#batman and...castiel?

Miss Jo had told the boys to clean up their toys and Dean and Castiel reluctantly gave up their costumes. "There's always tomorrow," she had told them.

So Dean and Castiel hung out at the book corner looking at Chicka Chicka Boom Boom while Gabriel sat at one of the tables angrily drawing a picture of an older Dean getting squashed by a piano.

"Dean-o?" a low voice said, bringing the three year old out of the world of uppercase and lowercase letters.

His green eyes widened at the man before him. "Daddy!" Dean launched himself at his father who easily caught him.

"Hey, buddy," John laughed. "Did you have a good first day at daycare?"

Dean nodded quickly. "I played Batman allllllll day with Cas!"

John's eyebrows rose. "And who is this Cas who played Batman with you allll day, hmmm?"

Dean pointed at his friend who was shyly standing in a pile of books. "That's Cas. He's my friend."

John set Dean down on the ground and knelt before the two year old. "Well hello, Cas. I'm Dean's dad." He took Cas' hand and shook it, making the child giggle.

"Hi. I was Dean's Robin today," grinned Cas.

"Castiel."

Cas' smile faded as he turned from Dean's dad to his own father who was impatiently waiting by the door with Gabriel. "It is time to go. Now."

Cas nodded his head. "Bye, Dean," he said quietly before quickly putting the books back on the shelves. "More Batman tomorrow?"

"Castiel, now," Mr. Novak ordered again.

The two year old scurried over to his father.

Before they left, Dean called, "I'll see you later, friend!" earning a small smile from Castiel.

"Well," John said, standing to his feet. He wasn't liking Castiel's father, especially not after the scene they had witnessed that morning. "What do you say to going home, getting Mommy and then heading over to Uncle Bobby's for dinner? Does that sound good?"

Dean hopped up and down. "And then can we have Cas over?"

"But I am the Night!" he wailed.

"Dean Winchester if you do not sit down and eat I will have to call your father," Ellen said, struggling to place the three year old in a plastic chair at the lunch table.

That got Dean to shut up. He didn't want to get into trouble with his dad again. He took the Batman mask off of his face and handed it to Ellen. "I'm sorry," he said as he was lowered into the chair.

The kids tore into their PB&J sandwiches when the door to the room opened and Ms. Jo and the small black haired kid named Cas entered. Dean glanced around at the two tables that were filled with children and noticed that the only open seat was next to him. He really hoped the kid wouldn't start screaming once he was sitting down.

But he didn't. Cas obediently sat at the table and ate his sandwich in silence, the only words he spoke were to ask for more water. That is, they were the only words he spoke until Dean talked to him.

"Hi," the Winchester said.

Cas looked startled that someone was talking to him. "Hi?" He peeked at Dean from under his eyelashes.

"I'm Dean. And you're Cas, right?"

Cas shook his head. "Castiel."

Dean scrunched up his nose. "That's a weird name. I think I'll call you Cas."

The blue-eyed boy shook his head again. "I don't like that name."

Dean sighed. This 'Castiel' was a strange kid. "Why not?"

"Because it isn't my name. I like Castiel."

"Well none of the rest of us like it, Cassie," a voice from across the table said.

Dean looked to the kid who said it and frowned. The kid had a nasty look on his face, like Castiel was lunch instead of the half-eaten sandwich on his plate.

"Back off," Dean said. "I'm talkin' to Castiel. Not you."

"I can talk to Cassie if I want to," the kid sneered.

Dean glanced at Castiel who was staring at his hands in his lap. It was obvious that Castiel and the other kid didn't get along.

"Leave Cas alone, Zach," another kid said. "It's not his fault Uncle Jimmy named him weird."

"Just like Dad named you Balthazar?" Zach snapped.

The kid who had defended Castiel rolled his eyes. "We have a weird family," he said to Dean.

"No one comes between me and my candy!" Gabriel yelled, and pushed Dean over. "And I can do what I want to 'cuz I'm older!"

Dean luckily toppled over onto a pile of stuffed animals, but he jumped up and pushed back. "I don' care if you are older! Stop being a bully!"

The adults in the room finally noticed the two boys wrestling and trying to hurt each other and pulled the two apart. Ellen had heard the commotion in the play room and told Jo to run after John and Mary who had already left the building.

Dean was suspended in the air by a male with long hair while Gabriel was kicking in the arms of a young woman.

"No one messes with my candy!" shouted Gabriel, trying to get out of the woman's grasp.

"Gabriel Novak, that is enough!" the woman scolded.

John burst into the room and Dean froze in his struggles against the childcare worker. "Dean," he said sternly.

Dean shrunk into the arms that were holding him. "I'm sorry, Daddy. But that boy was being mean!" He pointed at Gabriel who stuck his tongue out at Dean.

"I can do that to Anna 'cuz she's my cousin!"

The man set Dean down. "Gabriel…time out. Four minutes. Now."

Gabriel glared at the man with shoulder-length hair. "No. Ash, I won't."

"So you're Ash?" John asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep. Pleased to meet you. You the new kid's daddio?"

"That I am." John turned to his son. "Dean, come here please."

Dean slowly walked to his father. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"It's okay, buddy," John said, kneeling. "But when someone is mean to someone else, you gotta tell Miss Ellen, Miss Jo, Ash or, uh…" He looked up at the woman still holding a pouting Gabriel. "What's your name?"

"Becky," she answered.

"Or Miss Becky. Okay?"

Dean nodded. "Okay, Daddy."

John kissed his son on the forehead. "All right, bud. No more fights. Mom and I have to leave now."

"No more fights. I promise!"

Gabriel ran straight in, not bothering to tell his father goodbye. Castiel, on the other hand, began to cry, clutching at his father's legs.

"I don' wanna go in!" he cried.

His father let out a big sigh. "Castiel, let go. You are already making me late, as it is."

The Winchester family watched the scene in silence, amazed at the lack of love in the father's tone.

The young woman bit her lip, awkwardly glancing between the boy and his father and the small family of three waiting by the doors. "Umm…" she finally said. "Mr. Novak, would you mind if Castiel helped me behind the desk for a little while?"

Mr. Novak shook his head, prying his son off his leg. He lifted the small boy up, handing him to the woman. "Take him."

Castiel screamed at the loss of his father, who had turned and hurriedly walked out of the daycare.

John and Mary glanced at each other before stepping up to the desk.

The woman began bouncing Castiel on her hip, trying to get him to calm down. She smiled at the Winchesters, holding out her free hand. "Hi, I'm Jo Harvelle. My mom and I run the daycare here."

Mary took Jo's hand and shook it. "I'm Mary Winchester and this is my husband, John."

"And who's this little guy?" Jo asked, trying to get Dean's attention as the three year old hid his face in John's neck.

"This is Dean," said Mary, tugging on her son's arm. "Tell the nice lady hi."

Dean sheepishly peeked out of his hiding spot so Jo was able to see only a bright green eye. "Hi."

Jo chuckled, still bouncing Castiel, who had begun to calm down.

The door to the playroom opened and an older woman stepped out. She saw Jo with Castiel and the three Winchesters and stopped. "Oh, hello," she said. "I'm Ellen, Jo's mom."

"Mom, these are the Winchesters," Jo said.

"This boy, too?" Ellen said, motioning to Castiel.

Jo shook her head. "Gabriel Novak's little brother."

"Ah." Ellen seemed all too familiar to the name 'Novak'. She sighed. "Give him here."

Jo's eyes widened, a look of horror taking over her features. "I don't think that's the best idea, mom."

"Okay." Ellen turned to John and Mary. "I haven't seen you around Lawrence before."

"We moved here a week ago," Mary said. "We haven't been out much since we arrived."

"Well, what brings you here?"

"I lost my job where we were from and a friend of mine offered me a job here," smiled John.

"Who's your friend?" asked Jo.

"Bobby Singer."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ellen laughed. "You must be that long-lost nephew Bobby always talks about. He was really happy to have you here."

"You know Bobby?"

"He was a good friend of my husband's. Bobby said that you had a little family. He just failed to tell me that they were growing again." Ellen eyed the small bump on Mary's abdomen.

Mary blushed, placing a hand on her stomach. "Bobby doesn't know yet. I haven't seen him since we arrived."

"Well, Bobby's coming over to our place for dinner tonight," Jo said, "maybe you could join us, too." She turned to her mother, her hand rubbing Castiel's back. The small child had quieted down and was playing with her hair. "Right, mom?"

Ellen smiled. "Of course. A dinner of seven never hurt us."

"Seven?" The numbers didn't add up in John's mind.

"Ash is the seventh," said Jo. "He's my cousin. He works here, too."

John glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, we'd better get going. Mary's due at the hospital."

"Ultrasound?" asked Ellen.

"Job interview," Mary corrected. "I'm a neonatal nurse."

"If you don't  get the job we could always use the help here," Ellen offered. "Four is sometimes not enough."

"Five if Chuck feels brave enough," mumbled Jo.

"I appreciate the offer," Mary said. "I'll keep it in mind." She poked Dean in the side, eliciting a small squeak from the child. "Time to go, sweetheart."

Dean shook his head. "No."

Mary handed his backpack to Ellen, who said, "You know, we've got a few Batman toys inside. Something tells me that you like Batman."

Dean's head shot up from his dad's neck, colliding with John's chin, but the small boy didn't notice. "Batman?" He wiggled in John's hold. "Daddy, put me down. I want Batman."

The adults laughed as John put Dean down and the three year old ran to the door.

 "Lemme in! Lemme in!"

"We'll see you, kiddo," John waved, taking Mary's hand.

"Have fun, sweetheart."