Bobby answered the door to two exhausted boys.
"Long trip?"
"You have no idea."
"What the hell did the boy do to you?"
"Learned how to work the radio."
Bobby asked for no more details, only leading the two inside with a flustered facial expression. He attempted to shut the door, only to have it shoved back at him by an invisible force.
"No!" Dean scolded the air behind them. "Outside!"
There was stillness for a moment. All three men just standing around and wondering if Adam had listened this time.
Suddenly Dean let out a yelp. His hands flew up to his face, covering his nose.
"What did he do?" Bobby asked, watching Dean massage his nose.
"He flicked me..." Dean said, looking ready to kill somebody.
Bobby and Sam exchanged looks, not sure what to do.
"Sammy, salt lines, now," Dean barked, storming into the study. Bobby followed him, ready to list his findings to the older Winchester while Sam scampered off to retrieve the salt, holy water, and anything else that he thought would be helpful.
"So," Bobby said. "Adam's back?"
"Back? Oh yeah, he's back all right!" Dean shouted. "He's back and pissing me off!"
"Well, yelling about it ain't gonna fix too much," Bobby scolded. "So I suggest you get your act together and help me."
"What?!" Dean shouted angrily. "You haven't found anything?!"
"Dean," Bobby said. "Adam might just be the first to pull himself out of the pit in some piece. I haven't found anything on anyone getting their asses skyward after something like that!"
"Impossible!"
"There's a first time for everything!"
Sam jogged into the room, toting every possible ghost-fighting tool he could grab.
Dean shot one last look at Bobby before beginning to barricade the room.
"I wish we could do this in the panic room..." Sam mutters.
"Just shut up, okay?"
After the entire ghost-proofing business was through, the three stood back and admired their work. Not a single crack for Adam to seek out and exploit.
"Now for a little-"
A small thud from behind them.
Sam, Bobby and Dean turn around. There's a book on the floor.
"Nu-uh..." Sam mutters.
"He is not..." Dean says, seconds away from cursing.
They watch as a couple more books pick themselves up off the shelves and drop onto the floor with what must be very satisfying thumps.
Sam pulled out his phone, turned on the camera and pointed it at the corner. Adam grinned and dropped another heavy tome to the floor so he could cheerfully wave at his half-brothers.
They didn't lock him out of the study.
They locked him in.
"You two fix this," Dean growled, fed up. "I'm going on a walk..."
"A walk or... a walk?"
"Hell if I know!" Dean shouted, storming out.
As it turns out, Dean meant an actual walk. He wandered Sioux Falls until some of his rage subsided. He was never into the whole "walk it off" thing, but he could get used to this. It was quiet. No Adam to be found.
Dean stopped and sat down on a bench bordering a busy playground, tired from walking. He couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous about his half-brother's absence.
A horde of giggling children rushed past, playing keep away with a rubber ball. Dean scowled. Maybe this wasn't a good place to sit.
One of the kids stopped, but the other's didn't notice in their excitement.
"What?" Dean muttered as he watched a small shudder overtake the now wide-eyed child. That's never a good sign. The kid turned and jogged over to Dean before climbing up onto his lap and leaning in close to his face.
"Lookit what I learned how to do, big brother!" The child rang out, pushing his fluffy brown bangs out of his eyes and giving Dean a gap-toothed grin.
"...Shit."
"I found yooou!" Adam sang through the little boy's lips.
"I'd switch bodies if I were you, Adam," Dean growled.
"Hmmf, what're you gonna do? Spank me?" Adam said, smirking. "The kid's babysitter is right over there, Deanie Baby. I scream and you're jailed for pedophilia."
Adam pointed to a young , blonde woman, mid-twenties maybe, who was sitting on a bench reading a thick book. She was obviously not the most attentive nanny, but Dean guessed that if she was, Adam would've chosen a different kid.
Dean rolled his eyes. "You are very lucky you did not grow up with dad..."
Adam glared up at him, obviously unamused.
"I didn't come here to discuss our oh-so-important family."
"Family" was spat out like it was the most distasteful word Adam could think of.
"Then what are you here for?"
"Well," Adam pauses in thought. Oh, great. They got the ghost with absolutely no plan for his little revenge. "I suppose it does have something to do with our oh-so-important family..."
Dean awaits what is surely about to be the most annoying words to ever come out of a child.
"Well, more importantly your not-so-important family," Adam says, smirking up at his brother. "That's me, in case you didn't notice."
"What the hell do you mean not-so-important?"
"Hell! Exactly!" Adam said, leaning in even closer, his nose less than an inch away from Dean's. "Where you left me to rot!"
Dean felt his temper snap. "We tried to save you!"
"You gave up!"
Dean was taken aback. Adam's face no longer held a mischievous grin, but had switched to a mask of complete rage. But there was something else there too.
Adam looked close to tears.
"Adam, we did not give up-"
"Once Sam got his soul back you acted like I never existed!"
"We've had a pretty full plate here, Adam! You think I haven't put any effort at all into getting you out?!"
"I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T!"
Just then, someone grabbed Adam around his waist and heaved him up into the air.
"Jacob!" The young woman Adam previously mentioned was the child's babysitter scolded loudly. Adam winced, eyes wide with fear. "What are you doing?!"
Dean stood up, smiling at the woman. "He wasn't causing any trouble, miss. Kids will be kids and all that, right?"
The babysitter was unamused, even looked a little... disturbed that Dean was the man talking to her kid. She turned back to "Jacob" and continued to scold him angrily about not talking to strangers. Dean noticed that... Adam hadn't jumped out of the kid yet. He looked horrified and kept muttering under his breath, which was always met with a fresh round of shouting from the kid's nanny. Adam wasn't paying attention to the lecture at all, he was just wringing his hands and shooting terrified looks at Dean.
Dean smirked.
"Lookit what I learned how to do" his ass.
'Didn't even know how to jump out of this kid yet.
"Shit, shit, shit..." Adam muttered, looking himself over. "God damn iiit..."
Dean started on his way, smirking at the babysitter's complete horror over Adam's "inappropriate language."
Hopefully that will slow that brat down for awhile.