A Supernatural Fanfic

[brassband777]

A Supernatural Fanfic:

Title: The Spirit of Jack McCaine Part 1

Author: brassband777
Characters: Sam (10), Dean (14), John
Scenario: My take on Dean’s first hunt.
Story type: General, Weechesters!
Summary: John takes Dean on his first hunt, but of course, Sam manages to get involved!
Author's Notes/Warnings: No warnings, though spoilers for ‘A Very Supernatural Christmas’. This has been posted on fanfiction.net for a while and decided to post it here as it’s fairly short.

The Spirit of Jack McCaine

Sleep lifted reluctantly and heavily from Dean. He slowly opened his eyes, wondering what had awoken him. It was almost pitch black, except for a single beam of light from a nearby streetlight that filtered through the dingy motel curtains. The urgent, hushed whisper came again.

“Dean! Wake up!”

As Dean’s eyes adjusted to the lack of illumination, he was just able to make out his father crouched by the side of his bed.

“I’ve just had a call from Pastor Jim. There’s a rather nasty haunting that has come to his attention. Jim can’t sort it….long story. So, I’ve gotta go, the family are in real danger… should be back in two or three days. Take care of Sammy.”

John Winchester leaned forward and kissed the top of Dean’s tousled head, before turning away. He picked up a large rucksack and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

The fog of sleep finally lifted enough from Dean’s mind for the boy to realise what was happening.

“Dad! Wait!” he urged, sitting bolt upright.

“Hush!” admonished John, putting a finger to his lips, “You’ll wake your brother.”

John came back to the side of the bed and looked down curiously at his fourteen-year-old son.

“What is it, Dean?”

“Can’t we come with you?” pleaded Dean, remembering to drop his voice to a whisper, “Please…..”

John started to shake his head and then hesitated. Seizing the opportunity to take advantage of his father’s momentary unexpected indecision, Dean jumped in.

“It’s summer break, so we won’t miss any school…and it’s not like we need to hide the truth from Sam anymore.”

John’s face clouded and took on a troubled look.

“I still can’t believe he found out like that. How could I be so careless?” He shook his head in self-recrimination and continued with a sigh, “Me and Bobby never thought for a minute that we’d be overheard… especially at 2am! Sam was supposed to be tucked up safely in bed. I wish I’d been able to protect him from all this for a few years longer.”

Dean said nothing. Their father thought that Sam had found out about hunting only a few months earlier, when he had awoken thirsty one night while they were staying at Bobby’s and had come downstairs for a drink. Sam had overheard his father and Bobby planning to hunt down and destroy a banshee that was terrorising a local village. Dean however, knew the truth - Sam had known for a year and a half, ever since that fateful Christmas Eve. Sam had read their father’s journal and confronted Dean about its contents. Dean had often wondered if he had done the right thing in confessing to his young brother, especially considering the nightmares that had then plagued the youngster for months afterwards. He fingered the amulet around his neck unconsciously as he remembered back to that night. Sam had pretended that he was cool with the idea of their dad being a ‘super hero’ as Dean had phrased it, but Dean knew his baby brother too well. Sam had refused to meet his eyes afterwards and had pleaded tiredness. Dean had sat on the edge of Sam’s bed and watched helplessly as Sam lay down and turned his back, effectively shutting him out. Dean had known full well that Sam had begun to cry. He desperately wanted to comfort his little brother, but knew that that was not what Sam wanted. Sam didn’t want his big brother to know that he was upset. He wanted Dean to think that he was strong and brave, not totally freaked out by the stuff that he had read in the journal. Dean had waited until Sam had cried himself to sleep and then he had taken the cover off his own bed and gently covered him with it.

“It’ll be okay, Sammy. I promise,” whispered Dean, looking down protectively at his younger brother.

Sam had looked so young and vulnerable with the tear tracks still wet on his cheeks. Dean had then left the motel, determined to give his brother a proper Christmas.

Hiding the fact that Sam knew the truth from their father had weighed heavily on Dean’s conscience and he knew that it was only a matter of time before one of them would slip up. He had known how much deep trouble they would both be in if Dad ever found out - Sam for reading the journal and Dean for confirming the truth of its contents. So, between them, Sam and Dean had come up with a plan whereby Sam could ‘accidentally’ find out. Dean of course, had known about the proposed hunt for the banshee and he and Sam had taken turns to stay awake in order to catch their father in the act. Things had certainly been easier since Dad had sat Sam on his lap that night and proceeded to tell him - in as comforting a way as possible - that the stuff of nightmares was real. There were no more lies about where John was going and why, no more fabrications about the numerous minor injuries he came home with (John always dealt with any major injuries at Bobby’s, Jim’s or Caleb’s, so as not to panic the boys) and John was also keen to explain the real reasons behind all of the training he had been giving his boys, rather than the vague excuse of ‘self-defence’ that he had been plying Sam with previously.

All this flashed through Dean’s mind in the few seconds it took before John spoke again.

“Are you sure you want to come? ‘Cause it’ll be boring waiting in the car…”

Dean didn’t hesitate. He hated being separated from his father. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’ll pack up the Impala. Get Sammy up will you?”

John Winchester contemplated his son for a moment, before turning towards the door. Inside he was torn - he wanted his boys with him, he always felt safer when he was there to keep an eye on them, but taking them on a hunt went against his very nature. Sure, John knew that Dean was ready to take to the field any day now (under his watchful eye of course), but Sammy was way too young and inexperienced. John gave himself a mental shake as he left the motel room. His children wouldn’t be in any danger. Jim’s research had confirmed that the spirit was tied to the house, so the boys would be safe outside in the car. He unlocked the Impala, threw his rucksack onto the back seat and then moved around to check the weapons stash in the trunk.

“Sam, wake up!” urged Dean, climbing out of bed and moving to switch on the overhead light.

Sam groaned and buried his head under the covers to escape the glare.

“Sam! Wake up will you!” repeated Dean.

“Go away, Dean,” came the mumbled reply.

Dean sighed, strode over to his brother’s bed and unceremoniously yanked the covers off onto the floor.

“Hey!” protested Sam indignantly, sitting up. “What’d you do that for?”

“We’re leaving….now! We’re going with Dad. Hurry up and get dressed.”

Sam didn’t move.

“Where are we going and why in the middle of the night?” he asked, running his hand through his sleep-mussed hair and yawning.

Dean shook his head - why did the kid always insist on asking so many questions?

“We’re going on a hunt. Pastor Jim called Dad. It’s a vengeful spirit I reckon. Now hurry up!”

“Dad’s taking us hunting?” asked Sam in disbelief, still not moving, “But every time you ask he’s always saying it’s too dangerous.”

“Yeah, well, we’re supposed to be staying in the car….but maybe…..” Dean didn’t finish his sentence.

”Maybe what?” asked Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Dean ignored the question, pulling off the sweat pants he slept in and hurriedly replacing them with jeans. He then turned to look at Sam, who had still not moved.

“If you’re not up by the time I’m dressed, Squirt, I swear I’m gonna drag you out of that bed.”

Sam pulled a face, but clambered quickly out of bed with an exaggerated groan, knowing that Dean would make good on his threat.

Fifteen minutes later, the Winchesters were all finally settled in the Impala and John put his foot down on the gas.

“How long will it take us to get there, Dad?” asked Dean.

“It’s about a six hour drive and we’ll have to make a quick stop at Pastor Jim’s on the way. I just hope we’re not too late!”

Dean waited expectantly for more details and after taking a look at the eagerness on his eldest son’s face, John Winchester obliged.

“In the past, the place was rumoured to have had a curse on it, because so many of its occupants met with unfortunate, gruesome, untimely ends. Of course most people didn’t take the idea of a curse seriously, especially as the deaths looked like accidents. With one thing and another, it’s luckily been empty for the last twelve years, but naturally, someone has now decided to buy and renovate the place….”

“….and now they’re in danger,” finished Dean.

His father nodded. “The spirit tends to play with its victims first, so fingers crossed we get there in time”.

“Do you have any idea who the spirit is and where the bones are buried?”

John shook his head sadly at the matter-of-fact way that Dean had said this. Dean would make an outstanding hunter one day, he was certain, but this was never the life he would have chosen for his children.

John glanced over his shoulder at Sam, who was listening to his walkman through his headphones and staring out of the window at the dark scenery flashing past. He definitely wasn’t paying any attention to their conversation. John was careful to always tone down the gory details if his youngest son was listening.

He turned back to Dean. “Yeah, Pastor Jim did his homework. We’re pretty sure that the spirit is Jack McCaine. His wife ran off with another man and Jack couldn’t handle it, so he took his shotgun and went and killed them both. He then went home and took his own life with the same shotgun.”

John paused to glance over at Dean, to see how the boy was dealing with this information. Dean didn’t appear disturbed, just interested.

“So can you dust him?”

John gave a noncommittal shrug. “I hope so, but he was cremated, so there must be some other remains somewhere or some important object tying him to the house. My priority is getting the family to safety first and then I’ll take it from there.”

Three hours later, the Impala was continuing to hurtle down the highway. It was still dark, although a slight redness on the horizon signalled that dawn was slowly approaching. John Winchester shot a quick glance in the rear-view mirror. Sam was sprawled across the back seat, fast asleep. Dean was out for the count too, his head resting against the window, his mouth slightly ajar, snoring softly. John felt his chest tighten with a sudden eruption of emotion. How he loved those boys! He felt anguish gradually building up inside, especially when he thought of Dean. He had attempted at least to protect Sam from the truth and give him some semblance of a normal childhood - telling him that he sold specialist equipment and that that was why they had to move around so much. Dean however, had received no such mollycoddling. John had been too distraught at losing his beloved Mary and because of the grief, had not been thinking clearly in the months immediately following her death. As a result, he had not had the presence of mind to hide the truth from his four-year-old son. Dean had grown up knowing that something supernatural had killed his mother and that the stuff of nightmares was real. By the time Sam was old enough to understand, John had come to his senses and had made Dean promise to keep everything secret from his baby brother. Dean had always been naturally protective of Sam and had readily taken the silence about the truth as another way of protecting him. John mentally cringed when he thought of the burdens he had placed on his young son’s shoulders. Dean should have been hanging out with friends, carefree, like other teenagers, not discussing the intricacies of a hunt and definitely not having to be a surrogate parent to Sammy. Not that Dean would ever view taking care of his brother as a burden. Ever since that fateful night, when Dean had fled from the burning house with his baby brother in his arms, he had viewed Sam as his responsibility. Whenever John considered the bond between the two brothers, he felt both humbled and awed by its strength and intensity.

Both boys were still asleep when they arrived at Pastor Jim’s.

John leaned over and shook Dean gently. “Wake up, Ace. We’re here.”

Dean sat up groggily and blinked towards the rectory that would always be a second home to him. Before John had considered Dean old enough and responsible enough to be trusted to care for his younger brother overnight, they had frequently stayed over at Pastor Jim’s. Even now, John wouldn’t leave them alone for more than three nights in a row at the most and so they still often stayed over if John was going to be away for longer periods.

Pastor Jim greeted them at the door. “My, Dean, how you’ve grown,” he said, pulling the boy into an affectionate hug.

“Have I grown too?” asked a sleepy Sam, as the pastor released his older brother and enveloped him instead.

“Of course you have! You’ll catch up with that brother of yours soon if he’s not careful,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye that John didn’t miss - Sam hadn’t grown at all in the 6 months since Jim had seen him last!

Dean snorted. “Yeah, right, there’s no way the midget will ever be as tall as me!” He easily dodged the punch that Sam threw his way.

Jim turned, leading the way into the house. “I hope you’re hungry, boys, because breakfast’s on the table.”

While the Winchester’s tucked heartily in to a full cooked breakfast, Jim began to brief John on all the details that he knew of the hunt so far. Dean listened intently, but pretended to be focussed on the food before him. John finished his meal quickly and the two men left the table, moving into the study, still deep in discussion.

Dean banged his fist on the table in frustration and Sam looked up at him in surprise.

“You okay, Dean?”

Dean sighed in irritation. “I wanted to know everything about this hunt.”

“Why?” Sam contemplated his older brother with his eyebrows raised questioningly. He didn’t understand Dean’s fascination with hunts, all he cared about was that his Dad returned from them in one piece.

“Because I wanna know all the details about what could be my first proper hunt!”

“But, Dean, you’re not going on this hunt,” Sam pointed out, watching his brother with growing concern. Dean was up to something, he could tell.

Their father had started taking Dean on routine salt and burns when he had turned thirteen, but only in cases where the spirit was undeniably confined to a particular area and there was no risk whatsoever of it turning up at the graveyard in question. On these occasions, Sam had been left behind in the care of Pastor Jim, Uncle Bobby or Caleb. Sam knew that Dean was itching to go hunting and was getting fed up of him bragging about how his father kept saying that he was nearly ready.

“I want Dad to take me with him while you wait in the car. He’s gotta take me with him sometime…it might as well be now.”

A look of horror slowly dawned on Sam’s young face as he realised what Dean was suggesting.

“Sam, please,” Dean looked at his brother beseechingly, “I really wanna do this!”

Sam hesitated and looked down. He had no desire to be left on his own in the car while his father and brother went hunting. In fact, he shuddered at the thought. Yeah, sure, Sam was used to his Dad, going off on hunting trips and leaving him, but he was never left alone, he always had Dean. Worrying about his Dad was bad enough, but to have to worry about Dean too?

For himself, Sam wanted to say no, but for Dean he had to say yes. Even though he was so young, Sam realised on a basic level just how much Dean gave up on account of looking after him - Dean couldn’t just hang out with friends unless there was someone to babysit Sam; Dean had to walk Sam to and from school on most days; Dean always made sure he had his lunch money; when he was younger, Dean had been responsible for feeding him and even now that he was older, his older brother still made most of the meals when their father was off hunting; Dean soothed his nightmares away; Dean had always stepped in immediately in the past when Sam had been bullied or threatened in any way; although Dean tended to keep his own problems to himself, he always had a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on for Sam; Dean offered Sam encouragement when their Dad’s training exercises seemed too much to bear; Dean gave up his time to take Sam to the library, to the shopping mall, for a walk in the park and any other places that Sam desired to go to; Dean gave of himself selflessly for Sam again and again and again….

All of this flashed through Sam’s mind in a few seconds, before he looked back up and met his brother’s hopeful gaze.

“Okay,” he consented, “I’ll agree to wait in the car.”

Now that Dean had got what he so desperately wanted, it was his turn to hesitate. No matter what, Sam came first! “Are you sure? You’ll be okay? I can stay in the car if you really need me to…”

Sam forced a laugh, trying to alleviate his brother’s fears. “’Course I’ll be fine…I’m not five you know!”

“Thanks, Sammy, you’re the best!” Dean grinned like a Cheshire cat and leaned over to ruffle the younger boy’s hair.

“Hey, stop that” protested Sam, ducking away from Dean’s hand. Then he smirked. “Now you owe me big time, big brother.”

John Winchester immediately noticed a change in his boys’ demeanour when he returned to the kitchen. Sam seemed somewhat subdued while, his eldest seemed the opposite, appearing even more animated than usual. John was distracted however, concentrating fully on the upcoming hunt, otherwise he would have guessed that Dean was up to something. He simply put Sam’s unusual quietness down to tiredness resulting from his broken night’s sleep.

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“So….errr….Dad I was thinking…” began Dean.

John glanced quickly at his eldest, before returning his eyes to the road. The boy sounded serious and John wondered what was coming. “Yes, Dean?”

“Well, you know you said I was just about ready to start hunting?... I was thinking, maybe….maybe I could hunt with you today?”

John glanced back at Dean, taking in the boy’s hopeful expression, but his response was automatic. “You have to look after your brother, Dean.”

Sam in the backseat, knew that this was his cue, but he found himself swallowing nervously before delivering the lines that would in effect leave him abandoned for the first time in his life. For Dean, he would do it.

“I can stay in the car, Dad, while Dean goes with you.”

“No, Sammy, you’re too young.”

“I’m not a baby!” pouted Sam indignantly, “I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

John smiled inwardly - Sam thought he was oh so grown up at the tender age of just turned 10. He studied Sam for a moment in the rear view mirror - in spite of Sam’s assertion, Sam would always be John’s baby, just as Dean would always be his big boy.

John tried a different tack, not wanting to offend his youngest further. “You’d be lonely and bored in the car by yourself, so it’s better for Dean to keep you company.”

“I don’t need Dean.” Sam didn’t think he’d ever told a bigger lie. Of course I need Dean! What would I do if anything ever happened to him?

Dean listened silently to the conversation, knowing that the outcome would depend on his baby brother’s performance.

John paused, momentarily lost for a reply - Sam’s statement was the last thing that he had expected.

Sam took advantage of his Dad’s hesitation and jumped in.

“If it’s safe for me and Dean to stay in the car, why wouldn’t it be safe for me to stay on my own?”

Dean struggled to hide a grin - darn, the kid was good!

John couldn’t argue with the logic, he just knew he felt better when Sam was safely in Dean’s care. On the other hand, he did want to get Dean hunting, and soon, but he had envisioned leaving his youngest in the care of a responsible adult such as Bobby or Pastor Jim, definitely not left on his own.

“I’ll think about it,” said John gruffly, his mind working overtime, trying to work out the pros and the cons.

Dean finally dared to hope that he would actually get his wish, as he witnessed the uncertainty that was flashing across his father’s face.

He wanted to give his brother a thumbs-up in order to congratulate the kid on a job well done, but knew better than to risk tipping his dad off. If John Winchester knew that his sons had conspired against him and deliberately planned this, he would make Dean stay in the car on principle alone.

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John turned the Impala off the road and into a wide, tree-lined driveway. Dean sneaked an anxious glance sideways at his father, trying to determine what he was thinking. Will he say yes?

After telling Dean that he would think about it, John Winchester had said nothing further on the subject. He had talked to his boys of course, but about general things, like what they would like to do over the summer.

Now, as they neared their destination, Sam craned his head, trying to see the house through the trees. As the car rounded the final bend, the property finally came into view.

It was large enough to be called a small manor house and had evidently been striking in its heyday. It was built of grey stone and had ivy growing over a large proportion of the stonework, giving it a wild, unkempt look. Scaffolding, which was attached to the left-hand side, marred the image further.

John stopped the car and turned to his eldest. Dean straightened unconsciously in his seat and met his father’s gaze steadily.

Sam held his breath, hating himself for hoping against hope that their Dad would say no.

John contemplated Dean for a moment, before turning to Sam. He knew that there was no point in asking Dean if he had changed his mind - his eldest had been begging to be allowed to hunt since he was twelve - but he wanted to make sure that his youngest wasn’t regretting his decision.

“Are you sure about this, Sammy? About waiting in the car by yourself? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want. Dean can stay with you.”

Sam had to swallow down the sudden lump in his throat before replying. “Yes,” it came out quiet and strained. He took a quick look at his older brother’s hopeful expression and forcefully pushed back his own fears. He would do this for Dean!

Sam cleared his throat and spoke again, this time his voice was stronger and he managed to inflect it with a confidence that he did not feel. “Yes, I’m sure, Dad, I’ll be fine. Dean should go with you.”

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road.” John ruffled Sam’s hair affectionately before exiting the car and moving to open the trunk.

As soon as John had left, Dean leaned over the front seats and searched Sam’s face worriedly. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

“Not a baby, Dean!” snorted Sam, covering his anxiety with an eye-roll and punching his older brother on the arm.

“Knock it off, Squirt,” he replied, making a half-hearted attempt to swat his little brother who easily dodged. Dean was now grinning from ear to ear. He couldn’t believe that after all this time, his greatest wish was finally being fulfilled.

Five minutes later, John had unpacked all the supplies and weapons that he had chosen to take with them.

He turned to Dean, his face deadly serious. “I will only take you in with me on the condition that you agree to follow all orders given without question.”

Dean nodded without hesitation. “I will, Dad.”

“I want your word, Dean. You must do as I say even if I ask you to do something you don’t want to, like leave me and get yourself to safety.”

Dean swallowed nervously, he hoped it would never come to that. “You have my word, sir.”

John nodded, satisfied. He then proceeded to pour a circle of salt around the entire Impala. Even though the evidence suggested that the spirit couldn’t leave the house, he wasn’t taking any chances with the safety of his youngest.

“Now, Sam, make sure you stay in the car! We’ll get the family out first and then find a way to lay Jack McCaine to rest.” John pulled Sam into a quick hug and kissed his cheek as he released him.

“Don’t worry, Squirt, we’ll be fine,” reassured Dean, giving his brother a thumbs-up sign, knowing how much Sam worried when their Dad was away hunting. He was surprised to find his arms suddenly full of baby brother, Sam’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist, hugging fiercely. “Be careful!” he whispered.

Dean returned the hug. “Will do,” he murmured softly into Sam’s floppy chestnut hair.

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