Author’s Note: This story takes place directly following Supernatural Season 14 Episode 16 ‘Don’t go in the Woods’. Specific spoilers for that episode, and if you haven’t seen it, the story might not make a lot of sense.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters and I’m not making any money from this story.
Warning: Consensual spanking of a… well of a nephilim, because I can’t decide if he’s an ‘adult’ or not. Is he two? Is he twenty-two? Is he somewhere in between? Is he adult enough to make his own decisions?

Guilt, Lies, and Repercussions

Dean was feeling pretty good about life in general as he pulled up and parked Baby in front of the little store they frequented when they were home. He was humming some AC/DC as he walked into the store. Not only had the hunt gone well for him and Sam, but when they’d come home Jack had assured them that things had gone well for him, too. Then they’d had a little heart to heart with the kid. Dean had come clean about the real reason they’d left Jack behind, and Jack had promised not to use his powers without permission. The icing on the cake was that Dean was feeling pretty damn confident about Jack’s soul being intact, because the boy hadn’t wanted to use his fake ID to buy beer.

He grabbed a box of beer, and took it to the cash register. He stopped humming mid lyric when he saw the expression the girl behind the counter was wearing. She looked positively terrified, and her eyes kept darting to the door. He recognized the dark haired girl, and after a second of thought, he came up with her name.

“Hey Stacy, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Is he with you?” she asked, looking towards the door again.

“Who?”

“Jack.”

Frowning, Dean said, “Not today. Why?”

Stacy leaned in and whispered, “What IS he?”

Immediately on guard, Dean said, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what kind of creature has orange glowing eyes, has telekinetic powers, and can heal someone when they get stabbed?” She lifted her shirt to expose her stomach, and pointed to a spot of skin. “Without even leaving a scar.”

With a grim expression, Dean said, “We need to talk.” He went to the door, flipped the sign to closed, and added, “Alone.”

# # #

Half an hour later Dean was livid when he got home. He opened the door to the bunker and bellowed, “Jack!”

Sam had been sitting at the conference table in the main room when Dean arrived, but as soon as he heard Dean’s tone, he stood and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Dean came down the stairs carrying his beer and yelled even louder, “Jack! Get your ass in here!”

“Dean?” Sam asked.

Jack came through the doorway with a furrowed brow as Dean was setting his beer on the conference table.

Once Dean’s hands were free, he glared at Jack, jabbed a finger onto the conference table, and ordered, “Bend over the table.”

Confused, Jack stepped up, bent over as requested, and looked at Dean over his shoulder. “Why?”

“Dean,” Sam said warily.

Dean unbuckled his belt, and slid it off in one swift move. “Because I’m going to beat your ass.”

Jack stood. “Beat my ass?” he asked with a frown.

Dean took a step towards Jack, but before he could reach the boy, Sam rushed to stand between them.

“No,” Sam said firmly.

“He lied to us, Sam!” Dean glared over at Jack. The kid’s eyes open wide with shock before guiltily darting to the ground, and then Dean knew without a doubt that Stacy’s story had been true.

“It doesn’t matter what he did,” Sam said with quiet authority. “You’re not doing this.”

Dean glared at his little brother. “You can’t be serious. Of course it matters, Sam! He lied to us! He almost killed Stacy, and then he lied about it!”

“We’re going to talk in the kitchen,” Sam said firmly. He took the belt out of Dean’s hand, set it on the table, and pushed on his brother’s shoulder to get him moving. He turned back to Jack, pointed to a chair and said, “Sit down right there and wait for us.” Sam followed Dean without waiting to see if Jack was sitting.

Once they were in the kitchen, Sam crossed his arms and stood calmly by the door while Dean paced back and forth.

“Tell me what happened,” Sam said with infuriating calm.

Dean animatedly told his brother everything he’d learned from Stacy. “So can I go deal with him now?” he asked when the story was done.

“No,” Sam said.

“After all that, you still don’t think he deserves to get his ass beat?” Dean asked incredulously. “Dad would have…”

“I don’t want to make the same mistakes with Jack that Dad made with us!” Sam said loudly, cutting his brother off.

The two men stared at each other for several seconds, each thinking over what the other had said.

“I know Dad made some mistakes,” Dean reluctantly agreed. “Hell, he made a lot of mistakes. But if you think a well-deserved ass beating was one of them…”

“I never said that,” Sam interrupted again. “I’m not saying that Jack doesn’t deserve punishment, and I’m not saying that I disagree with the concept of corporal punishment. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“What are you talking about?” Dean demanded. He wanted this unpleasant task to be over and done with as quickly as possible.

Sam held up a hand and ticked off fingers as he made his points. “You shouldn’t punish him when you’re pissed. You shouldn’t punish him before we talk to him about what he did to deserve it. You shouldn’t punish him before we explain the difference between what you’re going to do to and what Lucifer did to him. And I’m not sure how much good it will even do if he doesn’t have his soul intact. Pain was a slight deterrent when my soul was gone, but not a big one. I just would have tried to avoid the pain by hiding what I’d done, not by improving my behavior. Not to mention I’m not sure how a few smacks to the ass are going to make much of an impact. You shot him once when he wasn’t listening, and he seemed mildly surprised, not repentant.”

Feeling defeated, and very much not looking forward to a lengthy talk before having to punish the kid, Dean wanted to disagree with Sam’s logic, but found that he couldn’t.

“Fine,” Dean grumbled, and tried to walk past Sam.

“Fine?” Sam asked, blocking the doorway. “Fine what?”

“Fine to all of it,” Dean said. “I don’t like it, but I know you’re right. I’d rather not talk it out and deal with all the emotional crap that’s going bring up, but it will be better for Jack, so I’ll do it. It would be easier for me to beat his ass when I’m pissed, but it wouldn’t be best for Jack, so I’ll calm down first. I get it, and…” he winced because saying this hurt a little, “…I want us to be better than Dad, too.”

Sam put a hand on Dean’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze before they both headed back together.

Dean felt a twinge of guilt when he stepped into the room and noticed that Jack had tears streaming down his face.

When Jack saw Dean, he quickly wiped the tears away with his hands, stood, grabbed the belt off the table, and held it out to Dean. More tears fell as he said, “I’m sorry. I did lie to you.” He looked over at Sam for a moment. “To both of you.” His eyes went back to Dean’s. “And that’s not what a Winchester would do. I knew it was wrong, and I did it anyway. If you think I deserve to have my ass beat for it, then I do.”

When Dean didn’t take the belt, Jack held it out even further and said, “I won’t use my powers to get out of it. I’ll keep my body human the whole time no matter how much it hurts. Like the time that man gave me a tattoo. I promise.”

Sam stepped in between them again and took the belt from Jack. He dropped it on the table and said, “Sit down, Jack. We’re going to talk first.”

Jack looked to Dean for confirmation before sitting.

Once all three of them were in chairs around the conference room table, Sam said, “Admitting that you lied and apologizing for it is a good first step. But now you need to tell us the truth, even if it’s hard.”

Jack turned to Dean, who nodded and said, “It’s confession time. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. Get it over with and you’ll start to feel better.”

Jack’s chin trembled, but he nodded, wiped the tears off his face again and kept his eyes on Dean as he confessed.

“When I went shopping, I spoke to Max, Stacy, and Eliot. They told me that they knew we were hunters, and invited me to hang out with them. Eliot was very interested in learning about the monsters we hunt, so I took him some books when I went to meet them. They were asking a lot of questions, and they wanted to know how to kill a demon, so I showed them the angel blade. Then they wanted a demonstration on how to use it, so we all went outside. I tried throwing it the way you guys do, but…” Jack looked down at the table and said, “…I couldn’t get it right, so I used my powers to throw it.”

Dean snapped his fingers and said, “Eyes up, Jack.”

Slowly, Jack raised his eyes, and looked at Dean.

“Are you telling me that you used your powers because you were showing off?” Dean asked, feeling angry all over again, even though Stacy had already told him the story.

“Showing off?” Jack asked, turning to Sam.

“Trying to impress your new friends,” Sam clarified.

Jack nodded. “Yes.”

Dean glared at the boy. “Showing off for your friends, is not a good reason to use your powers. We’ve talked about using your powers in public, and you know you’re not supposed to unless it’s an emergency.”

Fresh tears ran down Jack’s face at the reprimand. “But they’re like hunters. They know about monsters, so I thought it was okay. I use my powers around the other hunters, and you’ve never told me not to.”

“Those kids aren’t hunters!” Dean said.

Sam held his hand up to quiet Dean and said, “These kids know a tiny bit about monsters, but they don’t know much. All they knew before yesterday was that we hunted ghosts. Having our books and seeing what you can do is too much for them to process at one time. They’re more likely to get hurt trying to find information than they are to keep themselves safe. And Dean is right, trying to impress your friends is not a good reason to use your powers.”

Sam turned to Dean and added, “But since he’s never had friends that weren’t from an alternate dimension where angels attack the earth on a regular basis, I think it’s an understandable mistake, and one that he won’t make again.” He turned back to Jack. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” Jack nodded emphatically. “I’ll never do it again. It was horrible. They were… afraid of me.”

“What happened next?” Dean asked.

Reluctantly Jack said softly, “I was flying the angel blade through the air and they told me to stop. I tried to tell them that it was okay, but… Stacy stepped forward, and the blade went into her stomach…”

Dean thought Jack looked like a kicked puppy. His eyes were open wide and shiny with tears, and he had a haunted expression on his face. Dean forced himself not to comfort the boy. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, Jack needed to face what he’d done.

“So you were screwing around when you shouldn’t have been, and someone got hurt because of it,” Dean said.

“Yes,” Jack said softly as more tears fell.

“And then you healed her?” Sam asked.

“Yes,” Jack said. “It was my fault she got hurt. I had to. I’m not sorry I healed her.”

Sam nodded. “That’s okay. We’re not upset that you healed her. That was the right call. What happened next?”

“They… told me to leave, so I came home.”

“And then?” Dean growled.

“And then?” Jack asked, clearly not understanding what Dean wanted. “I waited for you to come home.”

Dean slapped the table and shouted, “Why didn’t you call us?! Or Cas? When something like that happens, you tell us about it! You don’t try to cover it up or hide it, and you sure as hell don’t lie to us about it! We lie to other people, Jack! Not to each other!”

“I’m sorry!” Jack said sounding utterly repentant.

“Dean,” Sam chided and then turned to Jack. “Why did you lie about it?”

“Because I… I knew you’d be disappointed in me, and… I was worried that… that you’d be afraid of me, too.”

Sam put a hand over Jack’s, and patted it. “Dean and I will never be afraid of you, Jack, we love you. We know you’re a good person, and it’s obvious to me that you still have plenty of your soul left, or you wouldn’t be crying right now.”

A good portion of Dean’s anger drained away after hearing Jack’s reasons for lying. He sighed, gentled his tone, and said, “Sometimes you’ll do things that disappoint us. Sometimes you’ll do things that disappoint yourself. That’s part of being human. I’ve done plenty of things that disappointed the people I love. But part of being a man, and being a Winchester, is admitting it when you make a mistake, and then making amends.”

Jack pointed to the belt on the table. “Beating my ass is making amends?”

“No,” Sam said. “That’s punishment. Making amends will be going to the store with us tomorrow, apologizing to your friends, and promising them it will never happen again.”

Jack shook his head. “They don’t want to see me.”

“I know, but you’re going to apologize anyway, because it’s dangerous for them to be afraid of you. They have to see that you’re repentant about what happened, and that you follow our orders.”

“But…”

“You’re doing it,” Dean said with finality. “No arguments.”

Frowning, Jack nodded.

Sam and Dean looked at each other for a moment, and after Dean raised an eyebrow, Sam sighed and turned to Jack. “Do you know what Dean is talking about when he says he’s going to beat your ass?” Sam knew Dean was averse to using the ‘s’ word when it came to corporal punishment, but the term ‘spanking’ and the phrase ‘beat your ass’ brought up two very different images in Sam’s brain, and he wanted to make sure Jack knew that Dean wasn’t going to do any serious or lasting damage.

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed. “He’s going to hit my ass with his belt several times. Is that not right?”

“No, that is right, but…” Sam frowned and said, “Do you know what a spanking is?”

“Oh for Christ sake,” Dean muttered, and focused on Jack. “Lucifer beat you almost to death because you wouldn’t go along with his plan to let Michael kill off humanity. I’m about to hit your ass with a belt a few times because you lied to us. Do you understand the difference between what he did, and what I’m going to do?”

Jack looked back and forth between Sam and Dean a few times and then said, “You think I might get those two things somehow confused?” Jack shook his head. “They aren’t even comparable.”

Dean nodded decisively and said, “Good.” He glanced at Sam and said, “Did I forget anything, or are we good to go here? I’m calm, he knows what he did wrong, and he doesn’t think I’m going to beat him to death.”

“I never said he…” Sam shook his head and sighed instead of finishing his sentence. “Never mind. I’m okay with it now.”

Dean stood, grabbed the belt, doubled it over in his hand, and looked at Jack. “Let’s try this again.” He tapped the head of the table with his finger and said, “Come here and bend over the table.”

Jack quickly got into position without comment.

Dean put a hand on the kid’s lower back, raised the belt, and said, “You don’t lie to us, Jack.” He snapped the belt down onto the seat of Jack’s jeans, and felt the young man’s back muscles tense under his hand. Dean gave him four more harsh slaps before pausing, and couldn’t help but feel a little proud that Jack hadn’t cried out even though his body twitched with each smack. “I don’t care if you lie to every other person on the planet, you don’t lie to me, you don’t lie to Sam, and you don’t lie to Cas. Got it?”

“Yes, Dean,” Jack murmured.

Dean brought the belt down five more times, and heard Jack gasp with the last strike.

“As hunters we need to be able to trust each other, but it’s hard to trust someone when they’ve lied to you.” Dean felt Jack’s back start to shake with tears, and thought about how much easier this would have been if he was still pissed. Clenching his jaw, he brought the belt down five more times, while Jack whimpered through it.

“Are you going to lie to us again?” Dean asked.

“No.” The word had barely been above a whisper, but Dean heard it well enough.

“Good. You’d better not. Next subject. You don’t use your powers without permission unless it’s an emergency.”

“Dean,” Sam said, clearly disapproving.

“Sam,” Dean said with certainty, and looked over at Sam for a moment.

The two brothers stared at each other for a few seconds as if reading each other’s thoughts. Sam glanced at Jack to see how he was doing, but the young man was keeping his eyes on the table in front of him. Sam finally sighed and nodded once, conceding to Dean’s decision.

“No powers without permission unless it’s an emergency,” Dean reiterated, and then snapped the belt down five more times.

Jack gasped and groaned through them. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered when the smacks stopped, and his crying became more noticeable.

“You never use your powers just because you want to impress someone.” Dean said, and slapped the belt against Jack’s butt five more times.

“Ow,” Jack whined pitifully with the last two strikes.

Dean said, “Okay, kiddo, last five, and then we’ll be done. The reason we don’t want you to use your powers is because innocent bystanders can get hurt.”

“Like Stacy,” Jack said.

“Like Stacy,” Dean agreed before aiming a little lower and smacking Jack’s upper thighs with the belt.

“Ah!” Jack cried out with each strike, and his hands balled into fists. When Dean set the belt down on the table, Jack hung his head in relief, and cried a little louder.

Dean patted his back and said gently, “All done. But you need to keep your body human for the next two days. You’re supposed to be sore every time you sit down to help the lesson stick. Okay?”

“Okay,” Jack said, wiping his face on his sleeve.

Slowly Jack pushed himself up, and hissed quietly. Both of his hands went to his ass to rub out the sting while his eyes met Dean’s. “That was very painful,” Jack said softly. “Not just for my skin. It hurt inside, too.” He put a hand on his chest to emphasize his point. “In here.”

Dean put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and tapped Jack’s chest with a finger. “Did it hurt in here when you accidentally stabbed Stacy?”

Jack nodded. “Yes.”

“And now that we’ve talked it over and you’ve been punished, does that memory hurt any less?” Dean asked.

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed in thought and after a moment he said, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Keeping your body human for the next couple of days should help with that,” Dean said. “Every time you think about what happened to Stacy, your ass will remind you that you’ve already been punished.”

“And if it helps,” Sam said as he stood, and pulled Jack into a hug. “Dean and I both forgive you.”

Jack hugged Sam tight, but kept his eyes on Dean. “You’re not angry anymore?”

“No,” Dean assured him. “I was pissed when I found out what you’d done, but I’m not angry anymore. I’m proud of you for going through with the punishment even though it hurt in more ways than one.”

A few new tears went down Jack’s face. Sam let go of him, and nudged him towards Dean.

Dean pulled Jack into a tight hug and said softly, “Enough with the tears, kiddo. It’s over, you’re forgiven, and we know you’re not going to let it happen again.”

“I won’t,” Jack promised as he clung to Dean and tried to stop crying.

After a few moments, Dean slapped Jack’s back in a manly way and let go. “I don’t know about you guys, but I sure need a beer after that.”

Sam rolled his eyes and muttered, “Great coping skills there, Dean. Good example you’re setting.”

Dean unrepentantly opened the case of beer that was on the table, pulled one out, unscrewed the top, and took several swallows. “Still cold,” he said with a smile. He pulled another bottle out and held it out to Sam.

Sighing, Sam took it, opened it, and had a drink as well.

Dean pulled out a third bottle, and handed it to Jack.

“Great parenting,” Sam muttered, but there was no heat behind his words, and the corner of his mouth was turned up.

Tentatively smiling, Jack opened his beer as well, and took a drink.

Dean clapped Jack on the shoulder and said, “How about a movie? I’ll even let you pick.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Dean said, wondering what oddity the kid might come up with.

Jack thought about it for a few seconds and said, “Could we watch The Lost Boys?”

A look of surprise crossed Dean’s face, before breaking into a wide grin. “Of course we can.”

Sam groaned and walked away muttering, “I’ve got research to do.”

# # #

The next morning after breakfast Sam said, “Come on Jack. Time to go see your friends.”

“I don’t think they’re my friends anymore,” Jack said while putting on his coat.

“Don’t be so sure,” Dean replied, getting his keys out. “An apology goes a long way, especially if you mix it with some humility. Tell them you’re grounded. That should help.”

“Tell them I’m grounded?” Jack asked, clearly not understanding the term.

“Grounded means being restricted from certain things,” Sam said.

“Like not using my powers without permission?” Jack asked.

“Not exactly,” Dean said. “Tell them that you’re not allowed to go to the store without supervision for a month.”

“I’m not?” Jack asked.

Dean and Sam shared a look. Then Sam nodded and said, “No, you’re not. For the next month you’re not allowed out of the bunker without supervision.”

“Okay,” Jack easily agreed, and followed them out the door.

# # #

When they arrived at the little store, Stacy was the only one there. She looked warily at Jack and Dean before giving Sam a fake smile. “What can I do for you?”

“Jack has something he wants to say to you and your friends. Do you think you could get Max and Eliot to come over if you called them?”

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Jack.

“You don’t have to worry about anyone getting hurt,” Jack said sincerely. “I won’t be using my powers.”

She scrutinized him for a few seconds, before slowly nodding. “Okay, I’ll ask them if they want to come over, but no promises that they’ll come.”

“Great,” Sam said. “Thank you.” He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “We’ll go look at the magazines until they get here so you can do your job.”

Stacy nodded and got her phone out of her pocket.

Twenty minutes later, Max and Eliot arrived together. Everyone had to wait for a customer to leave, before Stacy went and locked the door, and turned the open sign to closed. She stayed by the door, and her friends flanked her while Dean, Sam, and Jack walked over to them.

“Okay, say whatever you came to say,” she said.

Jack said, “I wanted to tell you all how sorry I am. I was trying to impress you all by using my powers, and that was the wrong reason to use them.” He focused on Stacy and said, “I’m especially sorry that you got hurt because I was showing off. I like all of you,” he glanced at Eliot and Max as well, “and I would never want any of you to get hurt because of me.”

Jack turned to Sam for approval of the apology. Sam nodded, and said, “And?”

Glancing back at the teens, Jack said, “And I’m grounded from going out without supervision for a month.”

That seemed to surprise the teens, which encourage Jack to say more. “I’m also not allowed to use my powers without permission for now. And I had my ass beat for using them while Sam and Dean were away.”

“Spanked,” Sam said quickly, to dispel any images of abuse the teens might automatically get from Jack parroting Dean’s phrase. “You got spanked for using your powers while we were out.”

Dean groaned, but kept his mouth shut.

“Yes,” Jack agreed. “I got spanked.”

“You said you were twenty-two,” Max said, her tone accusatory.

“But at first he said he was two,” Eliot said. “Which is it?”

“Uh…” Jack turned to Sam for help.

“Biologically we think he’s about twenty-two, but he’s only been alive for two years,” Sam said. “He’s still learning how the world works. There is absolutely nothing malicious about Jack, he’s just young, and prone to making mistakes. He still needs guidance, which you guys could help provide by being his friends.”

The teens looked at each other, and then Stacy focused on Jack. “Dean told me that you’re a nephilim. Half human, and half angel.”

“That’s correct,” Jack agreed.

“But Sam and Dean are both human,” Eliot said.

Jack nodded again. “My biological parents are both dead. Sam, Dean, and Castiel are my fathers.”

“Castiel?” Max asked.

“The dark haired one with the trench coat,” Dan said.

Max nodded in understanding, having seen him in the store with both of the Winchesters a couple of times.

“So what do you guys say?” Dean asked, wanting this discussion over with. “Will you give Jack a second chance?”

Eliot looked at his friends and said, “It’d be like having a ten-year-old friend who always carries around a loaded gun.”

“I’m not allowed to carry a gun unless we’re on a hunt,” Jack said.

“It’s a metaphor,” Sam explained. “Inexperience mixed with lethal potential.”

“Ah,” Jack said with a nod of understanding and then said sincerely, “More like having a ten-year-old friend who always carries around a loaded gun with the safety on.”

Eliot looked at Dean who shrugged and nodded, because it was a fairly accurate description.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Eliot was the first to decide. “I don’t know about you guys, but I would be okay with hanging out again sometime.”

Max took Stacy’s hand in hers and said, “It’s up to you. You’re the one who got hurt.”

Stacy made eye contact with Jack, and slowly nodded. “You can come into the store to say hi when you’re with one of your dads, and then in a month we can try hanging out again.”

“Really?” Jack asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yeah,” Stacy said. “My cousin is ten, and now that I know more about you, I get it. But if we tell you to stop doing something, you have to listen to us.”

“I will,” Jack promised. “Thank you. I know I probably don’t deserve it, but thank you for giving me another chance.”

Dean put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “We should get going.”

“Okay.”

Stacy unlocked the door to let them out, and as they walked out, she put a hand on Jack’s wrist to stop him. Once he made eye contact, she said, “Thank you for healing me. I know you didn’t have to.”

“No,” Jack said. “I did have to, because it was my fault you got hurt. Healing you was the one thing I did right that night.”

Stacy squeezed his wrist and let go. “See you soon.”

“Yes, I hope so,” Jack said before following Sam and Dean out to the car.

The End