A/N: I was over the moon about every review (Especially Kathy's detailed ones. It made the story even better).
Thank you so much for taking the time!
The Angel Of The Waters
Chapter 7 - Pizza And Hot Chicks
*** BRO AU ***
MACKLAND
First of all they got Peter a cab to drive him home. The three young Ladies seemed very impressed by Joshua and refused to leave his side, so he was tied up trying to talk them into going home.
Mac knew how Caleb and Dean would enjoy watching him squirm. It would give them enough ammunition for a whole year of teasing poor Joshua. Even Mac had to smirk.
They now had to get the powder into the victims that included Dean and Caleb. That would be difficult given their current lack of trust in him or anyone else. Though Mac knew it needed to be done, he was worried about how it would affect the boys. The return of a lifetime of memories would be overwhelming for anyone, add in the past traumas the two had experienced and it would be hard to predict how it would hit them and how they would react.
He turned. "Joshua, I need to speak to you for a moment," he said, giving the younger hunter an opportunity to extricate himself from the intruding girls. Mac waited until Joshua was next to him and spoke quietly. "I think it is best if you go to Caleb and Dean. I fear my presence will make matters worse. They don't trust me and certainly won't just take a strange powder medicine from me. They may not have their memories but it seems their skills are intact and not easy to bypass. Any Ideas how to get them to take the powder?"
Joshua looked at him. "The surest way I know to make either of them do anything is to tell them not to," Joshua tried to joke. Once again it fell flat. He sighed and tried to think more practically. "You may be right that they still have their skills, that includes probably Reaves abilities too." Joshua sighed. "Okay. If I know one thing for sure about those two, it's that they love pizza, beer and cheap women." He glanced over to Amber, Stacey and Molly who were whispering and throwing glances his way. "So how about we ask the girls to help us with them?"
Mac glanced over at the three. Joshua had a point. "You're probably right, but who do we tell them the girls are? We don't want them ending up like Carolyn."
"I have a feeling, given the right packaging, those two won't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"Excuse me?" Mac asked, a little concerned.
"Trust me, as a PR agent I've had my share of picky customers. I have an idea. I just need to know their favorite pizza toppings. Then you can leave the rest to me. Since I know how to satisfy picky rock stars, I'll come up with something that will work for them. Including a psychic armor for the girls; so Reaves will not be alarmed and will not let Dean use the baseball bat again."
Mac nodded. "They are our best chance to achieve our goal. So go on." Mac made a gesture to the girls and followed Joshua.
Joshua was instantly surrounded by the wanna-be witches. "Ladies, we might need your help."
CALEB
He was startled awake by a dramatic melody and a vibrating coming somewhere from within his jeans. Caleb pried his eyes open and tried to locate the vibrating and ringing. He found his phone in his pocket and answered it, still sleepy mumbling. "What is it?"
"Hey Caleb, this is Amber."
He needed a moment to remember that he didn't remember. "Amber, hi," he began awkwardly.
"Ready for tonight, tiger?"
"Uhm yeah, sure. Where did you say we're gonna meet?" Caleb tried.
"We could meet earlier at your place if you like. Stacy wants to meet Dean again. We can bring the pizza and beer if you like?" she offered.
Caleb rubbed his eyes and tried to make sense of the words. Amber seemed to know him, maybe they could find out more about themselves this way. So he should probably say yes, shouldn't he? At least she had a nice voice. "Uhm, yeah, why not. We haven't eaten yet. So you know where to find us, right?" he began unsure.
"Yeah, sure. We'll be over in about 30 minutes, okay?" Amber asked.
"Sure, see ya." He ended the call and saw that it was already early evening. The tip tap noise of rain played on the rooftop he was under and the sky looked grey. He was still in the studio in the attic where he obviously had fallen asleep on the sofa. With a last glance at the pictures he left the room, locking it behind him.
Dean was sprawled over the couch, the TV was blaring a sitcom at him. Caleb shook his foot and switched the TV off. "Dude, wake up." But Dean didn't move. "Dean?" He shook him harder. "Man, are you alright?" Caleb noticed the beer on the table. "Don't tell me a single bottle of beer got you wasted."
Dean groaned and turned to the other side. "Leav' me alone."
"C'mon we're getting a visit from some hot chicks, at least I hope they're hot. Anyway I'm starving. Hot chicks or not; they are bringing pizza."
"Pizza and hot chicks? Sounds like a reason to get up." Dean fought his body into a sitting position groaning pitifully. "Uahgh. Where have you been anyway? I thought you went for a food run since I couldn't find you," Dean asked rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"I fell asleep. Your ribs still bothering you?" Caleb asked, not willing to talk about the studio he had found.
"Maybe you should buy stronger drugs. They didn't work very well against the pain," Dean complained.
Caleb's headache had at least lessened a bit. "They worked for me. Maybe you shouldn't have washed them down with a beer. You know that is unhealthy?"
Dean gave him a look. "Dude, I'm glad I still remember my name." Caleb gave him a chiding look. "Fine Mr Medicine Police, I'll try to recall that next time I'm in pain." He got up to use the bathroom.
Caleb glanced around the room. If girls were coming over, he should at least clean the table of the old pizza box. Even the prospect of food and company of the curvy kind couldn't completely distract him from their predicament. Collecting the empty bottle and the box he tried to think of a good idea how to get their memories back. Should he maybe call his 'father' or go to the hospital? The flashes of his nightmare came to mind. He didn't want to go see a doctor of any sort.
Dean came back. "Your buddy from some company, TriCorp, stopped by and dropped off some cardboard tubes and things. They're in the office. He said you should call him."
"Funny. What buddy? You didn't happen to get a name, did you?"
Dean set on a lopsided grin. "I may be clueless but not I'm not dumb. Here, he gave me his card."
Caleb studied the card. "Oliver Havers," he read aloud and eventually shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind. I'll call him if the girls can't help us remember."
*** BRO AU ***
The thirty minutes went by quickly. Dean and Caleb took quick showers and put on some fresh clothes. He was not quite sure what they planned to do with the girls but better prepared than sorry, he thought. Digging through his closet he found three designer suits and many black standard clothes, here and there some red or blue shirts between a few flannels. He decided for some black jeans and a black button down.
Dean exited his room at the same time as Caleb when the doorbell rang. "Showtime, dude," Caleb winked at him.
'What were their names again?' Dean thought
"Stacy and … Amber, dude. I told you."
Dean shot him a disbelieving stare. "What? I didn't say anything."
Caleb was confused. "You asked me their names. Loud and clear."
"Dude, you're starting to scare me. I hope you didn't read my mind or some other hocus pocus crap," Dean said and went to open the door.
Caleb frowned but still heard him clear in his head.
'Man, the last thing a guy needs is a buddy who is in his head while he thinks of big boobs and long legs…'
Caleb was sure Dean hadn't said that aloud. Still he got it all. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Hi, Dean," came an excited feminine voice from downstairs. "Uahgh, what horrible weather! Is Caleb home? I called him earlier. We have pizza!"
"Yeah, come in," Dean's voice replied. Then a strange wave of mischief came through the link or whatever Caleb had to Dean. 'Holy shit! If Caleb isn't coming down I wouldn't mind having fun with both of them. They are dripping wet,' Dean thought excitedly.
Caleb groaned. He was sure THAT though, Dean hadn't said in front of the girls. He didn't want to hear any more of his dickdriven thoughts. It was off putting as hell. If he really was able to hear what Dean was thinking, he should be able to stop it. Like he had stopped all the feelings and thoughts that had dared to crush him at the doctor's apartment.
He tried to concentrate, imagining a door in his mind from where Dean's thoughts came and closed it. Taking a deep breath he thought it might work for a while and headed downstairs. Both girls were slipping off their shoes and he now knew why Dean had thought about them being wet. He could barely hide a grin over the joke. "Hi, how are ya?"
The redhead girl nodded, inspected him from bottom to top and gave him a gorgeous smile. "Hi Caleb. We brought something hot, " She moved closer, looking him deep in the eyes. "And we're ready to have some fun, handsome."
Caleb gulped and couldn't hide a grin. This must be Amber. He would gladly read her mind at the moment. Focusing on her shiny red curls he tried to open a door in that direction. It didn't work, only gave him a mean sting which reminded him of his headache earlier and made him retreat a step.
The other girl seemed a bit nervous. "Come on, let's eat. I'm hungry." She offered a six pack of beer to Dean and glanced at her friend. "Amber, give Caleb the pizza so we can get out of these wet jackets. It's pouring cats and dogs."
Amber pushed the pizza box into his hands. The smell of melted cheese penetrated his senses. And he let out a sigh over the wonderful smell.
Tucking the beer under his arm, Dean took their jackets from them. They both wore tight short dresses, looking like they planned to go to a disco or something. Dean grinned widely, practically stripping them naked with his gaze. Caleb was glad he had been able to block his thoughts.
They headed upstairs to the living room. Settled on the huge sofa, Caleb opened the box, his mouth already watering. There were four different toppings. Pineapple, Salami and ham, something with way too much vegetables and one part only with cheese.
Amber had pinned herself to his side, grabbing a piece of Pineapple pizza, she said, "Here honey. I got your favorite topping," with an alluring gaze and offered him a bite.
He took the piece from her and took a bite. It tasted like heaven and soon he had devoured his quarter as well as a chunk of Amber's vegetable part.
Dean was likewise occupied with his girl as they chatted about what to do tonight. When Caleb started to feel dizzy he glanced at Dean who was beginning to rub his forehead too, right before he met his gaze.
Amber brought a concerned hand to his biceps. "Are you alright, Caleb?"
He got up fast, feeling caged. "I … yeah, sure. I just have to …" He didn't get any further before the pain swelled and he hit the floor, holding his head and groaning.
"Oh, my goodness! Stacy. Do something!"
Dean, too, let out a pained sound, shaking his head. "Caleb?"
Then Caleb heard a thud. Through watery eyes he was able to glance in that direction and saw Dean had slumped down too, staring vacantly at the floor.
Distantly, he could hear Amber and Stacy getting hysterical. "That was not supposed to happen, was it?"
"How should I know? Go and call Joshua! This is wrong!"
"Damn it!" Amber cursed typing something on her phone before she began speaking. "Joshua, something is wrong, they are not right." - "Yeah of course they ate it. But they're having some kind of fit or something." - "Alright."
"Stacy go and open the door," Amber ordered.
Caleb's head felt as if it would explode. There was so much information hitting him at once, he was barely able to make out what Amber said. Had she said Joshua? His memory came back full force and all at once. It made his head spin. His mother - his father - a house of cards - the beachhouse - a gunshot - blood - his grandma - foster homes - New York with Bird - more foster parents - the gruesome death of his foster parents - the psych ward - hands - white rooms - needles - fear - and this was just the start. It was overwhelming.
MACKLAND
Joshua, Molly, and he waited in the car. He glanced into the rearview mirror where Molly shot concerned looks to the house her friends had vanished into, chewing on her nails. Mac really hoped this would work. He didn't show it the same way as the girl but he was nervous too. They hadn't been waiting long before Joshua's cell rang. "Amber?" Joshua answered.
Mac could hear her hysterical voice explode down the line.
"Joshua, something is wrong, they're not right."
Alarmed, Mac grabbed his doctor's bag and jumped out of the car. He hurried around the corner of the property to the main door.
With frantic fingers he was trying to unlock the door when Stacy opened it from inside.
"Come quickly Dr. Ames! Caleb and Dean … I don't know if that was supposed to happen. Did we poison them? Oh my god. We never wanted to hurt anybody." Stacy stammered behind him while Mac was already climbing up the stairs, taking two at a time.
He found them both crouched on the living room floor. Dean just stared, eyes wide, at the floor, while Caleb huffed and groaned pain ridden in a kneeling position, pressing his hands to his temples.
Mac rushed to Caleb since he seemed more in pain. He approached carefully, not sure if the powder had worked. "Caleb, easy. I will not harm you or Dean." He still came closer. "Would you let me check you?"
Caleb forced himself to look up, tears shining in his eyes. He stared at him for a few heartbeats. Mac's hopes were already dropping, when his son said the word that sent his heart leaping for joy.
"Dad," he choked out between sobs and grunts.
Mac didn't wait a second longer and closed the last step between them. "Caleb, I got you, son. Everything's gonna be alright," Mac soothed, pulling his son into a tight hug. He could imagine how exhausting and painful all of Caleb's memories coming back at once must be.
Instead of quickly wriggling out of the hug, as would have been usual, Caleb clung to him as if his life depended on this one physical contact.
Mac pulled him closer trying to offer comfort and steadiness as best as possible. He would hold him as long as he wanted and needed, selfishly embracing the opportunity to hold his son.
Caleb had pressed his face deep into Mac's sports jacket, seeking solace like only the doctor knew from long gone nights when his son had woken up screaming from his worst nightmares. These had been the only times he allowed Mac to hold him like this. And that had been in their comfort zone at home with no one around. Mac knew how much Caleb tried to keep his image as a badass hunter in place. To display his deepest fears and feelings so openly in front of Joshua and strangers - even in front of his self chosen charge Dean - told Mac how out of it he was.
His son's breaths became more even and controlled now. He still rubbed soothing circles over his back until eventually Caleb began to calm.
Only a few heartbeats later - still too soon for Mac - he peeled out of his embrace, trying to gain back some control over his feelings. He sniffled and brushed his eyes with the back of his hand and took in where he was and who was with him. His gaze first fell on Dean. "Deuce?" he mumbled with his voice still imbibed with a hoarse crack. Caleb's questioning glance went to this father who had maintained contact; his hands protectively on Caleb's arms, still offering comfort if needed and wanted. Mac nodded encouragingly and released him. Caleb tried again this time with a more confident voice. "Deuce?"
Dean didn't even flinch. Caleb crawled the two steps over to him and carefully put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Deuce, you with me?"
Mac watched the two. It was still a mystery to him why Dean was here and John was not. The Knight was tightlipped and rarely available since Sam's 'escape' into real life. Caleb had tried really hard to make it bearable for Dean when he had shown up three months ago, telling Caleb Sam had left. Mac hated to watch the building frustration in Caleb to not be able to do more. Caleb had admitted that he was worried about Dean who seemed close to his breaking point. John's demeanor and bad mood were only increasing the guilty weight on the younger man's shoulders. Mac fiercely hoped Dean was strong enough to prove his son wrong.
CALEB
He felt like the inside of his head had been hit by a train and he was left to pick up the scattered pieces. Though it was all there, it was in utter chaos. The only anchor in all that at the moment was Mac - his father - the one person who had never let him down in all these years, had put up with everything concerning his fucked up life. As much as he was not a hugging kind of guy, he had needed exactly this comfort to ground him back to reality. Finally he felt able to loosen his grip from around his anchor.
The silence around them worried him. He became conscious that Mac was not the only one with him in the room. Caleb glanced up and the first person he spotted was Dean. "Deuce?" He tried but his voice failed him miserably.
He had to check on him. More than the held breaths of the others, Dean's silence worried him.
He shot Mac a glance, not sure if he was steadfast enough to be someone else's anchor but he had to try. His father gave him a reassuring nod and Caleb pulled out of the hug.
He tried again, "Deuce?"
Nothing.
Caleb crawled over; he didn't trust his weak bones to walk. Carefully he put his hands on Dean's shoulders. "Deuce, you with me?"
Nothing.
Caleb took Dean's face in his hands trying to get his attention. He would have cheated on their contract at that moment if he trusted his abilities, but right now he was glad he was able to communicate the natural way. "Deuce, c'mon. Talk to me! Look at me and tell me you at least know who I am, man."
Dean glanced at Caleb, his green eyes shining with tears. But eventually he nodded, then lowered his eyes again.
This tiny nod would do for now, since his friend was most likely as overwhelmed by emotions as he was. Caleb would take care of that once he got rid of everyone else, including Mac. He hesitated for a few seconds before he gave a short nod too and then faced the others in the room.
It was only then that he remembered the two girls, even with his memory restored he had no idea who they were. That would change, he thought in a far corner of his mind. right before his gaze fell on the other man in the room.
It was a total surprise to see Sawyer Jr. He vaguely remembered him being at Mac's apartment. There was a third girl, a blonde, wearing a hoodie and old jeans, who was sticking close to Josh. Caleb frowned as he realized the two hot girls were also pushing close to the self-righteously grinning hunter. Upon closer inspection Caleb spotted two identical looking snowflake obsidian chains around their necks and thought about the possibility that Josh had something to do with it. But right now he had other things to worry about.
Unsure if Dean's state could be blamed on the Johnny-Sam dilemma, his childhood trauma, or maybe a side effect of some spell they had used to save them. He turned to Mac. "How exactly did you restore our memories?"
"It was mostly Joshua," Mac explained, his voice nudging Caleb to acknowledge the other hunter in the room.
Caleb turned to Josh, suppressing the usual urge to give him a snide comment. Instead he mumbled, "Thank you, I guess."
Joshua smirked. "Do my ears deceive me? Perhaps he is still broken," he suggested to Mac.
This guy just didn't know when to shut up and not poke the tiger. Caleb had been accused of that too, of course, but he had learned; or was still learning. Josh's reaction in this situation was enough to extinguish every feeling of gratitude. Caleb's anger was already on the rise. "If you want broken," he started - but Mac interrupted the impending threat.
"I'll explain everything to you in a minute." Mac got up and went over to Josh and the girls.
Caleb returned his focus to Dean. "Come on Deuce, the sofa is way more comfortable than the floor." Dean allowed himself to be guided to sit without a word, still staring at the floor, subconsciously supporting his rib.
After the others had left, Mac came over, taking a seat next to Caleb. "Son, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," Caleb glanced at him, emotions still raw and mixed up in his mind. But he pushed them back and closed the door on the 'horror and sorrow' section of his library of thoughts. Instead he rubbed his hurting forehead. "Except for a really mean headache and the feeling of too much information in my head at once. I'lI be okay."
Mac couldn't help but reach for his son's forehead, checking his temperature.
Caleb ducked away, having his shields back under his own control. "I'm alright, Mac, really. If you want to play doctor you better check Dean's rib. He's had problems with it since he got here."
Dean shot him a glare, one of the first reactions his friend showed since they were back in their heads again, but let Mac check on him without a word.
Caleb knew it wasn't fair to spill that to Mac, but on the other hand; they had a deal and Dean, too, hadn't held up his side. Besides, Caleb would feel much better if his father said it would be okay with rest and care.
Mac confirmed no broken but three cracked ribs. Nothing that needed a hospital in the Winchester world. Though Mac's look told Caleb that he would feel better with a check up at the hospital. Caleb was relieved to hear Mac's conclusion for now. He would deal with Dean about a visit in hospital later if he got the impression his state was getting any worse.
"So how much did we miss, given that Josh just left with our dates. Mystery dates, that is, because we sure as hell never met them before," he began.
Mac smirked and told him about the spell the girls had done and how Joshua had found them. "... After we took care of the toad we had to give the powder to you somehow. So we decided to put it on a pizza and use Stacy and Amber as bait."
Now Caleb understood why they had worn pendants - to prevent him from reading their thoughts. "At least your bait was nicer to look at than the stuff Jim has us use to fish in the pond."
Mac gave him a small grin. "It was Joshua's idea. He told me something about picky clients and that he knew how to satisfy their needs."
Caleb made a face, not sure if Mac had noticed how wrong that sounded. He cleared his throat, grinding inwardly. "Yeah, seems like he's got his own little 'witch fan club' to pick from now." Caleb would never admit it but he was a bit jealous about Sawyer. Not only did he get to play the hero hunter card, if he wanted to, he could use the girls' ruefulness to his advantage.
"You should learn to share, son." Mac said teasingly. Patting his son's knee, he got up. "If you two are alright, I'll go home. I still have sleep to catch up on."
"Dad," Caleb stopped him. He also remembered everything they had done while being clueless. "Is Carolyn alright? We didn't mean to knock her out."
"I had her checked over in the hospital. She had a concussion but nothing permanent. She's at home with a friend of hers," Mac said. "I know you didn't mean to harm her. You were both scared." Mac gave him a forgiving smile.
Once more Caleb asked himself how he had deserved Mac's kindness.
"How about I pick you and Dean up for lunch tomorrow and we can have a relaxed evening for a change?" Mac offered with a twinkle.
Caleb nodded before his father turned and walked downstairs.
Caleb heard the front door closing. He turned to Dean not knowing what he could say to make things better. His own head hurt, making it hard to concentrate. "How about some more Tylenol for both of us and we can have a Star Wars marathon movie night. Mac is right, we've had enough action for a while."
Dean sighed, but nodded. "Only if that Tylenol comes with a beer and without the safety lecture."
Caleb gave him a disbelieving stare. "Those are the first words you speak out loud after all this shit?"
"It's what I needed to share with you. Besides, it's not like you'll keep out of my head since I didn't tell you about my rib."
"I don't enjoy invading your freaky thoughts. Besides, it's way too exhausting to keep up all the time. See me more as a voice of reason if you are not able to think for yourself. I'll say we're even since I spilled your secret injury to Mac. As long as you keep to the contract from now on and tell me about any injuries."
Dean nodded, still lacking a real answer. The psychic sighed, not even trying to read him, and got up to get more painkillers and a bottle from the six pack that still held two bottles. At least it was not Johnny Walker Dean was using to wash it down and Mac wasn't here.
He offered Dean the beer without more lectures.
Dean glanced up with a sigh. "Fucking Josh made out better than we did. I hope the girls at least give him a hard time. But given my injury and your migraine. We wouldn't have been the best company today."
Caleb uncapped the last beer and toasted to Dean. "True, I don't want to deal with all three of the Charmed-sisters at once. Imagine him ending up as a pleasure slave when they mess up a love spell."
Dean grinned deviously and sipped on his bottle.
They didn't speak while watching the well known movie and by the time young Luke Skywalker was lectured by Yoda about the force being with him, Dean was already fast asleep. Caleb glanced over wondering how much time he would have to spoil him before John would show up again, dragging Dean with him to the next hunt.
The End
A/N: Thank you for reading. :)))
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Meilean