THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY

The phone calls had begun again.

Sam would often find Dean on the phone, talking in hushed tones. He would vanish for hours at a time – days, sometimes – with only the now-obligatory I'm okay, will check in at X-o'clock texts as the only explanation.

It was funny, Sam reflected. After all that crap with Cas and Dick and Purgatory, they had agreed no more huge secrets. But it seemed that it was all okay if the big secrets were on Dean's side of the fence.

But even so, he was shocked when Dean returned from getting food with the phone pressed to his ear and he heard him say, "Okay, I'll tell him as soon as I hang up. Yes, I promise! I even brought food to sweeten the pot. Okay...Okay...yes, I'll be there! I promised I would!" He rolled his eyes. "Yes, okay. I will! Okay, bye! Love you, too." He hung up, shaking his head and chuckling softly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Sam's jaw had fallen open so hard it had nearly dislocated.

"Tell...Tell me what?" Sam asked, stunned over the last sentence Dean had said into the phone.

"Sit down and start eating, and I'll tell you."

Sam sat down. "Better just tell me – or you might end up having to do the Heimlich on me."

Dean laughed aloud at that mental image. He seemed to have rediscovered his sense of humour that had gone AWOL in the haze of alcoholism and stress after Cas had gone off the rails so badly and broke Sam's wall...

Come to think of it, when was the last time Sam had seen Dean drink anything stronger than two beers at a time?

"All right, Sammy," he smiled. "You probably already figured out -"

"You've got a girlfriend."

"Liiiiiittle more serious than 'girlfriend', Sam," he said, his fingers playing with something on his hand.

Sam drew in a shocked breath. He'd known Dean had begun wearing a ring again.

But somehow, it had never sunk in until that moment that the ring was on his left hand. "...you...you're married."

Dean nodded, then held up a finger. "And, just to be clear, there was no whackadoodle delusional superfan with a love potion and a Crossroads Demon involved!"

"Amazon?"

"Not hardly – well, not in the literal sense of the word."

"I thought you swore off casual sex after that."

"I did."

Sam nodded, understanding. "So that's why you married her."

"No, I married her because I love her and I've been in love with her for years."

That knocked the wind out of Sam's sails for a moment. He frowned, trying to wrap his mind around Dean being really and truly in love, let alone for - "Wait. Years?"

Dean's smile told the answer more than any other gesture could. And it also told Sam something else about his brother.

And that something else produced one of his trademark glares. "You're enjoying stringin' me along, here!"

"Damn right I am. C'mon, little brother – you like puzzles. Put it together."

"No, you're the one who likes puzzles and patterns." He sighed. "What I'm getting when I put the pieces together is something that's impossible!"

"How's it impossible?"

"The only one I can think of who meets those criteria is Lisa, but Cas wiped her memory."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, he did. Hang on." He clawed his phone out of his pocket and dialed. "Hey, hon. Look, I told Sammy and..." He stopped and chuckled, a fond smile growing. "Yeah, he's right here. I was wondering if I could bring him on home..." He glanced at his watch. "Sure, it'll take about that long if we leave now-" His hand rose to his nose. "I always do, hon. No, no need to worry. ...I know you do. Me, too. ...Okay, see you then. Love you." Another smile and he hung up, standing up.

"What do you always do?"

"Clean up the room and be careful getting home."

Sam stood up and worked on his half of the room. He found his hands shaking.

After all, for all intents and purposes, he was going to meet Dean's family.

SPN MARRIED DEAN SPN

Sam had been altered by supernatural things most of his life, and it had made him a little sensitive. When Dean turned the Impala down a long driveway, Sam felt his skin tingle for a second and then settle into a feeling of safety. He turned to Dean, frowning slightly. "Wards?"

"Where I made the mistake last time – I didn't even do basic warding. No salt, no traps, nothing. This time, we're as secure as if we were at Bobby's place." A bit of grief touched each of their faces, then he cleared his throat. "We're not turning our back on what's out there and making ourselves vulnerable. Not this time."

At the end of the driveway, the Impala parked beside a familiar tan truck. But protective runes had now been carved into the paint job and bumper. The lawn was kept up, and shrubs and trees ringed the house.

Sam's eyebrows went up as he recognised the greenery. Each and every plant had properties of protection and care. "Dude," he breathed. "You're serious about this!"

"Sure am," he said as he got out of the car. "C'mon." He unlocked the door and they walked inside a spacious kitchen.

Sam nodded a greeting, masking his surprise – he had been half-expecting it to not be her – as Lisa walked in and wordlessly handed each of them a shot glass full of clear liquid. Dean knocked his back and Lisa visibly relaxed and kissed him.

Sam knocked his back and when Lisa turned that smile on him, he asked, "Holy water, huh?"

"No stone left unturned this time," she said. "We went into this with both eyes wide open this time."

"I gotta ask," Sam said, eyes huge. "How are you even here?"

Lisa frowned at him, then turned the frown onto Dean. "What does he mean?"

"How do you remember," Dean translated.

"Yeah," Sam said as Lisa nodded. "I thought Cas wiped your memory!"

"He did," Dean and Lisa said together, then they looked at each other and chuckled. Dean finished, his smile fading. "But like everything else he did that stupid damned year, it was a half-assed job."

"It didn't last," Lisa said. "We were watching a baseball game on TV a few months later when all of a sudden I remembered being at a ball game with Ben. We were dressed in matching shirts, and Dean was with us. He was dressed in the same shirt and was carrying a cooler. It was confusing – why was the guy who hit us in the car crash at a baseball game with us? Why was he so friendly with us and why in the hell was I kissing him?"

Sam was treated to the rare sight of Dean's high cheekbones flushing lightly, the freckles popping out as if to say hello.

Lisa shook her head as she patted Dean's hand. "That was that. The memories came flooding back and I started to track Dean down. Ben's came out in nightmares, but soon his memories returned as well."

"I thought she hated me," Dean said. "After all, I did shove Ben."

"Yeah, but you did it so you wouldn't hurt him when you were Turned," Lisa retorted. "I was so angry about what you did, and so in denial that that stuff could touch us..." She took a deep breath. "But now I know better. And now we know better how to deal with things like that."

Sam slowly nodded. "But why weren't you... uh...poisoned like most people? You're not naturalistic eaters, so far as I remembered..."

"Dean warned us," Lisa said. "Shortly after it started. It took a lot of work, but we escaped it. Ben still gets dosed every now and again at friends' houses, but claiming he's allergic to high fructose corn syrup helps a lot."

"Where is Ben now?" Sam asked.

"Camp," they said together.

Sam shook his head. "This is just so strange...I-I feel like I'm Alice down the rabbit hole..."

"Sammy," Dean said softly. "This is home base for me. I still hunt – always will, I think – and I back up other hunters with Bobby's research methods and library."

Sam frowned now. "His library? His house burnt!"

"Yeah, but he had copies of everything in storage lockers all over the place," Dean smiled. "I figured this way, we could honour his memory and be his legacy."

Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well, that's all well and good for you – but I'm not seeing where I fit into this perfect life of yours."

Lisa looked at Dean, who nodded. She took Sam's hand. "Wherever you want to, Sam."

At his frown, Dean put in, "Yeah, Sammy. We're not cutting you out. You've been my family all my life and that is not going to change just because I'm married. It's not going to. I want you here – hell, I need you here."

Sam looked over at him, and then took a deep breath. "Okay – how do we do this?"

Lisa's smile made him a little nervous. Until Dean burst out laughing at his expression.

SIX MONTHS LATER

Lisa watched the bus pull away with Ben on board. She sighed and turned back to the house.

Ben had not dealt well with Dean coming back into their lives, much less the fact that he married Lisa. Ben's memories had not returned as completely as Lisa had thought, and the only thing he clearly remembered was the fight about Dean abandoning his family, and then showing up after the "car accident".

These incomplete memories combined with typical early teenage hormones had led to a few shouting matches that threatened to escalate. So, to keep the peace – and with Dean and Lisa's full permission – Ben had moved out.

He hadn't gone far, though. Ben moved into the apartment over the garage with Sam. Together, they turned out to be a formidable force.

Ben was more attracted to the cerebral side of hunting, and Sam nourished it.

Lisa smiled fondly and walked through her kitchen into the main part of the house. She headed into the back yard and opened the small shed that stood alone in the middle of the yard.

The occupant of the shed looked up from the chair he was tied to, his eyes narrowing when he saw who it was. His mouth worked – but nothing came out.

Lisa smiled. "You are a much more charming guest since your voice was neutralised. My husband and his brother will be here in half an hour, and we will decide what to do with you then."

His lips moved, and she laughed. "Oh, I sincerely doubt that. You came expecting a defenceless woman and little boy. Wish I could say I'm sorry to prove you wrong - but I don't believe in lying."

With that, she closed the shed and left the occupant glaring ineffectually after her. There was nothing he could do – the multiple devil's traps, seals of Solomon and the holy water she had injected into his veins kept him powerless and trapped.

He sincerely hoped the Winchesters destroyed him – because if they didn't, Crowley was going to break him apart.

END