Summary: Ben finds his mother, and there's baggage that needs unpacking. Or ignoring.
TW: Physical violence/torture, mental torture
Notes at the end.
Ben drove the two and a half hours with only one stop at a Gas-N-Sip to fill the truck's tank and buy himself a large coffee. He arrived at the location Claire had sent him in two hours and pulled into a nearly empty parking lot, stopping next to a truck that was alongside a car. Everyone got out of their respective vehicles and introductions were made. Claire unzipped a duffle bag and handed Mary Shelley, Jemisin, and LaGuin guns. Jemisin shouldered an olive drab backpack that had a caduceus patch on the back.
"The guns are loaded with angel blade bullets, which will kill demons just as dead," Claire said, checking the magazine of her own handgun and the angel blade in a sheath against her leg. "Ben, I understand that Sam gave you an angel blade to use, but I want you to hang back. You don't have fighting experience or training, and I really don't want to be the one to get Dean Winchester's son killed."
Ben nodded at the observation. Claire gave the Bradbury sisters a hard look. "Ladies, this is serious shit we're heading into. No fucking around. Your mom scares me and I don't want to be the one to tell her one of her kids is dead."
The three sisters, related by law not by blood, each shrugged on a serious demeanor, suddenly all business. They were raised in the hunter world, they were trained to the hunter lifestyle, and they took their role as hunters seriously.
"This time, we don't let any of these bastards go free," Claire said. "This is a kill the demons mission, quick and dirty." Once again, guns were checked. When everyone signaled they were good to go, they quietly stole across the parking lot towards a side door of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.
The knife sliced into the skin and slid into the muscle underneath. Blood welled and dribbled downward.
"Veeeeeery good," the voice whispered in her ear. It had an oozing, bubbling, burning, stinking quality like hot tar.
She exhaled a shaking breath and steadied her hand, digging the knife in deeper. She raised her eyes from the wound, taking in the blond/brown stubble on the sharp chin and jawline. The lips that curled back and teeth clenched in pain. The band of freckles across cheekbones and nose.
"Alastair, you son of a bitch," Dean gasped between clenched teeth. Lisa looked up into sea-green eyes as a tear fell from one. She pushed the knife deeper into Dean's chest. He closed his eyes, strained against the metal restraints holding him and roared in pain. Lisa screamed for an eternity.
"Fuck, she's at it AGAIN," Demon Minion 3 complained, throwing his cards on the table, his eyes flicking to obsidian in annoyance. "I can't concentrate when she's SCREAMING!" he yelled toward the closed door behind him.
Demon Minion 1 reached over the table and raked the cards in for a new shuffle and deal. "Boss was real clear with what he wanted. Mentally broken."
"I wonder what her Hell looks like," Demon Minion 2 asked idly, looking at his cards and tossing some poker chips into the center of the table.
"I don't give a sh-" Demon Minion 3 stopped speaking midword as a barking retort sounded. His eyes widened, there was a flash of bright orange between his eyes, and he slumped back in his seat.
Demon Minion 1 and 2 had no time to react before they too were over the card table, dead. Claire, Mary Shelley, and LaGuin lowered their guns in unison. There was no doubt where Lisa was, everyone could hear her. The only question is was she alone? Ben pulled the angel blade from the sheath and carefully turned the door handle. He wanted to rush in to get to his mother, but he fought the urge and went in slowly.
Lisa was restrained to a bed and alone. She appeared to be unconscious, but was screaming. Ben's heart broke and he rushed over to his mother. "Mom?" he said, shaking her shoulder. She didn't react and just continued to scream. Claire and Jemisin came in as Ben unbuckled the last of the leather restraints. "I don't know what's wrong with her," Ben said helplessly.
Jemisin placed the medical kit on the floor next to Lisa. She removed a stethoscope and unwound the leads on a field EEG and got to work. Claire pulled Ben to the side while Mary Shelley and LaGuin carefully investigated the rest of the warehouse.
"Jemisin was an Army medic before going to med school. Her real job is an ER doctor, so she knows what she's doing with your mom."
Ben watched Jemisin work, but his mother's continued and prolonged screaming terrified him. After ten minutes, Jemisin turned and looked at Ben and Claire. "I don't know if she needs antiseizure medication or antipsychotics or an exorcism. So I think for now, I'll give her a strong sedative."
She prepared a syringe of diazepam and slid the needle into a vein in the crook of Lisa's arm. As the drug worked its way through Lisa's system, she finally stopped screaming and her body relaxed. Ben scooped her up into his arms while Jemisin packed up her medical kit. Then they made their way back to their cars.
"Jemisin, you ride with Ben and Lisa in his truck. We'll all meet at the bunker in Lebanon, Kansas," Claire instructed.
Ben slid his mother into the back seat of the truck, secured her seatbelt, and climbed into the driver's seat. Jemisin got into the back seat on the other side, placing her medical bag on the floor in front of her. In minutes, they were on the road for an expected 4 ½ hour drive. Ben couldn't understand how his father had done this pretty much his entire life. He'd been at this for a grand total of two days and was already thinking about hypnosis to get over his fear of flying. The other women got into their vehicles and followed Ben to Kansas.
It felt strange laying in his father's old bed. Dean stared at the ceiling, a part of him regretting claiming this room for himself. He sat up and switched on the bedside lamp, giving up on trying to go back to sleep. The clock read 6:22, and he decided to get breakfast started. He pulled on the clothes he'd worn the previous day, wishing he had a pair of running shoes and shorts, and padded barefoot into the kitchen. The first order of business was getting the coffee machines started.
Forty minutes later, as people began migrating to the kitchen, they were greeted by a plate piled high with crispy bacon, another plate with a stack of pancakes, and Dean was pulling a frittata out of the oven. More pancakes were cooking on the griddle. People grabbed plates and cutlery and took food. Before finding a place to sit, most grabbed a mug of coffee. The kitchen wasn't big enough to seat everyone, so they made their way to the library. Garth was finishing up a phone call when he joined everyone.
"That was Claire," he said, grabbing a piece of bacon from his plate and taking a seat. 'The good news is, they rescued Lisa with little fuss, and they're all on their way here. They should be arriving in half an hour. The bad news is apparently Crowley's back."
"Shit," Jody muttered and sipped her coffee.
"The other bad news," Garth continued, "is Lisa's in a bad way and they don't know what the problem is. Based on what they overheard from her minders, she's probably in some kind of mental hell loop. Castiel, please get a bed in the infirmary ready for her."
"Right away, Pops," Castiel said, stuffing half a pancake into his mouth as he left the table.
"Sam should be arriving around 11 today with a whole mess of electronic equipment. Gertie, Dean, Makoa, find a room or two where we can set up the computers and communications equipment when y'all finish breakfast. Jody, Donna, we're going to get some videos made for AfterJack hunters so they can learn how to deal with angels and demons."
Breakfast was finished in a hurry. Makoa washed dishes and cleaned the kitchen while Dean and Gertie went in search of a suitable place to set up the computers.
Twenty minutes later there was a clattering on the outside staircase and the door above the balcony opened. Claire entered first followed by Ben, who was cradling his mother in his arms. Jemisin, Mary Shelley, and LaGuin followed and they all headed down the stairs. Castiel showed Ben the infirmary, and he gently laid Lisa onto the prepared bed. Jemisin set her field kit on the bed next to Lisa. Dean came in to support his cousin… and aunt? Claire, Garth, Jody, and Donna all followed to discuss what had transpired and what the hunters had learned. It was a grim collection of people.
"I don't know what else I can do for her," Jemisin said. "We overheard one of the demons say Crowley had her trapped in her mind that's designed to break her. But I don't know what I can or should use to break this loop."
The experienced hunters stood in a group, discussing options. Dean sat on the bed next to Ben and put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe she needs some heavenly intervention," he said quietly to his cousin. Ben glanced at Dean in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"If Castiel came when I prayed, maybe he'll come when you pray. And maybe he can help your mother," Dean explained.
Ben bit his lower lip and frowned before taking his mother's hand between his own, closing his eyes, and bowing his head."Ca -" he began. He cleared his throat and started again. "Castiel, I really need your help."
There was a rustle of fabric, and a gravelly voice said "Hello, Ben."
All heads turned to the sound of the voice. Claire gasped and stepped back in shock. "Castiel," she breathed.
Castiel turned. "Claire," he said in his monotone, "it's been a while."
Claire paled and her eyes filled with tears. She had a contentious relationship with the celestial being that took her father from her when she was a child, an action that eventually also took her mother from her a few years after. He hadn't aged since that moment. Claire, of course, looked like the almost 50-year old hunter she was. She didn't know if she wanted to hug him or… She fled the room, suddenly feeling like the teenager she had been when she last saw Castiel. Donna and Jody went after her, Jody glaring daggers at the angel.
"Castiel, we need your help with my mother, please?" Ben was very close to simply begging.
"Crowley did something to her," Dean added.
Castiel frowned upon hearing the information. He placed a hand over Lisa's head and it glowed. "I can heal her, but I think it best if I take her memories about Dean again as well. I think as long as she remembers, she'll be a target."
"Do whatever is necessary," Ben said. "I'll worry about explaining the last two days to her later."
Castiel leaned over again and pressed two fingers to Lisa's forehead. He straightened and nodded. "She'll be fine."
He turned and extended two fingers towards Ben, who shied back out of the way. "NO!" he yelled. "Don't take my memory of my father or what's been going on these past few days. I want to remember what this fuckers did and I want to learn to hunt them down."
Garth came over and nodded. "We can do that, son. Castiel, maybe you can take Lisa home, rough up her apartment and make it look like it was broken into? Maybe she'll think she got knocked out for the past couple'a days?"
"I'll see that it is taken care of," Castiel said as he carefully lifted the unconscious Lisa off the bed. He was gone in a rustle before anyone could say or do anything else.
Ben stood, nearly swaying with exhaustion. Dean touched his arm and nodded toward the door. "C'mon, cuz," he said. "You're dead on your feet and I've got the perfect place for you to crash."
Dean led his cousin back to his namesake's old room. He opened the door and ushered Ben inside. "This was Uncle Dean's. The sheets are fresh, and it's been cleaned, but otherwise, it's as he left it. Although I only kept a couple of the empty beer bottles for you. And the Asian porn is in that box on the desk," he said, pointing to the desk just to the left of the door. Ben looked at the weapons mounted on the wall, but before he could investigate further, there was a clattering of booted feet coming down the metal staircase. The two cousins went to see who was making the noise.
Sam came down the stairs with a box of computer parts and set it on the map table. Everyone was congregating there. "I got a whole trailer to unload, and then we gotta get everything set up," he said.
Both Dean and Ben ran their fingers through their hair and rubbed the back of their necks. Ben sighed, knowing sleep would have to wait just a little while longer. Dean was contemplating flying back to Casper the next day to get Assbutt and more clothing. He knew he was going to be in this for the long haul, despite knowing how disappointed his father would be.
"Okay, people," he said, clapping his hands once, "we've got work to do."
Notes: I'm aware Dean is in heaven, Lisa's experience is a mental construct courtesy of Crowley.
Thank you everyone for taking this journey with me. I'll continue to write post-series fic about Dean and Ben and the AfterJack hunters, as well as taking a stab at AU fic, so please subscribe to stay updated on new stories and chapters being uploaded!