Title : Imaginary
Rating : K
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are mine. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary : Sam Winchester had an imaginary friend who took care of him and disappeared by the time he was five. John Winchester had only one child. Mary Campbell had a secret. AU
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Sam Winchester had an imaginary friend who took care of him and disappeared by the time he was five. John Winchester had only one child. Mary Campbell had a secret. AU
Chapter 1: Imaginary People
It hurts, that's all he can think about. He cries in pain and wishes for his dad to come back and take him away from this place. He wishes that Dean would be here with him, he always knows how to fix things, how to fix him.
Ms. Grey finally arrives, picks him up from the ground and takes him to the infirmary. She tries to calm him by rubbing small circles on his back while the school nurse patches him up. Batman band-aids hide away the bruises, after all, a superhero always helps a comrade in despair. But Sam doesn't want Batman's help, he wants a real hero, he wants Dean.
Ms. Grey asks him who Dean is and he freezes, time seems to stop and he looks at them in confusion. He hasn't realized that he has been muttering Dean's name since he fell from the tree. He's going to be in trouble. Dad is going to get angry.
"Sammy…who is Dean"? Nurse Claire asks again, in a soothing tone. It calms and terrifies him at the same time.
Sam can't explain who Dean is. He has been told that Dean does not exist. They told him he made him up.
He's been told that Dean is his imaginary friend. Only that it doesn't feel like that. Sam has vivid memories of the boy, he remembers seeing him always around him, looking after him, playing with him.
Dean is the boy who doesn't make sounds when he moves. The one who seems to understand the needs of the stray animals they always manage to find.
Dean, who has pale skin instead of tanned like his, whose eyes are huge and green instead of brown. Dean is the boy who calls him little brother and promises to never ever leave him.
Brother.
The word echoes in his mind. He can't explain Dean to them because Dean is the child his father and the doctor have told him is not real.
"No one. Dean is not real. Dad says so."
Julie Grey smiles at Sammy Winchester in acceptance of his answer, files the name 'Dean' in her memory and decides to find out the truth on her own. She has spent enough time around psychologists to learn how to pick up these types of things. It's not the first time she would use the knowledge she got from listening to her parents never ending ramble about work to help the kids she works with.
Sometimes words have complete different meanings, the trick is to know how to listen.
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Julie stares at the picture Mrs. Roberts has sent her. The glass of wine is forgotten on the table, the music stopped ten minutes ago. Time seems to stand still and she's unable to stop looking at it. It's a group shot of a first grade class, Mrs. Roberts' class.
Second row, he's the fifth from right to left. The sentence is written on the back of the picture, blue ink in a neat cursive style is her formal introduction to a boy she never met.
The child is small and thin, but it is impossible to miss him. Light blond hair with a haircut that tries in vain to hide the delicate features of his face. High cheekbones, thin lips and the most expressive green eyes she has ever seen. There's an almost tangible sadness in those eyes, as if the kid knew in advance what would happen a week later.
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The letter from Katherine Roberts tells her the story of Dean Winchester. It is a tale of a child who was taken away from his father's custody five days after the picture was taken. Five days were too late to do any good, anything at all. Dean died in the hospital four days after he was admitted. His body was unable to cope with all the damage. He was going to turn six in two weeks.
Kath had noticed that Dean always wore long-sleeved t-shirts regardless of the weather and suspected something was not entirely right in the household. Dean never complained or told her anything about his family life. In all honesty for a six-year old Dean Winchester was abnormally quiet. His world revolved around his little brother and how to keep him safe and happy, the rest of the things were simply irrelevant.
The father had rented a small flat outside the downtown. The place was not safe for children to walk alone, though it did not seem to matter much to Winchester senior. Dean walked with his brother every morning; Sam went to the nursery and Dean to first grade.
On Tuesday Dean and Sam arrived late, half an hour late, out of breath and terrified. Sam's eyes were red and the palms of Dean's hands were covered in cuts. The nurse spent an hour taking out the glass shards from his hands. In a case of a strange coincidence that was the day their father made an appearance to pick them up. The look of rage at the sight of his youngest son gave Kath a terrible feeling that something horrible was about to happen.
On Wednesday John Winchester drove Sam to the nursery and told Kath that Dean was sick. Kath told herself that the glint of satisfaction in Mr. Winchester's eye was nothing more than a trick of the light.
On Thursday Kath asked Sammy how his brother was and the child's reply is that he didn't know. He wasn't allowed to see him since he got sick. The foreboding feeling expanded.
On Friday when the nursery teacher told Kath that Sam hadn't come she called the police and ask for their help.
On Friday afternoon, when she was leaving the school, officer Peterson came to talk with her. Dean Winchester was in the ICU with multiple trauma and blood loss. They were looking for John Winchester, although everything pointed out that he left the day before.
When the police arrived at the flat they found it empty except for the unconscious six-year old covered in blood and bruises. The word 'monster' was carved on both of his arms.
The child died four days later. Police officers suspect of John Winchester, but they only have the circumstantial evidence. Charges were presented. However, the investigation did not advance.
Dean's case became another number in the statistics of child abuse victims of that year.
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Julie curses loudly and cries angry tears of frustration. The letter has arrived too late. Sam Winchester was removed from the school a month ago. She was not able to meet his father. Dean remains a number waiting for justice that may never arrive.
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Missouri Mosley knows she made a terrible mistake. She promised Mary Campbell to keep her child safe and she'd ended up doing exactly the opposite.
By the time Mary Campbell returned to Lawrence, she wasn't alone. After the death of her parents, she moved away and got married. She had been happy, happier than she could remember until her husband's death. She hasn't given Missouri the details, but the psychic suspected it had something to do with the Campbell's family business, something Mary had not been able to leave behind.
Mary was not alone, she came back to Kansas with her child, a beautiful boy she had named Adrian. A beautiful boy that did not feel like any other boy Missouri had held before.
It took weeks until she got the answers from Mary. How she had fled the city two weeks after the accident. How she had cut off the relations with her husband's friends and family in order to keep them safe. She told her the truth and made her swear to never repeat it.
Dean was special, more than what she had thought.
When Mary met John, Missouri told her to be careful. When they got married three months later and John insisted on adopting her son she felt that something has been put into motion. When Adrian's name was changed to Dean and Mary accepted it without arguing Missouri started to check for a love spells or something alike. When Sammy was born Mrs. Mosley accepted that maybe Mary had simply fallen in love with John.
When Mary died six months after Sam was born and John had been frantic looking for answers she told him about what lurks into the night, she told him about Mary's fears, she told him about Adrian.
When Bobby Singer called her asking about what did she know about a Winchester that had appeared on his doorstep she told him his story.
That's when she knew she made a terrible mistake. Bobby told her that Winchester had only one son, Samuel.
There was no Dean or Adrian, according to Bobby there had never been.
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Sam Winchester takes a deep breath and smiles to himself. He likes Central Park better in autumn than in any other season. Moving to New York was kind of last minute decision. His acceptance to the law school in Columbia made it possible in the end. He has found a place, not too far away from school, it's not much, but it's a whole new beginning.
Sitting on the grass and enjoying the sun, he let his mind drift away. His thoughts go back to the events that transpired the last couple of months.
Things with Jessica had ended up in civil terms. It had been his longest relationship, the one that puts the milestone in his adult life. He thought Jess was the one, he had really believed it to the point that it was he who insisted on moving together.
If it hadn't been for the acceptance letter from the university, and the strange dreams he had it might have never ended.
The letter had opened his eyes to the possibilities he hadn't realized about. His self appointed exile from the Winchester family gave him freedom to move wherever he wanted. The only reason to remain in California was Jess.
Jessica.
A year ago, he believed he was going to ask her to marry him by the time he got enrolled in law school. She was everything he ever dreamed and hoped to find in a girl. She was perfect for him, for the Sam that studied at Stanford all these years. For the one that was desperate to have a normal life. But Sam had come to realize that no matter how much he pretends to be normal, at the end of the day he is not.
Years of reluctant attendance to the John Winchester's boot camp had inevitably left a mark on him. Whenever unexplainable events happen, his mind would provide a list of possible explanations that included the logical options, as well as the supernatural ones.
He loved Jess and cherished the gift of normalcy she brought to his life. But the fact that he hadn't been entirely honest with her is enough proof that she deserves better. He'd never cheated on her, not with a girl anyway. He'd never lied about his life; he simply left her questions unanswered. Sam knows lying by omission is still lying. It wasn't fair on her. There she was, planning a whole life with him without really knowing who Samuel Winchester is.
Jessica doesn't deserve to live a lie and last summer Sam realized he didn't want her to do it.
Sam sighs and closes his eyes. He's not going to think about any of that for now. He doesn't regret anything from his time in Stanford and the people he met while studying there. Now he's starting over again, learning from his mistakes and hopefully this time around he would avoid repeating them.
The park is relatively quiet at this time of the day, is quiet enough that he can hear the distinct sound of laughs getting closer to him. The voices are hushed, soft-spoken words that make it impossible for him to make up their meaning. A sense of peace surrounds him and it feels like being home.
Brown eyes open in time to watch a very beautiful woman playing with a boy who seems to be not older than eight or nine years old at most. Her hair is light brown, long, and flowing in the breeze like an aura around her face. He suspects that hair like that would feel like silk. She's beautiful. Her skin is pale and her grey blue eyes look up in time to catch him staring.
The silvery laughter makes him pay attention to the child that has ended up stretched out on the grass. He hardly pays attention to children, but Sam can't deny that the kid is indeed a beautiful one. He shares the delicate features of the young woman, lighter hair and deep green eyes instead of blue. He sits down and looks at him with unveiled curiosity.
A memory comes swiftly to Sam's mind. He remembers watching similar green eyes. Sam remembers warm hugs and whispers in the dark. He remembers promises of never leaving him alone. Sam remembers Dean.
"Dean" Sam doesn't know why he says the name with such vehemence, after all Dean was an imaginary friend. Wasn't that what everybody told him?
The boy stares at him in confusion, and stays silent for a couple of seconds, he seems to reach a decision and waves at him from the safety of his mother's arms.
"I'm Galen, is nice to meet you."
Blue eyes stare at him as if seizing his intentions, evaluating if he is a friend or a foe. Sam passes the test because she nods in his direction and adds, "And I'm Lara, do you live around here?"
Sam smiles at them and feels that he has finally found that part of himself that's been missing all these years.
"I'm Sam, Sam Campbell. I'll be attending law school here."
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The whirring sound of the machines unnerves her. This should not have happened, a child should never have to experience something like this. Children are sacred. They have to be protected, cherished, and not beaten senseless.
Lara would never understand why Mary Campbell decided to run away after Calahen's burial. She wasn't there when it happened. She doesn't know if anyone explained to Mary that she and her child would be protected until the end of their days.
By the time she hears the news about his death months have passed, she doesn't know what to think. Lara has kept in touch with Calahen and some of the others, despite their association with Elhar. Her loathing for the elder may never change, but she doesn't forget that it was Calahen who protected and looked after her. Lara can certainly overlook his ill judgment about the people he chooses to associate with.
She writes to him from time to time, letters are a thing of the past, but she enjoys the motion of handwriting her news to him. They would be old news by the time he reads them, though that's not the important thing. On the odd day in between years she does give him a call.
She thought they were friends. That is probably the reason why finding out that he married and fathered a child sting a bit. She thought that he trusted her, apparently he didn't feel the same.
A mortal.
Calahen chose to be with a mortal.
His omission about the news in his life suddenly made perfect sense.
She wonders if he knew. Did Mary tell him about her family? Did he know he was marrying the only daughter of a hunter? It doesn't matter, not anymore, both of them are dead.
She loses track of time easily, days can turn into months and she hardly realizes it. They say it's a repercussion of the incident. They say it could be worse. She thinks she is irreversibly broken or at least incomplete. There are missing pieces lost too long ago.
She was told of Calahen's death a year after it happened and even then, they avoided going into details. As if that would stop her from finding out the truth, they should know better. It takes time and a lot of convincing, but she unravels the story of Calahen's life fact by fact. She finds out about the child a year later, and then began her quest to find them.
The child is alive, but only barely; if he's left under the care of the doctors he will die. He will fade and she can feel that it had already begun.
Fading is not a nice thing to experience, a bit better than dying but not by much.
She's not sure if she is prepared for this. Cal was like a brother, however it doesn't mean that she would be the best choice to raise his child. But leaving him to fade is not really an option, not at all. She swears in Sindarin about manipulative elves that refuse to leave her alone, even if they are dead.
Her hands caress the child's forehead and she leans down to whisper in his ear. The words are soft spoken in a language that is foreign to most people. She repeats them again and again. The monitor beeps once, then twice. A doctor and two nurses rush into the room in time to watch as the boy open his eyes and looks straight at Larahel.
"Welcome back little one. No one will ever harm you again." She smiles and brushes the hair from his forehead where she presses a soft kiss.
Dean smiles back and close his eyes again. He feels safe and it's been too long since he felt like that.
He remembers a boy with chocolate brown eyes. Dean cares a lot about the boy, but there's a man with the boy. The man screams and hurts him whenever he can. Dean is tired of the pain; he's tired of hiding the bruises, and being hungry all the time. He cares about the boy, but the words in his ear make it hard to remember why does he care.
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The Rivers name holds incredible amounts of power. Papers are presented and Dean Winchester is declared officially dead a day later. Lara Rivers, the cousin and best friend of Clyde has officially adopted Galen, the son of Mary Campbell and Clyde Gallaher. They leave the hospital a week later.
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AN: It has been ages since I've written something and then this plot made an appearance and refused to leave me alone. I hope you enjoyed it.