4

Adventures in babysitting

"I can't do this."

Dean talked seriously, meaning every damn word, because he wasn't feeling ready for his next task. Next to him, Cas was standing patiently, giving him comfort, even with the surprise reflected in his blue eyes. When the angel smiled briefly, he panted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do you want some company?"

"Please."

He felt better at the moment, but likewise he remained frozen in the street, contemplating the cheerful school in front of them. It was Samantha's, his... his... Well, he didn't know the exact expression, it wasn't his field.

"What are we going to say? Are we from FBI?" Cas asked.

"Do you want to frighten her? She's going to know that something is happening."

"But it is."

"Cas, I don't think we can deal with a child, do you want to try with a terrified child? It's not going to work!" He was panicking, until an idea crossed his mind. Then, he turned to Cas, smirking. "I'm the new Mandalorian."

"What?"

"Yeah, the TV show about Baby Yoda... Nobody understands me," Dean sighted, although a second later he filled his lungs, preparing himself. "Ok, I'm ready. Let's go. You just follow my lead."

While he was walking through the school hall, he decided to tell the truth... more or less. From the yellow walls, a lot of colorful pictures were greeting them, which brought memories to Dean. There was a time in which he went to a school like that, when he was just a normal kid, but after Mary's death everything changed. In that moment, Dean desired strongly that Samantha's life wouldn't change so drastically, she should be a regular person her whole life.

"Do you think they're alive?" Dean asked in low voice.

"I don't know, Dean. I hope so."

Their eyes met. Dean's heart got warmer, which made him feeling nervous. He cleared his throat and went into the Principal's office. Next to the door, there was a desk with an old man behind it. He looked nice, polite, while he was doing something in a computer. Dean leaned on the desk, smiling charmingly.

"Good morning, Sir! May I help you?" The man asked.

"Yes. Um, you see, it's kind of a delicate situation..." After saying that, Dean stopped smiling and tried to look sad. "I'm the uncle of one of your kids and I must take her now. Her parents have had an accident and they have sent me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," the man said. "I'll talk to the Principal right now. Your niece's name, please."

"Samantha Winchester."

The man made a gesture, before disappearing behind a closed door. Dean turned to Cas again, remembering then Rowena's farewell. What was she talking about? Did she imagine that–? Wait? What was exactly happening to him? The visit to Hell had been weird in a lot of different ways. He even felt... jealous? Could it be? The truth was that watching Cas chatting with that damn demon was... Well, he didn't like it at all. Probably the demon was a douchebag who didn't deserve sharing anything with the angel.

"Are you ok?" Cas asked, staring at him.

"I'm nervous, that's all," Dean said, even though he knew it wasn't the whole truth. "How will I talk with a child?"

"You have done it before."

"Yes, with boys. Girls are different."

"Actually, every person is different, Dean, and you know how to interact with people, so don't you worry." Cas stopped talking for a moment, but then he added. "And, you know, you should open your mind a little bit: boys and girls aren't different things. The 'Men from Mars, women from Venus' thing is old and quite sexist."

"Wait, what? Now are you an expert?"

"I've been reading, learning."

For a second, the impulse of fighting, of defending himself, was so strong that Dean even opened his mouth, but then he remembered he hadn't cared about that kind of stuff. Eventually, he leaned, seething a little.

"Fine. I'll try to be a modern understanding man like you," Dean promised. Without having cleared why, he continued. "Actually, Cas, I'm surprised. After all this time, you are so opened. I mean, you're even befriending with a demon."

"Larry again?"

"I knew it was a douchebag! Just a douchebag is called Larry."

"I don't think all the Larrys in the world will be on your same page."

Dean was about to say what could the Larrys could do, when the door was opened again. A woman, who should be the Principal, brought a little girl child with long blond wavy hair. Dean's heart stopped in that moment. Samantha looked like Mary, his mother. They weren't the same, but both had the same energy, the same glow in their blue eyes. A sharpened one. Actually, in the exact second in which Samantha discovered them, all her little body got tense.

"Samantha, darling, your uncles are here," the Principal said with a grimace. Then, she squatted down, staring at the child with a serious face. "Something has happened to your parents. They're ok, don't you worry, but you have to go."

"What?"

"Eh... Samantha," Dean said, completely nervous. He tried to smile, to be like the woman they had in front of them, but he wasn't sure if it was working. "Mum and dad are in the hospital, but everything is going to be fine. Don't you worry." He felt bad. He was doing the same as the rest of the world: lying to a little girl instead of being honest in order to prepare her. That was John Winchester's way and Dean had always agreed with his dad on that matter.

Samantha's gaze got sharpener.

"Ok, uncle, so let's go."

For their surprise, the girl child decided to walk to Castiel and held his hand. The angel's eyebrows were two funny arcs, although he managed to leave the office with normality, like nothing weird was going on. Dean, a little bit hurt for the evident snub, followed them until the playground, where the car was. In silence, the three of them got into the vehicle.

And, then, everyone went bananas.

In the same exact moment in which the doors were closed, little Samantha jumped over Dean and tried to stab him with a pencil. Dean narrowly stopped her and, then, he had to grab her wrist.

"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing, child?"

"I'm just defending myself, you terrible monster! What are you, uh? A zombie or a vampire? Because I've seen all the seasons of Buffy and I know how to defend myself!"

"Have you seen Buffy? Aren't you a little young for that?"

"Dean, I don't think that's the important point," Cas observed. Next, he turned in order to stare at the savage child with his regular calm. There should be something in his eyes which relaxed her, since the girl returned to the back-sit. "Hello, Samantha Winchester, I'm sorry for ours manners but the situation is quite complicated. My name is..."

"Castiel. I know who you are."

In the presence of those words, Dean shared a confused gaze with the angel. That response wasn't expected at all.

"How the Hell do you know that, child?" He asked.

"The same way I know who you're too. You're Dean Winchester, the brother of Grandpa Sam. And supposedly you are dead. Very dead, more even than Grandpa." Dean was about to laugh because it was hilarious that Sammy was called something like that, when the child hissed. "Didn't you talk with your family? Because mum and dad showed me photos and told me who you were, so you can't fool me, you... zombie?"

"I'm not a zombie," Dean said. But then he remembered that Castiel had brought him back again, so he frowned. "Wait, Cas, am I a zombie?"

"No, you're human. Simply, you've come back. It's not even the second time, Dean, you shouldn't have these doubts." Castiel smiled a little, before he focused on the little girl again. "You're right, Samantha. He's Dean Winchester and I'm Castiel, an angel of the L... Well, it wouldn't be the Lord, actually. Let's going to say simply that I'm an angel and that we're here to look after you. You're in danger, Samantha. And I'm afraid we're your only hope."

Cas winked for a briefly moment and Dean grimaced, remembering all those nights that they spent together, watching Star Wars movies. They had lived very good moments together, beyond the dangers and the continuous threats. Dean had always felt so comfortable with him, like if he didn't have to play a performance. Sadly, that was a feeling which had been a constant with basically everyone else, but for Bobby, who had been like a father to him.

"So... magic and supernatural stuff... are real?"

"Yes." Dean answered.

"I knew it! And mum thought I had a lot of imagination! Wait..." Samantha remained so still with fear drowning her young face. "So is it true? Are my parents in danger, like me?"

"They've been kidnapped," Dean said, while Cas rolled his eyes. "But we're going to save them, ok? It's what we do. You know: saving people, hunting things, the family business."

"Dean."

It was a simple word, but it was enough. They were in danger. Dean didn't think it twice, he just took the steering wheel and stepped on the gas. He didn't even know where they could go, but it didn't matter. They had to run.

Suddenly, something hit the car. Samantha screamed, although Dean continued driving. Next to him, Cas frowned while he was trying to discovered what was attacking them. Another blow. In that occasion, the car almost left the road. Dean tried to see something, but the threat seemed invisible.

"Hellhounds."

"Are you kidding? It's impossible, Cas! Rowena is on our side!"

As if the fucking hellhounds wanted to humiliate him, something invisible jumped into the bonnet and they could listen to the growl of a dog. Yeah, it definitely was a bloody hellhound.

"Brace yourselves!"

Dean did an abrupt turn, hoping to get rid of the hellhound. Then, he went straight ahead for the same way they'd gone down. Luckily, he was able to hear a doggie moan, so he trusted they had some advantage.

"We have to go somewhere safe, Cas."

"The bunker is still there."

Dean heard a growl again, so he made a quick decision.

"Take Samantha with you, Cas. I'll see you at the bunker." He didn't need to look at the angel to see his doubts. Cas had always cared a lot for him, he had always tried to help him... and, sadly, Dean couldn't say it was mutual. He had been a completely jerk to the angel. "Cas, the kid is their target, not me. I'll be fine. I promise you we'll meet in the bunker. Now, go!"

After just a second of hesitation, the angel nodded. As always, Cas stared at him as intensely as if he could see his soul, which affected Dean's pulse. Then, Dean was alone in that stupid car, feeling the threat in the cold air. He hatred these bloody things! So, he didn't have any trouble trying to hurt one of them.

Dean had had two places which he had considered a home. The house in Lawrence, where he had spent his real childhood with his parents, and the Man of letters' bunker. He had been happy there after defeating God. Yeah, it had been a brief lapse of time, more a mirage than a real thing, but Dean amassed those memories with affection. That's why he felt an strange blend of bliss and nostalgia in the moment he saw the bunker.

When he entered, he had expected to find it covered in dust and spider webs, with that ranked smell that used to take over a place when nobody lived there. However, Dean found it as always, like time wouldn't had follow its natural curse. It was clean, tidied and it smelled nice. Even the books and their stuff continued in their place.

"Cas!" Dean called, while he was descending the stairs. He stopped next to the huge table where they used to investigate and discuss strategies. He couldn't avoid stretching his left hand in order to touch the letters that the four of them had engraved in the wood: S. W., D. W., Cas, Jack.

They had been a family, his real family, but Dean hadn't known how to appreciate that until it was too late. How stupid he was!

"Dean!"

The concern in Cas' voice was so real that it melted Dean's heart, even though he didn't show that when he met the angel. Instead, he blinked repeatedly because Dean hadn't seen Cas with that raggedy appearance in a while... probably ever. He wasn't wearing his usual raincoat and his blue tie was a flop. Dean didn't even try to hide the telltale smile that was sparkling on his lips.

"Have you been fighting in my absence?"

"Worse. I have been cooking. I have not been blessed with that skill."

"Now you eat?"

"No, but Samantha does."

"Oh, of course! And... why didn't you buy some burgers? I thought I had taught you well."

"Cheeseburgers with bacon are not a healthy meal, Dean. I'm not going to destroy Samantha's liber."

"Oh, come on, Cas! Her parents have been kidnapped and she is in danger and being cared by two unknowns. I think it's not the moment to be healthy! Eh, little Sam, maybe you're an orphan and, now, eat your vegetables." Dean was being sarcastic, while he was shaking his head. "There isn't anything more depressing than broccoli."

"Maybe to say aloud that her parents could be dead."

Cas' irony was accompanied with an arched eyebrow and his bloody intense gaze, which made Dean realize two things: he had a point there... and the fact that, somehow, they had finished so close that he could see himself in Cas' pupil. Dean liked that, but again he kept it for himself.

"Fine. You're right. But we should buy something tasty for her."

Cas nodded, sighing.

"You have a point too. I'll get some–"

"Wait!" Dean didn't know why that word had escaped his mouth, but still he moistened his lips and tried to smile smugly. "Have you been cleaning with our own personal Whitney?"

Surprisingly, the angel seemed to blush slightly. Cas saved some time, putting his tie as usual, although he eventually added:

"When I left the Empty, I didn't want to go back to Heaven. I couldn't be with Jack and Sam was living his life with Eileen, so I came here. It's the only place I would call home. So, I've been spending some time around."

"Why didn't you want to go to Heaven?"

"I didn't want to bother you."

"So you improved Heaven for me and, then, you decided that it would be still better without you there." Dean's voice reflected pain, true pain, because once again he was feeling miserable. He was the only one responsible for that. He had made Cas believe something like that. "You have to know it's not true. Heaven is not better if you're not there, actually is worse. I've been missing you a lot, Cas. I've asked myself how you would be or why you wouldn't come a million times. Nothing is good if you aren't there."

Time stopped, at least for them.

Dean was feeling something he believed forgotten. A wild desire controlled him, driving him to Cas' lips. Suddenly, he wanted to kiss him so badly. But, just then, he was so surprised that he didn't know what to do...

And the magic was lost in the moment a female voice sounded.

"Hello, boys. I hope I'm not disturbing." Rowena seemed amused, as she was enjoying something, at least until she continued. "But we have another problem. Someone has stolen me some Hellhounds, so we have to teach a lesson to that bastard."

Hello again, guys! I'm so glad you're reading this. Thank you so much! And thank to my beloved Deb, the best beta ever!

Next chapter: A discovery of witches.