Title: An eternal punishment
Summary: Lucifer loses the final battle, and Michael decides his punishment; life as a human child. But is it a punishment for the devil or the hunters who are given the three-year-old devil to look after.
Pairings: Castiel/Dean, Sam/Gabriel
Chapter 10: A month later
"Snap!" Lucifer giggled, smacking Castiel's large hand with all his might. Castiel feigned pain, grasping his hand against his chest as Lucifer giggled loudly. "I winned again!"
"Ouch! You won again! You hurt my hand, Luce," Castiel chuckled, "You almost broke it off."
Lucifer squealed in delight as Castiel leaned over and tickled the tiny boy playfully.
"Stop it! Hahaha! Stop!" Lucifer cried through his laughter and Castiel stopped immediately. Lucifer stared at him with a tilted head, "Do it again!"
Castiel shrugged and resumed as he was demanded to do. The boy's delightful cries filled the room as Castiel looked up at the hanging clock. He removed his hands from the child and placed them on his lap.
"Time for bed," Castiel smiled, as he slowly stood.
"Aww, but daddy isn't back! He-"
"-Will be back tomorrow," Castiel replied, with a smile, "He called before your bath; Uncle Bobby said Daddy and Uncle Sam have finished their work."
The business was spirit haunting in a hospital; four towns away. It was a simple salt and burn, but the boy clearly missed his father; it had been at least two days since the hunters left. Lucifer pouted sadly as Castiel held his hands out, the boy quickly climbed into the angel's arms resting his head against the angel's shoulder.
"Read me a story?" Lucifer yawned. The one thing that came out of daddy working was lots of fun with Castiel. While Dean remained Lucifer's rock, Castiel was Lucifer's favourite uncle. Playtime was the best with him.
"What would you like me to read?"
"Hungry Caterpillar!" Lucifer grinned. Castiel groaned, bored with the story; considering he had read it fifty-seven times since Dean had left (and that was an accurate estimation; not an exaggeration). "Something else?"
"Yes, please," Castiel pleaded as he carried the child into his room. It was lit up by a Buzz Light-year night light. The child was obsessed with Toy Story, which was clear at first glance when one walked into the child's room. The bed sheets were of Buzz and Woody, and scattered on the floor messily were all the toys from the movie, such as the dinosaur and the cow man, as Castiel referred to Woody. Something sharp poked at the bottom of his foot, and Castiel looked down to find he had stepped on one of the green soldiers.
"How about we tidy your room first?" Castiel smiled, setting the boy down. "Would you like a glass of milk Luce?"
"Yeap," the boy nodded.
"Okay," Castiel smiled, "You clean up all your toys and I'll get you some milk and cookies. Would you like Choc chip or plain?"
"Choc chip," Lucifer grinned as Castiel left the room. Another thing he loved about Castiel was the milk and cookies before sleep! Daddy never let him have cookies at night, just boring fruit and milk.
And they didn't taste nice together; dunking orange slice in milk was yucky.
"There's a snake in my boot!" said Woody after Lucifer pulled the string. The boy grinned as he placed the cowboy next to the space toy, under his bed with Jaggers and Sam, the snow leopard and Penguin. The boy jumped over to his toy box, throwing in the last few pieces of Lego and army men before he picked up Tiger and tossed him up onto the bunk bed.
The boy followed the animal up to the top of his bed and yawned again. Days with Castiel were exhausting. It started off with cereal and then a walk to the park, were they stayed for a long time until Lucifer was too tired to run anymore, so Castiel carried him back home where he had a short nap and then awoke for lunch; which consisted of a sandwich and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (Castiel let Lucifer help as he squeezed the fruit.) After lunch Lucifer and his favourite uncle (at least for the day) spent the next few hour painting, and drawing and playing with in his cubby house (made out of an old Cadillac in Bobby's yard) until Bobby finally came home and made them dinner, which thankfully wasn't spaghetti but meatloaf and vegetables and rice.
"There we go," Castiel said, walking in with a cup of warm milk and a bowl of cookies. He handed the boy the plastic cup and plate. "Which story would you like me to read?"
"Wooby Flew, too!" Lucifer grinned, "It's in the book shelf."
Castiel scanned across the hundreds of books Dean had brought for the boy, until he finally found the said book. The angel jumped up and sat beside Lucifer, book open in one hand and a cookie in the other. The angel began to read the story in his soothing voice and by the time he finished, the boy was sitting up, leaning against the angel, fast asleep with a crummy beard and milky moustache.
Castiel smiled as he wiped the boy's mouth clean and carefully slide off the bed, an empty cup and plate in one hand. Placing the plate on the table he then settled the boy into his bed, covering him with his blanket and placing a kiss on the boy's forehead, the angel turned and left the room for the night.
"Dean, I dont think springing the idea on him is a good idea," Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead impatiently. "And after what happened last time?"
"Gabe's checked the place out," Dean replied, turning into a highway. "And I aint springing it on him, I'm gonna talk to Luce about it first. I've been reading about this stuff Sam, instead of going on good old' Busty Asians, I'm reading stuff about child development. And actually I've been chatting online with some other mums, they all agree he should start again, otherwise it will be harder for him to separate when he's older."
"You're talking online?"
"It's a support group for single parents," Dean shrugged.
"You're not a single parent," Sam pointed out.
"Technically I am, you, Bobby and the wings are uncles," Dean said, shortly, before he added in a confused mumble, "Unless Cass is the mum."
"No, I think you're the mum," Sam smirked, "I'm curious, are you the only father online?"
"No," Dean replied, "There are a few others. But most of the men have help from their mothers or mothers-in-law. EW, mother-in-law is a scary concept. Glad Cass hasn't got a mother."
Sam snorted, "I'm sure he'd tell you something along the lines of God being his Mother."
Dean chortled, "You heard from Gabe yet?"
"No," the younger brother shook his head, frowning. "He said he'd be a few days."
"It's been a week- almost two," Dean grumbled, "What the hell is Michael doing up there?"
"Is daddy here yet?" Lucifer asked as he stared down at the plate Castiel placed before him. In the plate was two pieces of toast with peanut butter and jelly plus a few pieces of sliced apples. The boy picked up and apple and began to chew on it slowly.
"Not long left Lucifer," Castiel smiled, "Why dont we go for a walk? Daddy should be back when we come back."
"Can we go to the lake and feed the ducks?" Lucifer asked eyes wide and doe-like. Castiel smiled and nodded, "Yeah! Uncle Bobby we need some of your bread!"
"Where you going, little man?" Bobby asked, from behind his newspaper.
"Uncle Cass and me are going to the lake! Gonna feed the ducks!" Lucifer grinned, mouthful of peanut butter.
"Alright, there's some bread in the fridge," Bobby smiled, amused by the boy's excitement over bread and ducks. "Make sure uncle Cass doesn't fall in this time."
"You are confusing me with Gabriel," Castiel smirked as Lucifer giggled.
"Actually daddy pushed uncle Fatso in!" Lucifer announced. "I saw him do it, but he said shush and then his eye when all silly."
"What do you mean it went silly?" Castiel asked, curiously. Lucifer mimicked the hunter's actions, attempting to wink one of his eyes shut with a silly grin on his face. Bobby chuckled, amused by the boy's antics.
"Daddy!"
Dean let out a loud grunt as he pounced on by the excited child. "Hey! How's my boy? Did you have fun with Uncle Cass and Bobby?"
"Yeah, I had milk and- fruit, milk and fruit!" Lucifer reddened as Castiel gave him a look then smirked.
"You gave him cookies didn't you," Dean said, looking up slowly at the angel. Castiel merely smiled a smile that met his eyes. "You're so getting it tonight."
"What's he getting daddy?"
"Nothing buddy," Dean replied quickly, "so tell me, what did you do today?"
"I went to the park today and I fed the ducks!" Lucifer replied, "And I almost caught a baby duckie, but its mummy tried to bite me. But I scared him away!"
"You mean her," Dean smirked, "Mummy's are she's and her, little guy."
Lucifer looked up at his father and frowned, thoughtfully, "Daddy, why dont I have a mummy?"
The house fell into an uncomfortable silence as the men stared at each other, unsure how to answer.
"Err, because-"
"And why are girls different to boys?"
"Uh-"
"And where do babies come from?"
"Okay! Okay! No more questions, bed time!" Dean cried out, overwhelmed.
"Aww, but I'm not tired, and I haven't had dinner yet!"
"Dean, it's three in the afternoon," Sam pointed out, with a smirk. His brother looked absolutely out of his depth with the questions the boy was bombarding him with.
"Okay, uh, go play with your toys, I'll call you when dinners ready okay little guy?"
"You didn't answer my questions," Lucifer replied, deadpanned.
Dean let out a childish whine.
"Uncle Cass," Lucifer whispered so quietly that Castiel barely heard him; he was hiding behind the sofa, peering up at his angelic brother with a sly look, "Can I have some milk and cookies? Sneak them past daddy!"
Castiel smiled, as Dean lifted his head off Castiel's lap and stared down at the child, with a cranky stare. Lucifer bit his lips as his father stared.
"Hi daddy," Lucifer said, sheepishly.
"Bed, you monkey," Dean smirked, as the child climbed up onto the armrest and settled himself between the two males. "Come on Luce. Off to bed."
"I wanna stay with you guys," Lucifer whined, "Please?"
"Let him stay, Dean, he'll dose off in a minute," Castiel smiled, running a hand through the fine hair.
"Alright, but only tonight," Dean warned, "Tomorrow, you go to sleep in your bed."
"Okay," Lucifer smiled, as he cuddled in closer to the hunter. "What are we gonna do tomorrow daddy?"
"Sleep in," Dean replied.
"Can we go to the park?"
"Maybe," Dean smiled, "Go to sleep, and you'll find out tomorrow."
Dean winced; the grip Lucifer has his fingers in was painfully tight as the boy clung to him dearly, refusing to look up staring intently at the wooden floorboards. It was early morning, and Dean, Sam and Castiel had brought the boy in for his first day at another day care. The men and the angel felt apprehensive about leaving the child, even though it was for a few hours under the strict yet unseen supervision of Gabriel.
They could hear two people arguing, a woman with a Spanish accent and a man with what Dean assumed was an Australian accent.
"It's a dress up as your favourite book character," came the woman's indignant voice, "Not dress up as your favourite superhero!"
"Superman is a book character!" responded the man, "Comic book, but nevertheless book character!"
"That would be Maria and Tane," Jesse smiled brightly, his ridiculously straight and white teeth brightening the warm room further. He led them into the office; a door to their right where a large mahogany table with a computer and a large can of Red Bull sat surrounded by hundreds of papers and books. Jesse motioned for the three men to sit before the desk as he sat behind pulling the keyboard of the computer near.
"Take a seat, guys," he smiled running a hand across his bald head, almost as though he was expecting hair. "Okay, so have you bought his enrolment form back? Thanks, I'd like to type this all up now onto the computer just to be sure everything is filled out correctly."
"Okay," Dean nodded, as he pulled Lucifer onto his lap, pushing back a strand of long blonde hair, "Uh, so, is it alright if we come pick him up early today?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Jesse nodded, "You can stay as long as you need, though we suggest leaving sooner rather than later and ensuring you say goodbye. No sneaking out."
"Why would we sneak out?" Sam asked, frowning. Jesse let out a huffed laughter as he typed up the information given to him by Dean.
"You'd be surprised; I've had parents jump over the fences just to get away faster,"
"That's dreadful!" Castiel snapped, angrily.
"Okay, so Luce has no siblings, and four uncles?" Jesse smiled.
"Really he has one uncle, a grandfather and two-"
"They're all uncles," Dean sighed, kicking Castiel not too discreetly. "Sam's my bro and Bobby's kind of a father to us, Gabe and Cass are just really good family friends."
"With benefits," Castiel added. Sam went ten shades of red as Dean choked on his own saliva. Jesse bit his tongue, trying his hardest not to laugh.
"We can't take him out anywhere!" Sam hissed.
"Do you like cheetahs Luce?" Jesse asked, changing the subject towards the child. "I like big cats too, especially the lion. Do you like the lion?"
"No, go away," Lucifer mumbled into Dean's neck.
"Did he just-"
"Luce! Dont be rude," Sam sighed.
"Heh, Tane and you will get along fine," Jesse grinned. Dean smiled back as he gently forced Lucifer to sit properly on his lap and look at his new carer. The boy stared timidly, as stiff as a rock still shaking like a leaf. "Do you want to go and meet everyone? Maybe someone came in dressed up like a cheetah; we're having a dress up day today. I'm Lex Luthor, just dont tell Maria. Or Tane."
Jesse led the men out to the room, after a few minutes, Dean leading Lucifer by the hand as Castiel held the boy's Toy Story school bag filled with a few necessities. Lunch, bed sheets, clothes, and Tiger.
"Alright, this is Maria, dressed up as Harry Potter," Jesse pointed to a staff member who was handing out cups of milk to a group of toddlers and preschoolers.
"Hello!" she smiled cheerfully as Dean took note of the other worker. Behind her was a large man; a dark mullet tied back fell down on his shoulder blades. He wore a Superman singlet and a pair of jeans and with the closer look Dean realized he wasn't an Australian but rather a New Zealander. A large tattoo covered most of his right arm but somehow it didn't seem out of place in the wacky centre.
"This is Tane," Jesse smiled, "I'll just show you guys to Luce's locker and then we'll go from there. You can stick around as long as you need and don't forget you can come in anytime you like to check up on him.
Dean smiled, feeling slightly more assured as Sam looked around taking in the centre's appearance. It was child friendly, warm filled with cushions in every corner, the walls adorned with tasteful art created by the children and occasionally the staff.
"I- I think we'll go, but uh, you have my number right? If anything happens?" Dean asked, his grip around Lucifer's hand tightening. He didn't want to leave his boy behind, but he knew in the long run in was the right thing to do for the child. No matter how much it hurt Dean to do it. "Okay, buddy, I'm- we're gonna go now, but we'll be back very soon."
Lucifer didn't reply, as he stared at his father with large fearful eyes, shaking on the spot.
"Bye bye, buddy," Dean stood back up and walked back slowly to the gate. Maria knelt beside the child watching him curiously as Sam and Castiel followed Dean's actions and headed out of the centre towards the Impala.
The child shivered, terrified as silent tears streamed down his little face.
"It's okay, sweetie," Maria whispered, soothingly as she rubbing his back gently.
"Why dont we go and get Tiger out of your bag?" Jesse smiled, before adding to his co-workers, "Tiger is his special friend."
"Oh, I hope he isn't scary," Maria said, with a frightened look on her face. "He won't eat me will he Luce?"
Lucifer shrugged as he stumbled behind the man. Still shaking he took his bag from his locker and pulled out Tiger.
"Oh, it's a cheetah," Tane grinned, "I thought it was a tiger."
"It's a cheetah called Tiger," Jesse smirked, as he gently pushed Lucifer towards the other children. "Would you like some milk Luce?"
The boy shook his head, still shaking as Tane sat down beside him and gently pulled the boy to the ground in front of him. Lucifer let out a little whimper as Tane pulled out a book from a black bag by his side.
"Do you like this story Luce?" Tane asked, showing Lucifer a cover of a flying duck.
"Wooby," Lucifer whispered, nodding as other children gathered around sitting beside him.
"Yeap, Ruby Flew, too!" Tane grinned. "Alright kids, shoosh, so I can read."
Jesse gave a roll of the eyes as Tane opened the book. He opened his mouth but a little voice cut him off before he could start.
"Who's this?" asked the boy to Lucifer's left, a boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
"This is Luce, Jacob," Jesse announced, "This is his first day here so I want everyone to help look after him okay."
"He's very hand-e-some," announced one of the girls as she leaned over and kissed Lucifer on the cheek. Lucifer blushed as the carers chuckled.
"Grace, what did daddy say about kissing boys?" Maria asked, waiting for the delightful answer.
"Not until you're a teemager!" Grace announced proudly. Jesse roared with laughter, startling Lucifer as Tane finally began to read Lucifer's story.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this! And thanks for the lovely reviews everyone!
peace and chicken grease
afro!