Intervention
Bobby didn't blame Castiel for what happened to everybody since the day of the kidnapping. It wasn't the kid's fault. If Bobby blamed anybody it was the rest of the idgits themselves. They didn't notice the change, but Bobby did. Dean's entire being had shattered from the guilt. All he did was sit up in that room with Castiel day in and day out. Sam was pretty much the same, but he still left the room occasionally. He would leave the room to do chores and all that, but he'd always check on Dean, not worrying about anyone else. Charlie and Kevin kept to themselves, silently watching programs or working on puzzles with the angels. They were just as guilt-ridden as Dean. Hell, they had even stopped trying to talk to Dean after the last few tries to get through to the hunter. Gabriel was worried and frightened. He'd smile for Balthazar, trying to show his little brother everything would be okay. That was his good days though. On the bad days Gabriel would sit outside the closed door to Cas' room. He would never go in. He would only rest his head against the door, listening to the beeping of the monitor and Dean's soft whispers. Out of all of them Bobby worried about Balthazar the most. The little angel carried on like always. He'd laugh and run around the house. He'd even try to break into the whiskey cabinet. It was all just an act though. Bobby saw right through it.
"I got it!" Balthazar had screamed once grabbing the whiskey from the cabinet just as Sam walked into the kitchen to get Dean something to eat. The hunter looked up at Balthazar, eyes weary and glazed.
"Put it back, Balthy," Sam whispered as he pulled out some bread, bananas, and peanut butter. His voice lacked any hint of emotion.
"Aw, Sammy, but –"
"Balthazar." The angel went silent. Sam finished making the sandwich and walked out of the room, not looking at the angel once. Balthazar slumped up against the counter, bottle still in hand. Bobby walked into the room then, raising a brow at the angel when he saw the bottle.
"I'm going to have to start putting angel sized mouse traps in that cabinet," Bobby teased the angel. Balthazar shook his head, refusing to look up at Bobby. Instead he got up, leaving the bottle on the ground.
"No. I didn't want it anyway," Balthazar whispered before slinking out of the room, keeping his head down.
Balthazar was trying to make things like they used to. He tried to make the others laugh and not worry too much about Castiel, but he couldn't. No one looked at him. No one saw him. It made Bobby's blood boil.
Bobby walked around the house as the sun began to set. He hadn't seen Balthazar all morning. The angel hadn't poked jokes or pranks all day. It was worrisome. Bobby stopped when he came to the blueberry garden. Balthazar was poking at the fallen blueberries on the ground. His face was stained with tears and his wings were drooped. Bobby knelt down next to the angel.
"You're going to freeze, kid. Let's go inside," Bobby prompted. Balthazar shook his head, refusing to budge from his spot. "Why not?" Bobby questioned.
"I...can't go back in there," Balthazar whispered. "They're all just a bunch of zombies going through the motions until Cassie wakes up, but what if he doesn't?" Balthazar wiped his nose with his sleeve. "I want my family back, Bobby. I want to play games and go on road trips again. I want Sam to yell at me and chase after me when I steal from that damn cabinet. I want movie nights with Charlie and Kevin like before. I…I want Dean to stop breaking his fucking promise…"
"Promise?" Bobby questioned. Balthazar let out a sob and pulled his knees to his chest.
"He said he'd never leave Cas alone. He would never abandon him, but he made the same promise to us too!" Balthazar turned his blood shot eyes onto Bobby. "He doesn't talk to any of us anymore. He…just shut down. He's dead, Bobby! He left us. He left me –"
"Hey, it's okay," Bobby whispered, pulling Balthazar into his arms as Balthazar fully broke down. "Shhhh…you're okay. Shhhh…" The angel clutched onto the older hunter and sobbed until he completely wore himself out. Bobby slowly got to his feet, still holding the crying angel. He carried Balthazar back into the house and shut the door behind him. He walked into the living room. Gabriel was running around it, tears in his eyes. When he spotted Bobby with Balthazar a relieved cry left his lips. He flew up into Bobby's arms and wrapped his arms and wings around his little brother. Balthazar continued to cry into Gabriel's shoulder and Bobby gently sat them down on the couch. He put in a Disney movie for the both of them and draped a blanket over Balthazar to warm the angel up.
"I didn't know where you were," Gabriel whispered to Balthazar. "I thought I lost you too."
"I'm not going anywhere," Balthazar promised. Bobby walked out of the room, giving the boys their space. He let out a deep breath and looked up the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Anger burned in the hunter's eyes and he made his way up. First stop was in Charlie's room. Kevin was there too and the two idgits were just whispering amongst each other softly.
"Cas' room. Now!" Bobby shouted before slamming the door and moving onto Sam's. He pushed the door open roughly, causing the hunter to jump. "Come on," Bobby growled, grabbing the Winchester by the wrist and tugging him towards Cas' bedroom. Kevin and Charlie were right behind them. Bobby shoved the door open, not surprised at all when Dean didn't budge. That only angered the old hunter more though. Bobby closed the door once everyone was in, grabbed a book from the floor next to Custos, and smacked Dean over the head. The hunter let out a yelp and turned his gaze onto Bobby. Dean's eyes were dim from being locked away and he was much thinner than he had been before this freaking fiasco.
"What the hell, Bobby?" Dean questioned, rubbing at his head.
"Where's Balthazar?" The hunter questioned. Confused looks appeared on every face around the room. Bobby repeated the question, but still no one answered. "Yeah, I figured none of you had a clue.
"Is he…"
"He's fine," Bobby interrupted Sam. "Well, actually he's not. He's been abandoned by the only family he's got." More confusion clouded the room and Bobby let his rage loose. "That idgit has been missing all morning and none of you even cared enough to notice! He was out in that goddamn garden crying his eyes out while the rest of you sat in here feeling sorry for yourselves over broken promises. Well, guess what?! You're still breaking promises!" Bobby turned his eyes on Dean. "You might not be leaving Cas' side, but guess who you did abandon? Balthazar and Gabriel are a mess. Gabe is a worried wreck and Balthazar's been trying to keep things like they were, but the rest of you shoot the kid down." Bobby let out a breath and looked over to Castiel. The angel was pale and skinny with dark circles around his eyes. "What happened to Cas was…was bad, but you've still got two other angels to protect and none of you are doing that. They're family is falling apart and they're scared. What you idgits plan to do about it is up to you," Bobby finished, walking through the door and shutting it behind him. Bobby walked downstairs and sat down on the couch with Balthazar and Gabriel, smiling at the two angels when they looked up at him. They smiled back before going back to watching the movie with their wings wrapped around each other in comfort.
"Gabriel? Balthazar?" Sam called from the doorway. Bobby and the angels glanced up and watched as Sam, Kevin, and Charlie walked over to kneel by the angels' sides. Bobby's face fell in disappointment. No Dean.
"We wanted to talk to you guys," another voice called from the doorway. Bobby felt his lips tug up and he watched as Dean walked over to the angels. Balthazar and Gabriel's mouths practically dropped at the sight of Dean up and about. The hunter smiled a little and knelt down so he was at eye level with the angels. "We're sorry. We were idiots, guys. We never meant to…to scare you two. And I'm…I'm not going to sit here and make a promise to you, but we're going to try. We're going to try to come back from this." Dean reached out and pulled the angels into his arms. Kevin, Charlie, and Sam joined in shortly after and Bobby silently slipped out of the room, leaving the group to have their moment alone. Bobby made his way upstairs and pushed the door open to Castiel's bedroom. Custos was on the bed, head resting next to Cas'. He looked up on seeing Bobby and let out a woof before nuzzling Cas' face. Bobby sat down on the bed and patted Custos' head, scratching the puppy's ears before turning his gaze to Castiel.
"They're working things out now, Cas," Bobby told the sleeping angel. Cas didn't answer, but Bobby kept right on talking. "They're going to be okay…well, as okay as they'll ever be." Bobby glanced at the beeping of the monitor, shaking his head. "I don't know what that demon made you see, Castiel, but…you've got family here. We're here for you, kid. You don't have to be alone." Bobby swore and let out a shaky laugh. "This is like some bad sop-opera," Bobby chuckled, getting up from the bed and heading to the door. Bobby's hand hovered over the door knob and he glanced back over to the angel. "We got ya, Idgit. Just know that, okay?" He whispered. Again, he received no answer and Bobby disappeared from the room, leaving Cas alone with Custos and the beeping monitor. Custos stretched and sat up. He nuzzled Cas' face once before plopping down onto the floor and grabbing Cas' trench coat from the floor. The puppy pulled it over the angel, tucking it in with his nose. Cas let out a soft sigh in his sleep and Custos' tail wagged. The hell hound puppy jumped back into his spot at Cas side then, waiting.