Guys I do not know why I had such a mental block with editing this chapter. It's still not very good, but it exists! So hey!
Please enjoy :)
~TH~
The window was open.
Dean was gone and the window open
Dean was gone, the window was open, and Caleb couldn't feel him.
He wasn't dead. It didn't feel like when Dean was with the Entetee. Not like when he thought Dean was dead. But like before. Like when Dean had come back to the Farm and couldn't reach him.
The pills were locked away.
There were only a few left and Caleb had wanted to destroy them. But Jim had decided it was better to keep them locked away in case they were ever needed. After the disaster of the last several months, Caleb couldn't think of a single reason that the pills would be needed.
And Dean was smart, he knew how to pick a lock and could get in and out of almost any situation. But not even he could break into the Tomb and multiple locked boxes without any of them noticing, right?. He would have had to walk past both Mac and Jim, not to mention straight past Caleb's room.
But would other drugs do the same thing? He knew that when he was on the good stuff he couldn't read others, but he hadn't noticed an issue when it was the other party. Then again, he normally had a physical connection if things had gotten that bad.
The Entetee had broken the connection, but maybe this could dampen it?
And there wasn't nothing there. It was like… water. Like a sailboat in the middle of a calm ocean.
Caleb hated water.
He rushed down the stairs, drawing the attention of the adults in the house.
"Caleb? What's wrong?" Mac was the first to meet him.
"Dean's gone. The window's open. I'm not sensing him."
The doctor turned wide eyes to the Guardian. "Jim-"
"No one has entered the Tomb today." The pastor confirmed, wiping his hands on a dish towel.
"Dean's missing?" Sam looked scared, terrified. Guilt lining every feature of his face.
Jim frowned, cocking his head as if listening to something.
"I don't believe he left the Farm."
"How could you know that?" Sam asked, a strange suspicion in his eyes.
"We don't have time to speculate!" Caleb snapped. Hopefully his tone would be excused given the circumstances.
Mac didn't comment, taking charge of the situation. "Caleb, Sam, check the surrounding woods, see if you can find anything. Jim and I will head to town and-"
Silence washed over them as the door opened. Dean entered, pausing in the doorway. A raised eyebrow the only emotion displayed. "Did I miss a family meeting or-"
"Where were you?" Caleb began immediately, taking a few steps towards his friend.
"Nowhere, I just needed some air." Dean shrugged casually. He didn't seem keyed up. He didn't seem near death or an anxious mess or even depressed. Dean was calm and the life in his eyes had returned. There was no natural explanation.
"What did you take?" The questions spilled out of his mouth. He grabbed the front of Dean's shirt, voice raising. "What did you take?"
"Caleb-" Mac sounded panicked, afraid of what his son might do. Afraid of how Dean might respond.
"Dude, chill." Dean knocked his hands away, pushing past Caleb and letting the door close behind him. "I didn't take anything. I told you I just needed some fresh air. Went to the pond for a bit."
"And why'd you go out the window?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "Because you would have followed me and asked me how I was doing every time there was a moment of silence. Kind of defeats the purpose."
"You seem to be feeling better." Mac cautiously ventured.
Dean shrugged again. "Guess the effects of poison finally wore off."
Poison. Caleb liked that. It was a better classification than drug. Sounded more insidious, less mundane.
"And you're good? Just like that?" Caleb asked, still skeptical of the little miracle.
Dean laughed. "Yes Damien, I'm good."
Caleb wasn't sure that he bought that. He probably didn't. But for now he would have to take the kid's word for it.
There was an awkward silence, Mac seemed to be scanning him, Jim still listening to an unknown voice, Sam staring with large puppy eyes, and Caleb reestablishing the connection. He agreed that nothing seemed out of sorts with Dean except that the dark cloud that had lived above him for so long had finally dissipated. Dean clapped his hands together, breaking the unnatural stillness. "So, I was thinking, burgers tonight? The weather's warmed up and we haven't gotten the grill out for awhile."
Jim opened his mouth, surprise washing over him. "Well, I don't believe we have any but I suppose I could-"
"No problem, I can head out and get some. Anything else we need?"
Everyone just stared. Dean had barely been eating. And he refused to leave the Farm.
"Oo-kay," He drew out the word, laughing off the expressions around him. "Just call me if you think of anything." He turned to Sam. "You've been in the house too much. Grab your coat, we can pick up one of your little nerdy books on the way."
Sam's mouth opened and closed a few times before anything came out. "You want me to come with you?"
"Yeah, why not? Let me grab my wallet and I'll be back down. Jim can I-"
Jim looked like he was coming out of a trance. "Of course, keys are in the truck. I'll look in the pantry and see what else we need."
"Sounds good!"
He took the stairs two at a time, a strange new energy surrounding him.
"Are we sure he's not going to just take off and never return?" Caleb joked. Mostly joked.
Jim smiled, "No, I think Dean has finally returned to us."
"Why would he want me to go with him? He can barely look at me!" Sam seemed more panicked now than when he'd thought Dean was missing.
"I believe this is his attempt at an olive branch." Jim winked.
"But shouldn't we like.. I don't know… talk about it?"
"Maybe you will." Mac offered.
"But knowing Deuce, you probably won't."
The pastor glanced out the window towards the lake. "Perhaps we should simply accept Dean's return for the gift it is."
Caleb didn't know what to think. He was afraid to hope that everything would so easily return to normal. But for now, he would take what he could get.
~TH~
And that's the end of the main story! I have an epilogue which will hopefully come out really soon. In the meantime, I've been writing one-shots. So expect to see those very soon as well.
Please let me know what you think!
Much love and God bless,
Jamie
