Author's note: Hey, guys. Sorry it's been a little longer than usual, but I do have good reason. First of all, psychoanalyzing all of Dean's interaction with that CPS lady was a lot more time consuming than I thought it was going to be. Second of all, I took the ACT yesterday, and I had to put at least some time and energy into preparing for that. But now it's over and done with, and hopefully things can get back to a more normal timetable.
Not gonna lie, I kinda feel like this is a crappy chapter in comparison to the rest of this story, but I wanted to get you guys something, and I enjoy analyzing the hidden and not-so-hidden meanings behind people's behavior a little more than the average person, so bare with me. Sorry if you don't like this one, but I get it if you don't, and I promise the next one will be better.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and Doctor Who are property of their respective owners and not me
Chapter 15: A Guillotine During the French Revolution
"If I'd just kept my mouth shut-"
"Dean-"
"I should've found another way-"
"Dean, c'mon-"
"But I'm incapable, so of course I screwed it up-"
"Dean! Stop!"
I shut my mouth but continued pacing the small room they'd put Sammy and me in for the night, raking a hand through my hair in frustration.
"Dean, you can't beat yourself up about this." Sam said plaintively, looking up at me from the bed farthest from the door where he was sitting. "It's not your fault."
I scoffed. "Like shit. You were there, you saw what happened. How was any of that not my fault?"
"It wasn't anybody's fault, Dean. it was all just one big misunderstanding."
"Yeah, a big misunderstanding because I was being a stupid idiot."
"There was no way you could've known what was gonna happen." Sam grabbed my arm as I passed him and pulled me down to sit on the bed too. "Things just go south sometimes."
"Yeah, they go south. With a little help from me."
"Dean-"
"But whatever." I continued, cutting him off. "Let's focus on something productive, like getting out of here."
"How? They've got a guy outside the door and a dowel nailed into the window frame."
"We could break the window."
"They'd hear it. Face it, Dean; we're stuck."
I grabbed the pillow and threw it at the wall, but it wasn't nearly satisfying enough. "Then what d'you wanna do?"
"Wait it out. The Doctor will bust out soon and come get us."
"I don't wanna just sit here with our thumbs up our asses: he might need our help."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Dean, in all of the admittedly short time we've known him, has he ever once needed our help?"
"Well, no." I mumbled.
"So…" Sam shrugged as if to say there was nothing else to add.
"It's my mess, Sam. I'm kind of obligated to do what I can to fix it."
Sam sighed, pressing his palms against his eyes. "Dean, it's midnight. If you really feel like this is your mess to clean up, can you please do it tomorrow? It'll be easier to get away when we're not stuck in this room anyhow."
"Okay, Sammy." I agreed heavily after a second's hesitation. He did have a point. They'd have to let us out of this room tomorrow, and it would definitely be easier to get away then.
XxXxX
"I feel like this plan really backfired." I said casually, reclining my car seat back until I was practically horizontal. "I mean, this has gone in a completely different direction than I was originally imagining."
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Dean." Sam grumbled, arms folded and glaring out the window.
"Hey, it ain't like I'm calling you out or anything: I agreed to the plan too. We're equally at fault here."
"Do you have a better plan, genius?"
"Well," I said thoughtfully, "jumping out of the car did cross my mind, but since we're going about 70 mph, that seems like a really bad idea."
Sam rolled his eyes and stayed silent.
"Boys," Ashley interrupted, twisting around to look at us in the passenger seat, "I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind, but it's just until we find a place that's a good fit for the two of you. The Carsons are great foster parents; you're going to love them."
XxXxX
"For the millionth time, I'm Dean's uncle, not his father, and Sam is my son." the Doctor said exasperatedly, leaning back in his chair. "And I would never hurt either of them."
"Mr. Winchester-"
"Campbell. I'm his mother's brother."
"Fine, then, Mr. Campbell, take me through your story again." the man across from the Doctor said, his tone making it clear that he doubted he'd hear anything that would change his mind. "I'm still a little fuzzy on exactly what you're claiming happened."
The Doctor managed not to roll his eyes, but it sure as hell wasn't easy. "I already told you. There's been something off with my brother-in-law ever since Mary died, but I never dreamed he'd do anything to Dean. My son and I were over visiting, and Dean and John got into a fight. Dean ended up running out of the house, and Sam and I have been looking for him ever since: we were worried about him being out on his own in the middle of the night."
"Yeah, okay." The man shook his head slightly, popping his gum. "Let's try the truth this time, shall we?"
The Doctor leaned forward, a little angry now. "Look, what exactly is it that I'm being accused of here?"
The man opened a file, smiling a little wolfishly. "Well, let's see here. Child abuse, obviously, probably multiple counts. It says here that the information Dean Winchester gave CPS and his responses - both verbal and nonverbal - to certain questions and situations suggest prolonged abuse."
The Doctor paused for a moment, a sick feeling growing in his stomach. Dean was a good actor, no question, but he didn't think he was that good. "Does the analysis get any more in depth than that?"
The cop raised an eyebrow. "Why're you asking? Wanna see just how much damage you did?"
The Doctor didn't respond but just sat there waiting for an answer, his expression stony. Yes, he wanted to understand just how much damage John Winchester had done to the sweet, green-eyed boy he'd accidentally allowed himself to care about.
The man flipped through the file until he found the page he wanted. "Here's what the therapist who went in to talk to him, Miss Carpenter, had to say: 'Dean's overly tense, as if constantly expecting somebody to attempt to do him harm in some way. He's at the very least self-conscious, if not ashamed, at being caught looking at something which interests him that he didn't ask explicit permission to touch. He clearly doesn't consider it safe or acceptable to be afraid and makes a visible effort to appear unconcerned at all times. He doesn't like it when someone knows more about him than he knows about them, and making sure nobody else has an 'unfair advantage' over him seems to be one of his major concerns, which suggests that there is someone that he feels has one and abuses it. He's very open and responsive to the concept of deal making; you do something for me, and I'll do something for you. This leads me to think that he believes that everything has a catch." The man looked up at the Doctor. "Proud of yourself yet?"
"Just keep going." If the Doctor was going to abandon John Winchester in a guillotine during the French Revolution, he wanted to know exactly why he'd be doing it.
The man rolled his eyes and continued reading. "He doesn't know his own middle name, which clearly upsets him. He said it's because his father never uses it, and he isn't willing to ask, which makes it apparent that not only is he afraid of his father, but he relies on what his father says for a sense of identity and purpose. His mother died in a fire when he was four, and he refuses to talk about it, which suggests that nobody helped him work through it in a healthy way - or much of any way - and he still hasn't been able to move past it. He doesn't give his word until he knows all the details of what's being asked of him, which suggests that he's been manipulated into doing things he didn't want to on the grounds that 'he agreed'." The man looked up from the file again. "You're a real sicko, you know that?"
"Kind of you to say. Keep reading." the Doctor snapped, his hands curled into fists under the table.
The man shook his head in disgust and went back to the file. "His father drinks a lot, and Dean doesn't blame him for the resultant violence. Instead, he seems to think it's normal and that it's not even wrong, just to be expected when alcohol's involved. He's defensive of his father and loves the man very much, which he's also incredibly defensive about. He has an intense loyalty hang up, so when his father began to mistreat and abuse him after his mother's death, he just took it, chalking it up to his father having a hard time handling things. He feels that it's his responsibility to be the closest thing in the household to a fully functioning adult, and he's willing to do anything and let his father do anything in order to make that man happy, including hurting Dean, if that's what it takes. He says his father hurts him in order to teach him the consequences of falling short of absolute perfection, and he thinks it's totally warranted. It seems that, more than anything, Dean just wants his father to be proud of him."
Yeah, okay, clearly just abandoning John in a guillotine wasn't gonna cut it; the Doctor would have to come up with something else later. But one thing was for certain. There was no way in hell he was going to let those boys ever go back to the way things had been before.
Author's note: Please review! It makes my day. Constructive criticism is totally welcome, as always.
