Fic Recommendations - John & Dean
I love the dynamic of Dean and John. I am so intrigued with their relationship and have just eating up the fics I have recently been reading about them (pre-series & WeeChester). Dean loved, admired, and looked up to his father so much. And despite how he felt disappointed and let down by John during the past few years, he never stopped fiercely loving his father.
All during his life, Dean had placed John on this pedestal. I think we all do that. I know I did that with my father and brothers. So, when John finally fell off of that pedestal, Dean was at first devastated and then angry, and it came out in how Dean acted and reacted. (I know for months I was angry at my father and just got mad at him for no reason at all. This is typical when you realize that someone you have kind of worshipped all your life, isn’t the person you have held up to such high standards. He is just a human being, trying to do his best, making mistakes along the way.)
As we all know, time heals all wounds and Dean has, I think, finally come to a point where he has accepted his father for the man that he was, and wasn’t, and has relearned the deep love and affection that he has for his father. Their relationship is so beautiful and human, I just can’t seem to get enough of these two and relish an author’s insight into their intricate relationship.
So, with all that, I have quite the collection of John/Dean fics to recommend. These are all short one-shot fics. All but one of them are by the same author, so let’s get to it.
‘ A Foreign Country’ by relli86 . Dean and Sam are teens in this fic and are staying at Bobby’s while John is on a hunt. We are nearing Sam’s birthday and Dean wants to give the gift to Sam that he is asking for, a bike. The story then proceeds while Dean secretly tries to procure the bike for Sam, how he goes about it, and then giving it to Sam. Of course, in the end, John finally makes an appearance, and I love the interaction. I just love Dean’s insight and wish for his father near the end of the story. Dean is definitely wise beyond his years.
The rest of these fics are by dodger_winslow .
‘ In the Beginning, As it Ends.’ This is a pre-series fic with John, Mary and Dean. Dean has a bad dream and his parents come to help ease the fear. Mary is all love and cuddles and even then, at the tender age of 4, Dean and John have this wonderful little back and forth repoire. It’s a real treat to get see these two interact. This fic also brings us some wonderful, loving interaction between John & Mary. A real treat.
‘ Four Times John Thought It Was Over and Once He Realized It Was Only Just Beginning.’ In the beginning we see how John and Mary first met and started dating. It’s fun to read how Mary and John were first attracted to each other. And to watch their little dance to introduction. This story is set around the anniversary of Mary’s death and John is dreaming. His dreams cause him to cry out and arouse Dean out of his sleep, who comes to the aid of his father and a wonderful conversation between these two ensues. Dean is 9 years old in this fic, and once again, it really shows a strong bond between these two and how much they truly know and understand each other. Most importantly, I think it really brings out the strong bond they have because of their shared experience of what happened to Mary. Sam was just a baby and, of course, is unable to see, understand or share in this bond. Which is, I also think, the one big reason for Dean’s utter devotion to John and Sam’s difference.
‘ Ten Going on Thirteen.’ This is such a great fic. Dean is 10, Sammy 6 and they are at a restaurant getting breakfast. Dean is in a mood and John is having some difficulties with him. Dean and Sam go to the restroom when all of a sudden, some burglars enter the restaurant. John tries to take advantage of the situation and ends up getting shot. What ensues next is another reason I love Dean so much. Instead of being a 10-year-old cowering in the corner, Dean acts like a little adult and takes matters into his hands and works on helping/saving his Dad. John definitely taught his son well. I just love it how Dean becomes the adult when needed, and then at the end, when his father is on the mend, becomes the little boy again, needing love, assurance and safety in the arms of his father. Definitely a keeper, and have your tissues handy when you read. It brought me to tears.
‘ Open Your Eyes.’ Oh my gosh! This is a must-read. Dean and John are on a hunt. Dean gets hurt and John works feverishly to save his son. Even while in utter agony, Dean’s snark and wit come through in his interactions with his father. This is an intense filled story and John works over his dying son and Dean does his best to do what his father asks. At the end, John is able to get Dean over to Bobby who is able to finish what needs to be done to save Dean and we again get to witness a bereft father, mourning the possibility of the thought of losing his son, and we see just a little bit of how much John truly loves Dean. Another tear jerker, be warned.
‘ Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Dean asks of John an impossible question, “if we got in a wreck, and Sammy and I were both unconscious, and the Impala caught on fire so you only had time to save one of us, who would you save?” This is another wonderful look into how different Sam and Dean look at life, and look at their relationships with each other. We get some great introspection into how Dean’s mind works and his unflinching mind and love for his family. This has another great series of conversations between John and Dean.
‘Keep Going.’ This is a fic that explores why John was missing that one Christmas that was highlighted in the episode ‘A Very Supernatural Christmas.’ John is hurt on a hunt and ends up in the hospital. This story explores how John was hurt, how he ended up in the hospital and how he finally was able to contact Dean.
‘The Truth About Lies’ is a sequel to ‘Keep Going.’ John is out of the hospital, home and on the mend. Most of this fic is a conversation between John and Dean. They talk about why John does things the way he does, his reasonings behind them, they talk about Sam, and then John presents Dean with the Christmas gift he got him, and then later Sam. Dean and John have such a great back and forth with each other, they have a great love and admiration here, and you can really see some of the struggle John has with his relationship with Dean; wanting to treat him like his son, but also needing to treat him like a partner, an adult. John, in wanting to protect his boys, isolated them somewhat from the rest of the world, to keep them away from the evil he knew was lurking out there, but by doing this, it also created a situation where Dean and Sam were John’s only contact. Thus making Dean grow up faster than he should have, to be a suitable companion for John, and then both of them, wanting to cocoon Sam for as long as possible and keep him safe. This story gives us great insight into Dean and John’s relationship. I absolutely loved this.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you love these fics as much as I did. And, if you know of any great fics that deal mostly with John and Dean I would love to hear about them. Keep in mind, I am very particular about how John is written. Many authors out there write John as harsh, more a soldier than a father. I envision John more of a mixture of stern and loving. Kind of like how dodger_winslow writes John. So, if you have read her stories, you will know how I like John, and would love to know of any other great stories you know of between these two.
All during his life, Dean had placed John on this pedestal. I think we all do that. I know I did that with my father and brothers. So, when John finally fell off of that pedestal, Dean was at first devastated and then angry, and it came out in how Dean acted and reacted. (I know for months I was angry at my father and just got mad at him for no reason at all. This is typical when you realize that someone you have kind of worshipped all your life, isn’t the person you have held up to such high standards. He is just a human being, trying to do his best, making mistakes along the way.)
As we all know, time heals all wounds and Dean has, I think, finally come to a point where he has accepted his father for the man that he was, and wasn’t, and has relearned the deep love and affection that he has for his father. Their relationship is so beautiful and human, I just can’t seem to get enough of these two and relish an author’s insight into their intricate relationship.
So, with all that, I have quite the collection of John/Dean fics to recommend. These are all short one-shot fics. All but one of them are by the same author, so let’s get to it.
‘ A Foreign Country’ by relli86 . Dean and Sam are teens in this fic and are staying at Bobby’s while John is on a hunt. We are nearing Sam’s birthday and Dean wants to give the gift to Sam that he is asking for, a bike. The story then proceeds while Dean secretly tries to procure the bike for Sam, how he goes about it, and then giving it to Sam. Of course, in the end, John finally makes an appearance, and I love the interaction. I just love Dean’s insight and wish for his father near the end of the story. Dean is definitely wise beyond his years.
The rest of these fics are by dodger_winslow .
‘ In the Beginning, As it Ends.’ This is a pre-series fic with John, Mary and Dean. Dean has a bad dream and his parents come to help ease the fear. Mary is all love and cuddles and even then, at the tender age of 4, Dean and John have this wonderful little back and forth repoire. It’s a real treat to get see these two interact. This fic also brings us some wonderful, loving interaction between John & Mary. A real treat.
‘ Four Times John Thought It Was Over and Once He Realized It Was Only Just Beginning.’ In the beginning we see how John and Mary first met and started dating. It’s fun to read how Mary and John were first attracted to each other. And to watch their little dance to introduction. This story is set around the anniversary of Mary’s death and John is dreaming. His dreams cause him to cry out and arouse Dean out of his sleep, who comes to the aid of his father and a wonderful conversation between these two ensues. Dean is 9 years old in this fic, and once again, it really shows a strong bond between these two and how much they truly know and understand each other. Most importantly, I think it really brings out the strong bond they have because of their shared experience of what happened to Mary. Sam was just a baby and, of course, is unable to see, understand or share in this bond. Which is, I also think, the one big reason for Dean’s utter devotion to John and Sam’s difference.
‘ Ten Going on Thirteen.’ This is such a great fic. Dean is 10, Sammy 6 and they are at a restaurant getting breakfast. Dean is in a mood and John is having some difficulties with him. Dean and Sam go to the restroom when all of a sudden, some burglars enter the restaurant. John tries to take advantage of the situation and ends up getting shot. What ensues next is another reason I love Dean so much. Instead of being a 10-year-old cowering in the corner, Dean acts like a little adult and takes matters into his hands and works on helping/saving his Dad. John definitely taught his son well. I just love it how Dean becomes the adult when needed, and then at the end, when his father is on the mend, becomes the little boy again, needing love, assurance and safety in the arms of his father. Definitely a keeper, and have your tissues handy when you read. It brought me to tears.
‘ Open Your Eyes.’ Oh my gosh! This is a must-read. Dean and John are on a hunt. Dean gets hurt and John works feverishly to save his son. Even while in utter agony, Dean’s snark and wit come through in his interactions with his father. This is an intense filled story and John works over his dying son and Dean does his best to do what his father asks. At the end, John is able to get Dean over to Bobby who is able to finish what needs to be done to save Dean and we again get to witness a bereft father, mourning the possibility of the thought of losing his son, and we see just a little bit of how much John truly loves Dean. Another tear jerker, be warned.
‘ Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Dean asks of John an impossible question, “if we got in a wreck, and Sammy and I were both unconscious, and the Impala caught on fire so you only had time to save one of us, who would you save?” This is another wonderful look into how different Sam and Dean look at life, and look at their relationships with each other. We get some great introspection into how Dean’s mind works and his unflinching mind and love for his family. This has another great series of conversations between John and Dean.
‘Keep Going.’ This is a fic that explores why John was missing that one Christmas that was highlighted in the episode ‘A Very Supernatural Christmas.’ John is hurt on a hunt and ends up in the hospital. This story explores how John was hurt, how he ended up in the hospital and how he finally was able to contact Dean.
‘The Truth About Lies’ is a sequel to ‘Keep Going.’ John is out of the hospital, home and on the mend. Most of this fic is a conversation between John and Dean. They talk about why John does things the way he does, his reasonings behind them, they talk about Sam, and then John presents Dean with the Christmas gift he got him, and then later Sam. Dean and John have such a great back and forth with each other, they have a great love and admiration here, and you can really see some of the struggle John has with his relationship with Dean; wanting to treat him like his son, but also needing to treat him like a partner, an adult. John, in wanting to protect his boys, isolated them somewhat from the rest of the world, to keep them away from the evil he knew was lurking out there, but by doing this, it also created a situation where Dean and Sam were John’s only contact. Thus making Dean grow up faster than he should have, to be a suitable companion for John, and then both of them, wanting to cocoon Sam for as long as possible and keep him safe. This story gives us great insight into Dean and John’s relationship. I absolutely loved this.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you love these fics as much as I did. And, if you know of any great fics that deal mostly with John and Dean I would love to hear about them. Keep in mind, I am very particular about how John is written. Many authors out there write John as harsh, more a soldier than a father. I envision John more of a mixture of stern and loving. Kind of like how dodger_winslow writes John. So, if you have read her stories, you will know how I like John, and would love to know of any other great stories you know of between these two.