SPN/DA Crossover Fic: The Wellspring (6/?)
Title: The Wellspring
Fandom(s): Supernatural, Dark Angel
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Rating: Ah, fuck. I just said fuck. I say fuck a lot. Is that considered an R or a PG-13 these days? One of those.
Summary: Sam and Dean find a tiny smartass in a barn in Montana. What are they to do?
Previous chapters and more info can be found here.
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Chapter Six: Three Deans
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Dean's eyes are grapefruits. Seriously. They’re that fucking big right now.
“You...you have a...a...”
“Twin?” Sam finishes the sentence. Sam finishes the sentence because Dean can’t and Alec is just standing there, looking a little tense and kind of afraid, nodding.
“There’s another one of you?” Dean prompts, and he’s shaking his head in amazement. “I have two clones?”
They’re all just standing there in the middle of the woods, and the breeze is faint, but there. Dean looks to Alec and then to Sam and he notices how Alec’s too thin, how the wind presses the shirt against the boy’s slight outline, blowing the extra material back. And Sam’s hair is flying up and back, it’s too damn long. And if Alec’s too thin and Sam’s hair is overgrown, then how the hell is he supposed to take care of another one?
“Alec, how the hell could you-” Dean stops himself because the boy is flinching and the last thing he wants to do is make Alec flinch. He breathes, deep and calming-like before asking, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier, kid?”
Alec stands tense, looks between them and then around them, and Dean recognizes the stance and the alertness in the eyes. It’s the same way Alec looked right before knocking the Winchesters right out of their fucking heads and lifting their wallets.
“I’m not mad, Alec. Don’t run.”
There’s a lot of breathing going on. Alec lets a gust of air out and his tiny body seems to go a little limp before he peers at them with hopeful eyes.
“You’re not?” He doesn’t wait for a response. The words just start tumbling out, tripping over eachother like clumsy escape artists from the boy’s small mouth. “I just-I didn’t wanna overwhelm you and I was gonna tell you, I swear, but I didn’t know if he was alive, but he’s alive now and I didn’t have the chance to tell you, yet, so I’m sorry but you just kinda had to find out this way and we can’t go to this Bobby guy’s house, yet, either, because Ben’s here and I can’t just leave him. If it weren’t for him, I’d still be at Manticore and- I guess you could leave, actually, but I can’t. You don’t have to stay.”
Dean, having only really caught the tail end of that little babble session, quirks an eyebrow at the kid before looking to Sam, who is equally stunned by the amount and speed of the explanation.
“Yeah, okay...let’s get one thing straight, kitten. Sam and I? We’re not leavin’, okay? If this is...Ben, then he’s blood, right? We have the same DNA. That means he’s family. And we’re not the sort of family who leaves each other behind.”
Well, most of the time, Dean amends in his head and his mind quickly flashes through image after image of his father leaving, month after month...and Sam going to college, and Sam’s empty bed after countless arguments.
“I’m not gonna leave you,” Dean feels the need to clarify, because that’s the truth. Dean’s always leaving, but he never really leaves.
Alec looks for a moment like he’s going to run into his arms, but the kid stops himself, composes himself. Dean’s torn between disappointment that he’s not getting any affection and pride that his clone’s not a little princess like Sam.
“Okay,” Alec says instead. He sways from his right foot to his left, then starts dancing on the balls of his feet. He bites his bottom lip, and reaches for the sleeve of Dean’s well-worn henley. “Can we look for him, then?”
They look for Ben. Or whoever or whatever the hell the kid thinks he saw last night, because Dean isn’t sure if Alec’s just really hoping. The boy’s eyes seemed to spark brighter than Dean had ever seen them, like something finally clicked or surfaced or something - there was longing and need and hope there, when Alec told them about Ben. And Dean will never admit it to anyone, but it reminds him of himself - and of Sam.
“Alec,” Sam says. It’s been a few hours and Dean hears the note of tiredness and sees that look in Sam’s eyes, the one that tells him that Sam thinks this whole thing is pretty fucking impractical and they should just get in the car now and get to Bobby’s before the middle of the night. “Are you absolutely sure-”
“I’m sure! We just...he’s probably just laying low, Sam. He doesn’t trust you.”
“But he trusts you-”
“But he doesn’t trust you.”
And Alec starts forward then, like an overexcited pup fresh off the leash, like Dean and Sam have been holding him back this entire time and he’s gotta get the fuck away before they can reel him back in.
“Alec!” Dean calls after the kid, and he’s all stern and sounds like his father and shit but he doesn’t care. The kid’s running off. “Alec, get back here!”
The kid stops up ahead. Dean hears the heels of the kid’s shoes dig into mud and leaves.
“I think it might be better if I find him by myself.”
“I think it might be better if you get the hell back here like I just told you to do.” He’s surprised when the words leave his mouth and so is Sam. His little brother’s got one of those “are you kidding me, Dean?” looks on his face.
“Channeling Dad again, are you?” Sam mutters out of the side of his mouth. Dean responds by stepping on his brother’s foot.
Alec looks startled, then disgruntled, then a little pissed off. The soldier disappears for a moment, and all that’s left standing in front of them is 4 feet and 2 inches of indignant little boy, saying, “You can’t tell me what to do!”
Dean cocks an eyebrow, turns to his brother, says, “You’re a bad influence.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “He’s rebelling against your bossiness and it’s my fault?”
“Yes. I left you alone with him for two hours yesterday. You did this. I know you did this.”
“Yeah, because it’s not an appropriate reaction at all - a kid who wants to control himself rather than being controlled all the time by some drill sergeant-”
“Uh, guys?”
“-Dad’s been gone a long time, Sammy. Can’t you let this go already?”
“Guys?”
“No! I can’t, Dean. I wish to God I could, but even though Dad’s dead? You’re still here and set on acting like him about thirty percent of the goddamn time.”
“Guys!”
“Thirty percent? Seriously? Where did that number even come from-?”
“Hey, douchebags!”
Alec just called them douchebags. Dean turns toward the kid with his mouth open, not sure whether to scold or praise, when his mouth opens even more in a kind of jaw-dropping awe.
Because there’s Alec in his little AC/DC shirt and already-filthy jeans. And then there’s Alec again, standing shoulder to shoulder with Dean’s Alec, in ripped and threadbare cotton garments with dirt smudges on his face and dried blood around his mouth.
Alec’s beaming, his eyes darting between his twin and his quibbling caretakers. He reaches out a hand and grabs the other kid’s forearm, brings him forward a few steps.
“Guys, this is Ben.”
____________________________
Ben skitters away when Sam and Dean step towards him, and Alec has to keep a firm hold on the guy to make sure he doesn’t run.
“Ben, it’s okay!” he says, but Ben’s not looking like it’s okay at all. He pulls out of Alec’s hold so quick and hard that Alec is thrown forward a little and then Ben’s got a hold of Alec, and he’s dragging him off. Or trying to.
Alec digs in his heels, pulls Ben back. Sam and Dean are approaching with slow caution now, concern blatant on their faces.
“Dude, stop!”
Ben stops, stares at Alec for a moment. “D-dude?” he tests out the unfamiliar word, eyes narrowing in scrutiny.
“It’s just an expression, Ben.” That’s Sam. His voice is soft and soothing and Alec is reminded of when he was sick, of Sam leaning back in the Impala to push Alec’s hair away from his head. “It can kinda mean anything, but it’s usually just something we call each other. Like ‘man’ or ‘guy’ or ‘bro.’”
“Bro?” Ben blinks. Alec regains the hold on his twin’s arm.
He says,“It’s an abbreviation. For brother.”
The confusion on the other boy’s face is palpable and Alec wants to get rid of it, wants to be able to convince him that it’s okay now, that they’re going to be okay, but Ben says, “They were yelling at you. I heard them. Yesterday, today...They were ordering you around.”
“Ben, you don’t-”
“I helped you get out of there because of this. We left because of this.”
“Sam and Dean aren’t like them!”
“Then why-?”
“I don’t know why! They just do that! Because they’re older than me and that makes them think that they’re in charge sometimes! But they treat me like a person. We left there because they didn’t treat us like people, remember, Ben? They treated us like we didn’t - like we couldn’t - feel.” Ben’s will is faltering. Alec can see it. So he goes in for the kill, “They saved me.”
“How?”
Alec explains. It’s lengthy, and there’s some unnecessary babble in there, and he’s thrown off-topic when he lands a few inappropriate jokes, but he explains. Sam and Dean add in their two cents every so often, Sam in his soothing tone and Dean...Dean like he usually does, and Ben looks scared and then relieved and then angry and then, to Alec’s amazement, timid.
“I don’t understand why they would go to all this trouble.”
And Alec opens his mouth, but he doesn’t remember the reason for this one either, so he closes it and considers.
“You got Winchester blood,” Dean says and both boys jump, spin towards him. He takes in their confused expressions with pursed lips and raised brows. “You’re my clones, you little geniuses. You have my blood.”
“Yeah,” Alec says, eyes wide, turning back to Ben. “That’s why, I guess. Remember? That’s why you said we were brothers. We shared the same blood?”
Alec still really doesn’t get this whole familial concept. It’s new and foreign and he kind of doesn’t like this feeling of disorientation it gives him.
“You’re brothers because you’re twins,” Sam says. And Alec’s thinking, no shit, Sam. “Dean and I are brothers because we have the same parents. You’re Dean’s clones, so you come from the same formula as Dean, meaning that you come from the same parents as we do. Which means that, technically, we’re all biologically brothers.”
The longing passes swiftly across Ben’s face and he’s looking from Sam to Dean to Alec. Alec’s guessing he’s thinking about his unit, because Ben had said that they’d all been brothers and sisters in his unit. Surrogate siblings.
“Do you know where any of them are?” Alec asks.
He kind of hates himself for it, but he hopes Ben answers in the negative. There’s not enough space in the Impala for any more soldiers.
Ben shakes his head.
“I don’t know how many of them made it out...I saw a few of them go down. They just kept shooting, Alec. Shooting us all dead.”
Alec doesn’t want to remember.
“I...It’s over. We’re going to be alright now.” Alec doesn’t want to remember, but his mind is being ravaged by images of children with shorn heads being gunned down in the middle of the night. He blinks hard, tries to bat the memories away. “We’re gonna be alright now,” he repeats and he looks to Sam and Dean because he doesn’t know where else to look. “Right?”
Two startled looks vanish almost instantly and are replaced with steadfast determination. A quick glance is exchanged, unspoken words floating between the two brothers and Alec is amazed by how much he gets it after only a couple of days - how long these two have been together. How they must understand each other.
It’s Dean who comes forward, steps slow and cautious, face gentle, like he’s approaching two wild animals with bleeding paws.
Alec will never admit it, but he kind of wants to run into the man’s arms right now, wants to be held like he was held days ago, in the hospital, when they made up that lie that made Alec feel like he actually belonged to someone.
But he doesn’t move and Ben doesn’t move and Dean leans down, so they’re all at eye level.
“You don’t worry about those sons of bitches anymore, alright? Sam and I...we’re not gonna let anything bad happen to you.”
Alec’s almost got the courage to do it. He’s gonna do it. He’s gonna run into Dean’s arms because that’s what he wants to do right now. He doesn’t have to be a soldier right now.
He’s just about to do it, when Ben’s body crashes into Dean. And Dean looks surprised, then awkward, then gratified as he lifts the filthy boy into his arms, hugs him close.
Alec doesn’t understand.
Does not compute.
“Aw, Benny,” Dean says, turning his head slightly away from the boy’s hair. “You need a bath before you get in my car.”
Dean goes on to say that they need to hit the road within the next couple of hours if they don't want Bobby to kick their asses for showing up at 3 in the morning, and he doesn't really know if Bobby's going to kick their asses anyway, showing up with two kids that look just like Dean.
“Dude’s gonna kill us,” Dean jokes to Sam as they walk back in the direction they just came from. Ben’s still clinging around his neck. Alec’s trailing a few feet behind, feeling completely befuddled by these new developments. This isn't the way it's supposed to happen.
Alec stops, halted abruptly by his own thoughts. If this isn’t the way, then how is it supposed to happen? What's even happening? Why is it happening so fast? They were three, and now they’re four, and Alec’s spot has been thieved right out from under him.
“Alec?” Sam’s walking back towards him. “You okay? You tired?”
They’re in a hurry now, apparently, because Sam doesn’t wait for him to respond, just picks him up like he’s nothing. Alec’s indignation is smothered by the warm, broad shoulder he melts into, and he grumbles, “You’re abnormally large, Sam.”
“I know,” Sam replies. “You like it.”
Alec does like it. A little.
_________________
Three Deans. Sam is stuck in the car with three Deans.
It’s pretty much his worst nightmare.
Luckily one of them is sleeping, or pretending to sleep. Sam can’t really tell, he just knows that Ben’s eyes are closed and his head is back and the kid looks at peace.
It’s clear to him, even after only something like an hour and a half of knowing the boy, that Ben isn’t Alec. Ben needs more than Alec. He hadn’t wanted to come down from Dean’s arms.
And Sam had been the one to help the kid bathe, opting to use straight up bottled water instead of the lake. Alec had been right - not an economically sound plan at all. Ben had let Sam peel the dirty clothes from his body, only protesting when Sam had picked up a scrap of paper that fell from the waistband of the cotton pants.
A picture of the Virgin Mary.
Ben kept calling her the Blue Lady and Sam had smiled, started telling him the biblical tale as he ran soap over the dirt and blood marring the boy’s skin.
But Ben hadn’t wanted to hear it. He had his own stories behind the picture, and Sam listened to them, nodded along.
Because there’s never anything wrong with encouraging a little creativity in young minds.
They get to Bobby’s just shy of three a.m..
“What in the goddamn hell?” The older man demands upon seeing Ben curled in Sam’s arms and Alec’s bright eyes peering up at him.
“Hi!” Alec chirps, sticks out a hand. “How are ya? My name is Alec. I’m Dean’s clone.”
If Sam had a free palm, it would be meeting his face right now.
Three Deans.
It really is his worst nightmare.
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next: Seven
Fandom(s): Supernatural, Dark Angel
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Rating: Ah, fuck. I just said fuck. I say fuck a lot. Is that considered an R or a PG-13 these days? One of those.
Summary: Sam and Dean find a tiny smartass in a barn in Montana. What are they to do?
Previous chapters and more info can be found here.
____________________________
Chapter Six: Three Deans
____________________________
Dean's eyes are grapefruits. Seriously. They’re that fucking big right now.
“You...you have a...a...”
“Twin?” Sam finishes the sentence. Sam finishes the sentence because Dean can’t and Alec is just standing there, looking a little tense and kind of afraid, nodding.
“There’s another one of you?” Dean prompts, and he’s shaking his head in amazement. “I have two clones?”
They’re all just standing there in the middle of the woods, and the breeze is faint, but there. Dean looks to Alec and then to Sam and he notices how Alec’s too thin, how the wind presses the shirt against the boy’s slight outline, blowing the extra material back. And Sam’s hair is flying up and back, it’s too damn long. And if Alec’s too thin and Sam’s hair is overgrown, then how the hell is he supposed to take care of another one?
“Alec, how the hell could you-” Dean stops himself because the boy is flinching and the last thing he wants to do is make Alec flinch. He breathes, deep and calming-like before asking, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier, kid?”
Alec stands tense, looks between them and then around them, and Dean recognizes the stance and the alertness in the eyes. It’s the same way Alec looked right before knocking the Winchesters right out of their fucking heads and lifting their wallets.
“I’m not mad, Alec. Don’t run.”
There’s a lot of breathing going on. Alec lets a gust of air out and his tiny body seems to go a little limp before he peers at them with hopeful eyes.
“You’re not?” He doesn’t wait for a response. The words just start tumbling out, tripping over eachother like clumsy escape artists from the boy’s small mouth. “I just-I didn’t wanna overwhelm you and I was gonna tell you, I swear, but I didn’t know if he was alive, but he’s alive now and I didn’t have the chance to tell you, yet, so I’m sorry but you just kinda had to find out this way and we can’t go to this Bobby guy’s house, yet, either, because Ben’s here and I can’t just leave him. If it weren’t for him, I’d still be at Manticore and- I guess you could leave, actually, but I can’t. You don’t have to stay.”
Dean, having only really caught the tail end of that little babble session, quirks an eyebrow at the kid before looking to Sam, who is equally stunned by the amount and speed of the explanation.
“Yeah, okay...let’s get one thing straight, kitten. Sam and I? We’re not leavin’, okay? If this is...Ben, then he’s blood, right? We have the same DNA. That means he’s family. And we’re not the sort of family who leaves each other behind.”
Well, most of the time, Dean amends in his head and his mind quickly flashes through image after image of his father leaving, month after month...and Sam going to college, and Sam’s empty bed after countless arguments.
“I’m not gonna leave you,” Dean feels the need to clarify, because that’s the truth. Dean’s always leaving, but he never really leaves.
Alec looks for a moment like he’s going to run into his arms, but the kid stops himself, composes himself. Dean’s torn between disappointment that he’s not getting any affection and pride that his clone’s not a little princess like Sam.
“Okay,” Alec says instead. He sways from his right foot to his left, then starts dancing on the balls of his feet. He bites his bottom lip, and reaches for the sleeve of Dean’s well-worn henley. “Can we look for him, then?”
They look for Ben. Or whoever or whatever the hell the kid thinks he saw last night, because Dean isn’t sure if Alec’s just really hoping. The boy’s eyes seemed to spark brighter than Dean had ever seen them, like something finally clicked or surfaced or something - there was longing and need and hope there, when Alec told them about Ben. And Dean will never admit it to anyone, but it reminds him of himself - and of Sam.
“Alec,” Sam says. It’s been a few hours and Dean hears the note of tiredness and sees that look in Sam’s eyes, the one that tells him that Sam thinks this whole thing is pretty fucking impractical and they should just get in the car now and get to Bobby’s before the middle of the night. “Are you absolutely sure-”
“I’m sure! We just...he’s probably just laying low, Sam. He doesn’t trust you.”
“But he trusts you-”
“But he doesn’t trust you.”
And Alec starts forward then, like an overexcited pup fresh off the leash, like Dean and Sam have been holding him back this entire time and he’s gotta get the fuck away before they can reel him back in.
“Alec!” Dean calls after the kid, and he’s all stern and sounds like his father and shit but he doesn’t care. The kid’s running off. “Alec, get back here!”
The kid stops up ahead. Dean hears the heels of the kid’s shoes dig into mud and leaves.
“I think it might be better if I find him by myself.”
“I think it might be better if you get the hell back here like I just told you to do.” He’s surprised when the words leave his mouth and so is Sam. His little brother’s got one of those “are you kidding me, Dean?” looks on his face.
“Channeling Dad again, are you?” Sam mutters out of the side of his mouth. Dean responds by stepping on his brother’s foot.
Alec looks startled, then disgruntled, then a little pissed off. The soldier disappears for a moment, and all that’s left standing in front of them is 4 feet and 2 inches of indignant little boy, saying, “You can’t tell me what to do!”
Dean cocks an eyebrow, turns to his brother, says, “You’re a bad influence.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “He’s rebelling against your bossiness and it’s my fault?”
“Yes. I left you alone with him for two hours yesterday. You did this. I know you did this.”
“Yeah, because it’s not an appropriate reaction at all - a kid who wants to control himself rather than being controlled all the time by some drill sergeant-”
“Uh, guys?”
“-Dad’s been gone a long time, Sammy. Can’t you let this go already?”
“Guys?”
“No! I can’t, Dean. I wish to God I could, but even though Dad’s dead? You’re still here and set on acting like him about thirty percent of the goddamn time.”
“Guys!”
“Thirty percent? Seriously? Where did that number even come from-?”
“Hey, douchebags!”
Alec just called them douchebags. Dean turns toward the kid with his mouth open, not sure whether to scold or praise, when his mouth opens even more in a kind of jaw-dropping awe.
Because there’s Alec in his little AC/DC shirt and already-filthy jeans. And then there’s Alec again, standing shoulder to shoulder with Dean’s Alec, in ripped and threadbare cotton garments with dirt smudges on his face and dried blood around his mouth.
Alec’s beaming, his eyes darting between his twin and his quibbling caretakers. He reaches out a hand and grabs the other kid’s forearm, brings him forward a few steps.
“Guys, this is Ben.”
____________________________
Ben skitters away when Sam and Dean step towards him, and Alec has to keep a firm hold on the guy to make sure he doesn’t run.
“Ben, it’s okay!” he says, but Ben’s not looking like it’s okay at all. He pulls out of Alec’s hold so quick and hard that Alec is thrown forward a little and then Ben’s got a hold of Alec, and he’s dragging him off. Or trying to.
Alec digs in his heels, pulls Ben back. Sam and Dean are approaching with slow caution now, concern blatant on their faces.
“Dude, stop!”
Ben stops, stares at Alec for a moment. “D-dude?” he tests out the unfamiliar word, eyes narrowing in scrutiny.
“It’s just an expression, Ben.” That’s Sam. His voice is soft and soothing and Alec is reminded of when he was sick, of Sam leaning back in the Impala to push Alec’s hair away from his head. “It can kinda mean anything, but it’s usually just something we call each other. Like ‘man’ or ‘guy’ or ‘bro.’”
“Bro?” Ben blinks. Alec regains the hold on his twin’s arm.
He says,“It’s an abbreviation. For brother.”
The confusion on the other boy’s face is palpable and Alec wants to get rid of it, wants to be able to convince him that it’s okay now, that they’re going to be okay, but Ben says, “They were yelling at you. I heard them. Yesterday, today...They were ordering you around.”
“Ben, you don’t-”
“I helped you get out of there because of this. We left because of this.”
“Sam and Dean aren’t like them!”
“Then why-?”
“I don’t know why! They just do that! Because they’re older than me and that makes them think that they’re in charge sometimes! But they treat me like a person. We left there because they didn’t treat us like people, remember, Ben? They treated us like we didn’t - like we couldn’t - feel.” Ben’s will is faltering. Alec can see it. So he goes in for the kill, “They saved me.”
“How?”
Alec explains. It’s lengthy, and there’s some unnecessary babble in there, and he’s thrown off-topic when he lands a few inappropriate jokes, but he explains. Sam and Dean add in their two cents every so often, Sam in his soothing tone and Dean...Dean like he usually does, and Ben looks scared and then relieved and then angry and then, to Alec’s amazement, timid.
“I don’t understand why they would go to all this trouble.”
And Alec opens his mouth, but he doesn’t remember the reason for this one either, so he closes it and considers.
“You got Winchester blood,” Dean says and both boys jump, spin towards him. He takes in their confused expressions with pursed lips and raised brows. “You’re my clones, you little geniuses. You have my blood.”
“Yeah,” Alec says, eyes wide, turning back to Ben. “That’s why, I guess. Remember? That’s why you said we were brothers. We shared the same blood?”
Alec still really doesn’t get this whole familial concept. It’s new and foreign and he kind of doesn’t like this feeling of disorientation it gives him.
“You’re brothers because you’re twins,” Sam says. And Alec’s thinking, no shit, Sam. “Dean and I are brothers because we have the same parents. You’re Dean’s clones, so you come from the same formula as Dean, meaning that you come from the same parents as we do. Which means that, technically, we’re all biologically brothers.”
The longing passes swiftly across Ben’s face and he’s looking from Sam to Dean to Alec. Alec’s guessing he’s thinking about his unit, because Ben had said that they’d all been brothers and sisters in his unit. Surrogate siblings.
“Do you know where any of them are?” Alec asks.
He kind of hates himself for it, but he hopes Ben answers in the negative. There’s not enough space in the Impala for any more soldiers.
Ben shakes his head.
“I don’t know how many of them made it out...I saw a few of them go down. They just kept shooting, Alec. Shooting us all dead.”
Alec doesn’t want to remember.
“I...It’s over. We’re going to be alright now.” Alec doesn’t want to remember, but his mind is being ravaged by images of children with shorn heads being gunned down in the middle of the night. He blinks hard, tries to bat the memories away. “We’re gonna be alright now,” he repeats and he looks to Sam and Dean because he doesn’t know where else to look. “Right?”
Two startled looks vanish almost instantly and are replaced with steadfast determination. A quick glance is exchanged, unspoken words floating between the two brothers and Alec is amazed by how much he gets it after only a couple of days - how long these two have been together. How they must understand each other.
It’s Dean who comes forward, steps slow and cautious, face gentle, like he’s approaching two wild animals with bleeding paws.
Alec will never admit it, but he kind of wants to run into the man’s arms right now, wants to be held like he was held days ago, in the hospital, when they made up that lie that made Alec feel like he actually belonged to someone.
But he doesn’t move and Ben doesn’t move and Dean leans down, so they’re all at eye level.
“You don’t worry about those sons of bitches anymore, alright? Sam and I...we’re not gonna let anything bad happen to you.”
Alec’s almost got the courage to do it. He’s gonna do it. He’s gonna run into Dean’s arms because that’s what he wants to do right now. He doesn’t have to be a soldier right now.
He’s just about to do it, when Ben’s body crashes into Dean. And Dean looks surprised, then awkward, then gratified as he lifts the filthy boy into his arms, hugs him close.
Alec doesn’t understand.
Does not compute.
“Aw, Benny,” Dean says, turning his head slightly away from the boy’s hair. “You need a bath before you get in my car.”
Dean goes on to say that they need to hit the road within the next couple of hours if they don't want Bobby to kick their asses for showing up at 3 in the morning, and he doesn't really know if Bobby's going to kick their asses anyway, showing up with two kids that look just like Dean.
“Dude’s gonna kill us,” Dean jokes to Sam as they walk back in the direction they just came from. Ben’s still clinging around his neck. Alec’s trailing a few feet behind, feeling completely befuddled by these new developments. This isn't the way it's supposed to happen.
Alec stops, halted abruptly by his own thoughts. If this isn’t the way, then how is it supposed to happen? What's even happening? Why is it happening so fast? They were three, and now they’re four, and Alec’s spot has been thieved right out from under him.
“Alec?” Sam’s walking back towards him. “You okay? You tired?”
They’re in a hurry now, apparently, because Sam doesn’t wait for him to respond, just picks him up like he’s nothing. Alec’s indignation is smothered by the warm, broad shoulder he melts into, and he grumbles, “You’re abnormally large, Sam.”
“I know,” Sam replies. “You like it.”
Alec does like it. A little.
_________________
Three Deans. Sam is stuck in the car with three Deans.
It’s pretty much his worst nightmare.
Luckily one of them is sleeping, or pretending to sleep. Sam can’t really tell, he just knows that Ben’s eyes are closed and his head is back and the kid looks at peace.
It’s clear to him, even after only something like an hour and a half of knowing the boy, that Ben isn’t Alec. Ben needs more than Alec. He hadn’t wanted to come down from Dean’s arms.
And Sam had been the one to help the kid bathe, opting to use straight up bottled water instead of the lake. Alec had been right - not an economically sound plan at all. Ben had let Sam peel the dirty clothes from his body, only protesting when Sam had picked up a scrap of paper that fell from the waistband of the cotton pants.
A picture of the Virgin Mary.
Ben kept calling her the Blue Lady and Sam had smiled, started telling him the biblical tale as he ran soap over the dirt and blood marring the boy’s skin.
But Ben hadn’t wanted to hear it. He had his own stories behind the picture, and Sam listened to them, nodded along.
Because there’s never anything wrong with encouraging a little creativity in young minds.
They get to Bobby’s just shy of three a.m..
“What in the goddamn hell?” The older man demands upon seeing Ben curled in Sam’s arms and Alec’s bright eyes peering up at him.
“Hi!” Alec chirps, sticks out a hand. “How are ya? My name is Alec. I’m Dean’s clone.”
If Sam had a free palm, it would be meeting his face right now.
Three Deans.
It really is his worst nightmare.
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next: Seven