Like Father, Like Son
Johnathan Patrick Winchester inherited his father's dark hair – and little else, as he found out through the years. He was the second son of Dr. Thomas Winchester; the first son, Michael, being a near carbon copy of his father.
Mike was a few years older than Johnny and was the perfect son in every way according to their father. Not that the man ever said such things, not outright anyway. No, he was much more subtle. There was always a level of comparison and competition, and Johnny could never seem to catch up with Mike.
Dr. Winchester wanted his boys to follow in his footsteps – expected it. Everything in their lives was a lesson, be it in anatomy, biology, physiology… even the television they watched was regulated to Dr. Kildare, Medical Center, and Marcus Welby, MD. Their father also monitored the books they read, the movies they saw, and the games they played.
Even when their father was away, working long hours at the hospital, his presence and influence remained. Mike took care of Johnny, made sure he was fed and that his homework was finished – following his father's word as law, whether he was home or not. Ever since the boys' mother died when Johnny was five and their father began staying at the hospital longer and longer, Mike stepped up and filled in the role of parent.
While Mike seemed content – eager, even – to be a Dr. Winchester clone, Johnny wanted something more. He wanted his own life. And, he wanted a family – one that he could spend time with and enjoy. He didn't want to be an absent father like his own dad.
When he turned twelve, Johnny demanded to be called 'John'. He wasn't a kid anymore and he hated being treated like one by his family. He started questioning his father's rules and ideals more openly, arguing with the doctor (and Mike) more and more. He began looking at his friends' parents and the way other families behaved and got along and realized that there was more out there in the world.
When John was fourteen, he was able to convince his father to let him see the movie MASH with his friends. It was, after all, about surgeons. However, it wasn't the medical treatment that caught his attention, but what was in the background. War.
When John was sixteen, he had his life secretly mapped out for himself. Secretly, because it did not involve medical school. MASH had become a television show – one that he enjoyed and was allowed to watch. More and more, he thought about his future, counting down the days until he graduated and left home with a new purpose.
The day after John graduated from high school, he told his father and brother that he had enlisted in the service. His father was furious, having assumed that John had filled out and mailed all of the college applications he had brought home. His brother couldn't understand – but of course he couldn't; after all, since their mother had died during surgery to remove a brain tumor, he had assumed that John would see a medical career as a mission just as he did.
John and his father's argument became louder and more heated, and nearly came to blows. But, as in all aspects of their life, his father had to have the last words. He gave an angry speech including phrases like 'my way of the highway' and 'if you walk out that door, don't bother coming back'.
Which is just what John did, swearing to himself that he would never be like his father.