The Sound of Silence Ch 17/?
The Sound Of Silence
Characters: Dean/OFC, Sam/OFC, Alec, Ben, Dark Angel Crossover
Spoilers: None
Summary: Five months have past since the Winchesters took down Manticore. As Ben and Alec settle into a normal life they think their past is behind them. You can never run from your past.
This is a sequel to Horseshoes and Hand Grenades which you can read here. Or on AO3
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen
Chapter 17
*~Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dark Angel or Supernatural characters. For this fic I changed the DA time line. The pulse has already hit and Ben and Alec are out of Manticore in 2009. The characters of Lexi, Jake and Jackie are from a Supernatural AU Verse 'The Ties That Bind' that I write. Even though the original characters are from an AU Verse, reading the AU Verse is not necessary. This is a sequel to Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. I hope you like it. Reviews would be great.~*
Dean raises his eyebrow surveying the clutter of bags and chairs Lexi has placed near the door. There is no way they need to bring all this crap to a parade even if it is two hours long. When he sees the ladder with the seat on top he knows his wife has lost her damn mind. Of course Lexi would buy one of these ladder seats for Jake but there is no way Dean is dragging this through the house and down a flight of stairs. “LEX! LEX, CMERE!”
“What?”
“What the hell is this?”
Lexi looks at him somewhat confused as he gestures to the Mardi Gras ladder seat. She thinks it’s pretty obvious what it is. “It’s a Mardi Gras ladder seat.”
“Ok and why would you buy one?”
“It’s so Jake can see the parades.”
“Honey, Jake doesn’t need a ladder seat that’s what his Uncle Sammy is for and I’m gonna be the one that has to drag it down to the car and through the street. He doesn’t need it. And while we’re at it, you don’t need to bring all this crap. We’re not going on vacation.”
“We need it. The boys need to be kept entertained.”
Dean rubs his face and takes a deep breath in an attempt not to lose his patience. He doesn’t understand his wife’s logic, why would kids need to be entertained at a parade? Isn’t that what the parade is for? He walks over to Lexi placing his hands on her shoulders and looks her straight in the eye, “I love you but you’re insane.” She begins to protest but Dean cuts her off before she can get another word out, “We’re taking the chairs and the coolers, that’s it. Everything doesn’t have to be a huge production ya know.”
Alec is not a happy camper. When his dad told him they were going to a Mardi Gras parade he was psyched but what he forgot to tell him was how far away they would have to park from the parade route. Alec huffs dropping the chairs he’3s carrying on the grass and collapses next to them. He throws his dad a dirty look for making him carry two chairs three and a half blocks. He’s annoyed, how dare Dean make him do manual labor. Alec reaches into the cooler for a beer only to have his Uncle Sammy snatch it out of his hand. “HEY, that’s mine.”
“I don’t think so Alec, you’re way underage.”
“Whatever, I am an enhanced killing machine ya know.”
“I don’t care if you’re a super solider or not. You’re still only ten. Your dad will tell you the same thing.”
“What will I tell him, Sammy?”
“That despite Alec being an enhanced killing machine he’s too young to have a beer.”
Dean looks over at Alec and smirks. The kid is so much like him that it honestly scares him a little bit. Dean never thought underage drinking was a big deal; that it was just normal teenage behavior. Both him and Sam had fake ids by the time they were sixteen, hell Dean was sneaking beers by the time he was twelve. Dean raises his hands innocently and smiles at Alec, “Sorry kiddo, no beer until you’re at least sixteen. I swear I’ll make ya a fake id for your sixteenth birthday.”
Sam rolls his eyes and sits in the last chair next to Jackie. He can’t believe how irresponsible Dean can be at times, especially now that he’s a father himself. It isn’t really surprising to Sam, after all this is Dean who thinks there is nothing wrong with hustling innocent people in front of his young son. Still, Sam hopes that by now his older brother would at least use common sense when it comes to Ben and Alec.
Jackie nudges Sam jerking him out of his thoughts as she places a cold beer in his hands, “Back off sasquatch. We’re here to have fun not argue on how to raise the little Dean clones.”
“Okay.”
It seems everyone is having fun except for Ben. He’s sitting in his lawn chair on the other side of Dean with a sour look on his face that remarkably resembles Sam’s bitch face. Dean raises his eyebrow as he pokes Ben’s side, “Benny, what’s the matter?”
“I don’t get the point of all this.”
“Of what?”
“Mardi Gras.”
“It’s carnival season.”
“Well, it seems kinda pointless dad.”
Dean stares at Ben for a beat before he responds. “Mardi Gras and carnival season are not pointless. It’s fun but your Uncle Sammy will tell you all about the religious stuff that it’s connected to. Like it’s a French Catholic tradition that’s celebrated in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But all you need to know kiddo is that it’s a fun tradition and when the Krewe stops in front of you scream, ‘Throw me something, Mister.’ Can you try to have some fun?”
Ben mumbles something that sounds like okay and then asks Dean if he can go check out the vendors with Alec. Alec perks up at that and announces that he wants to try everything that the food vendor has causing Dean to laugh out loud as he hands the twins some money. Sam and Jackie both look in his direction to see what’s so funny but Dean ignores their looks and turns to watch Lexi and Jake return from the vendors.
Jake is running slightly ahead of his mother swinging some kind of sword glow stick as she keeps pulling him back next to her. Jake dives into his father’s lap showing him his new toy and babbling nonsense. Dean ruffles his hair putting him back on the ground and reminds him to stay where they can see him. Jake nods running towards Sam and Jackie screaming ‘Boobies’ on top of his lungs drawing looks from the people around them. Jackie throws a dirty look at Lexi asking, “Why do you let him do that?”
Lexi looks up from the red velvet funnel cake she’s devouring cocking her eyebrow, “I told him to stop but he thinks it’s funny and since Dean laughs and encourages him to do it he won’t stop.”
“Well, make them stop it’s your husband and demon spawn.”
“Don’t call him demon spawn. He’s a good kid.”
“Remember you said that Lex when he’s climbing your bookshelf and acting like the Tasmanian devil.”
Lexi shrugs and goes back to her food, she honestly doesn’t think Jake is a bad kid. Of course, he’s a bit rambunctious and mischievous but most four years old are. Then of course Dean is always encouraging him to do things to annoy his Aunt Jackie and Uncle Sammy but he doesn’t do them maliciously. He does them cause it makes his daddy laugh. There’s the dropping of the ceiling on Sam but in Jake’s defense Sam was all evil and black eyed at the time. In Lexi’s mind that doesn’t make her son a bad kid, that just made him protective like his father.
Ben and Alec join them once the parade starts. Alec flops into the chair next to Jackie while shoving food into his mouth. She doesn’t say anything, just raises an eyebrow to him and turns to see where Sam is. Sam’s to the left of them holding Jake up on his shoulders while the youngest Winchester boy screams at the floats, ‘Throw me something mister!’ Just when she’s thinking how cute and innocent Jake looks up on his Uncle Sammy’s shoulders reality comes crashing down on her in the form of Mardi Gras beads. Jake has dropped a handful of beads onto her head smirking down at her and looking very much like his father as he shouts, “BEADS BOOBIES.”
Dean, Sam, Ben and Alec crack up drawing dirty looks from both Jackie and Lexi before Dean corrects his son, “It’s the other way around buddy. She needs to show you the goods first and THEN you give her the beads.”
Ares moves through the crowd slowly and methodically. He has been watching the Winchesters for hours and does not want to be seen. He takes in every detail of the family while they interact with each other. The children are no concern to Ares. He can get rid of them as easily as crushing a bug under his designer shoe. Sam and Jackie could be problematic but he’s more concerned with the eldest Winchester.
Dean Winchester, now there’s someone every demon hates. He’s driven like his father and will not stop until one of you is dead. So far, Dean has killed every demon that has gone after him or his family but Ares is smarter than those fools. For one, he knows Dean’s weakness. She’s sitting right next to him. Ares watches as Dean leans in every now and then for a kiss or he how he squeezes her hand or knee. It’s obvious by the way he looks at his wife and if Lexi Winchester was just any normal human, Ares would’ve went straight for her. She isn’t though which means Ares has to do this with some finesse. He knows Dean’s little binding spell isn’t strong enough to keep her powers locked down for good, especially if she feels that Ares poses a threat to her and her family.
Ares knows he has to send a message to Dean Winchester that will make him think twice about going after him. He’s going to send that message when the time is right. Right now isn’t the time. Instead, Ares is up for a little cat and mouse. He heads straight towards them as they pack up their belongings purposely knocking into Jackie and Sam smiling at them before disappearing into the crowd again.
Sam stares after the dark haired man, his mouth open slightly. He can’t believe it, there is no way that is Ares but it is. That’s Ares. Ares has been watching them. Which brings up the questions why is he watching us and for how long? Jackie nudges Sam asking him what’s wrong, he only says one word, ‘Ares.’
Dean stops dead in his tracks turning his head to look over his shoulder at Sam. He must have heard wrong, Sam did not just say that name. “What did you say Sammy?”
“Ares. Ares just bumped into me and Jackie.”
“WHAT? WHERE DID HE GO?”
Sam points in the general direction where Ares has disappeared into the crowd. Dean drops the chairs he’s holding telling Lexi to go back to the Impala with the kids and to take Jackie with her. Dean gestures to Sam and plunges into the crowd. Sam huffs but follows after him anyway calling his brother’s name. This is insanity, nothing good can come from Dean chasing after a demon through the crowded streets of the Garden District. Sam finds Dean on Magazine Street looking into the shops’ windows like a mad man.
“Dean?”
“I saw that sonofabitch turn down this street and he disappeared into thin air.”
“C’mon man, let’s head back. It’s not like we can take him out in front of all these witnesses.”
Both Ben and Alec bug Dean the next night about going out to dinner until he caves. They try to get Sam and Jackie to come along but Sam is in one of his moods. The twins still being new to this family unit find it funny how their Uncle Sammy has no problem excluding Dean from something but gets all bitch hurt if Dean tells him he wants to hang out with his wife and kids alone. The twins are beginning to see how messed up Sam and Dean’s dynamic is. They also don’t understand what Sam’s problem is with Jake. He’s a funny kid and easy to keep entertained. Although, he does manage to get into everything but they chalk that up to what is supposed to be normal toddler behavior. Alec’s starting to think that his Uncle Sammy is just a huge jealous bitch.
The five some make the short walk to the Market Café because Lexi insists that she wants alligator bites. Dean raises his eyebrow when she says this. Normally, she’d make a face and say that isn’t an animal that a person should eat. Dean doesn’t bother to argue since he knows she’ll have some bullshit reason on why she has suddenly changed her mind. He can’t help but smirk as he watches her inhale her food. This isn’t like her at all. Lexi is one of those chicks that eats like a bird. She is also constantly trying to get him to improve his table manners saying though she thinks it’s cute how bad they are she doesn’t want to subject other diners to them. Dean thinks she must be pmsing or something.
All in all they have a good time sitting out on the patio and listening to the house jazz band. It isn’t until Lexi leaves to take Jake down to Aunt Sally’s to buy some Pralines that things go to hell. Dean and the twins are sitting at the table having some desert while they wait for Lexi and Jake to return. Dean is no longer welcomed in Aunt Sally’s since the last time he devoured each flavor of Praline samples they had out on display. Dean’s argument to the woman was that they were samples and free and that they couldn’t put a limit on how much one person ate. Needless to say she didn’t agree with Dean’s argument and banned him from ever stepping foot in her candy store again. Alec and Ben smirk around their forkfuls of bread pudding as they listen to Dean retell the story of his banning from Jake’s favorite candy store. Ben’s expression suddenly changes as he stares into the bar of the restaurant. Dean turns to see what or who has Ben’s attention. Dean expects to see some hot girl at the bar but instead only sees a tall prissy dark haired man. He cocks his eyebrow looking at Ben, “What’s wrong Benny?”
“That man in there was across the street from our school today. He was watching us.”
“Are you absolutely positive that’s the guy?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m positive. You think he’s Manticore?”
Dean glances at the man again as he says, “He’s not Manticore Benny.”
He tells the boys to stay put before getting up and making a bee line for the princess in the designer suit. He isn’t thinking straight, if he was he wouldn’t be marching up to some demon in a public place without backup. Dean’s angry. Actually, he’s more than angry, he’s pissed the fuck off. First, this douche bag tried to worm his way into Lexi’s life by saying he’s her brother and now he’s lurking outside their kids’ school. Dean is done.
Doesn’t matter if Ares really is Lexi’s half-brother. Yeah, like that fucking mattered, he’s still a God damned demon, brother or no brother. It isn’t like Lexi has any real emotional ties to this son of a bitch and besides that demons lie. Dean has to admit though this guy is good. He knows exactly how to get to Lexi by playing the family card.
Dean sits on the bar stool next to the man Ben has identified as being Ares studying him out of the corner of his eye. Ares in return pretends not to notice him sipping his red wine pretentiously while looking through the menu. Dean’s hand curls tightly around the colt wanting so bad to just blow this guy away. He knows he can’t just pull out a gun and seemingly kill a guy in cold blood with all these witnesses around. Realizing he should’ve waited and followed the demon out to off him in one of the many dark alleys, Dean gets up to go back to his table. Ares turns towards Dean smirking, “Now Dean you know it’s not going to be that easy to get rid of me.”
Dean turns slowly back towards him meeting his gaze, “You know I won’t stop till one of us is dead.”
“How incredibly HEROIC of you. No wonder my little sister is infatuated with you. You have that gallant air about you even if you are a brute.”
“Is that the best you got? You’re taunting’s lame man, my bitch little brother can do better than that.”
“Of course I can do better you imbecile.” Ares sneers as he reaches out and touches Dean’s face, “Why don’t you try that on for size?”
Dean recoils instinctively at Ares’ touch wiping at his cheek, “What the fuck did you do?”
“You won’t have to wait long to see.”
Dean pulls the colt from his jacket aiming it at Ares, Ares doesn’t flinch at the sight of the gun, instead he winks at Dean before disappearing. Dean looks around the bar making sure Ares is really gone before slipping the colt back into his jacket and rejoining Ben and Alec. The boys watch Dean as he takes a long pull from the bottle of beer that he’s now holding in his hand. Even though they haven’t known Dean for very long, both boys feel that something is off with Dean at the moment. He doesn’t look like himself at all and the one thing that stands out is the fact that Dean has begun to sweat. He’s also slightly pale and looks in danger of becoming sick at the table.
Dean awakes to a pair of concerned green eyes staring back at him. He’s slightly confused as to why he is lying on the ground with his head in Lexi’s lap.
“Dean, are you okay?”
“’m fine.” Dean mutters sitting up before gripping her arm tightly, “’m not fine…everything’s spinning.”
He leans back against her closing his eyes and taking deep breaths in hopes that the world will stop moving. He vaguely hears her giving directions to someone, something about water and call Sam. He lets the voices drift away his head lolling back against Lexi’s chest. He feels terrible, worse than he can ever remember feeling before this. Next thing he knows someone is forcing him to his feet. He turns to see Sam on one side of him and Lexi on the other.
“Sammy…”
“What happened, Dean?”
“Dunno…I feel like shit run over.”
He closes his eyes again catching snippets of the conversation that is going on around him. He doesn’t comprehend the actual words but can hear the anxiety in Lexi and Sam’s voices. Everything around him seems far away and fuzzy. He doesn’t complain as Sam helps Lexi undress him in the bathroom, the sound of water and something hard hitting the porcelain tub fills the room. Dean feels like he’s watching it all happen from the outside looking in. He yelps when they lower him into the ice bath jolting him back to reality.
“Fuck!”
“Dean stay put.” Lexi states firmly placing her hand on his shoulder, “You’re burning up. I have to break your fever. It’ll make you feel better, I promise.”
“How long do I have to…have to stay in?”
“Shhh…relax baby, not long I swear. I just need to bring down your fever and this is the quickest way for me to do that.”
Dean leans his head back against the cool tile letting Lexi mop his fore head with a cold cloth. He half listens to her soothing words which make him feel like a little kid when his mom would take care of him. “I want tomato and rice soup.”
“Ok, sweetie, I’ll make you some in a little while.”
A few moments later Dean feels himself being helped out of the tub. He hears Sam protesting about having to help because he doesn’t want to have to see his brother’s junk. Dean laughs when he hears Lexi ask him if it’s because Sam doesn’t think he’ll measure up to his big brother. She wraps a towel around Dean’s waist telling Sam to either help her or get the hell out of her way.
After getting Dean into bed and giving him a shot of antibiotics Lexi goes in to the living room to join Sam and Jackie. Their faces show exactly what she’s feeling; concern and anger. Lexi turns to Ben and Alec running her hands through her long dark hair. “What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. Dad went up to the guy with the dark hair and it looked like he touched Dad’s face.” Ben says quietly.
“Yeah,” Alec continues, “and then dad came back to the table and boom sick. That’s when I went to get you.”
Sam looks at each of them not being able to hide the fear in his voice, “I’ve never heard of a demon being able to make someone sick.”
“Well he’s not just some demon, now is he?” Jackie states simply, “The Greeks thought he was the God of war, so my guess is he’s got some extra tricks up his designer sleeves.”
“Sam and Jackie see what you can find on Ares and anything about demons making people sick. Boys, I need you to watch Jake for me and keep him in your bedroom. I’m gonna do whatever I can to break this fever.”
Lexi keeps vigil by Dean’s bed side all night monitoring his fever and vitals. Sometime during the early morning hours she falls asleep in the club chair she has dragged close to Dean’s side of the bed, the ancient book she was reading was open on the floor beneath her feet. Dean rubs his eyes and looks around the bedroom confused as to why Lexi is sleeping in the chair and not in the bed with him. He sits up feeling slightly strange and a bit hung over but he can’t remember anything after joining the boys back at the table after Ares touched him.
“Lexi?” Dean croaks shaking her leg gently, “Baby girl, why you sleeping in the chair?”
“Hm?”
“Why aren’t you in bed?”
Lexi jumps up her eyes wide as she stares at Dean. She immediately goes into doctor mode taking his temperature and vitals. Dean insists he feels fine except for a slight headache and achy stomach. “Why are you playing doctor anyway? I’m just hung over.”
“No you’re not. Last night you were sick. You had a 106 degree fever by the time we got you back here.”
“How is that even fucking possible?”
“One word, Ares.”
“SON OF A BITCH! HE TOUCHED MY FACE AND SAID ‘TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE.’ I’M GONNA KILL HIM!”
“Dean, calm down and you are not going near him.”
“The hell I ain’t! That son of a bitch tried to kill me!”
“Stop it. You can’t just go after him with no plan. We’ve been doing research, he’s much stronger than any demon we’ve went up against.”
“So, I’m just supposed to let him walk? I don’t think so Lex.”
“Of course not. It means we need to find a way to get rid of him. He has to have a weakness and we need to find it before we take him on.”
Dean nods hating the fact that she is right again. He knows that he’ll be no good to anyone if he is six feet under. Dean lets Lexi win this round; he even goes as far as letting her make him some breakfast. He hates seeing the way her and Sam are watching him like a hawk. He reassures them that he feels fine now and whatever Ares has done to him had worn off. Dean knows it’s a warning. If a love tap from Ares can make him that sick what can he really do if he meant to hurt someone? Dean really doesn’t want to know the answer but he knows it isn’t good.
Characters: Dean/OFC, Sam/OFC, Alec, Ben, Dark Angel Crossover
Spoilers: None
Summary: Five months have past since the Winchesters took down Manticore. As Ben and Alec settle into a normal life they think their past is behind them. You can never run from your past.
This is a sequel to Horseshoes and Hand Grenades which you can read here. Or on AO3
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen
Chapter 17
*~Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dark Angel or Supernatural characters. For this fic I changed the DA time line. The pulse has already hit and Ben and Alec are out of Manticore in 2009. The characters of Lexi, Jake and Jackie are from a Supernatural AU Verse 'The Ties That Bind' that I write. Even though the original characters are from an AU Verse, reading the AU Verse is not necessary. This is a sequel to Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. I hope you like it. Reviews would be great.~*
Dean raises his eyebrow surveying the clutter of bags and chairs Lexi has placed near the door. There is no way they need to bring all this crap to a parade even if it is two hours long. When he sees the ladder with the seat on top he knows his wife has lost her damn mind. Of course Lexi would buy one of these ladder seats for Jake but there is no way Dean is dragging this through the house and down a flight of stairs. “LEX! LEX, CMERE!”
“What?”
“What the hell is this?”
Lexi looks at him somewhat confused as he gestures to the Mardi Gras ladder seat. She thinks it’s pretty obvious what it is. “It’s a Mardi Gras ladder seat.”
“Ok and why would you buy one?”
“It’s so Jake can see the parades.”
“Honey, Jake doesn’t need a ladder seat that’s what his Uncle Sammy is for and I’m gonna be the one that has to drag it down to the car and through the street. He doesn’t need it. And while we’re at it, you don’t need to bring all this crap. We’re not going on vacation.”
“We need it. The boys need to be kept entertained.”
Dean rubs his face and takes a deep breath in an attempt not to lose his patience. He doesn’t understand his wife’s logic, why would kids need to be entertained at a parade? Isn’t that what the parade is for? He walks over to Lexi placing his hands on her shoulders and looks her straight in the eye, “I love you but you’re insane.” She begins to protest but Dean cuts her off before she can get another word out, “We’re taking the chairs and the coolers, that’s it. Everything doesn’t have to be a huge production ya know.”
Alec is not a happy camper. When his dad told him they were going to a Mardi Gras parade he was psyched but what he forgot to tell him was how far away they would have to park from the parade route. Alec huffs dropping the chairs he’3s carrying on the grass and collapses next to them. He throws his dad a dirty look for making him carry two chairs three and a half blocks. He’s annoyed, how dare Dean make him do manual labor. Alec reaches into the cooler for a beer only to have his Uncle Sammy snatch it out of his hand. “HEY, that’s mine.”
“I don’t think so Alec, you’re way underage.”
“Whatever, I am an enhanced killing machine ya know.”
“I don’t care if you’re a super solider or not. You’re still only ten. Your dad will tell you the same thing.”
“What will I tell him, Sammy?”
“That despite Alec being an enhanced killing machine he’s too young to have a beer.”
Dean looks over at Alec and smirks. The kid is so much like him that it honestly scares him a little bit. Dean never thought underage drinking was a big deal; that it was just normal teenage behavior. Both him and Sam had fake ids by the time they were sixteen, hell Dean was sneaking beers by the time he was twelve. Dean raises his hands innocently and smiles at Alec, “Sorry kiddo, no beer until you’re at least sixteen. I swear I’ll make ya a fake id for your sixteenth birthday.”
Sam rolls his eyes and sits in the last chair next to Jackie. He can’t believe how irresponsible Dean can be at times, especially now that he’s a father himself. It isn’t really surprising to Sam, after all this is Dean who thinks there is nothing wrong with hustling innocent people in front of his young son. Still, Sam hopes that by now his older brother would at least use common sense when it comes to Ben and Alec.
Jackie nudges Sam jerking him out of his thoughts as she places a cold beer in his hands, “Back off sasquatch. We’re here to have fun not argue on how to raise the little Dean clones.”
“Okay.”
It seems everyone is having fun except for Ben. He’s sitting in his lawn chair on the other side of Dean with a sour look on his face that remarkably resembles Sam’s bitch face. Dean raises his eyebrow as he pokes Ben’s side, “Benny, what’s the matter?”
“I don’t get the point of all this.”
“Of what?”
“Mardi Gras.”
“It’s carnival season.”
“Well, it seems kinda pointless dad.”
Dean stares at Ben for a beat before he responds. “Mardi Gras and carnival season are not pointless. It’s fun but your Uncle Sammy will tell you all about the religious stuff that it’s connected to. Like it’s a French Catholic tradition that’s celebrated in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But all you need to know kiddo is that it’s a fun tradition and when the Krewe stops in front of you scream, ‘Throw me something, Mister.’ Can you try to have some fun?”
Ben mumbles something that sounds like okay and then asks Dean if he can go check out the vendors with Alec. Alec perks up at that and announces that he wants to try everything that the food vendor has causing Dean to laugh out loud as he hands the twins some money. Sam and Jackie both look in his direction to see what’s so funny but Dean ignores their looks and turns to watch Lexi and Jake return from the vendors.
Jake is running slightly ahead of his mother swinging some kind of sword glow stick as she keeps pulling him back next to her. Jake dives into his father’s lap showing him his new toy and babbling nonsense. Dean ruffles his hair putting him back on the ground and reminds him to stay where they can see him. Jake nods running towards Sam and Jackie screaming ‘Boobies’ on top of his lungs drawing looks from the people around them. Jackie throws a dirty look at Lexi asking, “Why do you let him do that?”
Lexi looks up from the red velvet funnel cake she’s devouring cocking her eyebrow, “I told him to stop but he thinks it’s funny and since Dean laughs and encourages him to do it he won’t stop.”
“Well, make them stop it’s your husband and demon spawn.”
“Don’t call him demon spawn. He’s a good kid.”
“Remember you said that Lex when he’s climbing your bookshelf and acting like the Tasmanian devil.”
Lexi shrugs and goes back to her food, she honestly doesn’t think Jake is a bad kid. Of course, he’s a bit rambunctious and mischievous but most four years old are. Then of course Dean is always encouraging him to do things to annoy his Aunt Jackie and Uncle Sammy but he doesn’t do them maliciously. He does them cause it makes his daddy laugh. There’s the dropping of the ceiling on Sam but in Jake’s defense Sam was all evil and black eyed at the time. In Lexi’s mind that doesn’t make her son a bad kid, that just made him protective like his father.
Ben and Alec join them once the parade starts. Alec flops into the chair next to Jackie while shoving food into his mouth. She doesn’t say anything, just raises an eyebrow to him and turns to see where Sam is. Sam’s to the left of them holding Jake up on his shoulders while the youngest Winchester boy screams at the floats, ‘Throw me something mister!’ Just when she’s thinking how cute and innocent Jake looks up on his Uncle Sammy’s shoulders reality comes crashing down on her in the form of Mardi Gras beads. Jake has dropped a handful of beads onto her head smirking down at her and looking very much like his father as he shouts, “BEADS BOOBIES.”
Dean, Sam, Ben and Alec crack up drawing dirty looks from both Jackie and Lexi before Dean corrects his son, “It’s the other way around buddy. She needs to show you the goods first and THEN you give her the beads.”
Ares moves through the crowd slowly and methodically. He has been watching the Winchesters for hours and does not want to be seen. He takes in every detail of the family while they interact with each other. The children are no concern to Ares. He can get rid of them as easily as crushing a bug under his designer shoe. Sam and Jackie could be problematic but he’s more concerned with the eldest Winchester.
Dean Winchester, now there’s someone every demon hates. He’s driven like his father and will not stop until one of you is dead. So far, Dean has killed every demon that has gone after him or his family but Ares is smarter than those fools. For one, he knows Dean’s weakness. She’s sitting right next to him. Ares watches as Dean leans in every now and then for a kiss or he how he squeezes her hand or knee. It’s obvious by the way he looks at his wife and if Lexi Winchester was just any normal human, Ares would’ve went straight for her. She isn’t though which means Ares has to do this with some finesse. He knows Dean’s little binding spell isn’t strong enough to keep her powers locked down for good, especially if she feels that Ares poses a threat to her and her family.
Ares knows he has to send a message to Dean Winchester that will make him think twice about going after him. He’s going to send that message when the time is right. Right now isn’t the time. Instead, Ares is up for a little cat and mouse. He heads straight towards them as they pack up their belongings purposely knocking into Jackie and Sam smiling at them before disappearing into the crowd again.
Sam stares after the dark haired man, his mouth open slightly. He can’t believe it, there is no way that is Ares but it is. That’s Ares. Ares has been watching them. Which brings up the questions why is he watching us and for how long? Jackie nudges Sam asking him what’s wrong, he only says one word, ‘Ares.’
Dean stops dead in his tracks turning his head to look over his shoulder at Sam. He must have heard wrong, Sam did not just say that name. “What did you say Sammy?”
“Ares. Ares just bumped into me and Jackie.”
“WHAT? WHERE DID HE GO?”
Sam points in the general direction where Ares has disappeared into the crowd. Dean drops the chairs he’s holding telling Lexi to go back to the Impala with the kids and to take Jackie with her. Dean gestures to Sam and plunges into the crowd. Sam huffs but follows after him anyway calling his brother’s name. This is insanity, nothing good can come from Dean chasing after a demon through the crowded streets of the Garden District. Sam finds Dean on Magazine Street looking into the shops’ windows like a mad man.
“Dean?”
“I saw that sonofabitch turn down this street and he disappeared into thin air.”
“C’mon man, let’s head back. It’s not like we can take him out in front of all these witnesses.”
Both Ben and Alec bug Dean the next night about going out to dinner until he caves. They try to get Sam and Jackie to come along but Sam is in one of his moods. The twins still being new to this family unit find it funny how their Uncle Sammy has no problem excluding Dean from something but gets all bitch hurt if Dean tells him he wants to hang out with his wife and kids alone. The twins are beginning to see how messed up Sam and Dean’s dynamic is. They also don’t understand what Sam’s problem is with Jake. He’s a funny kid and easy to keep entertained. Although, he does manage to get into everything but they chalk that up to what is supposed to be normal toddler behavior. Alec’s starting to think that his Uncle Sammy is just a huge jealous bitch.
The five some make the short walk to the Market Café because Lexi insists that she wants alligator bites. Dean raises his eyebrow when she says this. Normally, she’d make a face and say that isn’t an animal that a person should eat. Dean doesn’t bother to argue since he knows she’ll have some bullshit reason on why she has suddenly changed her mind. He can’t help but smirk as he watches her inhale her food. This isn’t like her at all. Lexi is one of those chicks that eats like a bird. She is also constantly trying to get him to improve his table manners saying though she thinks it’s cute how bad they are she doesn’t want to subject other diners to them. Dean thinks she must be pmsing or something.
All in all they have a good time sitting out on the patio and listening to the house jazz band. It isn’t until Lexi leaves to take Jake down to Aunt Sally’s to buy some Pralines that things go to hell. Dean and the twins are sitting at the table having some desert while they wait for Lexi and Jake to return. Dean is no longer welcomed in Aunt Sally’s since the last time he devoured each flavor of Praline samples they had out on display. Dean’s argument to the woman was that they were samples and free and that they couldn’t put a limit on how much one person ate. Needless to say she didn’t agree with Dean’s argument and banned him from ever stepping foot in her candy store again. Alec and Ben smirk around their forkfuls of bread pudding as they listen to Dean retell the story of his banning from Jake’s favorite candy store. Ben’s expression suddenly changes as he stares into the bar of the restaurant. Dean turns to see what or who has Ben’s attention. Dean expects to see some hot girl at the bar but instead only sees a tall prissy dark haired man. He cocks his eyebrow looking at Ben, “What’s wrong Benny?”
“That man in there was across the street from our school today. He was watching us.”
“Are you absolutely positive that’s the guy?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m positive. You think he’s Manticore?”
Dean glances at the man again as he says, “He’s not Manticore Benny.”
He tells the boys to stay put before getting up and making a bee line for the princess in the designer suit. He isn’t thinking straight, if he was he wouldn’t be marching up to some demon in a public place without backup. Dean’s angry. Actually, he’s more than angry, he’s pissed the fuck off. First, this douche bag tried to worm his way into Lexi’s life by saying he’s her brother and now he’s lurking outside their kids’ school. Dean is done.
Doesn’t matter if Ares really is Lexi’s half-brother. Yeah, like that fucking mattered, he’s still a God damned demon, brother or no brother. It isn’t like Lexi has any real emotional ties to this son of a bitch and besides that demons lie. Dean has to admit though this guy is good. He knows exactly how to get to Lexi by playing the family card.
Dean sits on the bar stool next to the man Ben has identified as being Ares studying him out of the corner of his eye. Ares in return pretends not to notice him sipping his red wine pretentiously while looking through the menu. Dean’s hand curls tightly around the colt wanting so bad to just blow this guy away. He knows he can’t just pull out a gun and seemingly kill a guy in cold blood with all these witnesses around. Realizing he should’ve waited and followed the demon out to off him in one of the many dark alleys, Dean gets up to go back to his table. Ares turns towards Dean smirking, “Now Dean you know it’s not going to be that easy to get rid of me.”
Dean turns slowly back towards him meeting his gaze, “You know I won’t stop till one of us is dead.”
“How incredibly HEROIC of you. No wonder my little sister is infatuated with you. You have that gallant air about you even if you are a brute.”
“Is that the best you got? You’re taunting’s lame man, my bitch little brother can do better than that.”
“Of course I can do better you imbecile.” Ares sneers as he reaches out and touches Dean’s face, “Why don’t you try that on for size?”
Dean recoils instinctively at Ares’ touch wiping at his cheek, “What the fuck did you do?”
“You won’t have to wait long to see.”
Dean pulls the colt from his jacket aiming it at Ares, Ares doesn’t flinch at the sight of the gun, instead he winks at Dean before disappearing. Dean looks around the bar making sure Ares is really gone before slipping the colt back into his jacket and rejoining Ben and Alec. The boys watch Dean as he takes a long pull from the bottle of beer that he’s now holding in his hand. Even though they haven’t known Dean for very long, both boys feel that something is off with Dean at the moment. He doesn’t look like himself at all and the one thing that stands out is the fact that Dean has begun to sweat. He’s also slightly pale and looks in danger of becoming sick at the table.
Dean awakes to a pair of concerned green eyes staring back at him. He’s slightly confused as to why he is lying on the ground with his head in Lexi’s lap.
“Dean, are you okay?”
“’m fine.” Dean mutters sitting up before gripping her arm tightly, “’m not fine…everything’s spinning.”
He leans back against her closing his eyes and taking deep breaths in hopes that the world will stop moving. He vaguely hears her giving directions to someone, something about water and call Sam. He lets the voices drift away his head lolling back against Lexi’s chest. He feels terrible, worse than he can ever remember feeling before this. Next thing he knows someone is forcing him to his feet. He turns to see Sam on one side of him and Lexi on the other.
“Sammy…”
“What happened, Dean?”
“Dunno…I feel like shit run over.”
He closes his eyes again catching snippets of the conversation that is going on around him. He doesn’t comprehend the actual words but can hear the anxiety in Lexi and Sam’s voices. Everything around him seems far away and fuzzy. He doesn’t complain as Sam helps Lexi undress him in the bathroom, the sound of water and something hard hitting the porcelain tub fills the room. Dean feels like he’s watching it all happen from the outside looking in. He yelps when they lower him into the ice bath jolting him back to reality.
“Fuck!”
“Dean stay put.” Lexi states firmly placing her hand on his shoulder, “You’re burning up. I have to break your fever. It’ll make you feel better, I promise.”
“How long do I have to…have to stay in?”
“Shhh…relax baby, not long I swear. I just need to bring down your fever and this is the quickest way for me to do that.”
Dean leans his head back against the cool tile letting Lexi mop his fore head with a cold cloth. He half listens to her soothing words which make him feel like a little kid when his mom would take care of him. “I want tomato and rice soup.”
“Ok, sweetie, I’ll make you some in a little while.”
A few moments later Dean feels himself being helped out of the tub. He hears Sam protesting about having to help because he doesn’t want to have to see his brother’s junk. Dean laughs when he hears Lexi ask him if it’s because Sam doesn’t think he’ll measure up to his big brother. She wraps a towel around Dean’s waist telling Sam to either help her or get the hell out of her way.
After getting Dean into bed and giving him a shot of antibiotics Lexi goes in to the living room to join Sam and Jackie. Their faces show exactly what she’s feeling; concern and anger. Lexi turns to Ben and Alec running her hands through her long dark hair. “What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. Dad went up to the guy with the dark hair and it looked like he touched Dad’s face.” Ben says quietly.
“Yeah,” Alec continues, “and then dad came back to the table and boom sick. That’s when I went to get you.”
Sam looks at each of them not being able to hide the fear in his voice, “I’ve never heard of a demon being able to make someone sick.”
“Well he’s not just some demon, now is he?” Jackie states simply, “The Greeks thought he was the God of war, so my guess is he’s got some extra tricks up his designer sleeves.”
“Sam and Jackie see what you can find on Ares and anything about demons making people sick. Boys, I need you to watch Jake for me and keep him in your bedroom. I’m gonna do whatever I can to break this fever.”
Lexi keeps vigil by Dean’s bed side all night monitoring his fever and vitals. Sometime during the early morning hours she falls asleep in the club chair she has dragged close to Dean’s side of the bed, the ancient book she was reading was open on the floor beneath her feet. Dean rubs his eyes and looks around the bedroom confused as to why Lexi is sleeping in the chair and not in the bed with him. He sits up feeling slightly strange and a bit hung over but he can’t remember anything after joining the boys back at the table after Ares touched him.
“Lexi?” Dean croaks shaking her leg gently, “Baby girl, why you sleeping in the chair?”
“Hm?”
“Why aren’t you in bed?”
Lexi jumps up her eyes wide as she stares at Dean. She immediately goes into doctor mode taking his temperature and vitals. Dean insists he feels fine except for a slight headache and achy stomach. “Why are you playing doctor anyway? I’m just hung over.”
“No you’re not. Last night you were sick. You had a 106 degree fever by the time we got you back here.”
“How is that even fucking possible?”
“One word, Ares.”
“SON OF A BITCH! HE TOUCHED MY FACE AND SAID ‘TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE.’ I’M GONNA KILL HIM!”
“Dean, calm down and you are not going near him.”
“The hell I ain’t! That son of a bitch tried to kill me!”
“Stop it. You can’t just go after him with no plan. We’ve been doing research, he’s much stronger than any demon we’ve went up against.”
“So, I’m just supposed to let him walk? I don’t think so Lex.”
“Of course not. It means we need to find a way to get rid of him. He has to have a weakness and we need to find it before we take him on.”
Dean nods hating the fact that she is right again. He knows that he’ll be no good to anyone if he is six feet under. Dean lets Lexi win this round; he even goes as far as letting her make him some breakfast. He hates seeing the way her and Sam are watching him like a hawk. He reassures them that he feels fine now and whatever Ares has done to him had worn off. Dean knows it’s a warning. If a love tap from Ares can make him that sick what can he really do if he meant to hurt someone? Dean really doesn’t want to know the answer but he knows it isn’t good.