Although there was no getting around the thrill of finally being out of the jail that had become his home for the last three months, the reality of the situation was also starting to dawn on Caleb. Told by the judge that he had to find employment or face going back where he came from, the hunter was disappointed (but not surprised) when he called to check on his status at work, and found out he had been terminated. The reason was masked in subtlety, but Caleb got the message. There was no way his company would want a convicted child abductor on their payroll. His company's response was partly the reason why he had a hard time sleeping in the time that followed his firing. If he was not concerned over finding a job in time to please the judge, his mind was swimming with the legitimate fears he had over the demon. It had been lying low, and that had to mean it was simply bidding its time or plotting something bad.
During the waking hours, when he had to put on a poker face for the boys, he tried not to let his honest fears show on his face. Dean, however, was not fooled by the act and simply waited until Sam was out of the room to begin his interrogation. Dawn, on the other hand, would be more difficult. As his attorney, she knew the conditions of his bail and what it would take for a judge to throw him back in again. Her presence, a few days after his release, was definitely a welcome distraction from the myriad of thoughts assaulting his senses.
"How are you?"
"Alright," Caleb admitted. "Definitely better than last time you saw me."
"What a difference a few days makes."
It had been a few days since his release from custody, and even though Caleb was thrilled to finally be free from the depressing and horrific jail cell that had been his home for the last few months, it didn't come without its downfalls.
"I called my boss at the construction company," Caleb remarked, as they sat in amiable silence for a few moments.
His words still rang through his mind. 'Not a good fit for the company.'
"What did he say?" She asked carefully, studying his reaction.
After years of knowing him, she was able to pick up on his different moods and reactions pretty easily, and she knew by the stiff way he held his body, that the news he would be delivering to her, wouldn't be positive, and she was prepared for that.
"They...he said that I was 'not a good fit' for the company anymore."
It was frustrating, even though he was ecstatic at finally being free from the jail guards and the endless amount of court hearings that had governed his time in custody, the outside world certainly wasn't making it easy on him.
"I'm sorry," she finally said, after a minute of silent contemplation.
"It's not your fault," he said automatically. "I'm just worried about the fallout from something like this; the judge made it pretty clear that he needed me to have a steady source of employment for me to be out."
Dawn nodded, clasping her hands in front of her face thoughtfully. "It's not your fault that you got terminated, and he did give you a time frame to seek other options."
"He did?"
Either he had been in a daze (which was highly likely), or he had completely zoned out when he had been told that. It didn't completely alleviate the burdensome stress on his shoulders, but it was a stepping stone in the right direction.
"Yes, he gave you thirty days to find another job if you didn't have your old one anymore."
"Good," he said, arching his spine foreword as he rubbed his hands between his face. "Any other updates?"
The last he knew, she had been gunning for his sentencing hearing to be postponed until the other judge in the case ruled on the notion to grant him an appeals hearing on getting the kidnapping charge thrown out and replaced with a contempt charge instead. It would be a lesser charge that would guarantee him a lighter sentence, and not as much time spent away from the boys, and it was something he was hoping Dawn would be able to swing for him. However, with the way he had faired in court lately, he was not holding his breath.
"Judge Erikson-" she began carefully.
"The one who heard my appeal?" Caleb asked.
"Yes. I filed a motion requesting that your sentencing be postponed until we know the results of the appeal."
"The appeal to downgrade the kidnapping charge to contempt?"
"Correct. It was denied."
Caleb sighed; it wasn't anything he hadn't expected. Even though he was already so lucky to have been granted bail until he was formally sentenced, he knew that the freedom he was currently enjoying probably wouldn't last forever.
"So it's still going foreword, then?"
"That's right."
"Did the appeal at least go through?"
If the appeal to downsize the charge went through, at least he would still have that to look foreword to, even if he would have to go through the horrors of sentencing, at least he would have something to hope for if things went south.
"It did," she confirmed. "But it won't be heard for another three months."
"Right. So to summarize-"
"The sentencing is still going through, and the appeal was accepted."
"If," he swallowed back the nausea that the thought presented to him. "If I get sentenced to do hard time, if the charge gets downsized to contempt later on, will the original sentence be thrown out?"
"Yes."
"So," he said, glancing over at the clock. "What kind of time would I get for contempt?"
"Contempt charges, generally, don't offer a lot of time. A few days, a week at the most."
"Wow," he said.
In the grand scheme of things, that would be nothing to the amount of days combined he had spent in jail over the last year.
"I know, so that's what we're aiming for."
"What's the status of me possibly regaining custody?"
Getting his custodial rights reinstated, had been a hope of his from the second they had been taken away. With the kidnapping conviction, besides the horror he felt for himself, he also was harshly reminded of the fact that a verdict like that, would be bound to wreak havoc on his bid to get the boys back.
"I filed all the appropriate documents as soon as you were cleared of the abuse and neglect charges. As for how successful that will be-"
"It all depends on the kidnapping," Caleb surmised.
"Yes. Generally," she said with a wry smile. "Family court doesn't favor restoring custody rights to a convicted felon, but I'm trying to get some partial rights restored, and then if the charges are completely dropped in terms of the kidnapping conviction, I'll go for full custody."
"Alright, thank you."
With the wealth of information that Dawn piled on his shoulders, he was only too happy to indulge in some much needed rest while he waited for the boys and Bobby to get home. He had taken them to investigate a bridge that had was reported to be haunted by the ghost of a kid that had died on or near it.
Due to his curfew restrictions, he had not been allowed to go, even though the job was supposed to be local. It was one of the pitfalls of his bail requirements: he had to abide by a strict curfew when he wasn't working, and even though he would have loved to have had an excuse to spend more time with the kids, he had had to sit this one out. But he couldn't deny the perks of being able to rest, and that was what he did while he waited for their return and their report on what they had witnessed at the bridge. It was Sam's first major case after the spirit one that he had been allowed on right after he had been arrested, and he was eager to know how he had done.
When the back door downstairs was thrown open, he heaved himself up from his bed to go down and see what they had gleaned from their day of hard work.
"Hey," Caleb said, as he met Bobby and the two boys in the kitchen. "What happened?"
"Nothing much," Dean said with a shrug, as he hung his coat on the hook by the door. "The spirit was this dude who had been killed by his evil stepfather."
"Oh, really?" Caleb said, raising an eyebrow as he supported his body weight on the counter as he leaned toward the kids. "So did you get your hands dirty?"
"Kind of," Dean said, looking over at Sam who nodded eagerly. "Sam dug his first grave."
"Did you?" Caleb said with a proud smile. "Good for you!"
"Th-thanks," Sam said, cutting off in a laugh as Caleb tickled his sides. "It was kind of fun."
Even though Sam had been kept in the dark from what his family did with the supernatural, recently he had started to become more involved in it, even if it was something simple like digging a grave or lighting a match to burn a corpse. And even though some of it frightened the still innocent child, he had started to become more enthused about the idea of hunting, and was more willing to help out when he was called or offered to do so.
"It is," Caleb agreed. "Did Bobby let you light a match?" he asked, glancing over at the older hunter.
"I did," Bobby confirmed, "and he did it exactly how you taught him."
"Awesome," Caleb said, holding his hand up in a high-five.
"Low-five," Sam instructed, giggling, as he held his hand down for Caleb to smack.
"You did awesome tonight," Caleb said, teasingly ruffling Sam's hair.
"Thanks."
"I wish you had been there," Dean said, shrugging, as though it hadn't been a big deal to him.
"I know. But because of my sucky bail agreement-"
"You have a curfew," Dean said with a laugh.
"In a way, yes. I talked to Dawn today."
"What did she say?" Bobby asked, as he passed out some different foods and drinks to the boys. They definitely needed it after the long day of working they had both accomplished.
"She filed a motion for my sentencing to be put on hold until the results of my appeal go through, but it got denied," Caleb said, as he took a satisfying gulp of his soda.
"So it's still happening?" Dean asked, glancing up nervously at Caleb over the rim of his glass.
"Yeah," Caleb sand gently, "but the appeal did go through."
"But it's not going to be heard in time?" Bobby asked, as he handed Sam a napkin.
"No."
It was disappointing, but when Caleb was reminded of the plan he and Bobby had set in motion should he be sent back to jail after the sentencing, it wasn't as pressing as it would have been without the plan, even though it was still certainly stressful.
"What about the custody situation?" Dean asked, as he helped himself to some chips.
"That's still iffy, but not impossible. I'll have a better chance of getting it reinstated if the judge agrees to drop the kidnapping charge. In the meantime, she's still filing documents to get at least some of my rights brought back."
"Does she think you'll at least get that?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. We probably won't know for awhile, but at least I'm here regardless," he said, smiling down at the boys, as he gave Sam and Dean each a hug.
"It wasn't the same without you," Sam said.
"Definitely not," Dean agreed.
"Well, now I'm back," Caleb said. "For good."
"Everything is back to normal," Sam said.
