But What We Make (Part VI)
Title: But What We Make
Author: hunters_retreat
Artist: surevesta
Fandom: Supernatural/Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Sam/Dean, John/Derek, mentions of Sam/Jess
Word Count: 39,000
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Incest, underage
Summary: John Connor sent a simple message across time. His choice changed the history of the world, but it wasn't the only thing he sent across time. For Sarah Connor, he sent a son. For John Winchester he created the perfect partner. For three brothers, Dean, Sam, and JC, he brought a hope that the future could be changed. Because the Winchester boys knew the truth. If there was no fate but what they made, they were gonna go down swinging.
“She’s gonna be okay, right?” JC couldn’t help himself. No matter what else was going on, no matter how hard they had to run, seeing his mother so weak shook him. He kept telling himself they had John back now, everything would be alright, but the facts didn’t make her look any less helpless, especially when John had come rushing in, swooping her up in his arms. She’d looked so frail against him. Thankfully, before the moment could turn his fear into anything else, John had looked up at him and gestured him over. No, John Winchester wasn’t his real dad, but he was the real thing anyway. He’d gone without hesitation and he’d seen something in his mother loosen up at that, like maybe all this time she’d doubted what John would do with an extra son.
Now, without her to look at, on the road with nothing but the night around them, his own doubt was creeping in.
“Told you years ago, JC,” Dean said with a smile through the rear view mirror, “there ain’t no one as tough as Sarah. She might look weak now, but you give her a week of good meals and she’ll be back to kicking our asses in no time.”
It was just like Dean to pick up on his real fears.
“Guess that means you’ll have to find someplace to stop with rabbit food for a while,” Sam teased.
“Doesn’t mean I have to eat it.”
“Hey, JC, you think we can convince Sarah that Dean needs to be on a special diet?”
“You wouldn’t,” Dean glared at Sam across the front seat.
“We could remind her of all the bad take-out he used to let us eat when she was away on a hunt.”
“Et tu, JC?”
JC laughed at his brothers, thankful for them once again. He tried to imagine his life as John Connor, a place where he’d grown up without the Winchesters, and couldn’t imagine the man he’d become. Sam gave him an open place to talk and be himself, to shed the mantle of John Connor when he needed it, and Dean was always there to tease the hell out of him or kick his ass into shape, depending on the need. Without his brothers, he didn’t want to think who he’d be.
“Maybe we’ll keep that plan for when Mom is starting to feel better and she can kick his ass instead.”
Sam opened his mouth but before he could say anything the car lurched to the side. Glass exploded around them and JC was thrown around in the back seat. JC couldn’t hear anything but ringing in his ears and as the car settled he looked up to see Dean with a trickle of blood running down the left side of his face. Dean was scrambling to get out of the car, pulling Sam with him. JC didn’t need to hear his voice to hear Dean’s command when their eyes met.
He pushed the door open and dropped to the ground, keeping low. He could see John’s truck and Cameron running from the Jeep behind that. Dean had a shotgun from under the seat and JC grabbed for the gun that was hidden in the rear foot well in an old take out container.
There were no words this time, no taunting before the volley of bullets hit the Impala. He could hear Dean swearing up a storm but he wasn’t sure if he was yelling because he couldn’t get to the trunk to get to their weapons or if it was because of the abuse the Impala was suffering.
“Cameron! I need in the trunk!” Dean yelled into the chaos.
Cameron must have heard him because she turned back towards them instead of the big rig that had hit them. She ignored the bullets that came her way, but John was out of the truck, covering her moves and Derek was right beside him.
She wrenched the trunk open and grabbed the bag they carried their weapons in. She dropped the duffle beside Dean and then looked back to the bullets.
Dean started popping out the salt shells that were loaded in the shotgun and Sam was grabbing the right ammo for him. It wasn’t until that moment JC got a look at Sam’s right side.
“Sam?”
“I’m alright. Just not running a marathon today unless I have to. Good thing I can shoot left handed, right?”
JC nodded as he watched Sam and Dean. When Dean looked up, eyes meeting over Sam’s head, he could see the concern written there. It wasn’t panic though so he knew Dean believed Sam would be alright. If they could get him the hell out of there.
“You’re outnumbered Jessie. Just put the guns down!” Derek yelled out over the sound of the weapons.
“We’ll see whose outnumbered when the T-1000 kills your pet terminator.” Jessie screamed from behind the cover of the truck.
“Shit,” Dean said as he looked up over the hood of the Impala. Jessie and terminator were only about twenty feet away. “And here it comes now.”
Cameron ran towards the other vehicle but another volley of bullets kept JC from tracking her movements. “Now aren’t you wishing your dad had just let the chupalcabra eat us?”
Sam let out a bark of laughter but Dean was smiling brightly. “Hell no. Haven’t had this challenging a hunt since my first poltergeist.”
“Yeah but you’re not usually the one being hunted.”
Dean looked over at him, eyes serious. “We’ve been hunted since the day we took you in, JC. Don’t think we haven’t known that. Doesn’t matter a damn bit.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, family don’t end with blood.”
“Not today it won’t.”
Dean heaved up then, shotgun blaring as he targeted the woman that had been after him for years. JC watched Sam brace himself up on his toes, right arm useless but gun in his left hand. JC reached for a second gun, quickly checking the weapon before he was ready to start.
He nodded at Sam and they both stood up. Cameron and the T-1000 were locked in battle, Cameron pushing the other terminator away from the Impala. They were clear of the fire fight but it looked like an even battle. Cameron seemed to move quicker than the other terminator but she constantly had to readjust her tactics as the T-1000 morphed its shape.
Derek was running across the distance from the Jeep to the Impala, John covering him as he ran.
“Derek!” Flores screamed again. “It doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t understand. He betrayed us years ago, all this time, we fought by his side and he was always working or them! He’s a goddamn gray and you don’t have to pretend you don’t see his betrayal anymore.”
Derek stood up, guns lowered. “What happened to you, Jessie? This isn’t you talking.”
“He’s no better than the fucking machines, Derek!”
JC could see something in Derek’s face as he looked over at Dean. There was a request of some kind and Dean accepted, whatever it was.
“Jessie, just put the gun down, we can talk this out. Whatever you think happened, it didn’t. We were friends before this happened. Just, talk to me.”
“Is that what you call friends?” Jessie asked, a laugh catching in her voice. She stood up though, looking at Derek through the broken windshield.
Two shots rang out, one after another, catching Jessie’s gun hand and then her shoulder. Derek was running before she could fall back and they were all up then, covering him as he reached Flores.
“It’s clear!” Derek yelled out. He had her in his arms as he pulled her out of the cab of the truck. John and his mom were watching the battle of the terminators, John taking shots when he had the opportunity to help Cameron. JC ran with Sam and Dean to get to the woman who had been tracking him.
Derek had Jessie Flores laid out on the ground, her weapons thrown to the side where Dean grabbed them up. They were talking and there was something intimate about the way Flores looked up at Derek, her hand reaching up to touch his face with her good hand.
“I saw, Derek,” she said softly as JC came over. Sam and Dean stood between them and he wasn’t sure Derek and Jessie even knew he was there, but he needed to see what was happening.
“I know what Connor was doing to you. I know why you couldn’t be with me. You can be free of him, Derek.”
“Jesus, Jessie,” Derek’s head went down. “You got it all wrong. I’m sorry, my friend.” He stood and JC knew what he was doing before Derek reached for the gun. He couldn’t stop his actions, even if he’d wanted to, but he hated the regret he heard in Derek’s voice.
The gun shot was final, a single bullet between the eyes. When Derek looked up at the others his expression was determined. “No one betrays us and lives. There’s only one sentence for a gray.”
“We need to get out of here,” Sam said, breaking the moment.
They all looked over to where Cameron seemed to have found a way to hold onto the T-1000. She looked up at Derek and nodded. “Get to the Jeep,” Derek yelled. “Winchester! Move out!” He yelled to John.
The older man didn’t question him, just pulled Sarah up off the ground and got her in his black truck. Derek led the way to the Jeep. Dean ran to get the bag of weapons from behind the Impala before joining them. Derek took the back seat with JC while Dean drove. John had Sarah in the truck ahead of them, already moving.
“So we’re just leaving the terminators to see who wins?” JC asked as he looked at Derek watching over his shoulder.
“No, no one wins this one,” he said, pulling a small trigger out of his pocket.
“What is that?”
“Dean, stop the Jeep.”
Dean didn’t question him, just pulled over. Derek looked at JC, and then hit the button on the trigger. The explosion was massive, the cars rocking with the impact and waves of dirt and dust flew over them.
Derek continued to look back but he started talking. “Sometimes, they go bad. There’s no way of knowing what will cause a reprogrammed terminator to flip the switch and go native again. Cameron got caught in an explosion and turned on you. You managed to get to her chip and fix her. She came to me later and gave me this, said this was in case she ever turned again. She must have made a new one after she came through. She gave the trigger to me today at the motel, said if she could hold onto the T-1000 to destroy them both.”
Derek let out a deep breath. “Looks like she kept up her end of the bargain.”
**
The night breeze was cool but JC took a deep breath, letting it wash away the weariness of the day. His mother was in bed, the day’s chase having taken what little strength she had. JC had been sitting by her side, but after John came back from dinner with the others, he’d taken the food John brought him and moved over to the table, letting him take up position next to his mom. He ate quietly, enjoying the quiet of the moment.
Sam’s injuries has been pretty minor, considering the crash, but other than a shoulder that had to be relocated and some bruising, he’d been okay. Some pain killers and time would see him healed up alright. Derek had already gone back, checking on the ruins to see if either terminator had escaped. They hadn’t and Derek had rounded up what was left and burned the remains in the crater with the Thermite he and John had somehow rounded up. Dean had gone with him to check on the Impala. They’d already called Bobby who had a friend who was gonna tow the car to the yard for him. Dean was bitching about having to drive the Jeep but there was no heat in his voice. He loved the Impala, but he loved his brothers more and she’d protected him and Sam both. He could hear Derek outside with his brothers, quiet laughter and the clink of bottles from time to time. It’d be a while before any of them were willing to get too far away from each other. Dean would need to keep John, Sarah, and Sam close after having lost them all and JC wasn’t feeling any less protective. Sam was clinging to Dean like he was a lifeline and JC had no doubt Dean was gonna have his hands full with Sam for a while.
His mom said something soft to John and JC looked over, watched the way her eyes closed slowly as John pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. He smiled at the image of the two of them. He got up, throwing his take-out container in the trash. He leaned over the bed and pressed a kiss to his mother’s forehead. “Gonna be next door with Sam and Dean if you need us,” he said softly. “Good night.”
JC stood up and smiled at John. “Good night, John.”
John got up and moved around to the end of the bed. JC moved with him, letting John’s arms hold him tight for a few minutes. “Good night, son.” John said softly.
When he pulled back, he had to take a deep breath to keep the tears from falling. “It’s good to have everyone home.”
He got one of John’s rare smiles then, the ones that felt like the world was alright again. “Yeah, yeah it is JC.”
He turned back to the bed then, laying down next to Sarah and JC headed for the door.
Now, it was quiet. He looked across the parking lot and didn’t see his brothers. There was a park across the street and something about the night’s calm had him crossing the street. Dean would know where he was if they needed to come looking.
The park was surrounded by trees, the type of place people could come to picnic or take their kids or dogs. He moved over towards the playground, drawn towards the swings. He blamed his mother for never letting him on them when he was little. He didn’t know the full story, but she had nightmares and whenever he looked at a swing he could see the haunted look in her eyes. Beside the swings was a merry-go-round and as he got close he realized there was a body there.
“Derek?”
“Knew you’d make it out here at some point.”
JC smiled at that and changed direction. He hopped on the merry-go-round beside Derek and pushed. Derek pulled his knees up, setting his feet on the edge and JC sat with his back against the center. “Mom needed some sleep and John seemed like he needed a little time with her too.” He looked around and realized Sam and Dean weren’t anywhere out there. “Where are my brothers?”
“Dean decided he needed a shower.”
“Sam?”
Derek smirked. “He decided he needed to supervise.”
They sat like that for a while, silence building between them before Derek sat up, settling in next to JC. “You know what she was implying?”
JC nodded because they hadn’t said anything but Jessie had been pretty clear about what John Connor had been forcing his lieutenant into. Derek wasn’t looking at him, but JC couldn’t make himself look away.
“That’s why you got so mad when Dean told you who I was,” JC said softly. Since Flores had accused him of those things, a lot of things made sense now. Why Derek was so close to him and his brothers and why Dean watched Derek so closely, why he trusted him with JC so completely.
“Yeah,” Derek said with a sigh. “John, he - you never told me you were Kyle’s son.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
JC shook his head, shrugging as Derek finally looked at him. “I don’t know. I don’t know what will happen between now and then that will make me think I can’t tell you. All I can say is I’m sorry now.”
Derek nodded, then looked back out across the park. “And it doesn’t bother you, knowing we’re lovers in the future? Even though you’re my nephew?”
“It obviously didn’t bother you that my brothers were.” Derek didn’t answer and JC didn’t try to force it. Instead he just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I grew up knowing the world was going to end. No matter where I went or what I did, when I was growing up, I knew nothing was gonna last. And yet, there I was in the middle of this crazy family of men who refused to let anything go. When John came into Mom’s life, when we talked about it and decided to stay with them, she said the world was gonna burn, but there were things worth living for and if you found something, no matter how hard it was, you had to hold on.” JC opened his eyes and looked at Derek. “They were raised the same way, you know? They didn’t have a lot and they didn’t know who to trust. I look at them and just think about how lucky they are that they were able to find someone to love, no matter who it is.” He scoffed. “I know the rest of the world doesn’t think that way, but the rest of the world didn’t grow up knowing they were gonna have to lead the human race against the apocalypse. If I can find something crazy to hang onto that makes up for just a little of the crazy I’ve been living my whole life, I’m not afraid to take it.”
“You sure about that John?”
“Yeah, I am.” He knew what Derek was asking and when Derek moved around the metal bar between them, he didn’t pull back. He closed his eyes as dry lips pressed against his in an almost chaste kiss. Derek pulled back, but only enough to rest his forehead against JC’s.
“You’re right. There are some things you gotta hold onto.”
There was a smile on Derek’s face when he pulled back though and JC couldn’t help but mirror it.
“About fucking time.”
JC’s head shot up at the voice, relaxing as he saw Sam and Dean walking up. Both freshly showered, he realized with a smile. Sam’s right arm was bound with a sling, probably the only way Dean thought he would keep it immobilized for the night.
Not far from the merry-go-round was a picnic table and Sam made his way to it, sitting on top of it. Dean sat to his right, as if protecting him on the side that was injured. Derek nodded towards his brothers and JC smiled as he jumped off the merry-go-round.
They sat on the other side of the table, John up on top like Sam, watching as Dean reached over and took Sam’s knife where he always hid it and started scratching on the table top. He knew what Dean was doing the minute he started, but JC just smiled.
“I wasn’t sure we’d see you tonight,” Sam said, nudging JC with his shoulder.
“It was tempting to stay in there, but I think after all that searching John deserved a little time with Mom too.”
“Good thing you agreed. Dad might have tossed you on your ear if you didn’t get out,” Dean teased.
“Like John could get rid of me. He’s got to have one good son, right?”
“What about us?” Sam asked with a laugh.
“You’re the rebellious one and Dean’s the pretty one.”
“Got us on that one,” Sam agreed.
JC shook his head as he looked at Sam. “I don’t think I said it before, Sam, but I’m sorry about Jessica. I know you loved her.”
Sam ducked his head. “I know JC. It wasn’t your fault, but I know.”
Before he could do anything about Sam’s quiet tone, Dean was there, moving between Sam’s legs on the bench. “Sammy?”
“I’m okay, Dean,” he said softly.
“I know, I just…” Dean hesitated and JC just kept looking out at the night sky because his presence felt like an intrusion, being there at that moment. “I’m sorry about Jessica too.” He leaned up then and pressed a kiss to Sam’s forehead in a gesture that would normally have his brother blushing. Dean didn’t make affectionate gestures all the time but when he did, Sam always responded. This time was more than that though and JC knew Sam was really thrown by what Dean had said.
When Sam pulled Dean in, burying his head into Dean’s neck, JC just let out a deep breath to keep his own feelings in check. It’d been a hell of a few days. He felt Derek knock into his knee softly and he looked down to see the understanding smile there.
He let himself feel that for a few minutes, the security Derek gave him and the warmth in knowing his family was all together again. “You think they’ll make it?” JC asked after a few minutes of silence. Derek’s shoulder pressed to his again, like they did this sort of thing all the time. It comforted him a little to think maybe in the future he still had this.
Dean looked over his shoulder to the motel, Sam’s hoodie still clenched in one fist, and smirked. “Yeah. Whatever else they’ve got to work out, they know what’s important.”
“So what now?” Derek asked. “We stopped the terminator and Jessie’s dead.”
“You ever thought of hunting?” Dean asked.
Derek smirked. “Think I’ve heard of it before, something about the family business?”
“Sam?” JC asked.
“We were born hunters,” he said, looking at Dean with a small smile on his face. “It’s time to hit the road and see what it brings.” He looked over at JC then. “You? I mean, you have the whole savior of mankind thing to worry about.”
JC laughed at that, the slightly teasing tone of Sam’s voice. “I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen next and I think I’ll take my chances as a Winchester. One of the few things I do know is whatever comes our way, it’ll learn the Winchesters always go down swinging. Judgement day or not, Mom had it right.”
JC stood next to Derek and smiled, an old memory swimming behind his eyes of a time when his mother had tried to handle the future on her own. JC wasn’t alone though. He had his brothers and he had Derek and John and his mother. Sam was smiling fondly at Dean, the light returning to his eyes, something stronger in his voice now that he was back with Dean, and Derek was watching him with a whole other world of memories JC had yet to live out.
The words he knew Dean had carved into the picnic table top were a mantra, words carved into their hearts as well. He was John Connor. John Reese. JC Winchester. It didn’t matter which name he went by because it was all the same. He was Sam and Dean’s brother, he was Kyle’s son and Sarah’s son and he was John Winchester’s son. He would see fate changed no matter what name he went by. Because - Sarah’s words, Kyle’s words - Dean’s words carved into the table were right.
There is no fate but what we make.
Author: hunters_retreat
Artist: surevesta
Fandom: Supernatural/Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Sam/Dean, John/Derek, mentions of Sam/Jess
Word Count: 39,000
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Incest, underage
Summary: John Connor sent a simple message across time. His choice changed the history of the world, but it wasn't the only thing he sent across time. For Sarah Connor, he sent a son. For John Winchester he created the perfect partner. For three brothers, Dean, Sam, and JC, he brought a hope that the future could be changed. Because the Winchester boys knew the truth. If there was no fate but what they made, they were gonna go down swinging.
“She’s gonna be okay, right?” JC couldn’t help himself. No matter what else was going on, no matter how hard they had to run, seeing his mother so weak shook him. He kept telling himself they had John back now, everything would be alright, but the facts didn’t make her look any less helpless, especially when John had come rushing in, swooping her up in his arms. She’d looked so frail against him. Thankfully, before the moment could turn his fear into anything else, John had looked up at him and gestured him over. No, John Winchester wasn’t his real dad, but he was the real thing anyway. He’d gone without hesitation and he’d seen something in his mother loosen up at that, like maybe all this time she’d doubted what John would do with an extra son.
Now, without her to look at, on the road with nothing but the night around them, his own doubt was creeping in.
“Told you years ago, JC,” Dean said with a smile through the rear view mirror, “there ain’t no one as tough as Sarah. She might look weak now, but you give her a week of good meals and she’ll be back to kicking our asses in no time.”
It was just like Dean to pick up on his real fears.
“Guess that means you’ll have to find someplace to stop with rabbit food for a while,” Sam teased.
“Doesn’t mean I have to eat it.”
“Hey, JC, you think we can convince Sarah that Dean needs to be on a special diet?”
“You wouldn’t,” Dean glared at Sam across the front seat.
“We could remind her of all the bad take-out he used to let us eat when she was away on a hunt.”
“Et tu, JC?”
JC laughed at his brothers, thankful for them once again. He tried to imagine his life as John Connor, a place where he’d grown up without the Winchesters, and couldn’t imagine the man he’d become. Sam gave him an open place to talk and be himself, to shed the mantle of John Connor when he needed it, and Dean was always there to tease the hell out of him or kick his ass into shape, depending on the need. Without his brothers, he didn’t want to think who he’d be.
“Maybe we’ll keep that plan for when Mom is starting to feel better and she can kick his ass instead.”
Sam opened his mouth but before he could say anything the car lurched to the side. Glass exploded around them and JC was thrown around in the back seat. JC couldn’t hear anything but ringing in his ears and as the car settled he looked up to see Dean with a trickle of blood running down the left side of his face. Dean was scrambling to get out of the car, pulling Sam with him. JC didn’t need to hear his voice to hear Dean’s command when their eyes met.
He pushed the door open and dropped to the ground, keeping low. He could see John’s truck and Cameron running from the Jeep behind that. Dean had a shotgun from under the seat and JC grabbed for the gun that was hidden in the rear foot well in an old take out container.
There were no words this time, no taunting before the volley of bullets hit the Impala. He could hear Dean swearing up a storm but he wasn’t sure if he was yelling because he couldn’t get to the trunk to get to their weapons or if it was because of the abuse the Impala was suffering.
“Cameron! I need in the trunk!” Dean yelled into the chaos.
Cameron must have heard him because she turned back towards them instead of the big rig that had hit them. She ignored the bullets that came her way, but John was out of the truck, covering her moves and Derek was right beside him.
She wrenched the trunk open and grabbed the bag they carried their weapons in. She dropped the duffle beside Dean and then looked back to the bullets.
Dean started popping out the salt shells that were loaded in the shotgun and Sam was grabbing the right ammo for him. It wasn’t until that moment JC got a look at Sam’s right side.
“Sam?”
“I’m alright. Just not running a marathon today unless I have to. Good thing I can shoot left handed, right?”
JC nodded as he watched Sam and Dean. When Dean looked up, eyes meeting over Sam’s head, he could see the concern written there. It wasn’t panic though so he knew Dean believed Sam would be alright. If they could get him the hell out of there.
“You’re outnumbered Jessie. Just put the guns down!” Derek yelled out over the sound of the weapons.
“We’ll see whose outnumbered when the T-1000 kills your pet terminator.” Jessie screamed from behind the cover of the truck.
“Shit,” Dean said as he looked up over the hood of the Impala. Jessie and terminator were only about twenty feet away. “And here it comes now.”
Cameron ran towards the other vehicle but another volley of bullets kept JC from tracking her movements. “Now aren’t you wishing your dad had just let the chupalcabra eat us?”
Sam let out a bark of laughter but Dean was smiling brightly. “Hell no. Haven’t had this challenging a hunt since my first poltergeist.”
“Yeah but you’re not usually the one being hunted.”
Dean looked over at him, eyes serious. “We’ve been hunted since the day we took you in, JC. Don’t think we haven’t known that. Doesn’t matter a damn bit.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, family don’t end with blood.”
“Not today it won’t.”
Dean heaved up then, shotgun blaring as he targeted the woman that had been after him for years. JC watched Sam brace himself up on his toes, right arm useless but gun in his left hand. JC reached for a second gun, quickly checking the weapon before he was ready to start.
He nodded at Sam and they both stood up. Cameron and the T-1000 were locked in battle, Cameron pushing the other terminator away from the Impala. They were clear of the fire fight but it looked like an even battle. Cameron seemed to move quicker than the other terminator but she constantly had to readjust her tactics as the T-1000 morphed its shape.
Derek was running across the distance from the Jeep to the Impala, John covering him as he ran.
“Derek!” Flores screamed again. “It doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t understand. He betrayed us years ago, all this time, we fought by his side and he was always working or them! He’s a goddamn gray and you don’t have to pretend you don’t see his betrayal anymore.”
Derek stood up, guns lowered. “What happened to you, Jessie? This isn’t you talking.”
“He’s no better than the fucking machines, Derek!”
JC could see something in Derek’s face as he looked over at Dean. There was a request of some kind and Dean accepted, whatever it was.
“Jessie, just put the gun down, we can talk this out. Whatever you think happened, it didn’t. We were friends before this happened. Just, talk to me.”
“Is that what you call friends?” Jessie asked, a laugh catching in her voice. She stood up though, looking at Derek through the broken windshield.
Two shots rang out, one after another, catching Jessie’s gun hand and then her shoulder. Derek was running before she could fall back and they were all up then, covering him as he reached Flores.
“It’s clear!” Derek yelled out. He had her in his arms as he pulled her out of the cab of the truck. John and his mom were watching the battle of the terminators, John taking shots when he had the opportunity to help Cameron. JC ran with Sam and Dean to get to the woman who had been tracking him.
Derek had Jessie Flores laid out on the ground, her weapons thrown to the side where Dean grabbed them up. They were talking and there was something intimate about the way Flores looked up at Derek, her hand reaching up to touch his face with her good hand.
“I saw, Derek,” she said softly as JC came over. Sam and Dean stood between them and he wasn’t sure Derek and Jessie even knew he was there, but he needed to see what was happening.
“I know what Connor was doing to you. I know why you couldn’t be with me. You can be free of him, Derek.”
“Jesus, Jessie,” Derek’s head went down. “You got it all wrong. I’m sorry, my friend.” He stood and JC knew what he was doing before Derek reached for the gun. He couldn’t stop his actions, even if he’d wanted to, but he hated the regret he heard in Derek’s voice.
The gun shot was final, a single bullet between the eyes. When Derek looked up at the others his expression was determined. “No one betrays us and lives. There’s only one sentence for a gray.”
“We need to get out of here,” Sam said, breaking the moment.
They all looked over to where Cameron seemed to have found a way to hold onto the T-1000. She looked up at Derek and nodded. “Get to the Jeep,” Derek yelled. “Winchester! Move out!” He yelled to John.
The older man didn’t question him, just pulled Sarah up off the ground and got her in his black truck. Derek led the way to the Jeep. Dean ran to get the bag of weapons from behind the Impala before joining them. Derek took the back seat with JC while Dean drove. John had Sarah in the truck ahead of them, already moving.
“So we’re just leaving the terminators to see who wins?” JC asked as he looked at Derek watching over his shoulder.
“No, no one wins this one,” he said, pulling a small trigger out of his pocket.
“What is that?”
“Dean, stop the Jeep.”
Dean didn’t question him, just pulled over. Derek looked at JC, and then hit the button on the trigger. The explosion was massive, the cars rocking with the impact and waves of dirt and dust flew over them.
Derek continued to look back but he started talking. “Sometimes, they go bad. There’s no way of knowing what will cause a reprogrammed terminator to flip the switch and go native again. Cameron got caught in an explosion and turned on you. You managed to get to her chip and fix her. She came to me later and gave me this, said this was in case she ever turned again. She must have made a new one after she came through. She gave the trigger to me today at the motel, said if she could hold onto the T-1000 to destroy them both.”
Derek let out a deep breath. “Looks like she kept up her end of the bargain.”
**
The night breeze was cool but JC took a deep breath, letting it wash away the weariness of the day. His mother was in bed, the day’s chase having taken what little strength she had. JC had been sitting by her side, but after John came back from dinner with the others, he’d taken the food John brought him and moved over to the table, letting him take up position next to his mom. He ate quietly, enjoying the quiet of the moment.
Sam’s injuries has been pretty minor, considering the crash, but other than a shoulder that had to be relocated and some bruising, he’d been okay. Some pain killers and time would see him healed up alright. Derek had already gone back, checking on the ruins to see if either terminator had escaped. They hadn’t and Derek had rounded up what was left and burned the remains in the crater with the Thermite he and John had somehow rounded up. Dean had gone with him to check on the Impala. They’d already called Bobby who had a friend who was gonna tow the car to the yard for him. Dean was bitching about having to drive the Jeep but there was no heat in his voice. He loved the Impala, but he loved his brothers more and she’d protected him and Sam both. He could hear Derek outside with his brothers, quiet laughter and the clink of bottles from time to time. It’d be a while before any of them were willing to get too far away from each other. Dean would need to keep John, Sarah, and Sam close after having lost them all and JC wasn’t feeling any less protective. Sam was clinging to Dean like he was a lifeline and JC had no doubt Dean was gonna have his hands full with Sam for a while.
His mom said something soft to John and JC looked over, watched the way her eyes closed slowly as John pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. He smiled at the image of the two of them. He got up, throwing his take-out container in the trash. He leaned over the bed and pressed a kiss to his mother’s forehead. “Gonna be next door with Sam and Dean if you need us,” he said softly. “Good night.”
JC stood up and smiled at John. “Good night, John.”
John got up and moved around to the end of the bed. JC moved with him, letting John’s arms hold him tight for a few minutes. “Good night, son.” John said softly.
When he pulled back, he had to take a deep breath to keep the tears from falling. “It’s good to have everyone home.”
He got one of John’s rare smiles then, the ones that felt like the world was alright again. “Yeah, yeah it is JC.”
He turned back to the bed then, laying down next to Sarah and JC headed for the door.
Now, it was quiet. He looked across the parking lot and didn’t see his brothers. There was a park across the street and something about the night’s calm had him crossing the street. Dean would know where he was if they needed to come looking.
The park was surrounded by trees, the type of place people could come to picnic or take their kids or dogs. He moved over towards the playground, drawn towards the swings. He blamed his mother for never letting him on them when he was little. He didn’t know the full story, but she had nightmares and whenever he looked at a swing he could see the haunted look in her eyes. Beside the swings was a merry-go-round and as he got close he realized there was a body there.
“Derek?”
“Knew you’d make it out here at some point.”
JC smiled at that and changed direction. He hopped on the merry-go-round beside Derek and pushed. Derek pulled his knees up, setting his feet on the edge and JC sat with his back against the center. “Mom needed some sleep and John seemed like he needed a little time with her too.” He looked around and realized Sam and Dean weren’t anywhere out there. “Where are my brothers?”
“Dean decided he needed a shower.”
“Sam?”
Derek smirked. “He decided he needed to supervise.”
They sat like that for a while, silence building between them before Derek sat up, settling in next to JC. “You know what she was implying?”
JC nodded because they hadn’t said anything but Jessie had been pretty clear about what John Connor had been forcing his lieutenant into. Derek wasn’t looking at him, but JC couldn’t make himself look away.
“That’s why you got so mad when Dean told you who I was,” JC said softly. Since Flores had accused him of those things, a lot of things made sense now. Why Derek was so close to him and his brothers and why Dean watched Derek so closely, why he trusted him with JC so completely.
“Yeah,” Derek said with a sigh. “John, he - you never told me you were Kyle’s son.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
JC shook his head, shrugging as Derek finally looked at him. “I don’t know. I don’t know what will happen between now and then that will make me think I can’t tell you. All I can say is I’m sorry now.”
Derek nodded, then looked back out across the park. “And it doesn’t bother you, knowing we’re lovers in the future? Even though you’re my nephew?”
“It obviously didn’t bother you that my brothers were.” Derek didn’t answer and JC didn’t try to force it. Instead he just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I grew up knowing the world was going to end. No matter where I went or what I did, when I was growing up, I knew nothing was gonna last. And yet, there I was in the middle of this crazy family of men who refused to let anything go. When John came into Mom’s life, when we talked about it and decided to stay with them, she said the world was gonna burn, but there were things worth living for and if you found something, no matter how hard it was, you had to hold on.” JC opened his eyes and looked at Derek. “They were raised the same way, you know? They didn’t have a lot and they didn’t know who to trust. I look at them and just think about how lucky they are that they were able to find someone to love, no matter who it is.” He scoffed. “I know the rest of the world doesn’t think that way, but the rest of the world didn’t grow up knowing they were gonna have to lead the human race against the apocalypse. If I can find something crazy to hang onto that makes up for just a little of the crazy I’ve been living my whole life, I’m not afraid to take it.”
“You sure about that John?”
“Yeah, I am.” He knew what Derek was asking and when Derek moved around the metal bar between them, he didn’t pull back. He closed his eyes as dry lips pressed against his in an almost chaste kiss. Derek pulled back, but only enough to rest his forehead against JC’s.
“You’re right. There are some things you gotta hold onto.”
There was a smile on Derek’s face when he pulled back though and JC couldn’t help but mirror it.
“About fucking time.”
JC’s head shot up at the voice, relaxing as he saw Sam and Dean walking up. Both freshly showered, he realized with a smile. Sam’s right arm was bound with a sling, probably the only way Dean thought he would keep it immobilized for the night.
Not far from the merry-go-round was a picnic table and Sam made his way to it, sitting on top of it. Dean sat to his right, as if protecting him on the side that was injured. Derek nodded towards his brothers and JC smiled as he jumped off the merry-go-round.
They sat on the other side of the table, John up on top like Sam, watching as Dean reached over and took Sam’s knife where he always hid it and started scratching on the table top. He knew what Dean was doing the minute he started, but JC just smiled.
“I wasn’t sure we’d see you tonight,” Sam said, nudging JC with his shoulder.
“It was tempting to stay in there, but I think after all that searching John deserved a little time with Mom too.”
“Good thing you agreed. Dad might have tossed you on your ear if you didn’t get out,” Dean teased.
“Like John could get rid of me. He’s got to have one good son, right?”
“What about us?” Sam asked with a laugh.
“You’re the rebellious one and Dean’s the pretty one.”
“Got us on that one,” Sam agreed.
JC shook his head as he looked at Sam. “I don’t think I said it before, Sam, but I’m sorry about Jessica. I know you loved her.”
Sam ducked his head. “I know JC. It wasn’t your fault, but I know.”
Before he could do anything about Sam’s quiet tone, Dean was there, moving between Sam’s legs on the bench. “Sammy?”
“I’m okay, Dean,” he said softly.
“I know, I just…” Dean hesitated and JC just kept looking out at the night sky because his presence felt like an intrusion, being there at that moment. “I’m sorry about Jessica too.” He leaned up then and pressed a kiss to Sam’s forehead in a gesture that would normally have his brother blushing. Dean didn’t make affectionate gestures all the time but when he did, Sam always responded. This time was more than that though and JC knew Sam was really thrown by what Dean had said.
When Sam pulled Dean in, burying his head into Dean’s neck, JC just let out a deep breath to keep his own feelings in check. It’d been a hell of a few days. He felt Derek knock into his knee softly and he looked down to see the understanding smile there.
He let himself feel that for a few minutes, the security Derek gave him and the warmth in knowing his family was all together again. “You think they’ll make it?” JC asked after a few minutes of silence. Derek’s shoulder pressed to his again, like they did this sort of thing all the time. It comforted him a little to think maybe in the future he still had this.
Dean looked over his shoulder to the motel, Sam’s hoodie still clenched in one fist, and smirked. “Yeah. Whatever else they’ve got to work out, they know what’s important.”
“So what now?” Derek asked. “We stopped the terminator and Jessie’s dead.”
“You ever thought of hunting?” Dean asked.
Derek smirked. “Think I’ve heard of it before, something about the family business?”
“Sam?” JC asked.
“We were born hunters,” he said, looking at Dean with a small smile on his face. “It’s time to hit the road and see what it brings.” He looked over at JC then. “You? I mean, you have the whole savior of mankind thing to worry about.”
JC laughed at that, the slightly teasing tone of Sam’s voice. “I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen next and I think I’ll take my chances as a Winchester. One of the few things I do know is whatever comes our way, it’ll learn the Winchesters always go down swinging. Judgement day or not, Mom had it right.”
JC stood next to Derek and smiled, an old memory swimming behind his eyes of a time when his mother had tried to handle the future on her own. JC wasn’t alone though. He had his brothers and he had Derek and John and his mother. Sam was smiling fondly at Dean, the light returning to his eyes, something stronger in his voice now that he was back with Dean, and Derek was watching him with a whole other world of memories JC had yet to live out.
The words he knew Dean had carved into the picnic table top were a mantra, words carved into their hearts as well. He was John Connor. John Reese. JC Winchester. It didn’t matter which name he went by because it was all the same. He was Sam and Dean’s brother, he was Kyle’s son and Sarah’s son and he was John Winchester’s son. He would see fate changed no matter what name he went by. Because - Sarah’s words, Kyle’s words - Dean’s words carved into the table were right.
There is no fate but what we make.