lebanon ↳ i am so proud of you boys.

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Emergency means emergency, mom,” Dean shrugged, “We all know I couldn’t have explained this to either of you. So…” Sam laughed, sitting back, “This totally qualifies as an emergency.” He felt a smile form on his face, neither one of the brothers had been this happy in quite some time. For Sam, it was since Jess was alive. For Dean, it was since he was younger, Sam had just been brought home from the hospital.

“So…family huntin’ trip? ‘Cause we still gotta solve this case before we can get all touchy feely,” Dean stated, holding out a beer to Mary.

Mary took the beer, smiling. “I’m game. What’re we hunting? Something fun I hope. This better not be another rugaru or something.”

John looked at Mary, eyes wide, then looked st Sam at Dean. “Why are you taking your mom hunting?” he demanded, voice hard. “After everything, you’re going to put her in danger again?”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Sam sighed. He got lost in thought about Jess, college, and how all of this even started. Yet here they all were, together again. Dean just sat there and sipped on his drink. At least until he heard his mom, the two boys spun around on the bar stools and watched the scene unfold before them. 

“Told ya it was an emergency,” Dean said, leaning back against the counter. Sam sighed and leaned over, whispering to his brother, “The family’s back together…it’s only been 30-some years.” Dean nodded, “Definitely not somethin’ I thought you ever happen.”

Mary turned slightly to hit Dean’s shoulder. “You two had me thinking one of you had died!” she exclaimed. “Emergency means someone’s dying!” She was crying openly, still leaning heavily against John even as she scolded Dean.

For his part, John hadn’t taken his eyes off her. He still couldn’t quite believe he was seeing her, holding her. He pulled her in to kiss her forehead, loving the way she was talking to Dean, the way a mother should talk to a son, the way he had always dreamed of hearing her talk.

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Yeah…we’ve grown alright,” Sam sighed, it was true though. He’s been looking in the mirror and at Dean and noticing signs of aging that he never thought either one of them would live to have. Sam followed his dad and his brother into the bar and sat down next to them. Dean snorted, “Don’t remind us, man. We just keep cheatin’ death at this point. It’s a friggin’ miracle.” He took a sip of his beer the bartender had brought. Sam ordered him a beer and a few shots of whiskey; it was a special occasion. “Really time just kinda…has flown by,” Sam said, thinking back on everything.

John smiled tightly. “Time has a way of doing that,” he remarked. “Used to feel that a lot before I died. You two grew so fast. Before I knew it, you were adults and your mom had been dead for longer than we had been together.” He took another sip of his whiskey, looking down at it for a moment.

Mary had, admittedly, sped most of the way to the town Sam and Dean were in after getting a text that just said “SOS” with the name of a bar in a small town, and then nothing else. She walked in, eyes falling on her sons immediately. “Sam, Dean,” she said, relief obvious in her voice. “What’s the emergen-“ Her eyes fell on John as he turned to face her, his own face filled with a mix of awe, grief, and fear. He stood, taking a step towards her before stopping, waiting for her to come to him. Mary glanced from him to Sam to Dean and back again, trying to figure out if she was really seeing him, before she stepped into his arms, burying her face in his neck while he held her tightly to him.

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Nothing,” Dean said, shooting Sam a look, “Just…forget it. Let’s go have a beer.” Sam opened his mouth slightly then just nodded, “Y-yeah, beer.” That’s when Sam walked around the car and pulled his dad in for a hug. If he had to be honest, he absolutely missed his father and it was unbelievable that he was back.

Dean rolled his eyes and walked inside, going up to the counter he sat down on a bar stool.

John hugged Sam back, clapping him on the back. “Hey, Sammy,” he murmured. He pulled away, looking up at Sam. “Damn, you’ve both grown up so much.”

He followed Dean into the bar, sitting down next to him and ordering a whiskey for himself. He looked at Sam and Dean. “I thought you boys were old when I died, but now...you’re older than I was when this all started.”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Yeah…funny how it runs in the family, right? We got supernatural on both sides,” Dean said, thinking about it. It was weird. “That…yeah, I totally believe you’re our dad now.” That pretty much was their mom’s story in a nutshell. Had Amara brought him back too? “Glad someone was there to help you out…let’s go in, he’ll be a-” That’s when Sam came walking around the corner and seen them. He started to smile a bit, then realized who was sitting next to Dean in the car. It couldn’t be.

Sam reached for his gun, hand never leaving it as he made his way over to the car as Dean got out. “Sam…It’s him.” Sam just gave him a quizzical look, “How do you know? Holy water? Silver? Salt?” Dean nodded, “Gave him every test I could an’ then some…he’s been back a year Sam...A year.” Sam thought about it and mumbled to himself and then his eyes got a bit wide, “Oh…did…that makes sense.”

John got out of the car, but didn’t walk around while Sam and Dean spoke, preferring to keep the vehicle between them just in case. He furrowed his brow as he looked between his sons. “What makes sense?” he asked in confusion. “Why does it matter that I’ve been back a year? Why is that what convinced you both?”

He was confused, and a little suspicious. There was something they weren’t telling him, something they were hiding, and whatever it was was big. He wished they would just tell him the truth, come clean and explain what was going on.

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Yeah…it was weird,” Dean muttered, not even bothering to mention that he had met John and everyone when they were younger thanks to time travel. “C’mon, it’s not like mom coulda just told you ‘hey, we hunt monsters’.” They pulled in front of the bar, he put the car in park.

“You’re jokin right?,” Dean said, raising an eyebrow. That sounded an awful lot like their mom’s situation. Should he mention it? Their mom? Maybe it was a conversation better left for in person. Between the two of them. He text Sam, telling him not to freak out. Then text their mom an SOS and location, hoping she wouldn’t call or ask too many questions until she got there. “Sam will be here in a few.”

John nodded, staring straight ahead as they parked. “Mary was a hunter,” he breathed, sounding overwhelmed by that information. He sighed, thinking through some of the questions he’d had before she’d died. Little things she had done that had always confused him.

“No, not joking. The first few weeks were a trip. I had no idea what was going on. But I found the daughter of an old hunting buddy. Nice woman. She doesn’t hunt, but I saved her dad a few times so she helped me out.” He nodded. “Okay. We waiting out here for him or heading in?”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Both, actually,” Dean admitted, “Though, we have a messed up family. Mom’s dad was a hunter an’ your dad was a part of a secret organization called the Men of Letters…He was lookin’ for you…but it was too late. He pretty much died for Sam and I, man.” He quieted down, that was a lot to say, and even more to take in. However, he wanted John to know how their lives had gone…it was terrible.

“Sam’s…well, he’s ‘bout as good as someone can get in this life,” Dean said. “We kinda had bigger fish to fry at that point, the angels stepped into it an’ we had a world to save. Man, you shoulda seen it. Sam literally stopp-,” he shut up and just glanced over at John and just got quiet again. He was rambling, not to mention he didn’t want to bring up Adam. “Anyways. How’ve you been?”

John frowned, looking at Dean. “Samuel was a hunter?” he asked. “How...I mean...Mary always said they worked for the government.” He couldn’t even begin to process that his dad had somehow come forward and died for Sam and Dean. It was a little too much damage to his world view. Besides, processing that Mary’s dad was a hunter seemed more...important, somehow.

He shrugged at the question. “About as well as you can expect someone to be after waking up in a park in the middle of the night with no money, no ID, and no clue of how the modern world works. But hey, I figured it out. Been hunting for the last year or so. Figured if I hunted long enough, I’d run into you boys eventually.”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“I dunno,” Dean sighed and then laughed a bit, looking back. “Yeah…be sorry all you want, man. The past is the past.” Though, a part of Dean was resentful and pissed beyond belief. Their parents literally sat them up for failure. “Yeah…Older sister, kind of a big bag of dicks.” Dean took in a deep breath, “Yeah…me too, get in.” He pulled out his phone and text Sam, telling him to meet them at the only bar in town. Besides, it wasn’t like they’d get much out of the crime scene since it was like the last two.

“Sam’s gonna meet us at the bar,” Dean said, walking around the car to the driver’s side. “Oh! We also met grandpa. Nice man.”

John climbed into the passenger side of the car, running his hands along its dashboard for a moment, eyes unfocused as he lost himself in the nostalgia for a moment. He furrowed his brow as Dean’s words registered, looking at his son. “You met...which one? The deadbeat loser or the psychotic murderer? Neither one of your grandfathers were ‘nice.’ They were both dicks.”

He looked out the window as Dean drove. “How’s Sammy doing these days? I thought for sure he’d go back to school and live normally once yellow eyes was killed. Why didn’t he?”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“Yeah…Thanks,” Dean said, “I’ve rebuilt her a few times.” He went about every test he could think of, all of them pointed to him being a human. He frowned, how could this be real? Then again. Weirder things had happened.

“We searched Heaven high and low an’ couldn’t find either of you,” Dean said, starting to come around a little more. Maybe this was his dad. What else could it be? He was still cautious though. “Dying, dealing with God and the angels…Sam went to Lucifer’s cage for awhile, I went to Purgatory, saved the world a few times, killed Death, watched everyone we care for die…oh, yeah don’t forget faced God’s sister, y’know…the usual in the life of a Winchester.” Dean’s tone was casual, if not a bit irritated.

John shrugged. “I was there,” he stated. “Maybe someone was keeping us hidden.” He listened to Dean summing up the past few years, eyes widening. “Shit,” he swore quietly.

He stepped closer, clapping Dean on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear you’ve had to deal with so much,” he told Dean. “Sounds like you’ve been through so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. God has a sister, huh?” He sighed, rubbing at his face. “I’m gonna need a drink for all this.”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

“C’mon, then,” Dean said, nodding his head towards the parking lot where the Impala sat. He wasn’t letting the man out of his sight or behind him. Gun still at the ready, only discretely. He had every intention on running all of the tests, there was no way his story could be true. Could it? Then again, their life had been pretty messed up over the past few years.

He huffed, “Yeah. Die too many times, they start thinkin’ your dead,” he mumbled to himself. Popping open the trunk, he started digging out everything they needed for the tests. “Pretty sure my dad crawled outta Hell an’ then no one’s seen him since.”

John followed Dean towards the Impala, his expression softening as he looked at the car. “She’s beautiful, Dean,” he murmured. “You’ve taken good care of her.” He stood by the trunk, holding his arm out for Dean to test.

“I was in Heaven,” he stated. “Don’t remember much of it, but your mom was there. And you boys. Think we were on a road trip together.” He watched while Dean tested him. “What’ve you and Sammy been up to anyway?”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

Dean had been looking at his phone, texting Sam that he was on scene, when he accidentally ran into a man. When he heard that voice, his heart stopped and his mouth dropped a little. He quickly composed himself, “Oh, sorry, my bad.” He felt a few eyes on them then glanced around. How could his dad be standing right in front of him? He had been dead for a better part of at least ten years. “Can I talk to you…outside?,” his voice was firm, it was all he could do to not blow their covers in front of all of the police officers on sight.

As soon as they got outside, Dean pulled out his gun, “You wanna tell me who the Hell you are and why the Hell you’re impersonating my dead dad before I put a few bullets through your brain?” He was angry at this point. How dare someone pretend to be John, especially all of these years later. Though, they were still also working a case.

John raised his hands to show he meant no harm. “It’s me, Dean,” he stated. “I don’t know how, or why, but I came back about a year ago. Woke up in some park in the middle of the night, started looking for you and couldn’t find you, so I started hunting.”

He spread his arms slightly. “You need to run the tests, I’m not going to stop you. I’m really here, Dean. I’m your dad.” He gave a wry smile. “You and your brother are hard to find, you know that? Been looking for months, but most sources say you’re both dead.”

Ghost of the Past (Closed)

Dean and Sam were in a small town investigating a few deaths where something completely shredded the bodies. It basically looked like they went through a blender. Sam went to go to the police department, Dean had went to go to the restaurant where the second death just happened the day prior. After the restaurant, Dean went and interviewed witnesses. Though, they had all told him the same thing; that he was the second FBI agent to talk to them and none of them seen or heard anything out of the ordinary.

He called around, but so far no luck in tracking down the other hunter in town. He had just gotten off the phone with one, when Sam called. “Hey, 213 north arch street, a third body has been found, I’ll be heading over soon with a police officer after I get some files photo copied.” Dean sighed, “Alright, ‘m headin’ that way now.”

John had been hunting a creature for the last few days. He was still adjusting to the way things were done these days, which was especially difficult considering he didn’t have anyone to ask. But at least a hunt was a hunt. Even before dying, he had never let technology change how he did the job.

He had interviewed most of the witnesses, was already starting to form a theory on what he might be hunting, when he got the news of a third dead body. He hurried over to the crime scene, double-checking to make sure he still looked enough like an FBI agent to pass, then got out of the truck he had lifted three towns back.

“Agent McCartney, FBI,” he told the officer guarding the scene, flashing a badge as he slipped inside to take a look around. It was bloody, and messy. The body looked almost worse than the last two. John sighed, looking around at the blood, trying to keep himself from feeling too guilty for not solving this before this woman had died. He turned around and instinctively reached out when a man ran right into him. “Who-” he started. “Dean?”