Although Cade kept declining the offer of help in the kitchen, Mary jumped in anyway, quietly preparing the bacon for the BLT's while Cade began making Ellie's favorite; grilled cheese with a side order of macaroni and cheese. By the time they sat down for dinner, the sun was setting and everyone was feeling the weight of the day.
"Come on sweet girl, time to eat." Cade said as he tried to guide her to the table, staying patient even when it took several attempts to actually get her to the table. It wasn't until everyone was engrossed in eating their sandwiches that Cade spoke up again. "Ellie, eat."
Ellie was rocking in her chair, looking around the room as if everything was more fascinating than the here and now. Ignoring her food, she continued to rock and started to hum when a low voice reached her ears from the other room.
"Ellie, you need to eat to make the angels happy." Johnny's sleep slurred voice floated into the room, causing the little girl to stop what she was doing then start eating her sandwich while looking around the room again.
Happy, Cade nodded in approval before he barked out, "You're supposed to be sleeping you stubborn jackass! Don't make me go in there." He waited a moment and started to get a worried look on his face until they heard a faint, "Jerk" come back in response. Shaking his head, Cade muttered, "Kid's going to be the death of me."
Mary had been watching Ellie and couldn't help but wonder about her. "How old is she?" she asked, then almost wished that she hadn't when she saw how Cade stiffened.
He had almost allowed himself to believe that they were a figment of his overactive imagination, until she spoke; and damn if that didn't make things harder. "Four, her birthday's next month though." Cade answered, hoping that the question and answer period was over; he never did have that great of luck.
"Is there something wrong with her?" John asked, knowing that there was, but how do you ask without offending someone you just met and were already rubbing the wrong way.
Sighing, Cade lowered his voice a little, "There is nothing wrong with her; she's not broken. The doctor's say it's a degree of autism, but when she has her really good days they talk about remission, and on her bad days they say regression. Honestly I doubt if they know, just something else they can label a kid with so they don't have to get to know them. Johnny says that she's just sensitive to everything around her and until she doesn't find everything else so fascinating then she'll stay in her own little world." Suddenly he stopped and looked slightly shocked that he admitted that before he schooled his features again and went back to his sandwich.
Dean watched the little girl and found her adorable. Her long curly blonde hair, fair skin, and light blue eyes reminded him of the porcelain doll that he had bought his mom for Christmas one year. Thinking about it made him smile; Mom kept it on display with her little legs dangling off a bookshelf in the living room. Taking a quick peek he saw his mom's expression and he was sure she was thinking the same thing.
John had no idea what to do at the moment. He had always preferred action, but he also knew that this was probably one of those moments where it would be best to wait it out. He knew one thing though, he wasn't going to leave without Johnny, at least not until there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he wasn't Sammy. He was about to try and smooth things over with the man in front of him, but Dean's question made him cringe. 'So much for smoothing things over.' He thought in exasperation.
"So, where's Ellie's mom?" Dean asked, more than a little curious as to why there were no photos of any women, just of Ellie and Johnny in different places and different poses. The question actually had double meaning, and there was no way he was going to ask what he really wanted to. Somehow he thought the question, 'So I'm an Uncle?' wouldn't go over very well.
Cade choked and looked quickly at the little girl who paused only a moment before continuing with her macaroni. "Ok, I see where this is going. I wasn't kidding before, after tonight, you're out of here and will leave Johnny alone." He hissed, ignoring Ellie's quiet voice 'Johnny'. "Her mother and I had a falling out as soon as she found out she was pregnant. She took off and it wasn't until I hear from a casual acquaintance that I find out that Ellie's about to be born and was going to be put up for adoption. Of course that was before they found out that she had some health problems, then all of a sudden it was, 'We're sure we'll find her a good home, it will just take some time.' There was no way one of my kids was going to be put in the system and left to rot. Now, does that answer your real question?" he growled towards Dean, daring him to doubt what he had said.
Feeling as if he had shrunk in size, Dean held up his hand in a placating manner, "Hey, dude, I'm sorry, but you got to see it from our point of view…"
"All I see is three people trying to convince someone that has done more for me and my daughter than anyone else I know, that he's suddenly their long lost son and be damned with anything else. You want to convince him? Try convincing me first, you'll find I'm not as easy a sell."
Dean wanted to laugh, an easy sell? They had to practically bribe the kid to sit down for one night and listen, there was no way Johnny was an easy sell. In fact he couldn't think of one thing that they had been able to convince him of since the day they met. He and Cade were facing off and Dean wasn't going to back down this time no matter what his parent's feelings were. Suddenly though Cade looked concerned at Ellie, and even more so when she paused in mid bite and said "Joh- nny". Before anyone could question what was going on they heard Johnny scream and what sounded like a bomb going off in the other room.
Cade was the first one to see the complete havoc wrecked on the living room. "Damn it kid, that was my mom's china." He said as he rushed to check Johnny while at the same time looked over his shoulder to make sure Ellie was still in the kitchen.
"You hated your mom." Came the weak response from the couch.
Smirking, Cade agreed, "Yeah, well it's a good thing it wasn't dad's gun collection then, huh?"
Smiling weakly, Johnny nodded, "Uh huh, I'd have another hole in my head by now."
The room looked as if everything that hadn't been nailed down had been picked up then suddenly dropped onto the floor. While sweeping up the glass and china, Cade looked over and asked, "Care to share?"
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Mary stood outside and looked up at the stars wondering if there was anything that she could do to make things right. She hadn't realized how much she had messed up until Johnny had pointed it out, and she felt awful that it had taken a stranger to show her something that had been right in front of her for this long. Thinking about Johnny made her heart ache, while she was outside trying to pull herself back together, he was inside trying to explain what had happened earlier. It had been obvious that he hadn't gotten up from the couch, and the scream that he had let out sounded as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest leaving her to believe that it had to have been a horrendous nightmare. Now though, they were waiting until they got the 'all clear' from Cade that they could go back inside, since whatever they were talking about was obviously confidential.
"You ok Mom?" Dean asked behind her. He had been watching her since she had started her walk across the yard to look up at the night sky. He had to admit the stars were cool, but he didn't like the look on her face.
Turing to Dean, Mary smiled and nodded. "Yep, you know me, off in la la land sometimes." When she saw that he wasn't buying it, she sighed. "Dean, did we really forget you somewhere along the way? Were we really so caught up in our grief that we forgot to enjoy you?" she asked, heartbroken that she had to even ask such a question.
Looking at his mom, Dean turned his head back up to the stars before he answered. "I know that it seems like it now Mom, but living it? No, we all wanted Sammy back; we all had a piece of ourselves missing. Do I wish things had been different? Sure. Do I regret growing up with you and Dad? No. I love you both, and no matter what may have happened or didn't happen, that won't change."
Stunned, Mary looked at her son, "Ok mister, what have you done with the real Dean? That was the biggest 'chick flick' moment since you told Lisa Henderson that the moon sat in her eyes."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. One major girly moment per customer." He smirked back, liking how she was smiling again, and wanting to make sure she stayed that way.
Turning back around, they started to walk towards John who had been splitting his attention between Mary, Dean, and the occupants in the house. When Mary and Dean leaned up against the Impala next to him he volunteered, "It started out as a calm discussion and it turned into an argument about us."
As they listened they heard Cade yelling at Johnny for being an idiotic fool, and Johnny's raised voice about not being a stubborn jackass. It would have been funny except they all could hear how much of a toll it was taking on both men, especially Johnny. It was the sound of something breaking that had John and Dean running to the house before the sound of the men inside screaming for Ellie brought everything to a halt. Before the Winchester's could think about what they heard, the door opened and Johnny was flying down the steps screaming, "ELLIE! ELLIE, COME ON, WE DIDN'T MEAN IT!"
"Johnny, what's wrong?" Mary asked concerned about the young man in front of her who looked closer to collapse than ready to find a little girl.
"She doesn't like arguing, of any type. She, ah, she gets upset and wanders. Oh God, we have to find her. ELLIE!"
Dean ran back to the Impala and grabbed the flashlight that was in the glove box. When he got back to the group he saw Cade had joined them with a couple of hand held search lights and without any words being exchanged, they separated and started at the back of the house where they were sure she left, and fanned out calling to her hoping all the while that they weren't scaring her even more.
Cade had could kick himself; he knew that having strangers in the house was bad enough, but to pick a fight with Johnny had taken her stress to a whole other level. Now he was searching with the one person he trusted most, and others that at the moment he trusted least, he'd never forgive himself for this. Looking over to Johnny his concern grew, the kid looked like he was going to collapse while still walking, but he knew that Johnny would walk into Hell's deepest depths for his little girl; that was just one of the things that made him want to take care of the kid. Now though, he was being told that it was safer to stay away from him, and he couldn't accept that; there was no way he was going to listen to that, even if it did come from Johnny himself.
John was worried, it was pitch black, and there were no signs that a little girl had been outside. He was just about to state his opinion when he saw Johnny stop in mid stride and whip back around to the house before he started running as fast as he could. Not having much of a choice, they all followed him and watched in horror as they saw the little girl on the ledge of the roof outside of her bedroom window.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Johnny felt as if his heart had stopped, between that and the other pain he was feeling he was sure he was in the middle of some sort of nightmare that he couldn't wake from. Up above him was Ellie, the only bright spot in his very dark existence, and she could easily fall any moment. He heard Cade telling him that he was going to the window, but he could only stand there and stare up at Ellie and hope that she didn't slip. He felt more than saw Dean stand next to him and tell him something, it could have been anything from 'we'll get her' to 'so, how about those Giants' but he couldn't decipher anything at all beyond those pale blue eyes watching him.
Dean saw the stricken look on Johnny's face and he could sympathize, after what they all had witnessed he and Ellie were close, and if anything happened to her would be like how they felt losing Sammy. "Don't worry, she'll be ok, we'll get her down." he said, knowing that the words weren't getting through, but felt that he had to try. Looking up he saw Ellie looking down watching Johnny as if he held all to answers, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was right. Before he had a chance to ponder that thought further, Cade was at the window talking softly, trying to coax his little girl back into the house, but only agitating her further.
Watching everything unfold, Mary was terrified of what losing the little girl would do to Johnny. She might not be his daughter, but it was evident that they held each other in very high regard, and neither would fare very well without the other. As she watched Cade attempting to bring Ellie into the house, the little girl's screams got louder and more agitated, while Johnny looked as if he was barely standing. Not sure what she could do, she stood beside Dean and joining him in offering what support she could. As she stood there, she was totally unprepared for what happened next.
Seeing Ellie's footing falter, and hearing her screams get louder and more anxious, Johnny did the only thing that came to mind, he reached out his arms, trying to ignore the ripping white hot pain in his back and yelled, "ELLIE, JUMP!" It took only a moment for her to obey, never once taking her eyes off of his face, and when he felt her weight he was both thankful that she was alright, and angry that he didn't have the strength to stay upright. As his body folded upon itself, he felt strong arms catch him and heard a deep voice in his ear, "I got you son" before darkness took over.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Cade couldn't believe what just happened, then he thought about it; yeah, he could. Now as he watched the Winchester's gather around Johnny and his little girl, he couldn't help but wonder what was really going on. These people didn't seem to be the run of the mill cons who wanted Johnny around as a curiosity; in fact he was starting to wonder about their story, which opened a whole other can of worms. Right now though he needed to get a certain someone re-stitched before he woke up otherwise a certain tiny person would be very upset with him, and he couldn't have that twice in one day.
After getting everyone settled in the living room, Cade rolled Johnny onto his stomach to get a better look at the damage. More concerned about his 'patient' he didn't think about the burn mark until he heard the collective gasps behind him. Ignoring them for a moment, he pulled back the gauze and saw that every stitch he had put in had been ripped out. Sitting back he knew that if he was going to redo them then it needed to be done soon, but if Johnny had his way he'd be gone soon so chances were he'd just rip them out again. Sighing, he walked into the back room and grabbed more gauze and peroxide before walking back into the living room and catching Mary gently probing the scar. "Meth lab in Oklahoma blew up, he was caught in the fire, thankfully it was only a table leg that caught him and not the whole table." He told her softly, not wanting to remember the phone call of a nurse in Tulsa calling for Cade Hart in regard to Johnny Doe, 'he's been asking for you, but we were told not to call until the investigation was complete. Does he have any other family besides his foster parents?' Just the thought of that phone call made him nauseous, he had been three states away when he had heard the news report of Oklahoma being the leading state of meth labs and an arrest had been made after one had blown up killing two people and injuring a boy, and 'isn't it funny that my friend Johnny's latest foster parents moved to Oklahoma?' He remembered it all too clearly, and wished he didn't.
"He was in a Meth lab?" Dean asked, not able to catch the condemnation in his voice before it came out.
Turning to Dean, Cade wanted kick the crap out of the man, but thought that maybe there had been too much excitement for the day and vowed to make it up by kicking the crap out of him twice tomorrow. "It's not like he was making the stuff, hell he didn't even want to be there, but he didn't have much of a choice. Now hold these." He growled as he thrust the gauze at Dean and set out to clean out the wound again. Seeing Mary's worry, he relented a little. "He was in between placements, his previous foster family had died due to carbon monoxide poisoning while he was at a friend's house, so when a temporary home came up no one thought too much about it, and weren't watching very carefully when they up and moved. He had managed to call and tell me what was going on right before they left, and sent me a postcard to let me know where he was. It should have been the first sign that something wasn't right, but it took him being in the hospital for the system to catch up to the people and find out that she was the only one approved as a foster parent and he couldn't be one because of his drug record." He said quietly while packing the wound, "so there I am in North Carolina when I catch the national news about another lab blowing up and then my phone rings asking if I know Johnny, and all I can do is put Ellie in the truck and haul ass to make sure he was alright. He was twelve."
Confused, John couldn't help but ask, "I thought you were close? The way you act, we thought…"
Putting the last piece of tape on the bandage, Cade laughed, "We are close, he couldn't help being tossed from place to place, but we had a system to stay in touch and when he was able to break free, we met up. I'm just glad he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, it seems like more and more crazies are taking an interest in him now."