Fic: The Dins of the Fathers, Chapter 3
The Dins of the Fathers, Chapter 3, wherein John Winchester and Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. discuss fatherhood, all consuming quests and deep regrets.
Potential Spoilers: References to "Everybody Loves a Clown" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"… yes really. There's a reference to another certain movie as you will see. But it's one that's so deeply lodged in Pop Culture I don't think it could count as a spoiler.
DISCLAIMER- I don't own any of these characters. And some of them I wouldn't want to own anyway.
Chapter 3-
After the verbal lashing he'd endured earlier, John was grateful to find himself seated in the living room of Dr. Jones's humble abode, even if his tea sucked. The tiny cottage was sparsely furnished and drafty as all get out. But compared to his new digs, Dr. Jones lived in a palace.
"You've got a nice place here," he said with sincere admiration.
The roof began to leak the instant the compliment had passed from his lips but Dr. Jones simply retrieved a rusty pan from beneath the couch and placed it directly under the drip.
"It has its moments," the older man stated, "I suppose I can't complain too much about the house, but as you have seen, it's in a lousy neighborhood."
"How is the roof leaking?" John wondered, "It's not even raining outside!"
"The Powers that Be," Dr. Jones explained wryly, "Have quite a sense of humor about these things. They can get very creative when it comes to doling out punishments."
"Who are these jokers anyway?" John asked.
His hunter's mind had been working overtime ever since he landed in this bizarre new world. If he could just figure out who or what these mysterious "Powers that Be" were, maybe he could actually do something to stop them from toying with people's lives… or Afterlives at any rate. Damn it, but he wished he still had the Colt!
"I have not a clue," Dr. Jones sighed, sipping at his tepid tea "My theory is that we've landed ourselves in a special circle of Hell that Dante and his ilk never bothered to write about. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have stumbled upon a reference in my studies and been forewarned."
"I hear ya," John said, "For all my knowledge of Demon lore; this isn't exactly how I pictured the Afterlife either. But if you don't mind me saying, you really don't strike me as the kind of guy who would wind up in a place like this regardless."
Dr. Jones nodded solemnly, blotting at his mouth with a raggedly napkin.
"In my life, I was an accomplished scholar and highly respected member of society. But as a father? Well, I'm afraid I fell quite short of the mark. My boy Henry Jr., or 'Indiana' as he preferred to be called, was a world renowned archeologist and adventurer. The kind of son any father would be proud of. But I was too wrapped up in my pursuit of the Holy Grail to give him the time of day. I was… single mindedly obsessed I guess you could say. Sound familiar?"
"Yes, I think I can relate," John said, chagrined.
"After his mother passed, I thought it was enough that I gave Junior a well rounded education and trained him to be self-sufficient. Unfortunately, he didn't agree. We made amends in later years, but I suppose it was too little too late for the Powers that Be. Their standards are rather…"
"Impossible," John finished with a snort.
"You can say that again," Dr. Jones chuckled, "And yet… looking back now I wonder. As driven as I was in my Crusade, would it have been so very difficult to devote just a bit more time to my son? A bit more attention… a bit more encouragement… a bit of sympathy whenever he would start screaming like a little girl because he saw a snake in the yard. Just that extra bit of effort could have made all the difference in his life… and mine as well."
John squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head. There was gnawing ache building in the pit of his stomach that he was pretty sure had nothing to do with the nasty tea he'd been drinking.
"I really blew it didn't I?" he let out a long shuddering sigh, "The Demon came into our lives and the only thing I cared about was revenge. I was so bitter about all that had been taken away from me that I lost sight of what I still had- two great sons who needed their father, not the tyrannical task master I became. I told myself at the time that I had to be hard- that my boys had to be tough and strong enough to face what was out there in the dark. But like you said, as much as I needed them to be warriors, I still could have put more effort into being a Dad."
He stood up and began to pace about the tiny room. The water warped floor boards were creaking under his feet and he almost willed them to crack open and swallow him whole.
"I should have given them more of my time and attention," he continued, "I should have given them more freedom to pursue their own interests. Hell, at the very least, I should have given them a heads up about the deal I made. Now they're on their own, left to face this Yellow Eyed Demon without me. And I'm stuck down here with no way of knowing what they're going through or whether or not they're all right!"
"Actually," Dr. Jones said suddenly, "You do have a way!"
John blinked in confusion as the older man leapt up from the couch, hurried over to a small cluttered desk and began riffling through some old papers.
"Ah! Here we are!" he said finally, holding up a folded newspaper, "The latest edition!"
He handed the paper to John who frowned in puzzlement at the bold title AFTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWS then went on to read the front page headline:
"Peter Brady Weds Super Model…"
"No, no," Dr. Jones said, "Further down the page."
John skimmed until he found the article in question.
"Winchester Brothers Take on Case of Killer Clown!" John gasped, looking up at the other man in amazement.
"The Powers that Be put out this newspaper so we can keep up with our off spring," Jones informed him beaming with glee, "I believe their original intent was to give those priggish bastards over in Eternal Estates more dirt to rub in our noses. But for me personally, it's been quite a comfort to read about Junior's continuing adventures."
"It says here that my boys stumbled upon a Rakshasa that was disguising itself as a clown to prey on families with small children." John read on eagerly, "Poor Sammy must have been freaking out! He hates clowns… Oh, and they met the Harvelles. There's a can of worms… Wait! Dean's been rebuilding the Impala? I didn't think it was possible after the crash! I'm so proud of him! I'm so proud of them both!"
John crumpled the paper suddenly as that familiar gnawing ache crept back into his gut.
"I should have told them that more often," he said, quietly, "I should have told them that every single day of their lives!"
Dr. Jones offered John a soothing pat on the back.
"We all have regrets," the older man sighed, "While we're alive, we think we have all the time in the world for such things."
"I should have known better," John admitted, "With my lifestyle, I faced death almost every day. But I still lost focus of what mattered most."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Dr. Jones said, "I read about some of the things you faced. What horrors! Lousy father or not, I have to admire your fortitude. A lesser man would have been driven stark raving mad…"
At that very moment there was the sound of wood being forcefully split. John spun around in time to see an axe chopping its way through the front door!
Instinctively, he reached around his back for a gun that was no longer there as the leering unshaven face of the axe wielding lunatic appeared suddenly in the freshly cut hole.
"HEEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!" the man called out.
Continued in Chapter 4
Comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.
Potential Spoilers: References to "Everybody Loves a Clown" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"… yes really. There's a reference to another certain movie as you will see. But it's one that's so deeply lodged in Pop Culture I don't think it could count as a spoiler.
DISCLAIMER- I don't own any of these characters. And some of them I wouldn't want to own anyway.
Chapter 3-
After the verbal lashing he'd endured earlier, John was grateful to find himself seated in the living room of Dr. Jones's humble abode, even if his tea sucked. The tiny cottage was sparsely furnished and drafty as all get out. But compared to his new digs, Dr. Jones lived in a palace.
"You've got a nice place here," he said with sincere admiration.
The roof began to leak the instant the compliment had passed from his lips but Dr. Jones simply retrieved a rusty pan from beneath the couch and placed it directly under the drip.
"It has its moments," the older man stated, "I suppose I can't complain too much about the house, but as you have seen, it's in a lousy neighborhood."
"How is the roof leaking?" John wondered, "It's not even raining outside!"
"The Powers that Be," Dr. Jones explained wryly, "Have quite a sense of humor about these things. They can get very creative when it comes to doling out punishments."
"Who are these jokers anyway?" John asked.
His hunter's mind had been working overtime ever since he landed in this bizarre new world. If he could just figure out who or what these mysterious "Powers that Be" were, maybe he could actually do something to stop them from toying with people's lives… or Afterlives at any rate. Damn it, but he wished he still had the Colt!
"I have not a clue," Dr. Jones sighed, sipping at his tepid tea "My theory is that we've landed ourselves in a special circle of Hell that Dante and his ilk never bothered to write about. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have stumbled upon a reference in my studies and been forewarned."
"I hear ya," John said, "For all my knowledge of Demon lore; this isn't exactly how I pictured the Afterlife either. But if you don't mind me saying, you really don't strike me as the kind of guy who would wind up in a place like this regardless."
Dr. Jones nodded solemnly, blotting at his mouth with a raggedly napkin.
"In my life, I was an accomplished scholar and highly respected member of society. But as a father? Well, I'm afraid I fell quite short of the mark. My boy Henry Jr., or 'Indiana' as he preferred to be called, was a world renowned archeologist and adventurer. The kind of son any father would be proud of. But I was too wrapped up in my pursuit of the Holy Grail to give him the time of day. I was… single mindedly obsessed I guess you could say. Sound familiar?"
"Yes, I think I can relate," John said, chagrined.
"After his mother passed, I thought it was enough that I gave Junior a well rounded education and trained him to be self-sufficient. Unfortunately, he didn't agree. We made amends in later years, but I suppose it was too little too late for the Powers that Be. Their standards are rather…"
"Impossible," John finished with a snort.
"You can say that again," Dr. Jones chuckled, "And yet… looking back now I wonder. As driven as I was in my Crusade, would it have been so very difficult to devote just a bit more time to my son? A bit more attention… a bit more encouragement… a bit of sympathy whenever he would start screaming like a little girl because he saw a snake in the yard. Just that extra bit of effort could have made all the difference in his life… and mine as well."
John squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head. There was gnawing ache building in the pit of his stomach that he was pretty sure had nothing to do with the nasty tea he'd been drinking.
"I really blew it didn't I?" he let out a long shuddering sigh, "The Demon came into our lives and the only thing I cared about was revenge. I was so bitter about all that had been taken away from me that I lost sight of what I still had- two great sons who needed their father, not the tyrannical task master I became. I told myself at the time that I had to be hard- that my boys had to be tough and strong enough to face what was out there in the dark. But like you said, as much as I needed them to be warriors, I still could have put more effort into being a Dad."
He stood up and began to pace about the tiny room. The water warped floor boards were creaking under his feet and he almost willed them to crack open and swallow him whole.
"I should have given them more of my time and attention," he continued, "I should have given them more freedom to pursue their own interests. Hell, at the very least, I should have given them a heads up about the deal I made. Now they're on their own, left to face this Yellow Eyed Demon without me. And I'm stuck down here with no way of knowing what they're going through or whether or not they're all right!"
"Actually," Dr. Jones said suddenly, "You do have a way!"
John blinked in confusion as the older man leapt up from the couch, hurried over to a small cluttered desk and began riffling through some old papers.
"Ah! Here we are!" he said finally, holding up a folded newspaper, "The latest edition!"
He handed the paper to John who frowned in puzzlement at the bold title AFTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWS then went on to read the front page headline:
"Peter Brady Weds Super Model…"
"No, no," Dr. Jones said, "Further down the page."
John skimmed until he found the article in question.
"Winchester Brothers Take on Case of Killer Clown!" John gasped, looking up at the other man in amazement.
"The Powers that Be put out this newspaper so we can keep up with our off spring," Jones informed him beaming with glee, "I believe their original intent was to give those priggish bastards over in Eternal Estates more dirt to rub in our noses. But for me personally, it's been quite a comfort to read about Junior's continuing adventures."
"It says here that my boys stumbled upon a Rakshasa that was disguising itself as a clown to prey on families with small children." John read on eagerly, "Poor Sammy must have been freaking out! He hates clowns… Oh, and they met the Harvelles. There's a can of worms… Wait! Dean's been rebuilding the Impala? I didn't think it was possible after the crash! I'm so proud of him! I'm so proud of them both!"
John crumpled the paper suddenly as that familiar gnawing ache crept back into his gut.
"I should have told them that more often," he said, quietly, "I should have told them that every single day of their lives!"
Dr. Jones offered John a soothing pat on the back.
"We all have regrets," the older man sighed, "While we're alive, we think we have all the time in the world for such things."
"I should have known better," John admitted, "With my lifestyle, I faced death almost every day. But I still lost focus of what mattered most."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Dr. Jones said, "I read about some of the things you faced. What horrors! Lousy father or not, I have to admire your fortitude. A lesser man would have been driven stark raving mad…"
At that very moment there was the sound of wood being forcefully split. John spun around in time to see an axe chopping its way through the front door!
Instinctively, he reached around his back for a gun that was no longer there as the leering unshaven face of the axe wielding lunatic appeared suddenly in the freshly cut hole.
"HEEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!" the man called out.
Continued in Chapter 4
Comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.