After the End

Twenty-Three

A/N: I have this whole fic written, so I'm just going to post the rest of the chapters tonight. Happy reading!! <3

Dean had a knot in his stomach as they approached the gate where the others were starting to gather. Jo slipped her small hand into his as if to comfort him, which was appreciated, but it wasn't the same as Cas squeezing his fingers to calm Dean down when he was nervous. Dean hadn't seen his father since the fight yesterday so he was scared things were going to be bad. He didn't want the others to see an argument between him and his dad, especially not Jo and Claire, who were already worried about him. Not Sam or Bobby either, because they would jump in between Dean and John in a heartbeat and get themselves hurt. That was the last thing Dean wanted.

Dean held onto Jo's hand a little tighter and made a beeline for Sam, who stood next to Claire's mom and Bobby off to the side of the rest of the group. Jody's face softened as they approached, drawing Claire into her arms immediately. Sam and Dean locked eyes, acknowledging that there was more to talk about. Sam knew Dean didn't come home last night and he could clearly see the new wounds on Dean's body, so it was obvious something happened. Dean couldn't hide things like that from Sammy.

"You found that girl?" Bobby asked, keeping his voice down so only the few of them who were there could easily hear.

Dean looked around anyways, just to be sure John wasn't close. When he saw his father talking to a group of hunters a far distance away, he turned back to Bobby with a small sigh. "Yeah, I found her last night. She was pretty beat up, left for dead in the middle of the woods. Whoever did this, they weren't expecting anyone to be out there to find her."

Jo must have told Bobby some of what was going on, and in turn, Bobby probably filled Sam in on the situation too. Dean hadn't had a chance to talk to Sam or tell him about how he thought their dad was involved with this whole thing.

"And Kaia is safe right now?" Jody asked, still holding Claire against her chest, running her fingers through Claire's hair to comfort her daughter. Dean wasn't sure how much Jody knew, if she just thought Kaia was her daughter's close friend, or if she knew the truth.

"Don't worry," Jo reassured her, squeezing Dean's hand as she talked, as if she could sense his uneasiness. "Charlie isn't letting her out of her sight. Cas is with them too. They're both very protective, so she couldn't be safer."

"Are you okay?" Jody wondered, pulling away from Claire to look at her better. "Now that she's safe, is everything better?"

Claire glanced at Dean, the hint of worry still on her face. There was a lot going on, despite Kaia's safety. Claire knew that as well as Dean, but she clearly didn't want to worry her mom. "Yeah, everything's okay now," Claire nodded, offering a small smile before stepping away from Jody's hold.

Bobby looked like he had more to say, but his eyes lingered somewhere behind Dean as he clamped his mouth shut, crossing his arms over his chest. Dean raised an eyebrow in question, but turned around to find why it had become so quiet. John was on his way over, headed straight for Dean.

Dean was immediately on defense, ready to react if John started something. He clenched his fists at his sides, despite the ache in his arm and the burning wounds reopening on his knuckles. As John approached, the man stopped in front of Dean and smiled, as if nothing had happened between them yesterday. As if he hadn't been a part of what happened to Kaia. Dean couldn't prove it, but he knew he was right.

"Dean, glad to have you back," John said nonchalantly, his eyes barely passing over the others in the background before settling back on Dean. Even under the friendly smile, Dean could see the true intent of his words on the man's face. He was looking for an apology, waiting for Dean to submit like a freaking dog or something.