Soldier Boy

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Within the next forty-eight hours, Dean was back in the states- in South Dakota, in fact- and headed home. He had some car rental that really made him miss his baby, his Impala. The flight had seemed endless, with about four stops at different airports along the way. He'd almost missed his flight a couple of times, but he'd made it. It was the most anxiously flight he'd ever been on- not that flying was one of Dean's favorite things, anyway. He hated heights, but he'd endure it for Sam and Castiel.

When he picked up his rental car, he realized that sometime during his flight, he received the call that he knew was coming. John Winchester had called. He pressed the button to call him back, and John answered almost immediately.

"Dean, what the hell are you doing?" John was clearly livid, but so was Dean. He was sick and tired of hiding.

"I'm going to see Cas, Dad."

"Get the hell back in Iraq before I drag your ass back kicking and screaming, boy," John growled menacingly, and Dean wanted to punch him.

"No, Dad, I'm not going back until Cas is okay! You might not approve, but I'm in love with him! I'm bisexual, okay, Dad? There's nothing you can do about it, and I don't care if you don't like it. I can't change, and I can't pretend that I don't love him." Dean wasn't backing down. He wasn't going to be his dad's perfect little soldier anymore.

"No, no, you're just confused. He's just your friend. You're straight, Dean. You just haven't found the right-" Dean didn't let him finish the thought.

"I'm so sick of that argument, Dad! You know, Mom would accept me. Mom would love Cas; she'd support me. She wouldn't keep trying to force women on me that I have no interest in. You know every time I was with them, I thought about Cas? I've never just been with them, and I never will be able to get over Cas. If you can't accept that, then I guess I'm not your son." Tears were in Dean's eyes as he finally admitted what he'd always wanted to say, but he didn't let them fall.

There was a beat of silence. Then, "I-I'm sorry, son. Can you forgive me?" John Winchester's voice had gone soft, his voice scratchy as if he was trying not to cry, too.

"Yeah, I think I can," Dean said, smiling with relief.

"Go and see him." The line went dead, and Dean was more relieved than ever.

It took him about three hours to drive to Sioux Falls, and he headed straight to his childhood home.

What he found there was an abandoned house. It wasn't in disrepair exactly, but it looked as if it hadn't been lived in for a while. When he stepped in, he could smell dust and mildew. There were plates in the sink, and after a closer look, he realized they were the plates that he, John, and Sam had eaten off of four years ago. Everything from that night was imprinted on his brain. The chairs were exactly how they'd left them, kicked away from the table. Dean could almost see them standing there, arguing. He shook his head and left, realizing Sam must've left as soon as he could, and there was only one place he would've gone.

Bobby's house.

Dean drove as fast as he could for Singer Salvage Yard, praying he was right. He needed to see Sam before he went to Cas. He wanted to know how bad Cas was before he saw him. He slammed on his breaks in front of Bobby's house, quickly exiting the car. He saw Baby, and he almost jokingly wept with joy at seeing the beautiful car.

Instead, he rushed into the house. A Golden Retriever met him at the door, wagging its tail and barking excitedly. Some other dog- Dean was pretty sure it was an Australian Shepard- joined the first in attacking Dean's legs, trying to get him to pet them or something.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, trying to push through the dogs.

"Dean?" Sam came around the corner, seeing his brother there with Bones and Riot jumping around his legs and barking frantically. Sam would have laughed at the sight if Dean didn't look so distraught.

"Sam, how bad is Cas? And don't sugar-coat it, dammit," Dean said, the dogs finally relenting and going back over to Sam.

"You're back," Sam said dumbly, shocked. He honestly hadn't expected Dean to come back after he called. He'd stopped expecting anything from Dean.

"Yes, now tell me, dammit!" Dean's breathing was ragged, and Bones growled lowly before Sam's hand rested on his head, calming him. Riot just began hiding behind Bones, frightened of Dean.

"Cas... its bad, Dean. He's hallucinating. He doesn't even talk to his family. Just talks to what he imagines is you. He even tries to feed you. He has no perception of reality. You're the only one who could get through to him," Sam said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Dean cursed, wanting to punch something. He clenched his fists, jaw clenching. "I gotta go." Dean turned to leave.

"Dean. Here." Dean turned around, and Sam tossed him Baby's keys. Dean smiled slightly before he rushed out the door, heading straight for the Impala. As he climbed in, he could smell dogs.

"Dammit, Sam. You know I have the rule of no pets in here," Dean grumbled, shoving the keys in the ignition and turned the keys, hearing the engine roar to life, then mellow out to a purr.