Bobby pushed Dean down into the chair in Jody's office then leaned against the wall and folded his arms, he studied Dean silently for a moment, trying to wrap his head around the apparent situation.
"Coffee?" Jody asked.
"Um, got any milk?" Dean asked, his ears reddening when the two adults looked surprised, "Sam said my taste buds haven't matured enough to like coffee yet."
"How about a soda?" Jody offered and Dean nodded his agreement. It was only a moment before she returned with a soda and the box of donuts from the break room. Dean eagerly shoved one in his mouth and grabbed a second before chugging half of his drink.
"Now can you tell us what the hell is going on here and why you look … like that?!" Bobby asked.
Dean explained about the witch and the hex bag.
"You mean to tell me you've been in this state for months, and neither of you thought to pick up the phone and fill me in?!" Bobby was furious. Dean bit his lip and looked down at his knees muttering an apology.
"And now you can explain why Sam called me in a panic saying you 'ran away and then get caught ripping off a gas station for some junk food,"
"How did Sam know I was gone?" Dean asked.
"How else, you idjit? Your daddy called him when he realized you were gone, the two of them split the list of people to call. Now. I want to hear what you have to say before I call them both back and let them know we found you."
This time Dean didn't go into details, he said it had been a long time since he got to drive Baby and just missed it, that he wasn't planning on going as far as he did. It wasn't a lie, but it certainly wasn't the truth either. Then again telling Bobby and Jody that his dad was about to tan his 36-year-old ass because he wasn't home for dinner and he was so scared he ran away, well, that was just too embarrassing to say out loud.
Jody frowned and looked at Bobby, he also didn't look happy. They both knew Dean was holding back, but they had no idea what it was.
Bobby called John, "He's here with me. Sioux Falls PD picked him up after swiping some food from a gas station…."
Bobby was quiet for a moment as John spoke, the old man frowned, then looked at his phone because John had hung up.
"Balls," he muttered. He looked down at Dean who was still sitting in the chair, looking a little paler than usual.
"Your dad is going on a hunt, won't be back for a week or so. You'll be with me since school is on break next week," he said.
Dean looked visibly relieved, "Well that settles it then. Let's go. What did you do with Baby?" Dean began to stand.
"Not so fast," Jody said, when the boy looked at her he gulped at how displeased she looked, "You have some apologies to make. Namely Clark, the officer you tried to take a chunk out of."
Dean's shoulders slumped a little, "do I have to?" he whined.
"Yes!" Was the resounding reply from both Jody and Bobby.
"Fine. But I'm not going to mean it," Dean said as he headed out the door. Bobby and Jody exchanged exasperated looks.
Dean was on the sofa, not in a typical manner where you sit facing forward, or even laying down. No, Dean was upside down, his legs hooked over the back of the sofa and his head hanging off the seat as he watched an episode of Scooby-Doo.
Bobby looked over, raised an eyebrow, and muttered "idjit" to himself as he turned back to the chili he was making. He ladled some into a couple of bowls and went to the living room, "Dean, sit up. Foods ready. Go grab the drinks."
Dean rolled over and got up, "Beer?" he asked Bobby who grunted in the affirmative.
"Can I have one?"
Bobby growled in response as he'd just taken a bite of chili
"Ok ok, just asking," Dean muttered as he tossed Bobby a can and plopped back down on the couch.
"Put Jeopardy on, I'm not watching this crap," Bobby gestured at the TV. Dean pouted to himself for a second before changing the channel.
Dean and Bobby sat in a comfortable silence as they watched Jeopardy followed by a sitcom and the evening news. Dean yawned and as the news went on Bobby noticed the boy's eyes drooping more.
"Dean, time for bed," Bobby said as he glanced at his watch.
"It's only eight-thirty."
"Yeah and by the time you're done in the bathroom it'll be nine. You drove all night last night too, you're exhausted."
"Am not."
"Dean," Bobby growled in warning, the boy sighed and headed up to the room he and Sam always used when they stayed at Bobby's. Dean got ready and crawled into his bed, pleased that he was once again able to stretch out on the twin without his feet hanging over the edge. By the time Bobby headed up a few minutes later he was already asleep. Bobby shook his head, Dean always just fell into bed instead of getting under the blanket. He pulled a second blanket from the closet and covered the sleeping boy. He left the door open a crack and flipped on the hallway night light before heading to his own room.
Saturdays at Bobby's usually meant a full day of work at the junkyard, pulling parts out of old scrappers and sorting what would get scrapped and what could be refurbished and resold. Dean loved it even if he did whine when Bobby woke him up before the sun.
The next few days were more of the same, working in the yard, an occasional trip to the grocery store, regular cooked meals (even if they weren't good for you, Dean wasn't going to complain), usually some TV and news before heading to bed. Sometimes Bobby would get a call from a hunter asking for info or backup; Bobby would coordinate help or do some research. Sometimes he sat Dean down at the table with a few books to help.
A call Tuesday morning had Bobby locking himself in his study for a few hours frantically calling people as well pulling out volume after volume that Dean couldn't make out. He tried to poke his head in to ask if could help but end up having something large and heavy thrown at him with the order to "get out and stay out" thats when Bobby locked the door.
When Bobby finally emerged he informed Dean that he had a job to do and that he would be dropping of Dean at Jody's house.
"What? I can help. Come on Bobby take me with you," Dean begged and pestered until Bobby cuffed him upside the head.
"Why don't I just stay here then. I don't need a babysitter. I'm not actually 14, remember?" was the next argument to which Bobby gave Dean an unimpressed look.
"Boy, you are in the habit of getting yourself into all sorts of trouble and I wouldn't let you stay in this house alone even if you were in your adult body. Maybe if Sam were here too, he at least knows not to touch everything he sees. Put that down," Bobby snapped and Dean quickly set down something that looked like an hourglass that he had picked up just a moment ago.
"Get in the truck," an exacerbated Bobby said with a sigh.
"Who's this?" Alex asked when Dean and Bobby walked in.
"Alex, this is Dean," Jody introduced, she was good enough not to mention Dean's last name least Alex made the connection that they had already met the year before when Dean was in his 35-year-old body. Small blessings.
"Hi," the girl said before going back to her homework.
Dean threw himself down on the couch and put his feet on the coffee table
"Dean. Feet down," Jody reminded before turning back to Bobby to discuss how long he would be away. He sighed and reluctantly took his feet off of the table.
Bobby poked his head in to say goodbye, "Be good," he said with a stern voice and a look.
Dean threw up his hands in disbelief as if he needed to be reminded to behave himself.
Jody made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with a side salad. Dean choked down the salad, to be polite, before polishing off 3 plates of the pasta. Jody raised an eyebrow as she watched the boy slurp up his spaghetti and then shove a meatball in his mouth, chewing with his mouth open a little.
"Ok, I'm done," Alex said, disgusted. She pushed her plate aside.
"You going to eat that?" Dean asked, looking at the unfinished plate.
"Dean, you're going to be sick if you eat all that," Jody said wisely.
"It's fine," he said, grabbing the plate and scraping the food onto his own before digging in again. Jody shook her head slightly and continued with her dinner.
The sheriff excused herself from the table when her cell phone rang, Dean only halfway paid attention, the food being his main focus.
"Seriously? It's my night off…. I've got two kids here…. Can't you get Hurley to cover?...
Alright, but you owe me one," Jody hung up the phone, "bad news guys, I've got to head into work for a couple of hours. Will you two be ok here on your own?"
Dean nodded, his mouth still stuffed with food.
"Yeah it's fine," Alex said, barely paying attention to Jody, her phone being her main focus.
Jody looked unsure but a text on her phone had her grabbing her jacket and keys before heading out the door.
It didn't take Alex long to locate the nearest party her friends were at. She changed and fixed up her hair and make-up.
"What are you doing?" asked Dean.
Alex rolled her eyes, "going out," she turned to him, "I guess you can come if you want."
"Jody will be pissed."
Alex shrugged, "So? Come, or don't. I don't care," she said before leaving the house.
Dean took about 5 seconds to look around the empty house before running after Alex.
Dean seems to have a new partner in crime... or maybe Alex does.
Let me know what you think.