a hunt again.
"No sorry kid. We need someone to stay in the bunker; you know to keep things running smoothly. We will call you when we start back. Cas should be coming back," He looked at his watch. "By this evening. Think you can handle everything by yourself?"
He nodded. "Of course Dean." He smiled warmly, "I will take care of the bunker for you guys."
"Thanks, Jack." Dean patted him on the head, "We'll see you later. I'll text you when we get there." He headed out of the room.
Jack heard the familiar thud of the bunker door opening and closing. He let out a small sigh. Well, at least he had Netflix to keep him company. He looked back at the book, he had lost his place. He stuck a bookmark in it and shut it. He'd read it another time, he decided.
He got up from the table and noticed leaves and other debris that had been tracked in. "I should vacuum." He said to himself. He walked over to the supply closet where they kept all the cleaning supplies. As he pulled out the vacuum out of the closet it dawned on him; he could do some light chores. He smiled to himself and nodded. Yeah, that could be what he could do to occupy his time. Plus if Sam and Dean saw how well he did maybe they would let him go on more hunts once they saw he was responsible.
He rolled the vacuum cleaner into the library and plugged it in. He flipped the switch and started running it along the floor. He frowned when he realized it wasn't sucking up the dirt as he expected it to. He stopped and looked at the vacuum. Perhaps there was something wrong with it. He turned it off and examined it closer. The vacuum was one of those expensive bag-less models. Sam had insisted on buying one when their 'dinosaur' vacuum that came with the bunker finally gave up.
Jack unhooked the canister and realized it was full. That was why it wasn't picking up anything, he thought. He walked into the kitchen to dump it out. He lifted the lid on the trash can and opened the canister. Dust filled the air and he began to cough and sneeze. He waved his hands around to clear the air. He looked at the canister and wondered when it had been cleaned last.
He walked back into the library eyes still watering from the dust explosion. He hooked the canister back on and finished the floor. A few sneezes later he finally was cleared up. He placed the vacuum nearby as he planned on vacuuming other rooms later.
Jack then remembered that they hadn't washed this morning's dishes yet. "Oh, I should do that." He said to himself. He walked back into the kitchen. The sink was full of dishes. He let out a sigh. Did anyone do housework around here? He moved a few dishes out of the way and plugged in the drain and started the water. He poured in dish soap and watched the bubbles form. He turned off the water and grabbed the wash rag. He started washing the dishes; he went over them several times to make sure they were clean. He sat them in the dish drainer; he would have to dry them to make room. He continued with this task until he had a rather large stack of mugs. "I need to dry them before I break one." He looked around but the dish rag wasn't hanging where it was supposed to be. "Where is it?" He asked himself. He deiced to go to the closet and get another towel. No sooner than he moved his feet he heard a loud crash.
"Oh no," He said to himself as he turned around. Sure enough, half of the mugs fell off and were now laying on the floor shattered. He sighed, "Damn it." He got the dish towel and dried off the dishes that were left. He got a broom and swept up the mugs were too broken to be fixed.
He tossed the broken mugs in the trash. He turned around and frowned. What else could he do? He tapped his finger to his chin. He looked at the laundry room and decided he could do the laundry. He grabbed the vacuum and headed to the dormitory area. He first hit Castiel's room. He hesitated at the door and then shrugged. They were all family not like they had anything to hide. He walked into the room. Castiel's room was almost spotless, Jack figured Castiel to be very tidy. If it wasn't for the fact that he had seen light coming from under the door from time to time, he would have assumed that it was never used by the angel. He left the vacuum in the hall and headed in. He picked up Castiel's hamper which only had a few items in it. He decided to use the hamper to gather all the laundry. He organized Castiel's pile of books that were sitting on his desk and he fluffed the pillow on the couch. "There, very good." He said to himself.
He left the room. Dean's was next door. He reached for the nob and walked into the room. Dean's room was way different; his looked lived in if Jack had to describe it. Dean had a line of photos on his nightstand; some was of him with his mom as a child, a few of him and Sam one of him and Castiel and one of Jack and Dean, a few magazines on the floor by the bed (but neatly stacked), there was a pizza box and a beer bottle left on his table which Jack picked up and tossed in the trash. He found a pile of clothes by the side of the bed. He frowned at them and gathered them up. Dean had a tendency to put off laundry until he would discover his underwear drawer was empty and Jack suspected Dean was fast approaching that moment. He shuttered when he remembered overhearing Dean inform Sam that if he turned his boxers inside-out he got another day out of them. He tosses them in the hamper and left to make his way to Sam's room.
Sam's room was down the hall from Dean and Castiel's. Jack had suspected that Sam wanted his own space after spending his whole life with Dean. Jack could understand that some, he had a need to have his own space as well. He walked into Sam's room; his room was similar but different from Dean's. Sam had admitted it took him a while to consider the Bunker home and he could see it. Sam had maybe a few personal items sitting around. A photo of their mom, one of a man with a ball cap, one of Castiel and Dean and one of the four of them together; Jack smiled at that photo and made a note to ask Sam for a print of it. It was a good family photo. He organized the pile of research that Sam had laying on his desk. Sam was very academic and was always in the process of learning new things. He found a hamper in the corner and he added Sam's pile of clothes to the hamper he had. He made a note to pick up a hamper for Dean the next time he went to town.
He walked out of Sam's room and went to his room and picked up his few pieces of laundry. He headed to the laundry room. It was a nice laundry room with a large washer and dryer. Castiel and Sam had shown him how to do laundry once before but… he stood in front of the washer. He couldn't remember how to do it. He sighed to himself. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. He turned on the water and added the laundry soap. So far so good, he tossed in the clothes and shut the lid. There he did it.
He left the laundry and decided to vacuum the rest of the bunker and let the laundry do its thing. He cleaned everything even storage rooms they rarely went in. Everything was dusted and cleaned and it looked nice. He smiled proudly. He had cleaned the bunker for his family. He put the vacuum away and decided to check on the laundry and put it in the dryer. He heard the Bunker door open and someone called his name. He realized it must have been Castiel. He smiled to himself and started heading to war room when he heard.
"Jack!" Castiel called. His voice sounded a bit more frantic now. Panic filled Jack what if there was something wrong with Castiel.
Jack practically started to run when he was confronted with suds in the hall. He stared at them. Where did these come from?
"Jack?" Castiel asked. Jack heard his father slosh through the soap. He looked at him his blue eyes wide and down at the soap. "What happened?"
Jack blinked. "I am not sure… I was cleaning up and I started the laundry."
Castiel opened the door to the laundry room. They both could see the soap dripping out of the washer and onto the floor.
"Oh no, is the washer broken?" Jack asked he tilted his head and studied his father's face.
Castiel gave a small smile. "You put too much detergent in it. I did it once before." He pulled out a shop vacuum and started to suck up the water and soap suds.
Jack got a mop and started to mop up the rest of the water. "I am sorry, I only wanted to help and show that I am responsible." He sighed. He felt defeated, worthless, and useless. "I guess I was wrong. I can even do laundry."
The angel looked at him. He smiled again and patted Jack on the shoulder. "Jack, don't let something this small hold you back. It's just laundry. We all make mistakes. It's all in the process of learning."
He smiled at him. "You are right, Castiel, thank you." He finished the mopping and reached into the washer and pulled out all of the clothes. He started to stick them in the dryer when he noticed a pink shirt laying in the pile. There wasn't a pink shirt before was there. He pulled it out and looked at it and frowned.
"You didn't separate the laundry did you?" Castiel asked as he looked at the pink shirt.
"No, I did not. Was I supposed to?"
The angel shook his head. "All right, next time we have laundry I'll give you a lesson on how to do it."
Jack frowned. "What did I do wrong?"
"That shirt got exposed to red dye now it's pink. I did that once to one of Dean's FBI shirts." He looked down at the floor. "He was not happy about it."
Jack held up the shirt. "I wonder whose it is."
Castiel looked at it. "I think it's one of Sam's."
He tossed it in the dryer and sighed. "I hope he isn't angry about this."
The rest of the chores were finished off without a hitch now that Jack had Castiel's help. The Winchesters returned home as promised.
"Looks nice in here." Dean said as he walked in the door.
"Did you clean?" Sam asked
Jack nodded and smiled proudly. "Yes, though Castiel helped me with some of it."
They nodded and went on to their rooms as Castiel informed them he would make dinner. Jack followed him to the kitchen to learn how to do some light cooking. He watched him as Castiel coached him through the basics of cooking when he heard.
"Ahhh! What happened to my shirt?" Sam screamed from his room.
Jack looked over at Castiel. "I guess Sam did mind the newly pink shirt."
Shortly they heard Dean laughing. "Oh man, that's a good look for you, Sam." Dean laughed his way back into the kitchen and high-fived Jack. "Good prank, Jack."
Jack looked at Castiel who had his eyebrow raised. "But,"
Dean laughed again. "I haven't had a good laugh like that in a while. Thanks, kid."
"You are uh, welcome, Dean." He looked at Castiel who shrugged. Oh well, at least his accidental shirt dying ended up being a source of entertainment so that made the days' chores worth it.