Chapter Text
Castiel was staring at the clock on the dashboard. Jack should have been out of school ten minutes ago. His eyes scanned the schoolyard and the street surrounding it; there had to be at least thirty teenagers still milling about, but none of them were Jack. If it were Dean picking Jack up from school, he’d be furious, but Castiel was just worried. Jack knew the rules. School, home, that was it. It had been five years since Sam somehow got Lucifer back in his cage, but Dean and Castiel knew that didn’t mean Jack was safe. There were still demons out there loyal to the Prince of Darkness that they worried every day someone would still come for Jack.
And then there were the angels. Dean and Castiel had thoughtlessly kept their names when they took off from the bunker with Jack those fifteen years ago. Well, it wasn’t thoughtless…Dean insisted that the name Winchester would finally represent a happy, well-adjusted family and Castiel was eager to be ‘Mr. Dean Winchester,’ but it was reckless, and they both knew it. So the angels found them even with family tattoos and the warding on their home and car and at Jack’s school and the garage that Dean now owned.
Fortunately, Castiel had won favor with enough angels that instead of bringing Jack to Heaven or, worse, killing him, they allowed Castiel and Dean to raise him until he was old enough to be of real use. They didn’t share with the husbands when that day would be, so they worried, every day, that they would lose their beloved son one way or another.
Which is why Castiel’s worry was quickly turning to panic when the schoolyard finally cleared of all the kids, and there was still no sign of Jack. He left the car, ran to the school entrance, which was now locked, and pounded on the doors until one of the school secretaries finally opened up.
“Mr. Winchester!” the older woman smiled at Castiel. Dean and Castiel were extremely popular at the school both for seemingly being very invested in their son’s education and because they were the best-looking dads in the entire district. Very few people in Hibbing didn’t know who Castiel and Dean were on sight.
“Mrs. Lowe,” Castiel’s face was grim, “Have you seen Jack? He didn’t come out with the other students.”
The woman’s face brightened, “I did see him, Mr. Winchester! His last class was free period and, well, what with him being fifteen now, we allow those students to leave school early if they don’t have a class to end the day.”
Castiel’s face dropped, “But he just turned fifteen yesterday.”
It was true. Jack’s fifteenth birthday was the day before, and Castiel and Dean spent most of it arguing with the teen. He had wanted a party over the weekend, and although Dean initially refused, he gave in when Castiel said it was okay as long as he and Dean chaperoned. But Jack wanted it to be adult-free, and, as had been happening a lot lately, an argument ensued that was followed by Jack locking himself in his room for the rest of the night.
When Castiel dropped him off at school in the morning, Jack hadn’t said two words to him. Castiel thought by the end of the day; he’d be over it, but, apparently, that wasn’t the situation.
“Yes, Mr. Winchester. Which means he’s now fifteen and can take advantage of this small benefit.”
Every scenario of all the possible bad things that could happen to Jack was running through his mind as Mrs. Lowe spoke. Sensing he had zoned out, the secretary snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“Mr. Winchester? Are you all right?”
“It’s just that I always pick Jack up after school and bring him home. He knows he’s supposed to go straight home after school.”
She smiled warmly at him, “Mr. Winchester, Jack is growing up. He’s going to test boundaries once in a while. I bet if you go home, he’s probably sitting in front of the tv watching cartoons.”
Castiel nodded, “You could be right. Thank you, Mrs. Lowe.”
As he walked back to the car, Castiel said a silent prayer that Jack was home and safe.
Dean slammed the phone down and rubbed his temples, “I don’t know what made me think I wanted to be the boss.” He grumbled to his empty office.
When the man who gave him his first real job all those years ago retired, he sold the garage to Dean. Dean had saved some money, and his boss gave him a great deal that he couldn’t say no to. So, for the past three years, Dean had been his own boss and even had a couple of mechanics working for him. It helped him buy a small house not that far away from Jack’s school, and his family was comfortable, all of which made Dean incredibly happy. But dealing with vendors, accountants, and cranky customers did NOT make Dean happy, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was built to run things. Which was a conversation he knew he’d eventually have to have with his husband.
As if he knew Dean was thinking about him, Castiel burst into the office without knocking. His face was panicked, but it didn’t worry Dean; panic was pretty much Castiel’s default mode.
“Hey, babe!” Dean stood up to hug his husband, but Castiel held out his hands, keeping Dean at bay.
“Dean, Jack’s missing!”
Dean clenched his jaw. If Jack was missing, that was obviously bad. But Castiel had a habit of overreacting, so Dean knew he had to stay calm.
“Cas, are you sure? Last time you thought he was missing, he was hiding in the basement.”
“He’s not hiding in the basement, Dean! I just went through the whole house! He’s not at school, and he’s not at home. He’s MISSING, Dean!”
“Fuck,” Dean groaned. He took out his phone and looked at Cas, “I’m gonna call Donna.”
Castiel sat at Dean’s desk, “This is all my fault. I knew he was still upset this morning….”
“Cas, he’s fifteen. He’s a giant pain in the ass. That isn’t your fault.” Dean stared annoyingly at his cell phone, “Dammit, voicemail.” He listened to the message and then left his own, “Donna, Dean. Jack took off after school today, and Cas is freaking out. Do me a favor and keep your eyes open, huh? Wouldn’t surprise me if he came to visit his favorite aunt, you know? Talk to you later.” As he hung up the phone, he noticed Castiel was shaking.
Gently pulling Castiel out of the chair, Dean embraced him, “Cas, he’s gonna be fine. He’s pissed at us about the party, and he’s acting out. It’s completely normal.”
“Nothing about our lives is normal, Dean. Jack isn’t a normal teenager.”
“Maybe not. But every time he’s out of our eyesight doesn’t mean he’s in mortal danger either.” Dean chuckled, “It took me a long time to realize that.”
Castiel pulled away from Dean’s hug and looked his husband in the eye, “I’ll die, Dean. If something bad happens to him, I’ll die.”
“You can’t die, Cas,” Dean caressed Castiel’s cheek, “You promised you’d never leave me, remember?”
Castiel smiled, just for a moment, and then got serious again, “Where do you think he is?”
“I don’t know, Cas. Where do kids go now? Arcades? Skating rinks?”
Castiel actually laughed, “I think you watch too many shows from the 1980s, Dean.”
“Cas, we’ll find him. I mean, most likely, he’ll just show up at the house, right?”
Castiel nodded, “I guess so.”
Dean began pacing as he thought out loud, “I just realized we don’t even know any of his friends.”
“Does he even have friends?” The thought had barely occurred to Castiel.
“Of course he has friends. Who do you think he was gonna invite to the party?”
Castiel hadn’t really considered it.
“I guess we should be glad he has friends, huh? I never really made any in school.” Dean chuckled, “Maybe we should have let him have his party?”
“He’s not getting a party now. He’s getting punished until he’s thirty,” Castiel was serious.
“Cas,” Dean tried not to laugh at his husband, “If Jack is okay. You know, no demons or angels around, just a teenager letting loose; we can’t be that mad. It isn’t that big a deal.”
“If something happens to him, Dean, I will never forgive myself. But if he’s okay, as grateful as I’ll be, he’s going to know how unhappy I am as well.”
“Look at you trying to be a badass,” Dean gave his husband a quick kiss. “It’s gonna be fine, Cas. Come on. I’ll close up here, and we’ll go driving around looking for him, okay? Maybe he just hit the Burger House or something?”
“Maybe.” Castiel wasn’t so sure.
Suddenly the entire office shook as if an earthquake just hit. Dean grabbed Castiel and held on to him as everything on the walls fell off and the one window in the room shattered.
An angry voice broke through the commotion, “You lost him? You lost the Nephilim!?!”
Dean turned to see who was chastising them, “Dumah,” he rolled his eyes.
“Yes, Winchester, Dumah,” she glared at both men. “We gave you the opportunity to raise the Nephilim, and you’ve failed. Not that I’m surprised.”
“Dumah,” Castiel walked toward her, “I can explain.”
“There is no explaining, Castiel! I heard your prayer to keep Jack safe. You opened yourself up to this! I’ll find him and bring him back to Heaven with me. We should have done this years ago!”
“Lady, you ain’t taking our son,” Dean squinted at her.
Dumah waved her arm, and Dean flew across the office, slamming against the wall and crumpling to the ground.
“Dean!” Castiel called out but then turned back to Dumah and walked toward her, “You aren’t going to hurt my family, Dumah.”
Scoffing, Dumah rolled her eyes, “Who’s going to stop me, Castiel? You?”
Dean started picking himself up off the floor as Castiel approached Dumah.
“As a matter of fact,” Castiel produced a blade and quickly shoved it through Dumah’s throat. Her mouth opened in shock and her eyes widened in fear as a bright white light pulled her out of her vessel, killing her instantly. “I am.”
As her body dropped to the floor, Dean stood up.
“Holy shit, Cas!”
Castiel looked back at his husband, but Dean wasn’t concerned; he was smiling.
“That was fucking hot!”