Author's Note:

Chapter 60! What the fuck how did I get here?

You guys have been amazing so far and I'm so excited to be sharing this story with you all. I've been reading your comments so far and I'm glad you're pumped, I can't believe we're already at 60. Wow, so intense.

Speaking of intense, enjoy some casual conversation between Michael and Bobby :D

Earlier

Michael wondered what Cas would do in town, or who would recognize Castiel Novak. He considered that some might call him, ask him what was up and all that. It was also possible their parents would see Cas too; Michael couldn't imagine how that conversation would go. Cas, fortunately, probably wouldn't know who they were so they'd get a good surprise in that regard. Though he wasn't sure that would even happen, he hadn't run into his parents in a long time and he lived in that city on a daily basis.

It was a comfort knowing that Charlie was going though; she could supervise and make sure nothing too intense happened.

Who the hell was he kidding with thoughts like that? As if he knew anything about what would be too intense for Cas, Dean Winchester had a much better idea about that than he did. Michael felt so far removed from Cas' life; part of him still thought it was his fault. Like he'd done something horribly wrong and because of that Cas ended up in some crazy bastard's basement for four years.

What could he have done differently? What did he do wrong?

Just two thoughts and they plagued him, swarmed him and created new branches of questions. He wanted to go back in time and fix it. He wished he had some kind of ability that would help. But he had nothing and he couldn't do anything but smile at Cas when they caught gazes.

What kind of hell was this? What did they do to deserve ending up this way?

Michael watched that Impala drive off with the taste of venom on his tongue and a wish for cyanide. He couldn't hurt anyone to make it better, there was no vengeance and he'd just have to stand there and take it.

And how selfish was he to think of himself in that moment? He was so consumed with how much he was hurting that he couldn't even consider that Cas had it far worse. How would he feel if he couldn't remember someone who looked at him that way? How would he react to one pain-filled expression after the other? It must've been torture on Cas to get that kind of treatment, like he was damaged or wrong.

Was he even helping by being around his little brother? Was his presence a hindrance?

Michael wanted to take Castiel home more than anything but he knew that would be far worse for both of them. If he'd gone along on the trip to town maybe he could've just shown Cas the outside of the building… He hadn't moved away, just in case Cas came home one day and wanted to find him easily.

There were plenty of things he could do to beat himself up over Cas' troubles but none of those seemed like they'd be of much use to anyone. Michael sighed and decided that hoping for the best was his only option. He would be as supportive as he could, watch what he said, and maybe he'd be able to do some good. Maybe he could make it up to Castiel somehow.

He heard Jet and the older gentleman, Bobby, speaking. It wasn't a conversation he should've been listening to but he heard the tail end of it all the same. He waited until Jet walked off before appearing and standing next to Bobby. Maybe he could get a better idea of Castiel's situation if he knew more about the people surrounding Cas, particularly the ones that freed him.

"Hey kid,"

"Hi," Michael gave a short wave and looked down the hall Jet had gone down, "He's a bit tough to talk to, huh?"

"Nah, you just gotta know his language."

Michael nodded silently for a moment, "So," he said as he looked for ways to converse further, "They didn't really tell me your relation in all this."

Bobby looked at him with a knowing smirk, "I look after the Winchesters,"

"Oh, you're their father?" Michael didn't see the resemblance at all, in fact wasn't this guy's name Singer?

Bobby saw his confusion and shrugged, "More or less, yeah. I'm not their biological dad, their parents died when they were little."

"Oh," Michael looked down, "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Well I was the first to tell you, of course you didn't know." Bobby chuckled and motioned for Michael to follow him. He seemed like he was well aware of Michael's struggling intention to get to know him and the others, Michael was grateful for Bobby's mercy on him.

They ended up walking to a sitting room and both sat down, Bobby exhaled evenly and looked at him, "How're you takin' all this?"

Michael wasn't really expecting a heartfelt moment with the old fellow of the group but he wouldn't really turn it down either. "As well as anyone can, I guess."

"Charlie doesn't sleep much, she says she's got insomnia but we always see her coming up from the basement in the morning."

"That's where the labs are, right?" Michael knew what Charlie would be up to if that's where they were. She hardly stood still after Cas went missing, of course sleeping would be off the table if she suddenly had a great lead about Cas' situation.

"It is, but you didn't go down there so I'm guessin' that you're handling this differently than her."

Bobby wasn't exactly wrong. Michael shrugged and fidgeted with his hands, folding them together and pulling them apart a few times. "There aren't a lot of ways to take this, my brother was tortured just outside of the town I lived in and I didn't help."

"Yeah," Bobby made a face that conveyed more of a 'hard to deny that' message than his single word could. "But that ain't your fault. You give yourself enough hell over this than Cas ever will, you know that right?"

"We can't say that until Cas is better,"

"And if he never gets 'better' the way you think he will?"

Michael bit his lip and shook his head, "I don't know. I have no idea what to do, alright? I'm just here, hoping I can be of some use."

Bobby seemed satisfied with that response, "Good answer," he looked Michael over, like he was assessing him or something. Michael really couldn't believe that these strangers could care so much about Cas in such a short amount of time. They evaluated his motivations, checked to make sure his heart was in the right place, and even went as far as to keep him at a distance because it wasn't good for Cas' health. Despite being a little annoyed with that, he couldn't help but admire them for it.

They didn't have any real proof about Cas' relation to his brother, Michael' could've been a manipulative prick as far as they knew. They took the time to be careful around people trying to get close to Cas and Michael wouldn't have done it any other way.

The two were quiet for a bit, it didn't feel awkward or strange, just comfortable silence. Michael leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, he couldn't help but wonder what he'd do if Cas never came back around. It'd be different if Cas wasn't so anxious around him, maybe he could just smile and do new things with Cas and show him how it used to be. But that wasn't so possible while Castiel couldn't handle being near him for long.

Even that was a little unfair to say, he'd only had one real interaction with Cas. Maybe it'd be okay? Cas just needed time to adjust, that was all…

"Michael," Bobby broke his train of thought and he looked up with a light grunt of acknowledgement. "You and Cas had a complicated relationship, didn't you?"

Yeah he admired that they were careful but it was still annoying to get the third degree. "Why do you ask?" Michael caught the defensive tone as he used it and tried to correct himself. He wanted to cooperate; he wanted to help and to be near Cas. To do that he'd have to share more about Castiel as well as himself. "I mean, we did, sort of. It was more that our parents made things complicated."

"Having to give everything you had and all that?"

"Yeah," he sighed and rubbed his face, he still regretted yelling that in Jet's face earlier. "We were pretty poor, my parents weren't ready to have me and I was a brat most of the time. They didn't have time for me, barely had enough food…"

"And then Cas came along?" Bobby asked surprisingly gently, like he'd had difficult childhood conversations many times before. Michael wasn't sure why but he felt comfortable talking to Bobby, kinda like a paternal vibe that drew in strays. It was more than just 'I have to share so I can be around Cas,' he actually wanted to tell Bobby about it. Hell, Bobby even seemed interested in the whole thing.

Michael just smiled at the thought of Cas coming along; those were some cute baby pictures. "He did, yeah. He was an accident too but my parents were very against abortions so they had to get ready for another kid they couldn't afford to have. They cleared out a storage space, stuffed me in there and made my room a nursery since it was the only room they'd ever baby-proofed."

"You know it's funny," Bobby nodded understandingly, a look of remembrance on his face as well. "When Dean first heard he was going to be a brother he was mad, had to share all his toys with this stranger, had to share his parents and all that. But as soon as he saw Sammy he flipped like a switch."

"Sounds familiar," Michael smiled at him and Bobby stifled a bit of a laugh. "I hated the idea of a new kid in the house too, but he was too cute."

"Changed your mind about hatin' him, huh?"

"I did, my parents fell in love with him pretty fast too. They told me to take care of him as we got older and Cas started going to school, they wanted to make sure he turned out well. I dunno, I never asked them why they started freaking out about that."

"Why not? Didn't feel like it?"

"No, I just figured they'd lie about it. I mean it was pretty obvious to me, I didn't need to ask to know they had their favourite."

Bobby looked apologetic, "When did they start demanding more from you? I figure it was a gradual change."

Michael paused and frowned as he thought about it a little more. "I got a job when I turned 16 and they started asking I buy stuff for Cas more and more. They would say they didn't have enough, we needed to pay rent et cetera, so I ended up paying for a lot of Cas' things, his clothes, school supplies, sometimes even his food. I worked my ass off and walked away with absolutely nothing to show for it."

"Your parents had a weird way of trying to make sure Cas turned out right," Bobby's face had scrunched up in a way that Michael felt a strong connection to. He would question himself later on why he connected so well to a man so much older than him, but until then he just nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I think after a while they forgot what the main goal was. I mean Cas wasn't always perfect, he's a huge dork and believes in things my parents didn't. Regardless, the best we had to offer always went to Cas." He felt his chest tighten the more he lived in the past, the more he thought about how innocent Cas was. Michael took a slow breath, careful not to show emotional instability. He couldn't explain really why he wanted to talk to Bobby about these things when they hurt so much to talk about. He didn't have a lot to offer Castiel anymore but maybe what he knew could help people like Bobby understand Castiel better? Bobby could tell Dean and Dean could have a little more information about Cas, maybe that'd be useful.

He wanted to help his brother, he wanted to be there for Cas but he had nothing, it burned him to think so but he had to face facts. Castiel needed him to have his shit together; Cas did need him even if it wasn't the same way it used to be. Bobby was nice enough to wait and let Michael sort himself out before continuing again. "It got a little crazier after he showed potential as a singer, our folks went nuts imagining that he could get rich and famous and we'd all live wealthy lives."

"Let me guess, they basically told you to take care of yourself?"

"Pretty much. They didn't have to say it, I got the gist of it after they stopped getting me things for classes or asking me if I needed something from the store. It was all little things, you know? It was subtle and that made it easy to get used to, something I could just expect would happen." He laughed, "I guess that's why I complied so easily."

Bobby shook his head, "What is it with parenting that some people find so hard?"

"Sounds like you've experienced a thing or two," Michael couldn't help but laugh a little, "Met a few shitty parents in your day?"

"I sure have," Bobby adjusted his cap and looked distantly at the TV that wasn't even on. "Sam and Dean's parents were great, I mean their dad and I had some spats once in a while but nothing ever happened to make me think they were bad. Which I think is why the boys were hit so hard when they died."

"Losing your parents isn't easy, even if you don't like them that much."

"I suppose," the older man nodded though his expression said more in the ways of his disagreement.

"You don't agree?"

"Not everyone likes their parents and sometimes losing one is a better option."

Michael furrowed his brow, "Are you talking about you?"

"No, well, maybe a little but mostly it's about Jet." Bobby inhaled sharply through his nose and nodded his head, "Yeah that kid and I have a few things in common."

It made sense to Michael that Jet might've lost a parent too, the Winchesters had a connection to the guy and shitty childhoods could be a strong bonding point. Maybe that was why Cas felt connected to strangers like those three so easily? "He seems like the kinda guy who had some tough times."

"You could say that. Ask him sometime, you guys might bond over it."

Michael chuckled and shook his head, "No thanks, I'm pretty sure he'd rather punch me than tell me his life's story."

Bobby laughed; it was a mixture of a genuine laugh with a touch of bitterness. "He does like to punch, but if you decide to talk to him start with something about how your dad sucks and go from there."

"Right, I'm just gonna sit down and randomly say 'my dad sucks.' I'm sure he'll be thrilled with that conversation."

"Some tact would be beneficial."

Michael smiled; he liked Bobby. An older fellow who had seen some shit, helped troubled kids, and just generally wanted to be a good guy. "You know, I think you'd be a good influence on Cas."

Bobby looked at him for a brief moment of thought and slowly nodded, like he knew where Michael was coming from. "He does seem to like me. Should'a heard him try and say my name the first time."

"His speech was that bad, huh?" Michael heard himself ask and questioned the intelligence of it immediately. Did he really want to know that? Like he didn't have enough staples in his board of why he should feel miserable about what happened to Cas.

"He had some work to do," Bobby was merciful in his answer and Michael felt a little wave of relief in that.

Before they could continue their conversation, however, there was a very strange sound from upstairs. It was like an animal, something vicious or terrified and backed into a corner. "What the hell was that?" Michael leaned forward, ready to stand up and go check it out but he hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with whatever that was.

"I think it was Desirae," Bobby got up and walked out the door, Michael cautiously followed.

"Desirae is the other experiment victim, right?" he asked as he followed Bobby's quickening footsteps.

"Yeah, Jet took her out of a cage downstairs, she's been attached to him ever since. Big fan of Cas."

They approached the entrance and looked up at the different levels, unsure of whether or not they should call out or try to be stealthy. Michael heard Jet yell something and very soon after the tiny cat-girl he'd barely learned about darted past them. She was fast, inhumanly fast and he'd barely been able to tell it was her.

Bobby called after her but she was gone down the hall, a door opened and slammed and that was all he heard from her. Michael looked at Bobby worriedly, "Does she do that often?"

"I've never seen her freak out, no." Bobby spoke low, his expression was strained with concern and his eyes seemed a bit clouded in thought.

They expected Jet to follow but neither of them expected Jet to enter the way he did, though the stone stairs made little noise Jet wasn't as silent. He crashed onto the floor in front of Michael and Bobby, curses and hissing sounds of pain making it past his lips. He curled in on himself after his harsh impact with the ground and swore a little louder to himself.

"Jet!?" Bobby exclaimed as he dropped down at Jet's side, "You alright, kid?"

Jet started to get up without an answer, his arm was bleeding and Michael felt a little sick when he saw the torn flesh. It was deep and looked terrible, Jet was definitely in pain and wasn't silent about it. "Get your shit together!" He snarled at himself and pulled himself to his feet about to follow after Desirae.

"Wait!" Bobby yelled at him and Jet froze up, glancing back over his shoulder. "You're hurt, what the hell happened?"

"I don't have time to explain!" Jet barked back and kept moving, he shouted his babbling explanation over his shoulder instead. "I fucked up and she flipped out like Cas does, she bit me and panicked and ran away, I gotta find her!" The last part was a little harder to hear as he was getting further away.

Michael had to admire the fact that Jet would still explain despite saying he didn't have time, he knew it had to have something to do with respect for Bobby. He looked over at the older man, "Should we follow him?"

"I'll get the first aid kit," Bobby sighed and went off another direction, "We should let him handle this for now, but he'll need some attention when he's done being a dumbass."

Michael had a bad feeling about it, but maybe that was more because he had much less experience with the experiments that happened. He was a little focused on the statement 'she flipped out like Cas does.' It felt like every time he learned a little bit more information he had a shit-ton more questions to ask.