Hey there! I should be working on my multi-chapter story, but for the moment I'm still just rolling thoughts around and ironing out the details on that one.
So this little fix-it comes to you because I just watched "Let it Bleed" in season 6 and Sam's reaction to Dean mind-wiping Lisa and Ben...well that was not right. He wouldn't have just lectured him and then not tried to help in some way. At least in my opinion.
I understand about time constraints and that they can't address every little detail, so I guess fanfic will have to fill in this plot hole.
I volunteer! Hope you enjoy my fix it.
"Angel of god, my guardian dear
To whom god's love, commits me here
Every this day be at my side to light and guard
To rule and guide."~Children's prayer.
Sam doesn't mention Lisa and Ben.
When they drive away from the hospital and Dean can hardly see through his tears, he doesn't mention them.
As they go down the road, back to Bobby's and there's a silence in the car so heavy it makes Sam squirm, he doesn't mention them.
When they get back to Bobby's house and Dean doesn't eat, even though Bobby's made chili and bought an apple pie just for him, he says nothing.
When Dean lays down on the foldout couch in the living room with a bottle of whiskey and no glass and starts sucking it down like it's warm milk, Sam keeps quiet.
After Dean falls into a restless sleep, still fully dressed, on top of the blankets, clutching the half-empty bottle to his chest like it's his anchor in a storm, Sam just watches him silently from the other room.
When Bobby slips into the kitchen with beer and heavy eyes and asks Sam "how's he doin'?" Sam makes sure his big brother is asleep and then he finally talks.
"They meant more to him than I realized," he whispers it like a guilty plea, "I lectured him. He was broken and I lecture him, god forgive me."
Sam runs a hand down his face, looking like he's aged about 10 years in the last day.
"What'd that fool do, anyway?" Bobby narrows his eyes and Sam sighs.
"He had Cas wipe their memories."
"Wiped their memories? How much did he take?"
"Everything about the last year, I'm assuming, everything about monsters and everything to do with him. I called him shady, but I think that was probably one of the most unselfish things he's done in a long time."
Bobby shakes his head and stares at Dean, lying in a mess of wrinkled clothes and blankets on the foldout. "What does this solve exactly? This drive-thru angel therapy of Cas's don't do nothin' but make 'em feel safe when they damn well shouldn't, cause they're anything *but* safe."
Sam nods, "I know, Bobby."
"Whatever demonic freak-show comes along next is just gonna snatch 'em up, and Dean's gonna be right back where he started. Only this time they ain't gonna know to call him for help."
Dean stirs in the other room and Bobby and Sam go silent, holding their breath.
After a minute Dean stops moving and Sam speaks again. "We need to find a way to protect them without telling them anything."
Bobby nods, "well good luck with that, son. I don't know what kinda charm or spell you can conjure that's gonna last forever, but if anyone can find somethin' it'd be you."
Bobby gathers up the bowls and untouched pie and his empty beer bottle and piles everything on the counter, not bothering to put it all away.
"I'm gonna get some shut eye, and if you know what's good for ya you will too."
"Alright, Bobby, I'm just gonna do some research." Sam opens his laptop and starts reading but he keeps thinking about Dean's face after he'd yelled at him at the hospital, his heartbroken expression when they drove away from the woman and son that he'd loved like a family for over a year.
After a minute Sam gets up and goes out to where his brother is sleeping.
Dean looks so uncomfortable, still in his jeans and boots, the bottle of whiskey is still clutched against his chest and a bit of it trickles out whenever Dean inhales, wetting his t-shirt in a dark pool of stale alcohol.
Sam bends down, and very slowly and gently takes the bottle out of Dean's grip. Normally this would make Dean shoot awake, and possibly he'd wake up shooting, if Sam was particularly unlucky and he had a gun under his pillow. But Dean is exhausted from alcohol and the events of the last couple of days and he just stirs lightly, catching a breath while his eyelids flutter with R.E.M. sleep.
Sam sighs quietly and gets a worn, plaid blanket off of Bobby's old armchair and wraps it around Dean. "What were you thinking, man?" He mutters under his breath.
Then he goes back to his laptop and types something in the search bar.
Sam flips through pages of information until long after midnight, eyes burning from lack of sleep.
At around 5 in the morning he sits up straighter, rubs his eyes and zeroes in on what is the first bit of helpful information he's come across.
After a minute, he gets up and goes out into the scrap yard.
It's still dark outside, light just beginning to peek at the edges of the horizon.
His breath puffs out in smoking clouds and he sends up a prayer to Cas.
Around 8 the next morning Dean stirs and sees Sam slumped over in the armchair near the couch. He's got his head rested in his hand and he looks for all the world like a vulnerable kid, cheeks flushed and hair a mess.
He catches sight of something shining in Sam's left hand, he's holding it tightly, some kind of silver chain. Dean rubs his eyes which feel like they're full of sand despite the fact that he's gotten more consecutive hours of sleep than he's had all week. On top of that he's got a raging headache-drinking a fifth of Jack before bed doesn't make for a good morning.
"Sammy?" Dean mutters. His voice comes out hoarse and he clears his throat.
Sam jolts, looking like he's coming out of a bad dream, then calms himself. "Hey, man. You're awake."
"What are you doing sleeping in a chair, dude? Bobby's got a real bed for you upstairs and I don't need a babysitter."
"I just drifted off here I guess." Dean watches as Sam tucks the necklace into his pocket and his curiosity gets the best of him.
"What you got there, Sam?" He asks.
"It's nothing." Sam says it with a guarded expression that tells Dean it's clearly something.
"Aren't you the one always going on about not keeping secrets?"
"I'm pretty sure whoever is currently being lied to is usually the one going on about that." Sam mutters.
"So...you're lying?"
"Dean I just woke up give me a second..." Sam stretches and groans then gives up and reaches into his pocket, taking the necklace back out. He gets up and walks over to Dean who's sitting up on the edge of the couch.
"I was gonna wait until we'd at least had some coffee before I showed you this, but I guess I can't wait anymore."
Dean looks at the trinket in Sam's outstretched hand in silent confusion. It's a medal, attached to a long, silver chain and there's a picture of an angel engraved on one side and some kind of inscription on the back.
"What is it?" He asks
"It's a guardian angel medal. I found it with some of dad's things after he died. I think it belonged to mom." Sam pauses. "Anyway, it got me thinking last night."
Dean waits for Sam to continue but he just stands there looking at nothing for a minute.
"Ok...?" He prompts
"Permission to speak without getting my nose broken?"
Sam looks Dean right in the eyes when he says it and Dean feels a cold wave of dread creep over him. This is bound to be about Lisa and Ben and he's just not ready to talk about them. He doesn't think he ever will be.
"No promises, Sammy." He says flatly.
Sam sighs and goes on anyway, with no thought for his own self-preservation. "Well, last night after you went to bed, I started researching and I found something. Cas helped me out the most though. Might wanna thank him the next time you see him, actually."
Dean's getting frustrated, "Sam, what are you talking about? Mom, Cas, medals, guardian angels, I can't keep up."
Sam sits down beside him on the pull-out and takes a deep breath before continuing. "I prayed to Cas last night because I had an idea about how to protect Lisa and Ben. Now that they don't remember anything I was worried they might be more vulnerable to attacks from monsters." Dean looks down and clenches his jaw, and he's sure that Sam can see by his expression that the same thought had occurred to him, was plaguing him ever since he left the hospital.
"So I asked Cas to do us a favor."
"What did he do?" Dean's nervous and he watches Sam with narrowed eyes, waiting, as always, for some kind of bad news.
"He's kind of in charge of heaven right now, you know? Well, he's one of the most powerful angels up there anyway, so I asked him if he could assign someone to Lisa and Ben...and it turns out...there's a lower order of angels specifically dedicated to protection. They're called guardian angels. They're like the body guards of heaven. Cas pulled a few strings and...long story short, Lisa and Ben now have their own set of angelic badasses." Sam's smiling, it's a look of pure, wonderful happiness, like he's gonna burst just from the joy of finally getting to convey something positive for once.
Dean's posture changes, his shoulders slump a bit in shock and he meets Sam's eyes at last.
Sam continues. "That medal, Cas said it has some minor power, it's a connection to the angels. If you wanna know how they're doing you can say the prayer on the back and, I haven't tried it yet, but Cas claims it will glow if they're ok."
Dean's silent for awhile, studying the back of the medal. Sam sees his lips moving and there's a moment of tense waiting as he stares down at the little sterling silver trinket. Suddenly, he jerks a bit as the medal is illuminated by a faint golden light.
"It works." His voice is a quiet gasp and Sam smiles at the look of childlike wonder that crosses Dean's face. There's not much these days that can put that look on his hardened, hell-worn big brother.
"Thanks, Sam." He mutters after a long moment. Then he looks up "Thanks, Cas." He says quietly. The medal in his hand is still shimmering slightly when he lifts it over his head and slips it down around his neck. He settles it into place under his shirt, next to his heart. And breathes a sigh of relief.
~end
I know very little about Guardian Angels, only the prayer I learned as a Catholic school girl years ago. But this felt like a good way that Sam could ensure Lisa and Ben were safe without telling them anything about Dean.
I hope it wasn't too wild and out there; at least it's based on some real lore.
Thanks for reading!
Review, pwease? :)