Holding Back the Darkness

[shyriann]

Title:  Holding Back the Darkness
Characters: Sam, Dean, John
Rating: G
Word count: 2,800
Spoilers:  Pre-show, Teen!Chesters, but general plotline spoilers for Season 4 towards the end.
Summary: At nine years old, Sam realised he had never seen Dean sleep.
A/N:  This is for the Dean Schmoopfest meme at

Comments

[tifaching]

Okay, well that just broke my heart. Oh, Dean. Going to John for solace after his nightmares. And saving his father's shirt and taking comfort in it after he was gone and especially after hell. *sniffles* I loved Sam's research methods for his Dean's sleep project. Amazing story, thanks for sharing!

[shyriann]

I'm glad you liked it :) The thought of Dean secretly keeping John's shirt popped into my head as I got toward the end, and it just felt like a perfect epilogue to use it for comfort from his new nightmares.

[shyriann]

Awww, thanks for the sweet comment! Glad you liked the coffee comment, it made me giggle when I wrote it.

[borgmama1of5]

This is excellent.

I love how you described Sam's methodical research method, and his observations of Dean. You reflected a kid's thinking process really well.

And Dean getting comfort from John? That was unexpected, given that most stories portray John as a hard-ass. I don't think he was so rough when the boys were younger, though, and so I love your version.

And ending this tied into yr 4 was really effective.

And made me cry about the shirt.

[shyriann]

Unless I'm writing an AU, it will be a rare thing to see John portrayed as a hard ass in one of my fics. I adore the man. While I agree that he wasn't father of the year material, he loved those boys, and I believe there were just as many hugs growing up as there were pushups. That's just how he was portrayed to me, I know it's not a common perception, but I'm stickin' to it. Dean never saw it, but every time John looked at him in season 1, pride and affection just radiated from him and that's the John I love. I'm glad you loved him here, too.

[dark_austral]

That was beautifully sad. How lil' Sam was trying to see when Dean sleeps hints at the bigger picture of hunting is great. The ending was just touching with Sam making sure Dean has his dad's shirt. Also, I like how you portrayed John. I feel like we never really got to see the real John till he said his goodbye to Dean in the hospital. And I see that loving John in your story and how he comforts Dean.

[shyriann]

Yep, that last scene with John felt like the man behind the mask to me, and that's the John I fell in love with.

[shyriann]

It made me tear up a little as I wrote it, I'm happy it got you, too:)