ceteris paribus - II. Family - SN/DA crossover - part 2/2
Title: ceteris paribus
Chapter: II. Family
Fandom: “Supernatural”/“Dark Angel” crossover
Disclaimer: if you recognize them? They ain’t mine. I wrote this because school ain’t nearly interesting enough.
Warnings: spoilers for all of “Supernatural” and “Dark Angel.” AU for “Dark Angel.” Character death.
Pairings: Dean/Sarah, Dean/Sam, Michael(OMC)/Lauren(OFC), Kat/Nathan(OMC), Nora/Billy(OMC), Haley/Charlie(OMC), Ben/Asher
Rating: R
Wordcount: total--12060
Point of view: third
Dedication:
tru_faith_lost. Hope everything gets better soon, darling!
Notes: I’m sick. And twisted. And obsessed. Forgive me.
More notes: ceteris paribus is Latin and means all else remains the same.
Notes cubed: I've taken liberties with supplies in a post-Pulse world, as I believe the Winchesters would have preparations.
Yes-still more notes: I’ve also taken liberty with transgenic abilities, as I’m not too clear on what they actually are.
part 1
Kat, Asher, and Ava stayed. The Winchesters and Ben taught them to fight, taught them knives and guns. Asher was a quick study with blades and Kat, already good with guns, flourished. Ava, though, still weak from her beating, learned slowly.
A few weeks after Lauren left, Dean told the group he had to go, that he had business in Kansas. “Sam’ll stay here,” he said. “Ben, you’re coming with me.”
“Be safe,” Sarah said, kissing them both.
Dean nodded. “I’ll take care of him, Sarah.”
Sam, though, met Ben’s eyes. Ben smiled, and Sam turned his searing gaze on Dean. “Don’t be gone long, Dean,” he said. “Something’s coming. Me and Ava both feel it.”
Dean nodded again. “Shouldn’t be longer than a couple’a weeks, lil’brother.”
Ben didn’t say goodbye to Asher because Asher didn’t come to see him off. He asked Kat to tell Asher bye for him and she promised she would.
-
“So, how old are you now?” Dean inquired a few miles down the road from the house.
“Eleven, I think,” Ben said.
“Hmm,” Dean began. “You been thinkin’ about girls yet?”
Ben choked and turned disbelieving eyes on him. “You brought me with you so you could give me the sex talk?”
“Well, someone has to,” Dean defended and Ben laughed.
“Manticore taught us everything by the time we were eight, Dean. So don’t worry. I know about males and females.”
There was silence in the Impala for a couple of miles. Then Ben asked, “So, what’s going on between you and Sam?”
“What?” Dean squeaked.
“You take showers together. You’re always in each other’s space. You smell like each other and sex.” Ben turned innocent eyes on him. “So, tell me, Dean: what am I supposed to think?” Dean growled and Ben snickered. “I don’t care, Dean. I doubt anyone else will, either.”
“We’re brothers,” Dean snapped. “It’s wrong.” His hands tightened on the wheel and his foot pushed down on the gas. “It’s wrong,” he repeated, quieter.
“Is it?” Ben asked. “Says who?”
Dean took his eyes off the road for a moment, looked inquiringly at Ben. “Everyone,” he answered.
“Sarah?”
Dean jerked like he’d been shot and the Impala lunged across the road. Dean swiftly regained control.
“She knows,” Dean murmured. “But we’ve never talked about it.” He licked his lips. “We’ve never talked about it. She knows I don’t love her, that I never will.” He chuckled bitterly. “I’m not built for love-I only had so much, and I used it all before I met her.” He eased off the accelerator. “What kind of person does that make me, Ben?”
“Your parents,” Ben said. “And Sam.” Dean nodded. “And no one else?” Dean shook his head. “Liar.”
Dean looked at him, raised an eyebrow.
“You’re a liar, Dean,” Ben said again. “You loved your parents and you love Sam-and maybe I don’t know much about love, but even I can see you love Sarah. Not the same way you love Sam or your parents-but you’d still die for her. And you’d die for Michael, Asher, Kat, or Ava. You’d die for strangers on the street.”
“That’s not love,” Dean argued.
“Then what is it?” Ben shot back. “A death-wish? Love, Dean. You can’t say you’d give your life for people who aren’t worth it.”
Dean stayed silent, but to Ben it felt like a hollow victory. He was no expert on human feelings. Over a year in the real world and he still felt like a blind baby searching for the way.
“You’re happy, Dean. We all see it. And we…” Ben searched for the words and decided to just plow on. “We-all of us-just want the two of you happy.”
Dean made a slight sound and said softly, “Tell me about your Lady, Ben.”
“She’s gentle,” Ben began. “And protective. As a sacrifice, she asks for teeth, or blood. It makes her stronger, strong enough to fight the nomlies-monsters.”
“You gave her Chris?” Dean asked.
“And four others who were following him to our house. They were the first ones since Manticore, Dean, I promise. And if they weren’t going to hurt you or Asher-”
“I believe you, Ben. I know you wouldn’t kill without a good reason.” And the simple truth of those words, the faith and belief displayed in the voice-it lit warmth in Ben that suffused his body.
“Who do you love, Ben?”
“You. Sam. Sarah. Michael. Asher.”
“We’re a family,” Dean said, voice iron. “We look at for each other, protect each other. We kill if necessary-and we don’t look back. Sarah understands, though she doesn’t like it, and she would kill for me, for Sam, for Michael. For you.”
“Are Ava and Kat part of the family?” Ben asked, redefining his world again.
Dean thought for a minute. “Yes.”
-
When they stopped for lunch-sandwiches they’d packed and thermoses of lemonade-Dean told Ben about Missouri Moseley and his mother’s spirit.
“From the moment I met her, something in me-snarled at her. I just didn’t like her. And she sniped at me, always looking for something wrong, something to fault. She adored Sam, it seemed. But I got used to that when we were kids.” Dean laughed. “Authority figures have always liked him.”
“What didn’t you like about Missouri?” Ben ate the last of his sandwich and swallowed a large gulp of lemonade.”
“I don’t know.” Dean shrugged and polished off the remnants of his sandwich. “I just… didn’t like her. But Sam took to her, so I didn’t even try explaining. She’s a psychic, can read minds. Gets feelings. So maybe she didn’t like me because I didn’t like her.”
Ben pondered for a moment. “You said she knew your dad.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe the reason she didn’t like you had something to do with him, with what he knew.” Ben shrugged when Dean looked at him. “It’s a theory.”
“But why would she tell Ava to stop lookin’ for us?” Dean demanded.
Again, Ben shrugged. “How would I know? I was a little kid when you met her and I didn’t exist when she met your dad.”
“What if she’s not a Lawrence anymore?” Dean asked, moving on to a new worry. “How can we find her then?”
Ben rolled his eyes.
-
Turned out, though, Missouri still lived in the same house Dean and Sam had met her in. And she had three kids living with her, two girls aged six and seventeen and a boy about nine.
She invited Dean in and Ben followed, on the watch for any threatening movement. Missouri lead them to her kitchen where the three kids were. The eldest held the youngest on her lap and leaned protectively towards the boy.
“This here’s Nora,” Missouri said, nodding the oldest. “The others are Rich and Rosie.” With a look at Dean, Missouri continued, “You might remember the babies, boy. Rich used to live in your house, and you carried Rose out of a fire.”
Dean cast a sharp glance at the two young ones, but Ben kept his eyes on Missouri. She grinned at him and directed her comments to Dean. “Stay wary of your shadow, Dean. He’s more like you than you know, and there’s danger bred into his blood.”
“Why’d you tell Ava to stay away from us?” Dean cut in.
“Because she’d have distracted you at a point where you couldn’t afford it.” Missouri’s voice held no apology.
“We could have protected her,” Dean said. “Andy, too.”
“No, boy,” Missouri replied. “You couldn’t. No one could. Time’s are changin’, Dean. Swiftly and surely, and you’ll be left behind if you aren’t careful.” She looked back at Ben and raised a brow.
He didn’t like her. Dean’d been right-something inside Ben was snarling at her, had been since he laid eyes on her.
“When you leave, take ‘em with you,” Missouri said and walked out of the kitchen.
“What?” Dean demanded and whirled to follow her.
Ben kept his eyes on the kids at the table. The young woman, Nora, met his gaze warily. “He’s safe,” the little girl-Rosie-piped up. “Not a threat to us.” She smiled at him and Ben moved closer.
“You bitch!” he heard Dean yell, and Ben flew from the room, through the house. He found Dean at the back, kicking a wall.
“Dean?” he asked, keeping his distance, and Dean turned. His face softened and tension flowed from his frame.
“Don’t worry, Benny-boy,” he said softly and sighed. He slumped against the wall and Ben leaped forward to catch him. Dean laid an arm over Ben’s shoulder and stood back up. “I’m fine, Ben. Just… worn out.” He sighed again. “Might as well gather up the kids and head back to Phoenix.”
Ben lead the way to the kitchen. Nora had stood and wore a bag over her shoulder. She held Rose’s hand and had an arm wrapped around Rich.
“Guess she told you, huh?” Dean laughed. He shook his head and muttered about psychic bitches. “Let’s get goin’, then. Got quite a drive.”
Nora and the kids followed them to the car. “Nora gets shot-gun,” Dean said. “Ben, sit in the back.”
Nora looked at Dean warily. “We can trust him,” Rose said. “He’s good, Nora.” Nora looked at Rose for a moment then lifted her and placed her in the back. Rich slid in beside her.
“No belts?” Nora asked and Dean shook his head.
“Ben’ll protect ‘em, if there’s a problem.” Ben beamed at the faith.
Nora sighed. “I can’t believe you don’t have seatbelts,” she muttered and slammed the door.
Dean growled and gently shut his.
-
The ride back to Phoenix was broken only by Rose and Rich’s conversation. Ben listened, comparing them to the children he remembered from Manticore. They were vibrant and bright, loud-he wondered if Asher had been like that, before his brother died.
Nora added a comment, every now and then. Dean fiddled with the radio, changing the tape every fifth song.
By the time they hit Arizona, Nora was gritting her teeth. “Touch another tape,” she bit out, “and I’ll slap you.”
Ben sat up. Rich giggled.
“This’s my car, sweetheart,” Dean said. “And they’re my tapes, so I can do whatever I want.”
Nora glared at him and Ben smiled.
-
Sarah greeted them at the front door. Her eyes widened when she saw the extra three bodies.
“We don’t have room,” she breathed and Dean brushed her off with, “We’ll manage. Rose, Nora, and Kat can share; so can Asher, Ben, and Rich. Me and Sam’ll take the living room. You and Ava can trade off the master bed, and Michael can keep his own.”
“We’ll need to add on,” Michael said, coming down the stairs.
“C’mon.” Sarah gestured to the new ones. “You’re hungry, I bet.”
“We’re safe here, Nora,” Rose whispered, gripping the older girl’s hand. “They’ll take care of us.”
Ben headed up the stairs, Dean on his heels. “Sam’s in the shower,” Ben told him as he vanished into his room. Dean grinned at him and continued down the hall.
-
Nora, Rich, and Rose fit in seamlessly. Nora and Kat got on great; Michael took Rich under his wing; Rose shadowed Ava like Ben had shadowed Dean in the beginning.
Dean, Sam, and Michael started construction on a second wing for the house. “More’re comin’,” Sam and Ava agreed. Ben took the kids-Asher, Rose, and Rich-around the city, familiarizing them with the lay-out. Sometimes, the girls-Kat, Ava, or Nora-accompanied them.
Slowly, Rose and Rich and Nora became part of his family. He looked out for them, watched them, tried to make them happy.
And even more slowly, Dean and Sam quit hiding. The months passed and they began touching more, began sharing glances. No one really raised eyebrows or noticed-Nora looked to Sarah in askance once that Ben saw, but Sarah just smiled and Nora subsided.
By 2012, they were all united-a family.
So, of course, that was when the world threw more strife their way.
-
The kids had rooms in the new wing; Asher and Ben still shared, but everyone else got their own.
Dean insisted Sarah keep the master bed. She told him that he and Sam should get it, since they were the leaders.
“It’s your house, Sarah,” he said, cupping her face. “Take the bed. Me and Sammy’re fine with what we got.”
Finally she gave in, recognizing she couldn’t win.
Dean and Sam traveled the country often, usually leaving Sarah in command. They’d take one of the kids sometimes, usually Ben. They gathered weapons and information, preparing for a war Ava and Sam knew was coming, inevitably and undoubtedly.
“We’ve had a respite,” Sam said as he, Dean, Ben, and Nora drove down the road to Nebraska. “Longer than we could have hoped for.”
“Yeah,” Dean chuckled. “That damned demon’s gonna come at us with a hammer when it finally does move.”
“So, that’s what we’re doing out here?” Nora asked. She had been told everything, pretty much. She’d admitted that the supernatural had touched her before-an invisible clown killed her parents.
Dean and Sam shared a glance when they heard that, and Sam said, “Believe me, that clown hasn’t hurt anyone in years-and never will again.”
“We’re lookin’ for allies,” Dean explained about the trip to Nebraska. “We’re also tryin’ to see who’ll stay neutral, when the fight comes.”
“And why am I here?” she asked.
Ben met Dean’s eyes in the mirror.
“Because,” Sam said, “Rose is too young, Rich to innocent, Asher too fragile. Because Sarah and Michael need each other, Ava is an early warning system almost as good as me, and Kat’s very handy with a gun.”
“So…” Nora asked, fishing for something else, since clearly there had to be more.
“So, you’re going to be our secret weapon, our wildcard. You’re completely human, but you would die for Rosie.” Dean’s voice was soft, gentle, and proud. “Your life was destroyed by the dark, Nora, yet you don’t shy from Rosie, Ava, or Sam. You can show any doubters that the psychics are people, just like everyone else.”
Ben glanced at Nora out the corner of his eye, wondering if she’d fallen in love with him yet. Her eyes were wide and she blushed, looking down at her lap.
She was a far cry from the girl who threatened to slap him on the way to Phoenix. “I’m not so good as all that,” she muttered.
Dean scoffed. “Why d’ya love Rosie, Nora?” He sped the Impala up.
“Because she’s good,” Nora answered after a second. “She’s gentle and kind, and doesn’t have any clue how to be mean. She looks at you and knows your secrets, but she won’t judge you.” Nora shrugged. “She’s just a little girl.”
“My word is tainted,” Dean told her, glancing at Sam. “Everyone in the hunting world knows where I stand. But you-you’re new. Maybe you can sway some people away from Gordon Walker’s extremist beliefs.”
“And Ben?” Nora inquired, clearly turning Dean’s words over in her mind. “Why does he always go with you?”
They’d told her truth about Ben, but only explained to Rich that he was gifted like Rosie. Rosie knew, of course; Ben doubted anything could ever escape her.
“Ben can kick both our asses,” Dean said, tilting his head toward Sam, “and not even break a sweat. His hearing is superb and so’s his sight. So, if we’re walkin’ into a trap or get jumped, I want him with us.”
Nora looked at Ben, examining him, and he grinned innocently up at her. She frowned and glanced toward the front. “Did you notice he looks like you?” she asked Dean.
“Yeah.” Dean turned off at the ruins of a gas station. “Can’t explain it except that Manticore used my DNA.”
Nora accepted that without question.
-
They pulled up outside the Roadhouse at dusk. It was Ben’s first time there and he didn’t like it. He kept close to Dean and Nora followed his example. Sam brought up the rear.
“Was it this… oppressive last time?” Nora asked softly and Dean chuckled.
“Pretty much. Sure never felt welcoming, even before Sam opened his big mouth in a hunter bar.”
“Oh, bite me,” Sam snapped. Ben glanced back; tension tightened Sam’s shoulders and pinched at his face.
“One move towards you, Sammy,” Dean promised, swiftly turning his head to meet Sam’s eyes, “and they’re dead.”
Sam almost smiled. Ben silently echoed the oath, with one addendum: one move towards any of the others and Ben turned savage. He knew Sam was thinking the same.
-
There were two old cars in the parking lot, three motorcycles, and five bicycles. Ben listened: nine heartbeats in the Roadhouse. He quietly relayed that information to Dean.
Dean entered first, then Ben. After a quick visual sweep, Ben placed all the heartbeats, and nodded for Nora to enter. Sam stepped in on her heels, but Ben could tell she didn’t fear him.
Maybe he’d been wrong about her loving Dean. After all, Sam had his own appeal. Ben stifled a grin and focused on the bar where a weather-beaten woman stood, gaping.
“Dean,” she said, shocked. “Sam.” Her eyes shot from one to the other, completely skipping Ben and Nora.
Ben didn’t mind. He slipped into the shadows, eyes roaming, searching for any threat.
Sam and Dean stood on either side of Nora; they dwarfed her, but Ben could tell she wasn’t nervous at all. Strong girl, he observed. Even Sarah sometimes flinches from them.
“You sent two kids our way, Ellen,” Dean said. “So you can’t be that shocked to see us.”
“It’s been over a year,” she argued, hands below the bar. Ben noticed that the three grizzled men in the corner were reaching beneath their jackets and a slight blond woman in the hall held a shotgun.
“How’d Gordon Walker find us?” Sam asked quietly. Dangerously. His size appeared threatening for the first time since Ben met him. Ben smirked, sinking deeper into the shadows.
Dean and Sam were masters at intimidation. They could give Manticore lessons.
The blond slunk closer to the door, attempting to get a clear shot. The three hunters were focused on Dean and Sam, so Ben snuck around them without trouble. He kept the three in his peripheral vision, but placed most of his attention on the woman. Once the way was clear, he could rush her and snatch the gun.
“Not from me,” Ellen said. “I wouldn’t do that to you boys. I owe ya’ll Jo’s life.”
Ben moved, yanking the shotgun from the blonde’s grip. She flinched back, yelping, and he got behind her, shoving her into the main room.
The hunters and Ellen glanced their way, but Dean, Sam, and Nora kept looking at Ellen.
“Hey, Jo,” Dean said and she glared. Ben tossed the gun; Dean caught it without looking and removed the bullets. He let it all fall to the floor.
“I didn’t give up your location to anyone, Dean,” Ellen repeated. “Except to that Kat girl. Gordon wasn’t here and we were in the backroom.”
Ben studied Jo. She was fidgeting, edgy. “You told him,” Ben murmured and she jerked up her head.
“Where is Gordon?” one of the hunters demanded, rising to his feet and kicking away his chair. “We haven’t heard from him in months.”
Sam spun around. “And you won’t,” he said coldly. “Gordon attacked us in our home, so we dealt with him.”
“He was right, then,” a second hunter spoke up, taking a long draft of his beer. “You psychic freaks are threats.”
Nora scoffed and turned, eyes blazing. “Anyone can be a threat. You, me-anyone. But I know Sam-he’s a good guy.” She appraised the three men for a moment. “Better than you, I bet.”
The third finally asked, “And you are, girlie?”
She raised her chin. “Nora Adamson.”
“How’d a pretty thing like you fall in with them?” The second spoke again, jerking his head toward the Winchesters.
“A rakshasa killed her family,” Dean explained, still looking at Ellen. “I found her at Missouri Moseley’s about a year ago, her and two others. Children.”
Ben heard a sound down the hall. Everyone was focusing on Dean, so Ben ghosted away. There were still four people unaccounted for. Silently he padded from the main room, pausing at each door. Behind one, there was a single pulse. Ben continued on. A little further, past a turn, were three more.
Ben tried the knob: locked. A flurry of movement; a gun cocked. He shifted to the side and gently knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” A young man’s voice, unafraid.
“I just want to talk,” Ben called. “My name’s Ben.”
Slowly, the knob turned. Ben backed further away, keeping his hands visible and nonthreatening. A young man slipped from the room, a pistol in his grip. He shut the door behind him.
“You’re a kid,” he said, raising a brow.
Ben nodded. “Twelve, I think.”
“How’d you get back here?” the guy asked, letting the gun dangle from his fingers.
“I walked,” Ben answered, fighting back a grin.
“I’m Nathan,” the man said, then louder, “Billy, Luke-c’mon out.”
The door opened again. First came another adult, a couple years younger than Nathan. They looked enough alike to be brothers. Then, behind him stepped a kid about Ben’s age.
“You’re missin’ all the fun,” Ben told them.
“Fun?” asked the younger brother, keeping himself in front of the kid.
A gunshot sounded from them main room and Ben spun around, lunged down the hall. He heard footsteps behind him and Nathan commanding, “Stay here.”
He burst into a stand-off: Dean and Sam both held guns, Sam’s aimed at the hunters, Dean’s on Ellen. Nora was in the corner, crouched behind a table, and Jo stood still, eyes shooting from Dean to Sam and back.
Two of the hunters and Ellen also had guns. The first hunter who’d spoken was collapsed in a chair, clutching his hand, wrapping a jacket around it.
“What the hell?” Nathan asked and the third hunter swung his gun around to aim at Ben.
“Pull that trigger,” Sam growled, “and you’re dead.”
“You shot Cal!” the second hunter said.
“He drew first,” Sam returned. “Shoulda known better.”
“You desecrated Gordon’s memory!” Cal yelled.
Dean chuckled. “You even know what that means? Gordon was a whack-job. I shoulda killed him years ago, that first time he threatened Sam.”
Ben stepped forward; the hunter’s fingers tightened on the trigger.
“Kid,” Nathan whispered, “get behind me.”
“No,” Ben said. “You should go back to your brother and that boy.”
“Who’re the good guys?” Nathan asked.
“Dean and Sam, definitely,” Ben answered.
“Those the ones in the middle?”
“Yep.”
And Ben moved. No warning, no second thoughts, he threw himself forward, kicking off the ground. He hit the hunter in the chest, batting the gun out of his hands.
The other hunter turned to point his gun at Ben’s head, and Ben prepared to move again, but Nathan was there, and he punched the guy in the face.
“Thanks,” Ben said as Nathan disarmed the hunter. He looked towards Dean, who had whirled around as Ben lunged.
Dean lowered his gun and strode forward, falling to his knees in front of Ben. “I know you’re fast,” Dean said softly, harshly. “I know you’re strong. I know it’s what you were created for, born for, taught to do.” He placed his hands on Ben’s shoulders. “And if you ever do something like that again, I’ll kick your ass.”
Ben met worried hazel eyes identical to his own. “Okay,” he replied softly. “I’m sorry, Dean.”
Dean closed his eyes and sighed. “Okay.”
He stood back up and turned to face Ellen, who had dropped her shotgun in shock. Her gaze was on Ben. “What is he?” she demanded, voice harsh.
“He’s a boy,” Nora said, rushing across the room to stand beside him.
Ben smiled up at her.
Jo moved, hopping the bar to join Ellen. Billy and Luke entered, the brother holding a handgun.
The kid looked at Ben, then Dean, and his mouth dropped open. “Dean?” he gasped.
Dean glanced over and tilted his head. “Lucas?” he asked. “Lucas Barr?”
Lucas nodded, hurrying forward. Dean turned to face him. “You’ve grown, kiddo,” he said. Then, seriously, “Is your mom alright?”
Lucas shook his head. “She died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Dean murmured, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
“We’ll be leaving now,” Sam announced, with half a glance to Dean.
“Thank you for helping Ben,” Dean told Nathan. “You can come with us, if you want.”
Nathan and Billy had a swift conversation without talking. “I’m Nathan Morris,” he said, holding out his hand to Dean, who gripped it. “This is my little brother Billy.”
Billy rushed back down the hall; gone for a moment, he returned with three bags and two motorcycle helmets.
Sam exited the Roadhouse first, Nora and Ben behind him. Then came Billy, Lucas, and Nathan, Dean bringing up the rear.
“You comfortable riding with them?” Nathan asked Lucas and Lucas nodded. “Can the kid go with you?” Nathan directed to Dean.
“Sure,” Dean answered. “If he still thinks Zeppelin rules.”
Lucas laughed.
-
Nathan, Billy, and Lucas slipped into their life with barely a ripple. Kat took to Nathan immediately, but Nora and Billy danced around each other for a while. Lucas, like Ben before him, shadowed Dean for a few months, then hung out with Ben and Asher.
Nathan and Billy’s story was a lot like the others. Bobby, Dean and Sam’s friend, had saved them from a poltergeist and dropped them on Ellen’s doorstep. Lucas showed up a couple of days later, silent and broken.
“A lot like when we first met,” Lucas told Dean.
“A few hunters bothered the kid,” Billy continued, meeting Dean’s eyes. “So we dealt with the bastards and took him under our wing.”
Lucas looked down, blushing. Ben studied him-dark red hair, slight frame, large dark eyes. Ben almost sighed. Another one he felt the need to watch out for.
As if his hands weren’t already full with Asher, who was compelling in his own way-dirty blond hair, large green eyes, hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet, though he’d probably never be that big.
Ben wondered how many more would be added to his family, how much room his heart had. Dean and Asher were still the center of his world, with Sam, Sarah, and Michael just behind them.
“How many people can fit in a heart?” Ben asked one day as he and Dean spared in the basement.
“As many as you want,” Dean answered. “For a long time, only Sam and Dad fit in mine. They were the only ones I allowed myself to really care about.”
“What about all those people you saved?” Ben danced to the side, tapping Dean’s shoulder. “You cared for them, didn’t you? Like Asher’s brother and Lucas.”
Dean spun around, grappling for Ben. “Sure, I cared for them. But I didn’t love them. They left small marks on my heart. But if I’d had to choose between Asher’s brother and mine-Sam would be the one I saved.” Dean reached for Ben but he jumped, kicking off Dean’s stomach.
Falling back, Dean grabbed Ben’s ankle, pulling him down. “For years, Dad and Sam were everything to me. But now I’ve let ya’ll all in-the kids, the girls, Sarah. You.”
Ben pulled away and Dean lay for a moment, trying to catch his breath. “Getting old?” Ben laughed and Dean scowled up at him, then grinned. He rolled over and stood, stretching.
“So, it’s okay to love multiple people?” Ben asked, still unsure.
“Yeah,” Dean replied softly. “Some people think love makes you weak. But, believe me, Ben-love makes you strong. I’d have let myself die years ago if I didn’t have Sam.”
“But what if you have to choose between two people you love?” Ben latched onto another worry.
Dean sank down, leaning against the wall. He studied Ben in silence for a moment and Ben waited him out.
“I don’t know,” Dean finally said. “Honestly, Ben… I don’t know. I never had to choose between Dad and Sam, but I think…” He closed his eyes. “I’d’ve chosen Sammy,” Dean whispered. “And now,” he continued, looking at Ben again, “there are so many to look out for. I don’t know…” He trailed off.
“You do know,” Ben said, sinking down beside him and leaning into his side. “You’d choose Sam, over anyone else.”
Dean dropped his head, pulling his knees up and resting his elbows on them. “Yeah,” he agreed, his voice a ghost of its usual self. “I would.”
Ben wrapped his arms around Dean and they sat in silence for a long time.
-
In 2013, two more people joined their family. By that time, Nathan and Kat were an official couple; so were Billy and Nora. Lucas always stayed with either Ben or Asher. Billy and Nathan didn’t care about Dean and Sam’s relationship; Ben wondered who besides Sarah and Michael even knew they were brothers.
In spring of ’13, Dean got a call from Bobby about two folks-some girl named Haley and her boyfriend Charlie.
“Haley?” Dean repeated into the phone. “From Colorado?”
Ben heard Bobby’s reply. “Yeah. She’s askin’ for you, Dean. By name.”
“Put her on,” Dean said.
Sam glanced up from the gun he was cleaning. The three of them were the only ones in the kitchen. “Wendigo?” he asked and Dean nodded.
“Dean?” Ben heard through the phone.
“Hey, Haley,” he replied gently. “How you been doin’?”
“Tommy’s dead,” she sobbed. “Ben, too. I’m alone, Dean. My baby brothers are gone.”
“Oh, Haley,” he breathed, sinking back against the counter. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Sam looked at Ben, a question on his face. “Her brothers died,” Ben whispered, gesturing for Sam to hush as he continued listening.
“Bobby found us,” Haley explained, barely understandable through her tears. “God, me and Charlie-we’re all that’s left.”
“Haley,” Dean said, “what can I do?”
“Help me,” she demanded, calming slightly. “A fucking monster killed Tommy, slaughtered Ben-teach me to fight.”
“Haley,” Dean sighed. “Trust me-vengeance never makes the pain fade. It’ll consume you, if you let it.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Imagine it was Sam.”
Dean raised his eyes to look at his little brother. “I’ll be there sometime tomorrow.”
-
Dean went alone, despite all protests. He was gone a week. When he got back, he had with him a shell-shocked woman and a bitter man, both weary, wary, and worn.
Ben turned thirteen that year and experienced his first kiss, courtesy Asher. They were flipping through some old sports magazines Lucas had found in the attic, from before the Pulse. Lucas was training with Sam and everyone else was somewhere doing something-and Ben honestly didn’t see the kiss coming. Asher leaned over and pressed his lips to Ben’s, raising his hand to the back of Ben’s head.
Ben froze, unsure of what to do, of how to react. “Asher?” he whispered into his best friend’s mouth.
Asher pulled back, jerking away. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, eyes wide. “Ben-” He went to stand but Ben grabbed his arm.
“Wait,” Ben said, meeting Asher’s gaze. “What-”
Looking down, Asher linked his hands, searching for words. “I just…” He sighed. “If you don’t want me to, I’ll never do it again.”
“Look at me,” Ben said and Asher raised his head. Ben moved forward and initiated their second kiss.
-
Kat warned Ben and Dean warned Asher and life continued. The similarities between Dean and Ben grew more pronounced by the month.
“It’s like lookin’ in a time warp,” Sam laughed one night at supper. “Kinda freaky.”
“Yet cool,” Lucas added. His hero-worship of Dean had partially shifted to Ben.
“Yeah,” Sam finished. “Yet cool.”
-
The house was full to the brim. Kat and Nathan shared a room; so did Nora and Billy. Sarah still had her own, and Michael. Rosie and Ava each had their own; Rich and Lucas shared, as did Asher and Ben. Haley and Charlie were given their own, as well.
They were preparing for war. “It’s still coming,” Sam said as he and Dean divided the group up to train. “Like it always has been.”
Charlie was already proficient in guns. “Been shootin’ since I was seven,” he shrugged.
Haley, too, had an excellent eye and the determination to back it p. Lucas and Nora were good at hand-to-hand. Nathan moved fluidly with any blade in his hand, though Billy had to work at it.
“I’m the smart one,” he joked. “Nate’s always been the physical one.”
Sarah, as their resident nurse/doctor, took Richie under her wing. Michael helped them out, raiding old libraries and bookstores for books on medicine and wounds.
Slowly, over six years, Dean, Sam, and Ben built a small, well-oiled army. They worked magnificently together, able to make up for each other’s weaknesses.
Ava worked at her premonitions, trying to discover how to control them, call them when she needed or wanted them. Rosie had long mastered her telepathy, though everyone had faith she stayed out of their minds.
Late in ’15, when just Rosie, Ben, and Sam were in the basement-Ben and Sam sparring, Rose flipping through an old fairytale book-Rosie said, “You’re the strongest, Sam.”
Sam paused and Ben swiftly checked his blow. “What, Rosie?” Sam asked.
She looked up from her book. “Out of all of us fire-children, you’re the strongest. Dean leads the warriors, but you command us gifted. You need to learn your limits, Sam. Soon.” She smiled and returned to her book.
Sam shared a glance with Ben, who shrugged. After a moment, they returned to sparring.
chapter three: " From the Past"