DA/SPN Fic: To Conceal a Fox (4/4)
Title: To Conceal a Fox, Chapter 4 (of 4)
Author: lori_leaf
Beta: nocturnal08 and girlfan1979
Genre: Gen (Wee!Chesters, Sam is 15, Dean is 19)
Rating: PG
Summary: What's this Manticore thing, and why is Alec so afraid of it?
Author's Notes: The title is from the Spartan legand about the boy who hides a fox in his shirt, and is clawed to death. Children were supposed to admire him for his silence. The boy was a good soldier.
The timelines for both shows have been adjusted. It is 2007. The Manticore escapee's escaped in 2005 when they were eight years old. The Pulse happened shortly afterwards.
Dean had been driving for a little over an hour when he felt Sam poke him in the shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at his brother’s silent giggles, but a glance through the rearview mirror let him know exactly why Sam was in hysterics. John was asleep with his head against the door, and his jaw gaping open and a thin line of drool threatening to escape his mouth. Soft snores interrupted the silence at short intervals. Dean’s shoulder’s caved as he stifled a loud snort. Both boys shook with repressed laughter.
“We should tape record him doing that sometime,” Sam suggested wickedly.
Dean grinned, “He’d probably claim it was EVP.”
Both boys mimicked their father’s gruff voice, “I don’t snore ”
Silent giggles suddenly became a lot less silent.
After they managed to get themselves under control, Sam leaned over the front seat and stared at the new kid. Alec was slumped against the door, his eyes closed and his breathing even. The reddened towel that was supposed to be against his injured shoulder, had fallen against his elbow. His breath made the cold window fog and mist.
Sam whispered to Dean, “Is he asleep? Or faking?”
Dean took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at the kid. “Definitely asleep. Dad made him take a kiddie dose of Vicodin.”
Sam stared at the kid for a minute, “Why do you think Dad brought him along?”
Dean replied, “I dunno. ‘Cause the school wasn’t safe for him?”
Sam mused, “Yeah, but if he was just a stray, we’d be taking him to Pastor Jim’s. We’ve done it before. But instead we’re just driving around like we’re on a road trip.”
“I don’t know. Maybe Dad’s just waiting to pump him for info before dropping him off.”
“Yeah, probably.”
The boys were silent for a moment.
Dean couldn’t help but look at the kid again. “You know, I can’t decide if he’s a weird lookin’ kid or cute in a sort of Norman Rockwell kinda way.”
Sam scoffed, wrinkling his nose at his brother, “Dude, how do you even know who Norman Rockwell is?”
“Every dentist we’ve ever gone to has had a framed poster in the waiting room. While you were suffering for your sweet tooth, I had to stare at happy pictures of wholesome little kids doing nauseatingly adorable things. It was cruel and unusual punishment, man!”
Sam rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”
Dean insisted, “No seriously, I mean - look at the squirt. He’s got those freckles that stick him into the Norman Rockwell category, not to mention those green eyes that’ll pretty much guarantee us free pie from waitresses. But then he’s got the girly lips and weird ears.”
Sam examined the kid, “Weird ears?”
“Yeah, they stick out a little. Makes his head look funny.”
Sam snorted, glancing from the new kid to his brother. “You totally just described yourself, man.”
Dean whipped around towards Sam, both eyebrows raised high. “What? No I didn’t ” He quickly remembered he was driving, and refocused his attention on the road. He smugly stated, “That kid looks nothing like me. I’m a handsome devil. There’s nothing weird or Rockwell about me.”
“Is Rockwell an adjective now?”
“Dude. Focus.”
“Okay, look, you’ve got freckles.” Sam poked Dean’s cheek.
Dean flinched away, “No I don’t ”
That just got him poked again, “Yes you do.”
“Dude, I’m driving ”
Sam wisely removed his finger from Dean’s face before his brother tried to bite it off. That didn’t stop his examination though. “And you’ve got green eyes... well hazel, but sometimes they’re green. Alec’s are like crazy green though. Oh, and your ears stick out, and you definitely have girly lips.”
Dean shot his brother the death-glare, “Dude, I totally do not have girly lips.”
Sam grinned mischievously, “Dean, have you looked in a mirror? You’re like, the guy version of Angelina Jolie. People comment on it all the time, you can’t pretend they don’t. Last school I went to, a guy said people call your lips dick - ”
Dean interrupted him with gritted teeth, “Sam. If you continue to talk I’ll be forced to pull this car over and end you. Do you understand? No more talking about my lips.”
His little brother was the image of innocence, “Sure thing.”
Dean gave the boy sharing the front seat with him a sidelong look. “Shit, this kid does look like me.”
Sam beamed, “So there ya go Dear old Daddy won’t drop him off like a lost puppy, because Rambo Junior here reminds him of his little Dean-o.”
“You know I might just pull this car over anyway.”
Sam continued to dangle over the front seat, but shifted a little further away from his brother’s wrath. “No, you won’t. That’d wake Dad up, and he’d be pissed.”
Sam didn’t move quickly enough, or far enough away because Dean got a handful of his shaggy hair and gave it a good, quick tug.
“I know where you live, little brother,” he growled as he caught the wheel again.
“Dick sucking lips ” Sam squealed, unrepentant.
“That’s it ” Dean started to turn the Impala onto the shoulder of the road.
Imminent violence was avoided only because John growled, “Boys, if this car needs to get pulled over, neither one of you will be too happy about it. Understand me?”
Dean quickly corrected their path and Sam settled back to his place in the back seat wondering when his dad woke up. Both boys were contrite. “Yes sir.”
John gave each of his sons a measured glare from where he lay, reclined against the door, before shutting his eyes again. Dean met Sam’s eyes in the rearview mirror and made a slashing motion over his throat with his finger. Sam proudly held up his middle finger in response.
“Boys.” John didn’t even open his eyes.
Dean quickly turned his attention to the road again. He didn’t know how his dad managed to do that, but he was smart enough to heed the warning.
They drove in peace for another four hours, stopping only briefly for gas. It was lucky that they mostly traveled in rural areas. The Pulse hit urban populations the hardest. The small towns were able to manage without as much government intervention. It was rough to find gas and fast food nowadays, but they always managed. Suddenly skills like machine maintenance and manual labor were much more valued. The Winchesters found themselves doing more honest work in order to feed and clothe themselves. It was hard, but doable. Just another necessary change, thanks to the Pulse.
They finally ended up in a town called Clearwater without any hint of being followed. John left the boys in the car while he went into a thrift store to find Alec clothes.
Dean glanced at Alec. The boy stared back with smirk firmly in place. They sized each other up.
After a tense moment, Alec triumphantly stated, “I’m better looking.”
Dean pursed his lips, “In your dreams, short stack”
“Short and handsome.” Alec smirked, “Short and handsome...”
“Whatever.”
Sam looked ready to break out the popcorn. This was better then daytime tv.
Dean reopened the discussion, “Why do you look like me anyway?”
Alec clarified, “You mean weird, but cute in a Norman Rockwell kinda way?”
Sam and Dean’s jaws dropped. Sam protested, “I thought you were asleep ”
Alec shrugged, “I was faking it. Don’t need much sleep. Anyway, I wasn’t gonna sleep in a car with you guys. I don’t trust you.”
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “We saved your ass.”
“Doesn’t mean you won’t sell my ass later.”
“Ew, dude, gross. You have had a seriously twisted childhood.” Sam wrinkled his nose again.
Alec shrugged nonchalantly, “Whatever.”
Dean leaned in closer, “Okay really, why do you look like me?”
“You’re probably my template. The probability of running into you is extremely low, but obviously not impossible.”
Sam, the science nerd, had to ask. “Template?”
Alec sighed and explained very slowly as though talking to a particularly stupid child, “Every enhanced soldier is based off of the DNA of a living person. It lowers the chances of unplanned genetic deviations. It looks like Dean here is my genetic donor.”
Both boys stared at Alec, not really comprehending. Alec rolled his eyes and restated, “I’m sort of his clone. But obviously much better looking.”
Sam grinned, “Hey Dean, it looks like being a smart ass is genetic after all ”
“Shut up Sam.” Dean looked seriously freaked out.
“You’re not gonna puke or something, right? Because I’m not prone to randomly puking and I’d hate to think my genetic donor is a pussy.”
That snapped Dean out of his shock, “Your genetic donor may be prone to kicking your ass if you keep it up.”
Alec just grinned, “This family is violent. Awesome.”
Sam shook his head, “So weird...”
All three of them were startled when John suddenly opened the car door and shoved a bag at Alec. He asked darkly, “Am I interrupting something?” The boys shook their heads. John didn’t believe them, but he didn’t have the energy to make an issue out of it. “Alec, get dressed. Dean, find us a diner.”
Dean turned the Impala in the direction of “Lula’s Oasis”, hoping for hot waitresses wearing skimpy little grass skirts. Alec opened the bag and started putting on its contents. He had two pairs of jeans which fit loosely, but better then Sam’s drawstring sweat pants. There were three plain shirts, a flannel top, and a corduroy jacket. At the bottom of the bag he found new bag of socks, underwear, a toothbrush, and a pair of worn sneakers. Nothing fit perfectly, but John was pleased that the boy looked less like a stray now. He looked like a normal kid.
The little family stumbled out of the car, stretching tight muscles and aching joints.
“How’s the shoulder?” John asked, seeing Alec rotating his scapula, testing the range of movement.
The boy shrugged, but didn’t look like he was in pain. John made a note to take a look at the area as soon as the four of them refueled.
The diner was small, but clean. Hardly the Hawaiian paradise that Dean imagined, but quite serviceable. The one waitress on duty was in her late forties and, thankfully, not wearing a grass skirt. She was a plump woman, with bleached blonde hair tied up in a pony tail, wearing far too much makeup. She wore a thin pink sweater with a white heart carefully embroidered on. It looked like something a five year old might wear. Her nametag proclaimed her name to be “Cherry.” All four Winchesters stopped short by the sight of her. Alec surreptitiously ducked behind John.
Cherry didn’t seem to notice their reaction and chirped merrily at them. “Hiya boys C’mon in ”
The place was deserted except for the five of them. Dean felt a shiver of fear. No one could possibly be this perky, unless she was secretly a cheerleader. With her high nasal voice and bouncy step, Dean didn’t doubt that she was a cheerleader... a long, LONG time ago.
John gave the three kids a little shove to get them moving, herding them towards a booth. He stuck Alec on the inside by the wall, and sat next to him. Dean did the same thing to Sam.
Cherry got them menus, but instead of giving them time to peruse them, she lingered a the table, staring at the four of them. “Oh my, you have some handsome boys here, Mister ” she cooed in delight.
Seeing Sam and Dean, she squealed, “Are you two twins? I love twins ”
Dean sunk lower in his seat as Sam grinned, “No ma’am, just brothers.”
“Ooo, who’s older?” Dean started to open his mouth, but Cherry cut him off, “No, wait, let me guess. It’s the taller one right?”
Dean sat up in indignation, “Sammy’s not taller then me ”
John covered his grin with a hand as he pretended to rub at his face, “Sorry to break it to you son, but Sammy hit a growth spurt.”
Cherry looked heart broken, “Did I guess wrong?”
Sam beamed, “Dean’s four years older.”
This cheered Cherry right back up, “Four years? Oh, you’re like my nieces Those two girls look like peas in a pod, Sissy and Missy Missy’s five years older.” She looked indulgently at Dean and pinched his cheek, “She’d raise up quite the fuss when their momma dressed them up in the same outfits. They were cute as buttons though. Your daddy ever do that? I bet you boys would look so sweet in matching clothes.”
Dean jerked out of her grip and glared, “No way.”
John raised an eyebrow, “Dean, manners.”
Dean frowned, blushing hard and wishing to God he had picked Carl’s Pancake House instead. “Sorry. No, ma’am,” he amended.
Cherry didn’t look the least bit upset, “That’s a shame. It’d be a precious family photo.”
John couldn’t hide his grin anymore. “It would at that.”
The gum popping waitress suddenly turned her attention to Alec, who was strategically hiding behind John’s larger frame. “And who’s this little one? My but you’re the spitting image of your big brother aren’t you? Bet you’ll be like little Sissy, growing up to look just like Missy ”
Now it was Dean’s turn to beam, “That’s our Alec. He’s our little Sissy alright.”
Alec glowered as Dean reached across the table to rub the younger boy’s head.
“Isn’t that the sweetest thing I love seeing little boys lookin’ after their baby brothers.”
Dean knocked his shoulder against Sam’s and smiled up at the waitress, “That’s us.”
And quick as a flash Cherry’s attention was back on Dean. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of him, petting his head like a dog’s, “An’ how old are you, babydoll? You’re a big boy aren’t you? Must be at least fifteen ”
Dean batted her hand away and stated condescendingly, “If Sam is four years younger then me, and Sam is obviously at least fourteen, then logic would dictate that I’m at least eighteen.” He smiled insolently, “But I’m actually nineteen. Thank you very much.”
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, “Nice word problem there Dean.”
“Yeah, well if I ever took the SATs I woulda aced the math part.”
John didn’t look nearly as amused as Dean did, “Dean, that’s enough.”
The boy hunched down, “Yes sir.”
John turned to the waitress. “I’m sorry ma’am. You know how kids get. He’s sensitive about his baby-face.”
John felt a pang of guilt as Cherry immediately jumped on that. “He certainly does have a baby-face ” She chirped at Sam, “Not like his little brother here. His little brother looks like quite the little man.”
Dean groaned loudly, “Kill me now.”
John pointed at his son and warned, “I’m not telling you again, Dean. Behave.”
Dean looked chastened, “Yes sir. Sorry ma’am.”
John took pity on the boys and did his best to send the waitress on her way, “I’m sorry to rush ma’am, but we’re on a road trip and we need to be on the highway soon. Can I get a coffee and my boys’ll have milk.”
Sam and Dean protested, but were shot down by one look from John. “Milk.”
Both boys capitulated, “Yes sir.”
Cherry finally seemed to get the hint, “Sure thing. Comin’ right up. Be back in a jiffy ” She couldn’t resist one last hair ruffle has she passed Dean, but Dean did his best to swallow a look of complete revulsion.
John raised one eyebrow, “This is not how I raised you boys to behave. I know you’re tired and she was... perky, but that’s no excuse. You’re already doing extra drills when we get to the next motel. Keep this up and we’ll be having a discussion too. You understand me?”
Both boys’ faces turned bright pink. “Yes sir.”
“Good. Now do you want hamburgers or meatloaf?”
It was a full day of driving before John was willing to stop for the night and four p.m. when he finally pulled into Sleepy Knights Motel. That’d give his boys two hours of daylight left to burn off energy. He sent Sam and Dean out of the room with strict orders to stay together and keep the two-way radio on. The boys’ behavior at dinner earned them an extra set of crunches. He saw Dean’s face drop, but he knew Dean would enforce the training even if he wasn’t there. His eldest was reliable when it came to that.
John closed the door behind his sons and turned towards Alec. The kid was sitting on the bed, feet not quite touching the floor. John dragged out the first aid kit and hoped he wouldn’t regret sending Dean away, especially if the kid needed stitches. “Let’s look at your shoulder, kiddo.”
Alec shrugged out of the shirt and ripped off the bloody gauze. Without being told he went to stand between John’s knees again. John looked in amazement at the healing wound. Alec sensed the grownup’s wonderment and couldn’t resist a cheeky, “Tah-dah ”
John peeled off the butterfly bandages. “How is this possible?” It definitely looked like the shoulder still hurt, but a cut that should have required stitches was now a bright purple scar.
“I told you. I heal fast. Give it a week and you’ll never know it was even there.”
John ran his fingers over the mark as Alec patiently tolerated his attention. When John was finished, Alec put his shirt back on and stood at ease. The boy’s casual military stance reminded John of the Academy. He gently asked the boy, “Can you tell me about your mission, son?”
Alec looked torn. “That’s classified.”
John squeezed the kid’s good shoulder, “Are you planning on going back, kiddo?”
The boy looked like his dog just died, “I... I can’t go back. I’d either be disposed of or reindoctrinated. And I don’t think I can handle that again. I’d rather be eliminated.”
John resisted the urge to give the kid a hug. He didn’t think Alec would respond to it well. “Then it doesn’t matter if it’s classified. Tell me about your mission.”
Alec was silent for a moment, and then made the conscious choice to be a traitor. “It wasn’t really a mission. It was... training. I think they wanted to see if we could handle a mission in a controlled environment before wasting more resources on us. We were given a name, a personality, and an objective. Our contact in the building was the janitor. He’d give us our vitamins in the morning, and relay any intel we needed. Everyone knows there’s more Manticore people in the building, but officially we’re not told who.” Alec shrugged, “It’s not hard to guess though.”
John asked, “The ones who beat on you?”
Alec nodded, “Yeah. The ones that try to break us. Make us want to deviate from our assigned identity. Push us far enough that we’d fail our mission. Mitchell was supposed to find new templates for Manticore, but he’d been getting unruly. They gave me a special mission. I was supposed to get access to the office files, and I was suppose to t-trap him in an incriminating situation. It needed to be obvious what had happened, so the evidence could be used as blackmail later. But I was unable to complete my assignment.”
As the boy spoke, his stance became more and more formal and his voice more cold. It was as though he was repeating his objective to a superior officer and expecting discipline for failure.
John drew the kid forward a step to make him break out of his formal posture, and remind him he wasn’t in Manticore anymore. “You listen to me, Alec. They had no right to ask you to complete that mission.”
Alec’s eyes watered but no tears fell, “Doesn’t make me any less of a failure. And now I’m a traitor too. A unit ran two years ago. X5-493, he was my twin. He ran away. Those of us back at Manticore paid the price. Me, and all the twins of the traitors, got thrown into Psy-Ops for six months. They wanted to make sure the urge to run wasn’t genetic.” His valiant attempt not to cry was failing, “I guess they were right. I just hope there aren’t any more versions of my template. I don’t want anyone else to go through that again because I’m a traitor.”
John couldn’t hold out any longer. He tugged the kid into his arms and spoke into the spike of blond hair. “You’re not a traitor, kid. You’re the victim here.” Alec stiffened in his arms. “Look, I know it’s an ugly word, but it’s true. If anything, they were the ones that betrayed you. Grownups are supposed to take care of kids. Not beat them. Not hurt them. Not take advantage of them. You are not a traitor for protecting yourself and running away. You did the right thing.”
Alec rubbed his face deeper into John’s shirt, “Doesn’t feel like the right thing.”
John smoothed the kid’s hair, “It will. Just give it time.”
When the boy’s tears stopped soaking into his shirt and his body relaxed, John shifted him to sit on his knee. The kid was probably too big for it, but he couldn’t help himself. This little kid had gotten John all twisted up inside. Anyway Alec was small for his age, just like Dean had been. Until Dean hit high school, he was always one of the shortest boys in his class. Then his son turned fourteen and was suddenly a little over six feet tall in less then two years. John guessed it would be the same for Alec.
John thumbed away any remaining moisture on Alec’s face. “You kept saying template, that mean what I think it means?”
Alec looked anywhere but at John’s face, unsure of how the man would take the information, “Yeah. They take DNA from promising students with distinctive parents and use it to make soldiers.”
“And how did they get a hold of Dean?”
“It’s usually a school by the base in Wyoming. They do an IQ test and watch the subject. Extreme intelligence, paired with physical health makes the best subject. They usually look into the parents, too. Sometimes they clone adults, but kids are easier to get samples of without anyone knowing.”
John remembered enrolling Dean in the second grade at Gillette Elementary School and how the guidance councilor insisted that all new students be tested. She assured John that these tests would be especially beneficial for Dean since they moved frequently. An IQ test would remain in Dean’s permanent record so new schools would be better equipped to teach Dean, despite different educational standards. John signed the forms. The results had been average though. The guidance counselor told John that Dean was a very bright little boy, but nothing out of the ordinary.
John clenched his jaw and tried not to let his frustration show to the little kid on his knee, “Dean doesn’t fit that description.”
Alec nodded, squirming a little. “They told you he was average, huh? I read some of Mitchell’s files. Apparently that’s something they tell the parents so no one pays too much attention to the kid. They don’t want the donor to become too successful because it becomes more difficult for the soldiers to maintain stealth. It’s shitty, but they actually want the template to become mediocre.”
John felt like a fucking moron. He remembered that Dean had been jumped by three fifth graders that year, and managed to knock every single one of them unconscious. He tanned his son’s hide for drawing attention to them like that. Dean knew better then to use his training against fellow students. John remembered he had to pick Dean up at the school Nurse’s office and he had quite a few band-aids. That’s quite possibly that was the moment they got Dean’s DNA. A higher than reported IQ, along with Dean’s fighting prowess, and John’s military record... that’d make the seven year old pretty tempting genetic material for Manticore. “Shit.”
Alec awkwardly tried to pat John’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for what it’s worth.”
John took a deep breath and made himself smile at Dean’s clone, “Not your fault either, dude. No reason to be sorry. Sammy always wanted a little brother. He’s always complaining about being the youngest.”
Alec went stiff again, “You don’t have to... I mean, it’s not like I expect... I know I’m Dean’s genetic twin, but I’m not Dean. You don’t have to treat me like I’m your real family or anything. You don’t owe me anything. I’m trained to survive on my own. I can take care of myself.”
John hugged the kid closer. “Sorry kiddo, you’re a Winchester and you’re stuck with us.”
The motel door opened and two sweaty teenagers ran in, covered in mud and bumping shoulders.
“Who’s a Winchester?” Dean asked.
“Alec is.” John smiled at his boys.
Dean grinned. “Awesome! Sammy always wanted a little brother.”
He grabbed Sam, twisting him into a headlock. Sam squawked indignantly.
Alec looked to John for confirmation. John winked, “Told you so.”
Sam twisted out of the headlock, dancing away from his big brother and laughing. “Finally, someone else can be the baby.” He grabbed the little guy up, lifting him easily. When Dean lunged for him, Sam held Alec up as a human shield. “C’mon Alec, let’s gang up on big brother here.”
Alec looked to John for permission, while Sam had him dangling in the air. John nodded once and Alec beamed. “Cool.”
In a matter of seconds all three boys were scrapping like puppies. Dean managed to be shoved to the bottom of the pile, with Sam pinning him and Alec sitting on Sam like a horse.
John knew he should be a responsible adult and break it up, but this was the boys’ way of welcoming Alec to the family. And for the first time in three days, John heard Alec genuinely laugh. The grizzled hunter smiled to himself, “Congratulations John, it’s a boy.”
Their family had just gotten a little bigger. That boy may not have come from Mary’s womb, but he was their son just the same. It didn’t matter what little surprises the government encoded in him. It didn’t matter that feeding four people is tougher then feeding three. It didn’t matter that it’d be difficult explaining the new son to fellow hunters. All that mattered was Alec found them and they were together. They’d figure out the rest as they went.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
Next story in this series - "The Care and Feeding of Your New Family Pet"
Author: lori_leaf
Beta: nocturnal08 and girlfan1979
Genre: Gen (Wee!Chesters, Sam is 15, Dean is 19)
Rating: PG
Summary: What's this Manticore thing, and why is Alec so afraid of it?
Author's Notes: The title is from the Spartan legand about the boy who hides a fox in his shirt, and is clawed to death. Children were supposed to admire him for his silence. The boy was a good soldier.
The timelines for both shows have been adjusted. It is 2007. The Manticore escapee's escaped in 2005 when they were eight years old. The Pulse happened shortly afterwards.
Dean had been driving for a little over an hour when he felt Sam poke him in the shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at his brother’s silent giggles, but a glance through the rearview mirror let him know exactly why Sam was in hysterics. John was asleep with his head against the door, and his jaw gaping open and a thin line of drool threatening to escape his mouth. Soft snores interrupted the silence at short intervals. Dean’s shoulder’s caved as he stifled a loud snort. Both boys shook with repressed laughter.
“We should tape record him doing that sometime,” Sam suggested wickedly.
Dean grinned, “He’d probably claim it was EVP.”
Both boys mimicked their father’s gruff voice, “I don’t snore ”
Silent giggles suddenly became a lot less silent.
After they managed to get themselves under control, Sam leaned over the front seat and stared at the new kid. Alec was slumped against the door, his eyes closed and his breathing even. The reddened towel that was supposed to be against his injured shoulder, had fallen against his elbow. His breath made the cold window fog and mist.
Sam whispered to Dean, “Is he asleep? Or faking?”
Dean took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at the kid. “Definitely asleep. Dad made him take a kiddie dose of Vicodin.”
Sam stared at the kid for a minute, “Why do you think Dad brought him along?”
Dean replied, “I dunno. ‘Cause the school wasn’t safe for him?”
Sam mused, “Yeah, but if he was just a stray, we’d be taking him to Pastor Jim’s. We’ve done it before. But instead we’re just driving around like we’re on a road trip.”
“I don’t know. Maybe Dad’s just waiting to pump him for info before dropping him off.”
“Yeah, probably.”
The boys were silent for a moment.
Dean couldn’t help but look at the kid again. “You know, I can’t decide if he’s a weird lookin’ kid or cute in a sort of Norman Rockwell kinda way.”
Sam scoffed, wrinkling his nose at his brother, “Dude, how do you even know who Norman Rockwell is?”
“Every dentist we’ve ever gone to has had a framed poster in the waiting room. While you were suffering for your sweet tooth, I had to stare at happy pictures of wholesome little kids doing nauseatingly adorable things. It was cruel and unusual punishment, man!”
Sam rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”
Dean insisted, “No seriously, I mean - look at the squirt. He’s got those freckles that stick him into the Norman Rockwell category, not to mention those green eyes that’ll pretty much guarantee us free pie from waitresses. But then he’s got the girly lips and weird ears.”
Sam examined the kid, “Weird ears?”
“Yeah, they stick out a little. Makes his head look funny.”
Sam snorted, glancing from the new kid to his brother. “You totally just described yourself, man.”
Dean whipped around towards Sam, both eyebrows raised high. “What? No I didn’t ” He quickly remembered he was driving, and refocused his attention on the road. He smugly stated, “That kid looks nothing like me. I’m a handsome devil. There’s nothing weird or Rockwell about me.”
“Is Rockwell an adjective now?”
“Dude. Focus.”
“Okay, look, you’ve got freckles.” Sam poked Dean’s cheek.
Dean flinched away, “No I don’t ”
That just got him poked again, “Yes you do.”
“Dude, I’m driving ”
Sam wisely removed his finger from Dean’s face before his brother tried to bite it off. That didn’t stop his examination though. “And you’ve got green eyes... well hazel, but sometimes they’re green. Alec’s are like crazy green though. Oh, and your ears stick out, and you definitely have girly lips.”
Dean shot his brother the death-glare, “Dude, I totally do not have girly lips.”
Sam grinned mischievously, “Dean, have you looked in a mirror? You’re like, the guy version of Angelina Jolie. People comment on it all the time, you can’t pretend they don’t. Last school I went to, a guy said people call your lips dick - ”
Dean interrupted him with gritted teeth, “Sam. If you continue to talk I’ll be forced to pull this car over and end you. Do you understand? No more talking about my lips.”
His little brother was the image of innocence, “Sure thing.”
Dean gave the boy sharing the front seat with him a sidelong look. “Shit, this kid does look like me.”
Sam beamed, “So there ya go Dear old Daddy won’t drop him off like a lost puppy, because Rambo Junior here reminds him of his little Dean-o.”
“You know I might just pull this car over anyway.”
Sam continued to dangle over the front seat, but shifted a little further away from his brother’s wrath. “No, you won’t. That’d wake Dad up, and he’d be pissed.”
Sam didn’t move quickly enough, or far enough away because Dean got a handful of his shaggy hair and gave it a good, quick tug.
“I know where you live, little brother,” he growled as he caught the wheel again.
“Dick sucking lips ” Sam squealed, unrepentant.
“That’s it ” Dean started to turn the Impala onto the shoulder of the road.
Imminent violence was avoided only because John growled, “Boys, if this car needs to get pulled over, neither one of you will be too happy about it. Understand me?”
Dean quickly corrected their path and Sam settled back to his place in the back seat wondering when his dad woke up. Both boys were contrite. “Yes sir.”
John gave each of his sons a measured glare from where he lay, reclined against the door, before shutting his eyes again. Dean met Sam’s eyes in the rearview mirror and made a slashing motion over his throat with his finger. Sam proudly held up his middle finger in response.
“Boys.” John didn’t even open his eyes.
Dean quickly turned his attention to the road again. He didn’t know how his dad managed to do that, but he was smart enough to heed the warning.
They drove in peace for another four hours, stopping only briefly for gas. It was lucky that they mostly traveled in rural areas. The Pulse hit urban populations the hardest. The small towns were able to manage without as much government intervention. It was rough to find gas and fast food nowadays, but they always managed. Suddenly skills like machine maintenance and manual labor were much more valued. The Winchesters found themselves doing more honest work in order to feed and clothe themselves. It was hard, but doable. Just another necessary change, thanks to the Pulse.
They finally ended up in a town called Clearwater without any hint of being followed. John left the boys in the car while he went into a thrift store to find Alec clothes.
Dean glanced at Alec. The boy stared back with smirk firmly in place. They sized each other up.
After a tense moment, Alec triumphantly stated, “I’m better looking.”
Dean pursed his lips, “In your dreams, short stack”
“Short and handsome.” Alec smirked, “Short and handsome...”
“Whatever.”
Sam looked ready to break out the popcorn. This was better then daytime tv.
Dean reopened the discussion, “Why do you look like me anyway?”
Alec clarified, “You mean weird, but cute in a Norman Rockwell kinda way?”
Sam and Dean’s jaws dropped. Sam protested, “I thought you were asleep ”
Alec shrugged, “I was faking it. Don’t need much sleep. Anyway, I wasn’t gonna sleep in a car with you guys. I don’t trust you.”
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “We saved your ass.”
“Doesn’t mean you won’t sell my ass later.”
“Ew, dude, gross. You have had a seriously twisted childhood.” Sam wrinkled his nose again.
Alec shrugged nonchalantly, “Whatever.”
Dean leaned in closer, “Okay really, why do you look like me?”
“You’re probably my template. The probability of running into you is extremely low, but obviously not impossible.”
Sam, the science nerd, had to ask. “Template?”
Alec sighed and explained very slowly as though talking to a particularly stupid child, “Every enhanced soldier is based off of the DNA of a living person. It lowers the chances of unplanned genetic deviations. It looks like Dean here is my genetic donor.”
Both boys stared at Alec, not really comprehending. Alec rolled his eyes and restated, “I’m sort of his clone. But obviously much better looking.”
Sam grinned, “Hey Dean, it looks like being a smart ass is genetic after all ”
“Shut up Sam.” Dean looked seriously freaked out.
“You’re not gonna puke or something, right? Because I’m not prone to randomly puking and I’d hate to think my genetic donor is a pussy.”
That snapped Dean out of his shock, “Your genetic donor may be prone to kicking your ass if you keep it up.”
Alec just grinned, “This family is violent. Awesome.”
Sam shook his head, “So weird...”
All three of them were startled when John suddenly opened the car door and shoved a bag at Alec. He asked darkly, “Am I interrupting something?” The boys shook their heads. John didn’t believe them, but he didn’t have the energy to make an issue out of it. “Alec, get dressed. Dean, find us a diner.”
Dean turned the Impala in the direction of “Lula’s Oasis”, hoping for hot waitresses wearing skimpy little grass skirts. Alec opened the bag and started putting on its contents. He had two pairs of jeans which fit loosely, but better then Sam’s drawstring sweat pants. There were three plain shirts, a flannel top, and a corduroy jacket. At the bottom of the bag he found new bag of socks, underwear, a toothbrush, and a pair of worn sneakers. Nothing fit perfectly, but John was pleased that the boy looked less like a stray now. He looked like a normal kid.
The little family stumbled out of the car, stretching tight muscles and aching joints.
“How’s the shoulder?” John asked, seeing Alec rotating his scapula, testing the range of movement.
The boy shrugged, but didn’t look like he was in pain. John made a note to take a look at the area as soon as the four of them refueled.
The diner was small, but clean. Hardly the Hawaiian paradise that Dean imagined, but quite serviceable. The one waitress on duty was in her late forties and, thankfully, not wearing a grass skirt. She was a plump woman, with bleached blonde hair tied up in a pony tail, wearing far too much makeup. She wore a thin pink sweater with a white heart carefully embroidered on. It looked like something a five year old might wear. Her nametag proclaimed her name to be “Cherry.” All four Winchesters stopped short by the sight of her. Alec surreptitiously ducked behind John.
Cherry didn’t seem to notice their reaction and chirped merrily at them. “Hiya boys C’mon in ”
The place was deserted except for the five of them. Dean felt a shiver of fear. No one could possibly be this perky, unless she was secretly a cheerleader. With her high nasal voice and bouncy step, Dean didn’t doubt that she was a cheerleader... a long, LONG time ago.
John gave the three kids a little shove to get them moving, herding them towards a booth. He stuck Alec on the inside by the wall, and sat next to him. Dean did the same thing to Sam.
Cherry got them menus, but instead of giving them time to peruse them, she lingered a the table, staring at the four of them. “Oh my, you have some handsome boys here, Mister ” she cooed in delight.
Seeing Sam and Dean, she squealed, “Are you two twins? I love twins ”
Dean sunk lower in his seat as Sam grinned, “No ma’am, just brothers.”
“Ooo, who’s older?” Dean started to open his mouth, but Cherry cut him off, “No, wait, let me guess. It’s the taller one right?”
Dean sat up in indignation, “Sammy’s not taller then me ”
John covered his grin with a hand as he pretended to rub at his face, “Sorry to break it to you son, but Sammy hit a growth spurt.”
Cherry looked heart broken, “Did I guess wrong?”
Sam beamed, “Dean’s four years older.”
This cheered Cherry right back up, “Four years? Oh, you’re like my nieces Those two girls look like peas in a pod, Sissy and Missy Missy’s five years older.” She looked indulgently at Dean and pinched his cheek, “She’d raise up quite the fuss when their momma dressed them up in the same outfits. They were cute as buttons though. Your daddy ever do that? I bet you boys would look so sweet in matching clothes.”
Dean jerked out of her grip and glared, “No way.”
John raised an eyebrow, “Dean, manners.”
Dean frowned, blushing hard and wishing to God he had picked Carl’s Pancake House instead. “Sorry. No, ma’am,” he amended.
Cherry didn’t look the least bit upset, “That’s a shame. It’d be a precious family photo.”
John couldn’t hide his grin anymore. “It would at that.”
The gum popping waitress suddenly turned her attention to Alec, who was strategically hiding behind John’s larger frame. “And who’s this little one? My but you’re the spitting image of your big brother aren’t you? Bet you’ll be like little Sissy, growing up to look just like Missy ”
Now it was Dean’s turn to beam, “That’s our Alec. He’s our little Sissy alright.”
Alec glowered as Dean reached across the table to rub the younger boy’s head.
“Isn’t that the sweetest thing I love seeing little boys lookin’ after their baby brothers.”
Dean knocked his shoulder against Sam’s and smiled up at the waitress, “That’s us.”
And quick as a flash Cherry’s attention was back on Dean. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of him, petting his head like a dog’s, “An’ how old are you, babydoll? You’re a big boy aren’t you? Must be at least fifteen ”
Dean batted her hand away and stated condescendingly, “If Sam is four years younger then me, and Sam is obviously at least fourteen, then logic would dictate that I’m at least eighteen.” He smiled insolently, “But I’m actually nineteen. Thank you very much.”
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, “Nice word problem there Dean.”
“Yeah, well if I ever took the SATs I woulda aced the math part.”
John didn’t look nearly as amused as Dean did, “Dean, that’s enough.”
The boy hunched down, “Yes sir.”
John turned to the waitress. “I’m sorry ma’am. You know how kids get. He’s sensitive about his baby-face.”
John felt a pang of guilt as Cherry immediately jumped on that. “He certainly does have a baby-face ” She chirped at Sam, “Not like his little brother here. His little brother looks like quite the little man.”
Dean groaned loudly, “Kill me now.”
John pointed at his son and warned, “I’m not telling you again, Dean. Behave.”
Dean looked chastened, “Yes sir. Sorry ma’am.”
John took pity on the boys and did his best to send the waitress on her way, “I’m sorry to rush ma’am, but we’re on a road trip and we need to be on the highway soon. Can I get a coffee and my boys’ll have milk.”
Sam and Dean protested, but were shot down by one look from John. “Milk.”
Both boys capitulated, “Yes sir.”
Cherry finally seemed to get the hint, “Sure thing. Comin’ right up. Be back in a jiffy ” She couldn’t resist one last hair ruffle has she passed Dean, but Dean did his best to swallow a look of complete revulsion.
John raised one eyebrow, “This is not how I raised you boys to behave. I know you’re tired and she was... perky, but that’s no excuse. You’re already doing extra drills when we get to the next motel. Keep this up and we’ll be having a discussion too. You understand me?”
Both boys’ faces turned bright pink. “Yes sir.”
“Good. Now do you want hamburgers or meatloaf?”
It was a full day of driving before John was willing to stop for the night and four p.m. when he finally pulled into Sleepy Knights Motel. That’d give his boys two hours of daylight left to burn off energy. He sent Sam and Dean out of the room with strict orders to stay together and keep the two-way radio on. The boys’ behavior at dinner earned them an extra set of crunches. He saw Dean’s face drop, but he knew Dean would enforce the training even if he wasn’t there. His eldest was reliable when it came to that.
John closed the door behind his sons and turned towards Alec. The kid was sitting on the bed, feet not quite touching the floor. John dragged out the first aid kit and hoped he wouldn’t regret sending Dean away, especially if the kid needed stitches. “Let’s look at your shoulder, kiddo.”
Alec shrugged out of the shirt and ripped off the bloody gauze. Without being told he went to stand between John’s knees again. John looked in amazement at the healing wound. Alec sensed the grownup’s wonderment and couldn’t resist a cheeky, “Tah-dah ”
John peeled off the butterfly bandages. “How is this possible?” It definitely looked like the shoulder still hurt, but a cut that should have required stitches was now a bright purple scar.
“I told you. I heal fast. Give it a week and you’ll never know it was even there.”
John ran his fingers over the mark as Alec patiently tolerated his attention. When John was finished, Alec put his shirt back on and stood at ease. The boy’s casual military stance reminded John of the Academy. He gently asked the boy, “Can you tell me about your mission, son?”
Alec looked torn. “That’s classified.”
John squeezed the kid’s good shoulder, “Are you planning on going back, kiddo?”
The boy looked like his dog just died, “I... I can’t go back. I’d either be disposed of or reindoctrinated. And I don’t think I can handle that again. I’d rather be eliminated.”
John resisted the urge to give the kid a hug. He didn’t think Alec would respond to it well. “Then it doesn’t matter if it’s classified. Tell me about your mission.”
Alec was silent for a moment, and then made the conscious choice to be a traitor. “It wasn’t really a mission. It was... training. I think they wanted to see if we could handle a mission in a controlled environment before wasting more resources on us. We were given a name, a personality, and an objective. Our contact in the building was the janitor. He’d give us our vitamins in the morning, and relay any intel we needed. Everyone knows there’s more Manticore people in the building, but officially we’re not told who.” Alec shrugged, “It’s not hard to guess though.”
John asked, “The ones who beat on you?”
Alec nodded, “Yeah. The ones that try to break us. Make us want to deviate from our assigned identity. Push us far enough that we’d fail our mission. Mitchell was supposed to find new templates for Manticore, but he’d been getting unruly. They gave me a special mission. I was supposed to get access to the office files, and I was suppose to t-trap him in an incriminating situation. It needed to be obvious what had happened, so the evidence could be used as blackmail later. But I was unable to complete my assignment.”
As the boy spoke, his stance became more and more formal and his voice more cold. It was as though he was repeating his objective to a superior officer and expecting discipline for failure.
John drew the kid forward a step to make him break out of his formal posture, and remind him he wasn’t in Manticore anymore. “You listen to me, Alec. They had no right to ask you to complete that mission.”
Alec’s eyes watered but no tears fell, “Doesn’t make me any less of a failure. And now I’m a traitor too. A unit ran two years ago. X5-493, he was my twin. He ran away. Those of us back at Manticore paid the price. Me, and all the twins of the traitors, got thrown into Psy-Ops for six months. They wanted to make sure the urge to run wasn’t genetic.” His valiant attempt not to cry was failing, “I guess they were right. I just hope there aren’t any more versions of my template. I don’t want anyone else to go through that again because I’m a traitor.”
John couldn’t hold out any longer. He tugged the kid into his arms and spoke into the spike of blond hair. “You’re not a traitor, kid. You’re the victim here.” Alec stiffened in his arms. “Look, I know it’s an ugly word, but it’s true. If anything, they were the ones that betrayed you. Grownups are supposed to take care of kids. Not beat them. Not hurt them. Not take advantage of them. You are not a traitor for protecting yourself and running away. You did the right thing.”
Alec rubbed his face deeper into John’s shirt, “Doesn’t feel like the right thing.”
John smoothed the kid’s hair, “It will. Just give it time.”
When the boy’s tears stopped soaking into his shirt and his body relaxed, John shifted him to sit on his knee. The kid was probably too big for it, but he couldn’t help himself. This little kid had gotten John all twisted up inside. Anyway Alec was small for his age, just like Dean had been. Until Dean hit high school, he was always one of the shortest boys in his class. Then his son turned fourteen and was suddenly a little over six feet tall in less then two years. John guessed it would be the same for Alec.
John thumbed away any remaining moisture on Alec’s face. “You kept saying template, that mean what I think it means?”
Alec looked anywhere but at John’s face, unsure of how the man would take the information, “Yeah. They take DNA from promising students with distinctive parents and use it to make soldiers.”
“And how did they get a hold of Dean?”
“It’s usually a school by the base in Wyoming. They do an IQ test and watch the subject. Extreme intelligence, paired with physical health makes the best subject. They usually look into the parents, too. Sometimes they clone adults, but kids are easier to get samples of without anyone knowing.”
John remembered enrolling Dean in the second grade at Gillette Elementary School and how the guidance councilor insisted that all new students be tested. She assured John that these tests would be especially beneficial for Dean since they moved frequently. An IQ test would remain in Dean’s permanent record so new schools would be better equipped to teach Dean, despite different educational standards. John signed the forms. The results had been average though. The guidance counselor told John that Dean was a very bright little boy, but nothing out of the ordinary.
John clenched his jaw and tried not to let his frustration show to the little kid on his knee, “Dean doesn’t fit that description.”
Alec nodded, squirming a little. “They told you he was average, huh? I read some of Mitchell’s files. Apparently that’s something they tell the parents so no one pays too much attention to the kid. They don’t want the donor to become too successful because it becomes more difficult for the soldiers to maintain stealth. It’s shitty, but they actually want the template to become mediocre.”
John felt like a fucking moron. He remembered that Dean had been jumped by three fifth graders that year, and managed to knock every single one of them unconscious. He tanned his son’s hide for drawing attention to them like that. Dean knew better then to use his training against fellow students. John remembered he had to pick Dean up at the school Nurse’s office and he had quite a few band-aids. That’s quite possibly that was the moment they got Dean’s DNA. A higher than reported IQ, along with Dean’s fighting prowess, and John’s military record... that’d make the seven year old pretty tempting genetic material for Manticore. “Shit.”
Alec awkwardly tried to pat John’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for what it’s worth.”
John took a deep breath and made himself smile at Dean’s clone, “Not your fault either, dude. No reason to be sorry. Sammy always wanted a little brother. He’s always complaining about being the youngest.”
Alec went stiff again, “You don’t have to... I mean, it’s not like I expect... I know I’m Dean’s genetic twin, but I’m not Dean. You don’t have to treat me like I’m your real family or anything. You don’t owe me anything. I’m trained to survive on my own. I can take care of myself.”
John hugged the kid closer. “Sorry kiddo, you’re a Winchester and you’re stuck with us.”
The motel door opened and two sweaty teenagers ran in, covered in mud and bumping shoulders.
“Who’s a Winchester?” Dean asked.
“Alec is.” John smiled at his boys.
Dean grinned. “Awesome! Sammy always wanted a little brother.”
He grabbed Sam, twisting him into a headlock. Sam squawked indignantly.
Alec looked to John for confirmation. John winked, “Told you so.”
Sam twisted out of the headlock, dancing away from his big brother and laughing. “Finally, someone else can be the baby.” He grabbed the little guy up, lifting him easily. When Dean lunged for him, Sam held Alec up as a human shield. “C’mon Alec, let’s gang up on big brother here.”
Alec looked to John for permission, while Sam had him dangling in the air. John nodded once and Alec beamed. “Cool.”
In a matter of seconds all three boys were scrapping like puppies. Dean managed to be shoved to the bottom of the pile, with Sam pinning him and Alec sitting on Sam like a horse.
John knew he should be a responsible adult and break it up, but this was the boys’ way of welcoming Alec to the family. And for the first time in three days, John heard Alec genuinely laugh. The grizzled hunter smiled to himself, “Congratulations John, it’s a boy.”
Their family had just gotten a little bigger. That boy may not have come from Mary’s womb, but he was their son just the same. It didn’t matter what little surprises the government encoded in him. It didn’t matter that feeding four people is tougher then feeding three. It didn’t matter that it’d be difficult explaining the new son to fellow hunters. All that mattered was Alec found them and they were together. They’d figure out the rest as they went.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
Next story in this series - "The Care and Feeding of Your New Family Pet"