AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have to say I've enjoyed reading all the different view points on the past couple of chapters- Dean's mistake in opening his big mouth in front of Charlie, how she behaved before she ran way, and her ending up at Missouri's. Remember that the Winchesters are first and foremost hunters, they are rough-around- the-edges men who have no idea how to deal with a headstrong, emotional little girl, who also happens to be a stubborn Winchester. So mistakes have been made, and more will be made in the future...people aren't perfect, and parenting can be hard even if you do know what you're doing. I hope you continue to enjoy, no matter what happens! I love hearing from all of you, even if it's something I don't necessarily agree with. Reading different opinions and p.o.v.s helps me to think about things and sometimes helps me "flesh out" scenes a little better in my head. So thanks for all the comments and reviews! XXXOOO
P.S. -This chapter kinda gets heavy with feels, so you might want to read with a tissue handy!
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I woke up slowly, stretching and opening my eyes. I rolled over and gave a yelp of surprise- Castiel was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me!
"Hello, Charlotte Anne," he said in his gravelly voice.
"What're you doin'?" I grumped, "Why're you watchin' me sleep?"
"I do not need to sleep, myself," he told me, "And I am your guardian angel, so I must watch over you."
I sat up. "Well it's—it's kinda weird to wake up an' you bein' right there!"
He stood up and walked over to the window. "My apologies. In the future I will stay over here."
I huffed. "That'll be weird too!"
He tilted his head. "I—do not understand why."
I gestured at him. "Some guy, just standing in my room, watching me sleep? It's like—something out of a bad dream!"
"All right then, I will not stand," he walked over to the rocking chair in the corner and sat down.
"That's better," I said.
"What difference does it make if I am standing or sitting?" he asked, frowning.
"I dunno, it just does," I got out of bed, "I'm hungry, let's go see if Missouri is up."
Castiel followed me downstairs to the kitchen. Missouri was standing at the counter, pouring hot water into a mug. She turned. "Well, good morning, you two." she smiled.
"Good morning," I said.
"Yes, it is morning. What makes it good?" Castiel asked.
Missouri chuckled and shook her head. "It's somethin' that people say to greet each other, and it helps you feel good about the day. Charlie, you hungry?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Oatmeal and scrambled eggs sound good to you?"
"Yeah," I yawned, sitting down.
Missouri busied herself mixing the eggs and getting out a box of instant oatmeal packets. She set it on the table and I looked through them and pulled out one that had blueberries in it. She set a bowl and spoon in front of me, and I poured the packet into the bowl.
"Watch, this is hot," she poured water from a tea kettle into the bowl.
I stirred the oatmeal to mix it, and then blew on it to cool it. Once again, I was reminded of Uncle Sam, because he made oatmeal from scratch. A wave of sadness swept over me. I missed sitting with Daddy and having our morning snuggle. I missed how Uncle Sam always made sure I had fresh fruit at breakfast. I missed how Grandpa John would smile and say "There she is!" whenever I came into the room.
"Charlotte Anne, are you injured? Your face is leaking again," Castiel commented.
Missouri turned from the stove as I wiped my eyes.
"Oh, child, what is it?" she asked.
"I just—miss them is all," I sniffled.
She walked over to me and squeezed my shoulder. "I know, honey. You'll see them soon enough, in no time at all they'll be here!"
I nodded and tried to smile.
In a few minutes, Missouri set a bowl of eggs and a plate of toast on the table. She handed me a plate and set a fork next to me.
"Now listen, I've got some clients today, so y'all are gonna have to make yourselves scarce," she said, sitting down next to me.
"What do you mean, clients?" I asked.
"I do readings for people," she explained.
"You mean, like, you tell them their future?"
She took a sip of her tea. "Well, sort of. I read their energy and I can look into their past. I can sense patterns and help them figure out issues that are goin' on."
"Can I watch?"
She seemed taken aback. "No, Charlie, it's private...why would you want to do that?"
"Well, I mean...could I learn to do that? Like could that be my job?"
She shifted in her chair. "I don't think that's what your father wants for you."
"So? What if it's what I want?" I asked, "I mean, I have these abilities, right? I might as well use them for what they're for!"
She sighed. "Yes, I have to say I agree with you, but...you got other things in your life to consider. You're a real smart girl, and I know if you went to college you'd do real well, and you could do anything you put your mind to. So don't think that all you can do with your future, or all that you should do, is use your abilities."
I folded my arms. "What if I want to be a hunter? What if I want to be a psychic who hunts and helps other hunters?"
She sat back in her chair and shook her head. "Oh, child, I ain't touchin' that one with a ten foot pole, uh-uh. If I say anything about huntin' your Daddy'd have my head. That's gonna be between you an' him."
"He doesn't want me to be a hunter."
"And I can understand why, it's a very dangerous life. It's hard to deal with sometimes."
I had an idea. "Missouri...could I stay here with you? I mean, live here for a while, and you could teach me everything about using my abilities? Daddy wouldn't have to worry about me and he could go hunting and they could get that demon-guy they're looking for."
She patted my hand. "Oh, child, I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think your Daddy would allow it, either...you belong with the Winchesters. Y'all need each other too much."
"But I'd be safe," I insisted.
"Not necessarily. In a way you're the most safe with your Daddy, because he knows what he's looking for and he knows how to best protect you. And you all got to keep workin' on becoming a family. That's your job."
"It is?" I was confused.
"Yes, honey...you came into their lives and opened up their hearts to that which was hidden...all three a' them shut down a long time ago. When Mary passed, they closed off that part of their hearts that has a love for family, but you've brought it out in them. And they've needed it, and you need it too. Y'all are helpin' each other to heal. Do you understand?"
"Uh...kinda...not really."
She chuckled. "Well, you don't really have to. Just know that y'all are meant to be together. Now, finish up and then go and get dressed. My first client is at 9:30."
I went back upstairs and made the bed and got dressed. When I came into the living room, Missouri was moving a wooden room divider over by the front door.
"This blocks off the foyer which is like my waiting room, so nobody can look over into the living room. You got to put a physical barrier up, so people don't see in. I used to just have a sign, and you'd be surprised at how many people don't notice that sort of thing or read the sign. I'd come out and find people walkin' around my living room pickin' up my knick-knacks and whatnot! Once I even found a client in my kitchen, lookin' through my cabinets! He said he was thirsty and lookin' for a glass of water," she shook her head, "Now, you got to be quiet while people are here, and leave us be. I don't want them all up in my business, or you all up in theirs. I'll put a snack on the kitchen table for you, and if you want you can go into my bedroom and watch t.v."
"Can I go out back and swing?" I asked.
"Yes, you can. I don't think it's supposed to be too cold today."
I went out back, and Castiel followed me. I swung for a while, and he walked around looking at all the plants and bushes she had. A lot of them were just bare branches, or green stalks.
"We came here earlier when it was still warm, and the whole place had lots of flowers all over, it was really pretty," I told Castiel.
"You mean like this?" he touched a bush, and it was like it came back to life, growing green leaves and blue flowers all over in a few seconds. He walked around touching things, and in a few minutes, the whole garden was blooming with flowers again.
"Wow, how'd you do that?" I breathed.
"It is something I can do," he said with satisfaction.
I got kinda bored after hanging around, and went into the kitchen to get my snack. I brought the plate of banana bread out to the yard and sat on the swing while I ate.
"Do you want to try some? It's yummy."
"No, I do not," he replied, "but thank you for offering, Charlotte Anne."
"Hey, can you stop calling me that?" I asked.
"That is your name," he said.
"Yeah, but I already told you, I don't like it, it's for when I'm in trouble. Can't you call me Charlie? It's what everyone else calls me. Pleeeease?" I wheedled.
"All right, if it is important to you. Charlie."
"Yeah!" I smiled at him.
He tilted his head and it seemed like he was listening to something.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"There is...the person who is inside with Missouri, they have come under demonic influence before, I must-" he turned and started to walk towards the house. Then he turned back to me. "Come inside, and stay in the kitchen."
I followed him, feeling worried. He walked fast, by the time I had gone inside he was already around the room divider, and I heard him saying, "Missouri Mosely, I must speak with you."
I sat down at the table, feeling nervous. What were they doing? What did that mean? Did the person have a demon inside of them? Then I started to feel scared. What if they had a demon in them and they were here to get me? Castiel had said that the shape shifter was supposed to take me to a demon.
I ran upstairs to the bedroom, and locked the door. Then I started to look around for something I could use as a weapon in case they tried to take me. I couldn't really find anything, so I sat on the bed and waited.
I heard a car engine start, and ran over to the window. The car that had been parked out front was driving away. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and Missouri called out, "Charlie?"
There was a popping sound and the door swung open. Castiel had his hand up like he had touched the doorknob.
"What happened, is it okay? Is it safe?" I asked, rushing over to them.
"Charlotte Anne, I told you to stay in the kitchen," Castiel said. He looked at Missouri. "Should I spank her?"
"What?" I yelped, covering my butt with my hands and stepping away from him.
"That is what her father does when she disobeys him, is it not?"
Missouri gave Castiel a look. "Yes, but it ain't on you. Family's the only one that can do that sort of thing."
"Yes, but I am her guardian angel."
She shook her head, "Well, Mr. Angel, you better take that up with her daddy before you do anything. He'd be mighty angry with you if you did something like that without his permission."
"I will wait. Dean Winchester is still extremely suspicious of me, and I do not want to do anything to make him more upset."
"So, what happened?" I asked, "Was there a demon inside that person? Did you get rid of it?"
"Honey, I'm not gonna talk to you about any of that. It's all right, it got worked out, and it's safe. You don't have to worry. Let's go get you set up in my bedroom with a movie, all righty?"
I got the feeling that she was trying to distract me. We found a Harry Potter movie for rent, and she made me some popcorn and brought me a mug of hot chocolate. I laid down on her bed and watched the movie and ate.
"Charlie," I felt a hand on my arm, "Charlie, wake up. Your Daddy'll be here soon." Missouri said quietly.
I sat up quickly, looking at her. "Whaa?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I hadn't meant to fall asleep.
"You slept through lunch, and I let you, you must've needed it," she said, "Sam called me a little while ago."
" 'Kay," I slid off of the bed, "I'm hungry, can I have something to eat?"
"Dinner will be in about an hour, but since you missed lunch I'll get you somethin', come on."
I followed Missouri downstairs to the kitchen. The house was filled with the warm smell of the pot roast in the slow cooker, and it made my mouth water.
"I made some rolls, you can have one when they're out of the oven. You want an apple or pear?" she walked over to the fridge.
"Um, an apple please."
"You want green or red? I got some Granny Smiths, and some regular red ones."
"I like the red ones," I told her.
Castiel came into the kitchen just then. "It is completed, the warding is up," he said.
She straightened up and smiled at him. "Thanks for helping me."
"You are welcome," Castiel replied.
Missouri handed me a shiny red apple.
"Are you still feeling sad? Do you wish for me to bring you some ice cream and potato chips?" Castiel asked me.
"Uh, no, I'm okay," I said.
"Ice cream and potato chips? What's that about?" Missouri asked.
"Castiel took me to get ice cream, but we went to France! He made our molecules go fast so nobody saw us!" I told her.
She shook her head. "What in the world-?"
"Celestial beings travel on waves of light or they speed up their molecules to get somewhere quickly," Castiel explained.
"No, honey, you don't got to explain it to me," she chuckled, "I'm just surprised that you went to France, my goodness!"
"I...made a mistake. I thought that french vanilla ice cream was made in France," Castiel seemed almost defensive.
"And what did Dean have to say about that?" Missouri cocked her eyebrow.
"He was not happy with me, for a few reasons. But I did what I had to do at the time, it was more important that I assist the Winchesters."
"I understand, sometimes we make a choice that ain't the best, but it's the best choice at that time," she smiled at him.
The oven began to beep, and she walked over and pulled out a pan of rolls. She placed a couple on a plate, and brought the plate and a butter dish over to the table. She split the rolls open with a knife and spread the butter, then put one on a napkin and slid it over to me.
"Give it a few seconds to cool, honey," she said. Steam rose from the roll as the butter melted. I blew on it and then took a bite.
"You cook really good, Missouri," I told her.
"Well, thank you, Charlie," she smiled at me.
I was almost finished eating my roll when Castiel moved his head and said, "They have arrived."
Missouri stood up as the doorbell rang. I followed her, butterflies dancing in my tummy with anticipation.
She opened the door, "Hello, long time no see, y'all, c'mon in," and she stepped back to let them come inside.
Daddy walked in, followed by Uncle Sam and Grandpa John, who said, "There she is!" with a smile.
They all stood there looking at me for a moment, and then I rushed forward and threw myself at Daddy.
"Daddy!" I burst into tears as he leaned down and picked me up. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck, and he hugged me tightly.
"Oh, Charlie," he said, and his voice was full of emotion.
"Daddy m'sorry, m'sorry I ran away and all, I didn't mean to hurt you-" I babbled.
"Shh, it's all right, it's okay, it doesn't matter right now. We're here, and we're together again, and that's all that's important," he stroked my hair as I cried.
"John," Missouri said warmly, as she and Grandpa John hugged. Then she and Uncle Sam hugged.
"I'm so glad to see you, Charlie," Daddy kissed my cheek, and I felt his stubble rasp against my skin.
"How was the drive?" Missouri asked as we walked into the living room.
"It was fine, we found some back roads to take so that we didn't have to deal with the highway," Grandpa John replied.
Uncle Sam fell into step next to us. "Hey, let the rest of us say hello to our girl," he said to Daddy, and I turned to him. Uncle Sam smiled at me and reached for me, and pulled me into his arms for a strong hug.
"I was so worried about you, honey, I'm so glad you're safe," he murmured, "Thank God we've got your guardian angel here to look out for you," he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"Let me see her," Grandpa John said, and then I was in his arms, and he hugged me so tight for a moment that all I could smell was his wood smoke smell. He pulled back and looked at me, and his voice was stern. "Don't you ever run away like that again, you do, and you'll be taking a trip across my knee, you got that? "
I gulped, and started to say, "Y-yes, Gran-" but he pulled me in for another hug, and said gruffly, "I don't want anything to happen to you, little one, you're my only grand-daughter."
"You're—squeezing me—too-tight-" I gasped.
"Geez, Dad, let her get some air!" Daddy said, "Give her back to me, would ya?"
Grandpa John gave me back to Daddy and wiped his eyes with his thumb and fingertips.
We all sat down on the sofa, with me sitting in Daddy's lap.
Castiel stood awkwardly off to the side. Everyone said hello to him and nodded, and he said hello back.
"Y'all made good time, I wasn't expecting you for another hour or so," Missouri said.
"Taking the back roads helped, we missed a couple of big traffic snarls on the highway," Daddy said.
"And you drove like a speed demon, just like always," Uncle Sam said with a scoff.
"Well, I've got a pot roast cookin', and I need to make some gravy for it. John, Sam, why don't you come into the kitchen and help me, an' I'll put a pot of coffee on."
They stood up and started to walk out of the room.
Missouri stopped and turned. "Castiel! Come on!"
He looked at her. "Do you require my assistance?"
"We're lettin' these two have some time alone to talk, now come on!"
"I see," Castiel followed them into the kitchen.
Daddy looked at me. "I'm so glad to see you," he murmured, hugging me again.
After he let me go, he shifted me on his lap, and looked at me.
"Charlie, I need to explain something to you," he said, "when I said—what I said, it wasn't about getting rid of you, and it wasn't about you being a burden. It was about wanting a better life for you, and about keeping you safe. I would never just "get rid of you" or "give you away", but if there was a situation where I had to put you with someone for your safety, I would. However, it would be temporary, until the danger had passed, and I'd come back for you. I will always come back, Charlie, I won't ever leave you or send you away for good. You're my family, and that's the most important thing in the world to me. I fight monsters because that's my job, it's what I've been trained to do, and it's what I do best, but at the end of the day, coming home to family is what matters."
He took my hands and held them in his. His face looked serious, but his eyes were sad.
"And I'm so glad that you're part of my family, I'm so glad that we've got each other. I never thought- I mean, I've...been with women through the years, but I never figured I'd have a kid, you know, I'm not the 'settle down and get married with a 9 to 5 and a white picket fence' kind of guy. And when you came into my life...I really didn't know what to do at first, I didn't know how it was going to work. We're still figuring it out...but I am so, so glad that you're part of my life, and I'm so glad that your mother got in touch with me, and that she wanted me to be part of your life."
He blinked, and I could see tears in his eyes. It made me get tears in my eyes.
"You...really mean that? I'm not, I mean, I know I'm bad a lot and all, but you don't...wish you didn't have me, so you could hunt like you used to? I'm not really-" I took a deep breath and forced the word out, "a burden?"
"No, Charlie, none of that is true!" he put his hand up to my cheek, "How you behave doesn't factor into any of this at all, even if you misbehaved constantly and got into all kinds of trouble it wouldn't change how I felt about you or anything. I don't wish that you weren't here, and you're not a burden, please don't think that any more. You've been through so much already, and you're so strong...I'm so proud of you, and I'm proud that you're my daughter."
I started to cry. "You—you are?"
He hugged me again. "Yes, I am, and I know I don't tell you that kind of thing nearly enough. It's something else I'm not used to doing, and I'm sorry. I love you so much, and I'm happy that you're here."
I clung to him as I cried a little. I heard him sniff, and looked up as he was wiping his eyes.
I noticed he still had the cut in the corner of his lip.
"Why did you and Uncle Sam hit each other?" I asked.
"Well, Sam pointed out that I kinda let your behavior go on for longer than I should have. He said that if I had insisted that you come out of the bed room and interacted with us, that you wouldn't have run away, so it was my fault you'd run off. And...I got pissed at him for saying that, and... decked him. And after he got up off the floor, he told me to get my head out of my ass with respect to how I was acting with you and punched me back."
He huffed a short laugh. "Sometimes when Sam and I have a 'discussion' about something our emotions run so high that we end up getting physical. Like I said, it's a brother thing, and it doesn't mean anything in the long run. We're okay."
"You're not still mad at each other for hitting?"
He laughed again. "No, we get over that stuff pretty quick. Sammy's always got good insight too, and so I always try to listen to what he says, even if it pisses me off when he first says it."
Grandpa John came to the door. "Dinner's ready, come and eat."
I got off of Daddy's lap, but he scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the kitchen. As we walked, Grandpa John cupped my cheek and smiled at me so that his dimples showed.
Daddy set me in a chair between him and Uncle Sam. They busied themselves serving me, asking me what I wanted and putting food on my plate, and Daddy cut up my meat while Uncle Sam buttered another roll for me. It would have annoyed me at any other time, but it felt nice to be taken care of at this moment. I realized how much I had missed it- I had missed it before when I'd been taking care of my mom, and I had missed it now, and hadn't even realized that it had been happening. All three of them took care of me in different ways, and although sometimes it annoyed me because it made me feel like a little kid, I did like it. I had been on my own for almost two years, taking care of my mom while she was sick. I looked around at all of them, and told myself I was going to be better at appreciating everything that they did for me.