Miscommunications

This sort of circumstance sort of reminded Dean about that Home Alone movie he and Sammy would watch during the Christmas season when they were kids. Dean had always thought the movie was stupid because what kind of parent forgets their kid?! Well, he's been proved wrong and today he wishes he hasn't.

Dean hated the supermarket. It was noisy and clustered with people. Not to mention that his angels almost got turned into statues by some creep a while back. It was easy to lose someone in this mess and knowing three little angels that could happen anytime. Dean was currently looking at some fish that he was thinking about frying up for supper tonight. Sam sat leaned against the shopping cart filled with napping angels next to Bobby. The angels had fallen asleep during today's shopping so it was much quieter than usual. Bobby was skimming through a witch book that he claimed could be the closest thing they had to stopping the damn witches spell and not even a nuclear bomb would draw the hunter's attention from it. Sam let out a long sigh, bored out of his mind and looked around, spotting the vegetables on the other side of the store.

"Dean, I'm getting some veggies," Sam said walking towards the aisle and almost getting run over by a cart manned by some woman's naughty triplets. Dean waved an absent hand, not turning to look at his brother. Well, at least he doesn't have to deal with the now wide awake angels by the sound of it since his moose of a brother had wheeled them away. Little did Dean know that the sounds he had heard were someone else's children and not the angels. They were still there, sleeping soundly in the cart. Dean let out a sigh, turning his head slightly and noticing a hot shop assistant now putting pies on a shelf in the sweets section. Dean licked his lips.

"Bobby, wanna go get some soaps and stuff. I'm getting some pie," Dean muttered before rushing to the hot woman and the pies. Bobby didn't even hear Dean shout at him and just kept on reading his book until his bladder finally started to remind him of some certain bodily functions. Bobby looked up to see that he was still leaning on the cart where the angels were sleeping. They were curled around each other, sucking on their thumbs and cooing in their sleep. Bobby glanced around for his other two boys. Sam was gone, but where was Dean? Bobby glanced around, noticing a man in the corner of his eye looking at the cereals. He was wearing a green shirt and had short sandy hair like Dean's. The idjit must have taken off his coat. Bobby sighed, walking away towards the men's room. He was completely oblivious to the fact that the man he had mistaken for Dean was just some crazy larping fan from that book Chuck had come up with. After Bobby had vanished to the bathroom a young man made his rounds around the store, putting empty carts back to their correct places. He froze when he noticed that three children were all on their own without a parent. He looked inside the cart. The children looked around four to maybe six years of age. Where were their parents? When his eyes didn't find anyone around he reached into the cart, scooping the children into his arms and headed away from the cart.

Well, there you have it. That's how it started and now all three hunters are staring at the empty cart. They had lost their angels over one simple misunderstanding and had no idea where the three could be.

"Where did everyone see them last?" Sam questioned. Bobby pointed at Dean and Dean pointed at Sammy. In other words, neither of them knew. Dean ran a hand over his face. What if demons had stolen them? What if they were lost and alone? A sickening feeling swam up into Dean's stomach at the thought. They had to find the angels. Now. Sam reached over, squeezing Dean's shoulder when he noticed several different emotions flash through the hunter's face. Dean shooed him off, not wanting any pity and looked around for maybe a security camera or something. Bingo! Dean's eyes fell on one hiding in the corner. The hunters all shared a look before racing to store security.

"He stole our kids!" Dean shouted as he watched a man dressed in a store uniform just grab the angels and take them away. The store's security stood around them, watching with furrowed brows as they watched. One of them called over their radio, asking if any employees had seen the worker around. Nobody answered at first and the small group of hunters began to fear that the worker had already run off with their angels.

"He's in produce," a voice crackled across the radio. Dean, Sam, and Bobby bolted for the aisle, not waiting up for security. When they got to the produce aisle they saw the same worker that took their angels stacking plump strawberries. The worker smiled in their direction, but it was quickly gone when Dean jumped him and pinned the man against the wall. The worker squeaked in terror, struggling under Dean's hold.

"Where are they?!" Dean shouted, voice like hot poison as he glared daggers at the worker. "Where are they?!"

"Where are who?" the worker squeaked, terrified.

"Don't play games with me, you sick son of a bitch! Tell me where they are and I'll kill you quickly," Dean continued to snarl. The workers eyes widened and his gaze scanned the other two hunters standing off to the side, looking just as deadly.

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking-"

"Shut up! We saw the tape!"

"You're busted, Boy. If I were you I'd tell us where the boys are before mama bear gets hungry," Bobby hissed, bobbing his head at Dean. The worker frowned, voice stammering.

"Boys? I-"

"Would any parents missing three small boys please come to the child care unit? Your children are waiting for you there," a speaker rattled throughout the store. A relieved expression passed over the worker as Dean let go of him and bolted towards child care.

On entering the childcare unit the three were instantly greeted by a worker that waved a hand at the angels currently napping on a soft couch, unknowing of the events of the day. Each hunter scooped up a sleeping angel, rocking each one gently. The worker that had almost been torn apart by Dean peaked in, smiling nervously at the three men as they rocked the angels gently. Dean met his eyes, clearing his throat.

"I…uh…I'm sorry for attacking you like that. I-"

"Hey, I get it. You were just worried. Any real parent would I guess." The workers eyes trailed over the three napping angels. "I'm just glad their safe and sound again." With that the worker disappeared, leaving the three hunters and their angels alone.

"We might as well start paying someone else to do the shopping. This is getting ridiculous," Sam muttered, repositioning Gabe so the angel's head was resting on his shoulder.

"Them idjits seem to find trouble in every store we find," Bobby grumbled, as he pushed the door open with his Balthazar free hand so they could escape the child care unit. Dean just smirked, wondering if one day they would have one day where the angels kept themselves out of trouble. Yeah, not with the Winchester luck they aren't. Dean looked back down at the angel in his arms and his eyes widened slightly, vision cracking and replacing the baby angel with a beaten and bloody dead-eyed Cas from the caverns. Dean squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the image away.

"DWEAN!" A sickened look passed over the older Winchester's face as the screams echoed through his memories. No, no, no. Why was he doing this to himself?! They were fine. Neither of them were hurt. Though, what if? What if the worker hadn't been just some innocent guy? What if he had been a demon? What if he tortured the angels? The screams turned into the ringing of bells as Dean's thoughts were broken by the jingling of a bell as some old man sat on the curb with a bell and a can with about two cents inside. The Winchester fished out a dollar, shoving it in the old man's can, grateful that something had momentarily broken his thoughts from the hateful memories. The old man gave him a toothless grin.

"Thank ya kindly, Sir," the man said nodding his head at Dean gratefully. Dean smiled back.

"No, thank you," Dean hummed back.

"Hey Dean-O?" Dean turned from the old man to see Gabriel now wide awake and searching through the bag Sam was currently juggling while holding the angel. "Did you forget the waffles?" Dean held back the urge to face palm himself. Course they forgot something. Still, there was no way in hell he was going back in that damn store and risk having a replay of everything that just happened.

"Sorry, Dude, but you guys will have to go without?" Gabe's eyes narrowed at that and he lifted two fingers.

"I'm sorry, did you say you wanted to drive around in a pink Impala?" Gabe threatened. Dean cussed. Damn crafty son of a bitch and his mojo. With a sigh Dean handed a sleeping Cas off to Bobby and stomped back towards the doors, muttering all the way.

Protective!Dean has to be my favorite to write for some odd reason, but I'm not really happy with this chapter for some reason. I don't know why, but it's probably because I've been having so much fun writing a different and 100% more funnier chapter with Crowley that this depressing one kind of sets me off. I don't know. But hey, if you all enjoyed it then it's a job well done. Next chapter is more fun. No, it's not the one with Crowley. That one won't pop up for a while yet. It will have Charlie though. Thank you CAEL-TAiyo-Kurama-kage for the request. Hope you enjoyed it.