Happy Thanksgiving! I love you bitches, jerks, assbutts, and idjits.
A/N- this is part two of a two part story. Please see previous chapter for part one. Please read profile page for disclaimer.
The stunned silence that followed Natalie' confession stretched on. All three adults immediately focused on her.
"Wait- what?" Dean said, completely thrown at Natalie's words.
"I did it, Dad. I broke Jody's…thing," Natalie said, pointing at the pieces in Jody's hands. Dean was just about to speak- he wasn't sure what he would have said- when Sam quietly cleared his throat behind him. Dean didn't even need to be looking at his brother to know what that meant. He did, however, turn to Jody quickly, locking eyes with her, but spoke to his daughter.
"So, Natalie, you're telling me that you're the one who broke the figurine, huh?" he asked. Natalie wasn't sure why he was looking at Jody and not at her. Every time she was in trouble before, Dean made damn sure she was looking him right in the eye while he scolded her. Whatever his reasons, she knew she still better answer anyways.
"Yes, sir. I did it," she said with certainty. Dean couldn't help but note the little quiver in her voice when she spoke. Finally, after seeing what he needed to see on Jody's face, he whipped around quickly. He glared sternly at the little girl as he moved towards her.
"Alright then, young lady. You're coming with me," he growled, hauling her up into his arms. Natalie gave a little squeak as she was suddenly rocketed upwards into Dean's arms, but didn't protest. Before either of them could say another word, Dean marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sudden silence was, once again, unnerving.
Claire schooled every muscle in her face not to smile, but she couldn't help but feel smug for a split second. Finally she had gotten the little brat off her case, and if she knew Dean like she thought she did, he'd make sure that Natalie would leave her alone for the rest of the day. Sure, Dean had been a little rougher than she'd expected while hauling the kid out of the room, but who cared? Little brat was finally getting what she deserved. Again, the nagging fact that Natalie's didn't really deserve what was coming stabbed her heart, but she savagely pushed that aside.
Sam, however, had been watching Claire's face carefully. He noticed the brief flicker of triumph that had passed over her face when Natalie admitted to breaking the figurine. He had also noticed the shock at Dean's sudden departure with his errant daughter in tow. "Wow," he commented suddenly and offhandedly. "I thought we had stomped all this out of her."
Without missing a beat, Jody picked it up. "Well, what can you do. She's stubborn as an ox- I guess she just needs to learn her lesson. Maybe this time it'll stick," she answered Sam, as if Claire wasn't even in the room.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck, worn out from all the drama. "Yeah. Hopefully we won't hear her crying from here though- that's rough when that happens."
"Wait," Claire said suddenly. Her stupid bleeding heart had gotten the best of her and made her say that. Well, she had to ask. "What do you mean, 'crying'? Why would she cry?"
Both Jody and Sam turned around to look at the teen. Sam had a frustrated and exasperated look on his face. "Well, Dean always comes down really hard on Natalie when she misbehaves," Sam said nonchalantly. "She knows better than to touch things that aren't hers, so she's got to be taught a lesson that'll stick."
Claire's eyes got wide. There was no way. Natalie wasn't that bad. They had to be joking. "But…but she's just a kid. Dean wouldn't…."
"Oh yes, he would," Jody interrupted. "She's pulled this kind of thing before. I guess she just won't learn." She turned back to Sam, her face full of sorrow. "Natalie was doing so well- I really thought Dean got through to her the last time this happened," she said, looking at Sam, baffled. Sam shrugged and raised his hands, turning away as he spoke.
"Who knows. Maybe she thought she could start misbehaving again- testing the waters now that she's back on the road with us." Sam snorted and shook his head. "Well, all I can say is that she's really going to regret what she just did. Dean's going to tear her apart, I know it."
Claire felt torn. She had just wanted to get Natalie in a little trouble- that was all. Keep her away from…everyone…and just get the kid off her freaking back. But it seems like she had stepped in something much bigger and more rotten than she'd bargained for. "Come on, Sam," she said, half pleading. "She's only six. Don't you think that's extreme for such a little kid?"
Sam shook his head. "Claire, if you knew what we've had to do to keep her in line, you'd be surprised that it didn't come to this way sooner." Sam looked back at Jody. "You know, if she starts this again, I can bet you anything that Dean will leave her with Bobby. And this time, for good."
And that did it. Despite the anger she felt towards Natalie, she knew how completely devoted Natalie was to her father. She also knew from the limited amount of time that she had actually spent with the kid, both when Natalie had been younger and then babysitting her last year, that Natalie wasn't….Natalie without Dean. And vice versa. As much as she didn't want to do it, she had to tell the truth. For Dean's sake, at least. She had to come clean.
"Wait! Wait," she said in a rush. Both Sam and Jody turned to look at her. With a dramatic eye roll intended to avoid eye contact, she mumbled out the rest of her confession. "I did it."
"I'm sorry, Claire, what was that?" Jody said, looking at the teen. Claire exhaled noisily, then looked at her.
"I said I did it, okay? I'm the one that broke the stupid figurine thing."
Before she could get out another word, the bedroom door opened back up. "Just what I thought," Dean said, re-entering the room with Natalie still in his arms. Claire's mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of him. In two seconds, she realized she'd been played.
Natalie, however, was looking wide-eyed at Claire, then at her father, trying to figure out what was happening. Dean had stormed into the hallways with her, but after he had slammed the door, he had turned and winked at her, then pressed his finger against her lips, telling her silently to be quiet. She had obeyed without hesitation while Dean had listened at the bedroom door, but she still wasn't quite sure what was happening. She tried in vain to salvage the situation.
"No, Claire, you don't have to say that! I dropped the…" Before Natalie could finish her sentence, Dean puts his finger on her lips again, indicating silence.
"You are already in a heap of trouble for lying once today, little girl," he said in a casual voice. "You really wanna make it worse on yourself?" Natalie appeared to wither in Dean's arms, but closed her mouth and shook her head. Claire's disbelieving gaze darted between the three adults.
"So how did you know?" she ground out. Dean was only too happy to tell her.
"We have our ways. It don't take a genius to know when you're lying through your teeth. See, here's something you don't know about Sammy, Claire," he said in that even, no-nonsense tone that managed to send a chill up her spine. "He can tell whenever the kid's lying." He nodded towards his brother, who confirmed it.
"Don't know how, but whenever she lies, I can feel it," Sam said, a touch of sternness in his own voice that Claire wasn't used to.
"Not to mention the top of the dresser's too high for Natalie to reach," Dean continued. Claire looked over and silently cursed under her breath. How could she have missed that? She shook her head.
"So you knew from the moment she said she did it," Claire said, a tone of accusation in her voice. "You knew all that time. Was that little show supposed to get me to confess?"
"Worked, didn't it?" Jody said lightly, her steely gaze cutting into her young ward. That gaze had always had an instant effect on Claire, who folded her arms and scoffed, but didn't say anything. "I have to say, though, Sam," she said, turning to the younger Winchester brother. "That was some damn fine acting on our parts."
"Agreed. We should write the Oscar committee."
"Calm down there, Julia Roberts. Alright, you two," Dean said in a commanding voice, turning his attention back to the two girls. "Living room couch, now." He turned on his heel, Natalie still in his arms, and made his way towards the living room. Claire however, didn't budge.
"You heard him. Move," Jody said to her ward, all joking gone, her own tone commanding enough to match Dean's. With an obvious eye roll, Claire followed suit. She walked into the living room just in time to see Dean depositing Natalie carefully on the couch. The little girl sat there quietly, her tiny hands twisting in her lap. Claire felt a fleeting stab of regret that quickly dissipated when Dean caught her eye and pointed to the seat next to Natalie. She stomped her way over, arms still folded, and dropped down onto the couch, crossing her legs for good measure.
Dean took note of Claire's attitude and posture, and sent up a silent prayer that when Natalie hit her teenage years, she wouldn't be like this. "So you two wanna tell me what game you were playing in there? Why you were both so willing to let Natalie lie and take the fall?"
Claire looked out the window, determined not to answer. But Natalie knew better than to provoke an angry Dean Winchester. "I didn't want Claire to get in trouble, Dad," Natalie piped up in a small voice.
"Was it an accident? The figurine getting knocked over?" Jody asked calmly. Natalie's eyes darted over to Sam, who was standing next to his brother.
"Yeah, it was," she said. Sam's eyebrows raised. She wasn't lying. Or she didn't think she was lying, he figured.
"So how did it happen, Bug?" Sam asked the little girl, since it was obvious that they weren't going to voluntarily get anything out of the teen.
"Well," Natalie said with a furtive glance at Claire. "We were talking about family and…"
"Nope. Hang on. Start from the beginning. Why were you in Jody's room?" Dean interrupted her. She squirmed, but answered.
"Um- 'cause Claire said that I was allowed to go into there with her."
Jody's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Oh really," she commented. "And since when is that allowed, Claire?" she asked pointedly. Claire still kept her arms folded and her lips sealed. Dean inhaled and exhaled deliberately before continuing.
"So you and Claire were in Jody's room without permission. Then what happened?"
Natalie wanted to argue that she THOUGHT she had permission from Claire, but that would probably just get Claire in more trouble, and sisters didn't do that. So she continued on with the story. "Then we were talking about being sisters and helping each other out, because that's what sisters do."
Jody's eyes swung back to the teen. She knew that Claire had a barely concealed animosity when it came to the kid, so this was surprising. "Well. That's interesting. Then what happened?"
"Um, then- then the…then Claire accidently knocked over the…doll thing."
"It's called a figurine, Bug."
"The figurine. And then, 'cause we're like sisters, I wanted to help her out and not let her get in trouble, so I said that I did it so she wouldn't get in trouble."
Claire finally broke her silence with a loud snort. "Geez, just give it all away, why don't you, kid," she said, her voice cutting and sarcastic. Natalie's wide and scared gaze darted back and forth between Claire and Dean.
"I'm sorry, Claire, I didn't mean to…" Natalie stammered, her eyes widening as she looked at Dean, wondering what had gone so wrong so quickly. Dean intervened.
"It seems to me that you should be damned grateful that the kid told us the truth," he growled at Claire, whose arms tightened at the sound of his angry voice. "You would have kept lying, and I'm sure things would have gotten a lot worse from there. And speaking of lying," he said, turning his gaze back to his daughter. He walked up close to her and knelt down in front of her on the couch. He put his finger under Natalie's chin- their signal that she better make eye contact with him, which she did. "I'm gonna go easy on you this time, squirt, since you got hoodwinked so bad."
Natalie's curiosity got the best of her. "What's hoodwinked?" she asked inquisitively.
"Means you got played by someone who's exceptionally good at lying. You didn't see it coming and you fell for it. Easy to do, considering Claire's a damn good liar," he said, with another steely glance at Claire, before turning his attention back to the child. "But you know lying-at all, don't care why- don't fly with me. Right?" he said in a quiet, firm tone.
"Yes, sir," Natalie mumbled miserably.
"You don't lie to me, to Uncle Sam, to Jody, or to anyone in this house. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." Dean stood up, and nodded quickly at Sam, who silently knew what that meant. Sam stepped forward and held out his hand towards his niece.
"Come on, Bug. Time out," he said gently. Natalie's little shoulders slumped, but she knew she had it coming.
"Yes, sir," she answered Sam, taking his hand and sliding off the couch. As they exited the room, Dean called over his shoulder.
"Only five minutes, Sammy."
"Got it," Sam answered back. Satisfied that that was taken care of, Dean's attention swung back to Claire, who, he was surprised to see, was glaring at him despite the huge amount of boiling water she must have known she was in.
"Wow," she said sarcastically. "You've really got her trained good. Is she just like a puppy to you? Bet she even knows how to sit up and beg. Did you use a shock collar or what?" Her well-beyond-rude comment stunned both Jody and Dean into absolutely silence for a moment. But before Dean could explode, another voice interrupted.
"That's enough, Claire," a gravelly voice came from behind. Dean and Jody both spun around to see Castiel standing there.
"Oh look. Fly Boy decided to join the party," Claire said. Castiel's brow wrinkled.
"I am an angel. Not a fly."
As all three of them rolled their eyes, Dean turned back to Claire. "What's your deal, huh?" he said, the barely controlled rage still evident in his voice. "You get a kick out of setting up little kids and watching them take the fall for you? This some kind of twisted Big Brother Big Sister program I don't know about?"
Claire glared at him and tightened her crossed arms and legs. "You're not my father. I don't have to tell you anything."
At that, Castiel stepped forward. "Well, I am your father. So you will tell me."
Claire's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not my father either."
"I'm the closest thing you've got left," Cas said simply. His words, even though they had no maliciousness behind them, made Claire feel like she'd been slapped. She couldn't think of anything to say in retort. She had to concentrate on keeping the tears in her eyes.
Upon seeing this, Castiel turned to Jody and Dean. "Let me talk to her," he said in his low tones.
"Cas, I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Jody said. Cas looked at her, his large blue eyes full of sudden pain.
"I am the reason she feels like this. I should be the one to talk to her," he said.
"Cas, man, c'mon, you don't know that," Dean said, but before he could say anymore, Jody put a hand on his arm gently, stopping him.
"We'll leave you to it," she said kindly to the angel, before tugging gently on the oldest Winchester's arm to get him to leave. Dean's gaze darted quickly between Claire and Cas as he was pulled out of the room, but he didn't put up a fuss. He knew Natalie had already learned her lesson, and he wanted to go rescue and comfort his little girl anyway.
Castiel quietly moved to the couch, sitting on the spot that Natalie had just vacated. "So," he said, not entirely sure where to start, yet still feeling responsible. "I do not know where to start this conversation," he said baldly.
Claire snorted another mirthless laugh. "So let's not have this conversation, then."
"No, I don't think that's the best option either. Claire, I feel that I owe you an apology."
"Great. You want the list of stuff you should be sorry for, or can you just wing it from memory?"
Pause. "You've complied a list?"
"This is pointless," Claire thundered, standing up. Before she could move a step, however, Cas snapped his fingers and she suddenly found herself seated on the couch again. "Let me up," she snarled.
Cas shook his head. "No. Not until I've said what I need to say."
"Which is what?"
"Which is- I'm sorry."
"Fine. Let me up."
"You don't seem to understand my meaning."
That was the final straw for her. For her plan to fail, for Natalie once again to be the coddled, perfect child, and now to have the freaking angel controlling her every move, she was done. "Oh, believe me," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I understand you perfectly. You're sorry because your precious little Natalie got in trouble. And you're sorry that you took my father over and destroyed him. And you're sorry that my life didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. Well, boo freaking hoo, angel boy. Life sucks. I'd think you'd have been on this god-forsaken planet long enough by now to realize that."
Castiel turned his full attention to Claire. "You are correct."
That caught her short. "What?"
"I mean, you are correct. For whatever reason, God has seen fit to forsake this planet. For the time being, anyways." His blue eyes bore into her furious brown ones. "And I have made your time on a difficult planet even more difficult. I truly am sorry. But I do want you to know that your father's sacrifice has helped save many, many lives."
"Well, that's just great. So glad it's worked out for everyone else."
"It's wrong that it had to destroy yours."
Hearing it put so bluntly, so truthfully- the way she had always thought of it, but never dared to say out loud- was almost more than she could take. Without meaning to, the small geode that Cas had managed to crack in her by saying those words spilt over. On their own volition, her thoughts came spilling out. "It's just…" she stammered. "Every time I look at you, every time I see you- it's like getting stabbed in the heart again." Cas nodded, encouraging her to continue speaking. "I just…it really sucks that my dad's gone, but there's this constant reminder of him."
"I know. And I apologize for the distress it causes you. I was hoping that spending some time together today in a family setting would help to heal this rift."
"And that's the other thing," Claire said, the dam continuing to burst and let all her words out. It was like they had been pushing against her for the longest time, and the slightest crack was all it took. "It's not enough that I have to see this…this version of my father walking around, looking exactly like him, but being nothing like him all at the same time, and then to find out that there's another girl who snaps her damn tiny fingers and you fly right by her side…"
"Claire-" Cas stammered. "Are you… are you jealous of Natalie?"
"Gee. What gave it away."
"Your words from before."
"Yes, Castiel, I'm jealous. Of a freaking six year old." Claire ran her hands up and down her thighs, furious at the words that were coming out of her mouth, yet feeling a desperate need to get them all out. "That kid's got it made. Two of the best freaking hunters in the business taking her all over the good ol' U.S. of A., teaching her how to hunt and kill things instead of leaving her to fend for herself, and an angel who comes running at her beck and call, AND Bobby, AND Jody…"
"But Claire, do you not realize that you have that as well?" Castiel asked honestly. She looked at him, disbelieving.
"I don't have that. I never have."
"You know that Jody will do anything for you, as will Bobby. And the moment that you call Sam or Dean, they will rush to your side to help you. Do you truly not understand that?"
"And what about you?"
"Me?"
"Do you have any idea how many times I've asked you to come to me?" Claire whispered spitefully, revealing the long-held secret. "You know how many times I've prayed for you to just come help me?"
Castiel looked at the floor. He took his time in answering. "Yes. Yes, I do," he finally said.
"So you CAN hear me."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ever come?"
"Because it was not me you were seeking."
"What the hell does that mean? I said Cas- I meant Cas."
"You said Cas. You meant your father."
Another moment of stunned silence filled the room. Carefully measuring his words, Cas spoke again. "Claire- I didn't respond to you because you were desperately seeking your father. I felt that my presence would have only made things worse." Cas hung his head. "I was trying to make the right choice- I was trying to spare you the pain. But it seems I came to the wrong conclusion." He stared at the carpet again, wondering if he would ever get the chance to right all the many, many wrongs he had committed over the years. But before he could say anything, Claire spoke softly.
"You- you were trying to help me? By- not helping me?" she asked in a gentler voice than Cas had ever heard her use. He looked at her.
"I was," he answered. "I am sorry that you thought otherwise."
Claire shook her head, but there was a small, amazed smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "You were trying to help me. All this time."
"Yes. Because even though I am no longer your true father, I still care for you. Very much." Neither one of them spoke for the longest time, lost in their own thoughts.
Finally after an eternity of a comfortable silence, Claire spoke. "Well, now I really feel like an ass," she commented dryly. She still didn't look at Castiel, but she chose her next words carefully.
"Can- uh- can you fix Jody's figurine?" she asked, guiltily. She knew how much that stupid thing meant to Jody.
Castiel flicked his index finger lazily. "Done."
Claire gave a low chuckle. "Man. Dad would have loved to have been able to do that when he was still here." That brought a smile to even Castiel's stoic face.
"Well, do you feel that you are able to rejoin the rest of the family now?" Cas said, with another look at her. The word "family" hit Claire's ear in a new way. She actually smiled in response.
"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I think I've got some major ass kissing to do."
"Well, I think getting Cas to fix my figurine was a good start," said Jody, coming out from around the corner. Claire started at the sight of her. How were these people so good at doing that?
"Were you there the whole time?" Claire asked nervously. She wasn't sure how she felt about what Cas had said, let alone having someone else know about it. But to her relief, Jody shook her head.
"No. I was cleaning up the pieces in my room, when suddenly, I didn't have to anymore." She grinned at the angel. "Thanks for that."
"You are welcome," Castiel responded simply. Jody's attention shifted back to the teenager. She held her arms open. With an eye roll and a smile, Claire got off the couch and stepped into them, hugging Jody back.
"I'm sorry I was a bitch," she mumbled into Jody's shoulder. Jody gently laughed in response.
"Well, kid, chalk it up to being a teenager. I'm sure there'll be more of it where that came from. But you know you can always talk to me about it. You can talk to me about anything you want. You know that I'm on your side, right?" Jody said, pulling Claire back gently and looking into her eyes. Claire gave a sideways smile and nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." Not wanting the feels moment to go on longer, she turned her attention to Cas, who got up off the couch and crossed over to the ladies. Jody smiled at the angel gratefully.
"Do you guys feel like a snack? I've still got one pie hidden-" Jody began quietly, but was cut off by a delighted shriek from the dining room.
"DAD! I found it!"
"HA! Yes! I guess I'm not putting you out in the yard tonight, squirt. Sammy, grab the forks!"
Jody rolled her eyes with a smile. "Too late."
