Unexpected Destinies Prologue
Title Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU
Word Count: 1,209
Summary: When Sam and Samuel get to Lisa's house, they don't find what they expect to.
Present
Sam's first thought when he was given the djinn antidote and told what had happened to him was of his brother. Dean, in his new life, was completely vulnerable and the perfect target. Given that these were the offspring of the djinn they'd killed years ago, there wasn't a single chance that they wouldn't go after him, even if he were still a hunter.
The realization had sent them all hurtling towards Lisa Breadon's house as fast as they could. Sam's heart had been pounding all the way and in the old days, back before he'd discovered what dicks angels were and what a deadbeat God was, he'd have been praying for his brother's safety. None of them had dared to mention that they might be too late, that all they might find was a corpse. Though he was now rusty and vulnerable, Sam clung to the fact that his brother had once been a decent hunter and had faced a djinn before even if it hadn't been his brightest hour. It wasn't like they were talking about a completely helpless civilian here and Sam just had to believe that it would be enough. That Dean would be able to hold on long enough for them to rescue him.
When the car had pulled to the side of the road not far from Lisa's driveway soon after dusk, Sam had been out of the door before it had even fully stopped. Quickly and silently, he made his way towards the house, knowing the others would follow and trusting them to watch his back. From the shelter of a convenient tree, he observed the house. At first glance nothing seemed out of place, but for some reason his internal alarms were ringing louder than ever.
Something wasn't right here. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.
There was a car in the driveway, Sam couldn't immediately tell what it was, but he did know that it wasn't the Impala or anything else his brother would ever be caught dead driving. It also wasn't the car he'd seen parked in Lisa's driveway the last time he'd stood in the shadows, stealthily watching this very house. So whose car was it? Had Lisa gotten a new one? Were she and Dean entertaining company? It didn't look like it, but most of the curtains were drawn and thus it was hard to tell.
"It looks peaceful," Samuel whispered as he appeared at Sam's side.
It was all Sam could do not to jump. Damn but his grandfather could move silently! Even after spending the better part of a year with the man, he still couldn't hear him coming if the man didn't want him to.
"Something's not right," Sam stated, not taking his eyes from the house before him.
"How can you tell?"
"Instinct."
The answer seemed to satisfy the older hunter and he signaled wordlessly to the others before motioning Sam forwards. Together they stealthily made their way closer, careful not to stay in any unshadowed areas for long so no neighbors who just happened to glance out of the window would catch sight of them. When he was finally pressed up against the side of the house, Sam made his way round back where it was darker away from the streetlights. He made his way towards a window whose light spilled out onto the lawn where the curtains weren't pulled closed as well as they could have been.
With one last glance around, Sam slowly raised himself enough so that he could cautiously peek in through the window. The sight that met his eyes left him speechless. There, laying on the couch, curled up with a book, was Lisa, her head resting in a man's lap.
A man who wasn't his older brother.
Sam felt his heart stop as he realized this. That wasn't Dean sitting in there with Lisa, reading his own book with a hand absentmindedly running through her dark locks. That was someone else. Someone who wasn't Dean. Which meant... He only just caught the pained and disbelieving cry that threatened to erupt from his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Samuel demanded, voice harsh. "Are we too late?"
"No," Sam replied, looking at his grandfather with dismay in his eyes. "He's not there."
"What do you mean? He might just be in another room."
"No, he's not," Sam said with certainty.
Damnit, it wasn't supposed to be this way! Dean was supposed to have settled down here. He was supposed to have been building himself a normal, safe life away from his little brother and the world they had grown up in. He was supposed to have been doing what Sam had witnessed him doing when he'd come by here after first getting out. What the hell had gone wrong? So help him, if his brother had turned tail and run or decided to go back to hunting, he'd strangle him. Dean had promised him he'd get out. He'd promised him he'd make it work with Lisa. It had been his dream life.
Sometimes Sam really didn't understand his brother at all. Dean had been given the golden opportunity here and he'd gone and fucked it up yet again. He'd probably gone and convinced himself that he wasn't worth it and then proceeded to ensure that reality was twisted to meet what he believed it should be. Damnit but Dean's self-hatred and lack of self-esteem were a right pain in the ass sometimes. He'd have thought his brother would have outgrown them by now, given that they'd won the Apocalypse and all, after all who could rightly say that they'd played a part in putting away Lucifer and still think himself worthless?
On second thought, no, it made perfect sense. Of course Dean would be capable of believing that, Sam realized. His big brother's self-deprecation had reached previously unheard of proportions towards the end there, which, combined with the fact that he'd only played a small role in stuffing Lucifer back in his cage despite all of the prophecy and hype that made him out as being the most critical player, could have combined to make him feel unworthy of what he'd been offered here.
And the worst thing was, Sam really should have seen it coming. He should have predicted it. It wasn't like his brother had been hale and whole for a very long time now and he'd definitely not been entirely stable since he'd made that thrice damned deal of his. No, Dean had been broken long before the end so Sam should have known that he wouldn't act like a normal person would.
"There's another man in there with Lisa," Sam continued. "Dean's gone."
Samuel cursed violently beside him. "Then where the hell is he?"
"I don't know," Sam replied, fear creeping in as he realized that he had no real clue what his brother would have done after he'd wrecked this relationship.
He hadn't contacted Bobby, that was for sure or the older hunter would have told Sam. No, last he knew, Bobby still thought Dean was here, with Lisa and Ben.
Where on Earth would Dean have slinked off to lick his wounds now that his dreams lay in ruins?
"I just don't know."
Chapter 1
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU
Word Count: 1,209
Summary: When Sam and Samuel get to Lisa's house, they don't find what they expect to.
Present
Sam's first thought when he was given the djinn antidote and told what had happened to him was of his brother. Dean, in his new life, was completely vulnerable and the perfect target. Given that these were the offspring of the djinn they'd killed years ago, there wasn't a single chance that they wouldn't go after him, even if he were still a hunter.
The realization had sent them all hurtling towards Lisa Breadon's house as fast as they could. Sam's heart had been pounding all the way and in the old days, back before he'd discovered what dicks angels were and what a deadbeat God was, he'd have been praying for his brother's safety. None of them had dared to mention that they might be too late, that all they might find was a corpse. Though he was now rusty and vulnerable, Sam clung to the fact that his brother had once been a decent hunter and had faced a djinn before even if it hadn't been his brightest hour. It wasn't like they were talking about a completely helpless civilian here and Sam just had to believe that it would be enough. That Dean would be able to hold on long enough for them to rescue him.
When the car had pulled to the side of the road not far from Lisa's driveway soon after dusk, Sam had been out of the door before it had even fully stopped. Quickly and silently, he made his way towards the house, knowing the others would follow and trusting them to watch his back. From the shelter of a convenient tree, he observed the house. At first glance nothing seemed out of place, but for some reason his internal alarms were ringing louder than ever.
Something wasn't right here. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.
There was a car in the driveway, Sam couldn't immediately tell what it was, but he did know that it wasn't the Impala or anything else his brother would ever be caught dead driving. It also wasn't the car he'd seen parked in Lisa's driveway the last time he'd stood in the shadows, stealthily watching this very house. So whose car was it? Had Lisa gotten a new one? Were she and Dean entertaining company? It didn't look like it, but most of the curtains were drawn and thus it was hard to tell.
"It looks peaceful," Samuel whispered as he appeared at Sam's side.
It was all Sam could do not to jump. Damn but his grandfather could move silently! Even after spending the better part of a year with the man, he still couldn't hear him coming if the man didn't want him to.
"Something's not right," Sam stated, not taking his eyes from the house before him.
"How can you tell?"
"Instinct."
The answer seemed to satisfy the older hunter and he signaled wordlessly to the others before motioning Sam forwards. Together they stealthily made their way closer, careful not to stay in any unshadowed areas for long so no neighbors who just happened to glance out of the window would catch sight of them. When he was finally pressed up against the side of the house, Sam made his way round back where it was darker away from the streetlights. He made his way towards a window whose light spilled out onto the lawn where the curtains weren't pulled closed as well as they could have been.
With one last glance around, Sam slowly raised himself enough so that he could cautiously peek in through the window. The sight that met his eyes left him speechless. There, laying on the couch, curled up with a book, was Lisa, her head resting in a man's lap.
A man who wasn't his older brother.
Sam felt his heart stop as he realized this. That wasn't Dean sitting in there with Lisa, reading his own book with a hand absentmindedly running through her dark locks. That was someone else. Someone who wasn't Dean. Which meant... He only just caught the pained and disbelieving cry that threatened to erupt from his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Samuel demanded, voice harsh. "Are we too late?"
"No," Sam replied, looking at his grandfather with dismay in his eyes. "He's not there."
"What do you mean? He might just be in another room."
"No, he's not," Sam said with certainty.
Damnit, it wasn't supposed to be this way! Dean was supposed to have settled down here. He was supposed to have been building himself a normal, safe life away from his little brother and the world they had grown up in. He was supposed to have been doing what Sam had witnessed him doing when he'd come by here after first getting out. What the hell had gone wrong? So help him, if his brother had turned tail and run or decided to go back to hunting, he'd strangle him. Dean had promised him he'd get out. He'd promised him he'd make it work with Lisa. It had been his dream life.
Sometimes Sam really didn't understand his brother at all. Dean had been given the golden opportunity here and he'd gone and fucked it up yet again. He'd probably gone and convinced himself that he wasn't worth it and then proceeded to ensure that reality was twisted to meet what he believed it should be. Damnit but Dean's self-hatred and lack of self-esteem were a right pain in the ass sometimes. He'd have thought his brother would have outgrown them by now, given that they'd won the Apocalypse and all, after all who could rightly say that they'd played a part in putting away Lucifer and still think himself worthless?
On second thought, no, it made perfect sense. Of course Dean would be capable of believing that, Sam realized. His big brother's self-deprecation had reached previously unheard of proportions towards the end there, which, combined with the fact that he'd only played a small role in stuffing Lucifer back in his cage despite all of the prophecy and hype that made him out as being the most critical player, could have combined to make him feel unworthy of what he'd been offered here.
And the worst thing was, Sam really should have seen it coming. He should have predicted it. It wasn't like his brother had been hale and whole for a very long time now and he'd definitely not been entirely stable since he'd made that thrice damned deal of his. No, Dean had been broken long before the end so Sam should have known that he wouldn't act like a normal person would.
"There's another man in there with Lisa," Sam continued. "Dean's gone."
Samuel cursed violently beside him. "Then where the hell is he?"
"I don't know," Sam replied, fear creeping in as he realized that he had no real clue what his brother would have done after he'd wrecked this relationship.
He hadn't contacted Bobby, that was for sure or the older hunter would have told Sam. No, last he knew, Bobby still thought Dean was here, with Lisa and Ben.
Where on Earth would Dean have slinked off to lick his wounds now that his dreams lay in ruins?
"I just don't know."
Chapter 1