Hmm seems this story is destined for short chapters ;) No different than most of the chapters of the first one, eh? lol anyway. Sorry it's taking me so long to write this story! I know what I want to have happen throughout it...it's just getting to those spots that's the problem ;) hehe anywho. Thank you all so much for your wonderful, inspiring reviews! It's what made me want to write this chapter. I'm also working on another one-shot for this 'verse, so be looking for that. I'm not sure what it will be called, mostly because I have conflicting name ideas. Anyway, thanks again for reading, and please continue to review! The reviews keep the story going!

Onward!

Chapter Five

Dean prided himself on the fact that it was kind of hard to startle him, mostly with anything. Loud noises didn't necessarily bother him unless he was distracted when he heard it, and who could forget the annoying sound of Sammy's teenage voice? If that couldn't startle him, he wasn't sure anything could. So when he came home that day after taking Cas home, he was more than a little shocked when there was a police officer standing in his living room, talking to his father, who was seated grimly on the couch. Due to the wrapping around his eyes, he couldn't necessarily tell what his father was feeling, but he had a bad feeling about all of this. He didn't like cops in general, after all.

Swallowing, he hoped to mostly blend into the background as he eased past the officer and toward the hallway that would lead to his bedroom. Sammy wasn't here, since he'd declared quite loudly yesterday that he would be going to Josh's after school for some school project they had to do. He was to call Dean when he was ready to come home. Dean wondered when he had become the family chauffer, but he didn't really mind. He liked helping his family.

"Dean," his father said. Damn him and his excellent hearing! Dean sighed and turned, facing him and the officer. He walked back into the living room and frowned.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. The last time he had dealt with police officers, they'd decided to practically use him as bait to get Justin to admit to his crimes so they could throw him behind bars. So maybe it was plausible as to why he was more than a little uneasy as he stood there in front of the tall officer. "Something wrong?"

John took a slow breath and gestured at the spot next to him on the couch. Dean slowly walked toward him and sat, looking from him to the officer. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," the officer said, looking apologetically at him as though sorry for the words he would soon have to speak. Dean never had understood why the officers said or looked as though they were sorry. It wasn't like they could really feel the depth of their words, after all. No matter what they said.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Dean asked, his frown deepening as his heart sped up a little in the worry he was struggling to hide. "Dad?" He looked at his father as though for answers, but John's head was bowed toward the ground. A somber silence surrounded them and Dean really did begin to worry. Had something happened to Sammy? Was that why they were both behaving like this? Had something happened to his little brother while he'd been out with Cas, having milkshakes and cheeseburgers? The raw twisting of guilt gnawed painfully at his stomach and he swallowed thickly. "Is something wrong with Sammy?"

"No," John said with a heavy sigh. That painful knot loosened and Dean felt like he could breathe again.

"Then…what's going on?" he asked, wishing they would just spit it out already. "Dad, why is there a cop here? What are you doing here?" He looked at the officer. "What's going on?"

"Son…" the cop said as they shook their head.

"I'm not your son," Dean said heatedly, narrowing his eyes at the guy.

"Dean," John chided. "Please don't be rude."

Dean would have argued, but John had said please, and his father rarely ever used that word. Only when he really meant it, and that was the only reason Dean snapped his mouth shut and watched the cop with narrowed eyes.

"It's about your uncle…Justin Winchester."

Dean swallowed thickly and closed his eyes. He had always feared that something like this would happen. Had his uncle gotten free or something? Tendrils of fear, cold and slick as ice, curled tightly around his heart like a dreadfully tight hand that refused to even allow him room to breathe. Justin couldn't be free…right? He prayed not.

Because he couldn't go through with that stuff again. He couldn't. And he couldn't put Cas through it again, either. Once was bad enough, and he could have potentially put him in danger, and that simply wasn't an option.

"He was found dead in his jail cell this morning…" the officer continued, and Dean stared at him, his heart racing and silence ringing loudly in his ears. Had he heard the guy right?

"Dead?" Dean asked, frowning.

The cop nodded. "Yes. We don't know what caused his death, but we are looking into it. We just thought we'd tell you before it hit the papers…"

"Papers?" Dean echoed, his frown deepening. Why would his uncle's death be put in the papers? Justin was just another criminal, right? Dean had thought all of this was behind him, so why was this cop bringing everything back up again?

"We suspect foul play," the officer said slowly, as though Dean were some fragile little boy that couldn't hear any of this news of his uncle's death. Dean would have scoffed if it weren't for the fact that the cop was potentially talking about murder. "It's being put in the newspapers…there's no way we can stop it. Word got out. We just thought you should be the first to know…before you read about it in the papers tomorrow."

"Thank you," John murmured with a heavy, sad sigh. Sure, Justin had murdered Mary, blinded John, and tried to kill Dean twice, but he was still a member of the family. He was still John's brother, his only brother, and Dean could relate to that. Even if Sam had been convicted of doing all those horrible things, he would still love him, would still root for him and pray and hope for him…so he knew a little of what John was feeling.

But in his own mind…he felt mostly numb. He didn't really care, and that thought hurt him. He always cared about family, right? Justin was still family. However, after all the guy had done, after he'd taken his mom from him and Sammy and had tried to kill him on separate occasions…Dean just couldn't find it within him to really give a damn about the man's death. Sure, he didn't necessarily like that it was murder…that someone else had taken his uncle's life…but he couldn't really feel overly sad about it. He had stopped caring when his uncle had been put in jail.

Maybe that made him a horrible person, he didn't know. He felt guilty that he couldn't find it within him to care, but…he just didn't care. For all intents and purposes, Justin was dead to him.

And now, he literally was. Dead. Gone. Murdered in jail…

Dean released a slow breath and tuned the conversation back in as the officer began explaining how his uncle had been found early this morning in his jail cell. All the while, his mind kept wandering back to Cas…his Cas. Castiel could make things better, could make everything seem like it was going to be okay. Everything was warm and inviting with Cas.

And that was exactly where Dean wanted to be.

Castiel was getting ready to go downstairs and fix something to eat, since both of his parents were working and Jimmy was taking a nap upstairs, when he heard someone knocking lightly, almost hesitantly, on the front door. Soldier darted toward the door, happily wagging his tail, and Castiel followed after him more slowly. He pulled the door open and frowned. "Dean? What's wrong?"

Dean didn't look that great. His eyes were downcast, his expression mostly slack and blank, which Castiel didn't like at all. A muscle in his jaw kept jumping, meaning he was upset about something, Castiel knew. Frowning, he grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him inside, dragging him toward the couch while Soldier padded around them happily.

"Sit," he said.

Dean sat on the couch and Soldier sat at his feet, licking at his hand. Dean scratched him behind the ear and sighed heavily. "Sorry, Cas," he mumbled quietly.

"What's wrong?" Castiel asked, frowning in concern. He didn't like it when Dean was so quiet. It wasn't like him at all. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's all messed up."

"How so?" He sat next to Dean on the couch, wishing he knew what was wrong. Soldier seemed to sense that something was amiss, because he rested his head on Dean's lap, watching him with wide, understanding eyes. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

Dean sighed heavily. "Justin."

Castiel frowned, stiffening. Dean didn't mention his uncle much, but Castiel didn't blame him. He actually preferred it this way, really. He didn't like Justin at all, after the times when the guy had tried to kill Dean. After all he'd done, Castiel was certainly glad he was behind bars. He knew Dean sometimes felt a little conflicted about it, because Justin was still his uncle, but he was where he was supposed to be.

"What about him?" Castiel asked slowly, frowning.

"He's dead."

Castiel blinked in shock. He hadn't been expecting those words, not at all. For a moment, nothing was spoken between the two of them as Castiel tried to wrap his head around the words. Justin was dead? That didn't settle well with him, not really, because how? He'd been in jail, sure, but he'd been healthy…

"Oh," he said stupidly, but that seemed to be all that he could come up with at the moment. "What, um…what happened?"

Dean shrugged. "They don't know. They just found him dead this morning. An officer was out my house when…I went home." He shook his head. "Everything's all messed up."

"How so?" Castiel asked again, resting a hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean finally glanced at him and then averted his gaze once more.

"I mean…I just…I don't know, Cas." He shook his head. "I just…had to get out of there for a while, you know?"

"Yeah," he said, because he did. He knew what it was like to feel the need to leave the house, to have that urge when things became too much.

"I just…I'm confused."

"How so?"

Dean paused, hesitating, before he shrugged. "Do you think I'm a bad person?" he asked quietly, looking at the ground as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Castiel blinked at him in confused. "What? No! Why?"

"Because…I don't…care."

"Huh?"

"That he's dead. I don't…" Dean shrugged. "…care."

"You don't care?"

Dean shook his head slowly. "I just…I don't."

Castiel paused. "That's just because of what he's done to you and your family," he told him reassuringly. "That doesn't mean you're a bad person, Dean. People can only be pushed so far, after all."

"I mean…I don't like that he's dead…or murdered, or…"

"Murdered?" Castiel chimed in, frowning greatly.

"Yeah…the police suspect 'foul play' but they're not very forthcoming with answers."

Castiel frowned. "Why would someone kill him?"

"I don't know…drugs? Money? I honestly have no idea, Cas," Dean told him with a heavy sigh.

Castiel nodded. "Okay. But…you're not a bad person for not caring. People can only be pushed so far, and he did try to…well…um…kill you, right? Not just once, but…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence himself. Flashes of that night shot through his mind and he suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought of himself waiting in that stupid police car while Dean went in with a wire. That was such an idiotic idea…it could have gotten Dean killed. Almost had. "You're not a bad person," Castiel said, snapping himself out of his thoughts as he looked at Dean.

Dean smiled at him faintly. It wasn't much but it was better than that blank, slack look he'd had when he'd come in. "Thanks, Cas."

Castiel smiled back. "No problem. Hungry?"

"Aren't I always?"

"Since I've known you, yeah," Castiel said with a smirk as he stood and led Dean into the kitchen. Soldier followed after them happily.

It did worry him that Justin had been murdered…but he figured he could worry about that later. Right now, cheering up Dean was his main priority, and he knew just how to do it.

He put a newly bought apple pie on the table and watched happily as Dean's eyes lit up.

He was going to be there for Dean like Dean was always there for him, as he vowed to himself.

Sorry if there are any typos...anywho, I'm on Christmas Break now, so hopefully I will be able to write more! Thanks again for reading and please continue to review!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~