Fic: The Dins of the Fathers, Chapter 8
The Dins of the Fathers, Chapter 8- John Winchester saves the day... and Heaven smells like Barbeque and Beer!
MAJOR SPOILERS for "All Hell Breaks Loose Pt. 2." (Pretty much "All Hell Breaks Loose pt. 2 from John's POV)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. Any of them.
Chapter 8-
Making his way through the Devil's Gate, John saw exactly who was trying to close the doors from the outside. Ellen Harvelle was on one end, pushing with all her might. Man, she looked great! And she was a lot stronger than he remembered as she nearly forced him back into Hell when he attempted to exit on her side.
Moving over to the opposite door, John saw Bobby Singer straining to finish closing the Gate. Though his main concern was for his children, John couldn't help but take a small pleasure in shoving back against the older hunter, nearly knocking the man on his butt as he forced his way through the door.
"Take my spot at the Country Club will ya," John thought bitterly.
However, all such trivialities left his mind completely when he caught sight of his sons and the state they were in.
Sam was pinned up against a tree, struggling against the invisible force that held him there, his feet barely touching the ground. But the more pressing matter was Dean. The older boy lay slumped against a tombstone, blood trickling down the left side of his nose from a deep gash at his hair line. His eyes were fixed defiantly on the figure standing before him.
It was the Yellow Eyed Demon himself. And he was pointing the Colt directly at Dean's skull!
John flew forward, propelled by pure hatred and rage. His intangible hands slid effortlessly through the flesh and bone of the hapless, long dead janitor that the Demon had been wearing as his meat suit. With every ounce of force that he could muster, John wrapped his hands around the core of the Demon's essence in a strangle hold and wrenched him out of the human body he inhabited. The corpse of the poor janitor dropped to the ground, the Colt slipping from his limp hand as John struggled to maintain his grip on his greatest foe.
"Got you now, you bastard!" he growled in triumph.
The Demon writhed and slithered in his grasp, but John held tight until he saw Dean lean forward to recapture the fallen Colt. Then he let go so suddenly that the Demon plummeted back into the dead body, thick black smoke sinking back into the corpse's gaping mouth. The body leapt up at once, his glowing yellow eyes fixed upon John with utter astonishment.
He didn't have long to ponder the man's miraculous appearance, for in the very next instant Dean pulled the trigger, sending the Colt's final bullet straight into the Demon's heart. He looked down in disbelief at the mortal wound in his chest then gave one final glance at John before the light faded from his yellow eyes. His body dropped to the ground once more and his demonic life-force dissipated in a pathetic tendril of fading grey smoke.
And just like that, it was over. The creature John had devoted his entire life to hunting, the fiend who had murdered his beautiful wife and ruined his happy family, was gone. All that was left was all that mattered: The sons John had raised to destroy such monsters.
Sam dropped down from the tree just as Dean managed to pick himself up off the ground. They both stood, staring in awe at their father.
John could barely contain himself. Incorporeal as he was, he could still feel the tears falling hot and wet down his cheeks as he looked into the faces of his beloved boys. Curious to see if he could actually make contact, he stepped forward and reached a hand out towards Dean. To his delight, it landed solidly enough on the young man's shoulder and he kept it there, beaming with pride.
Dean. His Dean... Still a great shot!
Out of corner of his eye he saw his younger son moving timidly in his direction. He turned and gifted Sammy with the same prideful smile.
His boys. He loved them more than they could ever know. There was so much he wanted to say to them, but now he felt himself beginning to fade. He stepped back to take in the sight of his sons standing tall together, watching him move away with a mixture of love and sorrow. He held on for as long as he could, drinking in the moment in the hopes that he could keep it with him where ever the Powers that Be saw fit to send him next.
"I love you, Sons!" was his last thought as a blinding flash of light carried him away from this earthly plane.
"Barbeque?" was his first thought upon finding himself once again in the Afterworld.
John sat up bolt right, gasping as he took in his new surroundings. He was lying in a comfortable twin sized bed in a fairly spacious room. Not the trailer, nor the luxurious house from his dream. But something in between the two extremes. Was he dreaming again? He stood up cautiously and moved towards the window determined to find out.
Peering outside, he saw a series of nicely kept lawns and cozy looking houses. The sky was a welcoming blue and the grass was a soothing green, but it wasn't the picture perfect scene he had dreamed about and it didn't have the cold immaculacy of Eternal Estates. Overall, it looked like a place he could live pretty happily in.
The scrumptious scent of seasoned meat sizzling over an open flame soon drew him out the front door and onto the lawn where he encountered three men he had never seen before. They were all hovering around a large grill, tending to the meat as they casually sipped from bottles of ice cold beer! John's eyes lit up with joy as he saw a cooler full of the wondrous beverage. The men looked up as he approached, greeting him with friendly smiles.
"Hey! It's the new guy!" a portly man in a flannel shirt called out, raising his beer in a toast before grabbing John's hand in a firm shake, "Dan Connor, pleased to meet you, neighbor!"
"Like wise," John smiled, "John Winchester."
"Winchester!" a dapper man with sleek black hair cried out cheerfully as he removed an elegant cigar from his teeth, "Yes, of course! I've heard all about you, Old Sport! Gomez Addams at your service!"
"Nice to meet you," John said taking the pale man's hand.
"I believe you hunted down several of my cousins!" Addams beamed with sinister delight, "Oh, what stories we can share!"
"Uhh... sure..."
John chuckled nervously then noticed the other men staring at him strangely.
"I used to hunt down demons and other supernatural creatures," he explained.
"Oh..." a man with a flat hair cut and thick square glasses said uncomfortably, "I sold Propane and Propane accessories. And that was a very important and dangerous job too. Hank Hill's my name. Would you care for a beer, Mr. Winchester?"
"I would love a beer!" John sighed with relief.
After everything he had been through, John could have kissed the man who offered him an icy cold one. He settled for wrapping his lips around the bottle and drinking in the smooth amber liquid. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted in his life… let alone his afterlife.
"So, I take it this is Heaven?" he asked to the boisterous laughter of the other men.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe," Dan Connor chuckled, "I think those jerks over at Eternal Estates would tell you this is yet another part of Hell. The folks around here, we weren't the most perfect fathers. But we loved our kids and we did the best we could by 'em."
"It might not have earned us a spot at the Country Club," Hank Hill continued, "But the sky is always sunny enough to cook out on the grill and we never seem to run out of beer."
"Hey, like I said. Heaven!" John said, raising his drink in a toast, "To all us imperfect fathers who did the best we could!"
"Here, here!" Addams called out as the men clinked bottles.
John could not wipe the grin off his face. At last this felt right.
If he had been given another chance at life, he would have changed many things about how he raised his boys that was for sure. But as it turned out, he'd done all right by them. He knew his boys would face many more hardships and he wished he could be there to watch over them and guide them. But it seemed his time for that had ended. He would miss them there was no doubt of that. Still, if this was where the Powers that Be decided he deserved to be then he was going to kick back and enjoy his eternal reward.
John leaned back contentedly as he drained the last drop of beer. And he spent the rest of Eternity happily ever after…
… Or did he?
Concluded in Chapter 9
MAJOR SPOILERS for "All Hell Breaks Loose Pt. 2." (Pretty much "All Hell Breaks Loose pt. 2 from John's POV)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. Any of them.
Chapter 8-
Making his way through the Devil's Gate, John saw exactly who was trying to close the doors from the outside. Ellen Harvelle was on one end, pushing with all her might. Man, she looked great! And she was a lot stronger than he remembered as she nearly forced him back into Hell when he attempted to exit on her side.
Moving over to the opposite door, John saw Bobby Singer straining to finish closing the Gate. Though his main concern was for his children, John couldn't help but take a small pleasure in shoving back against the older hunter, nearly knocking the man on his butt as he forced his way through the door.
"Take my spot at the Country Club will ya," John thought bitterly.
However, all such trivialities left his mind completely when he caught sight of his sons and the state they were in.
Sam was pinned up against a tree, struggling against the invisible force that held him there, his feet barely touching the ground. But the more pressing matter was Dean. The older boy lay slumped against a tombstone, blood trickling down the left side of his nose from a deep gash at his hair line. His eyes were fixed defiantly on the figure standing before him.
It was the Yellow Eyed Demon himself. And he was pointing the Colt directly at Dean's skull!
John flew forward, propelled by pure hatred and rage. His intangible hands slid effortlessly through the flesh and bone of the hapless, long dead janitor that the Demon had been wearing as his meat suit. With every ounce of force that he could muster, John wrapped his hands around the core of the Demon's essence in a strangle hold and wrenched him out of the human body he inhabited. The corpse of the poor janitor dropped to the ground, the Colt slipping from his limp hand as John struggled to maintain his grip on his greatest foe.
"Got you now, you bastard!" he growled in triumph.
The Demon writhed and slithered in his grasp, but John held tight until he saw Dean lean forward to recapture the fallen Colt. Then he let go so suddenly that the Demon plummeted back into the dead body, thick black smoke sinking back into the corpse's gaping mouth. The body leapt up at once, his glowing yellow eyes fixed upon John with utter astonishment.
He didn't have long to ponder the man's miraculous appearance, for in the very next instant Dean pulled the trigger, sending the Colt's final bullet straight into the Demon's heart. He looked down in disbelief at the mortal wound in his chest then gave one final glance at John before the light faded from his yellow eyes. His body dropped to the ground once more and his demonic life-force dissipated in a pathetic tendril of fading grey smoke.
And just like that, it was over. The creature John had devoted his entire life to hunting, the fiend who had murdered his beautiful wife and ruined his happy family, was gone. All that was left was all that mattered: The sons John had raised to destroy such monsters.
Sam dropped down from the tree just as Dean managed to pick himself up off the ground. They both stood, staring in awe at their father.
John could barely contain himself. Incorporeal as he was, he could still feel the tears falling hot and wet down his cheeks as he looked into the faces of his beloved boys. Curious to see if he could actually make contact, he stepped forward and reached a hand out towards Dean. To his delight, it landed solidly enough on the young man's shoulder and he kept it there, beaming with pride.
Dean. His Dean... Still a great shot!
Out of corner of his eye he saw his younger son moving timidly in his direction. He turned and gifted Sammy with the same prideful smile.
His boys. He loved them more than they could ever know. There was so much he wanted to say to them, but now he felt himself beginning to fade. He stepped back to take in the sight of his sons standing tall together, watching him move away with a mixture of love and sorrow. He held on for as long as he could, drinking in the moment in the hopes that he could keep it with him where ever the Powers that Be saw fit to send him next.
"I love you, Sons!" was his last thought as a blinding flash of light carried him away from this earthly plane.
"Barbeque?" was his first thought upon finding himself once again in the Afterworld.
John sat up bolt right, gasping as he took in his new surroundings. He was lying in a comfortable twin sized bed in a fairly spacious room. Not the trailer, nor the luxurious house from his dream. But something in between the two extremes. Was he dreaming again? He stood up cautiously and moved towards the window determined to find out.
Peering outside, he saw a series of nicely kept lawns and cozy looking houses. The sky was a welcoming blue and the grass was a soothing green, but it wasn't the picture perfect scene he had dreamed about and it didn't have the cold immaculacy of Eternal Estates. Overall, it looked like a place he could live pretty happily in.
The scrumptious scent of seasoned meat sizzling over an open flame soon drew him out the front door and onto the lawn where he encountered three men he had never seen before. They were all hovering around a large grill, tending to the meat as they casually sipped from bottles of ice cold beer! John's eyes lit up with joy as he saw a cooler full of the wondrous beverage. The men looked up as he approached, greeting him with friendly smiles.
"Hey! It's the new guy!" a portly man in a flannel shirt called out, raising his beer in a toast before grabbing John's hand in a firm shake, "Dan Connor, pleased to meet you, neighbor!"
"Like wise," John smiled, "John Winchester."
"Winchester!" a dapper man with sleek black hair cried out cheerfully as he removed an elegant cigar from his teeth, "Yes, of course! I've heard all about you, Old Sport! Gomez Addams at your service!"
"Nice to meet you," John said taking the pale man's hand.
"I believe you hunted down several of my cousins!" Addams beamed with sinister delight, "Oh, what stories we can share!"
"Uhh... sure..."
John chuckled nervously then noticed the other men staring at him strangely.
"I used to hunt down demons and other supernatural creatures," he explained.
"Oh..." a man with a flat hair cut and thick square glasses said uncomfortably, "I sold Propane and Propane accessories. And that was a very important and dangerous job too. Hank Hill's my name. Would you care for a beer, Mr. Winchester?"
"I would love a beer!" John sighed with relief.
After everything he had been through, John could have kissed the man who offered him an icy cold one. He settled for wrapping his lips around the bottle and drinking in the smooth amber liquid. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted in his life… let alone his afterlife.
"So, I take it this is Heaven?" he asked to the boisterous laughter of the other men.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe," Dan Connor chuckled, "I think those jerks over at Eternal Estates would tell you this is yet another part of Hell. The folks around here, we weren't the most perfect fathers. But we loved our kids and we did the best we could by 'em."
"It might not have earned us a spot at the Country Club," Hank Hill continued, "But the sky is always sunny enough to cook out on the grill and we never seem to run out of beer."
"Hey, like I said. Heaven!" John said, raising his drink in a toast, "To all us imperfect fathers who did the best we could!"
"Here, here!" Addams called out as the men clinked bottles.
John could not wipe the grin off his face. At last this felt right.
If he had been given another chance at life, he would have changed many things about how he raised his boys that was for sure. But as it turned out, he'd done all right by them. He knew his boys would face many more hardships and he wished he could be there to watch over them and guide them. But it seemed his time for that had ended. He would miss them there was no doubt of that. Still, if this was where the Powers that Be decided he deserved to be then he was going to kick back and enjoy his eternal reward.
John leaned back contentedly as he drained the last drop of beer. And he spent the rest of Eternity happily ever after…
… Or did he?
Concluded in Chapter 9