AN: Sorry for the long wait on this one. *Shrugs sheepishly* I added an Education major, got really busy, took summer classes, then COVID got dropped from the education program, almost graduated, but didn't… Let's just say that things have been crazy since I last updated. For those of you who have been following for a while, you know that my updates are very inconsistent… and I would like to thank you for sticking with me anyway. :) Enjoy!
"The irrationality of a thing is not an argument against its existence, rather a condition of it."-Nietzsche
Chapter 10
Claire shifts against the headboard and wraps the blanket tighter around herself. She still can't believe that Randy would do that to her. That he would let that freak… She shudders at the thought and refocuses her attention on the cartoon on the TV. She's better than this. This isn't the worst thing that has ever happened to her… or maybe it is. But she doesn't want to think about that either. She snakes one arm out of her protective blanket-cocoon to grab the remote. She flips through a few channels until she gets the local news.
"Way to go Winchesters." she whispers, watching as the reporters drone on about everything they think they know about Sam and Dean Winchester.
She lets out a huffed laugh as they show several mugshots from over the years. Dean's blue steel is especially funny, but watching the progression of Sam's hair is equally entertaining. That's when Castiel returns from picking up their breakfast from a local dinner.
"I wasn't sure what you would like, so I got pancakes, scrambled eggs, French toast, and bacon."
Claire raises an eyebrow at the sheer number of takeout boxes.
"What'd you do, order for an army?"
"Well, I got what Sam and Dean would usually order…"
She rolls her eyes. Of course the Winchesters would eat enough for ten men. She watches as Cas lays out the feast of takeout on the table in the corner.
Claire doesn't move to get any. Cas sighs. He wonders how the Winchesters are faring, but knows that Claire needs him more right now. He sits at the table, watching the news in silence.
"You should eat something…" he says after a while.
Claire barely glances at the angel before adjusting her blanket again and looking back at the screen. Why was it so much harder to get through to Claire than it was to Sam and Dean? Castiel doesn't know what he should do. What would be best for Claire? Is he trying too hard, or not enough?
Castiel decides to let the teen win this round of whatever battle they seem to be fighting, which he clearly doesn't know the rules of. He lets his attention follow Claire's back to the TV. A reporter is interviewing J.J. who is trying her best to provide answers while simultaneously dodging any that were opinion-based or hate filled. She expertly manages to reassure the public that they are safe and that justice will be served, without needing to give any actual details of what charges are being brought against the Winchesters, or revealing what state of mind they are in. For that, Castiel is thankful. He knows that the Winchesters care very little about public opinion, but that doesn't mean that Cas can't tell that the cruel things being said about them affects them.
Meanwhile, Claire had long since tuned out the world around her. Her thoughts had wandered to her mother, her real father, her old friends, and her old life. She feels disgusted with herself for wanting that boring, oblivious, life back. She thought about her new life that she had made for herself; her new friends—no, new family—that she had made, and was again disgusted with herself for being so weak. She didn't need them. She never needed them. She doesn't need anyone. In that moment she decides that she doesn't need the Winchesters either, and she definitely doesn't need Castiel, the being with her father's face.
With a new understanding of her place in the world, Claire stands up and serves herself breakfast.
For the first time since they arrived, all of the BAU members were in the same room. The atmosphere was not what they had expected it to be when they started. Each member of the team felt as if they had misjudged the Winchesters on some level; that their personal biases had gotten in the way of their professional judgment. It was not often that they were both successful and felt like they had somehow failed at the same time.
They were all gathered around the map and the timeline of the Winchester's hunts in the police station conference room. All of the information they had gathered was now squished on two boards with stickie notes overlapping and hanging precariously off of every side so that they all fit.
"I hate to say it…but I think these guys might be heroes…" Morgan starts, breaking the silence that had reigned over the room thus far.
"But that's crazy." Garcia says, not sure what to believe any more.
"I think he might be right…There's no other rational explanation; especially after what happened yesterday." Reid adds, having been briefed like the others about what had happened to Rossi, Morgan, and the Winchesters the previous day.
"I'm still trying to process yesterday." Rossi says, raising a hand as if it could protect him from what he had witnessed.
"I hate to pressure you, but there's no time for you to process. Ultimately, we will have the final say in what happens to the Winchesters, and the higher-ups want this case closed now." Hotch puts in, unhappy with the constraints of their job.
"…but if their case goes to trial they'll be crucified by the media, again." J. J. says. She had reviewed previous news coverage on the boys, as well as witnessed firsthand how the media clamored for the Winchesters' blood.
"If the director, or the public for that matter, had had their way from the very beginning, the Winchesters would be dead." Morgan states not unsympathetically.
Silence falls again as they consider this.
"Where does that leave us exactly?" Reid asks.
"Well, if we're all in agreement that they are saving lives… then you all must realize that we can't allow them to be punished for it." Hotch muses.
"They don't deserve any more tragedy in their lives." Garcia says.
She gestures towards the board and the stack of books on the table in front of it; making her point without having to say any more. She may not fully know what to make of them, but Garcia can tell that the Winchester brothers have suffered far more than the average person. No one deserves what Sam and Dean have gone through. That, everyone agrees on.
"But Dean is still incredibly unstable." Derek very validly points out. "And regardless of anything else, he still killed those men. We can't just let him go; regardless of the good that he and Sam are doing otherwise." He sighs, frustrated with the position they have found themselves in.
"You're right. That would be irresponsible on our part, and potentially harmful both to the public at large, and to Dean's personal mental health." Hotch concurs.
"He needs our help." J.J. says with kind conviction.
A foreboding silence settles upon them.
"Then we help him." Rossi intones.