I just want to start our by saying I love you guys so so so much! You guys made me feel so much better. I'm going to delete my authors Note, but just to recap, I turned off guest comments because someone keeps being a jerk. I still love you guys and want you all to stay in touch through AO3 or Tumblr if you don't want to make a ff account.
Anyway,
I know you guys just want the story so I'll let you just get to reading lol
~TH~
Caleb's psychic abilities had always annoyed John. He wasn't afraid. He didn't see him as a threat. He believed that anyone could be trained, and that included psychic kids with a sorted past. But it had always unsettled him. It was an inconvenience, and while Mac and Jim disagreed, Caleb certainly saw it John's way. Afterall Caleb was Knight in training, not Scholar. He didn't need psychic powers to take care of the future Guardian. But he had to admit, keeping Dean and Sam safe was one of the only reasons John put up with all the psychic crap.
And it was for reasons like that he hated it.
Caleb dropped and John knew something had changed. He knew it was more than the usual. This was something more.
When the young hunter jerked to his feet, moving erratically and shouting nonsense, John pulled out his gun. Protege or not, the Guardian would be protected.
The struggle crossing Caleb's face was one that John had seen before. Caleb was fighting within his body. He wasn't alone in there.
Caleb's eyes meet John, quickly shifting to the gun. The boy's eyes seemed to shine as they stared. Then Caleb's struggling voice rang out two words. "Do it."
Then Caleb was gone, replaced by golden eyes.
John lifted the gun.
For a moment John truly thought that this was it. The yellow eyed demon had found him. He had come for his family, and quite possibly had. But Caleb would let him know if he lost contact with either boy, right? Unless that's what this whole display was, both Winchester boys dying simultaneously. But if that were the case, yellow eyes would need help, he couldn't be in multiple places at once. If it was the demon though, there was nothing he could do. He would have led his Triad to their death.
"Jonathan!" Mac shouted, the panic only a father could portray in his voice. "Put the gun down!"
"That's not Caleb."
"But shooting it won't do anything but kill the host, my son!"
"I'll do what I have to do, Mac."
"Oh all this quarreling is simply unnecessary" Caleb said. The voice was his, but the words and tone were not.
"Who are you?" John barked, in full Knight mode.
Caleb shook his head slightly. "I am disappointed. I always assumed the Triad would be better suited against me. Clearly I had nothing to fear."
"You are the Enteetee." Jim spoke quietly, now standing next to John. "Why are you here?"
An unnatural smile curled Caleb's lips. "I am glad at least your Guardian is competent"
"Answer the question." John moved the gun slightly to draw attention to it. "Or I will shoot you."
"John!"
The hunter in question could see the fear and disbelief in Mackland's eyes. But John would do what he had to.
A small laugh. "You will not kill me, Knight Winchester. Not in this body. You will only kill the host."
"Like you wouldn't lie about your mortality." John shifted his grip. "It might be worth it to find out." And hadn't Caleb asked? He ignored the horrified look his best friend was giving him. John cared for Caleb, but Dean was his son. And he would get him back whatever the cost.
"And I tell you now, if you kill your protege, all hope for reuniting Dean is lost. I believe there is little hope now but," Caleb shook his head. "To think, a hunter becoming dependent on a demon spawn."
"He is not a demon." Mackland growled. The Scholar was gone, replaced by an angry and scared father. "Get out of him. Now."
"I simply wanted to give you a message." The Entee said, lifting Caleb's hands into a placating manner.
"Which is?"
"Leave. Take your little spy, and leave. Dean is loyal to me. You will not convince him to return. But I can make his life miserable without him ever knowing it was me. He is already mine. At least let him be happy."
"Until you decide you're done and you want to feast?!" John snapped.
The eye's flashed, "Perhaps you should have thought of that before consuming far too much alcohol and letting your anger rule your life!"
"Has Dean told you all of this?" Jim wasn't being very helpful.
"What Dean does or does not tell me is irrelevant. I know all I need to know."
"Wait," Mackland frowned, "You said spy? Do you mean Dean?"
Caleb's face contorted, "No, I mean your spy. The girl. I've already told you Dean is indeed mine."
"We never sent a girl." Jim acknowledged, catching onto Mac's observation. "Caleb is the only one we have sent."
Caleb folded his hands together, looking very unlike Caleb. "I see. But my point remains. Leave me."
"You would do the very thing you accuse us of doing?" Jim didn't seem eager to let the Entetee go, a sentiment not shared by the other twoTriad members. "You would punish Dean for another's actions?"
"I would not punish him!" John was unsure why he would be so offended by that. Afterall, the Entetee only wanted them for their blood. It wasn't like he actually cared for the kids!
"But Dean is further gone than you realize. Pulling him back would be a punishment of itself. I will not continue to speak with you in any form. The next time we encounter, someone will leave either in police custody or as a corpse." Then pausing as if thinking of something important. "Do you think Dean would be relieved to see it happen?"
The gold was suddenly gone from Caleb's eyes and he dropped. Mac made it to him first. John wanted to stop him, but knew it would be pointless. The Knight still kept the gun trained on the boy.
"He's burning up." The doctor muttered, mostly to himself. Then, snapping his head up, eyes full of anger, "You can put the gun away, it's him."
"I'll wait for Junior to tell me that himself." He answered.
Mac's eyes sparked but he turned back to his son. "Elevated pulse. Fairly normal in possession. Caleb? Caleb, son can you hear me?"
Jim joined the two on the floor. John tightened his grip on the gun.
After a moment, Caleb began to stir. His eyes blinked open, they were quickly squeezed shut.
"Son, I need you to open your eyes for me."
There was a groan, but the boy obeyed.
"Are you with us my boy?" Jim squeezed his arm.
"Mmm. Jus' me."
"How do you feel?" Mac ws quick to ask.
"Like I drank too much tequila while having the flu."
The doctor smiled slightly at the wording of the answer. "Do you think you can stand?"
"Help me." He said, adjusting himself to move. It was slow, but Caleb was eventually in a seated position.
"Ready?"
"Mmm." He hummed. The boys eyes wandered over to John, who was still holding the gun. He laughed. "Sorry, Jonny, you missed your opportunity. It's really just me."
Mac sent a half glare his way before positioning himself to help his son up. John put away the gun, coming to help.
The Scholar stopped him. "Don't come near him." He snapped. "I'll take care of it."
"It's fine, Dad." Caleb said, beginning to push himself up.
As soon as he was on his feet, he was falling back down. Mac quickly grabbed him, Jim supporting the other side. All color had leached from Caleb's face, his eyes now closed.
"Can you tell me what you're feeling?" The doctor asked.
"Sick. Need to- need to lie down."
The two Triad members helped him to his bed.
"Dean's connection is gone again." Caleb said quietly while stumbling across the room. "That's how he got here. Rode the connection across as it was being severed. Didn't know that was a thing."
"It's alright, try to sleep, we'll figure it out tomorrow."
Caleb was deposited on the bed and immediately leaned back. "Sorry." He muttered, but John didn't miss how Caleb's eyes wandered to him when the words were spoken. The boy was then asleep.
Mac took a final pulse reading, gently laying his son's arm down on the bed, then spun around.
"You were going to shoot my son."
John crossed his arms. "My son has been missing for a month. This might have been the only chance to get him back."
Mac took several steps forward, stopping when he was in the Knight's face. "You will not trade my son's life for your own. I would do anything for Dean- for either of your boys. But I will not trade lives. Especially not that of my son. It is not my fault that you do not feel the same way."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you constantly place things over your sons! You would trade them for a good bottle of whiskey!"
John leaned forward, closing the final inches between them. "I love my sons. Everything I do is to protect them!"
"If that were true then we would not be in this mess to begin with!"
The Knight's fist was coming up but never met flesh. Instead, his back slammed into the wall.
"That's cheating Mackland!" John raged. He hated psychics. Especially when they could slam you into walls with their minds.
"I need to tend to my son. You are making that impossible. Him dying now would do you no good."
John stilled at that. "Is that a possibility?' He truly hadn't wanted to shoot Caleb. If it had come down to it he wondered if he would have been able to pull the trigger.
"I don't know. This wasn't a demon, John. We are talking god levels of power. Human bodies are not meant to control that. I need to ensure that no damage was done."
A slight nod. "I never intended to trade the lives of our sons." Though John believed that Caleb would do it with no question. "But I do want mine back."
Mackland sighed, releasing his prisoner." I know, John. And we will get him back. But until we find a way to kill him or break his spell, there is nothing we can do. Let me tend to Caleb and then I will keep looking. We'll look as long as it takes."
Jim had been watching the altercation silently, not stopping the two men or choosing a side. "John, let's go into the other room to continue our research. Allow Mackland to do what he needs to do before inviting us to join him again."
John nodded, clenching his jaw. The Triad had never approved of his parenting, Caleb had always been vocal about it. But this was the first time Mac and JIm had so plainly stated their feelings. It had been hinted at, but never to this degree.
The proud man didn't want to admit it, butDeserve he was starting to see truth in the fact that this entire ordeal was his fault.
~TH~
So! John's an absolute jerk! We knew this lol. Mac's an awesome father tho.
Next chaoter we got back to Caleb's POV and will really get moving with the plot in the next couple of chapters.
Which leads me to ask, do you want the fic to include recovery or do you want a second fic for that? I have it all mapped out so it will it happen. I planned to just combine it all, because I say recovery but it actively ties into the main plot so it's necessary for things to make sense. It'd be like a 22/10 split up. Or I can. Just combine it all into this story.
Just let me know what you think lol
Please tell many any thoughts you have towards this chapter!
School starts on Tuesday but I have the next five chapters written so we should be good for awhile.
Love you guys!
God bless,
Jamie
