Star Catcher (15/16)
Title Star Catcher
Rating: G
Characters: Dean, Castiel, Sam
Genre: Friendship
Summary: A time-traveling mishap will make two children and a fledgling realize that the unexpected can sometimes be a good thing.
Prologue - Fall For A Shooting Star
Chapter 1 - Some Have Silver Linings
Chapter 2 - Not Your Carpet Ride
Chapter 3 - Host of Heaven, Sing Over Me
Chapter 4 - Moonbeams and Fairy Tales
Chapter 5 - I was Soaring Ever Higher
Chapter 6 - Go and Play with the Thunder
Chapter 7 - Heaven is Overrated
Chapter 8 - Hear the Stars' Ovation
Chapter 9 - Stars Cry the Blackest Tears
Chapter 10 - Stars that Fill Polluted Skies
Chapter 11 - Children of Light that Never Dims
Chapter 12 - I'll Light the Night with Stars
Chapter 13 - The Change is Day to Night
AN: Holy crap, I'm still alive and I'm extremely, monumentally sorry for not being able to update these past weeks. College has destroyed me and obliterated my free time (plus my emotional sanity). To make matters worse, as a college senior, we had to deal with the fudging mother-load of stuff so, you know, there's that pressure of completing your every requirement. Every. Requirement.
But the good news? I just graduated last Saturday and I am now A FREE HUMAN BEING WHOOOOO! YEAH! I'M A BUM! …Ahem, which means it's more likely that I get to have my free time to write again and hopefully get my stories finished sooner.
But I'm rambling about my life now; enjoy the new chapter! Again, sorry for the long wait.
Chapter 14 - Promise Me, Leave the Light On
8:12 PM
"See that one over there?" asked Sam, pointing skyward.
Dean shifted in his spot on the blanket, as if the slight repositioning might make all the difference and reveal the secrets of the stars, sort of like bending one's head at a funny angle to make sense of a painting. "That one?" guessed Dean as he gestured to the east.
"No, that one!" said Sam.
"That's an airplane."
"Oh. No, wait, it's that one! See it?"
It started out with ordering pizza, or more specifically, it started out with Conner ordering pizza. To Dean, it had been entertaining to watch Conner panic while on the phone because of the 'someone trapped inside the small device' issue.
"How can we summon food if the person who makes it is imprisoned?" Conner had blurted out.
Once that had been cleared up, Conner went crazy with the toppings. From the simple and classic pepperoni, ham, and pineapples, he then fired off words that did not even sound like anything edible. Random spices from who knew what planet they even grew on, cheeses with complicated names despite the fact that they were just cheese and did not need a name with five or more syllables, vegetables and meat that would hardly seem to work well with each other…
There had been a second wherein Dean wanted to snatch the phone away from Conner since they might later eat a pizza that cannot be technically considered as a pizza anymore. But he let his friend finish the order anyway, because it was his first time and he wanted him to experience it. Besides, if ever the pizza turned out to be mutant spawn from the depths of hell, Conner would have to eat the whole thing.
Before the pizza arrived, Sam had similar concerns as Dean, although he had an idea: eat the pizza in a place that was dark. That way, none of them will have any idea as to what the pizza would look like, which can reduce the anxiety a little bit. Or increase it. Either option would be fun, according to him.
Sam suggested just turning the lights off in their motel room. Conner - though unaware that the brothers had reason to believe that the pizza he created could be dangerous in one way or another - had said that he wanted to be on the rooftop since the stars were particularly bright tonight.
Normally, Dean would not mind heading up to the roof. But after what happened the last time, when Conner had wandered there (and nearly died) while sleepwalking, he was hesitant. Sam, of course, still did not know about that and Dean had no intention to tell him. The same went with Conner. He would have held firmly onto his opinion if Sam and Conner had not used a double combination of sad puppy eyes at him. One day, he would have to learn how to overcome that.
For now, he, Sam, and Conner were lying on the rooftop. The night sky was sprinkled with stars and it was as if the biggest connect-the-dots game was spread out above them. The blankets they had brought with them kept them warm and Dean could almost pretend that they were out camping in some random forest, except the cushiony grass was rough concrete and there was no bonfire. Plus, a car alarm would go off every so often, which was enough to ruin the mood. Thankfully, the pizza turned out surprisingly delicious.
Dean glanced at Conner one more time to check if he was still there, and he breathed out a tiny sigh when he saw that his friend had not so much as moved (aside from when he would reach for a slice of pizza and slowly much on it). Conner reminded Dean of a soldier sometimes with all that stillness and perfect rigidness, even when he was lying down.
Despite getting that aura from him, Dean still made sure that Conner was as far away from the building's edge as possible, just in case. So far, being here was not triggering anything from Conner; although, for all Dean knew, Conner could be simply doing a terrific job of hiding his thoughts.
"What am I supposed to be looking for again?" Dean asked Sam.
"An octopus with an arfo wig - " started Sam.
"I think you mean afro," corrected Dean.
"And it's eating a banana split!"
Dean searched the sky for a long time. "You lost me at afro." he said.
"I'm still not sure what we're doing." commented Conner as he finished another slice.
"It's an octopus and a banana split! How's that hard?" exclaimed Sam, obviously upset that no one can find his stupid octopus.
Dean can practically feel the bitch-face his brother was pulling. "You can see it. That's what counts. At least that big ol' fish knows you know about him." he said, both in an effort to make Sam feel better and to shut him up.
"Actually, the octopus is not a fish - " stated Conner.
"Just eat your pizza, Conner. It'll be simpler that way." said Dean, sounding a bit amused.
Conner took another slice but did not immediately bite into it. "I heard an elderly woman say that this is unhealthy and can cause many ailments." he said.
"Yeah?" responded Dean, uninterested.
"There is an unsettling amount of grease here." said Conner as he twisted his pizza around to examine it more closely.
Great. Just what the world needed, another budding health freak.
"But, as you say, screw it." said Conner, and he took a big bite out of his pizza.
"There we go." chuckled Dean. He had been worried there for a while. Now that the threat was over, he turned his attention back to the stars.
"Hey, I think I see a - " Dean suddenly stopped himself and tried to hide the flinch his body just made. "…a turtle." he lied.
There was not really a turtle up there, or at least not one he could see. The truth was that he saw the outline of a shtriga, bent over a bed and sucking up some poor kid's soul. It was not real, he knew it was not real, he knew that his mind was merely playing tricks on him, some whacked-up trick that had been bothering him for weeks. Dean figured this must be one of those post-trauma things and he really wished it would stop.
"Really? Is it next to the octopus?" asked Sam.
"You tell me." said Dean, because he wished he could see that harmless little turtle too.
Dean bit into his pizza, hoping the weird yet scrumptious blend of flavors would distract him or make him think of any other random subject. Unfortunately, the pizza did little to console him. Their dad should be back soon; if not tonight, then tomorrow, or the next day.
He should be ecstatic about this, but things have changed drastically ever since they escaped the shtriga. Lately, his relationship with his dad was strained and difficult; though, he hoped things would change when his dad returned from his recent hunt. For Conner's sake, Dean hoped things would be better.
Apparently, Conner and Sam were still talking about the stars when Dean pulled himself out of his musings.
"I see seventeen million orbs of burning gas with varying temperatures." said Conner.
There was a few seconds of intense contemplation from Sam. "…huh?"
"You're staring too hard." remarked Dean lightly. He reached for the pizza box and was perplexed to feel the lack of… anything in in there. He sat up and discovered that the box had nothing in it. "Where'd it go?" he asked.
"What?" piped up Sam.
"The last slice,"
"Slice of what?"
Dean was torn between rolling his eyes and punching something. "Pizza." he gritted out.
His brother got up and checked the box as well. "Did you eat it?" he asked.
"How could I have eaten it when I'm asking where the hell it is?" snapped Dean.
"I don't know; you're weird like that." replied Sam with a shrug.
"You're weird!" said Dean.
"Meanie."
"Pipsqueak."
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
Without warning, Conner let out a mighty burp that managed to silence their bickering for a good whole minute.
"Forgive me." Conner muttered sheepishly.
Now that the pizza mystery was solved, Dean and Sam settled back onto their blankets. "If that burp wasn't so epic, I would be pummeling you right now." chuckled Dean.
"We should have a burp contest." suggested Sam happily.
"Remind me when we go for burritos." said Dean.
"Ooh, maybe a fart contest too!" added Sam.
"Dude, gross." laughed Dean.
After that, none of them said anything for a while. It was actually sort of nice to simply look up at the stars and bask in each other's presence (which was of course not a chick-flick moment). Dean cannot remember the last time he felt so at peace, because for a brief couple of minutes, everything was alright with the world. He had a belly full of pizza, and the air was alive with a crisp evening breeze and not with the stench of a stagnant motel room. Sam was not in any life-threatening danger and was even softly humming 'Twinkle, Twinkle, little Star' near him. And Conner was there, really there - a friend who chose to stay.
Below, the motel's street lamps were going off one by one, which meant the manager was closing the place down for the night. The pleasantly dim environment was quickly plunged into darkness and all three of them held their breath for a second.
"It's kinda dark now." mumbled Sam, and there was a hint of terror in his voice.
Dean considered going back to their room since the non-stop whining might begin at any second. Then, there was the sound of something snapping, and a heartbeat later there was a surreal blue glow beside him.
"Is this better?" asked Conner as he held up his lit glow stick.
"I thought you're only supposed to use that on a special occasion?" said Dean.
"I believe this counts."replied Conner.
Dean said nothing because, in a way, tonight was indeed special.
So while the rest of the neighborhood was swallowed up by the dark, the three of them had their own little bubble of light around them, their own tiny world where no trouble would ever bother them. It was almost like they had a secret club and they were free to do whatever they wanted, and only the stars would know about it, about them.
"The world is so strange." said Conner.
Sam turned over in his blanket to face him. "What do you mean?" he inquired.
"Down here, there's… unhealthy pizza to eat and fuzzy blankets to lie on. Up there… infinite galaxies full of stars." said Conner. He had that look on his face, like mere words were not enough to express the feeling of awe swelling up inside of him, that the world was bizarre and wonderful yet his tongue cannot produce the right descriptions.
But Dean got the message; he understood what his friend was trying to say. In life, there were simple things and there were extraordinary things, things that can be touched everyday and things that might not ever be held. There were things that can last for only a short time and be forgotten like they never existed, and there were things that were so awesome that they will be remembered forever. There was dust and there was starlight; there was pizza and there was the universe. And they were all a part of life, just like the bunch of kids who were lying on the rooftop with nowhere else to be.
"You can pretend you're holding a star, Conner." said Sam, motioning at the glow stick.
"That's impossible." remarked Conner, but he was smiling anyway because it was a nice thought.
Although, looking at him now, Dean could almost convince himself that Conner indeed had a star in his hands. He did not know why, but there was something about Conner that made him seem unusual. It was not the bad sort of 'unusual;' more like the amazing sort, amazing as if it was possible for him to hold a star or do some other impossible feats.
"Dean, I've almost forgot," Conner put his glow stick down and searched for something in his pockets. When his hand emerged, he was presenting a Batarang to Dean.
"No way." gasped Dean. If recalled correctly, he had left that in the haunted house when he used it at the pretend-ghosts.
"I picked it up before we left that house. I'm sorry it's not in better condition." said Conner.
"Nah, this is…" Dean did not know what to say. "Thanks, buddy." he said.
As he got the Batarang, he noticed the band-aid on Conner's hand, the one he had put there nearly a week ago when they first met. "You still got that band-aid on?"
Conner stared at his hand as if realizing that it was still there. "I'm not sure when I should remove it." he answered.
"That cut should be all healed up by now." Dean leaned forward and carefully peeled it off, revealing unbroken skin. "See? All better." he stated.
Conner flexed his hand a few times to test it, and the tiniest smile graced his face when he found himself satisfied.
"And if you need any more, you've got your own supply, alright?" added Dean, referring to his 'birthday' present.
"I'll remember that." said Conner, and he made it sound like a promise.
Sam sighed, interrupting their conversation. "I wish there's some shooting stars tonight." he said.
"Why? You gonna wish for a mermaid?" joked Dean.
His brother ignored him. "I wanna wish that Conner wouldn't have to go away." he said.
Dean and Conner stared at him in silence.
"Sammy, he's got a family." said Dean.
"But they left him!" Sam exclaimed.
"Dad leaves us a lot too!" yelled Dean. He felt both ashamed and glad to have screamed those words out of his lungs.
All of a sudden, the soft and carefree atmosphere became cold and brittle. Dean was just thankful that Sam was not crying or running off.
"Do you really wanna go back, Conner?" asked Sam despondently.
Conner was staring at the floor, at his glow stick, and did not open his mouth until after some time. "Dean is not wrong. They are my family." he started. He lifted his head and stared at both Sam and Dean. "But… I will miss you. I will never forget you both." he said. Conner bit his lip and lowered his gaze again. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to go either." he muttered.
Dean could not shake off the feeling that he was responsible, or at least partly responsible, for the ruined peace of the night. "I think we still have some leftover soda in the fridge. Wanna get 'em, Sammy?" he said.
For his part, Sam appeared to have no intention of fetching any sodas. But an order was an order (even though it did not sound like one) and he was soon getting to his feet. "Okay." said Sam.
When Dean was sure that his brother had gone down the stairs, he took a deep breath and faced Conner. He was a bit nervous for what he was about to say next, probably because it bordered along chick-flick territory, although it was most likely due to the fact he had been thinking about this all day, attempting to form the proper words and rehearsing it in his mind several times.
"You know, when you go back, and your family's being a bunch of douchewads again, you can always… come here. To us." he said ineptly.
He expected Conner to ask him why he would ever seek out their dysfunctional, tumbleweed family in the future; yet, Conner did not. Rather, Conner's gaze locked with Dean's and it was as if he was examining his soul.
"Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?" asked Conner.
That was… unexpected. "Okay." replied Dean. "Yeah, sure."
Conner was quiet for a moment, as if uncertain if he should go through with this. "I want to tell you my name. My real name." he said seriously.
At that, Dean's eyes widened. "I thought you said you're not supposed to - ?"
"I know. But you've done so much for me. The least I could do is to repay you with my honesty." said Conner.
Neither of them said anything after that, simply waiting for the other to speak up.
Finally, Conner made the first move.
"It's Ca- "
"Dean!" Sam was shouting from somewhere in the stairwell, and the echoes of his voice were soon replaced by the frantic noise of feet running up the stairs. "Dean! It's dad's car! He's here!" cried out Sam as he emerged onto the rooftop, out of breath.
Dad came back? Dean must have been so distracted that he did not even hear the Impala's engine rumbling its way into the parking lot. "Come on!" Dean told Conner.
They would have to pick this conversation up some other time. Right now, their dad was here. Dean and Conner followed Sam downstairs and they might as well have been running in a marathon with the speed they were going. While Sam raced straight toward the parking lot, Dean led Conner into their motel room.
"Wait right here, Conner. I gotta talk to dad first. Make sure he won't freak." said Dean. If Conner went with them to the parking lot right away, their dad might have a fit and Dean would not have time to explain the situation anymore.
Conner nodded and went to the sofa. "Alright." he said.
The door was closed and Dean ran to the Impala.
8:51 PM
Barely a minute after the door closed and Dean disappeared, the lights inside the room flickered.
"Castiel?"
Castiel turned around and was utterly surprised to find Balthazar - from Castiel's original time period, not this current era's version - in the room with him, albeit he did not possess a vessel.
"Balthazar?" he responded incredulously.
"Castiel!" Balthazar exclaimed, and his joy caused his light to glow brighter for an instant. "I… We've - We've been looking everywhere for you! Or in this case, it's everywhen." he said, laughing a bit to himself. "Funny how creation works."
"How are you even capable of being here?" asked Castiel.
Instead of answering his question, Balthazar hovered closer to Castiel as if he had just registered his entire presence. In spite of being in his pure incorporeal form, Castiel could plainly see the amused, yet slightly bewildered, expression on his brother's face. "Is that really your vessel?" scoffed Balthazar.
"Balthazar," started Castiel.
"You look more pathetic than usual." he sniggered.
"Balthazar!"
"I was joking! You actually look rather adorable. Have any old women fawned over you yet?" Balthazar chortled.
Castiel shot him an icy glare.
As Balthazar slowly backed into the center of the living room, he smirked one last time at Castiel's vessel. "I got here the same way you got flicked to this sorry muck in time, except with authorization." he said. Then, his cheery appearance gave way to somberness. "Three garrisons have already been dispatched, and everybody's looking for precious little you." he stated.
"Three garrisons?" Castiel repeated. This was unheard of; this was unbelievable.
"At least that's how many were sent out when I left. Not sure if they doubled their efforts or anything at this point." said Balthazar as he casually roamed the motel room, scanning for anything remotely interesting. "You're causing a couple of nasty rifts in the fabric of time, you know that? You're not supposed to be in this time period, or this version of you anyway. It's a miracle reality hasn't imploded yet." he said.
Castiel sank deeper into the sofa, absorbing the information carefully. That might explain why his powers were not functioning the way they should, and why he cannot make contact with any of his siblings from the past or the present.
"Well, enough chat. We'll get this sorted out when we go back." said Balthazar.
"Back?" asked Castiel.
"To our proper time period," said Balthazar as if he was stating something extremely obvious.
When Castiel did not seem either thrilled or grateful at those words, Balthazar blurted out, "Castiel, you're not considering actually staying in this, this… where in God's name are we?"
There was a commotion outside and Castiel knew that the Winchester brothers and their father were about to come through the door. "But… Dean. And Sam."
Balthazar surrounded Castiel and prepared to take off. "Whatever those are, they're not important. The longer we stay here, the more damage time suffers." he said.
"Can't I say goodbye - ?" said Castiel desperately.
"I'm sorry. We have to leave now."
8:50 PM
"Dad! Dad!"
John turned around; his jacket was severely rumpled like it had been crammed in a tight corner at the backseat for days, and was only roughly fished out to cover up the splotches of blood and whatever nasty wounds that were acquired from killing monsters. Dean knew that his dad was more beaten up than what he showed, and that his dad would always hide the gore and injuries from Sam, and sometimes from Dean too.
"Boys," greeted John with a tired rasp. "Everything alright?"
Dean fisted his hands like he was going to strike something down. It was now or never. "Dad, I need to tell you something," he said.
After a final glance at Sam, who nodded at him in support, he started to relay what had happened over the past few days. They walked across the parking lot, though they did not get very far and Dean never managed to finish what he had to say.
"You let someone in the room?" asked his dad, his anger starting to boil.
Dean tried to hold his ground. "Yeah, but dad - "
"I told you not to talk to anyone." John snapped.
"I - "
"Haven't you learned anything from what happened with the shtriga?" he hissed, intimidating and furious. John was striving to keep his voice down since Sam was nearby, not because he did not want him to see him like this, but because Sam was still oblivious to the hunter life. Regardless, even with his voice lowered, Dean was frozen on the asphalt as an entire wave of emotions drowned him.
By the time Dean had shaken most of the shock off, his dad was already turning the doorknob of their room.
"Dad, wait!" he yelled after him. It was stupid, almost pointless, but he had to do something. Conner could be in deep trouble.
When Dean and Sam got to the motel room, their dad was searching the entire area for Conner. He was moving aside heavy furniture, harshly pulling away at the curtains, yanking the cupboards and drawers open…
"Where is he?" demanded John.
Dean scanned the room and was alarmed to see that Conner was gone. "He was just here." he said quietly. He had no idea if he was answering his dad's question or reassuring himself of his friend's existence, that Conner was not a mere figment of his imagination.
With his dad here, it was business as usual, back to endless highways and dirt-roads, back to crawling under crummy motel rooms, back to the same desolate lifestyle wherein they had no survive the days instead of really living in them.
This was not right. Conner would not have just run off without saying anything. Conner would not have run off period. He was supposed to be with them for some weeks or months until his family was located. He was supposed to join them on that burp contest. He was supposed to be his and Sam's friend.
While Dean was immersed in his thoughts, Sam had pushed past him and began to look for Conner as well. "Conner? Conner?" he worriedly called out.
No one was answering.
Dean half-ran, half-stumbled his way into the bedroom to see if he could find a single trace of Conner. His stuffed toy - the orange monkey from the carnival - was still on the bed, dangling on its edge as if it, too, was wondering where its owner could be. Conner was not in the bedroom. He was not here at all.
"He's gone." muttered Dean, his voice going as thin and insignificant as a lost feather because if he was any louder, then the reality of the situation might hurt more.
Suddenly, John was behind him. "Get your things." he said sternly.
Dean did not move, could not move.
"I said get your things!" said John more forcefully. He had that expression on his face, a mixture of fear and ire that practically screamed at the world that a supernatural creature had gotten the better of him yet again. A ghost that slipped right under his nose. A shtriga that snuck in through the window. A demon that burned down a nursery.
Sam stood beside Dean and held onto his side. "But dad, what about Co- ?"
"We are leaving!" John shouted.
In a bluster of movement and confusion, the motel room was emptied of their belongings. The Impala roared to life and was soon traveling at sixty miles per hour, carrying the Winchesters with it.
TBC
Since this story happens after the shtriga incident, John is… still kinda upset. Really, incredibly upset about life.
And to those who wished for John to actually meet Cas/Conner, so sorry to disappoint.
Rating: G
Characters: Dean, Castiel, Sam
Genre: Friendship
Summary: A time-traveling mishap will make two children and a fledgling realize that the unexpected can sometimes be a good thing.
Prologue - Fall For A Shooting Star
Chapter 1 - Some Have Silver Linings
Chapter 2 - Not Your Carpet Ride
Chapter 3 - Host of Heaven, Sing Over Me
Chapter 4 - Moonbeams and Fairy Tales
Chapter 5 - I was Soaring Ever Higher
Chapter 6 - Go and Play with the Thunder
Chapter 7 - Heaven is Overrated
Chapter 8 - Hear the Stars' Ovation
Chapter 9 - Stars Cry the Blackest Tears
Chapter 10 - Stars that Fill Polluted Skies
Chapter 11 - Children of Light that Never Dims
Chapter 12 - I'll Light the Night with Stars
Chapter 13 - The Change is Day to Night
AN: Holy crap, I'm still alive and I'm extremely, monumentally sorry for not being able to update these past weeks. College has destroyed me and obliterated my free time (plus my emotional sanity). To make matters worse, as a college senior, we had to deal with the fudging mother-load of stuff so, you know, there's that pressure of completing your every requirement. Every. Requirement.
But the good news? I just graduated last Saturday and I am now A FREE HUMAN BEING WHOOOOO! YEAH! I'M A BUM! …Ahem, which means it's more likely that I get to have my free time to write again and hopefully get my stories finished sooner.
But I'm rambling about my life now; enjoy the new chapter! Again, sorry for the long wait.
Chapter 14 - Promise Me, Leave the Light On
8:12 PM
"See that one over there?" asked Sam, pointing skyward.
Dean shifted in his spot on the blanket, as if the slight repositioning might make all the difference and reveal the secrets of the stars, sort of like bending one's head at a funny angle to make sense of a painting. "That one?" guessed Dean as he gestured to the east.
"No, that one!" said Sam.
"That's an airplane."
"Oh. No, wait, it's that one! See it?"
It started out with ordering pizza, or more specifically, it started out with Conner ordering pizza. To Dean, it had been entertaining to watch Conner panic while on the phone because of the 'someone trapped inside the small device' issue.
"How can we summon food if the person who makes it is imprisoned?" Conner had blurted out.
Once that had been cleared up, Conner went crazy with the toppings. From the simple and classic pepperoni, ham, and pineapples, he then fired off words that did not even sound like anything edible. Random spices from who knew what planet they even grew on, cheeses with complicated names despite the fact that they were just cheese and did not need a name with five or more syllables, vegetables and meat that would hardly seem to work well with each other…
There had been a second wherein Dean wanted to snatch the phone away from Conner since they might later eat a pizza that cannot be technically considered as a pizza anymore. But he let his friend finish the order anyway, because it was his first time and he wanted him to experience it. Besides, if ever the pizza turned out to be mutant spawn from the depths of hell, Conner would have to eat the whole thing.
Before the pizza arrived, Sam had similar concerns as Dean, although he had an idea: eat the pizza in a place that was dark. That way, none of them will have any idea as to what the pizza would look like, which can reduce the anxiety a little bit. Or increase it. Either option would be fun, according to him.
Sam suggested just turning the lights off in their motel room. Conner - though unaware that the brothers had reason to believe that the pizza he created could be dangerous in one way or another - had said that he wanted to be on the rooftop since the stars were particularly bright tonight.
Normally, Dean would not mind heading up to the roof. But after what happened the last time, when Conner had wandered there (and nearly died) while sleepwalking, he was hesitant. Sam, of course, still did not know about that and Dean had no intention to tell him. The same went with Conner. He would have held firmly onto his opinion if Sam and Conner had not used a double combination of sad puppy eyes at him. One day, he would have to learn how to overcome that.
For now, he, Sam, and Conner were lying on the rooftop. The night sky was sprinkled with stars and it was as if the biggest connect-the-dots game was spread out above them. The blankets they had brought with them kept them warm and Dean could almost pretend that they were out camping in some random forest, except the cushiony grass was rough concrete and there was no bonfire. Plus, a car alarm would go off every so often, which was enough to ruin the mood. Thankfully, the pizza turned out surprisingly delicious.
Dean glanced at Conner one more time to check if he was still there, and he breathed out a tiny sigh when he saw that his friend had not so much as moved (aside from when he would reach for a slice of pizza and slowly much on it). Conner reminded Dean of a soldier sometimes with all that stillness and perfect rigidness, even when he was lying down.
Despite getting that aura from him, Dean still made sure that Conner was as far away from the building's edge as possible, just in case. So far, being here was not triggering anything from Conner; although, for all Dean knew, Conner could be simply doing a terrific job of hiding his thoughts.
"What am I supposed to be looking for again?" Dean asked Sam.
"An octopus with an arfo wig - " started Sam.
"I think you mean afro," corrected Dean.
"And it's eating a banana split!"
Dean searched the sky for a long time. "You lost me at afro." he said.
"I'm still not sure what we're doing." commented Conner as he finished another slice.
"It's an octopus and a banana split! How's that hard?" exclaimed Sam, obviously upset that no one can find his stupid octopus.
Dean can practically feel the bitch-face his brother was pulling. "You can see it. That's what counts. At least that big ol' fish knows you know about him." he said, both in an effort to make Sam feel better and to shut him up.
"Actually, the octopus is not a fish - " stated Conner.
"Just eat your pizza, Conner. It'll be simpler that way." said Dean, sounding a bit amused.
Conner took another slice but did not immediately bite into it. "I heard an elderly woman say that this is unhealthy and can cause many ailments." he said.
"Yeah?" responded Dean, uninterested.
"There is an unsettling amount of grease here." said Conner as he twisted his pizza around to examine it more closely.
Great. Just what the world needed, another budding health freak.
"But, as you say, screw it." said Conner, and he took a big bite out of his pizza.
"There we go." chuckled Dean. He had been worried there for a while. Now that the threat was over, he turned his attention back to the stars.
"Hey, I think I see a - " Dean suddenly stopped himself and tried to hide the flinch his body just made. "…a turtle." he lied.
There was not really a turtle up there, or at least not one he could see. The truth was that he saw the outline of a shtriga, bent over a bed and sucking up some poor kid's soul. It was not real, he knew it was not real, he knew that his mind was merely playing tricks on him, some whacked-up trick that had been bothering him for weeks. Dean figured this must be one of those post-trauma things and he really wished it would stop.
"Really? Is it next to the octopus?" asked Sam.
"You tell me." said Dean, because he wished he could see that harmless little turtle too.
Dean bit into his pizza, hoping the weird yet scrumptious blend of flavors would distract him or make him think of any other random subject. Unfortunately, the pizza did little to console him. Their dad should be back soon; if not tonight, then tomorrow, or the next day.
He should be ecstatic about this, but things have changed drastically ever since they escaped the shtriga. Lately, his relationship with his dad was strained and difficult; though, he hoped things would change when his dad returned from his recent hunt. For Conner's sake, Dean hoped things would be better.
Apparently, Conner and Sam were still talking about the stars when Dean pulled himself out of his musings.
"I see seventeen million orbs of burning gas with varying temperatures." said Conner.
There was a few seconds of intense contemplation from Sam. "…huh?"
"You're staring too hard." remarked Dean lightly. He reached for the pizza box and was perplexed to feel the lack of… anything in in there. He sat up and discovered that the box had nothing in it. "Where'd it go?" he asked.
"What?" piped up Sam.
"The last slice,"
"Slice of what?"
Dean was torn between rolling his eyes and punching something. "Pizza." he gritted out.
His brother got up and checked the box as well. "Did you eat it?" he asked.
"How could I have eaten it when I'm asking where the hell it is?" snapped Dean.
"I don't know; you're weird like that." replied Sam with a shrug.
"You're weird!" said Dean.
"Meanie."
"Pipsqueak."
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
Without warning, Conner let out a mighty burp that managed to silence their bickering for a good whole minute.
"Forgive me." Conner muttered sheepishly.
Now that the pizza mystery was solved, Dean and Sam settled back onto their blankets. "If that burp wasn't so epic, I would be pummeling you right now." chuckled Dean.
"We should have a burp contest." suggested Sam happily.
"Remind me when we go for burritos." said Dean.
"Ooh, maybe a fart contest too!" added Sam.
"Dude, gross." laughed Dean.
After that, none of them said anything for a while. It was actually sort of nice to simply look up at the stars and bask in each other's presence (which was of course not a chick-flick moment). Dean cannot remember the last time he felt so at peace, because for a brief couple of minutes, everything was alright with the world. He had a belly full of pizza, and the air was alive with a crisp evening breeze and not with the stench of a stagnant motel room. Sam was not in any life-threatening danger and was even softly humming 'Twinkle, Twinkle, little Star' near him. And Conner was there, really there - a friend who chose to stay.
Below, the motel's street lamps were going off one by one, which meant the manager was closing the place down for the night. The pleasantly dim environment was quickly plunged into darkness and all three of them held their breath for a second.
"It's kinda dark now." mumbled Sam, and there was a hint of terror in his voice.
Dean considered going back to their room since the non-stop whining might begin at any second. Then, there was the sound of something snapping, and a heartbeat later there was a surreal blue glow beside him.
"Is this better?" asked Conner as he held up his lit glow stick.
"I thought you're only supposed to use that on a special occasion?" said Dean.
"I believe this counts."replied Conner.
Dean said nothing because, in a way, tonight was indeed special.
So while the rest of the neighborhood was swallowed up by the dark, the three of them had their own little bubble of light around them, their own tiny world where no trouble would ever bother them. It was almost like they had a secret club and they were free to do whatever they wanted, and only the stars would know about it, about them.
"The world is so strange." said Conner.
Sam turned over in his blanket to face him. "What do you mean?" he inquired.
"Down here, there's… unhealthy pizza to eat and fuzzy blankets to lie on. Up there… infinite galaxies full of stars." said Conner. He had that look on his face, like mere words were not enough to express the feeling of awe swelling up inside of him, that the world was bizarre and wonderful yet his tongue cannot produce the right descriptions.
But Dean got the message; he understood what his friend was trying to say. In life, there were simple things and there were extraordinary things, things that can be touched everyday and things that might not ever be held. There were things that can last for only a short time and be forgotten like they never existed, and there were things that were so awesome that they will be remembered forever. There was dust and there was starlight; there was pizza and there was the universe. And they were all a part of life, just like the bunch of kids who were lying on the rooftop with nowhere else to be.
"You can pretend you're holding a star, Conner." said Sam, motioning at the glow stick.
"That's impossible." remarked Conner, but he was smiling anyway because it was a nice thought.
Although, looking at him now, Dean could almost convince himself that Conner indeed had a star in his hands. He did not know why, but there was something about Conner that made him seem unusual. It was not the bad sort of 'unusual;' more like the amazing sort, amazing as if it was possible for him to hold a star or do some other impossible feats.
"Dean, I've almost forgot," Conner put his glow stick down and searched for something in his pockets. When his hand emerged, he was presenting a Batarang to Dean.
"No way." gasped Dean. If recalled correctly, he had left that in the haunted house when he used it at the pretend-ghosts.
"I picked it up before we left that house. I'm sorry it's not in better condition." said Conner.
"Nah, this is…" Dean did not know what to say. "Thanks, buddy." he said.
As he got the Batarang, he noticed the band-aid on Conner's hand, the one he had put there nearly a week ago when they first met. "You still got that band-aid on?"
Conner stared at his hand as if realizing that it was still there. "I'm not sure when I should remove it." he answered.
"That cut should be all healed up by now." Dean leaned forward and carefully peeled it off, revealing unbroken skin. "See? All better." he stated.
Conner flexed his hand a few times to test it, and the tiniest smile graced his face when he found himself satisfied.
"And if you need any more, you've got your own supply, alright?" added Dean, referring to his 'birthday' present.
"I'll remember that." said Conner, and he made it sound like a promise.
Sam sighed, interrupting their conversation. "I wish there's some shooting stars tonight." he said.
"Why? You gonna wish for a mermaid?" joked Dean.
His brother ignored him. "I wanna wish that Conner wouldn't have to go away." he said.
Dean and Conner stared at him in silence.
"Sammy, he's got a family." said Dean.
"But they left him!" Sam exclaimed.
"Dad leaves us a lot too!" yelled Dean. He felt both ashamed and glad to have screamed those words out of his lungs.
All of a sudden, the soft and carefree atmosphere became cold and brittle. Dean was just thankful that Sam was not crying or running off.
"Do you really wanna go back, Conner?" asked Sam despondently.
Conner was staring at the floor, at his glow stick, and did not open his mouth until after some time. "Dean is not wrong. They are my family." he started. He lifted his head and stared at both Sam and Dean. "But… I will miss you. I will never forget you both." he said. Conner bit his lip and lowered his gaze again. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to go either." he muttered.
Dean could not shake off the feeling that he was responsible, or at least partly responsible, for the ruined peace of the night. "I think we still have some leftover soda in the fridge. Wanna get 'em, Sammy?" he said.
For his part, Sam appeared to have no intention of fetching any sodas. But an order was an order (even though it did not sound like one) and he was soon getting to his feet. "Okay." said Sam.
When Dean was sure that his brother had gone down the stairs, he took a deep breath and faced Conner. He was a bit nervous for what he was about to say next, probably because it bordered along chick-flick territory, although it was most likely due to the fact he had been thinking about this all day, attempting to form the proper words and rehearsing it in his mind several times.
"You know, when you go back, and your family's being a bunch of douchewads again, you can always… come here. To us." he said ineptly.
He expected Conner to ask him why he would ever seek out their dysfunctional, tumbleweed family in the future; yet, Conner did not. Rather, Conner's gaze locked with Dean's and it was as if he was examining his soul.
"Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?" asked Conner.
That was… unexpected. "Okay." replied Dean. "Yeah, sure."
Conner was quiet for a moment, as if uncertain if he should go through with this. "I want to tell you my name. My real name." he said seriously.
At that, Dean's eyes widened. "I thought you said you're not supposed to - ?"
"I know. But you've done so much for me. The least I could do is to repay you with my honesty." said Conner.
Neither of them said anything after that, simply waiting for the other to speak up.
Finally, Conner made the first move.
"It's Ca- "
"Dean!" Sam was shouting from somewhere in the stairwell, and the echoes of his voice were soon replaced by the frantic noise of feet running up the stairs. "Dean! It's dad's car! He's here!" cried out Sam as he emerged onto the rooftop, out of breath.
Dad came back? Dean must have been so distracted that he did not even hear the Impala's engine rumbling its way into the parking lot. "Come on!" Dean told Conner.
They would have to pick this conversation up some other time. Right now, their dad was here. Dean and Conner followed Sam downstairs and they might as well have been running in a marathon with the speed they were going. While Sam raced straight toward the parking lot, Dean led Conner into their motel room.
"Wait right here, Conner. I gotta talk to dad first. Make sure he won't freak." said Dean. If Conner went with them to the parking lot right away, their dad might have a fit and Dean would not have time to explain the situation anymore.
Conner nodded and went to the sofa. "Alright." he said.
The door was closed and Dean ran to the Impala.
8:51 PM
Barely a minute after the door closed and Dean disappeared, the lights inside the room flickered.
"Castiel?"
Castiel turned around and was utterly surprised to find Balthazar - from Castiel's original time period, not this current era's version - in the room with him, albeit he did not possess a vessel.
"Balthazar?" he responded incredulously.
"Castiel!" Balthazar exclaimed, and his joy caused his light to glow brighter for an instant. "I… We've - We've been looking everywhere for you! Or in this case, it's everywhen." he said, laughing a bit to himself. "Funny how creation works."
"How are you even capable of being here?" asked Castiel.
Instead of answering his question, Balthazar hovered closer to Castiel as if he had just registered his entire presence. In spite of being in his pure incorporeal form, Castiel could plainly see the amused, yet slightly bewildered, expression on his brother's face. "Is that really your vessel?" scoffed Balthazar.
"Balthazar," started Castiel.
"You look more pathetic than usual." he sniggered.
"Balthazar!"
"I was joking! You actually look rather adorable. Have any old women fawned over you yet?" Balthazar chortled.
Castiel shot him an icy glare.
As Balthazar slowly backed into the center of the living room, he smirked one last time at Castiel's vessel. "I got here the same way you got flicked to this sorry muck in time, except with authorization." he said. Then, his cheery appearance gave way to somberness. "Three garrisons have already been dispatched, and everybody's looking for precious little you." he stated.
"Three garrisons?" Castiel repeated. This was unheard of; this was unbelievable.
"At least that's how many were sent out when I left. Not sure if they doubled their efforts or anything at this point." said Balthazar as he casually roamed the motel room, scanning for anything remotely interesting. "You're causing a couple of nasty rifts in the fabric of time, you know that? You're not supposed to be in this time period, or this version of you anyway. It's a miracle reality hasn't imploded yet." he said.
Castiel sank deeper into the sofa, absorbing the information carefully. That might explain why his powers were not functioning the way they should, and why he cannot make contact with any of his siblings from the past or the present.
"Well, enough chat. We'll get this sorted out when we go back." said Balthazar.
"Back?" asked Castiel.
"To our proper time period," said Balthazar as if he was stating something extremely obvious.
When Castiel did not seem either thrilled or grateful at those words, Balthazar blurted out, "Castiel, you're not considering actually staying in this, this… where in God's name are we?"
There was a commotion outside and Castiel knew that the Winchester brothers and their father were about to come through the door. "But… Dean. And Sam."
Balthazar surrounded Castiel and prepared to take off. "Whatever those are, they're not important. The longer we stay here, the more damage time suffers." he said.
"Can't I say goodbye - ?" said Castiel desperately.
"I'm sorry. We have to leave now."
8:50 PM
"Dad! Dad!"
John turned around; his jacket was severely rumpled like it had been crammed in a tight corner at the backseat for days, and was only roughly fished out to cover up the splotches of blood and whatever nasty wounds that were acquired from killing monsters. Dean knew that his dad was more beaten up than what he showed, and that his dad would always hide the gore and injuries from Sam, and sometimes from Dean too.
"Boys," greeted John with a tired rasp. "Everything alright?"
Dean fisted his hands like he was going to strike something down. It was now or never. "Dad, I need to tell you something," he said.
After a final glance at Sam, who nodded at him in support, he started to relay what had happened over the past few days. They walked across the parking lot, though they did not get very far and Dean never managed to finish what he had to say.
"You let someone in the room?" asked his dad, his anger starting to boil.
Dean tried to hold his ground. "Yeah, but dad - "
"I told you not to talk to anyone." John snapped.
"I - "
"Haven't you learned anything from what happened with the shtriga?" he hissed, intimidating and furious. John was striving to keep his voice down since Sam was nearby, not because he did not want him to see him like this, but because Sam was still oblivious to the hunter life. Regardless, even with his voice lowered, Dean was frozen on the asphalt as an entire wave of emotions drowned him.
By the time Dean had shaken most of the shock off, his dad was already turning the doorknob of their room.
"Dad, wait!" he yelled after him. It was stupid, almost pointless, but he had to do something. Conner could be in deep trouble.
When Dean and Sam got to the motel room, their dad was searching the entire area for Conner. He was moving aside heavy furniture, harshly pulling away at the curtains, yanking the cupboards and drawers open…
"Where is he?" demanded John.
Dean scanned the room and was alarmed to see that Conner was gone. "He was just here." he said quietly. He had no idea if he was answering his dad's question or reassuring himself of his friend's existence, that Conner was not a mere figment of his imagination.
With his dad here, it was business as usual, back to endless highways and dirt-roads, back to crawling under crummy motel rooms, back to the same desolate lifestyle wherein they had no survive the days instead of really living in them.
This was not right. Conner would not have just run off without saying anything. Conner would not have run off period. He was supposed to be with them for some weeks or months until his family was located. He was supposed to join them on that burp contest. He was supposed to be his and Sam's friend.
While Dean was immersed in his thoughts, Sam had pushed past him and began to look for Conner as well. "Conner? Conner?" he worriedly called out.
No one was answering.
Dean half-ran, half-stumbled his way into the bedroom to see if he could find a single trace of Conner. His stuffed toy - the orange monkey from the carnival - was still on the bed, dangling on its edge as if it, too, was wondering where its owner could be. Conner was not in the bedroom. He was not here at all.
"He's gone." muttered Dean, his voice going as thin and insignificant as a lost feather because if he was any louder, then the reality of the situation might hurt more.
Suddenly, John was behind him. "Get your things." he said sternly.
Dean did not move, could not move.
"I said get your things!" said John more forcefully. He had that expression on his face, a mixture of fear and ire that practically screamed at the world that a supernatural creature had gotten the better of him yet again. A ghost that slipped right under his nose. A shtriga that snuck in through the window. A demon that burned down a nursery.
Sam stood beside Dean and held onto his side. "But dad, what about Co- ?"
"We are leaving!" John shouted.
In a bluster of movement and confusion, the motel room was emptied of their belongings. The Impala roared to life and was soon traveling at sixty miles per hour, carrying the Winchesters with it.
TBC
Since this story happens after the shtriga incident, John is… still kinda upset. Really, incredibly upset about life.
And to those who wished for John to actually meet Cas/Conner, so sorry to disappoint.