Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jack looks up from his phone when the door pushes open.  It’s just Dean, which doesn’t surprise him because is really the only person he feels like he fits in with.  Even talking to Sam and Cas sometimes feels like a sort of chore for all of them, he thinks.  Neither of them really understand what it’s like to be a teenager who doesn’t fit in, living in a town he’s never heard of in the middle of nowhere.  But at least he has Dean.  

Dean walks in and Jack moves over to make room for him on the bed while turning down the volume on his headphones a little bit.  He doesn’t think Sam will be too far behind him.  Despite Sam’s insistence on being supervised, Dean has made it his life mission to go up and down the stairs on his own without Sam.

“What’s up?  Jack asks.

“Dack, pease.”

“Jack what?”  Jack pulls his headphones off when Dean whines.  “Did you nap yet?”

“No.”  Dean shakes his head.  

“Well, lay down then and sleep.”  Jack disconnects his headphones and sets them aside.  “I’ll play the soft music you like.  Are you cold?”

“Yeh.”

“Hold on.”  Jack gets up and grabs a hoodie that he pulls over Dean’s head, flipping the hood up.  “Close your eyes.”

He tucks Dean into the bed and puts on the soft music as they call, or classical music as Cas calls it.  Cas says it’s good for your brain.  He’s asleep in a few minutes and Jack resumes the mindless scrolling he was doing.  He had planned to go and find Dean in a few minutes anyway because there isn’t anyone else he can talk to, and he was getting bored.  

“Dean?”  Sam peers through the doorway and smiles.  “Oh, hey.  You know you can tell him to go to his room or ask me to come help him.”

“It’s fine.”  Jack shrugs.  “He’s just sleeping.  We’re listening to music.”

“Okay.  Well let me know if you need anything.”  Sam says, and then retreats although Jack thinks he probably doesn’t want to.  As attached to Sam as Dean is, Sam is just as attached back.

Dean never sleeps for long and wakes up with a big yawn.  Sam and Cas call it a nap, but Jack thinks of it as more of a little reset.  Halfway through the day Dean needs to just press the restart button so to speak.  Jack smiles a little and pulls the hood back from Dean’s face.  He likes hanging out with Dean.  Dean doesn’t make fun of him or make him feel bad about what’s happening with his mom or that he’s not very good in school.  And he’s clever, when he wants to be, smarter than people think he is.  

“You have to tell someone when you’re cold.”  Jack fake scolds him.  “You can’t just wait like that.”

“Yeh.”  Dean nods and Jack rolls his eyes.

“Whatever.”  He sits up and smiles.  “You want to walk down to Bobby’s with me?  I have some more stuff to pick up.”

Bobby has been paying him to pick up and return various parts for cars to the post office.  It’s nice pocket money, and the drive to the post office isn’t far.  Plus, Dean likes to tag along and that’s actually pretty fun.  They sing loud and off-key in the car.  The lady at the post office always gives them candy and they stop at the corner store and get a drink or some other treat.  Jack’s pretty sure that Sam and Cas know about the secret corner store snacks, but they pretend like they don’t.  Him and Dean treat it like a huge secret and it’s stupid but it’s fun.  Kind of like the forbidden snacks and movies on Fridays.

“Yeh.”  Dean grins.

“Alright, come on.”  Jack stands up.  “You can wear the hoodie if you want.”

Jack tells Sam where they’re going and he and Dean make the walk down to Bobby’s.  It’s not far, though he thinks it might be brutal in the winter.  Dean hums to himself and Jack recognizes the song, making a mental note to play it once they’re in the car.  

It takes them a little while to actually leave Bobby’s once they pick up the packages.  Dean loves Uncle Bobby, and Eli the dog and the cats Bobby adopted from the scarpyard.  But the promise of some snacks from the corner store gets Dean into the car finally.  Jack puts on the song Dean was humming and Dean claps enthusiastically.  

“Ta!”  Dean says and grins.  It’s a new word for him that they think means ‘thank you.’

“You’re welcome.”  Jack smiles.  “Hey, do you know what college is?”  

“Yeh.”  Dean nods.  “Sammy.”

“Yeah, he went to college.  But Cas didn’t.  Cas stayed at home and took care of Zari for his whole life.”  Jack taps on the steering wheel.  “They want me to go to college but I don’t think I want to.  I think I could just stay home and take care of you.”

Dean babbles but seems to agree that this is a much better plan.

“I just think…. I mean I don’t get along with anyone at school.  I hate it there.”  Jack admits.  “I don’t see why college would be any different.”  

Dean stops babbling and nods like he understands.  Maybe he does.  It’s not like Dean has a ton of friends either.  

“Or I guess I could go close by and still live at home.  I don’t know.  I’m stressed about it.”  Jack sighs.  “You think Sam would let us have a sleepover in the living room tonight even though it’s not Friday?”

“Yeh!”  Dean nods and Jack smiles again.

“Cool.  We’ll ask him.”

There’s never a line at the post office since it’s such a small town.  Susie, the mail clerk smiles wide when they walk in and Dean waves.  Jack gives her the packages and collects two that came in for Bobby.  Dean is only interested in the candy which Jack unwraps for him to eat and occupy himself with until Jack is done.  Susie makes them promise to come back next week as if they don’t do this at least once a week.

The downtown is so small that they can actually see Sam’s law firm down the road, the building oddly new and shiny compared to the ones surrounding it.  It’s nice though and Sam says they’ve been doing well there.  Jack points it out to Dean who has no interest in it whatsoever.  As far as Dean is concerned the law firm is the only thing keeping Sam from being permanently at his side so he doesn’t care much for it.

They walk across the street to the general store.  It’s getting cooler out so Jack steers Dean away from the ice cream display in the case.  But the store does have a little bakery run by the owner’s wife, and Dean picks out a cupcake.  Jack is pretty sure the guy doesn’t even charge them half the price, but then again Bobby also does most of the guy’s car work for free.  He does most of the town’s car work for that matter.

Jack turns around from paying and realizes Dean isn’t next to him anymore.  A jolt of fear runs through him.  Sam will never let him take Dean anywhere again if he loses him.

“Dean?”  Jack looks around the front of the store, then opens the door to the outside.  “Dean!”

Dean is standing on the sidewalk, looking across the street.  He turns to Jack with a worried expression and points.

“You can’t walk away from me!”  Jack says, a little loud.  “You’ll get lost!”

“Dack.”  Dean furrows his brow.  “Dada.”

“What?”  Jack looks across the street with a new and completely different jolt of panic, but he doesn’t see anyone.  “There’s no one over there, De.”  

“No, pease, Dada.  No pease!”  Dean shakes his head.  

“It was probably just someone who looked like him.  It’s okay.”  Jack puts his arm around Dean.  “Let’s eat our cupcakes in the car.”

“Yeh.”  Dean agrees.

Dean only wants half of his and Jack finishes the rest.  Dean seems genuinely freaked out and Jack keeps looking around the small street from where they’re parked, but he doesn’t see anyone.  He doesn’t even see a car or anything that looks out of the ordinary.  The handful of people he sees walking he mostly recognizes and some of them even wave in a friendly way.

“Sammy, pease.”  Dean shifts around uncomfortably.  “Pease!”

“Okay, okay.”  Jack throws the cupcake wrappers on the ground and starts the car.  “There’s no one after us, I promise.  Want to hold my hand?”

Dean holds onto his hand tightly for the car ride home.  He seems calm enough, even hums along to some of his favorite songs, but he clearly wants Sam.  Jack doesn’t blame him.  Even though he didn’t see anyone he also feels on edge from Dean’s reaction to whatever it was that he saw in town.  It’s not like he has much of a shot at defending them from someone with bad intentions.

Dean keeps holding his hand right until they walk inside.  Sam and Cas are in the kitchen, chatting and drinking some wine.  Normally that would make Jack feel safe and even a little happy, but the dread feeling doesn’t leave at all.

“Sammy!”  Dean lets go of Jack and wraps his arms around Sam.

“Dean, baby, what’s wrong?”  Sam asks, setting his glass down.  “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.”  Jack wraps his arms around himself.  “He got freaked out for some reason.  He said he saw his dad.”

“What?”  Sam looks alarmed.  “What do you mean?”

“Are you alright, Jack?”  Cas asks and Sam’s face softens.

“I’m sorry Jack.”  Sam says.  “You do look a little spooked.  Let me get you some water.”

Dean seems to feel instantly better now that they’re inside the house.  He follows Jack to the living room and pulls out some coloring supplies while Cas sits down next to Jack and Sam hands him a glass of water.

“We went to the store for some cupcakes and Dean went outside.  He’s never done that before, he’s never walked away from me.   I guess he saw something.  I followed him out and he was pointing across the street and said he saw your dad.”  Jack explains.  “I didn’t see anyone there, not even a car.  But he was really freaked out.”

“Dean?”  Sam asks.  “Did you see dada?”

“Yeh.”  Dean frowns.  “No, pease.”

“Okay honey.”  Sam nods, backing off of the question since it clearly disturbs him.

“Perhaps it was someone who resembled him.”  Cas suggests.  “Your father would be very foolish to appear in this manner.”

“Well, he isn’t the smartest man.”  Sam sighs.  “He definitely wouldn’t come to Bobby’s property, that’s for sure.  Dean probably just got confused or something, it wouldn’t be the first time.  I wouldn’t be too worried, Jack.  Just keep an eye out if you’re not at home and tell us if you see anything suspicious.”

Jack nods.  He’s relieved that they both still trust him and are okay with letting him take Dean into town.  He would really be upset if they couldn’t do that together anymore.  There really ins’t anything else for them to do besides go into town. 

“I don’t want to go to college.”  Jack says abruptly.  “I want to stay here.  I have a plan, I can learn about cars from Bobby and make money that way and I’ll help you take care of Dean.  You’re going to get old someday, you’ll need help.”

“Jack, honey, Dean is our responsibility.  You don’t need to worry about that either.”  Sam leans forward.  “You’re going to have so many great experiences-”

“I want to stay here!”  Jack insists.  “I-I don’t even like high school, I hate everyone there, I just want to come back here every day!  You can’t make me go to another school!”

“Jack.”  Cas puts a hand on his arm.  “Breathe.”

Jack inhales shakily.

“Of course we will not force you to attend college.”  Cas says.  “I did not know this decision was causing you so much distress, or that your current school was.”

“I don’t have any friends.”  Jack admits.  “Just Dean.”

“We would not separate you from your only friend.”  Cas says.  “But there may be opportunities to make new friends, some even who would love and accept Dean the way you do.  We will take some time together to figure out what would be best for you.”

Jack nods.  

Dean stands up from his coloring spot and shoves the picture into Cas’s hand before going over to Sam.  He’s gesturing and babbling, but seems excited.  Jack leans against Cas and tries to relax his body.

“We wanted to sleep in the living room.”  Jack says.  “I think that’s what he’s asking.”

“Yeh!”  Dean claps.

“Okay.”  Sam smiles.  “Just Dean and Jack or everyone?”

“De, Dack!”  Dean claps.

“I think that sounds great.”  Sam agrees.  

Jack likes when they have their sleepovers in the living room.  Sam always gives Dean a bottle, but then leaves them extra snacks.  Dean tries to stay up late, but there’s only so much he can do before he drifts off in the nest of pillows and blankets in the fort they make.  Jack stays up later and he checks on Dean a few times in the night.  It’s nice and it feels normal, like any kid sleepover would.    

In the morning Cas always makes them the apple pancakes.  Sam and Cas seem better now that Jack is around, less tired and they definitely have more time together.  Dean is usually a little grumpy in the morning, sleep deprived and confused by where he’s waking up, but he almost immediately perks up once everyone is in the kitchen.

Jack just about forgets the previous day when they’re all together at breakfast the next morning.  He even has an appetite for once and gets a round of applause for how much he eats.  Dean seems to have completely forgotten the previous day.  It really must have been someone who looked like John and scared Dean.

Chapter Text

Jack finishes his smoothie and puts the cup in the sink.  He weighed one pound less at his last doctor’s visit and Cas just about had a stroke over it.  Jack is pretty sure one pound isn’t anything to write home about, but he’s been obligingly eating in between meals to make Cas feel better.  He really hates when Cas gets upset and then at the same time it makes him feel a tiny bit better for some reason.  Like Cas actually cares about him.  Dean is in the living room, humming softly to music that Jack put on.

“Dack?”  Dean calls, the sounds of the music suddenly shutting off.

“Kitchen.”  Jack calls back.

“Dack.”

Something about the tone of Dean’s voice makes the hair on the back of Jack’s neck stand up.  He drops the cup in the sink and rushes into the living room just in time to see the figure of a man at the front door.  He realizes he never set the alarm after Sam and Cas left, though he really only does that if Dean notices and gets upset.  

“Shit!”  Jack tries to get to the door to lock it or flip on the alarm but there isn’t time.  

The door opens and Jack backs up to the living room where Dean is, heart hammering in his chest.  The man who enters looks vaguely familiar to him, like someone he could have seen in town at some point, but Dean obviously recognizes him.  

“No pease.” Dean says, calmer than Jack expects.

“Get out of our house!”  Jack shouts.  “Who are you?”

“No need to get worked up.”  The man crosses his arms.  “Just here to check on my boy.  Come here Dean.”

Jack looks at Dean.  Dean is standing in a mirror pose of the man who Jack now assumes to be his father, John.  He can tell the resemblance now, especially in their expressions.  Dean’s arms are crossed and he’s frowning and it almost frightens Jack a little bit, because Dean doesn’t look how he normally does.  Dean is soft and silly, warm and inviting, he always listens when Jack talks and is full of love.  He’s a kid, really, in a grown up body.  He talks like a kid, acts like a kid, but he barely looks recognizable to Jack at the moment.  Right now Dean is standing still, expression hard, angry even, but not in a way Jack has seen.  He looks like an adult, he looks like Sam right before he goes to trial, like Cas when he sits down to talk to Jack about something, he looks like this scary, confident man in front of them.  

“No.”  Dean states and even his voice is lower than normal.  

Jack looks around the room.  His cell phone is in the kitchen and the landline is there too.  Dean doesn’t have a phone and there isn’t one upstairs even if he could make a break for it.  He doesn’t think he would be able to outrun this guy anyway.  

“Relax, Dean.”  John chuckles.  “Aren’t you glad to see your old man?”  

“No.”  Dean is moving to the left, to the edge of the room.  “No dada.” 

“Please go away.”  Jack implores.  “Or at least please don’t hurt us.”

“Come here Dean.”  John motions him and Dean hesitates a little bit, like he’s suddenly confused about something.

“No, don’t touch him!”  Jack steps forward and John hits him across the face.

“Who the fuck are you anyway?”  John demands.  

Jack gasps and looks up to see Dean extract something from behind one of the massive shelves in the living room while John is momentarily distracted.  John is looming over Jack, is probably going to hit him again, but Jack is fixated on Dean who tugs at something behind the bookshelf, then turns back to face John with a grim expression. 

“Dean!”  Jack screams.  “Dean, stop!”

Jack covers his eyes and screams as Dean lifts the shotgun he pulled out from behind the shelf, and fires.

Chapter Text

“Jack!”  

Jack looks up from where he’s still shivering in the shock blanket the paramedics wrapped around him.  Cas has parked the car nearly sideways and is running across the yard to where Jack is sitting. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Cas run, he thinks to himself, and for good reason because Cas clearly does not know how to run.  He isn’t sure why he’s even thinking about Cas running until he’s close and Jack realizes that Cas is running because of him, to get to him faster, that Jack is someone Cas thinks deserves him running.  Jack holds his arms up and Cas scoops him up off the porch completely.

“Are you okay?”  Cas’s voice is shaking.  “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Jack wraps his arms around Cas’s neck.  “I’m just really cold.”

“You are in shock.”  Cas sits down on the step, still holding him.  “Are you sure that you are not injured?  Did the paramedics examine you?”

“No.”  Jack sniffs.  “Not yet.” 

“Excuse me.”  Cas flags one of them down.  “Why did you not examine him?”

“Wouldn’t let us near him.”  One of them says, now approaching with a bag.  “Said he wanted to wait for his dad.  That must be you.”

“Oh.”  Cas sounds surprised. 

“Hey bud.  Can we get some vitals?”  Another paramedic asks.

“No.” Jack feels his eyes filing with tears and feeling panic rise in his chest.  “I want to stay with my dad and I want Sammy and Dean!”

He told them Cas was his dad because it was easier to explain than the truth.  But now he does feel like there is a level of parental responsibility from Cas.  Cas is watching the paramedics like a hawk, suspicious of everyone’s presence and intentions.  It feels good to be protected.

“You can stay right there.”  The first paramedic assures him. “Your friends are right over there answering some questions.  They’re all okay.  We just want to make sure your blood pressure is okay and then you can go right over to them.”

Jack lets them take his vitals and then turns back to Cas to bury his face in his shoulder.  He doesn’t really listen to what they say, but no one sounds too alarmed about anything.  He knows his heart is still pounding so his pulse must be high and his blood pressure probably is too.  Cas doesn’t sound concerned and after thanking the paramedics starts to hum and rub Jack’s back gently.  

“Is Dean in trouble?”  Jack asks.

“I do not believe so.”  Cas says.  “If he were to be, Sam and his law firm would be able to sort things out.  Look, they are walking over now.”

Jack peeks out from his spot of hiding against Cas.  Dean is babbling still and shrieks when he sees them, sitting down next to Cas and continuing to talk.  He looks entirely unbothered by the whole sequence of events.  In fact, he looks proud of himself.  Jack guesses he probably should be.  He did just single-handedly defend the house from someone breaking and entering.

“Hi sweetheart.”  Sam kneels down and tries to catch Jack’s eye.  “You doing okay?”

Jack shrugs.

“They said we can go back inside soon.”  Sam says.  “You just stay there with Cas.  Let me wrap this thing back around you until we can get back in.  This is helping you get your body temperature back up.”

The shock blanket does help him warm up combined with holding tightly to Cas.  He feels better once he isn’t shaking so badly and lifts his head up to look around a little bit.  Dean is more subdued now, the adrenaline has worn off and he’s clinging to Sam in a similar way.  Jack yawns and lays his head on Cas’s shoulder, feeling drained.

By the time they get inside and all the police leave, everyone is exhausted.  Dean is whining and Jack doesn’t feel ready to let go of Cas yet.  Cas seems to understand and hums softly, holding Jack close and patting Dean’s back while Sam gets them some food.  He eats a few bites but as soon as he starts to drink the usual cocoa before he bed he feels ravenous. 

“Slow down.”  Cas pulls Jack’s thermos away.  “You may upset your stomach.”

“Sorry.”  Jack says. 

“Would you rather drink out of something else?”  Cas asks.  “Something with a straw to help you slow down?”

“No.”  Jack shakes his head.  “I’ll slow down.”

“Alright angel.”  Cas kisses his forehead.  “Try to relax a little bit.  You are very tense.”

Jack finishes his drink and looks across the room.  Dean has fallen asleep having his bottle and Sam is rocking him gently.  Jack turns back to Cas and studies his face for a moment.  He looks very worried, maybe even a little zoned out.  He blinks and turns his attention back to Jack, smiling a little.

“Thank God no one got seriously hurt.”  Sam says softly.  “Although I’m a little surprised that Dean knew how to fire a gun.”

“This is true.”  Cas agrees.  “I am interested to know where Dean acquired this loaded weapon as well.”

“Behind the bookshelf.”  Jack murmurs.  “Right over there.”

“Is it customary for you to leave loaded weapons in common living areas?”  Cas asks and Jack smiles because he knows it’s a genuine question.  

“It wasn’t me!”  Sam says.  “But this did used to be Bobby’s house.”

“I am interested to know more information from him.”  Cas replies, and this time he sounds annoyed.

“Me too.”  Sam agrees.  “Bobby will be back tomorrow, and I have a lot of questions for him.”

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“Damn fool breaking in here!”  Bobby is staring at the wall that took the brunt of Dean’s shotgun blast as if it’s going to give him more information about what happened.

“Hi, I have a question.”  Sam says from where he and Cas are stiffly standing next to each other.  “How did my brother know how to fire a shotgun?”

“What do you mean?”  Bobby asks, giving Sam a look like he just asked the world’s most stupid question.  “I taught him.”

“You taught Dean how to fire a shotgun?”  Sam asks, incredulous.

“I want to learn how to fire a shotgun.”  Jack pipes up from his spot on the couch next to Dean.

“Yeh, Dack.”  Dean nods, looking up from the puzzle he’s working on.  

“Taught him to fire a lot of guns, just like I did with you.”  Bobby crosses his arms.  “What, you think I treat one of my nephews different than the other?”

“Yeah, Bobby, I do!”  Sam almost laughs.  “I thought you were, like, teaching Dean life skills while I was in college, not how to use weapons!”

“That is a life skill!”  Bobby argues.  “We live in a boonies, son, he needs to know how to defend himself!  Kid’s smart too, I know exactly what gun he used!  Now I will admit I did leave it there by mistake.”

“Loaded and with the safety off!”  Sam cries.

“Loaded and with the safety on!  I’m no idjit, of course the safety was on!  Dean turned it off just like I taught him.  And he took good aim too, damn near took that fool’s head off I reckon.”  Bobby grins at Dean who coos happily.

“I need to lie down.”  Sam slumps into a chair in the living room.  “Are there any more hidden guns in this house?  Anything else you taught my brother that could kill someone?”

“It was full of rock salt, I’m sure John is just fine.”  Bobby says dismissively.

“Rock salt?”  Cas’s brow furrows.  “Why would you fill a home defense weapon with salt?”

“Ran out of regular bullets.”  Bobby says, but Jack thinks that is pretty transparently a lie.  “You boys did real well.  Now I know shooting people ain’t the value you want to teach your kids but they did exactly what either of you would have done in this situation.”

“Oh certainly not.”  Cas scoffs over his cup of tea.  “I would surely have been a victim of homicide.”

For some reason, that breaks the tension and makes them laugh.  Sam demands that Bobby look in all his old hiding spots to make sure there are no weapons and that he not teach Dean anything else about guns.  Dean still has a grim look on his face, and an oddly calm demeanor that Jack can’t quite read.  

Sam does in fact go lie down and Cas goes to check on him leaving the three of them alone.

“Uncle Bobby?”  Jack asks when Cas is gone.  “Why was the gun really full of rock salt?”

“Why don’t you come down to my house sometime and I’ll tell you.”  Bobby replies in a very serious tone. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know.

It’s a few days before Sam and Cas leave the two of them, though fortunately they walk Jack and Dean down to Bobby’s cabin.  Jack sits down in the living room while Dean plays with the animals and Bobby sits across from him, notebook in hand with a serious expression.  And for the remainder of the day, they talk.

Bobby tells Jack about demons, monsters, ghosts, about people who hunt them, about Sam who used to hunt them.  Dean listens with no apparent shock, like this is something he knows well and isn’t surprised by.  Jack listens.  Bobby talks to him like he’s an adult, like he’s mature enough to hear about what he’s saying.  He doesn’t skip details or make it sound better than it is, and Jak absorbs all of it.

“What is it?”  Bobby asks when he’s finished telling Jack the stories.  

“Seems crazy.”  Jack says.  “Doesn’t sound real.”

“I know.”

“Why wouldn’t Sam tell me and Cas?”  Jack asks.  “This sounds like…. I mean if it’s true then this is something we should definitely know.”

“He didn’t want to get you involved.”  Bobby says.  “He left that life and made himself a new one.  It’s not something you get wrapped up in unless you have to.  No one gets wrapped up in this unless they have to.”

Jack thinks about it for a minute.  Dean is playing with the dog and seems fine from the past events.  But it was almost sheer luck that Dean was able to both defend them and not kill John or anyone else in the process.  An besides nightmare monsters that he didn’t even think were real, John is still alive and out there.  And he will be back.  Jack squares his shoulders and turns back to Bobby.

“I should know the basics.”  He states.  “And I should know how to shoot a gun.  Will you teach me?”

“I would love to.”  Bobby smiles and Jack grins.  

Maybe he fits in better than he thinks.