The Memory Thief
Spoilers: not really – more of a stand-alone, what-if story
Timeline: Season one – redo of episode one
Warnings: language, bits of angst, hurt comfort, and cognitive dissonance for all Winchesters
Summary: John and Sam must work together to find Dean and help him get his memories back. (This is a what if it had been John asking Sam for help at Stanford?)
I like the character of John Winchester – but I didn't feel like the character had much development, or his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor – so I thought I'd write something to flush him out a bit more. This is story is heavy with dialogue, because I wanted to explore Sam and John's relationship, and learn about Dean from an outside perspective. Hopefully I pulled something together worth reading. Again, this has not been beta'ed, all typos are a part of the creative process. Characters aren't mine, no money being made… yada, yada, yada…
Prelude
Mary Winchester stood near the oak kitchen table, long blonde hair cascading past her shoulders. She wore one of John's blue flannel shirts and a white t-shirt. Her belly was swollen, and she rubbed her hand along her right side. She tilted he head back and laughed. John was there, sitting at the head of the table pressing his hands to her belly as the baby kicked. He laughed. It was deep, joyful, and robust. They looked happy.
Content.
Worry free.
It was the last memory Dean had of his parents together, before Sammy was born, before the fire, before John's drive for revenge consumed him. Tears slipped from the corners of Dean's eyes. His eyelashes clung together, nostrils flared, and his chin quivered as he gasped for breath. He lay on the cement floor, beaten, bloodied, and exhausted. He met the spirit's darkness: dark eyes, hollow cheeks, hair entailed with the nature that bore her. She morphed suddenly, taking on the shape of Dean's memories: Sammy, his dad... his mother. The spirit touched his temple, and Dean screamed for the last time before everything went black.