This is not the last chapter, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone, because I basically finished this story last night! I am proud because this is the longest thing I have written in YEARS. Full disclosure, I actually write for a living- as in I am a grant writer at a large nonprofit- and although I love my job, it has sapped my creativity in the last two years. I write every day, so sometimes it's hard to do it for fun. Writing fan fiction might not be the most honest way to get back into creative writing, but hell, it's so much fun, that I figure it's okay. I would not have been able to finish this monster if it weren't for everyone who has given me feedback on this and cared enough to KEEP reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all. I am done rambling about myself now, but MAD LOVE!
Anyway, onward with another fluffy, schmoopy, and mercifully short chapter. There will be 20 chapters total and an epilogue.
Dinner that night was a success, mostly because Dean had convinced his mother not to let Castiel near the lasagna.
"He can't be that bad." Sam said. "I mean, some people are domestically challenged, but everyone can cook something."
"Dude, one night he tried to make meatloaf for me and Jo. It had the taste and consistency of rubber. Hell, it even looked like a tire." Dean said.
"You said it wasn't that bad!" Castiel said, looking mildly outraged. "You ate it!"
"Cas, no offense honey, but I was there. Remember we just gave up and got pizza?" Jo said, taking a sip of her wine.
"I ate it because I love you. But I don't love you enough to ever let you cook for me again." Dean said, smiling at him. He reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze.
"He tried to make cupcakes for Charlie's 22nd birthday." Jo said. "Somehow they came out mostly uncooked. I mean burning food I can understand… but under cooked cupcakes? Blech."
"I was trying to be nice!" Castiel said. "She said she didn't want any gifts."
Sam stared at them, a smile ghosting his features. "Don't get me wrong, it's nice that I'm not the object of Dean and Jo's torture anymore, but give the guy a break."
Jo chuckled and poured herself another glass of wine. Dean reached his glass across the table and she obliged him by refilling his and Mary's glasses as well. She glanced at Sam, who was drinking a Pepsi. Sam was essentially a 60-year-old woman when it came to many of his food and beverage tastes, so he loved wine. Dean and Jo could basically read each others' minds and Dean knew she wanted to offer Sam a glass. She didn't. She seemed to realize that Sam couldn't drink alcohol, under any circumstances.
"So, Castiel, you're a professor?" Mary asked, moving the subject away from his awful cooking abilities.
"Yeah. I teach undergraduate sociology and research classes. Dean was never my student though. Dean is actually older than me." He said, adding in the second part, as if Mary and Sam might think he was preying on poor, innocent students.
"What'd you study in college? What was your focus at the graduate level?" Sam asked. Sam was a nerd.
"I have a BA in psychology and an MA in sociology. Both from Collins College. I'm pretty much a slave to that place." Castiel said wryly.
"What was the focus of your dissertation?" Sam asked.
"My research focused on the recent proliferation of human trafficking victims on the West Coast, specifically in Seattle and Portland. To put it simply, I'm especially interested in how their treatment in the U.S. criminal justice system affects them mentally and their well-being in the long term." Castiel said.
Dean felt himself go cold. He knew what Castiel had studied in graduate school. He and Castiel had extensively discussed Castiel's research and his dissertation. It had destroyed him mentally and was one of the reasons he'd been hospitalized while pursuing his master's degree. It was the reason he was teaching instead of furthering his education or trying to find research or counseling positions.
"Oh, that sounds awful. Why are there more there now? Why Seattle?" Mary asked.
"It's very common in cities near large water sources and with many highways. Easier transport. Recently, more victims have been turning up in Seattle. Also, did you know that in the state of Washington, a minor can be charged with solicitation? Did you know that the sentences for these minors is often harsher than what their victimizers receive?" Castiel asked.
"Jesus Christ. They charge kids with prostitution? How does that even work? Kids can't even consent." Sam said.
"I interviewed quite a few individuals who had been charged as children and put in juvenile detention instead of a rehabilitation center or therapy. Most who were charged continues to prostitute themselves or abuse drugs long after they became adults. The ones abused by the system never received the help they needed and the cycle just continued." Castiel said, his eyes darkening.
No one said anything for a minute. It wasn't exactly pleasant dinnertime conversation and Dean was the only one who knew why Castiel had pursued this kind of research.
"What made you interested in that?" Mary asked.
Dean suddenly felt ill. He knew the floodgates were about to break. He couldn't believe this was happening. Things had been going so well.
"Human trafficking is more common in this country than you can even imagine. It's happening right under our noses, to American citizens. I knew someone in my youth who was a victim of it. My entire life, I've wanted to do something to stop it, or at least something to help the victims. Eventually, I want to go into victim advocacy."
Dean held his breath, but nothing happened. Cas was fine. Mary, Jo and Sam didn't even seem to notice the twitch of Castiel's right eye, something that happened when he felt nervous. Dean knew his face well and had barely noticed it either.
"Jesus." Sam said again. "How did you meet someone who'd been through that?"
Dean gulped, but once again, nothing happened.
Castiel just shrugged. "I was brought up in the foster care system. I was bound to meet someone like that.
Sam and Mary's eyes widened a little bit, but to their credit, they didn't say anything. In the Winchester household, where insanity and dysfunction were the norm, they knew that they shouldn't.
"That's very admirable." Jo said. "Cas, I had no idea."
"I don't want to teach for the rest of my life. Right now it's just what makes the most sense." He said, shrugging again.
After dinner, Jo went home and the Winchester family and Castiel sat in the living room watching yet another showing of Star Wars. None of them were really paying attention. It was cozy and warm in the living room and Sam was passed out on the couch, drowsy from the injection of Haldol. Mary was knitting; something Dean had never seen her do.
Dean and Castiel were seated on the small loveseat. Dean had his arm draped around the shoulders of the smaller man. After brunch and the discussion about his family (or lack of), Dean was half-expecting him to break down and have one of his nervous breakdowns. He hadn't though and he was totally relaxed for the first time all day. Once again, Dean was struck by the domesticity of the scene, the normality of it. There was no drama, no tension in the air, and everyone seemed content in each others' presence.
"I hate Ewoks." Castiel said, wrinkling his nose.
"Why do you hate Ewoks?" Dean asked.
"Their defeat of the evil robots seemed impossible, because they can't fight. They're basically giant teddy bears, only existing to be 'adorable' so bandwagon fans have something to coo over."
"Star Wars is a children's film. They're there for the kiddos." Dean said.
"Star Wars is not a children's film!" Castiel said. "It's… transcendent, which means it's not for children."
"You take the weirdest things seriously." Dean said, chuckling. "Besides, I like Ewoks. Honestly, you kind of remind me of an Ewok, all cute and cuddly, yet totally badass underneath that geeky, strange exterior of yours."
"I am nothing like an Ewok." Castiel said. His eyes were bright and he appeared outraged again, even though a smile was playing on his lips.
Dean just laughed again and not even caring that his mother was sitting across the room, leaned down and kissed him on the mouth. Castiel tensed a little bit, probably because of the presence of Dean's family, but returned the kiss. Mary glanced up from over her knitting, but didn't say anything. She actually smiled a little bit.
"You kissed me in front of your mother." Castiel hissed, trying to keep his voice low. Even in the dim light, Dean could see how red his face was. "Last night you wouldn't even come to bed with me."
"Well, like you said, they know." Dean said, grinning a little bit. "Cas, you told me, and now I'm telling you. You just gotta relax. You're here and everyone loves you. Despite that, I have to say, I'm super proud of how well you are handling everything that's been thrown at you in the last two days."
Castiel softened. "I'm proud of you for coming back here and facing your family. Thanks for inviting me. I've never been invited to meet the family before." He said, probably for the millionth time.
"You and your 'I nevers.'" Dean said, shaking his head. "Broken record."
Castiel just scowled a little bit, but nestled closer against him, watching as a totally badass Ewok used a light saber to fight a Storm Trooper. Castiel made another face and stuck his tongue at the creature.
Dean felt himself smiling. It occurred to him that he was smiling so hard that his face hurt. He hoped it'd be like this forever: his brother being too smart, his mom knitting across the room, Jo being obnoxious yet all-knowing, Castiel being offended by Ewoks, and everything else that came along with knowing all the ultimately wonderful people in his life. Most of all, he wanted stability and sanity. In that moment, that tiny moment, despite everything that had happened, it seemed possible.