Five conversations Dean Winchester never heard
Title: Five conversations Dean Winchester never heard
Author: missyjack
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mary, John, Bobby, Sam, Jess, the chick dean was chatting up at the beginning of Provenance, and an FBI agent and his brother
Genre: Gen
Words: 3,363
Disclaimer: I like to think Supernatural is part of the common wealth of our imagination, but I imagine that will not hold up in court.
Summary: Five very different points of view of Dean (may contain glimpses of other Winchesters).
Author’s Notes: A number of these pieces include one side of a phone conversation. The side you don’t hear is indicated by “…”
A huge thanks to the generous
embroiderama for the thorough and shiny beta work. It’s an honor to have my story beta-ed by a writer I so admire. Any remaining crappy bits are all my own work.
One:
“Hey there Rose, it’s Mary.”
“…”
“Oh you know it. Are you feeling better? We missed you at dinner at Mick and Katy’s last week.”
“…”
“Glad to hear it. Hope little Trish didn’t get it.”
“…”
“Well that’s partly why I’m calling. The crib we lent you? Looks like we’ll be needing it back.”
“…”
“Thanks. Just four months. Bit of a surprise. We had been trying, but you never know when it’s going to happen.”
“…”
“There’ll be about four years between them. I would’ve liked to have them a bit nearer together. I worry that with that age gap they may not grow up that close.”
“…”
“Well that’s true. Of course my mother just says I should plan to have the next one really soon after this one!”
“…”
“We haven’t told Dean yet. I mean he’s too young to really understand, so we figure we might as well wait until I’m really showing. Don’t want to give him too much time to start plotting how to kill his little rival!”
“…”
“With his father actually. John picks him up from day care on the days I work.
“…”
“Oh Rose, you read too many tabloids! They’re lovely people, and yes they’ve all had background checks. Plus John did some thorough research himself.”
“…”
“He so loves his dad. They come home with little Deano looking like a grease monkey.”
“…”
“Yeah, same place. Doing a lot of custom work, old Chevys mainly. He’s in his element.”
“…”
“Some morning sickness, but not too bad. And the little terror is already spinning around in there!”
“…”
“I know. My pregnancy with Dean was such a dream. Worst thing is I’m not sleeping well at all. Really bad dreams every night. I wake up exhausted.”
“…”
“Nothing that makes sense. Just feeling scared; you know when you want to run and you can’t. And fire. I keep dreaming about being trapped by a fire.”
“…”
“She said it wasn’t unusual in the first trimester, especially in anxious mothers. I mean I’ve never thought of myself like that, but I suppose after the miscarriage it’s to be expected.”
“…”
“No, I don’t like to take any pills this early on. Hopefully it will pass.”
“…”
“A psychic? I don’t think so, Rose! Would you like me to rub a few crystals on my belly and hang a dreamcatcher over my bed? Really, everything will be fine. I know it will.”
Two:
They were sharing a bottle and a few war stories when John’s phone rang. It was Dean, calling with a report on his current job.
“So you killed it?”
“…”
“I’m at Bobby’s. I’ll see you here tomorrow.”
“…”
“What do you mean a few days?
“…”
Dean, we’ve got another job.”
“…”
Fine, I’m sure the good folk of Smithsville won’t mind losing more of their own because you want to spend a few days getting drunk and screwing the local trailer trash.”
“…”
Good, I’ll see you at sunrise.”
“…”
“It’s only 800 miles Dean. You’ll make it in plenty of time if you leave now and don’t stop for any entertainment. And remember to check the oil before you leave, otherwise you’ll crack that head gasket again.”
John shook his head as he slid the phone into his back pocket. “That boy…”
“That boy is what, 23 now John? Why don’t ya cut him some slack?” Bobby poured them both another drink.
“Slack is what gets people killed, Bobby. He’s got to keep focused, keep his mind in the game. He gets sloppy, he’ll get himself killed.” John leaned back in his chair, “You know the drill.”
“C’mon John, “ said Bobby as he stood up, “This isn’t about protecting him. You’re worried he’ll leave. Like Sam.”
“Dean is nothing like Sam,” snapped John, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I? I’ve watched that boy grow up. And God knows how, but somehow you raised a fine man there.” Bobby started pacing as he warmed to his topic, “He’s a good hunter, I sure give you that. Quick-witted, plans ahead, damn fine aim with most weapons. Brave. I’d trust him with my life and there ain’t but a few I’d say that about. But there’s more in him than that. He’s a good man, a moral man, and that’s damn rare these days. He’s loyal - to you, to his family. The shit he puts up with from you …”
“What the fuck?” John shouted, “You know what we’ve been through, what we’ve faced. You know you’ve got to keep the troops on a tight rein.”
“I’m going say my piece, John. Should’ve done it years ago.” Bobby sat down again, and his voice got quiet. “There’s something else in him, something that got killed in you a long time ago. He’s got a kindness in him; he cares about people. You don’t get it do you? For Dean, it’s not about just about the hunting, it’s about saving people, helping them. And you worry that someday, someone else will see what an outstanding man he is. Some guy who’ll offer him a job, or a woman who’ll fall in love with him. Or maybe he’ll finally see it in himself.”
“And you think he’d leave Bobby? Leave what we do? Leave people to die?” John stared hard at Bobby across the table.
“No John. He’ll never leave you. He’ll probably end up just like you. And that’s the sadness in it.”
Three:
Jess uttered a happy sigh as she collapsed next to Sam.
“I am so exhausted! I’m sure there were twice as many cousins as last time. I don’t know how my grandparents cope with us all. It was madness!”
Sam closed the book on his lap, and lent over to kiss her. “Well I’m glad you’re home”
The sofa was covered in weighty law books, which she pushed to the floor as she curled up close to Sam. “I wish you had come sweetie. My parents asked after you, and they would love you to come to our place for Thanksgiving you know.”
“Maybe” said Sam, “We’ll see.”
“C’mon Sam” Jess pleaded, “It would mean so much to me. And it’s not like you’re going to be spending Thanksgiving with your family.”
“Jess!” Sam looked at her with surprise.
“Well you never talk about them you know.”
“What’s to say?”
“Sam, don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“You know,” Jess pushed back so she could look directly at him, “Don’t shut me out. Your family, it’s like they’re here with us all the time.”
“But I never ...” protested Sam.
“That’s the point. You think not talking about them makes them go away, but it doesn’t. It means they’re always here. I wonder whether you think about them on your birthday. Or when you won that essay prize. Or met me. Every time I talk about my family I feel guilty. I wonder if it hurts you to hear about them.”
“Oh Jess, I never meant…”
“I know you don’t darling. But that’s how I feel. And I never know whether to ask about them. I mean you still have that photo in our room, you can’t hate them that much.”
“No,” said Sam, “No, I don’t hate them.”
He looked away, going somewhere in his head that was out of reach to her. She stared at him for a moment and then said softly, “Its okay Sam, let’s go to bed.”
“No, Jess, I need to explain.” Sam put his arms around her. “You give me so much; I suppose I just don’t want to burden you with …”
“Sam Winchester don’t you put this on me!” Jess grasped his hands in hers. “This is your family, your stuff. I’m here for you for anything Sam, for everything, but don’t use me as your excuse.”
“Oh shit, I’m sorry. I know. I just, I just don’t know how to talk about them.” Part of Sam hoped she’d drop the whole thing. He hated to taint her with the darkness of his family.
“You told me your Dad went ballistic when you said you were leaving for college and did the whole ‘don’t bother coming back’ speech. But it has been over three years Sam. Why no contact at all?” Her voice was soft, and Sam made a decision. He knew he would never tell her the whole truth, but she deserved to know more. And he wanted to share some of this with her because, well, because she was Jess, and he loved her.
“I just, it’s like if I go near him, it’ll all start again, and I’ll be sucked back into it. The life, the family. Somehow I won’t be able to help it and I’ll find myself back there doing, doing what we do. The family business”
“I just don’t understand the hold they have on you Sam. I mean here you are - top student in your year. You’ll probably be able to get into any law school you like. And you act as if your family is this all powerful…oh my god. You told me they ran a garage - your Dad and brother. They’re not like really in organized crime or something Sam? Are you in danger from them?”
“No. God, no. It’s not that.” Sam laughed just a bit and thought that there may be some crime involved but it wasn’t usually that organized. “Dad’s just… It’s his way or the highway. There’s no middle ground with him.”
“What about your brother? What about Dean?” Jess asked.
“Dean.” There was a tone in Sam’s voice Jess hadn’t heard before. Bitterness. “He’s Dad’s little lieutenant - um I mean, you know, right hand man. Chips are down, he’ll always take Dad’s side. He’s incapable of independent thought.”
“You must’ve been close though,” Jess insisted, “growing up with just the two of you and your Dad. You told me you moved around a bit; Dean must’ve been a bit of a constant.”
“Constant pain in the ass!” scoffed Sam. “Always let me know how sick he was of baby sitting me. Looking after me when Dad was off …drinking. Having to stay home with me rather than going to work with Dad. Cramping his style with the girls when he had to drag me around with him. He must’ve been so pleased when I left. No more looking after Sammy. No more having to listen to Dad yell at me. He probably had a party.”
“Do you really believe that Sam?” Jess asked gently, “Sounds like Dean spent a lotta time looking out for you.”
“Only because Dad told him to,” replied Sam harshly. “I mean if he didn’t want me to leave, he could’ve said something. He did nothing to stop me going. Did not say a word. If he would’ve, just that one time, said something to Dad. Stood up to him. But he didn’t. He did nothing. He just let me go.”
“Sam.” Jess stroked his face as she looked at him sadly. “Did you ever think that maybe he let you go because that’s what you wanted?”
Four:
“Holly, it’s me”
“…”
“Totally, you so should’ve come out with me and Janelle last night. Oh. My God. You’re just going to die when you hear. We went to The Rogue Bar and there was this guy…”
“…”
“Of course not a local! Did I say we were slumming it? He was so hot. A great body, like really hard, but not too muscley like that Craig guy. And these gorgeous eyes, and oh my god a killer smile. Did I mention his lips…”
“…”
Like, well, umm, that guy who was in that movie we got on DVD the other week.”
“…”
“No, not him, the other one, the funny one who was in the film with that chick from TV.”
“…”
“Yes, him! Anyway this guy, Dean, he said they were TV producers from L.A.”
“…”
“Yeah sure, about as much as he believed my name was Brandi, Brandi with an i !”
“…”
“C’mon, it’s all part of the game. Anyway he said…”
“…”
“Well he had a brother, but he just played on his laptop all night.”
“…”
“Oh cute, but a bit emo, I think. Dean kept trying to pimp him out to Janelle, coz of course Dean was really into me, but geek boy went home early.”
“…”
“I know, but Dean’s like, you two got somewhere we can take this party? So we grab a bottle of tequila and head back to my place.”
“!!!”
“You better believe it! I tell you I would’ve made out with your sister if Dean was into it.”
“…”
“Hang on, first of all we start with a bit of lip, sip, suck. And then we played this strip game, til we’re all sitting around in …”
“…”
“Luckily, that blue thong I got at Victoria’s Secret. The next thing you know Dean’s kissing me and my god those lips! I wonder if he uses something to keep them that soft? Anyway then he gets into Janelle. I’m telling you, I was getting so turned on watching them.”
“…”
“Well then wait til I tell you this! Dean suggest that Janelle and I …”
beep beep beep beep.
“Sorry, that must be Janelle. I’lI just put you on hold.”
“!!!!!!”
“Don’t worry Holly; I am going to tell you everything in excruciating delicious detail.”
Five:
“Hey hope you’re not grading term papers or something." Don dumped a pile of folders onto the desk. "Got a priority job Charlie. I really need you on this one.”
“Just the one? There must be over twenty files here.” Charlie started looking through the case summary on the front of each folder.
“Twenty-four, Charlie. And there may be more.”
“Doesn't look like any of these are from L.A. Why you?”
“Got a call from Quantico. They’ve done a lot of work on this but one of them, Jake -- that agent you met on that kidnapping case last March--thought you’d be able to help”. Don pulled up a chair and pulled out his notebook.
“These cases are diverse. There are murders, suspicious deaths and disappearances. Most of them unsolved. Some are bizarre. The sort of cases that make experienced officers write notes in the margin about spontaneous combustion, or satanic cults.” Don shook his head. “They often occur in clusters in a small town. Two or three people, sometimes more, often friends or family members. They occur over more than ten years across more than a dozen states.”
“So what’s the link?” asked Charlie.
“One person. Someone who turns up as a person of interest during the investigation of about a quarter of these cases. Different ID in each case but same fingerprints or strikingly similar physical descriptions.” Don ticked the points of on his fingers. “In the rest his fingerprints were found either at the crime scene, or other significant scenes such as the victim’s home. This guy was always discounted as a suspect, so the queries were never followed up in depth, or his identity thoroughly checked.”
“Any idea who he is?” Charlie had divided the files into three piles. Don wondered what pattern was already forming in his head.
“Suspect’s name is Winchester, Dean Winchester, although we have at least a dozen different aliases for him.” Don flicked through his notebook. “Born in Kansas. Mom died in a suspicious fire when he was four. Raised by his father, a Vietnam vet who seemed to go off the rails after the wife died. Packed up the family - there’s another brother - traveled around a lot. Father - John Winchester - doesn’t have a record except for a few DUIs. Child Welfare investigated a complaint of neglect of the kids in 1987, but nothing came of it. Dean starts showing up on the records when he’s about 15. Nothing serious. Driving while underage. Petty theft from a church. Pastor wouldn’t press charges.”
“Nothing more?” asked Charlie, “No cruelty to animals, arson, or violence?”
“No,” replied Don, “but then things get interesting. He gets a driver’s license, graduates high school and that’s about the last official thing he ever does. As he gets older, he starts living off the grid more and more. No records of health insurance or use of Medicaid. Not only never lodged a tax return, there’s no record of him ever having had a job. Or rented an apartment. Or registered a car. At least not in the name of Dean Winchester. However, we have tentatively connected him and the father to a long-running credit card scam and a series of identity thefts. Dean Winchester’s prints start appear at crime scenes in 1997.”
“So kid with a hard childhood ends up itinerant, living under the radar,” Charlie paused for a moment, “Maybe takes lots of cash jobs. Delivery guy, handyman? Explains fingerprints at lots of sites. What happened to the brother?”
“Name’s Samuel Winchester,” said Don, “Four years younger. Totally different story. After high school gets a full ride to Stanford. Enrolls in pre-law. No contact we can trace with either Dean Winchester or the father for four years. Good grades, no trouble. Kid aced his LSATs.”
“One rebel brother, one smart one. Sound like any family we know?” Charlie grinned.
Don held up his hand as he continued, “Get this, November 2005, his girlfriend is killed in a fire in their apartment. Samuel Winchester claims to have been away on a road trip with his brother for the weekend. The brother he hasn't seen for four years. They return to find the apartment on fire.”
“Didn’t you say the mother died in a fire?“ Charlie wasn’t grinning now.
“Yes. Similar circumstances. Only one victim. No sign of accelerants, but no other reasonable explanations so logged as accidental. First fire was put down to ‘electrical fault in a night light’; the one in Palo Alto to ‘over-turned oil burner’. No real evidence in either case."
"Then both brothers disappear. Don’t have a record of the younger brother’s prints, but Dean’s keep turning up at crime scenes over the next year. Saginaw, Michigan; upstate New York; Burkitsville Indiana. Never any other physical evidence linking him to crimes. But a man fitting his description is reported as having arrived in the areas around the time of each crime, and there is usually a record of him having contact with the victim, or family members.”
“So have you tracked him down?” asked Charlie. He shifted a couple of files from one pile to another.
“Well yes and no. You’ll love this,” Don paused for effect, “Dean Winchester was killed on March 7th, 2006, by a SWAT team in St Louis. He was the chief suspect in a series of homicides and was killed at the scene minutes before another victim would have died.”
“But Don, some of these cases occurred in the last couple of months. Was the ID wrong?”
“No.” Don shook his head. “We’ve checked that thoroughly. Exhumed the body, checked the fingerprints. It matches all the records and photos we have for Dean Winchester.”
“What about the rest of the family?” Charlie opened a file and flicked through the pages.
“Well that’s where we got our break. We put out a low level alert for them, and yesterday we got a hit from police in Jefferson City. Seems three men were involved in a collision with a semi. We’ve identified two of the men as Samuel and John Winchester. There’s a third man with them, fitting the description of Dean Winchester.’
“Has anyone interviewed him?” Charlie closed the file and looked at Don.
“Not yet, he’s in ICU but expected to pull through. That’s why I need your input on this. A local agent will interview him as soon as he’s conscious. We need more to go on, more linking these crimes and Dean Winchester. Any info we can go in there with will help,” Don closed his notebook and leant forward, “Charlie, if Dean Winchester if responsible for even half these crimes, we could be looking at the worst serial killer this country has ever seen.