'reflections'
act one.

chapter five: red sox and blue shoes

"The word 'father' rotted in my mouth."
-unknown

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IT WAS QUITE EARLY ON A SATURDAY MORNING WHEN VIENNA WAS AWOKEN BY HER PHONE RINGING FROM HER NIGHTSTAND.

She grumbled, rolling over onto her stomach and picking up her phone. It was Locke.

"It's nine in the morning." Was as formal of a greeting that Locke would be getting at this hour.

"Were you asleep?"

"Mhm." Vienna mumbled, rolling onto her back. She knew it wasn't exactly 'early' to a normal person's standards, but it was her day off and she loved her sleep.

"Look, Briggs and I rarely do this. But we need you to come down here."

"To Idaho?" Vienna sat straight up in bed.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We have Drew Walters-slash-Shawn Andrews in custody."

"Really? That's great." Vienna pushes some of her hair from her eyes, swallowing quickly. Her voice was still hoarse from sleep.

"Yes, we tracked him down with the list of possible locations and targets that you and Sloane sent over last night, so thank you."

Vienna smiled gently at Locke's words. She and Sloane had spent nearly two hours the previous night compiling a list of possible locations and next victims that Shawn Andrews could have chosen, and clearly they had been on the right track.

"So why do you need me if you've got the guy?"

"We have his son Devon here, and he won't talk about anything. We need him to open up, but he won't talk. He just shakes his head."

"Oh. Well what do you think I could do to help that."

"You know a lot about the way the children's brain works, right?"

"Mhm." Vienna has read a lot of books on child psychology, and so she has a good understanding of how to talk to kids, especially those who have undergone trauma such as what Devon has most likely been through.

"We could use your skills to get Devon to talk. And I love the rest of your fellow naturals to death, but I do think you're the most compassionate."

"But Agent, this is an active case now. We're not allowed to work on active cases-"

"That's why we're keeping it hushed up. Director Sterling can't know, but you're technically not going to be in the field with us, rather talking to the son of our killer. And he doesn't pose a threat, trust me. He's seven years old, and he's adorable." 

"That's all you need me to do?"

"That is all. We could really use your help. Briggs just called Judd about this a few minutes ago, and we want you to bring Dean along with you."

"Dean?"

"Yeah. He's a profiler, and I think he'll understand Devon in ways that even you couldn't."

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AN HOUR LATER, DEAN AND VIENNA WERE ON AN FBI JET TO IDAHO.

There was a bit of a silence, as neither had thought to address the elephant in the room, the fact that Devon Walters was practically Dean Redding.

Dean's father, Daniel Redding, was a serial killer. He's now in prison, but he used to make Dean watch him do the kills. Dean doesn't talk about it a lot, as it is apparent that it left a mark on who he is. He hates his father, but he is still his son, no matter how much he wishes that wasn't true.

Vienna stirred in her seat, almost uncomfortably so. She was never awkward with Dean, except for today. She was rereading her favorite book, The Hunger Games, in an attempt to get her mind off of the tension, but even that wasn't working.

She decided to not bring it up, at least not until Dean wanted to.

"So, Cassie." She sets her book down, clearing her throat.

"What about her?" Dean looks up from the case files he was reading.

"How's it going?"

"She's alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah. She's a good profiler."

"She thinks you don't like her."

Dean raises his eyebrow. "What?"

"Yeah, she thinks you don't like her. I assured you that's how you are with everyone, but she still thinks-"

"What do you mean with everyone?"

Vienna sucks in a breath. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say today. "I mean, you're kind of intimidating in a way."

"Intimidating." Dean echoes Vienna's word.

"Well, you're not the most outwardly excited person, and maybe it sent Cassie the wrong message."

Dean smiles, but only slightly. "So does that mean that I intimidated you when you first came to live with us?"

Vienna cringes. She didn't want to give Dean this satisfaction, though her fifteen year old self had been just slightly intimidated by Dean when she came to live with the naturals.

"Slightly." She admits, avoiding eye contact.

Dean smirks, only slightly. "Oh, really?"

Vienna smiled sheepishly. "Yes."

Dean's smile faded to a serious expression in a matter of moments. "I can see through your attempt to distract me, Vi."

"What attempt?" Vienna attempts to play dumb, though it was practically impossible to do so when you're talking to an FBI-trained profiler.

"Come on. This whole Devon Walters thing is basically my childhood in a nutshell. I know that Briggs and Locke didn't want me to fly down just because I'm a good profiler. They needed someone who understands the kid on a personal level, isn't that what Locke told you, isn't it?"

Vienna swallows the lump in her throat. "Yes. I'm sorry Dean."

Dean shook his head, scratching the back of his neck. "Vienna it's fine. I'm used to it. I've been used in these situations before. It just comes with the whole my-dad-is-a-serial-killer deal."

"Well, nobody should have to go through that."

"Yeah, but people do unfortunately go through it. And I'm here to talk to this Devon kid and assure him that it'll all work out in the end,"

Vienna smiled gently. Though Dean could initially come off as cold, he was very caring despite his challenges. "That's sweet."

Dean sucked in a breath. "I just don't want Devon to think that he's alone." He blinked. "Like I did."

Vienna frowns, reaching across the small jet table in between them. "You're not alone anymore." She squeezes his arm. "Remember that, alright?"

Dean nods. "I will, thank you."

"Hey, to cheer you up, I can explain the entire plot of The Hunger Games to you." Vienna grins, holding up her tattered copy of her favorite book. This was a signed copy that the librarian in her old town, Mabel, had given her as a going away gift when she left home.

"Please don't." Dean snorts out a laugh.

"I really think it would cheer you up."

"Vienna, you made me read the entire series last year, I think I understand it."

"Oh, but not how I understand."

"That's because you have an eidetic memory, and you've still read those books like five times."

"Almost." Vienna corrects. "First time when I was twelve, then when I was almost fourteen, twice when I was fifteen, once last year, and I'm about halfway done with my sixth read."

"I stand corrected." Dean says.

"IT really doesn't ever get old, even though I remember every detail. Peeta and Katniss are the best fictional couple to ever exist. The blueprint, really."

"The blueprint?" Dean raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, he went into the games after admitting that he loved her to the whole world, he would do anything for her. When the Capitol wiped his memories, he fell in love with her a second time. They're everything, Dean."

"I personally think it's overrated." Dean grumbles, which resulted in a hard kick to the shins from Vienna.

"Hey, heaven forbid a guy have opinions."

Vienna brushed off this criticism of her favorite book, and began to spout out fun facts. "Did you know that the books are written in the style of plays because the author used to write screenplays before she wrote the books?"

"Really?" Dean looks at her,  tone of slight sarcasm in his voice, though Vienna did not seem to care about his slight disinterest.

"Yes, and it is also said that the books were also influenced by the Greek myth of the Minotaur and Theseus, where many young kids were sacrificed to a deadly beast. The whole metaphor of this is very interesting. The 'deadly beast' in the Hunger Games is the arena, the games, and the kids are the tributes. Suzanne Collins is a mastermind, it's such a well thought out-" Vienna was cut off by Dean reaching his hand across the table and grabbing Vienna's coffee mug from in front of her.

"Am I doing it again?" Vienna asks sheepishly. When she drinks coffee, she tends to talk in a very fast manner.

"Yes, yes you are." Dean rests his back against the plush jet seats. As much as Dean pretended to be annoyed by Vienna's constant talking, he really did like the distraction from the reason why they were going to Idaho.

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THE IDAHO AIR WAS CHILLY AS VIENNA STEPPED OUT OF THE BLACK SUV.

She and Dean were greeted outside of the police station by Briggs. "Thank you both for coming." His words were both short and direct.

"I didn't really have a choice, Locke forced me to come here. On my day off!" Vienna says.

Dean shoots her a look.

"I mean: of course, sir!"

"Locke's original plan was to bring Michael in instead of Dean because of his emotion reading, but I vetoed that. You guys aren't ready to handle active cases together just yet, and Dean does a good job of keeping you in line."

"Briggs, I am perfectly capable of keeping myself in line." There was a tone of offense in her voice.

"Yes, but you and Michael together...not so much."

Vienna surrendered her argument at this. Briggs was right. As good as she and Michael were separately, they had a tough time staying on task when they work together. Michael knows exactly how to push Vienna's buttons, and she plays into his teasing too much.

"so, where is this Devon kid at?" Vienna asks.

"He's in an interrigation room right now-"

"That seems a bit threatening, don't you think?" Vienna asks. She was very worried for this Devon kid, and she figured that being placed in an interrogation room under the careful watch of a couple of FBI agents was not the best thing for a traumatized seven year old.

"I'm not sure whether he likes it or if he's scared. That's why we had to fly you two in this last minute."

Dean cuts in. "So what do you want us to talk to this kid about?"

"About his life. Start easy, maybe ask him about school of friends. Don't burst into the room asking about his father, kind of ease into it. Do whatever feels natural, try to make it seem like like you just want to talk to him without having some secret agenda."

"Do we have a secret agenda?" Vienna asks.

"Yes, we need to figure out if his father has killed anyone else, if he's linked to other missing persons. This kid may be our only way to finding out the truth, because we know that the murderer won't confess to anything yet, maybe his son will."

"I thought you said he refused to talk." Dean says as they enter the rather small police station.

"He is, so far. Locke thought that having someone closer to his age, not an adult, would be helpful."

"And a kid whose father is also a serial killer." Dean adds.

"Dean-" Briggs starts.

"It's fine. Can you just show us to where the kid is?"

Briggs nods quickly, a look of remorse on his stoic face. They turn the corner to see Locke, wearing a blazer, a nice pair of pants and heels, along with a serious expression that almost mirrored Briggs's. 

"Vienna, Dean." Her serious expression dissolves into a smile. "You made it, good. Sorry about the early wakeup call, Vi." She adds, winking

"It's alright." Vienna reassures her. "I'm just glad that you guys wanted me to help."

"That's not what you said to me a couple minutes ago, you said that you were annoyed about being woken up." Briggs speaks up.

"Well, I-" Vienna starts.

"Maybe Vienna has favorites." Locke says before turning the corner and walking away.

"Briggs, I was just joking earlier." Vienna clarifies.

"I know. So was I." Briggs says with a slight smirk as they reach the interrogation room.

"Alright, he's in there. he doesn't want to talk, but i think you guys can get him to, alright? I believe in you, best of luck." Briggs pats both Dean and Vienna on their shoulders before giving them a gentle nudge towards the room.

Dean looks to Vienna, and they both give small yet confident nods, with an equal understanding of the importance of the situation.

They push the rather heavy door open and are face to face with young Devon Walters.

"Hi, Devon. i'm Vienna, and this is my friend Dean. We just want to talk, alright?"

"You just want to get information on my dad, right?" The little boy wasn't making any sort of eye contact.

"No, we just want to talk to you, Devon, about you. We want to help."

"No, you do. you're saying that you want to talk to me, but you really don't care about me, just what i have to say about my dad."

Vienna was quite taken aback. He was strangely manipulative and accusing for only being seven years old. "Uh-"

"We just want to talk to you, I swear." Dean cuts in. "Do you go to school?"

"Of course i do." the boy folds his arms across his skinny chest.

"What grade are you in?" Vienna asks.

"Second." he mumbled.

"second? have you made any friends?"

"Yeah."

"What are their names?" Dean asks.

"Samuel. and...Abbie."

"What do you guys like to do together?"

"At recess at school we play tether ball."

"What about outside of school? do you guys play after school?" Vienna asks.

"I'm not allowed to hang out with them outside of school." there was a hint of sadness in his small voice.

"Why not?"

"My dad doesn't want me to accidentally tell them-" the young boy sniffs.

"Tell them what?" Vienna prompts.

"About the women he has...."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What women?" they knew that the boy's father had been killing married couples, though they hadn't heard of other women.

"The ones in the basement."

"Which women, Devon? do you know their names?"

"They've-they're on the news. Sarah Wells and Amy Cash. I think i saw them on the tv when my dad was in the basement with them." The boy was seemingly growing more anxious as the conversation moved along. "They're 'missing'"

"Thank you for telling us, Devon." Vienna nods, taking those two names to memory. 

"Is my dad going to be arrested? Because I don't have anyone else."

Dean's jaw clenched at this, it didn't take an emotion reader to tell that he was becoming upset.

"We don't know anything for sure." Vienna lies, hoping the kid would believe her. she knew that Drew Walters/Shawn Andrews was practically dead meat, she surmised that he would be arrested soon with no hope of release. And for that, she was glad, though she couldn't help but feel bad for little Devon.

"Okay." the boy says.

"Devon, does your father ever talk about your mother? Elizabeth Keeton?" Vienna asks, pulling Elizabeth's photo from the case file and pushing it across the table to Devon.

He shoved his slightly overgrown light brown hair out of his face, scrunching up his face as he looks at the photo of his mother.

"Yeah, he has."

"What did he say?"

"That he loved her. he says that she died when i was born. I wish she was still alive."

Dean and Vienna exchange equal looks of concern.

"He told you that?"

The boy nods.

"Uh, Devon, your father....he lied to you. and i think you deserve to know the truth." Dean says, as Vienna gives him a supportive nod. 

"What? My father never lies."

"He...your mother didn't die having you." Dean starts, holding eye contact with Devon. "He killed her. And i know this is a sensitive thing, but i think you need to know the truth."

Silence fell over the interrogation room, Vienna didn't dare move in her seat as Devon processed what Dean had told him.

"But-my dad's not a killer." The boy says.

Vienna and Dean exchange concerned expressions. He had just been talking about how his dad was holding women in their basement, and now he was saying he was innocent?

"Devon, you just told us that he was holding women in your basement." Vienna speaks.

"He doesn't want to kill them. i never said he did."

Vienna knew that Devon had said what he said, she had eidetic memory, after all. 

"My dad would never kill anyone, you guys are crazy." the boy crosses his arms over his chest. "He makes them food, he makes them dinner, and then he goes down there for like an hour each night. he's not killing them!"

Vienna scrunches her face up in confusion. Then, something came to her. "Dean and I are going to have a chat outside, Devon. We'll be back though."

The boy nods silently, not saying a word as Vienna led Dean out of the interrogation room and into the one sided window. they could see Devon, but he couldn't see or hear them.

"What are we chatting about?" Dean asks.

"He's a manipulator, Dean."

"Huh?"

"He's trying to manipulate us into thinking that his dad isn't a killer."

"He's not a manipulator, he's seven!"

"He still is. Kids in situations like Devon is in will often train themselves to be able to reinforce people's opinions in order to protect their abuser, like what Devon is doing. Even though we knew the truth, he suggested otherwise, and if it were anyone other than us, they probably would've believed him."

"Don't recite my childhood to me, Vienna. I lived like Devon did for twelve years." Dean says, his voice harsh.

"Dean, why are you so mad?"

"I'm bad because you think that if you over-analyze everything it'll make sense. Your issue is that you think you're the smartest person alive. Maybe he's not a natural like the rest of us, it's probably just a fucking trauma response to all of the things he's seen his father do."

"Dean, I think it's a valid thing that we should consider and bring up to Briggs-"

"NO! We're not doing that. we can't cause more stress for Devon."

"i think that if he just put his manipulative nature behind him, then he can realize his trauma and give us more information about his father." Vienna was  trying her best to reason with Dean, though her attempts were mostly failing.

"We're not going to make him relive that trauma, because he's not just a source of information, he's a boy! A seven year old, for God's sake. That's what's pissing me off about them flying us out here just to rattle some information out of this little boy, it's not right, it's not!"

"I understand where you're coming from, Dean. I really do." Vienna sighs. "But i just am following Briggs and Locke's instructions."

"Fine." Dean says. "You can go back in there and deal with your little manipulator, but i'm done. I won't watch this happen to another little boy, not on my watch." He walks toward the door.

"Dean, wait!" Vienna says.

But it was too late, he had already gone, the door slammed loudly in his wake.

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DESPITE HER BEST EFFORTS, Vienna couldn't get Devon to admit to himself and her that his father had killed anyone.

He had killed eight people, and his son denied it. But at this point, Vienna didn't care to talk to the boy about his father anymore.

Though, she was still talking to him about his life. she had learned that he loves to watch baseball on TV, and that his favorite team was the Boston Red Sox because red was his favorite color.

He also really wants a dog, and he wish he had a brother to play with. His favorite pair of shoes were light up blue ones that his father had bought him for his return to school for second grade. He told Vienna that his father always bought him a new pair of shoes before the new school year, and that he looks forward to it all summer long.

He really was just like any other boy, besides the father serial killer thing. She decided not to address it anymore, she simply enjoyed talking to the boy, putting him at ease.

It had been about three hours since Dean had stormed out, and Vienna knew practically everything about the boy now, he was even laughing like any other little kid.

Devon had opened up about the one and only time his father had ever hurt him. It was when he had asked to have a friend over, and his father wasn't allowing it. He begged and begged, and eventually, his father had grown fed up with his son's pleas, and he slapped him right across the face. Devon said that it hurt, and left a red mark on his cheek for a while.

Vienna had apologized to Devon over this, she felt horrible. She was shocked that it only happened once, though Drew Walters had longed for a son, so she assumed that was why it only happened once. Though he had an odd relationship with his son, he still did love him. I mean, why else would he buy the kid light up sneakers?

Briggs shoved the door open gently, his hard gaze softening upon seeing the smile plastered on both Devon, and Vienna's faces.

"Vienna, we've got to go soon."

"Me and Dean, or you and Locke too?"

"All of us. I handed the case over to the police department, they've got it from here, though they may call us if they need more help."

"Vienna, you're leaving?" Devon looks at her sadly.

The brunette girl frowned at the look of sadness on Devon's face.

"Yes, but if you want, i can give you my phone number and you can get a hold of me if you want." Vienna offers.

"But i don't have a phone."

"The place where you're going to stay has a phone, you can call Vienna from there."

"What place?" the boy asks.

"It's a super fun place with lots of other boys and girls your age. there's lots of fun things to do, and I think you'll love it."

"Really?" The boy's face switches from a frown to a full-on grin.

"Yes, you'll be going there tomorrow." Briggs smiled slightly at the boy.

"I'll talk to you soon, Devon?" Vienna looks at him for confirmation as she stands up.

"Absolutely." The boy stands as well and hugs Vienna tightly. "Thank you for talking with me."

Vienna smiles at briggs, who was also smiling at this interaction, as Devon lets go.

"I promise you, everything will be alright." Vienna smiles as she walks out of the door with Briggs.

As the door shut after them, Briggs gave her a look that almost resembled a proud father.

"Great job in there, Vienna."

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VIENNA WAS LYING DOWN on one of the jet's couches with a blanket, she was going to try and get some sleep on the flight back to DC.

Dean suddenly sat on the couch across from her. "Vienna, i'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." he says quietly, Locke and Briggs were talking on the other side of the jet, so he kept his voice down.

"I understand where you're coming from, Dean. Really."

"These kind of things are really personal to me, as you know because of my dad. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, though. You're so smart, and i feel like i don't recognize you enough for that."

Vienna smiles gently. "Thank you Dean. and after you left, I didn't try to get more information from Devon. We just talked about baseball and his favorite pair of shoes."

"Oh yeah?" Dean smiles.

"Yep. The Red Sox, and blue shoes."

Dean grins. "I personally prefer the Yankees."

Vienna wrinkles her nose. "I think Devon's on the right track. My dad loved the Red Sox."

Dean's face softened only slightly. "The Yankees are far better."

"Oh, my poor father is rolling over in his grave as we speak." Vienna chuckled.

Dean laughed too. It was rare that he would fully laugh, and Vienna was one of the few people that could make him laugh.

And for that, he would forever cherish her.

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cam's notes!

that's it for this case, though there will be closure later on.

i love dean and vienna sm, they're going to have sort of a complex relationship as they butt heads often, i'm excited to show more of them.

this may be it for  devon, but look out for him far in the future ;) (he and vienna will keep in contact dw!)

next chapter i'll dive into the plot of The Naturals, and more on the dynamics between the characters.

qotd: if you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose? i would have an otter, they're my favorite animal!

see you in the next chapter and i'm sorry for the yap session lmao <3