Kathy: Thank you for always reviewing!
frankannestine: Awww welcome! Glad you enjoy the story. Writing kids is HARD but luckily, I use a lot of the interaction based on my sister and me (we're the same age difference). Hope you stick around!
Long Live BRUCAS: I'm contemplating writing a chapter clearing all this up cuz it is starting to go all over the place lol. What I had in mind is that Kate and John had a thing and John kept it all a secret, then Mary found out about it. Currently, John and Kate are not a thing. He's just helping her with Adam. Does that make sense lol?
On with the show!
The rest of the drive home was awkward. Mary instantly regretted going off on Dean like that. Dean is a good kid. So what if he made a mistake? He had been going through a lot and it's obvious now he learned his lesson.
She looked over at Dean folded in half in the seat next to her. Sam's hand was resting on his shoulder. Mary's heart broke and she felt an overwhelming guilty sensation. Thoughts of how she was going to handle this started rushing through her head.
She pulled up in the driveway. Dean composed himself and immediately got out of the car. Sam fell back asleep so Mary had to help him out and walk him up to the front porch, where Dean was anxiously rocking back and forth on his feet.
"I want you to go straight to your room," she said to him quietly. "We'll talk about this tomorrow."
Dean didn't know how else to respond but nod.
Mary unlocked the front door. Dean bolted up the stairs while she guided a half-asleep Sam over to the couch.
Then the dreaded moment happened. Time to call John.
Mary chose to wait to call him until she had figured out what had happened and brought Dean home. She thought it would be easier than risking him blowing up on Dean in a room full of cops.
She didn't have to tell him, right?
The phone kept ringing. Then the machine picked up. "John, it's me..."
Dean got to his room and closed the door behind him. He jumped on his bed, screamed into a pillow, then started punching the mattress.
His parents were never going to let him and Tommy hang out ever again. He would never be allowed to leave the house ever again. He would have to answer to both of them until he turned sixty.
He suddenly felt sick. He jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, barely making it before throwing up. He finished and felt dirty like he was locked in a jail cell, even though he and Tommy got to wait in one of the offices at the police station. And he felt a migraine coming on. God, would this day just end?
"Are you almost done?" Sam asked, causing Dean to jump. "I have to go!"
"So go downstairs!" Dean answered back.
"I can't! Mom and Dad are talking down there. They kicked me out."
Oh god. Dad was here. Oh god, oh god, oh god. This was not going to be good.
More urgent knocking. "DEAN!"
Dean felt numb as he got off the floor and opened the bathroom door, revealing a dancing Sam on the other side.
"When I'm done with him, he's going to wish he was in jail!" he heard John yell as angry footsteps stomped up the stairs.
He heard Mary yell back. "I already promised him we'd talk about it tomorrow!"
"Of course you did."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"If you would stop babying the both of them-"
Dean took a deep breath and decided to face his consequences. Might as well get them over with. He interrupted his parents' current fight by appearing at the top of their stairs.
"Dean, go back to your room," Mary said as calmly as she could.
"Dean! Pack your bag!" John ordered. "You're coming with me!"
"He is not going anywhere!" Mary said. "Dean, please go back to your room."
Dean immediately turned around and walked quickly down the hall. He caught Sam coming out of the bathroom and grabbed his hand.
"What's going on?" Sam asked. Dean took him into his room and closed the door behind them. "Dean? What's happening?"
"Just stay quiet," Dean hissed. He stood in front of the door and pressed his ear against it to listen. Sam climbed up on Dean's bed and waited patiently. They could both hear their parents yelling. Loud enough to know they were still fighting, but not loud enough to know what they were saying.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Dean cautiously opened it to find a frazzled Mary standing on the other side. "Can you come down so we can talk about tonight?"
"Do I have to?" Dean whined. He just knew John was waiting downstairs. "He's so mad."
"He's promised to watch himself. But he feels we need to talk about this now."
Mary led Dean to the kitchen. Sam followed. No way was he missing this.
John sat at the table with his arms crossed over his chest. "Sit," he demanded when he saw Dean appear. Dean sat down in one of the chairs opposite him. Mary sat in the chair in between them and Sam sat on her lap.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know! I was mad and I needed to do something-"
"So you and Tommy threw rocks at a barn?"
"We didn't think anyone would catch us! It's old and no one uses it! The cop was just driving by when he saw us."
John and Mary exchanged a look.
"You are grounded for three weeks. Your ass is here, the apartment, or school. You are to do everything your mom and I ask you to. You are not allowed to see Tommy or any of those other boys. And if you ever slip again, you will come with me and I will personally introduce you to marine boot camp, do you understand?"
Dean nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"That goes for you as well," John directed at Sam as he helped himself out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.
"Sammy, go get ready for bed," Mary said quietly. Sam hopped down from her lap and went back upstairs.
Dean folded his arms and rested his head on the table.
"Are you okay?" Mary asked him. Dean didn't respond. "I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. But I need you to promise me that this will never happen again."
Dean still didn't respond. He so badly wanted to go to bed and hope to god this whole day was a horrible nightmare.
Mary sighed. She crouched down next to him and put her arm around him. "I love you."
"Love you too."
someones-big-sister