Dean knew Sam wanted to go back to school, but he resisted that idea as much as he could. If it wasn't for their school, none of this would be happening to Caleb, and they wouldn't be in the position that they were in now. Sam, to his knowledge, didn't know that their principal had ratted them out, and he wasn't sure he wanted to shatter the cheerful, happy illusion that his brother had of that place.
Still, it was hard not to say anything, as Sam wandered into the kitchen, chattering happily about all the things he wanted to do with his friends, and how he wanted to audition for a school play he had somehow found out about. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Dean bent his head low and focused on eating the food he had made himself for breakfast. Bobby had gone to the jail to see Caleb, the first visit since they had been back, and while he would have loved to have gone to see him, he knew that for one, he probably wouldn't be able to handle the sight of his guardian in chains, and for another, he didn't want to leave Sam.
"Miss Stacey said that all the kids could audition," Sam was saying, as he rambled on about the play he wanted to try out for. "And if I'm lucky, maybe I could get a part in-"
"Sam," Dean said, finally having heard enough, as he turned to his little brother. "Has Bobby said you could go back yet?" Even though Sam had approached the the issue with Bobby, the hunter hadn't given his permission for them to go back yet, and had informed Sam that he would consider it.
"No," Sam admitted, "but if I can go back, I'm going to try out. The auditions run for the next month at least." Besides being a whiz at soccer, Sam also loved trying out for the occasional school play when he was allowed to.
It was something Dean held absolutely no interest in, but he indulged his brother, and always showed up to support him, but things were different now. The stakes would be raised now if he went back, the school officials who he had once trusted, would be on the lookout, he knew, for any other signs of abuse.
"That will be cool," Dean said noncommittally, as he busied himself with putting the plates in the sink to wash.
"Dean, don't you want to go back?" Sam asked quietly, sensing how touchy the subject was for his brother, and not completely understanding why.
"No, I don't."
"But why not?" It was hard to understand why his brother wouldn't want to see his friends, and get that incomparable wealth of knowledge that he was able to get from his teachers and staff.
"Because," Dean said. "They were the ones who made the first call to CPS."
"What's CPS-"
"Child Protective Services. They were the ones who called them and told them about my arm, and it was our principal." Before all the drama had started, their principal had been a man that Dean had gotten along with, had even gone to and talked to about some of the problems he was having with his friends, or a particular subject in class.
It was someone he felt like he could confide in about some of the issues he was having, and that man had completely betrayed him by reporting Caleb to CPS, when he had seen nothing to indicate abuse or neglect, other than a few bruises that they could have explained away had they been given the chance.
"He..._did?" Sam whispered, clearly having not been privy to that information before. "But why? Because of your arm?"
"Yeah. He saw that horrible bruise, and thought we were being abused."
"Why didn't he just ask Caleb?"
"That's the million dollar question," Dean said, as he distracted himself by taking a long walk around the table, trying to work through the ugly emotions that he could feel simmering below the surface. "And he was Caleb's friend, too, and he completely screwed him over."
Before, when there had been a problem with Dean or Sam, Caleb and the principal would always work it out together, somehow. Knowing that the man had taken matters into his own hands, and had reported them instead of just simply picking up the phone and calling Caleb, made Dean infuriated.
"I just want to see my friends," Sam began quietly, not knowing how he was supposed to feel now. If he went back, he would feel like he was betraying Caleb by associating with the place that had started his legal nightmare in the courts, and if he didn't go back, he would miss out on seeing the friends he loved so much.
"You can still see them without going back to school," Dean pointed out.
"That's true, I guess."
"Whatever Bobby decides, it will be okay."
It would be more difficult to have friends over to the house when they would be more prone to see something they weren't supposed to, but it was something they had done for years and nothing had happened so far.
Dawn came over the next day to speak with Bobby and Dean. While Dean had only met her once or twice in passing, he had never before sat down with her and had an actual conversation with her. She was nice, someone who was easy to talk and get along with.
"So you're Dean," she said, once Bobby had led them into the living room where they could converse more comfortably.
"Last time I checked," he said with a teasing grin.
"Funny," she said, laughing once. "I have heard a lot about you."
"You have?"
"I have," she confirmed. "So how are you doing?"
According to Caleb, Dean didn't cozy up to strangers right away, and she knew that she would have to work a little to gain his trust before exploring the issues that she had, and how he would potentially help her.
"Alright," Dean replied noncommittally.
"Yeah," she said, nodding in understanding. "All this, it's crazy."
"You can say that."
"Where's Sam?"
"He's sleeping," Bobby said, shaking his head in amusement. "The kid was up all night last night."
"Doing what?" Dawn asked, a smile coming across her face.
"Being Sam," Dean said, laughing. "He made a bet with me that I couldn't stay up all night, and when I did, he missed it because he was knocked out on the couch."
"Oh, I see. He wanted to show his big brother that he-"
"That he could stay up all night, too, and he lost," Dean said smugly.
"I can see that. So what else is new?"
"Sam wants to go back to school," Dean said, staring down at his hands, which where clasped loosely around each other.
"And what do you think about that idea?" Dawn asked, as she traded glances with Bobby.
"I don't want to go back."
"Why not?"
"Because," Dean said with a scoff, feeling himself open up to her a little bit more. "Caleb was friends with our principal, and that guy completely screwed him over, and now look where he is."
Thinking those thoughts wasn't entirely conducive to having a sane conversation with her, and with that in mind, he tried his hardest to put those thoughts away so he could deal with them later.
"I know it must be hard," she said. "I'm doing everything in my power to make this go away, but it will be tricky."
"Why? Because of the kidnapping charge?"
"Yeah," she admitted slowly, "and the abuse charges. There isn't conclusive evidence that directly links him to those marks, but it will be hard to make a believable case to a jury when they're only human, and these kinds of cases, historically, have a much bigger impact on juries when it concerns kids."
Dean nodded. "I can see where that would be sucky."
"Yeah," she said with a laugh. "It is."
"So..."
"I was thinking," Dawn said thoughtfully. "If I needed you to do this, would you testify at the trial, maybe?"
"Seriously?" Dean said incredulously, trading unsure looks with Bobby.
"Seriously," she confirmed. "If you feel uncomfortable doing it, I'll completely understand, but it's a thought that I had."
"I do want to," Dean said.
He would love the chance to go up on the stand and throw everything back in the prosecutor's face and win Caleb the acquittal that he knew he deserved, but he had serious concerns about his ability to effectively communicate the truth when he would be so nervous.
"But...?" Dawn prompted, sensing an underlining 'but' in the issue.
"What if I screw things up more than they're already screwed up?" It was a valid concern he had. Whatever he said under oath, on the stand, would be heavily scrutinized by the prosecution, and what if he fumbled like Sam did?
"If you do this and I decide I need you to testify," she said, "I'll come over ahead of time and not necessarily coach you on what to say, but I'll give you a general idea of the kind of questions you'll be asked, and then you can have time to prepare yourself a little."
"Okay. So how is he?"
"Caleb?" she asked softly, knowing from hearing Caleb talk about it, how close the two were.
"Yeah."
"He's alright, but he's nervous, understandably."
"Good."
At least that could be one worry off his already overwrought mind. It had been something that had gnawed at his heart for weeks, and it was a relief to know that he was holding up fairly well.
"So do you have any questions?"
"No, not really."
"Alright, well I'm always here to answer any if you have them."
"Thank you."
