-.._..-.._..-.._..-.._
The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.
_,.-.._..-.._..-.._..-.._
A Wandering Boy
Chapter 7
Bobby's House Guests
Dean dragged his backpack up the steps to the swing where Sammy was sitting. He stood in front of the Hunter and scanned the man's face. He knew that Sam was only 24 but there were signs of an old and tired spirit inside. Dean climbed up on the swing and leaned against Sam's side.
Sam was surprised. "Are you OK?" he asked, glancing down at the blonde head.
"Yeah," Dean answered. "I'm OK. I made a friend today. His name is Kerman and I might want to bring him home with me soon. What do you think of that?"
Sam ran the old movie of his own childhood. He had made one or two friends but Dad had always freaked out. "No attachments," John had preached. "You'll only leave them in a few weeks. Get over it." The advice was usually followed with a slap to the back of Sam's head. "Just so you remember it." John had laughed and left his son alone to head out to another bar. Hunt, drink and sleep, this was the cycle of John Winchester's life. In the cracks of that life Sam fitted in where he could.
Sam smiled down at Dean. "I think that would be a great idea. When do you think?"
"I just thought about it." Dean relied. "There might be another guy too but I haven't actually met him yet."
"You are a strange one, aren't you Dean?" Sam asked.
"No stranger than you, Big Daddy." the kid answered back.
Bobby had just made his way out to the porch and caught the last piece of conversation. "Hey there, smart ass." he greeted Dean. "Good day at school? I hope the school is still standing."
Dean smiled up at the older man. "It looks just the same as it did this morning. No permanent damage yet."
"Sam," Bobby said. "Did you tell Dean yet about our house guest?"
Dean looked up at Sam who was smiling. "Did you bring home a friend before me?" Dean asked.
Sam took another sip of beer, missing Dean's eyes watching the bottle. "Your Angel is in the panic room."
Dean jumped off the swing. "Really? I want to go see him."
Bobby put out a hand as Dean tried to pass by. "Listen Dean," the man said. "His name is Castiel, not nerdy guy. Show him some respect. You'll know if he likes you. He'll tell you to call him 'Cas'."
_,.-.._..-.._..-.._..-.._
Dean cleared the basement steps two at a time. When he made it to the Panic Room's iron door he knocked. "Mr. Castiel? It's Dean. Can I come in?"
The door swung open and Dean's eyes got very large. He could see the Angel sitting at a table on the other side of the room.
"Whoa, did you just open that door with your mind?" the little boy was impressed.
Castiel turned in his chair and smiled at the little golden haired child. "Yes, Dean. I knew it was you. I told the door it was alright to open and it did. Come over and sit with me."
The Angel's voice was deep and growly. Dean hesitated and then decided to come forward. He watched the Angel carefully but Castiel didn't make any moves. He was treating Dean like a small wild animal, teasing it and enticing it closer. Dean finally climbed into the chair on the other side of the table.
In the muted light of the Panic Room the Angel just looked like any other man. He had sharp blue eyes that were focused on Dean, messy hair like he had just been standing in the wind and he was still wearing that trench coat. Maybe he expected it to rain soon.
Dean knelt on the chair so that he could put his elbows on the table. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "Why did you bring me here, Mr. Castiel?" he asked seriously. "Where did I come from and why do I remember such strange things sometimes?"
Castiel cocked his head to the side and studied the small boy before him. "That's a lot of questions all at once, Dean. I will do my best to give you answers you can understand."
"First of all, I brought you here to keep you safe. In your other life you were being hunted by some very powerful creatures who wanted to hurt you. I believe that Sam Winchester can keep you safe."
Castiel continued. "Secondly, you came from a world very much like this one. This world is very much the same as the one you came from but here you are hidden from the beings who want to hurt you. Some things are different yet I believe those changes are much to your benefit. Again, in this world Sam Winchester may be able to keep you safe. Your name, by the way, was Dean Michael Winchester, so you have chosen well. Your old name and new name will help to bind you to who you are."
"The name is part of the reason for your memories appearing. Your mind is trying to draw the edges of your memories together."
The Angel stood up and held out his hand for Dean. "Come with me Dean. I believe I have solved a problem here today and I can now walk about safely. Let us go continue this conversation with your new family."
"One more thing first," the child said. "Do I have to keep calling you Mr. Castiel? It reminds me of school."
Castiel looked down into the boy's eyes and remembered a pair of eyes that could look him in the face. "No, Dean, you do not. You can call me Cas. All my friends call me Cas."
_,.-.._..-.._..-.._..-.._
Cas and Dean walked out on the porch hand in hand.
"What the hell?" Bobby exploded. "I thought you said that walking around out in the open would call your Angel buddies down on our heads?"
Cas sat down on the swing next to Sam and pulled Dean in between his legs. Dean leaned back casually against Cas' chest and relaxed.
"Yes, Mr. Singer." Cas answered. "Oh, sorry, I meant Bobby. Please forgive me"
"Apology accepted." Bobby grumped, "Move on to the important stuff."
"It was very helpful to spend the day quietly in your "Panic Room." Cas started. "By the way that is very nice design on your part, Bobby. Very solid."
Bobby nodded in appreciation of the compliment and waved his hand indicating move on.
"Without having to watch over my shoulder for pursuers I was able to concentrate on the problem of my signature appearing on Angel Radio, as Sam calls it." Cas smiled at Sam Winchester.
"A very simple solution occurred to me. I have simply 'powered down'. I am able to move about invisibly and transport from place to place but all at a much less powerful level than before. At this level I am hardly more than static in the Heavenly sound, buried deep below the levels at which Angels normally call out. A monitor now would have to search very carefully indeed to notice my signature."
"Is that safe for you?" Sam asked.
"I believe so," Cas answered and wrapped his hand around Sam's shoulder. "I can regain my previous power levels quite rapidly indeed but it would be like setting off a siren on Angel Radio. I would have very little time to escape."
"So what do you lose in this transaction?" Bobby asked.
"Well, I can only move one or possibly two people with me from place to place. At my normal level I could move all of you and this house. I can still heal wounds but much more slowly and at a cost of some pain to the victim where previously the healing approached the miraculous." It was instantaneous. " Cas slowly recounted.
"I can no longer smite at a distance. I must be able to touch my target." Cas looked like he was searching his memory for further examples.
Sam leaned forward. "Don't stress yourself friend, I think we get the idea."
"Tell them about me, Cas." Dean interrupted. "Tell them about me." The child was very excited.
Cas couldn't help himself. He ran his fingers through Dean's curls. He closed his eyes and for just a moment thought about spiked blonde hair and strong wide shoulders. Only momentarily mourning his lost friend Cas knew this was the better way. He opened his eyes and smiled at the little boy in front of him.
"Well," Bobby chimed in. "Don't pine for the Varsity Years. What you still can do sounds damn good to me. You could be a real help to Sam on a hunt. Think about it, why don't you?"
Sam's head snapped up. "You want me to think about having an Angel for a partner?"
Bobby snorted. "I want you both to think about it. It's supposed to be a potential partnership. That takes two to agree."
Dean interrupted again. "Cas, come on. Tell them about me."
Cas gazed on the child. "I told Dean about his other world. I told him that it was very much like this one and that he is Dean Michael Winchester in that other world also. He knows his name and every now and then a memory will seep through the vail that once stretched between the worlds and he remembers scenes from his other life."
"We came up here to talk because I wanted you all to know a few facts. In both worlds there was a John Winchester. In both worlds the man was destroyed by tragedy. In both worlds his wife was murdered and he lost everything except a desire for revenge."
"In this world he lost a wife and a son and ignored and abused his remaining family, Sam. In Dean's world both brothers lived and the man abused both children."
Sam looked into the Angel's face. "Dad had reasons for what he did."
"Sam, Castiel responded. "The man had plenty of opportunity to let you lead a better life. He kept you with him selfishly, so that he was not alone. You suffered for it and now you are walking his path."
"What do you mean?" Sam snapped.
"The alcohol you are abusing, Sam." Cas responded. "I know you drink because of the pain but it will, in the end, ruin you. Eventually the drinking will turn into another sorrow. It will soon not be able to sooth the pain. You should learn to control it now before you do become your father. Remember, you now have a son to raise."
"Dean isn't my son," Sam stood up.
Cas laid a hand on the man's arm. "That may be true but he is your brother. He is your responsibility and he remembers his own father and the drinking. He is already afraid of you."
"Is this true, Dean?" Sam asked. "Are you afraid I'll hurt you?"
"I'm afraid you'll leave me behind just like that other man did. I'll be alone. I remember the other man liked his beer more than me, too." For a moment Dean seemed even younger than he already appeared.
Sam swept Dean up in his arms. "Never, I'll never leave you alone. You'll have me or Bobby or even your Angel here but you will never be alone, I promise you."
_,.-.._..-.._..-.._..-.._
Sam drove Dean to school the next day. They pulled over about a block away and Sam turned off the engine.
"Dean, Bobby has a job for me to do in Colorado. A ghost is tricking people into an empty elevator shaft. Three people have died and Bobby wants me to go stop it." Sam stroked his fingers down the child's cheek. "Are you going to be alright with Bobby? I promise I'm not abandoning you."
"I understand about Hunting, Sam." Dean replied. "I only wish I could go with you. I loved it out in the Badlands with the Manitous. I loved it. Are you going to take Cas with you?"
"If I take Cas would that bother you? Would you miss us both? I don't want you to feel left behind."
"Hey, Bobby's alright." Dean responded. "He's going to let me read his books and I bet I'll find out all kind of things that will be good to know on a hunt. When I get bigger I'll go with you but right now I want you to take Cas along. He not only can help you, he can protect you. I know you'll both come back safe."
Sam turned the engine back on. "Good enough, Dean. As long as you feel good about it we'll take off tonight. That will give you all day to come up with anything else. Remember, you have my number on your phone and you come first, always. Anything happens you call me and I'll have Cas fly me back here in an instant."
Dean laughed. "Air Angel, huh? Good to know but I don't think we'll have to get Cas to blow all his mojo on a cranky kid. I'm sure Bobby can take care of any problems I might have."
Sam dropped Dean in the lane and Dean pulled his back pack out of the rear seat. After the 'family' meeting on the porch last night Sam had insisted on helping Dean with his homework; once again emphasizing that no matter how many of Bobby's books Dean read if Dean's grades fell there would be no hunting in his future.
Together they had chosen the piece of literature that Mr. Martinez had demanded from his English class. Sam had laughed at Dean's idea of the Iliad in Latin and shot it down. As Sam said, a ten year old reading Latin fluently was one of those things that was going to draw attention. At least Cas's little disclosure about Dean's prior life as the son of a Hunter had explained how it was that Dean knew the language. Latin was an early requirement for a Hunter's children if they were to survive. The settled instead on one of T.S. Eliot's cat poems, Mr. Mistoffelees:
You ought to know Mr. Mistoffelees!
The Original Conjuring Cat-
(There can be no doubt about that).
Please listen to me and don't scoff. All his
Inventions are off his own bat.
There's no such Cat in the metropolis;
He holds all the patent monopolies
For performing surprising illusions
And creating eccentric confusions.
At prestidigitation
And at legerdemain
He'll defy examination
And deceive you again.
The greatest magicians have something to learn
From Mr. Mistoffelees' Conjuring Turn.
Presto!
Away we go!
And we all say: OH!
Well I never!
Was there ever
A Cat so clever
As Magical Mr. Mistoffelees!