"Alec," Sam said.
"Yeah, got a problem with that name?"
"No, it suits you." Sam replied. John had put the gun down but was ready to lift it if he saw a threat.
"How can you be both Dean and Alec?" John asked. He was still trying to rap his mind around this. How is it that Dean was a genetically engineered weapon. "How come we remember watching you grow up?
"And that's were everything gets complicated. OK, the transgenics, which is what we are called, set up a nice little home in Terminal City in Seattle. After everything was resolved, I decided that I needed to get away. And that folks is how I ended up being Dean Winchester."
He was hoping that his brother and father would not ask more questions. He really did not want to explain everything that transpired after he left Terminal City. "You know, something's telling me that is not the full story." Sam said
"You're right, its not but I can't tell you everything. I can't tell you right now. Just you knowing what I am is dangerous. I never wanted you guys to find out"
"Why," John said.
"Because your knowledge of what I am alone puts you in danger."
"We can handle ourselves." Sam defended.
"No you can't, not against this." Dean shouted back. Sam and John were startled for a second by Dean's shout. They quickly pushed it away and focused on the conversation.
"So, how come we remember you? How come I remember watching you grow into the man that you are today? How do we even now that you are who you say you are. You could have kidnapped Dean and be some demon trying to play games with our minds?" John said.
"I'm telling the truth." He shouted. He was starting to get angry. "When I left Terminal City, I went wherever I pleased. For the first time in my life, I was free. Free to do whatever I wanted. Then, when I was in Kansas I found an old bookshop. There were some interesting books there. Some dealt with spells and old magic. So I decided to try a few of them out. One was a memory spell."
"I didn't think that it would actually work. The night after, I was walking and I heard some fighting near the woods so I decided to check it out. When I got there I saw the both of you fighting a big hairy beast. I decided to step in and give you a hand. I thought it was probably something that escaped from Manticore." Dean stopped to catch his breath.
"Go on." Sam was now trapped in the story his brother was telling him. The story might sound crazy but then again, crazy was the name for their lives.
'So I helped. We fought the thing then killed it. It wasn't from Manticore." He didn't want to tell him about the barcodes, not yet.
"When the thing was dead, Sam went over to me and touched my hand. And I swear I must have been crazy at the time but I suddenly saw memories of myself in your lives, except they were my memories now too. I was a part of your family."
"Then Sam called me Dean and I suddenly understood. It was the spell I did, the memory spell. It must have somehow ingrained me into your lives. That is how you have all those memories. I was there but not really there. The spell made up fake memories of me so that I could fit into your lives." Dean finished. He really hoped that his father wasn't going to kill him for this.
'Son of a bitch," John said under his breath. Not as an insult towards Dean, but more in amazement.
"That's how you always seemed to be there." Sam said.
"So why didn't you fix it. Why did you have to intrude on our family? You must have known what happened."
"I wanted to." Dean said. "That first night, I was so unfocused. The memories kept on coming. I let you take me to your house, the whole time you were calling me Dean and seemed to know me. I was playing that for all it was worth. I needed a place to crash. After the memories stopped, I knew everything about my past that was created."
"A few days later I made the decision to stay and help you fight. I saw what happened to my mom, I mean Mary." Dean corrected himself quickly.
"And I had the overwhelming desire to help. I don' know why, it must have been the memories but I wanted to help. No, I needed to help because she was my mother too now."
"I remember that hunt; you were out of it for a couple of days afterwards. You were acting a bit differently but I just assumed that the fight had a slight affect, that you would get back to normal and you did." John said.
What Dean just said was remarkable but believable. He had come across some tough magic when on a hunt. He still planed on checking the credibility of the story but decided that that could wait another day. He looked sideways at Sam and decided that he still needed some time to adjust to the revelations.
"I believe you." John said.
"You do," Dean and Sam replied simultaneously. Their father was not usually so trusting.
"Glad to hear that." Dean sighed in relief, looks like he wasn't going to be killed after all.
"I do," John Winchester replied. He was angry at Dean or Alec or whatever he was supposed to call him but he was not going to show it, not yet. He needed to know more. He could ascertain that Dean was not a threat, and that would have to do for now.
"Get in the car. We will talk more about this after we are properly rested." John said. He walked over to the car with Sam on his heels. He was still trying to process all that he just heard.
"Yes sir," Dean smirked to himself. His father and brother were already in the car, waiting for him. It was times like these that he was thankful that he had decided to stay and help this family, his family.