The Syrum Of Truth

The Parental Changes

Dean lets his sleepy eyes force themselves open. He glances around his familiar room and sighs as he sits up. He suddenly thinks of Vivian and goes to get up when a hand is placed his arm. "Vivian is in a spare room sleeping, Sam and Gabriel are in Sam's room sleeping, don't worry Dean." He looks at Castiel who is sat beside the bed.

Dean seems to relax at this, exhaling deeply, "Thank you, Cass." Castiel had gotten so used to Sam saying his name like that, he had forgotten Dean's angelic voice, his eyes as green as the garden within Heaven and his warmth most of all. He hasn't admitted it yet but he had missed Dean's warm kisses, his warm embrace and his person in general.

"How are you feeling?" Castiel asks, he feels awkward after last night, after he had accused Dean of sleeping with other people and he still feels ashamed at himself for thinking such a thing.

Dean glances down at the hand still placed on his arm and thinks nothing more on the subject, "I'm better, thank you. How are you?"

Castiel sighs, he can tell that Dean feels just as uncomfortable and awkward, as if meeting for the first time all over again. Apart from when they first met it wasn't awkward but it was so long ago that it may as well have been an awkward first meeting. "I'm all right." He thinks of the barn where he had put Bobby to sleep and a small laugh escapes his lips, it had been kind of awkward but not as bad as now.

Castiel thinks about regretting the sudden laugh but that changes when Dean smiles a little at him, "what?"

Castiel shakes his head a little, returning Dean's smile. "I'm just thinking of the first moments we had together, when I had placed Bobby under a deep slumber."

Dean's tense shoulder seem to relax a little bit as he chuckles. "At the time, that freaked me the hell out, now it doesn't even phase me. I would ask if you remembered the time that you appeared behind me and I told you about personal space but that has been many, many times." The tension surrounding the entire room, in fact, seems to have lifted ever so slightly.

Castiel shrugs, a small grin spreading across his face, "I've never been the best with personal space, not really." Their eyes meet and their grins don't die down as they stare at each other fondly.

Dean breaks the silence with a slight cough, turning away from Castiel. "I should go make some food for Vivian, she should be awake by now." Castiel wants to tell him to stay, he wants to tell him to never leave him again and Dean wants the same but instead Castiel let's him go.

~~~~

Vivian smiles up at Castiel, glancing away from her drawing for only a second before returning to the paper. Castiel looks at the drawing which is of Dean with wings and he grins, "Why does Dean have Angel wings in your picture? I mean, I know he's an Angel in my books but why is he in yours?"

Vivian shrugs as she starts to colour in the drawing, "He's the first person who I feel really cared about me other than my parents... He was the only person to notice my pain and help me and he did it just because of the kindness in his heart... There aren't many humans like that... So he's like my Guardian Angel."

Sam chuckles, "He's much more than a Guardian Angel. Dean and I, with the help of our very own Angels, are like the Saviours of this world. We do so much for this world and it never gets recognised. I suppose that's our little burden to keep, though." 

Vivian grins at Sam cheerfully, "Dean told me about all the monsters you guys have taken down! Stories of Banshees, Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires! You guys are the best!" She suddenly realises her excitement and calms herself down, "I.. Ugh, I mean... It's cool."

Sam ruffles up her hair with a small smile, "Don't feel too uncomfortable around us, kid. We're just as new to this whole thing as you are... I hope I can get to know you better and maybe help teach you a few tricks on monster hunting along the way."

Vivian's eyes widen, "Really? Dean said he would teach me a trick of two today but with both of you teaching me? I'll be the best monster hunter in the world in no time!"

Castiel smiles gently, "Hunters," he corrects. "It's just hunters. I suppose it comes off as less suspicious to people passing by, rather than using the word monsters which can make you seem mentally unstable." He hesitates, "Ugh... Sorry."

Vivian shakes her head as she smiles up at him, "So... What colour wings do you and Gabriel have?"

Castiel raises an eyebrow before biting the inside of his cheek, "Well... My wings are black while Gabriel's are brown. Angel's wings are never the same, like a snowflake is never the same. Speaking of... Where are Dean and Gabriel?"

Sam chuckles nervously, "Ugh... Well, Gabriel is kind of afraid of kids. He has refused to leave the room under any circumstances. And I have no idea where Dean is... I thought you knew?" Sam pulls out his phone and rings Dean's mobile. The three hear the faint ringing and follow it to the kitchen where the mobile is left untouched on the counter by the fridge, "You don't think anything has happened to him, do you?" He looks at Castiel, "Go grab Gabriel. Tell him Dean's gone."

Castiel nods, ready to head to Sam and Gabriel's room when they hear the bunker door open. The three rush through to the main entrance to see Dean coming down the steps with two bags, "Is everything all right? You all look like you have seen a ghost," Dean states.

Vivian runs over, Dean putting the bags down and kneeling down to embrace her when she finally gets to him and hugs him. "They started worrying me! We didn't know where you were! Where did you go?"

Dean hugs her tighter, sighing deeply, "I did leave a note on the fridge saying that I had gone to pick up some food." He looks up at Sam who awkwardly grins and looks away, "I'm sorry... I'll tell you next time, I promise. I just wanted a bigger variety of food for you, not that junk food that I eat."

Castiel stares at Dean with a raised eyebrow, "But you love your junk food... You're giving up junk food?"

Dean lets go of Vivian finally and smiles slightly, "Ugh... Y-yeah... I'll have an occasional meal that is very high in fats but I have been trying to cut down since Vivian came in to my life. It's not just me I have to think about, I also have to think about Vivian's food intake and what is the best food groups that she should be eating." He pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to the two men, "She needs a 5-a-day... Which is any fruit, she needs a proper dinner which would include protein which can be something like pasta, obviously meat and some vegetables. Possibly some potato variants like hash browns to substitute the pasta. I also bought some concentrated orange juice which is said to be good for kids."

Sam stares at Dean in utter confusion and shock, "You... Who are you and what have you done with Dean Winchester?"

Dean runs a hand through his hair as he takes back the piece of paper and pockets it, "I'm still the same person... I just have to be more careful and think more about what I'm doing because I have Vivian to look after. And teaching Vivian to defend herself should be my best bet to keeping her safe if anything ever goes wrong and she needs the ability to protect herself. I think every child should be given the opportunity to protect themselves and that's what I'm doing with Vivian... You guys might not quite understand this yet and that's fine but I have to understand it so please just go with it." He grabs the shopping and puts the two bags in one hand, grabbing Vivian's hand with his free hand, "Want to help me unload the shopping?" Vivian nods with a grin and they head through to the kitchen, leaving two dumbstruck idiots staring at thin air in confusion.

So... I changed my writing style. And I finally got around to finishing this chapter! Holy shit! I have been putting off this chapter for so long just because I know it's not really how the characters are but how I feel they would act with an actual child around. It's a strange concept and this took me forever just to continue writing it! I will try to get a regular update schedule up and running for this book (weekly) and hope this is good for the time being! I hope you're all doing well during these tough times, you can always message me if you want to talk or need advice, etc. I'm available most of the time (working around College, work and sleep schedules, of course). And I'll see you guys in the next chapter!