Title: We Protect Our Own
Author: immortal_jedi aka jedipati
Wordcount: 1660
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Dean, Sam, Castiel, Ben and Lisa Braeden
Warnings: Mentions
Spoilers: General season five spoilers, mentions of some of the precautions the brothers take.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, nor do I own any of the characters of supernatural.
Summary: Castiel warns Dean and Sam that there is someone out there with a presence much like theirs. The brothers go into "protect" mode.
A/N: This story was inspired by a post on fanficrants on livejournal. I'll explain more in the author's notes at the bottom.
Dean Winchester sighed and answered the phone. The screen said "Cas", so Dean didn't bother with most of the pleasantries.
"Yeah, Cas? What is it?"
Sam looked over at his brother.
"Dean, are you in Cicero, Indiana?" Castiel asked.
"No," Dean said after a long pause. "We're not far away from there, though. Why?"
"There is a presence there that is much like yours, or Sam's. I thought that the Sigils weren't working properly."
"A presence… son of bitch!" Dean said. "I knew it. Can you get there, make sure no one sees you, but keep an eye on the kid. We'll be there in six hours."
"You know who it is?" Castiel asked.
"I've got a pretty good guess," Dean said. He threw a glance at Sam, but the younger man had already started packing up.
"I'll see you when you get here," Castiel said. "I'm already watching the house where the presence is located."
"Good," Dean said. "Just remember what Sam and I taught you about doing it without being noticed."
"I will," Castiel said.
Dean snapped the phone closed and turned to Sam. "We've got to go," he said as he joined in the packing.
"Where to?" Sam asked.
"Cicero."
"Indiana?" Sam asked. "Why?"
"Changelings. One of the kids was Ben Braeden, and I thought he might be mine. Cas says there's a presence in Cicero like mine or yours, so I think maybe he is, and we got to get him hidden before the angels or demons find him."
Sam nodded. "Lisa's kid, right?"
"Yeah," Dean said. "He'll be ten now."
"He's yours?"
"I thought he was, back then. But now… I'm almost certain he is. Cas said he thought it might have been you or me."
Sam smiled. "Winchester, through and through. I remember what he was like during that hunt."
"Yeah, but that means someone will try to use him against us."
Sam nodded. "Ok. I've got a couple more hex bags made up, and if we make sure he's fine until tomorrow morning, I can do more. Think we can get Cas to do the Enochian sigils?"
"I hope so. If not, hex bags, all over his house."
"Got it," Sam said. "I'll probably need to get some more supplies if we need a lot, but I can make another two or three, no problem."
Dean nodded. "What else can we do?"
"I'd say warding magic on the house, but Lisa would kick our asses if we painted her house, I bet."
"Probably," Dean said. "Um… drag out the books, we'll put on the protective charms we've added to the Impala over the years."
Sam nodded. "Right," he said seriously.
Dean smiled at his brother. He was grateful that Sam was taking this seriously.
"Hey, Dean? The kid's my nephew. Of course I'm going to protect him."
Castiel watched as the familiar black car stopped across the street from the house he was watching and Sam and Dean got out. He glanced around, but no one was watching them, and he stepped out. "That house," he said as soon as he was beside Dean.
Dean nodded grimly. "I thought it might be," he said.
Sam sighed. "So, how are we going to play this, Dean?"
"Cas, is the kid still in there?"
"The kid?" Castiel asked. "The presence is still there, yes," he said. "But…"
"Unless something screwy is going on, the presence is Ben Braeden, who's ten," Sam said. "He's… he's Dean's son, though we don't have any proof of that."
Castiel returned his attention to the house, nodding. "That explains things. Did you know about him?"
"Lisa- his mother- had said he wasn't mine," Dean said. "But I didn't really believe her."
The door to the house opened, and a woman about Dean's age walked out.
Dean smiled wanly and began to cross the street. Sam grabbed a duffle bag out of the back seat of the car and followed. "Lisa!" Dean called.
Lisa looked up. "Dean, what are you doing here?"
Dean shifted as he stopped in front of her. "It's… kinda complicated. Can we come in and explain?"
She glanced at Sam and Dean, then at Castiel. "He's a friend," Dean said. "Lisa, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't important, I swear."
Lisa nodded and led them inside.
"So, what is it?" Lisa asked.
Dean didn't smile. "I know you lied to me, Lisa," Dean said. "Ben's my son."
She shook her head. "I told you, I had a test done…"
Dean interrupted. "Lisa, I understand. But Ben is in danger, and we need to protect him."
"What?" she asked.
"We have enemies who are looking for Sam and I," Dean said. "We're pretty much off the grid now, but they might find Ben instead, and try to use him to get to either of us."
"It's even worse," Castiel said. "Dean, you and Sam could switch rolls. Michael would not fit as well in Sam, but he could. And…"
"The same for me and Lucifer," Dean breathed.
"It's because you're brothers. You're Winchesters. And… Ben is a Winchester. He could hold either of them as well."
"Shit," Sam said.
"Tell me about it," Dean said. "Cas, why haven't you said anything before?"
"Because I know most of my brothers won't even think about that," Castiel replied. "But now that there is a third possibility, they might."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Lisa nearly yelled.
Sam and Dean exchanged glances and Dean nodded. "It's a war, Lisa, heaven against hell. And Sam and I are the main chess pieces for both sides. We have… god, it's so complicated, and it's really hard to explain."
"Try me," Lisa said, her voice and expression hard. Castiel tilted his head slightly. He could see why this woman interested Dean.
"Is Ben up? We'll need to explain things to him, too," Sam said. "Though not everything. If he's up, then he just might be listening in."
Dean blanched, but Lisa shook her head. "It's Saturday, he won't be up for another hour or so."
Dean looked up. "Well, this story is going to sound completely unbelievable, but I swear, it's true. And if we're not careful, Ben's going to get caught up in it."
Sam grinned as he handed the bucket of water up to Castiel. The angel was currently standing on a ladder just outside Ben's bedroom window, using holy water to make symbols on the window.
They'd convinced Lisa, and Dean was talking to Ben right now, explaining things.
"Do you think this will work?" Sam asked Castiel.
The angel resumed his work. "We can make this house impregnable and invisible," he said. "And we can make it so no one can find Ben. But if someone knows about him, then they may still search for him."
Sam sighed. "Yeah," he said. "Well, Dean and I never discussed him, even though we were both pretty sure he was Dean's. As far as I know, no one knows."
Castiel nodded. "I have read the gospels," he said. "And Ben is there, but they don't say that he is Dean's son."
"Good. Otherwise, I'd have to shoot Chuck," Sam muttered.
Castiel stopped for a second and looked at him. "Why is this important to you, Sam? Ben is not your child."
"Ben is my nephew," Sam said. "He's the closest I'll ever have to a son, and he's Dean's son. He's family, and we are going to protect him."
Castiel nodded. "I believe I understand," he said.
Sam smiled slightly. "You're learning," he said.
"I'm trying to learn," the angel said. The returned to their separate protection rituals.
Dean and Ben walked around the corner just as Sam was finishing up. Castiel finished a moment later and climbed down from the ladder.
"Hello, Ben," the angel said solemnly. His gaze jumped from Sam to Dean to Ben.
The boy stared up at Castiel. "Are you really an angel?" he asked.
Sam smiled and looked down. "Yes, I am," Castiel said. "Has Dean explained everything to you?"
"Yeah," Ben said. "You're going to make me safe, right?"
Castiel nodded. "As safe as we can," he said.
"Is this going to hurt?"
"It will, briefly," Castiel said.
Ben nodded. "Ok," he said. "You can do it."
Sam smiled in relief and saw Dean do the same as Castiel reached out and placed his hand on Ben's chest.
Sam's ribs ached in sympathy as Ben gasped and doubled over.
"Done," Castiel said.
"Thanks, Cas," Dean said.
Amazingly, the angel smiled. It was a small smile, but it was a smile.
Sam turned and looked at the back door. Lisa was watching them, smiling sadly. Sam headed over to her. "We're almost done," he said quietly. "If you want, we'll leave in an hour or so." He glanced back at Ben- at his nephew as he did so.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lisa look at him. "What is your friend? You and Dean just introduced him as Cas."
Sam smiled. "He's an angel," he said. "And he's on our side- saved both our lives a few times. He's the one who warned us that Ben could possibly be in danger."
Lisa nodded. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked after a long pause.
"Sure," Sam said. "I think we'd like that."
He started to relax again. "Don't worry, Lisa. We've done everything we can. As long as we don't lose, Ben will be safe."
"What happens if you lose?" she asked.
Sam shrugged. "If that happens, you'll know. Get to South Dakota, we'll give you the address, and don't stop running. But I doubt it'll matter if we do lose."
"We're not going to lose," Castiel said as he walked toward them. "We are going to win this war."
Sam nodded. He watched as Dean and Ben roughhoused. "We've got too much at stake not to."
Like I said, this story was inspired by a post on fanficrants, and more specifically by glorious_spoon, basically dealing with Dean's reaction to finding out he had a kid, especially in season five- "OMFG, hex bags, Enochian keys, gotta make this kid invisible, stat!"
Yeah. And this story was born. I ended up using Ben from "The Kids are Alright" because I never really believed Lisa when she said that he wasn't Dean's.
So, anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this story.