Work Text:
Did you Hear?
The town was so small that all the school grades were in one building. They did separate kids by ages; keeping all the kids from kindergarten to grade 6 on the southside of the school and the high schoolers and middle schoolers had classes on the northside. The kindergarten class was actually in one large room with a door that opened to the playground; so, they were relatively self-contained. However, this meant that the teacher’s lounge had teachers from all the grades and therefore resulted in more information (read gossip) taking place. Always gossip worthy, the group was talking about the Campbells again. Though they had lived in Lebanon going on 10 years now, they were still a big topic of conversation. Maybe it was the fact that until 2 years ago, no one knew that they actually lived and owned land just to the north of Lebanon. All that they knew was that there wasn’t a house out that way for all that time until about 2 years ago. Then there were 5 houses out on a plot of land that was owned by some company and had laid fallow for about 70 years. Around the same time, Miles Hawkins was finally able to sell off his 50 acres to the same corporation and pay off his daddy’s debts. He then moved on.
Builders from outside the town (of course, there were no builders in town as such, but there was Henry who did odd jobs) started showing up to build on that land and the land by the old power plant. The town then learned that the old power plant was being turned into apartments and there was a housing development planned for the rest of the acres! The consensus around town was that whoever owned that land and the investment they were making would lose their shirts because no one wanted to move to Lebanon. This opinion was formed as a lot of the population of Lebanon wanted to leave but didn’t have the financial or emotional wherewithal to do so.
Six months after seeing the builders and craftspeople first roll thru town, the Campbells started enrolling kids in the school. Last year, they enrolled 4 kids in various grades and this year, they enrolled another 6, again in various grades. The peculiar thing was, according to Dorothy, that in all 4 instances last year, one of the parents of the child showed up with one of the Campbells but both Sam and Dean Campbell were listed as a guardian along with the parent. In one instance, an older brother who was also legally named a guardian showed up with Michael, the high schooler. When any of the kids got into trouble – and they were all a handful, either very quiet or very quick to throwdown, either Dean or Sam would show up to the principal’s office. They were also the ones who showed up at Parent / Teacher conferences more often than not.
Melanie even suspected that Mrs. Eva Goddard, who taught Dana Goldstein, was scheming to get Dean Campbell in to see her for Dana’s ‘disciplinary’ problems but just hadn’t had the boldness to claim the very quiet and studious girl was a disruption. Luckily, Melanie might have a chance of encountering either Sam or Dean because Sari, the cutest little 5-year-old and a ward of the Campbells, was enrolled in her kindergarten class this year.
The kindergarten teacher looked over to Sari, her light brown, riotous curls dancing on her head as she vigorously colored, her tongue sticking out, curling over her upper lip. “Sari, your turn. Tell us who in your family you’re drawing.” Sari glanced up and smiled big. She held up her piece of paper and pointed to a very large stick figure standing in what looked like a black box, “Dis is Dee, my guard an’ he’s driving Babee. Dis is Sam and ‘Leen, my oter guards.” Pointing to two other large stick figures, one obviously a girl. Melanie deduced that ‘Leen was the petite, dark-haired woman that she saw Sam Campbell with quite often. She put her paper back down and started coloring again. Melanie, seeing other figures on the paper asked, “who are all of these people?” pointing to about 6 small stick figures and then the one medium sized figure, “and who is this?” Sari glanced back at her, “Dos are my sisters and brovers, and that’s my daddy. He’s working.” Melanie’s eyes widened, “WOW you have a lot of brothers and sisters! Are you drawing your mama next?”
Sari, who smiled when Melanie commented on her siblings, shrugged her shoulders and her lips pouted, “Dee said Mama’s in heaven. She misses me but can’t see me ‘til I am a big ger girl. De told Jack to take care of Mommy.” Melanie smiled sadly, wondering who Jack was, “I’m sure she misses you.” Wanting to learn more about the Campbells and all their charges, she pressed, “Why are Dee, Sam and Eileen over here and not with your brothers and sisters?” Sari, shook her head, “Silly, they there ‘because they guard us from all the mons’ers.”
“Are you scared that monsters will get you?” she was suddenly worried that Sari was carrying a lot of anxiety. Sari looked at teacher as if she was crazy, “Miss, all the mons’ers are scairt of Sam and Dee. They won’ mess wit’ us.” She said it with such conviction, that Melanie smiled. Whatever the situation with the Campbells, they were at least instilling confidence in this little girl.
The deep rumble of a V8 engine blew in from the open window of the kindergarten room. It was the only room with a direct door to the playground, which in turn, was next to the visitor parking lot of the school. This always concerned Melanie; though there was a metal chain link fence surrounding the playground, she was dreading the day one of the kids would scale the 3-foot fence and run out into the parking lot to get run over. She caught young Jimmy Dyker, Mark and Julie’s boy, doing that just 2 days ago. Melanie noticed that Sari, the new ‘Campbell’ girl, immediately stopped her intense concentration (as evidenced by the tongue curled over her upper lip) on coloring and dropped the green crayon. Her head jerked up, followed by her small body slipping out of her plastic seat at the group table. She darted past the teacher’s desk and ran straight to the door leading into the hallway of the school. She stopped just outside of the door. Even in her excited state, she knew she wasn’t to go outside without an adult or one of the kids with her. “De! De’s here!”
Melanie, hearing Sari’s excited cry, swiftly walked towards the door. Sari darted out into the hallway and was jumping up and down in place, her curls becoming more and more loose with the movement. She was looking towards the big double doors that opened to the outside, her hands clasped under her chin and chanting, “De, De, De.” Melanie reached the doorway as Sari took off, running as fast as her short pudgy legs could go towards the tall man walking towards her. Melanie didn’t need to squint to recognize Dean Campbell with his bowlegged, confident stride though they had never met. He had a forbidding look on his face, one that looked ready to take on all comers. However, it didn’t deter Sari a bit. The kindergarten teacher didn’t blame any of the ladies of Lebanon when they swooned over this Campbell brother, even with the ferocious stare his face settled into when he wasn’t actively flirting or talking.
She thought he was the reason most of the kids that the Campbells were guardians of were as well behaved as they were; coming from broken homes. Betty, who taught 5th grade, had two of the ‘Campbell’ kids in her classroom and she sourly said they always came in with bruises and skinned knuckles. Owing no doubt to having only one parent in Betty’s opinion. However, even she had to admit, all the kids that the Campbells had guardianship over always had their homework done and since they started going to this school, their grades had improved significantly. Betty even claimed that they were well-behaved though out-spoken about subjects they were passionate about. Bobby John Campbell had decided opinions on free will of all things and Lily Goldstein was very certain that American made cars pre 1980 were the best cars in the world.
For a moment, while Mr. Campbell was walking towards sweet little Sari, Melanie feared for all the kids in their care. He reminded her of her Uncle Myron who was actually arrested when Aunt Jewel reported him for beating her cousin. Uncle Myron was charged and only had to serve 2 years in jail. This Dean Campbell looked like he could be the source of the scraped knuckles and bruising that both Bobby John and Lily occasionally sported. That fleeting thought dissolved however when she saw the transformation come over his face as he spotted and heard Sari yelling, “De!”. She ran, full tilt towards him. He squatted when she almost reached him and scooped her up to settle her onto his hip. “Hey, lil’ bit,” he kissed her forehead, closing his eyes with a momentarily blissful look on his face. “I’m so happy to see you, kid. Are you supposed to be out of your classroom?” Sari, still beaming at his greeting, suddenly looked downward in supposed shame. The side eye to his face, to gauge his reaction, told Melanie a different story. Her sweet little voice rang out, “but I here’d Baby and I had to see you,” belying her shame. She actually batted her eyes, “Did’t you come t’ see me?”
Dean’s eyes crinkled, though he kept his smirk from creeping across his face, “You know I love to see that face, Lil’ bit but I gotta go see the principal. I’ll see you in about an hour when your class gets out, Okay honey?” Suddenly, the door to the first-grade classroom opened and a small face peaked out. The door then swung open more and banged against the wall. A little boy charged straight to Dean. Dean, seeing the body flying his way, braced himself. Little Ricky Boudin slammed into his legs and one of Dean’s hands swung down from his two-handed hold on Sari to land on the boy’s head, ruffling Ricky’s hair, “Hey Bud, how are you?”
Ms. Bertrand, the first-grade teacher, calmly walked towards the trio and caught the tail end of the conversation between Dean and Ricky. Sari piped up, “He’s in trouble – he’s going to the prin’pal’s office!” Dean cracked a smile. “Buddy, I’ll pick you up at the end of the day, but right now, I have some school business to attend to. Your mom will be home tomorrow night unless she gets held up. But you can have a facetime call with her tonight, if she doesn’t?” Ricky nodded, his hair flopping into his eyes. Dean continued, “It was good seeing you in the middle of the day though. You need to get back into the classroom with Ms. Bertrand, okay?” He gave the boy a swift, hard hug and Ricky turned, smiling and took the hand Ms. Bertrand was holding out to him. Dean looked at the teacher who looked like she was about to start a lecture and winked, “I really appreciate you,” he told her with a twinkle, “It’s always nice to get a hug from him. You made my day.” Melanie almost snorted out loud. She bet he made the old bat’s week with that wink and smirk.
Dean stood up and started towards her, “Melanie, right?” She nodded mutely, seeing first hand his smile and eyes; she was struck dumb. “I think this little stinker is yours until 1.” Sari’s small hand slapped his chest, “I don’t stink!” she said with outrage. Dean turned those laughing eyes to her and then rubbed her nose with his in an Eskimo kiss, taking a deep breath, “ooh, you’re right. You smell like pink roses and chocolate. All the good stuff.” Sari pouted, “I don smell like pie?” Dean let out a belly laugh, “Maybe after your bath tonight, you’ll smell like pie, but I smell crayons and I think someone’s been running around like a chicken with its head cut off this morning. I smell twirling and that you got so dizzy you fell.” Sari’s mouth dropped open, “You don’ smell that!”
Dean looked over at Melanie and winked, “Sure do darlin’” He let her down and Melanie grabbed a hold of Sari’s hand as they walked back to the classroom. Melanie turned her head at the last moment and saw the severe countenance drop back on Dean’s face as he continued on his way to the principal’s office. She did not envy Mr. Reynolds the conversation he was about to have.
Dean continued on, scowling, remembering all the times when he was in school and had to go to the principal’s office. He was never in any trouble that he couldn’t talk his way out of; he and Sam made sure not to draw too much attention to themselves so CPS wouldn’t step in. Dean was sent down several times when he was younger, before he learned how to blend in and con people into believing what he wanted them to believe. He called them his ‘people skills’. Dean hated the acid that would swirl in his stomach, worried he would be separated from Sammy, dreading the disappointment in Dad’s eyes when he learned about his transgressions. He hoped Bobby John wasn’t feeling that now.
He stepped into the small office where the office administrator sat behind a long table separating the hallowed rooms of administration from the rest of the school. Dean looked at the woman behind the counter, smiled a tight smile and said ‘I’m here to see Mr. Reynolds about my kid.” Dorothea looked up, was entranced by his face and stuttered “who, who, who’s your child?” Dean looked at her then saw past her to the bench situated outside of a room that had a closed door. He spotted Bobby John, sitting very still, not a movement in his body except shallow breaths. He was barely breathing. Dean, pointed to the boy, not saying a word and bypassed Dorothea.
He walked swiftly to Bobby John and squatted in front of the unnaturally still boy. “Hey, Beej, I’m reaching out to you now. It’s my hands and arms that are tugging you to me. I’m going to hug you now.” He followed his words in action. He and Sam found that while Bobby John’s control over his change was better, when he was under stress, he had to stay very still, meditating, in order not to change shape. Sammy figured it was a fight / flight response but for Shapeshifters, they changed shape to blend. In this case, Bobby John knew that he couldn’t change and that it was better to stay ‘himself’ so he could keep his cover. They also found thru trial and error, that they couldn’t startle him when he was in that state or they would end up covered in goo and shifter skin; though Bobby John’s anxiety was lowered with close bodily contact from people he trusted, his family.
Dean smoothly picked the scared boy up and settled him in his lap, sitting on the bench Beej had previously been on. He made sure to wrap his long, strong arms around him and rested his chin on the boy’s head. “I’ve got you. You’re doing good, kid. I’m so proud of you. We’ll get thru this together.” The receptionist appeared in his peripheral view, saying softly, “I’ll let Mr. Reynolds know that you’re here.” Dean didn’t know if it was 10 or 20 minutes before she signaled him to walk into Mr. Reynold’s office. Dean stood up, carrying Beej and chose a chair in front of the principal. Mr. Reynolds looked surprised, “Bobby John can take a seat next to you Mr. Campbell.” Dean’s immediate head shake denied that request, “He is still calming down from his panic attack. Did you not see him out there? He should have had his fidget spinner – it would have helped.” He directed his next question at Bobby John, “Beej, where’s your fidget spinner?” Bobby John, not lifting his head from Dean’s chest, shot out an arm and pointed straight to the principal. Mr. Reynolds looked taken aback and at Dean’s glare, stuttered, “I…I…it may be here. Yes,” he held out the spinner to Dean who took it with a frown on his face, “the substitute took it up along with his notebook. She should be here any minute to explain the issue.”
Tony Reynolds considered himself a learned man; one who is not moved to nervousness or is cowed easily. He has learned to handle parents, often more volatile than the kids in his school. He’s faced down yelling parents, threatening bodily harm or litigation without backing down on his stance, but one frowning glance from Dean Campbell, with a 10-year-old draped on his chest, made his hands tremble and made his heart start beating double time. He pressed the intercom, “Dorothea, please make sure Ms. Trimble comes to the office so we don’t have to make Mr. Campbell wait.” Dorothea, sensing his slight distress, got up to fetch Ms. Trimble and hurry her along.
Mr. Reynolds cleared his throat, “Is Bobby John not feeling well? He didn’t tell me he was having any issues.” Dean tightened his arms around Bobby John and speared the principal with an intense frown, saying, “He was having a panic attack. The 504 Plan we filled out, when he first started, indicated that he is to have the fidget spinner with him at all times. It’s a method of coping with his attacks without the use of drugs. He actually manages it very well as long as he has it to focus on.” The principal nodded, opening the file folder in front of him. He paged thru the stack and found the paperwork. “Yes, I wasn’t aware that you had filed this. Well, that will clear up one of the issues Ms. Trimble was bringing up.”
Dean was more grateful than ever for Sam's meticulous and dogged research into the Kansas school system, the federal and state guidelines for the school system to accommodate students and their various disabilities and learning mechanisms. They had effectively used the 504 plans for alot of the 'non-traditional' kids staying at the Shakari development. For Bobby John, they had outlined a discrete way for him to deal with his stresses so he didn't shed skin unless it was under his control. For other kids who were still dealing with the change from a nomadic lifestyle to one that was more stable, they used the 504 plans and the authority of their guardianship to help the various hunter parents raise the kids in a more consistent manner. The door opened and an older woman with white hair, a floral dress and a sour expression stepped into the room and took the chair to the side of the principal’s desk, facing Dean and Bobby John.
The boy brought in his arms and hands and tightened his legs around Dean’s waist, seeming to hide in Dean’s chest. Dean’s face scowled more fiercely and Ms. Trimble’s sour expression faltered. She reassured herself that the man in front of her babying the trouble maker, a 10-year-old, wasn’t going to literally cut her down in front of Mr. Reynolds but that didn’t stop the feeling of unease at his look. Mr. Reynolds cleared his throat again, “Ms. Trimble, I’m sure you weren’t aware that Bobby John had an exception and was allowed to have his aid in the classroom . . .”
Ms. Trimble interrupted, “His AID? You mean that toy he kept spinning and spinning while he refused to answer questions? That, THAT is allowed?!? Well, I never.” Dean, not raising his voice, said slowly and clearly, “Bobby John has intermittent panic attacks and the fidget spinner distracts him enough to help him focus and calm down. It is not a toy but an aid, one that he needs, in order to function without the use of drugs.” He continued on, “He will have the use of it, or I will make sure he can use it.” She sniffed in disbelief. Mr. Reynolds reassured Dean and Bobby John, “Of course, of course. We will make sure future substitutes and teachers all know the different signs of impending panic attacks and seizures which is also indicated on the 504 plan.” He cleared his throat again, “However, there is another matter we called you down for. It seems that Bobby John has been shirking his homework for quite some time now. Ms. Trimble took up their Note taking journal which they’ve been keeping since the first of the year to help Miss Baetz.
“Miss Trimble was looking through all of the notebooks in order to start grading.” The principal shot Miss Tremble a chiding look. Miss Baetz specifically asked that substitutes not grade papers and it was the school’s policy that only the teaches could pass out grades but sometimes Miss Trimble thought she had more leeway than others thought she should have. “When she looked at Bobby John’s notebook it was Illegible. While the class was supposed to be taking notes on each lesson each day for the past 4 weeks, it seems all he’s been doing is drawing in his notebook. This is not usual and we wanted…” Dean interrupted Mr. Reynolds, “May I see the notebook?”
Mr. Reynolds handed it over to Dean who opened the first page then flipped a couple more pages. Bobby John was still laying on Dean’s chest with his arms and legs tucked in like a ball. Dean jostled him and Bobby John looked up at his large guardian. “Beej, have you been studying Enochian with Cass the last month?” Bobby John nodded and tucked his head back in. Dean looked back at Mr. Reynolds and schooled his features in an impassive plane, not letting any emotion color his next words. “Bobby John has been studying another language with Castiel, who is a professor at the college. One of the ways Cass insists that people learn languages more quickly is to use it in everyday life. Bobby John was using his notebook not only to take notes on what he is learning in Miss Baetz’s class but simultaneously learning a different language.”
Mr. Reynolds looked surprised and an appreciative smile started sliding over his face but Miss Trimble spoke up, “That is preposterous. The boy is a menace who can’t sit still. You might think he’s writing a different language but it’s just scribbles,” she insisted. Dean’s eye’s flashed with anger and he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He felt Beej’s body become even stiffer and Dean rubbed his back in response.
He opened the notebook, looked down, and said, “It looks like last week on Monday, they went over how the colonists were living in Virginia versus Georgia versus New York. Good god, did they really eat possum?” Dean exclaimed looking down at Bobby John. The little boy, his face still hidden, nodded. “In science they were studying the solar system, and in math, they’re going over decimals. Beej,” he looked down again, “I think you spell Uranus wrong.” Dean continued, a teasing smirk now gracing his face. Bobby John suddenly sat up snickering and slapped his hands over Dean’s mouth. He could feel Dean smile behind his hands. Bobby John piped up, “I’m telling Sam and Cass! You’re not ‘possed to be funny in meetings with teachers.” His voice lowered to a loud whisper, “they don’t get your sense of humor.” Dean almost cracked up when Bobby John made exaggerated quote fingers a la Cass when he said ‘sense of humor’. “Then Sam will say you don’t have a sense of humor.” Bobby John lost himself to laughter, loud and infectious.
Dean looked up, catching Mr. Reynold’s eyes; silently daring him to be mad in the face of the child’s laughter. Mr. Reynolds looked at him, eyes crinkling in amusement though he didn’t let it slip to his mouth. The principal glanced at Miss Trimble who looked gob smacked, and cleared his throat, “It’s clear that he was taking notes. You have a very smart kid there, Mr. Campbell. We will make sure all future substitutes are aware of his aid to focus and keep his anxiety lowered. We apologize that we inconvenienced you by asking you down here to talk when it was nothing.”
Dean nodded in acknowledgement. “That’s all well and good. I will always come to take care of my kids. However, I think that Miss Trimble not only owes Beej an apology for not trusting him and his work but also doing the opposite of teaching him by taking away his aid so he couldn’t even take in information.” Miss Trimble stiffened up even more and pursed her lips and huffed. “I will not apologize. All of my actions are understandable and he was not cooperating.”
Mr. Reynolds’ eyebrows raised as if in surprise (he was not surprised – Agnes Trimble never admitted to being wrong), “Agnes, you certainly will apologize. Here, we don’t only expect our students to learn the lessons in our textbooks but we also teach from our actions. It is always good to apologize when you’ve wronged someone, which you have in this case.” Miss Trimble almost exploded with temper before reluctantly apologizing to Bobby John thru gritted teeth.
Bobby John nodded his head looking somewhere over Dean’s shoulder. The large hunter squeezed him in a quick hug and asked quietly, “You good to go bud?” Bobby John nodded and scooted backwards off of Dean’s lap. Dean stood up, “I’m going to go ahead and start pick up of all my kids a bit early since I’m here. Mr. Reynolds. I hope there won’t be a repeat of this incident, especially, where an educator takes away the accommodations for a child to learn due to bias,” Dean said with a forbidding look. Dean’s eloquence and his seeming knowledge of another language surprised Agnes. He dressed like an out of work lumber jack. In her mind, lumberjacks were lumberjacks due to lack of education. Dean extended his hand to shake the principal’s hand, nodded his head in acknowledgement to the substitute and walked towards the door, with Bobby John’s hand in his.
“Agnes, I think it best if you no longer substitute here for the rest of the year. I wouldn’t want you to tangle with the Campbells again.”
Miss Trimble responded, “Well, I certainly see that it would cause less friction if their kids weren’t in my classrooms. What grades do I need to avoid?” she asked with a sniff. Mr. Reynolds smiled slightly, “All of them except 3rd 4th and 6th. The Campbells are guardians to a lot of kids.” At that Miss Trimble’s face fell. She hadn’t realized the family was so large. She had retired last year but liked to keep her hand in education. She would put her name in the ring at Smiths Center, though that would be a drive.
As Dean and Bobby John walked out of the office, Dean looked down at Bobby John’s face and said, “Dude, you know you totally misspelled Uranus.” Beej grinned again and shook his head, “Nu uah. U R A N U S” Dean looked ahead and headed to Melanie’s room to pick her up first, “I thought it was Y O U R A N U S.” Bobby John’s laughter rang throughout the office, making Dorothea smile involuntarily, it widened as she caught Dean walking away. That man’s backside was a sight to see but more importantly in her mind was his protective nature. Watching him with kids just made a woman’s heart melt. That was the image she ended her story with when she relayed it to AnnieMae at church the next weekend. Melanie, the sweet kindergarten teacher lent credence to her story with Melanie’s own story of Sari running into Dean Campbell’s arms. Donnie, down at the Bar at the Edge, circulated the last juicy story. Dean Campbell was the man he watched fleece some bragging college kids out of $300 and a watch. Donnie then said that Dean took on 5 people who tried to jump him. He beat all 5 to a pulp without a sweat. The next Campbell tidbit to make the rounds would be the Campbells, or at least Dean Campbell, the fierce fighter, was a softie with kids.