The Guardian 1/1 [PG-13] Sam, Lisa, Ben, Dean - 6.21 coda
Title: The Guardian
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lisa, Ben, Sam, Dean
Spoilers: up to & incl. 6.21
Summary: a 6.21 coda, takes place in the indefinite future post Season 6.
My standard SPN disclaimer: This takes place in the space between what we know and what we don't. It is not intended to be accurate, just to be one possible take.
Unlikely to be the only coda I write for the end of Season 6. Just the first.
05/22/11 09:35:49 AM
The Guardian
Lisa Braeden has a guardian.
She doesn't know it, of course. He's very careful to keep it that way, although it's sometimes hard to stay unnoticed. He can't be there twenty-four seven, and he doesn't help with mundane things, like making sure the bills get paid, or helping her avoid hangnails or fender benders.
But he checks on her regularly. He's made sure the house she lives in is protected from all forms of non-human notice. He checks out her neighbors and co-workers to be certain they're not demons or some other type of supernatural creature, and these days he looks pretty hard at any religious types as well before he gives them a pass.
Her son Ben is also looked after.
Schools, teachers, coaches, families of friends. When Ben starts working after school to save up money for a car, and when he gets it, that will be warded too, just like Lisa's SUV is.
The most difficult thing her guardian had to do was meet her, briefly, and manage to talk her into getting a particular tattoo. She doesn't know it was carefully designed, that he worked with the tattoo artist before she ever went there, and incorporated into the design is a particular kind of pentagram. It's more delicate and less blatant that the one he has, but it does what it's meant to do.
Arranging for Ben to get one, similar yet different, was both easier, and more difficult, but their guardian managed it. He's considered by some to be quite clever, and apart from that, when certain motivations are involved, unstoppable.
Lisa grumbled but it's hard to object when you have your own ink.
The guardian's brother doesn't know that any of this has happened at all. Doesn't know, probably won't ever know. Sam's very careful about how he carries it all out and when. Once the main protections are in place, it doesn't take that much time out of a hunter's schedule, just determined persistence, and occasionally a night without sleep.
Lisa and Ben Braeden have a guardian.
They may not remember him, or his brother. There may be odd questions about a certain period in their past that can never quite be laid to rest, but they are both resilient people, mother and son, and they are doing all right.
That blank of memory may save them from heartache, but it's their guardian who makes sure they are safe from the minions of whichever supernatural faction may seek leverage over a certain hunter.
Sam doesn't do it for Dean's peace of mind. He doesn't have that power, and he knows it. But if there is anything the man who boxed up Satan and his fraternal counterpart can do about it - and it's kind of frightening what a man who should be a mental vegetable can actually do when motivated - Dean will never have to hear about their torment or demise from any demon's lips, or any angel's, never have to read about their unexplainable and bloody end in the online news stories and trade papers of the weird that they still scan like other folks read Monster.com.
He can't touch that part of Dean's broken and shattered heart that has been made untouchable, can't give his brother any comfort by talking or listening. The subject is sacrosanct, at least for now, and for all Sam knows, maybe forever.
But the Braedens have a guardian. One who can demon-proof a house or vehicle, do background checks on neighbors and friends, arrange for coaches and employers to sip a little holy water with a cup of coffee. One who can, though there are flashes of unbearable pain sometimes that should crack his skull open to release unholy flames, can these days write wards in a more fluent Enochian hand than any human being not presently a vessel has ever used.
It's okay that Dean doesn't know. It's almost okay that they never talk about it. Sam recognizes when Dean is thinking about them, when the brief tightness at the corners of his eyes have that look, when the grip on a glass or bottle whitens that particular amount.
It's okay because they have a guardian. And the guardian can look into his brother's eyes with compassion that confounds his own internal torments, a look as straight and clear as clean water. A look that gives a tiny bit of ease even though Dean doesn't know why it should.
Because they're safe.
10:14:37 AM
♠ season 6 codas
~
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lisa, Ben, Sam, Dean
Spoilers: up to & incl. 6.21
Summary: a 6.21 coda, takes place in the indefinite future post Season 6.
My standard SPN disclaimer: This takes place in the space between what we know and what we don't. It is not intended to be accurate, just to be one possible take.
Unlikely to be the only coda I write for the end of Season 6. Just the first.
05/22/11 09:35:49 AM
The Guardian
Lisa Braeden has a guardian.
She doesn't know it, of course. He's very careful to keep it that way, although it's sometimes hard to stay unnoticed. He can't be there twenty-four seven, and he doesn't help with mundane things, like making sure the bills get paid, or helping her avoid hangnails or fender benders.
But he checks on her regularly. He's made sure the house she lives in is protected from all forms of non-human notice. He checks out her neighbors and co-workers to be certain they're not demons or some other type of supernatural creature, and these days he looks pretty hard at any religious types as well before he gives them a pass.
Her son Ben is also looked after.
Schools, teachers, coaches, families of friends. When Ben starts working after school to save up money for a car, and when he gets it, that will be warded too, just like Lisa's SUV is.
The most difficult thing her guardian had to do was meet her, briefly, and manage to talk her into getting a particular tattoo. She doesn't know it was carefully designed, that he worked with the tattoo artist before she ever went there, and incorporated into the design is a particular kind of pentagram. It's more delicate and less blatant that the one he has, but it does what it's meant to do.
Arranging for Ben to get one, similar yet different, was both easier, and more difficult, but their guardian managed it. He's considered by some to be quite clever, and apart from that, when certain motivations are involved, unstoppable.
Lisa grumbled but it's hard to object when you have your own ink.
The guardian's brother doesn't know that any of this has happened at all. Doesn't know, probably won't ever know. Sam's very careful about how he carries it all out and when. Once the main protections are in place, it doesn't take that much time out of a hunter's schedule, just determined persistence, and occasionally a night without sleep.
Lisa and Ben Braeden have a guardian.
They may not remember him, or his brother. There may be odd questions about a certain period in their past that can never quite be laid to rest, but they are both resilient people, mother and son, and they are doing all right.
That blank of memory may save them from heartache, but it's their guardian who makes sure they are safe from the minions of whichever supernatural faction may seek leverage over a certain hunter.
Sam doesn't do it for Dean's peace of mind. He doesn't have that power, and he knows it. But if there is anything the man who boxed up Satan and his fraternal counterpart can do about it - and it's kind of frightening what a man who should be a mental vegetable can actually do when motivated - Dean will never have to hear about their torment or demise from any demon's lips, or any angel's, never have to read about their unexplainable and bloody end in the online news stories and trade papers of the weird that they still scan like other folks read Monster.com.
He can't touch that part of Dean's broken and shattered heart that has been made untouchable, can't give his brother any comfort by talking or listening. The subject is sacrosanct, at least for now, and for all Sam knows, maybe forever.
But the Braedens have a guardian. One who can demon-proof a house or vehicle, do background checks on neighbors and friends, arrange for coaches and employers to sip a little holy water with a cup of coffee. One who can, though there are flashes of unbearable pain sometimes that should crack his skull open to release unholy flames, can these days write wards in a more fluent Enochian hand than any human being not presently a vessel has ever used.
It's okay that Dean doesn't know. It's almost okay that they never talk about it. Sam recognizes when Dean is thinking about them, when the brief tightness at the corners of his eyes have that look, when the grip on a glass or bottle whitens that particular amount.
It's okay because they have a guardian. And the guardian can look into his brother's eyes with compassion that confounds his own internal torments, a look as straight and clear as clean water. A look that gives a tiny bit of ease even though Dean doesn't know why it should.
Because they're safe.
10:14:37 AM
♠ season 6 codas
~