![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skylar0graceTitle: What Isn’t But Really Ought To Be.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Maybe it isn’t so perfect after all…
Spoilers: Obviously ‘WIAWSNB’ but to be on the safe side, I’m gonna say all of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Supernatural’.
Disclaimer: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended. ‘Supernatural’ and all related characters are copyright Eric Kripke, Kripke Enterprises & The CW Network. No infringement intended.
Notes: Based off of the challenge ‘What Isn’t But Really Ought To Be’ set by Tany.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Maybe it isn’t so perfect after all…
Spoilers: Obviously ‘WIAWSNB’ but to be on the safe side, I’m gonna say all of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Supernatural’.
Disclaimer: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended. ‘Supernatural’ and all related characters are copyright Eric Kripke, Kripke Enterprises & The CW Network. No infringement intended.
Notes: Based off of the challenge ‘What Isn’t But Really Ought To Be’ set by Tany.
Dean opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a picture of the entire Winchester family celebrating Christmas. Dean sat up abruptly and looked around the room as the memory from the previous night came rushing back. He looked at the photograph, at all of their happy smiles and wished he could remember it.
Reaching into his pocket, Dean pulled out his mobile and dialled Sam’s number. It rang twice before going to voicemail and he hung up. If he couldn’t get any more information out of Sam, he had to go to someone who could give it to him. Feeling the Impala keys in his pocket, he stood and walked out the front door.
~
Dean looked around Professor Giles’ office and noted all of the books, most of which he had seen Sam looking through at one point of another.
“Well, I don’t think I’ve seen you in my class before.”
“Are you kidding me? I love your lectures. You make learning fun.”
Professor Giles laughed at the obvious buttering up. “So, what can I do for you?”
“What can you tell me about Djinns?”
The Professor looked across at him as if sizing him up before he took a book off of the shelf next to his desk and opening it to a page. “Well, a lot of Muslims believe the Djinn are very real. They’re mentioned in the Koran—”
“Yeah, I know,” Dean cut in, “get to the wish part.”
Professor Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Dean warily. “What about it?”
“Do you think they can really do it?”
Professor Giles eyed him, his British accent questioning and mocking at the same time. “Um…no. No, I don’t think they can really do it. You understand these are mythic creatures?”
Dean waved a hand. “Yeah, I know. But I mean in the stories. Say you had a wish, but you never even said it out loud. Like, that a loved one never died or that something awful never happened.”
“Supposedly, yes. They have god-like power. They can alter reality however they want – past, present, future.”
“Why would the Djinn do it? Self-defence? Or maybe it’s not really evil,” Dean wondered aloud. Professor Giles folded his hands together on his desk. He thoughtfully looked at Dean.
“Son? Have you been drinking?”
“Everybody keeps asking me that,” Dean said with exasperation, “but no.”
Dean thanked the Professor for his time as he left the building. Instead of climbing into his car, Dean opened the trunk. The usual weapons were gone and food wrappers and old magazines sat innocently in their place. He closed the lid with a bewildered expression and patted the car.
“Well, who would’ve thought, baby? We’re civilians.”
As Dean looked out across the campus, he saw a blonde woman walking into the building he’d just exited. It shouldn’t have been noteworthy, after all, there were several people walking in and out of that building. She was wearing snug fitting dark jeans and a white halter top with a black leather jacket opened at the front. Her blonde hair had been hastily put back in a ponytail and wisps of hair were framing her face. Her attire could have been the reason she stood out or it could have been the way she nearly ran toward the building, as if in a rush, and leapt gracefully onto the staircase taking two steps at a time as though it were a small feat. He felt compelled to talk to her but a bustling group of laughing students stepped between them and by the time he’d stood on his toes to look over them, she was gone.
Dean shook his head as if to get her image out of it before he climbed back into the Impala. He sat behind the wheel for several moments before turning over the engine and reversing out of the spot. Putting the car into first, he drove to the only place he knew he wanted to be: home.
~
Dean took a large bite out of the sandwich before him and his eyes nearly rolled back as the flavours exploded in his mouth. He’d had an innumerable amount of steak sandwiches before but this was better than all of them rolled together. He fleetingly wondered if it was a Mum thing.
“This is the best sandwich ever!” Dean said around a full mouth.
There was a small chuckle from the kitchen before he heard his mother answer. “Thank you!”
“I tried getting a hold of Sam earlier. Where’s he?”
Mary walked back in with a plate of sandwiches and sat down at the table with him. “He’ll be here soon.”
“Good. I’m dying to see him.”
Mary laid a hand on his arm and he saw a hesitant smile on her face. “Sweetie…don’t get me wrong. I am thrilled you are hanging out here all of a sudden. But shouldn’t you be at work?”
“Work?”
Mary frowned slightly and he saw her eyes run over his face as though she were looking for trauma of some sort. She pushed a glass of water in front of him and watched him take a mouthful of it. He could have sworn he saw a small look of relief cross her face but when he looked again, he only saw concern.
“At the garage…”
Dean nodded. “Right. The garage. That’s where I work. I, uh…I’ve got the day off.”
She smiled uncertainly at him and Dean looked around the room. “So, before I came and crashed your day, what were you doing?”
She looked surprised at his question. “Ah, just the usual,” she replied, stumbling slightly over the words. “Stuff around the house, maybe grocery shopping.”
Dean frowned slightly and blinked. Had she just lied to him? He shook his head and took another bite out of his sandwich. “Want me to help with the shopping?”
“You wanna go shopping with me? For groceries?”
Dean shrugged and popped the last bite into his mouth. “Sure, why not?”
Mary looked stunned and looked into the kitchen before looking back at her eldest son. “Sure, let me just grab my bag and the shopping list.”
As she walked out of the room, Dean picked up the plate of sandwiches and walked into the kitchen. He covered it with cling wrap before placing it on a half empty shelf in the fridge. He grinned at the pots on the windowsill next to the back door with various spices growing out of them. He ran a hand along them and gave a small laugh. Obviously his cooking skills did not come from his mother. He wouldn’t know what to do with spices to save his life.
As he walked out of the kitchen, he saw his mother walking down the staircase. He offered her his arm, which she took with surprise, before he led her to the Impala, opening her door for her and closing it once she’d hopped in. He could feel her curious gaze on him as he walked around to the driver’s door but he was just so happy that she was alive that he couldn’t really care that he’d probably never done it before.
She directed him to the shopping centre and he grinned as he listened to her explaining her to-do list. This really was amazing. He’d never thought he would get to go grocery shopping with his mother. His previous self had probably done it a million times and loathed the task but Dean couldn’t help himself; he was going to spend as much time with her as possible.
He grinned back at Mary as she frowned when he willingly picked up a grocery basket and almost ran through the entrance. She looked at the list in her hand before pointing to her left.
“Um, I need some Sage and Rosemary.”
Dean grinned cheekily. “Don’t you have enough of that at home? You could start selling with all the plants you have.”
Mary raised her eyebrows. “You noticed them?”
Dean shrugged. “Yeah, so?”
Mary waved off whatever thought she had before settling on a single one. “You’ve never noticed before.”
Dean grinned. “Well, I did today. So, what does Rosemary look like?”
He watched his mother grab several plants and put them in the basket. She walked down several aisles putting in a variety of items from milk and cheese to steak and bread. He almost gasped when she crouched down in front of a shelf and pulled out a huge bag of rock salt.
“What could you possibly need that much salt for?”
Mary gave him a questioning glance. “Are you kidding? You boys are your father’s sons through and through. I’d never seen a salt shaker get empty so fast until I met John and you boys seem to be no different. With you here and Sam coming for the weekend, I’ll be lucky if this bag lasts that long.”
Dean grinned. He’d used salt enough to keep him alive that he’d never really used it on food. In this reality, it seemed that he’d used it for an entirely other purpose. Dean offered to carry the heavy bag and Mary took the basket off of him. She’d led him back toward the registers when she suddenly stopped. Dean looked around the salt bag and noticed the blonde woman from the campus walking in. She looked around quickly before walking toward the fruit and vegetables.
“Mum?” Mary turned her bewildered glance to him before quickly looking back toward her. “Mum?” Mary took a deep breath before looking at Dean. “Do you know her?”
Mary shook her head. “No, but she is very beautiful.”
Dean laughed and Mary frowned at him. “I can’t believe you’re here to pick up chicks! I’m appalled, really! All this time I thought you were shopping but really –”
Mary nudged him and rolled her eyes. “Come on trouble maker, let’s pay for these and get back before Sam arrives.”
Dean continued to laugh and Mary pushed him along. Dean looked back once more, the mirth gone, as his eyes searched for her. There was something about her that kept drawing his attention and he wasn’t sure what it was. She just seemed to appear and disappear. Turning back to his mother, Dean continued the new experience of shopping with her.
~
Dean placed the large bag of salt on the counter with one arm and hoisted the shopping bags up with the other. Mary placed her handbag beside the phone before unpacking the groceries.
“Can you put the salt in the pantry please?” she asked, pointing to the cupboard in the corner.
He nodded and as he closed the door, he looked out of the window at the front lawn.
“That lawn looks like it could use some mowing.”
Mary looked up sharply in disbelief and raised an eyebrow. “You wanna mow the lawn?”
Dean grinned ecstatically. “Are you kidding me? I’d love to mow the lawn.”
She looked confused and pointed in the direction of the back yard. “Knock yourself out. You’d think you’d never mowed a lawn in your life.”
Dean rubbed his hands together before walking out of the backdoor. He saw the shed in the corner and opened it to find a new but dirty lawnmower in the corner. It was an easy start mower and Dean didn’t stop grinning as he pulled it toward the front lawn. Starting it, Dean pushed it along the length of the front yard. He had a small bit of difficulty as he tried to turn but once he had it facing the other direction, he pushed off again.
The grass on the front lawn wasn’t really all that long and probably could have gone a week or two before needing to be mown but Dean wasn’t sure he’d be here that long. He could have woken up at any moment to find out that it had all been a dream so he wasn’t doing all he could until then. Why not live the fantasy? Dean noticed a neighbour across the street taking out his garbage and Dean waved cheerfully, something he’d seen done in television shows. The neighbour, however, looked confused and gave a small wave back. Maybe he hadn’t seen those shows.
As Dean finished the front lawn, Mary walked outside with a beer in her hand. She smiled at the large grin on her son’s face as he turned off the lawn mower. He kissed her cheek as he silently took the beer and she walked inside, shaking her head in disbelief.
Dean sat down on the front step and took a long draw of the beer. He looked around at the normal neighbourhood and smiled. It was almost picture perfect. His Dad wasn’t alive but he’d lived a long time and his death had been swift and painless. He hadn’t had to sell his soul for his son’s life and was at peace now. Dean could live a normal life and apparently had been. He was drawn out of his thoughts as a car pulled up in front of the house.
“I don’t believe it.”
Sam climbed out of the car and looked around the street before closing the door. His hair wasn’t quite so dishevelled and he was wearing the sort of clothing Dean had seen him wearing while he was at Stanford. Jessica climbed out of the passenger seat and Dean rushed down the path, pulling her into a huge hug.
“Jessica.”
“Good to see you, too, Dean.” She waved her hands. “Can’t breathe.”
Dean let her go with a grin and looked over at his confused brother. “Sammy!”
“Hey.”
“Look at you. You’re with Jessica, I don’t believe it.”
Sam frowned. “Yeah.”
“Where’d you guys come from?”
Sam’s expression grew puzzled. “We just flew in from California.”
“California!” Dean replied enthusiastically, “Stanford, huh? Law school, I bet.”
Sam gestured to the beer in Dean’s hand. “I see you started off Mum’s birthday with a bang, as usual.”
Dean’s smile dropped. “Wait, Mum’s birthday? That’s today?”
“Yeah, Dean,” Sam said slowly, rolling his eyes, “that’s today. That’s why we’re here. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
Reaching into his pocket, Dean pulled out his mobile and dialled Sam’s number. It rang twice before going to voicemail and he hung up. If he couldn’t get any more information out of Sam, he had to go to someone who could give it to him. Feeling the Impala keys in his pocket, he stood and walked out the front door.
~
Dean looked around Professor Giles’ office and noted all of the books, most of which he had seen Sam looking through at one point of another.
“Well, I don’t think I’ve seen you in my class before.”
“Are you kidding me? I love your lectures. You make learning fun.”
Professor Giles laughed at the obvious buttering up. “So, what can I do for you?”
“What can you tell me about Djinns?”
The Professor looked across at him as if sizing him up before he took a book off of the shelf next to his desk and opening it to a page. “Well, a lot of Muslims believe the Djinn are very real. They’re mentioned in the Koran—”
“Yeah, I know,” Dean cut in, “get to the wish part.”
Professor Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Dean warily. “What about it?”
“Do you think they can really do it?”
Professor Giles eyed him, his British accent questioning and mocking at the same time. “Um…no. No, I don’t think they can really do it. You understand these are mythic creatures?”
Dean waved a hand. “Yeah, I know. But I mean in the stories. Say you had a wish, but you never even said it out loud. Like, that a loved one never died or that something awful never happened.”
“Supposedly, yes. They have god-like power. They can alter reality however they want – past, present, future.”
“Why would the Djinn do it? Self-defence? Or maybe it’s not really evil,” Dean wondered aloud. Professor Giles folded his hands together on his desk. He thoughtfully looked at Dean.
“Son? Have you been drinking?”
“Everybody keeps asking me that,” Dean said with exasperation, “but no.”
Dean thanked the Professor for his time as he left the building. Instead of climbing into his car, Dean opened the trunk. The usual weapons were gone and food wrappers and old magazines sat innocently in their place. He closed the lid with a bewildered expression and patted the car.
“Well, who would’ve thought, baby? We’re civilians.”
As Dean looked out across the campus, he saw a blonde woman walking into the building he’d just exited. It shouldn’t have been noteworthy, after all, there were several people walking in and out of that building. She was wearing snug fitting dark jeans and a white halter top with a black leather jacket opened at the front. Her blonde hair had been hastily put back in a ponytail and wisps of hair were framing her face. Her attire could have been the reason she stood out or it could have been the way she nearly ran toward the building, as if in a rush, and leapt gracefully onto the staircase taking two steps at a time as though it were a small feat. He felt compelled to talk to her but a bustling group of laughing students stepped between them and by the time he’d stood on his toes to look over them, she was gone.
Dean shook his head as if to get her image out of it before he climbed back into the Impala. He sat behind the wheel for several moments before turning over the engine and reversing out of the spot. Putting the car into first, he drove to the only place he knew he wanted to be: home.
~
Dean took a large bite out of the sandwich before him and his eyes nearly rolled back as the flavours exploded in his mouth. He’d had an innumerable amount of steak sandwiches before but this was better than all of them rolled together. He fleetingly wondered if it was a Mum thing.
“This is the best sandwich ever!” Dean said around a full mouth.
There was a small chuckle from the kitchen before he heard his mother answer. “Thank you!”
“I tried getting a hold of Sam earlier. Where’s he?”
Mary walked back in with a plate of sandwiches and sat down at the table with him. “He’ll be here soon.”
“Good. I’m dying to see him.”
Mary laid a hand on his arm and he saw a hesitant smile on her face. “Sweetie…don’t get me wrong. I am thrilled you are hanging out here all of a sudden. But shouldn’t you be at work?”
“Work?”
Mary frowned slightly and he saw her eyes run over his face as though she were looking for trauma of some sort. She pushed a glass of water in front of him and watched him take a mouthful of it. He could have sworn he saw a small look of relief cross her face but when he looked again, he only saw concern.
“At the garage…”
Dean nodded. “Right. The garage. That’s where I work. I, uh…I’ve got the day off.”
She smiled uncertainly at him and Dean looked around the room. “So, before I came and crashed your day, what were you doing?”
She looked surprised at his question. “Ah, just the usual,” she replied, stumbling slightly over the words. “Stuff around the house, maybe grocery shopping.”
Dean frowned slightly and blinked. Had she just lied to him? He shook his head and took another bite out of his sandwich. “Want me to help with the shopping?”
“You wanna go shopping with me? For groceries?”
Dean shrugged and popped the last bite into his mouth. “Sure, why not?”
Mary looked stunned and looked into the kitchen before looking back at her eldest son. “Sure, let me just grab my bag and the shopping list.”
As she walked out of the room, Dean picked up the plate of sandwiches and walked into the kitchen. He covered it with cling wrap before placing it on a half empty shelf in the fridge. He grinned at the pots on the windowsill next to the back door with various spices growing out of them. He ran a hand along them and gave a small laugh. Obviously his cooking skills did not come from his mother. He wouldn’t know what to do with spices to save his life.
As he walked out of the kitchen, he saw his mother walking down the staircase. He offered her his arm, which she took with surprise, before he led her to the Impala, opening her door for her and closing it once she’d hopped in. He could feel her curious gaze on him as he walked around to the driver’s door but he was just so happy that she was alive that he couldn’t really care that he’d probably never done it before.
She directed him to the shopping centre and he grinned as he listened to her explaining her to-do list. This really was amazing. He’d never thought he would get to go grocery shopping with his mother. His previous self had probably done it a million times and loathed the task but Dean couldn’t help himself; he was going to spend as much time with her as possible.
He grinned back at Mary as she frowned when he willingly picked up a grocery basket and almost ran through the entrance. She looked at the list in her hand before pointing to her left.
“Um, I need some Sage and Rosemary.”
Dean grinned cheekily. “Don’t you have enough of that at home? You could start selling with all the plants you have.”
Mary raised her eyebrows. “You noticed them?”
Dean shrugged. “Yeah, so?”
Mary waved off whatever thought she had before settling on a single one. “You’ve never noticed before.”
Dean grinned. “Well, I did today. So, what does Rosemary look like?”
He watched his mother grab several plants and put them in the basket. She walked down several aisles putting in a variety of items from milk and cheese to steak and bread. He almost gasped when she crouched down in front of a shelf and pulled out a huge bag of rock salt.
“What could you possibly need that much salt for?”
Mary gave him a questioning glance. “Are you kidding? You boys are your father’s sons through and through. I’d never seen a salt shaker get empty so fast until I met John and you boys seem to be no different. With you here and Sam coming for the weekend, I’ll be lucky if this bag lasts that long.”
Dean grinned. He’d used salt enough to keep him alive that he’d never really used it on food. In this reality, it seemed that he’d used it for an entirely other purpose. Dean offered to carry the heavy bag and Mary took the basket off of him. She’d led him back toward the registers when she suddenly stopped. Dean looked around the salt bag and noticed the blonde woman from the campus walking in. She looked around quickly before walking toward the fruit and vegetables.
“Mum?” Mary turned her bewildered glance to him before quickly looking back toward her. “Mum?” Mary took a deep breath before looking at Dean. “Do you know her?”
Mary shook her head. “No, but she is very beautiful.”
Dean laughed and Mary frowned at him. “I can’t believe you’re here to pick up chicks! I’m appalled, really! All this time I thought you were shopping but really –”
Mary nudged him and rolled her eyes. “Come on trouble maker, let’s pay for these and get back before Sam arrives.”
Dean continued to laugh and Mary pushed him along. Dean looked back once more, the mirth gone, as his eyes searched for her. There was something about her that kept drawing his attention and he wasn’t sure what it was. She just seemed to appear and disappear. Turning back to his mother, Dean continued the new experience of shopping with her.
~
Dean placed the large bag of salt on the counter with one arm and hoisted the shopping bags up with the other. Mary placed her handbag beside the phone before unpacking the groceries.
“Can you put the salt in the pantry please?” she asked, pointing to the cupboard in the corner.
He nodded and as he closed the door, he looked out of the window at the front lawn.
“That lawn looks like it could use some mowing.”
Mary looked up sharply in disbelief and raised an eyebrow. “You wanna mow the lawn?”
Dean grinned ecstatically. “Are you kidding me? I’d love to mow the lawn.”
She looked confused and pointed in the direction of the back yard. “Knock yourself out. You’d think you’d never mowed a lawn in your life.”
Dean rubbed his hands together before walking out of the backdoor. He saw the shed in the corner and opened it to find a new but dirty lawnmower in the corner. It was an easy start mower and Dean didn’t stop grinning as he pulled it toward the front lawn. Starting it, Dean pushed it along the length of the front yard. He had a small bit of difficulty as he tried to turn but once he had it facing the other direction, he pushed off again.
The grass on the front lawn wasn’t really all that long and probably could have gone a week or two before needing to be mown but Dean wasn’t sure he’d be here that long. He could have woken up at any moment to find out that it had all been a dream so he wasn’t doing all he could until then. Why not live the fantasy? Dean noticed a neighbour across the street taking out his garbage and Dean waved cheerfully, something he’d seen done in television shows. The neighbour, however, looked confused and gave a small wave back. Maybe he hadn’t seen those shows.
As Dean finished the front lawn, Mary walked outside with a beer in her hand. She smiled at the large grin on her son’s face as he turned off the lawn mower. He kissed her cheek as he silently took the beer and she walked inside, shaking her head in disbelief.
Dean sat down on the front step and took a long draw of the beer. He looked around at the normal neighbourhood and smiled. It was almost picture perfect. His Dad wasn’t alive but he’d lived a long time and his death had been swift and painless. He hadn’t had to sell his soul for his son’s life and was at peace now. Dean could live a normal life and apparently had been. He was drawn out of his thoughts as a car pulled up in front of the house.
“I don’t believe it.”
Sam climbed out of the car and looked around the street before closing the door. His hair wasn’t quite so dishevelled and he was wearing the sort of clothing Dean had seen him wearing while he was at Stanford. Jessica climbed out of the passenger seat and Dean rushed down the path, pulling her into a huge hug.
“Jessica.”
“Good to see you, too, Dean.” She waved her hands. “Can’t breathe.”
Dean let her go with a grin and looked over at his confused brother. “Sammy!”
“Hey.”
“Look at you. You’re with Jessica, I don’t believe it.”
Sam frowned. “Yeah.”
“Where’d you guys come from?”
Sam’s expression grew puzzled. “We just flew in from California.”
“California!” Dean replied enthusiastically, “Stanford, huh? Law school, I bet.”
Sam gestured to the beer in Dean’s hand. “I see you started off Mum’s birthday with a bang, as usual.”
Dean’s smile dropped. “Wait, Mum’s birthday? That’s today?”
“Yeah, Dean,” Sam said slowly, rolling his eyes, “that’s today. That’s why we’re here. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
