Author's Note:
I had stuff to say before but I kinda forgot what it was. Anyway my laptop is shit and it ate a good chunk of this chapter while I was writing so it's a day later than I anticipated xP Hope you enjoy! Thanks for sticking with me :3
"Hey," Jet nudged Dean lightly, leaning close and speaking quietly so the two experiment buddies wouldn't hear he said "think you could watch Rae for a bit? I wanna get her something that fits."
Dean looked at him for a second and then at Cas and Desirae who were busy having a little conversation only they could understand. "Sure, she seems really well adjusted, she'll probably be fine without you here for a bit."
"Thanks man," Jet pat him on the shoulder, "I'll grab some stuff for Cas too while I'm out, I had a few ideas on how we might be able to get him outside or to town."
"Dude, if this is that weird backpack thing again-"
"It's better, chill." Jet waved him off and walked over to Desirae, "Hey kiddo, I'll be back in a little while, take care of Cas okay?"
She looked at him curiously, "Why?"
"Cuz I need to get some stuff and he feels comfortable with you," He rubbed her on the head and headed out the door, "Be good."
"Heeeeyyy!" she protested, trying to fix her hair. Cas chittered a little and plucked at her curls too, it didn't seem to help but she thought it had so that was all that mattered. "Thanks Cas," she smiled and gave him a quick hug, "You're with me now."
Castiel laughed a little and nodded, "Okay, but be nice." His sentences always came out better when they were shorter, Dean didn't care how Cas spoke though. He was just happy to hear Cas' voice at all; to him it was more amazing than anything else in that basement.
Dean let the two of them goof off and chat while he prepared their meal, Sam was spending quite some time with the others and Charlie hadn't come up yet. Dean wondered if he should make enough for all of them or just a few, though if no one else showed up he was sure Cas could finish it all off on his own.
"Where'd Jet go?" Desirae asked after a while, her conversations with Cas had subsided for the time being and she had climbed onto his shoulders for some entertainment. Cas didn't seem to mind so Dean didn't either.
"Went to town," Dean said as he checked on the fries in the oven, he loved feeding Cas new things and it was damn time for a cheeseburger and fries. He'd made the patties by hand using a recipe of spices Bobby had taught him. He skinned and cut the potatoes himself, while he'd normally use oil to fry them they hadn't thought that far ahead. Instead it was oven-baked, not as awesome but healthier; Sam would be proud.
"Why can't I go?"
"Well, Jet wants to make sure you enter society comfortably so he's coming up with a plan. For now just wait, he'll be back pretty fast." Dean smiled at her though he was a little more entertained by the small irritation her tail was causing Cas' wings. Each time it lightly tapped one side it moved to the other, and with every touch Cas' feathers fluffed and his wings twitched.
"I guess," Desirae sighed and dangled her arms on either side of Cas' head, resting hers in his mop of hair. "Do you think he'll come back? Maybe he'll leave forever."
"Not Chet," Cas shook his head, Dean was so happy that Cas still insisted on trying to speak despite having a little translator with him now. "He'll be back."
She snuffled a laugh and reached down to pull at Cas' cheeks, "It's Jet," she said playfully, he let her tug at his face without a complaint.
"I know," he smiled, Dean expected an explanation but there was none. Maybe Cas was just sentimental about his confused naming from the start of things.
"Hey," Sam walked into the kitchen and pulled up a stool to sit at the counter, "So I talked to Bobby and Rufus,"
"And?" Dean raised an agitated eyebrow, a little rush of anger spiking his blood pressure as the thought passed. "You were out there for a while, what'd they say?"
"Well Bobby suggested they take a break, he's gonna take Rufus to get some more supplies for clean up and explain everything." Sam sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back behind his ears. "Rufus said he was sorry but he's pretty shaken up about the whole thing; Bobby told him that there were beings that didn't look totally human but I guess Rufus thought they'd all be dead."
"So it was like we figured," Dean pursed his lips and went back to frying up the burgers, "Rufus didn't believe Bobby but brought a gun just in case and freaked himself out because he saw Cas."
"Cas didn't react that well to seeing the gun but Rufus shouldn't have brought it at all. All said and done Bobby agreed that Cas and Desirae should stay separate from Rufus for now, so we should keep them out of the basement until it's all cleaned out." Sam looked over at Cas, a small smile on his lips, "You doing okay?"
Castiel nodded, "Yes, better."
Sam nodded and looked up at Dean, watching distantly as his brother put their lunch together. "So…" he trailed off, Dean hadn't had any long conversations with Sam recently so he kind of expected one to pop up.
"What's up, Sammy?" he smirked and glanced over his shoulder, "Gonna ask me for one of my famous burgers?"
"Funny, no actually I was wondering how you're doing with all of this."
Dean bit lightly at his bottom lip as he considered how to tackle that question. "I'm not sure, really." Honesty came to him first so that was his angle this time around, "I'm really happy that Cas is here and he's getting better. I'm really nervous about those nightmares and where they might be going. I'm sad so much shit happened before and there's nothing I can do about it, frustrated that I can't punch MacLeod in the face…" he sighed and turned his smile back toward Sam, "Though I gotta say, I'm pretty pumped for you and Jet."
Sam couldn't stop the grin that came to him and he averted his gaze, "Yeah, well I'm glad he talked to me too,"
"Just be careful though, you're barely legal."
"It's Jet, I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Right, well you guys have a kid now so I hope your relationship is stable." Dean jabbed playfully and earned himself a little nervous frown from his brother.
"Thanks for that."
"It's what I do." Dean turned to set the plates up and condiments on the counter, "How're you doing? I'm not the only one going through crazy shit."
"It feels like we've been here for ages already and it's just been like a week." Sam laughed; his habit of tucking his hair behind his ears was getting a little out of hand. "I guess I feel a little similar to you… I'm worried about Cas, that break down was scary but if he says he's okay then maybe I'll let up. I feel really glad that Jet's opened up to me a little; maybe relieved I could figure out his intentions."
Dean glanced at Sam then back to the finished patties he scooped out of the pan, "Well you should've come to me about it to begin with, I coulda told you that Jet didn't do it to be a dick." He'd been thinking about it for a while and though he'd had a similar argument with Sam for a few years he couldn't help but express how he felt. "I know, I know, you've told me you want to deal with your problems yourself. But still, that doesn't mean you can't ask me for advice once in a while."
Sam was quiet for a few moments; it didn't come across as angry, just thoughtful, "Yeah, you're right. I guess I was just being stubborn." He admitted quietly, a soft laugh following. "Part of me didn't want to tell you, like admitting I couldn't handle it was a big deal."
"Pretty dumb,"
"I know; sometimes I'm dumb too, Dean."
Dean smirked, "Hey, what's with this 'too' stuff? I'm not dumb."
Sam's grin rivaled Dean's in a way only a Winchester could, "You walked into a cage with an unknown being inside that could have torn your head off. Tell me again how you're not dumb?"
He raised his hands in defeat, "Alright, alright, you got me. I'm dumb sometimes, I guess you can be too."
"So what's for dinner?" Sam glanced at the oven, "Just burgers and fries?"
"You say that like it isn't enough," Dean scoffed, "There's lettuce in the fridge if you want that instead."
"Thanks,"
There was a small rumble under their feet then that shook the kitchen just enough to make some noise. Sam furrowed his brow and looked toward the basement's entrance as if he could possibly see it through the several walls in his way.
"The hell was that?" Dean shut off the oven and element before he hurried out, Sam and the other two were right on his heels. "Cas, stay here with Desirae," Dean ordered when he heard the extra footsteps.
Cas frowned and looked at him, "But-"
"Please? Just in case, I don't want anything to happen to her while Jet's gone."
Castiel huffed defiantly but he still listened, waiting at the top of the stairs in the hall. "I'll come down…. If it gets worse…" he tried to call after Dean, though far from smooth it still got the point across.
Dean skipped some steps as he went and dropped onto the final landing before opening the door to the main lab, his heart was in his throat as he feared what he'd see but he threw it open anyway. "Charlie!?" He yelled just as another thunderous sound shook the underground, it was more of a loud rumble than it was like an earthquake but it still made Dean nervous. "Charlie you okay?"
Charlie was standing at the main control panel, eyes fixed on the screens panned out in front of her. "I'm fine," she said solemnly though still pretty quiet, "I'm… sorry guys."
"Sorry? For what?" Sam asked before looking up at what she was seeing.
Every screen was lit up in a strange wave and at first Dean thought maybe there was something wrong with it. It didn't take him long to realize that the screens just showed what was going on in the cages; fire was being blasted into each enclosure. Section by section they were all going up in flames, incinerated completely. Dean stared at the charred places where living things had been, there was almost nothing left of them now.
"What did you do?" He asked, unsure of what tone to even take.
"I couldn't…" Charlie's voice shook and she clenched her fists, an almost painful sounding breath broke up her words and she took a moment to calm down. "I couldn't just let them suffer like that, after the things I've read and seen so far I couldn't…"
Dean's gaze softened and he looked up silently at the screens again, watching as a new set of cages went up in a bright light and the roar trembled across the floor of the whole place. It was happening beneath them at that moment, creatures put out of their misery and remains taken care of cleanly.
"Cas went through hell, those files describe it so scientifically, like it was just a procedure. Cas can never be the same again, he can be close but he'll never be the same." Charlie continued, angry tears filled her eyes and a vicious edge to her voice only served to contrast how much she cared about Castiel. "I couldn't save him, it's hard enough knowing he has to live with this nightmare without thinking about all the animals that suffered too."
"Charlie," Dean said gently, "I get it, you don't need to explain it to me."
Sam was quiet again, staring at the light show on the monitor wall as it went on. "What if there were more like Cas and Desirae?" he asked quietly.
"Do you think we'd find them in time?" Dean responded before Charlie had to, "Desirae was given a bunch of food because they kept forgetting about her but I doubt that was the case for most of the other things."
"They don't have to live with it now," Charlie uttered almost under her breath but Dean caught it all the same. He wanted to ask her what she thought about all of it, what she thought of Cas and Desirae 'living with it.' But he knew better, Cas had good hearing and he guessed that Desirae did too, he didn't want to chance Charlie having a bad reaction while they were in earshot.
"Guess we can tell Rufus just to bring a broom," Dean said in a way he meant to be light-hearted, not to undervalue the hundreds of euthanized creatures but to just bring up the room a little. He had a feeling it might've been in bad taste but sometimes it just kinda came out. He heard Sam's sigh and knew he hit the nail on the head with that one.
"You think when we die we'll be able to ask for a favour?" Charlie asked after a few more moments of dead air.
"Depends on what you ask for I guess," Dean shrugged and looked at her, "What'd you have in mind?"
"I'd ask for just one day in hell torturing the bastard that did this to him."
Sam nodded silently and Dean couldn't help but smile about her rage, "I like you, Charlie." He admitted and pat her on the shoulder, "You fit in pretty well around here."
She sighed, the amount of tension in her body slowly relaxing as she looked up at the Winchester brothers, "Thanks, I kinda like you guys too."
"C'mon upstairs," Sam offered with a smile, "Dean's just finishing burning dinner."
"It's not burning," Dean muttered defensively.
"Right, the building's collapsing but he turned off the heat; priorities."
"I can't win with you, can I?"
"I'm your little brother, of course not."