Title: Just a Matter of Time: Part 3: "I'm not myself, you see"
Title: Just a Matter of Time
Authors: art_of_mayhem and candygramme
Dean Winchester/Alex Krycek
Appearances: Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder and others.
> Word Count: 3649
Rated: This part is Gen, but it will be NC-17 slash in future parts
Beta: The beautiful lorelei633, who has stuck with us to the bitter end.
Disclaimer: Dean belongs to Erik Kripke and Alex belongs to 1013 Productions. We make no money.
Spoilers: Not in this part. Later there may be vague spoilers to 'In My Time Of Dying'
> Teaser: Quickly signing the receipt that the waitress brought back to him, Alex gathered up his card and rose to his feet. "Let's go solve the mystery of Dean Winchester, shall we?"
Chapter titles are borrowed from "Alice in Wonderland"
This story is finished and complete, and we intend to post it rapidly.
Dean just gave a nod, not feeling like questioning his companion. Instead, he went for the coffee. "She didn't seem that cold to me, but whatever." He gave a shrug as he took a sip. "I'm cool with that, Rockford." He flashed him a smile behind his cup.
"Maybe..." Alex gave Dean another of his long stares, checking him out as he sipped his coffee. "Maybe you're hot enough even to melt the ice princess, in which case, I take my hat off to you. Can't say that she ever succumbed to my pretty green eyes. I did try!" He smiled. "Well, whatever. You're definitely hot. I can tell that much!"
Dean gave a smirk, then leaned back as his plate was set down before him. Starting to dig in immediately he gave a sigh of satisfaction. "Well," he said, between bites. "She's not gonna get a chance to ride the Dean Express, and I doubt I'll be seeing them again any time soon. Your boy sounds freaky, and I don't need that right now. I'm freaked enough as it is." He was eating away like he hadn't eaten in a few days. "Man, I'm starving. Felt like I haven't had a decent meal in a while. Well except that stew last night. She might be the ice princess, but she sure can cook."
Finishing off his meal, Dean pushed the plate away as he gazed out the window past Alex. He shifted in his seat, feeling that gnawing in his stomach again and looked away, down at the table. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He just knew that it wasn't the thought of time travel, whatever else it could be.
Alex had finished his breakfast too and downed a second cup of coffee before he indicated that the tab should be brought. "Let my employers pay for breakfast," he said, tossing a credit card down onto the tray that contained the bill. "They can afford it." He turned to look out of the window. "Looks like there's rain coming in. I figure we can be in Boston in about two and a half hours. Let's head out."
Quickly signing the receipt that the waitress brought back to him, Alex gathered up his card and rose to his feet. "Let's go solve the mystery of Dean Winchester, shall we?"
Dean got up, following after Alex. He got into the car, eager to find out about himself and hoping the information waiting for them would trigger some memories. He hated not knowing. He couldn't even remember if he knew how to ride a bike. Who had taught him if he did? Did he have a family? The photos in his wallet indicated that he might, but Dean couldn't be sure if they were even his relatives.
He settled back as Cape Cod slowly faded behind them. He reached over, turning the radio on and scanned it ‘til he found a classic rock station, then he turned his gaze to Alex. "Who are these people you work for? They some black ops organization or something?"
"Something like that, yes," agreed Alex. "You know that old saying, 'who watches the watchers?' Well, I'm one of those. I guess you could say that my department is there to help keep the powers that be honest. I observe and report. Covert surveillance is my specialty, and I spend most of my time undercover. It's fun, and it pays the rent."
The car was soon pointed to the freeway and heading down on its way to Boston. A Foreigner song was playing on the radio, and pretty soon Alex was singing along, apparently carefree as he covered the miles.
Dean gave a nod before looking out the window again. He turned his head as Alex started singing, keeping time on the steering wheel while he drove. Dean smiled and started singing along with him as he rolled down the window. He was finally relaxing a little it seemed, and that odd feeling in his stomach wasn't as noticeable although sadly it was still there, if he thought about it.
The two hours passed, and they were nearing the Boston city limits. He was starting to get nervous.
The Syndicate offices were down beside the Inner Harbor, on Marginal Street. Alex led Dean up in the elevator from the parking lot below the building to a pleasantly wood paneled room with a number of computers and a fax in the corner. Going quickly to one of the computers, Alex turned it on and waited while it booted up. "We've got all the latest stuff," he murmured, pride in his voice. "Just got Windows 95. I'm gonna email my associates down in DC, and they'll fax me the stuff though. Don't want to leave your personal info just sitting on the fax machine though. That would be inviting trouble."
Dean entered the room and gave a low whistle, "Our tax dollars hard at work." Dean waited while Alex worked, walking around the room and picking at things. He started clicking his tongue in his mouth, making noises as he moved around. He glanced back, seeing Alex looking at him. "Sorry," he said as he realized what the look was for.
When the fax started to chirp, and the paper slowly began to feed through, they both rushed over to collect the information that was coming through.
"Dean Winchester was definitely born in Lawrence, Kansas. Check it out." Alex passed him the report on the Winchester family. "Mother deceased, father ex-Marine, one sibling, a younger brother. Latest photograph of your boy coming through in just a moment. We'll soon see what the hell..."
As the photo emerged from the fax machine, they both craned to take a look at it, unsure what they were going to find.
Dean took the paper from Alex. John Winchester was his father. Mother was Mary who died in a house fire. Brother, younger by four years, Samuel. "Sammy," he whispered then turned to look at the fax machine. Dean blinked at the photo. It was him, but younger.
That's me," he whispered. He frowned as he looked at Alex. "I need to go see them."
"It is you, isn't it?" Alex was holding the photograph up, and his eyes darted between the two of them, fascinated by the comparison. "You do come from the future. That's so cool. We need to go find your younger self, see just what happens - whether you wink out in a little puff of smoke." He laughed. "I'm just kidding."
"It's not funny," Dean snapped and pulled away. He grabbed the papers and started heading out and then winced as his head suddenly started hurting. Grabbing a chair, Dean stopped as the world flashed, images of his life quickly playing before his eyes. He dropped down to one knee, holding his head. "Alex?" He swallowed hard, and his face contorted in pain.
Alex almost crashed into the desk in his haste to get to Dean's side. "You okay?" he asked, helping Dean to his feet and supporting him over to a chair. "What the hell happened, Dean? You need anything?" He raced to a cabinet in the corner and took out a bottle of scotch and two glasses, pouring generous tots and passing one over to Dean. "Here. Drink this. It's gotta be good for something."
Dean sagged into the chair. He leaned his head back, groaning and rubbing at his forehead. Looking at the glass Alex was holding out to him, he took it, knocking back the liquor. "Dude, I don't belong here. I belong ten years in the future. I gotta find my dad. He'll know what to do." He emptied his glass. "But he's not gonna be in Kansas. We left shortly after my mother's death and never went back. But I think I know where to find him, if my memory serves me right."
"Your memory?" Alex looked at his glass and then at his companion again. "You mean that you can remember?" He waved the bottle of scotch at Dean. "Here! Have some more and start thinking about the Superbowl and stuff. We really could clean up!"
He sat down on the edge of the desk next to Dean. "So where is this dad of yours? Won't it be weird running into a younger you?"
"I don't remember it all - just bits and pieces." Dean took another drink of the scotch. "I’m pretty sure that meeting myself is something I have to avoid. But how big a problem it's likely to be, I don't know." Dean held out his glass. Alex refilled it and Dean took another drink, remembering how his father would leave him behind to watch over Sam. "About now, I'd say he's in Texas." Dean got to his feet, setting the glass down. "I gotta get going, he's not gonna be there long." He started heading for the door.
"Hey! Wait up! Not so fast." Alex hurried after Dean, seeing his dreams of winning bets melting like so much snow. "You just gonna go waltzing off to Texas without thinking about it? How are you going to get there? You can't use those credit cards you're carrying. There’s no such thing as Bank One." He caught Dean's shoulder and grinned. "Besides, I've got a car, a credit card that works and a hot ass. What more could you possibly wish for?"
Dean turned, brushing Alex's hand off his shoulder, "Look, thanks for your help but I'm a big boy. I'll get there." He looked Alex over, "Don't you gotta go check up on your boyfriend, lurk outside his windows again or something?"
"Awww... don't be like that." Alex looked crestfallen, and his eyes assumed a puppyish longing. "You gonna deny me some fun? I thought I'd helped you. What's the matter? Didn't I help you get your memory back?" He sighed and looked thoroughly dejected. "I thought we were getting on okay."
"Fun?" Dean raised an eyebrow then rolled his eyes. "Some. Some of my memory back," he tried to clarify as if that would make a difference. "Won't your bosses get a bit annoyed, if you just up and leave your assignment to take off across the country with some guy looking for his father?" Dean was nervous about the fact the man was government, knowing that was the last thing he needed to bring around his family. His father would tear him a new one if he found out that Alex was a Fed.
"My bosses are fine with whatever I choose to do." Alex raised his chin in a defiant look that made him appear to be all of six years old. "And besides, I'm not the only one watching Mulder. It gets kinda boring sitting on my can all day in a bush, waiting for Mulder to do something dumb. Admittedly, it's amusing when he does, but I've been doing it for far too long. I'm getting to the stage where, whenever I see the guy, I want to smack him."
He waved a hand and turned away. "I've got leave coming to me, but that's okay. If you don't want me around, just go and forget it."
Dean felt as if all the air had been sucked out of him as he sighed. He looked away and then growled as he lifted his eyes back up to Alex. "Damn it!" He walked over and grabbed Alex's arm. "C’mon. You and your damned puppy dog eyes!" he grumbled as he pulled Alex toward the door. "I guess I could use the company. You're probably gonna find me as boring as your boyfriend and live to regret it." Stopping at the door, he grinned and held out his hand. "Gimme your keys. I'm driving, Ponch."
"Yeah?" Alex gave Dean a quick, sultry look from under his lashes. "Well, if I let you drive, you'd better know how to use a stick shift. I don't want you stripping the gears on my baby. She may not be the best car in the world, but I love her anyway." He smirked. "Okay, it's gonna take us a couple of days to get down to Texas, even if we drive all night as well as all day, so I guess that it'll be all right. Whereabouts in Texas are we heading for?"
Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a set of car keys. "There you go. Be careful, won't you?"
"Of course I know how to use a stick." Dean grabbed the keys and headed out. "Waco, and, no, not going to visit the Branch Davidians." They took the stairs down as Dean continued to wonder if it was a good idea. This man was going to find out what he and his family did, and that wasn't good. Of course he was more nervous about seeing his father and being unable to tell him what was going to happen to them. Luckily, he thought, he had a few days to work it over in his head.
He got into the car, waited for Alex, then started the engine, hitting the road. He kept glancing over at Alex, debating if he should tell him. "So, Mulder... is that all he chases after, little green men?"
"Are you kidding?" Alex laughed softly. "Nope, not at all. He chases all kinds of weird shit. Bigfoot... ghosts... he had me running around after some guy that could project illusions. That was freaky. This guy hadn't slept in twenty some years, and he could make you see whatever the heck he wanted you to see. Then there was the gorilla that had her baby abducted from her womb. He's a complete crackpot. People used to laugh at him and his X-files, but he's got the thickest skin on the planet."
Authors: art_of_mayhem and candygramme
Dean Winchester/Alex Krycek
Appearances: Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder and others.
> Word Count: 3649
Rated: This part is Gen, but it will be NC-17 slash in future parts
Beta: The beautiful lorelei633, who has stuck with us to the bitter end.
Disclaimer: Dean belongs to Erik Kripke and Alex belongs to 1013 Productions. We make no money.
Spoilers: Not in this part. Later there may be vague spoilers to 'In My Time Of Dying'
> Teaser: Quickly signing the receipt that the waitress brought back to him, Alex gathered up his card and rose to his feet. "Let's go solve the mystery of Dean Winchester, shall we?"
Chapter titles are borrowed from "Alice in Wonderland"
This story is finished and complete, and we intend to post it rapidly.
Dean just gave a nod, not feeling like questioning his companion. Instead, he went for the coffee. "She didn't seem that cold to me, but whatever." He gave a shrug as he took a sip. "I'm cool with that, Rockford." He flashed him a smile behind his cup.
"Maybe..." Alex gave Dean another of his long stares, checking him out as he sipped his coffee. "Maybe you're hot enough even to melt the ice princess, in which case, I take my hat off to you. Can't say that she ever succumbed to my pretty green eyes. I did try!" He smiled. "Well, whatever. You're definitely hot. I can tell that much!"
Dean gave a smirk, then leaned back as his plate was set down before him. Starting to dig in immediately he gave a sigh of satisfaction. "Well," he said, between bites. "She's not gonna get a chance to ride the Dean Express, and I doubt I'll be seeing them again any time soon. Your boy sounds freaky, and I don't need that right now. I'm freaked enough as it is." He was eating away like he hadn't eaten in a few days. "Man, I'm starving. Felt like I haven't had a decent meal in a while. Well except that stew last night. She might be the ice princess, but she sure can cook."
Finishing off his meal, Dean pushed the plate away as he gazed out the window past Alex. He shifted in his seat, feeling that gnawing in his stomach again and looked away, down at the table. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He just knew that it wasn't the thought of time travel, whatever else it could be.
Alex had finished his breakfast too and downed a second cup of coffee before he indicated that the tab should be brought. "Let my employers pay for breakfast," he said, tossing a credit card down onto the tray that contained the bill. "They can afford it." He turned to look out of the window. "Looks like there's rain coming in. I figure we can be in Boston in about two and a half hours. Let's head out."
Quickly signing the receipt that the waitress brought back to him, Alex gathered up his card and rose to his feet. "Let's go solve the mystery of Dean Winchester, shall we?"
Dean got up, following after Alex. He got into the car, eager to find out about himself and hoping the information waiting for them would trigger some memories. He hated not knowing. He couldn't even remember if he knew how to ride a bike. Who had taught him if he did? Did he have a family? The photos in his wallet indicated that he might, but Dean couldn't be sure if they were even his relatives.
He settled back as Cape Cod slowly faded behind them. He reached over, turning the radio on and scanned it ‘til he found a classic rock station, then he turned his gaze to Alex. "Who are these people you work for? They some black ops organization or something?"
"Something like that, yes," agreed Alex. "You know that old saying, 'who watches the watchers?' Well, I'm one of those. I guess you could say that my department is there to help keep the powers that be honest. I observe and report. Covert surveillance is my specialty, and I spend most of my time undercover. It's fun, and it pays the rent."
The car was soon pointed to the freeway and heading down on its way to Boston. A Foreigner song was playing on the radio, and pretty soon Alex was singing along, apparently carefree as he covered the miles.
Dean gave a nod before looking out the window again. He turned his head as Alex started singing, keeping time on the steering wheel while he drove. Dean smiled and started singing along with him as he rolled down the window. He was finally relaxing a little it seemed, and that odd feeling in his stomach wasn't as noticeable although sadly it was still there, if he thought about it.
The two hours passed, and they were nearing the Boston city limits. He was starting to get nervous.
The Syndicate offices were down beside the Inner Harbor, on Marginal Street. Alex led Dean up in the elevator from the parking lot below the building to a pleasantly wood paneled room with a number of computers and a fax in the corner. Going quickly to one of the computers, Alex turned it on and waited while it booted up. "We've got all the latest stuff," he murmured, pride in his voice. "Just got Windows 95. I'm gonna email my associates down in DC, and they'll fax me the stuff though. Don't want to leave your personal info just sitting on the fax machine though. That would be inviting trouble."
Dean entered the room and gave a low whistle, "Our tax dollars hard at work." Dean waited while Alex worked, walking around the room and picking at things. He started clicking his tongue in his mouth, making noises as he moved around. He glanced back, seeing Alex looking at him. "Sorry," he said as he realized what the look was for.
When the fax started to chirp, and the paper slowly began to feed through, they both rushed over to collect the information that was coming through.
"Dean Winchester was definitely born in Lawrence, Kansas. Check it out." Alex passed him the report on the Winchester family. "Mother deceased, father ex-Marine, one sibling, a younger brother. Latest photograph of your boy coming through in just a moment. We'll soon see what the hell..."
As the photo emerged from the fax machine, they both craned to take a look at it, unsure what they were going to find.
Dean took the paper from Alex. John Winchester was his father. Mother was Mary who died in a house fire. Brother, younger by four years, Samuel. "Sammy," he whispered then turned to look at the fax machine. Dean blinked at the photo. It was him, but younger.
That's me," he whispered. He frowned as he looked at Alex. "I need to go see them."
"It is you, isn't it?" Alex was holding the photograph up, and his eyes darted between the two of them, fascinated by the comparison. "You do come from the future. That's so cool. We need to go find your younger self, see just what happens - whether you wink out in a little puff of smoke." He laughed. "I'm just kidding."
"It's not funny," Dean snapped and pulled away. He grabbed the papers and started heading out and then winced as his head suddenly started hurting. Grabbing a chair, Dean stopped as the world flashed, images of his life quickly playing before his eyes. He dropped down to one knee, holding his head. "Alex?" He swallowed hard, and his face contorted in pain.
Alex almost crashed into the desk in his haste to get to Dean's side. "You okay?" he asked, helping Dean to his feet and supporting him over to a chair. "What the hell happened, Dean? You need anything?" He raced to a cabinet in the corner and took out a bottle of scotch and two glasses, pouring generous tots and passing one over to Dean. "Here. Drink this. It's gotta be good for something."
Dean sagged into the chair. He leaned his head back, groaning and rubbing at his forehead. Looking at the glass Alex was holding out to him, he took it, knocking back the liquor. "Dude, I don't belong here. I belong ten years in the future. I gotta find my dad. He'll know what to do." He emptied his glass. "But he's not gonna be in Kansas. We left shortly after my mother's death and never went back. But I think I know where to find him, if my memory serves me right."
"Your memory?" Alex looked at his glass and then at his companion again. "You mean that you can remember?" He waved the bottle of scotch at Dean. "Here! Have some more and start thinking about the Superbowl and stuff. We really could clean up!"
He sat down on the edge of the desk next to Dean. "So where is this dad of yours? Won't it be weird running into a younger you?"
"I don't remember it all - just bits and pieces." Dean took another drink of the scotch. "I’m pretty sure that meeting myself is something I have to avoid. But how big a problem it's likely to be, I don't know." Dean held out his glass. Alex refilled it and Dean took another drink, remembering how his father would leave him behind to watch over Sam. "About now, I'd say he's in Texas." Dean got to his feet, setting the glass down. "I gotta get going, he's not gonna be there long." He started heading for the door.
"Hey! Wait up! Not so fast." Alex hurried after Dean, seeing his dreams of winning bets melting like so much snow. "You just gonna go waltzing off to Texas without thinking about it? How are you going to get there? You can't use those credit cards you're carrying. There’s no such thing as Bank One." He caught Dean's shoulder and grinned. "Besides, I've got a car, a credit card that works and a hot ass. What more could you possibly wish for?"
Dean turned, brushing Alex's hand off his shoulder, "Look, thanks for your help but I'm a big boy. I'll get there." He looked Alex over, "Don't you gotta go check up on your boyfriend, lurk outside his windows again or something?"
"Awww... don't be like that." Alex looked crestfallen, and his eyes assumed a puppyish longing. "You gonna deny me some fun? I thought I'd helped you. What's the matter? Didn't I help you get your memory back?" He sighed and looked thoroughly dejected. "I thought we were getting on okay."
"Fun?" Dean raised an eyebrow then rolled his eyes. "Some. Some of my memory back," he tried to clarify as if that would make a difference. "Won't your bosses get a bit annoyed, if you just up and leave your assignment to take off across the country with some guy looking for his father?" Dean was nervous about the fact the man was government, knowing that was the last thing he needed to bring around his family. His father would tear him a new one if he found out that Alex was a Fed.
"My bosses are fine with whatever I choose to do." Alex raised his chin in a defiant look that made him appear to be all of six years old. "And besides, I'm not the only one watching Mulder. It gets kinda boring sitting on my can all day in a bush, waiting for Mulder to do something dumb. Admittedly, it's amusing when he does, but I've been doing it for far too long. I'm getting to the stage where, whenever I see the guy, I want to smack him."
He waved a hand and turned away. "I've got leave coming to me, but that's okay. If you don't want me around, just go and forget it."
Dean felt as if all the air had been sucked out of him as he sighed. He looked away and then growled as he lifted his eyes back up to Alex. "Damn it!" He walked over and grabbed Alex's arm. "C’mon. You and your damned puppy dog eyes!" he grumbled as he pulled Alex toward the door. "I guess I could use the company. You're probably gonna find me as boring as your boyfriend and live to regret it." Stopping at the door, he grinned and held out his hand. "Gimme your keys. I'm driving, Ponch."
"Yeah?" Alex gave Dean a quick, sultry look from under his lashes. "Well, if I let you drive, you'd better know how to use a stick shift. I don't want you stripping the gears on my baby. She may not be the best car in the world, but I love her anyway." He smirked. "Okay, it's gonna take us a couple of days to get down to Texas, even if we drive all night as well as all day, so I guess that it'll be all right. Whereabouts in Texas are we heading for?"
Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a set of car keys. "There you go. Be careful, won't you?"
"Of course I know how to use a stick." Dean grabbed the keys and headed out. "Waco, and, no, not going to visit the Branch Davidians." They took the stairs down as Dean continued to wonder if it was a good idea. This man was going to find out what he and his family did, and that wasn't good. Of course he was more nervous about seeing his father and being unable to tell him what was going to happen to them. Luckily, he thought, he had a few days to work it over in his head.
He got into the car, waited for Alex, then started the engine, hitting the road. He kept glancing over at Alex, debating if he should tell him. "So, Mulder... is that all he chases after, little green men?"
"Are you kidding?" Alex laughed softly. "Nope, not at all. He chases all kinds of weird shit. Bigfoot... ghosts... he had me running around after some guy that could project illusions. That was freaky. This guy hadn't slept in twenty some years, and he could make you see whatever the heck he wanted you to see. Then there was the gorilla that had her baby abducted from her womb. He's a complete crackpot. People used to laugh at him and his X-files, but he's got the thickest skin on the planet."