"The Road Home"
"Chapter Nine: Another Life"
There was a long road that was illuminated by streetlamps. Dean glanced down the dirt road. There was nothing except tiny rows of lights that seemed to drag on forever. Deciding to just pick a way and walk, he followed the path. There was really nothing else he could do.
It felt like forever of just walking. The only things to look at were the looming, dark trees above and the tiny orbs of light in the distance. The lights grew brighter as he made his way along. Under one lamp, a ways down, was a silhouette of a person. Picking up his pace, he ran towards the person.
As the figure came into view, he faltered in his steps. She was beautiful, just how he remembered her. She was wearing a long, white dress and her chestnut hair was cascading down her shoulders. A soft smile graced her lips as she made her way towards him.
"Dean," she said in a voice as smooth as molasses.
"Lisa?" he questioned as his mind reeled.
Glancing down, he noted the sticky blood clinging his t-shirt to his chest. He remembered the pain, the darkness that succumbed. He vaguely remembered hearing Ben screaming for him. What had happened?"
"Am I dead?"
"No," she replied as a pale hand reached out and touched his shoulder gently, "not yet."
"I'm sorry…" he choked out as his hands ran over the wound, coating his fingers with crimson.
"It wasn't your fault. I should have called you and told you about Ben. I would have known then."
A warmness filled his inside as the dark sky seemed to brighten. Dean glanced up, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. Lisa seemed unmoved by the sudden change.
"Is this the time when I'm supposed to walk into the white light?" he questioned as he squinted at her.
"No, this is the time that you wake up. You're not supposed to die today."
Suddenly, the road and lights were gone. Lisa was gone. He was on the cold, hard floor of the warehouse. He jerked up, gasping for breath. Glancing around the room, he noticed his family with tear-stained faces and a familiar stranger. Suddenly, tiny hands flung themselves around his neck and nearly knocked him over.
"What happened?" asked Dean, his eyes locking with his father's.
"I saved you," the newcomer stated as Dean allowed his gaze to fall upon the stranger.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord."
Dean's head spun as he stared at the so-called angel crouched beside him. His father's hand found it's way to his shoulder and Sam was suddenly by his father's side. Nothing made sense. He couldn't understand why everyone was crying, where the demon went, where this new guy came from.
He remembered flying through the air, an immense pain filling his insides as something pierced his back. Looking down, Dean saw that there was blood everywhere. It drenched his clothes and covered his hands. Lisa and the road… it wasn't just a dream, was it? What the hell had happened? Dean's grip tightened around his son whose tears soaked through his shirt.
"I would like to talk to Dean alone," the man named Castiel announced.
"Whatever you gotta say, you can say it in front of them," challenged Dean as he struggled to stand up while keeping Ben in his arms. The kid was still shaking and sobbing.
John and Sam stood up also. The Winchesters faced the so-called angel. Although Dean may not have believed he was who he said he was, John and Sam could not come up with another explanation. They saw the man heal Dean with a feather light touch.
"Ben can stay, but your father and brother need to leave so we can talk."
"You know whatever you tell me, I'll just tell them as soon as you leave?"
"I know, but I still want to talk to you in private."
"We'll be right outside," John whispered. "Thank you."
He stared at his son, tears still burning his eyes. It was a miracle to see Dean breathing let alone standing up and holding Ben. John wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders and steered him out of the warehouse. Once the door was closed, Castiel turned towards Dean.
"I am sorry, Dean."
"Here I was going to say thank you," he said dryly.
"No, I'm sorry that in another life, I failed you."
"In another life? I have no idea what that means."
Dean let out a forced chuckle as Ben's breath tickled his neck. He rubbed his hand on the kid's back to try to get him to loosen his death grip, but it was a feeble attempt.
"This wasn't how your life was supposed to be, Dean. Lisa was never supposed to die. You were never to know that Ben was your son. Your father was supposed to die as well as Jessica Moore. You and Sam were supposed to be hunting partners. You never were supposed to die here tonight."
Dean's grip instinctively tightened around Ben. The very thought that he wasn't supposed to have Ben in his custody made his heart ache. He had grown very fond of the little boy in a short amount of time. Honestly, Dean didn't want to lose the kid. He had become a lifeline of sorts, had brought the Winchester family closer together – more so than they had been for years.
"That sounds like a pretty crappy life. Glad I didn't live in that life."
"We were friends, Dean. In fact, you once told me once I was like a brother to you."
"You look like a tax accountant. I don't befriend tax accountants."
"Dean, we need to be serious for a few minutes. I have many things to tell you."
"Listen, if you're going to tell me all about my once upon a life that was all doom and gloom where we were friends, save it. I don't want to hear about it."
"An archangel changed your life."
"Dude! What part of save it don't you understand?"
"The angel's name is Ariel."
Dean sighed heavily. He glanced towards the door of the warehouse, longing for John and Sam to come back in. He didn't really want to have a conversation with this so-called angel. He had more important questions that needed answered – specifically about the demon that killed his mom. What had happened when the pain stopped and everything went black? What happened to bring him back from the road?
"I don't believe in angels."
The lights of the warehouse flickered above. Ben let out a few sobs of fright as he gripped Dean tighter. Glancing over at Castiel, Dean saw a flash of light. Behind him, monolithic black wings danced behind him. They were gone just as quickly as they had come. Everything went back to normal.
"Nice wings. Very girly," Dean managed to get out. "What happened to the demon?"
"I let him go."
"You let him go? Aren't angels supposed to kill demons?"
"Normally I would have killed him, but I know how much retribution means to you. I let him go so you could enact the revenge you so desperately want. In another life, you shot him with a mystical gun crafted by Samuel Colt."
"Listen, I'm getting really tired of this 'another life' crap."
"I believe the point of change was the day Lisa died, and her death saved many lives. Although, I fear that Fate might not allow those saved lives to live unless God commands her differently."
"Why would Ariel the Little Mermaid kill Lisa and change my life?"
"You were losing the battle. The world was going to be destroyed because of a vain mistake I made. The world was a barren land with a mere thousand lives still left breathing. Heaven was in complete shambles. Angels did not trust one another anymore. The human race was decimated. Purgatory walked on earth's soil. Ariel brought us all back, turned back the hands of time to stop what had happened. She lined up all the angels and took our weapons. She made us swear obedience with the threat of smiting looming over our heads. Then, she gave everyone their memories back to avoid the mistakes we made last time." Castiel paused and looked down at Ben. "I feel like I should apologize to you again for that mistake, but the drastic measures that Ariel took to save humanity seemed to have given you a better life."
Dean licked his lips, and the irony taste of blood filled his mouth. Running a hand across his mouth, smeared blood appeared on his hand. The amount of blood he was covered in, he was sure he had died. If this Castiel brought him back to life and was telling him this crackpot story… maybe it was true.
"Will it ever go back?"
The thought of losing Ben to go back to this hellish life Castiel was describing was not an option in his mind. He couldn't lose his dad and his son. Although, it would give Ben his mom and normal life back, Dean selfishly wanted Ben to be apart of his life… apart of his family. If he lost the kid, he'd be devastated.
"No, Ariel will not allow that to happen. If it goes back, everyone dies. The planet would be demolished. She would lose her position of God."
"Why me? Why change my life? Why not some other hunter's life who could save the planet?"
"The reasons behind why you were chosen are reasons I wish not to tell you, Dean."
"You told me everything else, why not this?"
Castiel sighed. His gaze landed on Ben before looking back at Dean.
"Perhaps another time we can discuss why your life was so important to change. I will tell you that you and Sam were directly involved in everything that unraveled because certain angels believed that destiny was more important than saving lives."
Dean glanced down at his son's tear-stained face for a few moments before looking back at the angel in front of him. There were so many questions running through his mind that he didn't know what to ask first.
"Why should I believe you when you're telling me that there are rogue, evil angels?"
"I am asking you to trust me, Dean. I know your trust is hard to come by; but once it is given, you trust completely and unequivocally. I only hope that you can trust me like you once did."
"What do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything. I wanted to save your life and apologize for being overcome with power."
"Well, if you're the reason the mermaid changed my life, I guess I should be grateful."
"Ariel will come for you. It is only a matter of time before she seeks you out and demands your compliance in her plans. She is arrogant and resourceful. The angels fear her – fear that she will fall from grace and seek retribution on the human race if her plans do not go as follows. She has watched her four brothers all fall to either death by angel or trapped in the cage. She stayed out of the fighting for centuries until now, watched as they destroyed our father's pride and joy. Now, she seeks power and worship. I would be lying if I did not agree with the sentiment that she could become the next Lucifer – a petulant child who causes destruction when they don't get their way. Be careful, Dean. If you ever need me, just pray to me."
With a swoosh, Castiel was gone. Dean stood in the abandoned warehouse with his mind swimming. The death grip around his neck eased as Ben looked around the room with wide eyes.
"What a dick, huh, Ben?"
"Yeah," he replied, his face burying into the crook of his father's neck.
Back at the motel, Dean just wanted to get out of his bloody clothes and take a shower. Blood was caked everywhere. Although he couldn't remember exactly what had happened, he knew it was bad because of the way his family seemed to walk on eggshells around him.
Settling his son on his bed, Dean kneeled down to his eye level. The kid's face was red from crying. His eyes were puffy and his fingers gripped the collar of his father's beloved leather jacket.
"Hey, I'm gonna go hop in the shower. Why don't you color with Uncle Sammy?"
"No!" Ben gasped out in a panic. "Daddy, no!"
The kid jumped at him, tangling his arms around his father's neck and tried to bury himself. Dean held him tight, his eyes closing. All of the progress that had been made with Ben had been washed away in a matter of minutes. He was the clingy four-year-old again who only saw death and destruction around him.
"Okay, how about you color in the bathroom while I shower. Sound good?"
Ben nodded his head against his father's chest. Dean stood up, his arm working its way around the kid's shoulder. He grabbed his backpack and made his way into the bathroom. He settled down by the sink and began to draw.
Dean peeled off the soaked t-shirt. Looking down at his stomach, he saw a faint, discolored ring against his skin. Kicking off his boots, he noticed Ben was watching him with interest. He gave his son a small, reassuring smile before stepping into the shower to finish getting undressed.
The hot water cascaded down his sore muscles. Bracing his hands against the tile, he hung his head and allowed the water to hit the nape of his neck and run down his back. Castiel's words rang in his head. This wasn't supposed to be their life… it seemed like too hard of a concept to even comprehend.
"Dad?" Ben's voice cried.
"I'll be out in a second!" Dean yelled.
He glanced down at the bottom on the shower to see a sea of red blood. Standing up straight, he washed off the rest of caked blood and flicked off the shower. Reaching out a hand, he grabbed a towel off the rack and tied it neatly around his waist. Stepping out of the shower, he noticed Ben sitting on the floor with his bottom lip tucked tightly between his baby teeth.
Closing the space between them, Dean hoisted Ben up into his arms and plopped him down onto the edge of the sink. Dean grabbed his electric razor and plugged it in.
"I'm fine, Ben," he commented as he glanced over at the tiny boy. "I never told you what my job was, did I?"
"No," he responded in a small voice.
"I'm sort of like a special police officer," he started as he thought of the best way to tell him about hunting and concluded his father's explanation was the route to go. "Instead of finding bad people who rob banks and steal things, I find monsters that hurt people. It's my job to make sure they don't hurt anyone. You understand that?"
"What kind of mons'ers?"
Dean licked his lips and wished he had asked his father the same question when he was a kid. Instead, he was too traumatized by his mother's death and sort of just nodded when his father told him about his new job.
"Do you know who Count Dracula is?"
Ben tilted his head and narrowed his eyes to clearly tell his father he wasn't stupid. Dean let out a chuckle.
"Daddy, he's famous. He's on my fav'rite cereal."
Dean smiled. The kid loved cereal just as much as Sammy did as a kid.
"Ben, that's Count Chocula."
"Oh, but I like Count Chocula," he replied with a furrowed brow
"Well, did you know Count Chocula was a vampire?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know what a vampire is?"
"No."
"Well, a vampire is a monster. A monster isn't human. A vampire will kill you. The thing is… most people don't know that vampires are real. Only a select few people know about vampires and other monsters. Grandpa and Uncle Sammy and I all hunt these monsters and protect people. Sometimes, we get hurt just like police officers get hurt. I got hurt today, but I'm okay. I'll always be okay."
Ben nodded slowly, tears prickling his green eyes. There was a knock on the bathroom door, and Dean sighed before calling out. John and Sammy were immediately in the already cramped bathroom.
"Dean, we need to talk," commented John. "What did that angel tell you?"
Dean turned on his razor and started to shave his cheeks. That last thing he wanted to do was to talk about this supposed other life. He couldn't tell his father that he was supposed to be dead.
"Not much," he replied.
"You were… D-E-A-D," Sam added as he glanced over at his nephew.
"I'm very well aware that I was D-A… D-E-A-D, okay?"
"Dude, seriously?"
"Shut up, Sam!"
"Enough," barked John. "We need to talk about this."
"Can we talk about this later?" pushed Dean. "I'm A-L-I-V-E, so it's all good."
He looked down at his son, hoping to get his point across that he wished not to talk about the angel stuff in front of Ben. John must have gotten the hint, because he dropped the conversation.
That night, while Ben was fast asleep in bed, Dean slipped out of the motel room. He leaned over the railing and glanced up at the twinkling stars. Not a minute later, John appeared outside of the motel room with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Did I really die?" questioned Dean, a lump forming in his throat.
"You were… so pale and there was blood everywhere. Ben was inconsolable. Sam held him back as I tried to… you were gone, Dean."
"He said that everyone died, that the whole freakin' world practically ended. Some archangel turned back the hands of time to give us a second chance from stopping that from happening."
Dean couldn't look at his father. Instead, he watched the stars shine in the dark night. When him and Sam were kids, they must have been ten or six respectively, they would lie outside late at night and just stare at the stars. Sam usually came up with stories for the constellations.
"He said you died, Dad," Dean said as his voice cracked. "He said that Jessica was dead. He said that Ben and I never knew I was his father… because Lisa lived and raised him."
"You can't just magically change the past," commented John. "There's no freakin' way. I've never heard of anything like that before."
"Yeah, well, we never believed angels actually existed either."
Dean closed his eyes as he sighed. Everything that he had ever known seemed to be crumbling beneath him. More than anything, he wanted the warehouse debacle to have just been a dream. He was just waiting to wake up.
"You believe him?" questioned John.
"That we're from some wacky alternate reality where everyone dies but nobody seems to remember but angels?" Dean let out a chuckle. "I don't freakin' know. It's ridiculous."
"It doesn't matter. This is our life now. Nobody is going to change that."
Nodding, Dean glanced over at his father. This was their life now. Nobody was going to tear that away from them. Letting out a sigh of relief, he believed his father.
Authors Notes – Okay, so I finally told the huge plot twist in the story! I have tried to give subtle hints in past chapters – mostly through the use of Castiel's character appearing to watch guard over the Winchester family. Anyways, I would say this story is officially halfway done. I am hoping to wrap it up within the next several chapters. So, I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be a doozy that brings the whole story into view. :) Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, remember to log in so I can respond to your reviews!
