Penance { for Lizardwhisperer

[Nene]

Cas considered where they were, and he rose his brows when Dean took a sip of his shake. "mine, you must get your own!" he said and took it back, pouting, but he broke into a soft laugh at how Dean acted. He slowly drank his milkshake, pleased with the smooth, cold sweetness. He breathed in and out slowly, "mmm..."

Sam cleared his throat, and attempted to approach the topic of a family friend babysitting their charge carefully, as he didn't want to bring back his grump. "Cas, because of how dangerous this hunt is... we'll be dropping you off at Jody's in Sioux Falls. You remember Jody, Sheriff Mills, don't you?"

"Yes... Yes, I remember Jody, b-but... why? Why are you leaving me with Jody?" Cas inquired tearfully, precious blues welling up. He didn't have anything against the sheriff and knew that she would take good care of him but he didn't want to be babysat and he wanted to help, not realizing completely that in his de-powered state, he wouldn't be able to help the brothers at all. He would only become a target for the child-eating monster they were after.

"oh, Cas... don't worry, we won't be that far away, we promise, we'll be back before you know it. Trust us." he thought about how they could possibly shrink the trench coat, and he nodded, "I suppose I could... yeah. Shouldn't be too difficult to shrink it ourselves..." he didn't think Cas would appreciate a replacement.

Cas' tummy grumbled when the yummy food came over but he wanted to finish his milkshake before diving into his burger. It smelled so good, and it made his mouth water. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffled, feeling a bit better about being babysat by Jody, but he still had a sour look.

Once he was finished with his milkshake, he inspected his burger, and picked it apart, tasting each individual part. He picked off pickles, deciding he didn't care for them, and took off everything but the cheese and buns. That was a lot better, he thought, and he munched on his burger happily. It was so different from the milkshake, but a good different. His tummy was getting full and he was back to his happy baby self.

[Lizardwhisperer]

Dean was relieved that the burger served as such a quick distraction from pawning Cas off on Jody. He watched as Cas took big bites and made yummy sounds, astounded the boy had any room after his milkshake. When Cas let out a satisfied burp, the hunter patted his back, then wiped his little chin, "Just like your Uncle Dean."

He gave his brother his you are the worst liar-look when Sam told Cas they were hunting a "child-eating monster," but thankfully the food had come just then. There was absolutely no way they wanted Cas to know they suspected angels involved in the hunt. Burnt-out eyes and angel blade-shaped stab wounds were all too tell-tale. While the brothers knew the little angel was currently paying for his demon-collaboration and subsequent stint as God, they knew that other angels (dicks) wouldn't be so understanding. Cas was the most vulnerable he'd ever been and Dean and his brother weren't about to knowingly put him in harm's way.

"I bet if we find a spell to shrink your old coat, Sammy can find a witch that owes us a favor."

They paid, then made another visit to the bathroom (the brothers had to watch Cas carefully for signs that he had to go, as Cas got accustomed to his new little body. Better to just take him, rather than ask).

As Dean pulled away from the diner, he spied Cas in the back seat, slouched down in his seatbelt and rubbing his tummy.

[Nene]

Cas let out a mighty burp and covered his mouth, laughing at himself as he found it to be a funny sound that he made. His tummy felt very full and he smiled softly, content, not suspecting that the brothers fibbed about the hunt.

Sam nodded as he knew at least one witch that owed them a favor after they protected her in the past. She would think of shrinking Cas' beloved coat to be an awfully frivolous use of her power but it would be easy and Sam knew he could get her to do it. Anything for their now baby friend.

Cas absolutely hated the bathroom and pitched a fit, but Sam set him straight, "come on, Cas, I know you don't want to make your new pants all wet. You would have to change your clothes and you wouldn't feel very good until we could give you a bath." They didn't bring along the bubbles or any bath toys and Sam was concerned that this whole bathroom thing could become a problem.

Cas didn't want to be all wet and he did as he was told, successfully using the toilet with minimal help. Sam praised him and patted his back, and off they went back on the road to Jody's. Cas rubbed his full tummy, happy as he could be, and he burped again, laughing again at himself.

[Lizardwhisperer]

As they arrived at Jody's, the boys' favorite sheriff came out of the house to greet them.
After giving the hunters big hugs, Jody crouched down to greet her littlest visitor.
"Well, hello, Castiel--aren't you looking young and handsome."

Jody gave the boy's sweet look a big, friendly smile, then spread her arms open wide.

"Are ya huggable?"

....................

Inside, Dean asked Jody when Claire and Alex would be home. "Well, Alex's shift gets over soon, but Claire's been tracking a ghoul up North--checked in this morning." Jody turned her attention to the adorable little munchkin sitting by her, on the sofa, kicking his little sneakers, while he inspected her badge. "Wait til Claire gets a load of you. You look just like her Daddy, when he was little."

"We shouldn't be long, Jody--hope to be no more than a few days, tops." Dean handed Jody a small duffel bag, "Here's some clothes, his toothbrush, and some snacks." He leaned in and whispered, "And a little surprise, in case of meltdown" (Sam had slipped a tattered teddy bear in the cart at the thrift store, while Cas was too busy grumping, to notice) Jody took the bag, with a wink. She turned back to Cas, "You know, when Alex get's home, we were going to make chicken pot pie for dinner. You look like the expert crust-roller we need."

[Nene]

During the lengthy ride to Jody's, Cas found his seatbelt to be quite unpleasant, and began to fuss. When they pulled up to Jody's home, Sam rose from his seat and rounded the Impala, scooping the fussy baby out of his seat and rubbing his back before setting him down.

"Hey, Jody," Sam hugged Jody tight, having missed her and he smiled softly. He looked her over, wanting to be certain that everything was alright; he'd had a troubling feeling but was relieved when everything seemed alright.

Cas peered up at Jody, appearing so sweet with those big blue eyes, and he blushed at the compliment. He thought about whether he was huggable and he nodded subtly. He didn't know how he felt about all of this. He had feelings he never had before, especially now, as he wanted to be picked up and held by Jody. Her arms looked so warm and inviting and soft. "I... s'pose I am," He went to her and tugged on her coat, wanting to be picked up into loving arms and cuddled. He curled his arms around Jody and held on tight as she brought him inside.

Jody's badge caught Cas' attention and he picked it up gently, not wanting to break it or damage it. He inspected it and looked at his reflection in the shiny part of the badge and his bottom lip wobbled. He wanted to be a grown up again. He swung his legs and eventually kicked off his shoes. Cas sighed and looked down as he thought about Claire and everything that happened with his vessel and his family. "... I looked like her father as an adult as well," he responded kindly; he was uncertain whether Jody knew the body he inhabited belonged to Claire's father.

He didn't know how Claire would react to him and he wasn't sure he wanted her to see him this way. His thoughts were interrupted by mention of something interesting, "... chicken pot pie?" he imagined a chicken in a pot, and all of that in a pie, but that didn't sound correct. What Jody said next really confused him and he tilted his head to the side, "crust roller?" that sounded easy enough, he could roll crust.

Sam remembered something he felt that Jody needed to know and he put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "hey, can we talk?" he didn't want to embarrass Cas, and therefore he would take Jody to the other room for this conversation.

[Lizardwhisperer]

Jody was touched when she saw the teddy bear the boys had bought for Cas. "Aww, you boys are regular daddies, huh?"
She noted the important information about Cas' shaky housebroken status, then listened as Sam explained the angel involvement in their case.

"Got it, Sam--contact one of these hunters if I haven't heard from you guys--and don't let on to Jr. anything about his angelic ex-cloudmates."

Dean distracted Cas with a lecture. "Now, Cas, you do as your told, until we get back. If Jody tells us you gave her a hard time, even if you've already been punished, you won't be off the hook with me and Sam. You'll go over both our knees, too--got it?"

Being stern in the face of those big, blue eyes, wasn't easy for the hunter, but Dean knew that giving their little friend any leeway, was just asking for trouble.

Just then, the door opened and there was squeal of delight from the foyer.

Jody laughed, coming back in the room to see Dean holding a hand over one ear and Cas looking up, with curiosity. "Alex is home and I'm guessing she just met our little house guest.

[Nene]

"Yeah, I guess we are..." Sam laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, and he tucked the teddy back into the duffel. He thought about how he would tell Jody about Cas' situation, but he knew he had to somehow to protect him.

"He's human now, Jody... he doesn't know when to use the bathroom, he's not used to eating or sleeping, and he still thinks he can do everything himself when he can't. I know it's a lot... but we trust you. Make sure he eats, and bring him to the bathroom, and his bedtime's meant to be at eight... You and the girls really have to keep a close eye on him." once that was out of the way, he went back out with Jody to join Dean and Cas, and now a squealing, delighted Alex.

Cas peered up at Dean and swung his legs, pouting as he was lectured, and his bottom lip wobbling when he heard that if he misbehaved, he'd be punished by both his guardians. "th-that isn't fair..." his protest trailed off when Alex came in, and he looked up so sweetly; he never had to look up to her and he peered up at her curiously. "... Hello, Alex." he said, his voice so soft and small.

Alex knelt down to his level and smiled warmly, "now who is this?" she asked, looking up to Dean. She was still in her scrubs from her work as a nursing assistant at a local hospital, and she was still in nurse mode. She loved children as they were so cute and funny and were her best patients, and now they had a house guest as soft and sweet. She didn't immediately recognize him as Castiel, but those big blue eyes would've been a giveaway.

[Lizardwhisperer]

“This is Castiel. There was a—“ Dean paused, spying Cas’ recent discomfort at his lecture. “An... Er, incident. This is an angel’s version of a mid-life crisis.” The hunter had to laugh at Cas’ little scowl—he looked just like his older self, with dimples in place of his stubble.

Alex’s happy shout brought Sam and Jody back in, Jody announcing that it was time for little hands to wash up, if they were going to help with dinner. She turned to Alex, “Not sure if your sister’s coming home tonight, but I plan on having a hot dinner ready for her, if she does. You know how she forgets to eat, when she’s been hunting.”

Dean scooped up Cas and carried him off to wash up, while Sam got an earful from Alex about her foster sister’s hunting habits.

[Nene]

Cas scowled and huffed, looking down and away from Dean and Alex, "my brother made me small." he grumbled sourly and that got a soft empathetic sigh from Alex. Alex put a hand on his shoulder and looked for those sweet blues, wanting to reassure him that they would look after him and that he would have a good time hanging out with them. Cas didn't want to look at Alex, and she wouldn't make him.

"Don't worry. It'll be fun." she assured him and looked to Jody, and sighed heavily. She hated Claire's hunting, not only for the danger, but Clare often forgot to take care of herself. "Yeah, I know. We're making chicken pot pies tonight, right? That's one of her favorites." Alex turned her attention to Sam and vented to him about how concerned she was about Claire, and wanting to know how she could potentially put a stop to Claire's hunting.

"Sam... she won't listen to me, but maybe, well, maybe she'll listen to you, and Dean!" Alex insisted. "You can talk some sense into her."

Cas hadn't wanted to be held and he pushed against Dean, crying softly, and he put up a fit when Dean put his hands under the warm water. He calmed down as he realized it felt nice, and he looked down, his interest piqued by the bubbles and soft, nice smelling soap.

[Lizardwhisperer]

"Ya see, Cas? Like a mini-bath...without getting naked." Dean laughed at the little guy blowing the suds off his little hands.

When they came out, Dean announced, "Did someone order a germ-free angel?" Dean looked up, as he had slung his little friend over his shoulder.

As Jody and Alex set Cas up in the kitchen, with a make-shift towel apron, Sam took Dean aside and shared Alex's concerns about Claire. "Sure, we can talk to her, but it'll be about as effective as talking to Smitey, over there." Dean chucked his chin toward the boy, now poking his fingers into a ball of dough.

"She's just as stubborn as the guy inside her Daddy--and we know what it's taken to even get him to start to listen."