Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters and, sadly, am making no money from them.
Scars from the Past
Chapter 2
"So what's the real story?" Jim asked John later. They were sitting in the pastor's home after dinner, having expertly kept the conversation away from Wally most of the night. Dean realized they wanted to talk without him and had gone back to the bar, hoping to earn a few dollars playing pool. "Why are you really considering helping Wally?"
John accepted another beer and paused while the other man settled himself on a chair across from him. "It's not Wally I'd be helping. His friend, and I really want to stop calling him that, is an okay guy from what I've been told. Wally is a lot of things, most of them bad, but he's the first one to admit it. When he says someone is good people, he's usually right."
"Who is this person?"
"His name is Michael Barrett. He's an attorney, works for legal aid. According to Wally, he does a lot of good work for the community."
Jim looked thoughtful. "And Wally knows him?"
"Barrett is his stepbrother and apparently he ran afoul of Ellen in a very normal way. She owns an apartment building and he represented her tenants. Seems Ellen is a bit of a slum lord."
Jim rolled his eyes, incredulous. "Wouldn't you know it? So she cursed him because of that?"
John nodded. "It's going to cost her about $30,000 to do all the work the court is requiring her to do."
"What kind of curse?"
"Wally didn't know. And I guess Barrett didn't even realize he was cursed at first. He told Wally about a series of unfortunate things that happened; cases he'd lost that should have gone his way, a small car accident, a flood in his bathroom. But when Barrett ended up in the hospital with something the doctors couldn't diagnose, Wally started to do some digging and he found Ellen."
"You're going to check out that story, right?"
"You know me well enough to know the answer to that."
"And you're going to keep Dean out of it."
John noticed that wasn't a question. He nodded. "I don't want Dean anywhere near Ellen. I shouldn't have even taken him with me when I met Wally."
Jim watched as John's face clouded. He didn't know all of the history between John and Wally, but he knew enough of it to know better than to ask too many questions.
"So assuming the story checks out, what do you plan to do?"
"We both know the best way to break a curse is for the person who threw it to take it off."
"Oh. So you'll ask Ellen to join you for a High Tea and you'll politely ask her to remove the curse. That's an excellent plan, John. Well done."
John recognized his friend's tirade as sarcasm and wanted to disarm him before it got out of control. "You know I don't drink tea."
Jim couldn't help but laugh. "All right. So what will you do?"
"I don't know yet. But do you have a job we could send Dean to handle? Something small, preferably close by?"
OOOOOOOOOOO
John lay awake that night thinking about the situation at hand. Wally couldn't be trusted unless something was being held over his head, but wouldn't have come to John without a good reason. On the surface, the story about his stepbrother was a good reason. Jim was going to make a few calls the next day and John would do his own fact checking. Assuming everything was true, and Michael Barrett was an innocent person in need of help, John would figure out some way to do it. But it would be without Dean's assistance. As he told Jim, he shouldn't have taken his son with him for the meeting with Wally and wouldn't risk him interacting with Ellen.
He met Ellen only once, but her reputation was prevalent in the John's social and business circles. They knew many of the same people, but John normally dealt with the paranormal, not the mystical. He hunted ghosts, demons, all creatures that eventually turned into urban legends, but under normal circumstances, he stayed away from witchcraft. Witches were just people, many with bad attitudes to be sure, but John had a special set of skills that he used to his fullest advantage.
OOOOOOOOOOO
John let Dean sleep in the next morning. He heard his son come in sometime after two o'clock and normally wouldn't have let that be an excuse for sleeping away the day, but he wanted time to check out Wally's story. He was afraid if he let Dean become any more a part of this than he already was, it would be too hard to detract him from the job. Jim didn't have anywhere else to send him at the moment, so John thought it was safest just to let him sleep.
Between Jim's phone calls and John's own investigation, it was determined that Wally's story was true. After calling him to commit his services, John went to visit Michael Barrett. He'd been taken to the hospital over a week ago, doubled over in pain. The first assumption was appendicitis, but when that turned out not to be the case, the doctor ordered tests that turned into other tests. Some days were better than others, but most were filled with pain that didn't point to any particular medical condition.
John parked on the street outside of Jim's house and sat back in the seat for a moment before heading to the front door. He'd been gone all day and knew Dean would be disappointed to have been left out of the investigation. Ever since Sam left, just over a year ago now, Dean was even more determined to work with his father and learn everything the older man could teach him. He was always fiercely loyal to John and that only amplified with it being just the two of them.
There were other cars on the street and John didn't give them more than a cursory glance as he trudged up the walkway, but he was immediately angry when he opened the front door and saw Wally sitting with his back to him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he bellowed, seeing Dean sitting on the couch across from him.
Wally jumped up, his hands up defensively. "I just wanted to talk to you, man."
"You have my cell phone number. Why didn't you call?" John placed himself between Wally and Dean. The action was not lost on his son, who was also now standing. "Where's Jim?"
"He's over at the church." Dean said. "Dad --?"
"Dean, why don't you leave us alone to talk?" Dean rarely heard his father suggest anything; if he wasn't looking for Dean's opinion, the older man was issuing orders. He stood, looking confused for a moment, before slowly leaving the room. He stood just inside the kitchen where he could still hear everything.
"I've told you before, Wally, I don't want you near my sons."
Wally, a good five inches shorter than John and without the muscle mass, backed away. "Come on, man, Dean is grown up. Besides, I didn't do anything to him."
John glared at him, but Wally broke into a grin. "How's that other boy of yours doing, anyway?"
"Why are you here? I already told you I'd help your brother."
Wally moved further away from the larger man. "I know. He called me a little while ago and said you'd been to see him. I just wanted to thank you in person. I know you and I have our issues –"
"And you know why we have those issues. If you want me to keep helping you, you'll stay away from my son."
Dean listened from the kitchen, wondering what he didn't know about Wally.
OOOOOOOOOOO
When Jim returned from the church later, John was gone. After watching Wally leave, he spoke with Dean for a few minutes before heading to the library to research his options. Dean wanted to go, he wanted to ask his father a million questions, but in the end he was the obedient son and did as he was told.
Jim watched Dean and his younger brother grow up. He felt as close to them as he would his own children, if he had any. Sometimes John and the boys lived close to Jim and other times the boys were left with him for weeks while John went off on a hunt.
"What's wrong?" Jim asked when he joined Dean in the back yard.
Dean looked around. This was the only real home Dean could remember. The places he lived with his father and brother were just that; places. Jim's house always felt comfortable. It always felt safe.
"Jim," Dean paused. "What do you know about Wally?"
Jim sat down heavily. "You know you should be having this conversation with your father."
Dean looked at him disbelieving. "You're joking, right?"
Jim smiled. "Sorry, I lost my head."
They sat quietly for a few minutes while Jim gathered his thoughts. Dean recognized the expression on his face and was patient.
"Dean, you know your dad is a complicated man. He keeps a lot inside. I don't know the whole story, but I do know that Wally can be bad news."
"I know that. So why does Dad even talk to the guy?"
"Because of the information Wally provides. He doesn't need his brand of information often, but when he does –" Jim shrugged.
"I heard them talking earlier."
"You were eavesdropping?"
Dean looked guilty for a moment. "Maybe."
"What did you hear?" Jim asked, smiling.
"Dad told him to stay away from me, but I can take care of myself."
"Your dad knows that, Dean. But Wally – he's not a good guy."
"I get that. I've heard that over and over. But why, Jim? What has he done? And why doesn't Dad want him near me?"
Jim was about to say something when he was interrupted by John's low voice. "What's going on out here?"
"We're just talking." Jim said, looking at John pointedly.
"What about?" John asked, taking one of the remaining empty chairs.
"You know what?" Jim stood up. "I took some steaks out to thaw earlier. Why don't I get the grill ready and we'll have some dinner."
Dean and John watched him walk away.
"Dad –"
John looked straight ahead. "What do you know about Wally?"
"Not much. I'd hear you and Jim and Caleb talking about him when I was little. You mentioned him sometimes. I guess I met him only a few years ago." Dean watched his father's face. His jaw was set and the vein on his neck throbbed. That was a sure sign that he was angry, but Dean didn't understand why.
He rarely saw his father this way anymore. Sometimes, when he and Sam were younger, one of them would so something that made John incredibly angry and he would react this way. He would be stoic, measuring every word, lest he lash out. In many ways he was more like a drill sergeant than a father, but every now and then Dean could see the two sides of him struggle for control.
"I met Wally a long time ago. You were about six and we were living near a park, about an hour from here. I'd been out on a hunt for a couple of days. I left you here with Jim and we'd just gotten home, but you begged me to let you go play on the swings. Sammy was asleep, but you were restless, so I bundled you both up and we went to the park. I only turned away for a minute –" John closed his eyes at the memory and Dean was suddenly cold. John only got this way when he was talking about Mary; Dean had never seen his father act this way any other time and it scared him.
John continued, his eyes open but unfocused. "Sammy had been asleep next to me on the bench and you were swinging – he woke up and I turned my attention to him. It wasn't that long, but when I glanced back toward you, the swing was empty. I heard you yelling and found you behind the bathrooms – you were with Wally."
"I don't remember that." Dean said quietly.
"He was a maintenance man at the park; swore he'd seen you wandering off and was only trying to make sure you were okay." John seemed to snap out of his reverie and he looked at Dean. "Wally is a waste of skin, but he's got necessary connections. I made sure you were safe and made sure other children would be, too."
Dean stared at his father.
"You were okay and I didn't let you near him again until I knew you could handle yourself." John wouldn't look at him. "But even now it makes me sick to see you in a room with him."
The young man didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure he completely understood what his father just told him, but knew better than to question him. He also wasn't sure he really wanted the answers. Later, in the bedroom he would share with his brother when they stayed with Jim, Dean thought about what his father said. He couldn't remember that day; nothing at all sounded familiar. If something more had happened… Dean often wished Sam was there so they could talk, but tonight he missed his brother more than normal.
TBC