Chapter Three.
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"Well, Sammy, the surprises just keep on coming," Dean mouthed wryly, his lips curling in a crooked smile. "All we need now is a bevy of kids lining up outside the door, claiming to be our long-lost children!"
Sam stared at him horrified. "Don't even joke about that, Dean! There's no way I'd ever want a kid to carry on the Winchester blood-line and find themselves at the mercy of any supernatural dicks that got their hands on them."
"Well, Sam. You were soulless for a year and Robo-Sam certainly didn't seem to have any problems in sowing his wild oats, so I don't really see him as the kind that would've worried about leaving a little reminder to the women he slept with!"
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At the sight of Sam's face paling to white as the realization hit him that things could easily have gone down that way, Dean felt a twinge of guilt at having put such a thought into words.
He clapped a comforting hand on his sibling's shoulder. "I was only kidding Sammy. I'm sure Robo-Sam took his precautions."
"Well, Dean, I assume you took precautions when you had sex with the Amazon chick and look what happened there," Sam replied worried, not easily consoled now that the idea had actually been put into words.
Dean nodded unhappily. There was nothing to add. He had conceived a daughter; sure he had been tricked and the girl had been half-monster but she had still been his child and even now he was unsure that if Sam hadn't killed her, he would have had the guts to do it himself.
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"Come on, Sam, We'll worry about one thing at a time. It seems we've been presented with a long-lost grand-mother, so let's go tend to that before freaking out about possible heirs," Dean joked pushing down the unpleasant memory.
For some reason he was in an optimistic mood. If the old lady who had glided elegantly down the stairs and was now sitting calmly on their couch was really who she claimed to be, the part of Dean that had always longed for family was feeling particularly happy.
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They made their way down into the sitting area where their unexpected guest was waiting.
"Um," Sam began feeling somehow like a small boy tongue-tied in the presence of an important visitor, "You say you're our grand-mother, can you give us proof of that?"
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She smiled and any doubts Dean might have had, melted away, at least as far as the family genetics were concerned because identical dimples had been flashed at him by Sam since ever he could remember, and the soft wrinkles round her eyes couldn't hide the moss-green tint and puppy expression so similar to his brother's.
He also recognized his own full lips in her smile, but for the rest Dean knew he had taken his own good looks from his mother Mary; his Dad had told him so in one of the rare moments that John had waxed sentimental. He was aware that he and Sam didn't resemble each other, something that had come in useful in their various aliases, but now the puzzle had been revealed; Sam had taken everything from his Winchester grandmother!
He took a half-step forward, Sam's awkwardness not influencing him in the least.
"Okay, I believe you're our grandmother, at least based on the family likeness but that doesn't mean you're here to do us any favours. We've been screwed by family and friends before now!" he declared firmly.
Virginia's face took on a sympathetic expression. "My poor boys, I'm sure you have, and I'm here to make sure that no–one else screws with you," she smiled, using the same word as Dean. "But I would ask you to keep you language suitable to a person of my advanced age, "she smirked and this time it was Sam who looked on amused. The smirk was pure Dean.
"Touché Dean," Sam laughed. "Watch your language in the presence of a lady!"
Somehow the ice had been broken and a connection between grandmother and grandchildren had been forged.
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Dean carried in the coffee, (she had turned up her nose at the offer of tea) on an ornate tray he had found in the kitchen, along with a few slices of the pie that remained.
"Mmm," she exclaimed blissfully as she daintily took a bite. "Pie is my favourite and this is divine."
"Dean baked it," Sam said, exchanging a fond glance with his pink-faced sibling, somehow proud of his brother's ability. "It's an aspect of himself that he's always kept hidden."
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Virginia watched and observed the palpable love that united these two handsome young men, her grandsons!
Although they were blood, she had really just met them but already her heart had begun to cultivate a budding affection for them both.
She sipped her coffee and enjoyed the delicious slice of pie, happy now that she had come, for she had been undecided whether to reveal her existence, not sure how she would be received nor what kind of men her unknown grandsons would turn out to be.
She sighed into her coffee-cup and hoped that her presence instead of bringing help to them wouldn't end up doing the exact opposite and causing them pain.
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She dabbed her lips with the napkin and patted the couch on either side of her.
"Sit down, boys and I'll give you an explanation for why I'm here, that is if you're interested," she grinned, eyes twinkling.
The brothers shrugged in synch, something that was not lost on their observant grandmother and sat down, one on each side, towering over the seemingly inoffensive old lady sandwiched between them.
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"When your father John was seven," she began. "My husband Henry, your grandfather," she gave a quick squeeze to the brothers' arms, "left one night to go to the Men of Letters' town-base and be initiated into the Society; he never came back, but you knew that already," she sighed and continued, her voice trembling slightly.
"Henry was the love of my life and I never found out what happened to him. I heard on the radio the next day that there had been a fire in town and when it turned out to be the very building where Henry had gone, I knew it hadn't been caused by accident but that it had been targeted on purpose."
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"You knew about the Men of Letters then?" Sam asked quietly, sensing Virginia's sorrow at the memory of her husband's death, even after all these years.
She nodded. "I was already one of them before I met Henry. My father's family came from an uninterrupted line of members and it was through the Society that we were introduced. It was love at first sight," she smiled glancing at up Dean, who in turn cocked his head in irony as he exchanged glances with Sam.
They knew just how those "love at first sight" relationships were manipulated by Heaven whenever they needed to screw with people's lives!
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"The initiation ceremony was the culmination of the learning process," Virginia continued. "Henry had been tutored by my father in the secrets of the supernatural and that night was ready to become a fully fledged member."
"Just how did you survive? "Dean asked. "I thought the members had all been killed?"
"When John was born, my feelings towards the Society changed. My love for my baby made me fear for him and so I begged my father to let me become one of the 'sleeper members'; initiates who although full members and versed in all the arts, remained inactive. An insurance policy, if you like in case any disaster happened to the body of the Society. That way there would always be someone to pass on the secrets."
"But, Sam," objected. "How come Dad knew nothing of this?"
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"When Henry never returned, I knew something terrible must have happened, for he would never have abandoned John and me. I'm ashamed to say, I panicked; the fear for my baby overwhelming me and so I took him and the most essential things I could carry, and left town dropping into anonymity.I found a job and eventually met another man, a good simple man who loved me and treated John as his own son. John came to love him as he would his own father and I put all my energies into being a good wife and mother, never regretting having put the supernatural behind me."
Sam and Dean exchanged glances. The choice their own father had made after Mary's death had been the exact opposite to the one Virginia took and yet both choices had led back to the supernatural. There was just no escape. Not for the Winchesters anyway.
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"Boys, I'm rather tired," she whispered, as if the emotional journey into the past she had just taken had sapped her energies. "You don't think I could flop down on a bed somewhere and continue this conversation tomorrow?"
"Sure, " Dean offered. "Take my room; it's got a super memory mattress. You'll rest well."
"What about you?" she asked.
"Oh, I'll bed down here on the couch; it won't be the first time."
"Tomorrow, we'll fix you one of the other bedrooms, " Sam chipped in, content at the thought of her staying.
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"By the way how did you get here?" Dean asked. "Have you got a car outside?"
She smiled enigmatically and although her face was still handsome, both men could see traces of the raging beauty she must have been when she was younger. "No, I used the power of the soul. Now not another word young man," she chided. "Show me to that exquisite memory mattress!"
"Yes Ma'am," Dean replied jumping to attention.
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