Waiting On The World To Change - HL/SPN - Immortal!Dean
Many Thanks to my wonderful Beta idontlikegravy. Thanks to Seth, my son, for finding Dean the perfect sword (see picture below)
Title: Waiting on the World to Change
Author: Strangevisitor7
Prompt: #27: Parents for crossovers100 My table is here
Rated: PG
Fandom: HL and SPN: Immortal!Dean ‘verse
Characters: From SPN: Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer & Ellen Harvelle. From HL: Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson and Richie Ryan
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators.
Summary: Tests proved Dean and Sam are related. Duncan is thrown for a loop but he still has an Immortal to train. Dean gets his first Sword
A/N: The rest of the Immortal!Dean Universe can be found here.
A/N: A note on HL canon, in my AU world Richie did not die. If this bit of canon twisting bothers you, I am sorry but Richie is important to the world that I am building.
Waiting on the World to Change
Duncan stood alone in Bobby’s kitchen. He’d stepped inside to call Richie but truthfully he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. He was peripherally aware that Joe was on his cell phone in the living room. Through the window he could see Dean and Sam talking with Bobby and Ellen. It was like he was seeing and hearing everything underwater. Nothing seemed clear any more.
Bobby had accused him of attacking the foundation of Dean’s world. No one realized that with one piece of paper, Dean Winchester had destroyed his. Being an orphan, a foundling, was as much a part of his identity as was being an Immortal.
It was not like Duncan had thought he was an alien or some type of non-human. He knew that Immortals came from somewhere, but it seemed that everyone had stopped asking ‘where’ a long time ago.
He’d often thought that maybe Immortal births were difficult and that the mothers simply did not survive. But Mary Winchester had survived Dean’s birth and even had a second child who was not even a preImmortal. Duncan wondered how many other Immortals might have had known parental ties lost forever because the watchers had never bothered to look for them; assuming that the parents were untraceable.
Duncan’s hand hovered over the phone. Did he want to open up this old wound of Richie’s? Did he want to give him hope that he might find his parents?
In the end, he decided he owed Richie the opportunity to try. Plus, he owed it to himself to find out the truth about who he was.
Richie picked up on the third ring. “Hey Rich. It’s Duncan.”
“Mac! How’s the newbie doing?” Duncan could hear his smile through the phone. “I gotta tell you, I’m thrilled not to be the youngest one in our circle anymore.”
Mac allowed himself a small laugh. “Sorry to tell you that hasn’t really changed. You may be 6 years older than Dean but you still look 19.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” he groused good-naturedly. “So, what’s up? I thought you’d be out training Dean until he begged for mercy. I hated those first few months. Heck, just thinking about it makes my arms ache.”
“It’s serious, Rich. Our world is about to change.” With that brief introduction, Duncan proceeded to fill Richie in on the events of the past 48 hours. Silence greeted his concluding words.
“Richie, you still with me?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just a lot to take in, you know.”
Duncan huffed his agreement. “Richie, I hate to ask, but did you ever find out anything about your parents?”
Richie cleared his throat. “Ah, wow,” he paused. “No, nothing we didn’t already know. At 2 years old I was left at the local hospital. Who turned me in and why was not in the records. You know the rest; I was put into foster care and no one ever came looking.” Richie’s voice grew quiet as the hurt of being abandoned surfaced again.
“I’m sorry, Rich.” Duncan knew that he was the first constant in Richie’s life after bouncing around in foster care and he hated reminding his friend of the years of neglect.
“Naw, it’s okay. I got over it. Hey...” he paused, “think maybe I could come out there? I’d like to meet the new guy.”
Duncan wanted to say no since Bobby’s was getting crowded, but he heard the need in Richie’s voice. He had that same need to feel connected, and aside from Connor, Richie was the closest thing he had to a brother. “Sure Rich, the more the merrier.”
Richie gave Mac the rest of the details that he’d collected from his search years ago and said goodbye.
Duncan hung up feeling worse.
He headed out to share what little information he had with the others. He passed Joe, who was pacing and yelling into his phone, “…unbelievable. Well, that’s not acceptable…” His rant was cut off as Duncan stepped outside and the door shut behind him.
Four faces turned expectantly in his direction. Duncan relayed the information from the brief conversation along with the fact that Richie would be joining them late tomorrow. “Sorry, Bobby. I know it’s getting crowded but I couldn’t say no.”
Bobby nodded. “Not a problem. He’s family right?”
Duncan smiled. “Yeah, he is. Plus, he’s only been Immortal for 15 years. If it’s possible to track down anyone’s history, it should be his.”
“Well then, I might be able to find out more.” Sam offered.
“Let Sam have a crack at it. There isn’t anyone better than my little brother at forcing the internet to cooperate.” The pride in Dean’s voice was unmistakable and his deliberate use of the phrase “little brother” was not lost on Duncan either.
“Sure, I’m not what you’d call computer savvy.” Duncan handed his notes over. “Knock yourself out.”
Bobby spoke up. “I’m going to go through my library. I’ve never really looked for information about Immortals. Never know what I might find.” Sam and Bobby disappeared into the house.
Duncan noticed Ellen had seated herself on the porch watching them. Probably wanted to make sure they played nice. He ignored her and turned to Dean. “While they do their thing, it’s time we do ours. You might want to change into something more comfortable and we’ll get started.”
“Started? Ellen’s been filling me in. Seems pretty straight-forward. If I run into other Immortals and if they challenge me, I take their head. Holy ground is neutral territory. Piece o’ pie.” Dean finished his recitation with arms crossed and a defiant look on his face.
“Dean, there’s more to it than that. Enemy Immortals are well trained and you’ll be easy pickings. Richie spent-”
“I think I can handle myself better than some little orphan friend of yours. I’ve been hunting my whole life.”
Duncan knew it was deliberate but Dean’s derision of Richie had the desired effect. Duncan was getting angry. “This isn’t like hunting and I doubt you’ve ever had to fight with sword. So right now, my money’s on Richie taking your head.”
“Well, I doubt you’re familiar with my kind of hunting.”
“Actually, Dean,” Ellen had stepped off the porch to stand beside Duncan, “Duncan was your kind of hunter a long time ago. How’d you think we met?”
Dean looked at Ellen and laughed. “No way. Ponytail was a hunter?”
“Ok, can we get one thing straight? The name’s Duncan MacLeod. You can call me Mac or Duncan or MacLeod. But you call me Ponytail again, and I’ll take your head myself.” Duncan had had enough of the attitude and he left no doubt that he would do it.
Duncan watched as a transformation came over Dean. He smiled and started to laugh. “Now, you I can work with. What’s first?”
Duncan paused and waited for the attitude to reemerge. Finally, he realized that Dean only respected strength and hunting. Duncan had just shown himself to be capable of both.
Duncan returned Dean’s smile and thought now might be a good time for gifts. He walked over to the Thunderbird and pulled a sword out of the trunk. It was a good piece dating from the crusades. It was a variation of the traditional Templar broad sword. It looked impressive but was light enough to wield with one hand; making it the perfect starter weapon. An Immortal’s sword was an extension of himself. Duncan knew what Dean hunted and thought a holy sword would be a good fit for him.
He handed the sword to Dean saying, “This is for you. We can skip the care of blades as I’m sure you already know what to do. So when you’re ready, we can begin.”
Dean stared in awe at the antique weapon. “This is for me?” He stepped back and swung the sword experimentally. The smile on Dean’s face proved to Duncan that he had chosen correctly.
Duncan also recognized the look of a man comfortable with weapons. Dean was right. He was better equipped to handle this transformation compared to others of his generation. “This is fantastic.” Dean stopped and looked at Duncan. “Thank you,” pausing, he added hesitantly, “about earlier-”
“Clean slate,” was all Duncan said. Dean’s type wasn’t the kind to apologize easily and the sincerity in his gratitude was enough. Duncan pulled out his own sword. “Now, can we get started?” he said with feigned exasperation.
“Ready when you are, Mac.” Dean smirked.
********************************************
An hour later, Duncan called a halt to the session. Dean was an impressive novice. His use of other weaponry gave him good balance and excellent peripheral awareness.
“Excellent, Dean. Well done for a first go.” Duncan could see he’d embarrassed Dean. It seemed he was not used to receiving praise. Well, he’d better get used to it because that was the kind of teacher Duncan was.
Dean smiled hesitantly, “Weapons I know. But I still don’t understand why it has to be swords.”
“These are the rules that all Immortals live by,” with a few exceptions Duncan added silently, “Holy ground is safe haven, one-on-one combat, etc… and eventually there can be only one.”
“See that’s the part I don’t get. Who made these rules? I mean, why train me if someday you may have to kill me.”
“I don’t know who made the rules and I have no intention of killing you. These days it’s a little different. It’s more like those of us who don’t care about the power preventing those who do from obtaining it.”
“And we’re the good guys.”
Duncan grinned, “I’d like to think so. The Immortals I call friend only fight when they have to, and most of us don’t actively seek out the Game.”
Dean had a funny look on his face. “Something wrong, Dean?” he asked.
“No, no, I think I just figured it out,” he was smiling broadly now, “We’re the Jedi and they’re the Sith.”
Duncan paused and then joined Dean in his amusement, “I never thought of it like that.”
“Glad to see you two are getting along,” Sam’s called from the porch. “You ready to hear all we’ve collected?”
Without another word Duncan and Dean followed Sam into the house.
**************************************
Dean and Duncan entered the living room to find Joe scowling. Dean smirked, “Well, anything that makes Watcher man upset is most likely good news for me."
“Not funny,” Joe snarled. “Your little blood test is reverberating through the watcher ranks.”
“About time you guys got on the ball,” Dean shrugged. “It’s not my problem.” Sam kicked Dean, who gave him a silent “what?”.
“Enough bickering boys.” Ellen commanded their attention. “Dean this is who you are now;so play nice.”
Duncan was reminded again why he’d enjoyed his friendship with Ellen. “Joe, what did you find out?”
Joe shook his head, “We haven’t been doing our job. Can you believe it, Mac?”
“What do you mean, Joe?”
“I’m embarrassed to admit this. We’ve been so caught up in recording what Immortals are doing we haven’t stopped to fill in the back history from before their first death. Those details have been left for later and then the records never seem to get completed."
“Well, then how did you decide that they were all orphans in the first place?” Bobby asked.
“A little history lesson then,” Joe began. “Once someone was identified as an Immortal, he was assigned a Watcher. These field agents were tasked with watching his activities. It was easy to establish if they were orphans but since record keeping was poor in the old days, it was impossible to track down the birth parents. For example, in Duncan’s case his parents never told anyone where he came from so the trail went cold. What is unforgivable is that they haven’t pursued leads for newer Immortals.”
Duncan was incredulous, “You never checked. You just assumed-”
“Ha, great job these Watchers are doing,” Dean laughed.
“Dean,” Ellen said shaming him into silence before continuing. “It can’t be a coincidence that they are all orphans.”
Bobby picked up her train of thought. “Maybe some supernatural interference?”
Joe answered. “We can’t know more without additional knowledge about Immortal lineage which it seems we just don’t have.”
“I realize that the purpose of the Watcher organization is to create a permanent record of Immortals and their contributions to history, but don’t you think finding out what we are is just as important?” Duncan was frustrated. Joe was a good friend but truthfully, he’d never had much use for the rest of the organization. "Why weren’t Watchers focused on the big question?"
“Mac-,” Joe shrugged indicating he’d had the same thought. The room fell silent.
“Actually, I think I may have found something,” Sam said breaking the silence.
All heads swiveled to look at the younger Winchester. “Does this mean you found Richie’s parents?” Duncan asked not sure which answer he wanted to hear.
“Yes and no.” Sam smiled cryptically.
Rolling his eyes, Dean laughed. “Sammy, this no time for your dramatics just spill.”
Sam placed a small map on the coffee table. “Richie was found here the age of 2 and brought to the neighborhood hospital here.” Sam pointed to the circled areas on his map. “Over here, about a mile away there was a fire in a house. The fire killed a family of four.”
Dean’s eyes went wide, “You don’t think-.”
“Yeah, I do. The family had a 2 year old and a 6 month old both reported to have died at the scene. So, if they thought Richie was dead-.”
“They wouldn’t have gone looking for him.”
“Exactly, the house practically exploded. It probably never dawned on them that the toddler had somehow gotten out. And Dean, the report I read said they suspected that the fire started in the nursery.”
“But the year is wrong.”
Everyone else had stepped back to watch as the brothers tossed facts back and forth trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
“We always suspected that 1983 was not the first time the demon tried to create his psychic kids,” Sammy continued the evaluation.
“Yeah, maybe 1976 wasn’t working for him. But if the demon has tried to do this throughout time-”
“Think about it Dean, you’re Immortal and I was one of his psychic kids. The demon could have killed you any number of times and he didn’t. None of the other psychic kids had older siblings.”
“So, what’s the link?” Dean asked.
Sam frowned as the stream of brainstorming came to a halt. “I don’t know but there has to be a pattern.”
Duncan spoke up. “I think you guys are on the right track. There has to be a connection. I have never felt a baby that was preImmortal. The youngest was about 2 years old.”
Joe chimed in. “Maybe if a child is touched by a demon or some type of evil, another nearby older child is touched by Immortality.”
“The supernatural you all hunt and our Immortality, it has to be connected.” Duncan wanted it to be true.
Sam was getting excited again. “The reason we succeeded in defeating the demon was the convergence of the two opposing forces in the same family.”
“But Sam, I didn’t become Immortal until this year, and you’re not getting visions now that ol’ yellow eyes is gone. I guess I’m not seeing the connection.”
“It still makes sense,” Bobby interjected. “I’ve been hunting a long time and there is always evil to fight and I’ve always wondered where the active ‘good’ was in this equation. I mean it’s not like hunters take their orders from a higher power.”
“What’s your point Bobby?” Ellen asked.
“We tend to assume that God doesn’t interfere with mortals directly but evil does. Evil creates immortal creatures like vampires, so maybe Duncan and his Immortal friends are the good counterpart.”
Ellen wondered aloud, “Joe, why can there be only one?”
“It has just always been the rule that Immortals live by and eventually, the power will belong to the last Immortal standing, why?”
“Except,” Dean added, “new Immortals like me keep turning up.”
“Dean’s right. There will never be just one.” Sam confirmed.
“But,” Ellen said drawing their attention back to her, “if you were a demon and you knew Immortals could mess with your plans wouldn’t you set them on each other?”
“Holy cow, Ellen. That brilliant.” Joe confirmed. “Plus, as Bobby pointed out, many supernatural creatures exhibit a kind of immortality, it would make sense for our Immortals to hunt them.”
Ellen nodded, “Maybe, Duncan, those of you who have withdrawn from the Game may have actually begun to find your true purpose.”
Duncan’s mind was reeling. “So, you’re suggesting that Immortals should have been fighting supernatural creatures all along instead of fighting each other?”
“I think it’s a possibility. But unfortunately, we may never know the whole truth.” Joe laughed adding, “Didn’t Richie always complain that Immortality should have come with a better set of instructions?”
The conversation and speculation continued, but Duncan was on overload. He slipped away to stand outside. Staring up at the sky he actually felt at peace. True, there was much they’d never learn but for the first time in 400 years some of his questions might actually have answers.
He sensed when Ellen came to stand silently beside him. “I think I finally may understand who I am.” He said quietly.
“Duncan of all the Immortals, you were one of the few who must have suspected that you had a higher purpose. You did spend a year as a hunter.”
“Maybe,” he mused, “we’re supposed to be hunters of the supernatural and protectors of mortals; not killers. The power was never meant to be in one hand. I like that destiny.”
“Me too.” Ellen placed her hand on his and smiled.
Next story in the Immortal!Dean 'verse Crossroads
***************************************
A/N: Dean's Sword
Title: Waiting on the World to Change
Author: Strangevisitor7
Prompt: #27: Parents for crossovers100 My table is here
Rated: PG
Fandom: HL and SPN: Immortal!Dean ‘verse
Characters: From SPN: Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer & Ellen Harvelle. From HL: Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson and Richie Ryan
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators.
Summary: Tests proved Dean and Sam are related. Duncan is thrown for a loop but he still has an Immortal to train. Dean gets his first Sword
A/N: The rest of the Immortal!Dean Universe can be found here.
A/N: A note on HL canon, in my AU world Richie did not die. If this bit of canon twisting bothers you, I am sorry but Richie is important to the world that I am building.
Waiting on the World to Change
Duncan stood alone in Bobby’s kitchen. He’d stepped inside to call Richie but truthfully he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. He was peripherally aware that Joe was on his cell phone in the living room. Through the window he could see Dean and Sam talking with Bobby and Ellen. It was like he was seeing and hearing everything underwater. Nothing seemed clear any more.
Bobby had accused him of attacking the foundation of Dean’s world. No one realized that with one piece of paper, Dean Winchester had destroyed his. Being an orphan, a foundling, was as much a part of his identity as was being an Immortal.
It was not like Duncan had thought he was an alien or some type of non-human. He knew that Immortals came from somewhere, but it seemed that everyone had stopped asking ‘where’ a long time ago.
He’d often thought that maybe Immortal births were difficult and that the mothers simply did not survive. But Mary Winchester had survived Dean’s birth and even had a second child who was not even a preImmortal. Duncan wondered how many other Immortals might have had known parental ties lost forever because the watchers had never bothered to look for them; assuming that the parents were untraceable.
Duncan’s hand hovered over the phone. Did he want to open up this old wound of Richie’s? Did he want to give him hope that he might find his parents?
In the end, he decided he owed Richie the opportunity to try. Plus, he owed it to himself to find out the truth about who he was.
Richie picked up on the third ring. “Hey Rich. It’s Duncan.”
“Mac! How’s the newbie doing?” Duncan could hear his smile through the phone. “I gotta tell you, I’m thrilled not to be the youngest one in our circle anymore.”
Mac allowed himself a small laugh. “Sorry to tell you that hasn’t really changed. You may be 6 years older than Dean but you still look 19.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” he groused good-naturedly. “So, what’s up? I thought you’d be out training Dean until he begged for mercy. I hated those first few months. Heck, just thinking about it makes my arms ache.”
“It’s serious, Rich. Our world is about to change.” With that brief introduction, Duncan proceeded to fill Richie in on the events of the past 48 hours. Silence greeted his concluding words.
“Richie, you still with me?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just a lot to take in, you know.”
Duncan huffed his agreement. “Richie, I hate to ask, but did you ever find out anything about your parents?”
Richie cleared his throat. “Ah, wow,” he paused. “No, nothing we didn’t already know. At 2 years old I was left at the local hospital. Who turned me in and why was not in the records. You know the rest; I was put into foster care and no one ever came looking.” Richie’s voice grew quiet as the hurt of being abandoned surfaced again.
“I’m sorry, Rich.” Duncan knew that he was the first constant in Richie’s life after bouncing around in foster care and he hated reminding his friend of the years of neglect.
“Naw, it’s okay. I got over it. Hey...” he paused, “think maybe I could come out there? I’d like to meet the new guy.”
Duncan wanted to say no since Bobby’s was getting crowded, but he heard the need in Richie’s voice. He had that same need to feel connected, and aside from Connor, Richie was the closest thing he had to a brother. “Sure Rich, the more the merrier.”
Richie gave Mac the rest of the details that he’d collected from his search years ago and said goodbye.
Duncan hung up feeling worse.
He headed out to share what little information he had with the others. He passed Joe, who was pacing and yelling into his phone, “…unbelievable. Well, that’s not acceptable…” His rant was cut off as Duncan stepped outside and the door shut behind him.
Four faces turned expectantly in his direction. Duncan relayed the information from the brief conversation along with the fact that Richie would be joining them late tomorrow. “Sorry, Bobby. I know it’s getting crowded but I couldn’t say no.”
Bobby nodded. “Not a problem. He’s family right?”
Duncan smiled. “Yeah, he is. Plus, he’s only been Immortal for 15 years. If it’s possible to track down anyone’s history, it should be his.”
“Well then, I might be able to find out more.” Sam offered.
“Let Sam have a crack at it. There isn’t anyone better than my little brother at forcing the internet to cooperate.” The pride in Dean’s voice was unmistakable and his deliberate use of the phrase “little brother” was not lost on Duncan either.
“Sure, I’m not what you’d call computer savvy.” Duncan handed his notes over. “Knock yourself out.”
Bobby spoke up. “I’m going to go through my library. I’ve never really looked for information about Immortals. Never know what I might find.” Sam and Bobby disappeared into the house.
Duncan noticed Ellen had seated herself on the porch watching them. Probably wanted to make sure they played nice. He ignored her and turned to Dean. “While they do their thing, it’s time we do ours. You might want to change into something more comfortable and we’ll get started.”
“Started? Ellen’s been filling me in. Seems pretty straight-forward. If I run into other Immortals and if they challenge me, I take their head. Holy ground is neutral territory. Piece o’ pie.” Dean finished his recitation with arms crossed and a defiant look on his face.
“Dean, there’s more to it than that. Enemy Immortals are well trained and you’ll be easy pickings. Richie spent-”
“I think I can handle myself better than some little orphan friend of yours. I’ve been hunting my whole life.”
Duncan knew it was deliberate but Dean’s derision of Richie had the desired effect. Duncan was getting angry. “This isn’t like hunting and I doubt you’ve ever had to fight with sword. So right now, my money’s on Richie taking your head.”
“Well, I doubt you’re familiar with my kind of hunting.”
“Actually, Dean,” Ellen had stepped off the porch to stand beside Duncan, “Duncan was your kind of hunter a long time ago. How’d you think we met?”
Dean looked at Ellen and laughed. “No way. Ponytail was a hunter?”
“Ok, can we get one thing straight? The name’s Duncan MacLeod. You can call me Mac or Duncan or MacLeod. But you call me Ponytail again, and I’ll take your head myself.” Duncan had had enough of the attitude and he left no doubt that he would do it.
Duncan watched as a transformation came over Dean. He smiled and started to laugh. “Now, you I can work with. What’s first?”
Duncan paused and waited for the attitude to reemerge. Finally, he realized that Dean only respected strength and hunting. Duncan had just shown himself to be capable of both.
Duncan returned Dean’s smile and thought now might be a good time for gifts. He walked over to the Thunderbird and pulled a sword out of the trunk. It was a good piece dating from the crusades. It was a variation of the traditional Templar broad sword. It looked impressive but was light enough to wield with one hand; making it the perfect starter weapon. An Immortal’s sword was an extension of himself. Duncan knew what Dean hunted and thought a holy sword would be a good fit for him.
He handed the sword to Dean saying, “This is for you. We can skip the care of blades as I’m sure you already know what to do. So when you’re ready, we can begin.”
Dean stared in awe at the antique weapon. “This is for me?” He stepped back and swung the sword experimentally. The smile on Dean’s face proved to Duncan that he had chosen correctly.
Duncan also recognized the look of a man comfortable with weapons. Dean was right. He was better equipped to handle this transformation compared to others of his generation. “This is fantastic.” Dean stopped and looked at Duncan. “Thank you,” pausing, he added hesitantly, “about earlier-”
“Clean slate,” was all Duncan said. Dean’s type wasn’t the kind to apologize easily and the sincerity in his gratitude was enough. Duncan pulled out his own sword. “Now, can we get started?” he said with feigned exasperation.
“Ready when you are, Mac.” Dean smirked.
********************************************
An hour later, Duncan called a halt to the session. Dean was an impressive novice. His use of other weaponry gave him good balance and excellent peripheral awareness.
“Excellent, Dean. Well done for a first go.” Duncan could see he’d embarrassed Dean. It seemed he was not used to receiving praise. Well, he’d better get used to it because that was the kind of teacher Duncan was.
Dean smiled hesitantly, “Weapons I know. But I still don’t understand why it has to be swords.”
“These are the rules that all Immortals live by,” with a few exceptions Duncan added silently, “Holy ground is safe haven, one-on-one combat, etc… and eventually there can be only one.”
“See that’s the part I don’t get. Who made these rules? I mean, why train me if someday you may have to kill me.”
“I don’t know who made the rules and I have no intention of killing you. These days it’s a little different. It’s more like those of us who don’t care about the power preventing those who do from obtaining it.”
“And we’re the good guys.”
Duncan grinned, “I’d like to think so. The Immortals I call friend only fight when they have to, and most of us don’t actively seek out the Game.”
Dean had a funny look on his face. “Something wrong, Dean?” he asked.
“No, no, I think I just figured it out,” he was smiling broadly now, “We’re the Jedi and they’re the Sith.”
Duncan paused and then joined Dean in his amusement, “I never thought of it like that.”
“Glad to see you two are getting along,” Sam’s called from the porch. “You ready to hear all we’ve collected?”
Without another word Duncan and Dean followed Sam into the house.
**************************************
Dean and Duncan entered the living room to find Joe scowling. Dean smirked, “Well, anything that makes Watcher man upset is most likely good news for me."
“Not funny,” Joe snarled. “Your little blood test is reverberating through the watcher ranks.”
“About time you guys got on the ball,” Dean shrugged. “It’s not my problem.” Sam kicked Dean, who gave him a silent “what?”.
“Enough bickering boys.” Ellen commanded their attention. “Dean this is who you are now;so play nice.”
Duncan was reminded again why he’d enjoyed his friendship with Ellen. “Joe, what did you find out?”
Joe shook his head, “We haven’t been doing our job. Can you believe it, Mac?”
“What do you mean, Joe?”
“I’m embarrassed to admit this. We’ve been so caught up in recording what Immortals are doing we haven’t stopped to fill in the back history from before their first death. Those details have been left for later and then the records never seem to get completed."
“Well, then how did you decide that they were all orphans in the first place?” Bobby asked.
“A little history lesson then,” Joe began. “Once someone was identified as an Immortal, he was assigned a Watcher. These field agents were tasked with watching his activities. It was easy to establish if they were orphans but since record keeping was poor in the old days, it was impossible to track down the birth parents. For example, in Duncan’s case his parents never told anyone where he came from so the trail went cold. What is unforgivable is that they haven’t pursued leads for newer Immortals.”
Duncan was incredulous, “You never checked. You just assumed-”
“Ha, great job these Watchers are doing,” Dean laughed.
“Dean,” Ellen said shaming him into silence before continuing. “It can’t be a coincidence that they are all orphans.”
Bobby picked up her train of thought. “Maybe some supernatural interference?”
Joe answered. “We can’t know more without additional knowledge about Immortal lineage which it seems we just don’t have.”
“I realize that the purpose of the Watcher organization is to create a permanent record of Immortals and their contributions to history, but don’t you think finding out what we are is just as important?” Duncan was frustrated. Joe was a good friend but truthfully, he’d never had much use for the rest of the organization. "Why weren’t Watchers focused on the big question?"
“Mac-,” Joe shrugged indicating he’d had the same thought. The room fell silent.
“Actually, I think I may have found something,” Sam said breaking the silence.
All heads swiveled to look at the younger Winchester. “Does this mean you found Richie’s parents?” Duncan asked not sure which answer he wanted to hear.
“Yes and no.” Sam smiled cryptically.
Rolling his eyes, Dean laughed. “Sammy, this no time for your dramatics just spill.”
Sam placed a small map on the coffee table. “Richie was found here the age of 2 and brought to the neighborhood hospital here.” Sam pointed to the circled areas on his map. “Over here, about a mile away there was a fire in a house. The fire killed a family of four.”
Dean’s eyes went wide, “You don’t think-.”
“Yeah, I do. The family had a 2 year old and a 6 month old both reported to have died at the scene. So, if they thought Richie was dead-.”
“They wouldn’t have gone looking for him.”
“Exactly, the house practically exploded. It probably never dawned on them that the toddler had somehow gotten out. And Dean, the report I read said they suspected that the fire started in the nursery.”
“But the year is wrong.”
Everyone else had stepped back to watch as the brothers tossed facts back and forth trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
“We always suspected that 1983 was not the first time the demon tried to create his psychic kids,” Sammy continued the evaluation.
“Yeah, maybe 1976 wasn’t working for him. But if the demon has tried to do this throughout time-”
“Think about it Dean, you’re Immortal and I was one of his psychic kids. The demon could have killed you any number of times and he didn’t. None of the other psychic kids had older siblings.”
“So, what’s the link?” Dean asked.
Sam frowned as the stream of brainstorming came to a halt. “I don’t know but there has to be a pattern.”
Duncan spoke up. “I think you guys are on the right track. There has to be a connection. I have never felt a baby that was preImmortal. The youngest was about 2 years old.”
Joe chimed in. “Maybe if a child is touched by a demon or some type of evil, another nearby older child is touched by Immortality.”
“The supernatural you all hunt and our Immortality, it has to be connected.” Duncan wanted it to be true.
Sam was getting excited again. “The reason we succeeded in defeating the demon was the convergence of the two opposing forces in the same family.”
“But Sam, I didn’t become Immortal until this year, and you’re not getting visions now that ol’ yellow eyes is gone. I guess I’m not seeing the connection.”
“It still makes sense,” Bobby interjected. “I’ve been hunting a long time and there is always evil to fight and I’ve always wondered where the active ‘good’ was in this equation. I mean it’s not like hunters take their orders from a higher power.”
“What’s your point Bobby?” Ellen asked.
“We tend to assume that God doesn’t interfere with mortals directly but evil does. Evil creates immortal creatures like vampires, so maybe Duncan and his Immortal friends are the good counterpart.”
Ellen wondered aloud, “Joe, why can there be only one?”
“It has just always been the rule that Immortals live by and eventually, the power will belong to the last Immortal standing, why?”
“Except,” Dean added, “new Immortals like me keep turning up.”
“Dean’s right. There will never be just one.” Sam confirmed.
“But,” Ellen said drawing their attention back to her, “if you were a demon and you knew Immortals could mess with your plans wouldn’t you set them on each other?”
“Holy cow, Ellen. That brilliant.” Joe confirmed. “Plus, as Bobby pointed out, many supernatural creatures exhibit a kind of immortality, it would make sense for our Immortals to hunt them.”
Ellen nodded, “Maybe, Duncan, those of you who have withdrawn from the Game may have actually begun to find your true purpose.”
Duncan’s mind was reeling. “So, you’re suggesting that Immortals should have been fighting supernatural creatures all along instead of fighting each other?”
“I think it’s a possibility. But unfortunately, we may never know the whole truth.” Joe laughed adding, “Didn’t Richie always complain that Immortality should have come with a better set of instructions?”
The conversation and speculation continued, but Duncan was on overload. He slipped away to stand outside. Staring up at the sky he actually felt at peace. True, there was much they’d never learn but for the first time in 400 years some of his questions might actually have answers.
He sensed when Ellen came to stand silently beside him. “I think I finally may understand who I am.” He said quietly.
“Duncan of all the Immortals, you were one of the few who must have suspected that you had a higher purpose. You did spend a year as a hunter.”
“Maybe,” he mused, “we’re supposed to be hunters of the supernatural and protectors of mortals; not killers. The power was never meant to be in one hand. I like that destiny.”
“Me too.” Ellen placed her hand on his and smiled.
Next story in the Immortal!Dean 'verse Crossroads
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A/N: Dean's Sword