Chapter 8
Disclaimer: Don't own, they belong to Kripke and company.
A/N:Thank you to everyone who had reviewed and also to those who are just reading. Once again thank you to Soar for her beta work.
Sam had gone to pick up breakfast that morning while Dean and John got ready for the day. John, being the oldest, got first dibs at the shower and Dean was left to take a cold one, but even that didn't dampen his spirits. He was still riding the high that he had experienced from the day before. He was really looking forward to spending more time with Grandpa.
As Dean exited the bathroom, he saw his father looking through his wallet.
"Looking for something, Dad?" Dean asked
"Just checking our resources, we're getting a little low. You and Sam want to go to the bank and see if you can make a withdrawal?" That was Winchester speak for go hustle pool.
"Sure. It's been a while since I parted some fool from their money," answered Dean.
"You up to it?" John asked with some concern in his voice.
"Stop it, Dad. I'm fine. Would you quit worrying already. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, so give it a rest." Dean couldn't hide the irritation in his voice.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but I'm a father, it's my job to worry."
"Know of any good places to hit?" Dean replied quickly changing the subject in typical Winchester fashion.
"There was Mike's Bar down town. You could try there," John suggested.
"Sounds good. So what's happening today?"
"I thought we could go by the Connell house and see if anything is going on. I was thinking maybe we could interview Anna Connell's sister, she lives about a half hour from here. We still have to decide what to do about the real estate office though. We need a more extensive history of the house."
"I have an idea about that. Grandpa mentioned yesterday that there's an old revival theater in town that plays old movies. The Shining is playing in the next few days. I could ask him if he wanted to go see it with me and then, because the subject is naturally on haunted houses, I could casually ask him if he knows about any strange happenings. If he ran the company that owns the real estate office, he would probably be aware of any problem areas."
"Definitely an option. I would prefer not to involve Frank in this though. So if we can't think of anything else between now and then, we'll try it. However, I see no reason why you and Frank still can't attend the movie. I know it's your favourite."
Truth be told, Dean would prefer not to involve Grandpa either, but he was filled with pride that not only did his dad think his idea was a good one, but also the fact that he even knew what Dean's favourite movie was. "Okay, do you think he would be up?"
"He always was an early riser. Give it a try."
John watched as Dean picked up his phone. He wasn't surprised to see Dean hesitate before dialing. He knew Dean was nervous about asking his grandfather to do something with him for fear he would say no. He wasn't sure if he should say something, but before he could make up his mind, he saw Dean dial. That's my boy was John's next thought.
Dean should never have worried, Frank was ecstatic that Dean had called him. He wasn't a big fan of horror movies, but The Shining was one he did enjoy. It didn't matter what was playing though, he would have sat through the worst movie in the world if it meant spending more time with Dean. They decided to get together and go see it when it opened, and he asked Dean if he would like to make a day of it and go to dinner before hand. Dean agreed eagerly.
Shortly after, Sam got back with breakfast and John filled Sam in on their plans, telling him about Dean's idea. Like John, Sam agreed it seemed like a good one.
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They had decided to go by the Connell house first and this caused John to curse himself for not taking Bobby up on his offer to borrow another car. He hadn't expected to be in town for more than a day or two, and he felt that they needed a second car, unfortunately they were just managing to pay for the motel and food, and he had no money to rent one. This meant that they couldn't split up the days tasks to get much more accomplished.
John was almost tempted to ask Frank if he could borrow the Ferrari. He was still envious that his son had gotten to drive one. He wondered when Frank had gotten it. He hadn't owned it the last time John had seen the man, but he knew that it was number one on the list of cars Frank had always wanted.
They went to the Connell house, but because it was broad daylight, they didn't do much other than to just drive around the area. It was located in a very upscale neighbourhood and they didn't want to attract too much attention. John had called Michelle Ames, Anna Connell's sister, to see if he could arrange an interview. He ended up getting her answering service and got the standard line about her being busy and not taking calls from reporters at this time, and if he could leave his number, they would have Miss Ames contact him when she was up to it.
Since they hadn't made much progress that morning, after a quick lunch, John drove back to the hotel and told the boys to go enjoy themselves for the afternoon. The motel was close to downtown so they could walk. After a brief discussion, they decided to go see a movie. Then the real argument started as they tried to decide which one. John said that he was going to try to go see Ms Ames in person to see if he could get any satisfaction. He actually had no intention of going to see anyone. He wanted to read Mary's journal, he just didn't want to do it front of Dean.
After the boys left, John picked up the book and opened it to the second entry.
July 10, 1978
I was right, but then again I usually am. I went right to John's garage, okay not right to it because I had to stop by the grocery and convenience store and McDonalds, hey a pregnant woman shouldn't be denied. Needless to say, John was surprised to see me. When I gave him the news, he was soooo excited. He yelled so loud that Mike came running out to make sure he hadn't dropped a car on himself.
Mike was just as happy us, John immediately asked him to be your Godfather. Mike, of course, accepted immediately, I mean who wouldn't. Mike's wife, Kathy, will be your Godmother. I know you'll like them, my child, they are really good people and I know that they're going to love you as much as I do.
When John got home, we celebrated the news properly and then your daddy and I worked out a budget. He wants to start saving for your college fund as early as possible and he wanted to see how much he could put away. Now, no pressure there. I just know you're going to do great things, whether you go to college or not. How can you not? You're my child.
I am going to my father's tomorrow. I just know he's going to be as thrilled as I am.
I hope after you read this entry, you'll have decided that your mommy doesn't have to be committed, so I am going to close it here and leave you with this thought. I love you, my baby boy or girl, and always remember that angels are watching over us."
John blinked back tears. He missed Mary so much.
He was just getting ready to read the next entry when his phone rang. He was surprised to see Frank's name on the caller ID.
"Hello."
"Hi, John. It's Frank. I was wondering, I have to stop by the children's hospital to drop off some figures from yesterday's auction. Do you want to come with me and go pay a visit to Nathan, or if you don't, can I borrow Dean's letter? I really want to show it to him."
John put the diary aside. "I want to go with you. I want to see the look on his face."
"Do you want me to pick you up, or do you want to meet me there?"
"I'll meet you at your place." John paused before continuing gruffly, "Can we..."
"John, I owe you so much we'll take the Ferrari," interrupted Frank.
John quickly drove to Frank's place and parked the car. Frank was already waiting for him by the side of the Ferrari and John couldn't keep the grin off his face as they pulled away from the estate. Frank normally wouldn't let anyone drive his baby, but John had allowed him to get his family back, so Frank decided to repay John in a way he would appreciate. He told John he could drive on the way back and John's face lit up like a kid at Christmas.
Upon entering the Wichita Children's Hospital, John couldn't stop the flood of memories that came to him. He recalled the day Dean had been born, one of the happiest and scariest days of his life.
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"It's a boy, Mrs. Winchester," announced Dr. Nathan Keeping.
When Mary had begun having complications and her pregnancy had been deemed high risk, her regular doctor had referred her to Dr. Keeping. He was not only an excellent obstetrician, but a friend of Mary's mother. Upon meeting him, John had taken an immediate dislike to the arrogant man, but if he could get Mary and his son through this pregnancy, John didn't care if the man declared himself God.
Upon hearing those words, John felt immediate fear, when he should have felt joy. He knew that when a baby was born it was supposed to cry, but he had not heard a sound from their newborn son. At seven months along, it was way too early in the pregnancy for the baby to be born. Before John or Mary could even lay eyes on their baby boy, he was whisked away, and this led to the longest 2 hours, 17 minutes and 48 seconds of John's life.
After the staff left with the baby, no one would tell him anything. He tried repeatedly to get them to page the doctor or just give him some news. Finally, they came to the room and made the announcement that had turned John's feelings toward Dr. Keeping from dislike, and cemented them in hatred. The words that gave John, who had served in Vietnam, the biggest scare of his life.
"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, your son weighed in at a mere 3 pounds 4 ounces. He's not breathing on his own and we have him on a ventilator. With the low weight and the potential for other complications associated with premature births, I don't expect him to survive the night."
It was a good thing that John was sitting on the edge of Mary's bed because he would have fallen otherwise. John's heart shattered into a million pieces with those words.
"He will," Mary said quietly and with conviction.
"Mrs. Winchester, I know you want to believe that..."
"I don't want to believe that, I do believe that." Mary stated emphatically.
"You need to prepare yourself, Mrs. Winchester. There is an extremely high probability that your son is going to die."
Mary let loose with a bunch of four letter words that could have made a drunken sailor blush, most of them directly addressed to Dr. Keeping, letting him know just what she thought about that remark.
"You have NO RIGHT to say that! He is going to be fine. Just you wait and see. I want to see my son. NOW!"
"I know this is upsetting. I don't think you should go right now. You need to calm down," Dr Keeping said trying to diffuse the situation.
"Was there one part of the sentence that even made it sound like a suggestion? Take me to my son, or my Daddy is going to shut down this entire hospital." John thought that he had never seen a more beautiful and scary sight than his wife enraged and battling on behalf of their son.
John and Mary were taken to the Neonatal ICU and for the first time since he had been born, they saw their little boy. He was still and covered in so many wires and tubes that John had a hard time seeing him through it all, still he was the most perfect thing John had ever seen.
The nurses echoed the doctor's words and this brought forth another barrage of colorful language from Mary, words John didn't even know existed. When a well meaning doctor then encouraged the young couple to say good bye, John found himself physically having to restrain Mary from attacking him. The more people tried to tell Mary that she was going to lose her son, the more she held to the belief that he would be fine.
John thought about the journal entry he had read and about the young man his son had become. Mary was right as always, and John couldn't stop the huge grin that lit up his face
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"John, hey John, you with me?" Frank inquired.
"Sorry, I was just thinking. Being here is bringing back memories, both good and bad," John admitted.
"It had to be rough. I'm sorry I didn't make things easier for you," Frank said sincerely.
"Nothing we can do to change the past," John replied.
With that, Frank became lost in his own memories.
He had been out of town on business when Mary delivered. He'd wanted to be there to see his grandson, but got home three days after he was born. The baby had continued to defy all odds and was still hanging in there. Frank got to the hospital and laid eyes on him for the first time
"Hi, dad," Mary greeted him warmly when he arrived.
"Hi, honey." Frank wasn't sure what to say.
"Come meet Jackson. Isn't he the most handsome little man you ever laid you eyes on? Just don't tell John I said that, wouldn't want him to get jealous." Mary was smiling widely as she said this.
Frank was ashamed that when he looked at the newborn, all he saw were the machines and not the baby boy that was attached to them.
"Um, Mary, about his name..." Frank stammered.
"Jackson Winchester. Has a nice ring to it don't you think? We haven't decided on a middle name yet though."
"If you want, you can pick something else. Maybe Samuel, after his other grandfather. You really don't have to call him Jackson if you don't want to. I won't hold you to that promise."
"Dad, what's going on? You told me how much it meant to you to be able to carry on your family name, and I can't guarantee I will have another boy." Mary's confusion was written plainly across her face.
"I do want the name carried on, but..." Frank trailed off, trying to think of a tactful way to phrase what he was thinking. He didn't want to upset Mary, but then he realized there was no way to say it nicely.
"It does mean a lot to me and that's why I think you should pick another name. I mean, what if he doesn't make it?"
Frank couldn't have said anything worse. Mary recoiled as if she had been physically slapped.
"Not you too. Doctors, nurses, I can understand, but my own father. How can you even think that? My own father." Mary looked toward her son and then back to her father. "Get out."
"Mary."
"Don't Mary me! I said get out."
John walked back in. He had just gotten back from the cafeteria and was coming to spell Mary. "What's going on?" he asked in a state of confusion
"Apparently, Daddy doesn't think our son is worthy of his name," Mary explained.
John instantly saw red. He knew that Frank didn't really care for him, but nobody was going to hurt his boy or his wife.
"John, you don't have to say anything. I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking it too," Mary said as fire lit her eyes. "Fine, dad, you don't want him to have your name, then I will give him one that fits him. Jonathan Dean Winchester Jr. after his dad, because he has his strenght. Now get out and don't come back. You don't want my son in your life, I don't want you in mine."
"Mary, please, I didn't mean it that way," pleaded Frank.
"No, dad, you said your piece, now get out." Mary was adamant.
Frank left and that was the last time he saw his daughter for almost four years.
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This time it was John who called Frank out of his memories. Frank dropped off the paper work and together, they made their way to Dr. Keeping's office. They were ushered straight in to see the man himself. Dr. Keeping was happy to see Frank Jackson, the man was a pillar of local society and had made many donations to the hospital. He said hello to Frank and then he looked at John. The man looked familiar, but Nathan couldn't quite place him.
"Nathan, I was wondering if you remember John Winchester. He was married to my daughter." Frank explained that they had run into each other at Mary's grave.
Nathan stared at the man. Now he remembered him. "Your son, he was the miracle baby."
John felt his temper rise. "You don't get to call him that. You were the biggest doubter of them all. Guess Mary proved you wrong without the fancy degree."
"I was just doing my job," replied Nathan defensively.
"No, you wanted to be proven right, no matter what progress Dean made, you couldn't say anything positive. Were you rooting for him to fail so you could say I told you so?"
Frank was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. There was lot of resentment and time didn't appear to have hadn't diminished it any.
"You don't know what you talking about. I simply wanted you to be prepared," Nathan responded, drawing himself up and pulling on a cloak of arrogance that years of healing the sick had given him.
"It's you who didn't know what he was talking about. You were wrong with everything you said about Dean," John stated.
"Is there a point to all this, or did you come to argue, because I am extremely busy?"
"Yes, there's a point," John said.
"I just wanted to tell you, Nathan, how wrong we all were," replied Frank.
"I wanted to show you something doctor." With that, John handed a copy of Dean's acceptance letter to MIT. "The little boy you said would never be able to put a sentence together managed to get accepted at one of the top schools in the country. With a full scholarship, no less."
The look on the doctor's face was priceless. Even then, he couldn't admit that he may have been wrong. "I'm not surprised, I mean look who Frank is. What did you do, promise them a library?"
Before John could comment, Frank answered. "That's my grandson you're talking about. He earned that. I had no contact with John, I didn't even know that Dean applied."
"Whatever, Frank. I have work to do."
With that, Nathan Keeping left in a huff. What was wrong with Frank? He had heard about Frank's atrocious attire at the auction and now, trying to humiliate him. He would have to get in touch with Margaret, he believed she really needed to talk to her husband.
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While John and Frank were occupied, Sam and Dean went to the movie theater and both admitted that they had enjoyed the action picture they had chosen to see. John returned with dinner a little while later. With little else to do, they spent a pleasant afternoon practicing their poker skills. When early evening arrived Dean headed decided to head in to town, to the local bar. John suggested that Sam join him so the two could enjoy their evening.
There were a lot of young people in the bar and most were bragging about taking on all comers at the pool tables. Dean made short work of them and pocketed several hundred dollars. He and Sam claimed a table and decided to enjoy a beer before heading home. As they were laughing about something, a young women made her way over to the brothers.
"Excuse me," she said as she walked up to them.
"Yeah?" replied Sam.
"I was sitting next to you earlier and I heard you call him Dean," she said turning her attention to the older Winchester brother. "Are you Dean Winchester? Frank's grandson?"
"Why are you asking?" Dean queried, he could feel his defences rising.
The girl smiled. "Sorry, I'm Alexandra Felton. You met my grandfather, Ian, at the auction the other day."
Dean smiled back. "Yeah, your grandfather's a nice guy. How's the Thunderbird? "
"Great, I am dropping a lot of not so subtle hints about my birthday in a few months. I mean it's so gorgeous." She then rattled off all the stats about the car.
"You into cars?" asked Dean. He was starting to wonder if there was such a thing as love at first sight.
"Oh, yeah. I have a Corvette. What about you?"
"Impala."
"What year?"
"'67."
"Impala's best."
"Definitely."
"Hi," said Sam dryly, breaking into the conversation.
"Oh, sorry," apologized Dean. "Alexandra, this is my brother, Sam."
"Hi, Sam, and please call me Alex," the young woman said smiling.
"You here by yourself or are you with someone? You can join us if you want." Dean offered.
"I'm just waiting for my friend, Sarah, but if you have room for two, we would love to."
Sam and Dean scooted over and made room. Shortly afterward, Sarah Miller showed up and introductions were made. The conversation turned to cars and Dean and Alex got into a heated argument about whether Lamborghini's or Ferrari' were cooler. When Alex mentioned that she loved to shoot pool as well, all bets were off and they left.
"You get the feeling those two were made for each other?" Sarah remarked to Sam.
"Yeah, did you understand a word they said?"
"Not really, I'm lucky if I can turn my car on. I think they forgot about us. Think we should be insulted? Sarah said with a wink.
"We can get revenge. You know Alex, is there anything she doesn't like that we could have a discussion about let them know how it feels?"
"I loved the book Crime and Punishment, Alex hasn't read it. What about Dean?" Sarah asked.
"No, he hasn't read it and you know what, I really liked that book too. Have you read War and Peace?"
Sam looked up and saw Dean, he and Alex were laughing about something. For the first time since they had arrived in town, Sam allowed himself to relax completely. Sam turned back to Sarah and they had an in depth discussion about classic novels. Shortly after, Dean and Alex rejoined them. Dean had won bragging rights by taking all three games of pool. He was truly impressed with Alex's skill though.
Dean excused himself briefly to call John, to let him know they would be back later than expected, so he shouldn't worry. John encouraged them to have a good time, and not to worry about getting back so soon. He wanted to finish Mary's journal. He was glad to be able to give his boys a chance to be normal for a little while.
Of course, normal for the Winchester's didn't come easily. Sarah Miller and Alexandra Felton were bitter enemies with Tabitha Butler and her best friend Francesca Warrington. The two of them were out on the town that night and had decided to see if there was anyone worthy of them in the bar.
"Oh, God! Frannie, there he is. That guy I told you about," Tabitha gushed.
"You were so right, Tabbi, he is so hot. Who's the guy he's with though?"
"He said he had a brother, maybe that's him. I think he said his name was Sam."
"He's not bad either. Let's go rescue them from those losers shall we, Tabbi. I mean they must be so bored by now. "
"Yes, Frannie, let's. Why would they want to sit with those idiots when they can have the pleasure of our company?" The two girls made their way over with determined strides.
Dean groaned when he saw who was walking toward them, and so did Alex and Sarah. Sam, who had only heard Dean's description, felt like joining them too.
"Dean, it's so good to see you again. This is my friend, Frannie," said Tabbi.
"Hi," Dean said politely. "This is my brother, Sam. Did you have a good time yesterday at the auction?"
"It was so boring. I'm sure you agree."
"No, I had a great time," Dean said with a grin.
"Never mind that, we are sitting over there," said Tabbi, pointing to an empty table and she and Frannie turned around to make their way over to their booth. She fully expected that Dean and Sam would follow her, so she was truly shocked when she turned around to find that neither brother had moved.
"Excuse me," she repeated. "I said we were sitting over there."
"Have fun," answered Dean tipping the neck of his beer bottle in her direction and turning his attention away.
Alex and Sarah were trying not to burst out laughing at the expression on Tabbi's face. This was the first time they had ever seen someone stand up to her.
"Come sit with us, Sammy," Frannie said. She had decided she wanted the youngest Winchester.
"I'm comfortable here thanks, and it's Sam."
"I like Sammy so much better. It goes with Frannie. Frannie and Sammy," she giggled.
Gag me, thought Sam.
"Only two people on the planet are allowed to call me Sammy and I'm sorry, but you're not one of them," Sam stated firmly.
"Sorry, no offense, but Sam, Frannie wants to get to know you better and I would like to get to know Dean better. So ditch these losers and join us," Tabbi said, her lashes fluttering flirtatiously.
Dean had had enough. 'I'm sorry. We were having a nice time tonight and I don't appreciate people being rude to my new friends, so if you can't keep a civil tongue in what you think is your pretty little head, I suggest you go elsewhere. Goodnight," Dean announced in a tone that left no room for arguments and eerily reminded Sam of John in drill sergeant mode.
Tabbi couldn't believe her ears. Had she just been dismissed? Nobody did that to Tabitha Winifred Butler. Grandmama would be hearing about this.
They stalked off.
"Dean, that was great," complimented Sarah.
"Yeah, it was about time someone put her in her place," Alex nodded in agreement.
Alex was not the kind of girl Dean normally went for. She was a brunette and a little on the short side. While she was pretty, she was not drop dead gorgeous. Not the tall, leggy blondes he usually chased, that described Sarah more. None the less, Dean found himself thoroughly enjoying her company. Sam could say the same about Sarah. When the band stared to play an AC/DC tune and Alex announced that it was her favourite song, Dean just had to ask.
"Hey, Alex, would you marry me?"
Alex laughed. She was intrigued by Dean Winchester. When she met a guy as good looking as he was, they usually fell all over Tabbi. "One condition, how do you feel about Justin Timberlake?"
"Yuck," said Dean.
"In that case, I accept. Come on, let's go dance."
As Dean and Alex walked away, Sam couldn't help but think to himself who is this guy and what did he do with my brother?
It was almost two in the morning when Dean and Sam stumbled back to the motel. That night, both brothers fell asleep with smiles on their faces.