everyonelives | there are prizes all around you if you're wise enough to see

I'll follow your lead.

( For once.

Evelyn and her husband have a moment in the kitchen, before she finds her son wherever he's ended up in the bunker.

"What are you thinking?" )

Nothing.

[Well, lots of things, but nothing he's really ready to share at the moment. He wants to know how much his death has gotten around to other members of the community. He wants to know how much he's going to have to rebuild.

But he also doesn't feel like he can think about any of this until he's sure he's going to stay alive for good.]

Or trying to, at least.

You can say the out loud thoughts.

( She understands why they're hard. She knows he went from being alive to learning that he's one of three keys to - hopefully, for all involved - staying alive. )

[Evelyn's been trying to get him to say the out loud thoughts his entire life. He shouldn't be surprised now is any different. He picks at the leg of his jeans for a moment before shrugging.]

There's always a catch, right?

No, there isn't always. ( But, she knows better, too. ) But, that is the world we live in. And I've seen you beat the odds before and if you ask me, the odds are in your favor here. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of your scope.

( But, she's here to listen, not just to put pep into a step that seems beaten down. )

What else? Get it out.

[He glances up at her because the other biggest thought is Karen. And now isn't really the time to get into that with his mother. So he tries to find something else, but when he can't, he shakes his head.]

Even if I don't bleed for those bullets, I'm still going to have to bleed for a lot more people before this is over.

[Because he has a feeling a lot of people got told he was dead.]

( She can see that. She knows the toll his death took, how it destabilized and ultimately led to something better for hunters. But, he doesn't. )

I'm more concerned about your internal bleeding. ( because blood is now a metaphor at this point. ) I love how big your heart is and how much you care about everyone else, but this is the time you need to care about yourself. Listen to yourself. No, it won't be easy. And it's going to hurt. Them, and you. But, like ripping off a bandaid, after all is said and done, it will get easier. And, it's you. You'll find your sense of humor ( and his sense of duty ) and I know you've never lost your sense of self. You're not going to start now.

[It isn't so much who he is that he's worried about, but whether he still fits. Whether the people who spent almost a year grieving him still have a place for him. But he also really doesn't want to talk about himself right now, and would much rather deflect.]

So where's Coop coming from again?

( Deflection works for now. )

He's in Star City.

( Her other son's relationship news feels more like a brother-to-brother conversation, but she's not hiding it. She just doesn't know how appropriate it would be to - maybe not gush, but - she does like William. And Cooper is happy. )

[His brow furrows as he leans back in his seat.]

That's fancy. What's he doing up there? A job?

He's actually - taking a break. He met someone in Europe. And they are seeing each other. And he is based in Star City.

( He asked, so this doesn't feel like breaking confidence. And they were all tight once. )

[Lucas' eyebrows go up that there's a person out there that his brother is interested enough in playing house with. He also doesn't miss the fact that she says Coop and this mystery man met in Europe.]

Huh. Good for him.

Yeah. Cooper, in a lot of ways, he's happy. And I like him. The boy he's with. William. And I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough.

( After everything. Also, it's weird to ... gossip about William's notoriety. She wonders if he would make the connection between Star City and William Queen. )

Good. I'm glad. He deserves to be happy.

[And he does mean that, even if he has mixed feelings on his own happiness at the moment, given everything that's happened.]

You do, too. ( It's a reflex. ) If - when you get to. Maybe this really is a second chance. It's okay to hope.

( To treat it like it is. )

Did you want to... make any calls?

[He pauses, making a face before shaking his head.]

Not until I talk to Coop.

[So he knows what's been said to who.]

Probably wouldn't go over well on the phone regardless.

Okay. If you need anything, we'll all be in the main room.

( A hand on his shoulder, she presses a kiss to his forehead and then pulls him close.

And then she lets him stay back, gathering his thoughts.

As for the others, only when Jeremy has arrived, a big hug shared with his sister, do Dean, Sam, and Elena sit the Gilberts down at the War Room table. Jeremy can't believe it as he takes the steps down into the bunker and his dad and mom meet him at the bottom stair.

It's been a long, long, long time without them. He's lived without them longer than he lived with them.

Keeping his composure, he posts up with a leg on one of the chairs, ready for a lecture. )

Edited 2024-12-18 01:51 (UTC)

[Miranda sits herself down next to her son, trying to resist the urge to touch him overly much. her hand rests on his arm, marveling about how grown up he is, and wanting to know all the things they missed in between.]

Do we need to talk about this now?

[Jeremy just got here. Surely it can wait until they have some time to catch up.

Elena takes a deep breath because as much as she sympathizes, they need to get Jeremy up to speed as well. "This is important, Mom. It can't wait."]

( his pants and bootes are still stained, but at least he managed to pull a clean t-shirt on. he tries not to feel like he's fourteen or fifteen years old all over again with his mom's hand on his shoulder.

trap. spell. no. personal shit can wait. )

I want to know everything. And then we'll catch up. I promise. Okay, mom?

( Grayson sits in a chair closer to his daughter, who's standing with the Winchester boys.

"I feel like you're about to give us a lecture," he says, trying to mask his worry. He'd like to think if this were too good to be true, or if it were temporary, they'd tell him. But, he doesn't know what to think. So, all he can do is be here. And, sit.

Dean takes a breath. He feels like he's about to give a lecture.

"The rune that brought you back latched onto Elena's memories of you. It tied into a spell that tethers an ancient body-stealing witch to her long-ago corpse in case anything ever happened to her current occupant. Except, in this case, instead of her corpse, she made alternatives. Not her bodies. But, bodies connected to Elena, and to the Sullivan's, in order to ensure she has somewhere to jump should anything happen to her in -- her current body."

He feels like he's running away with this and he looks to Sam. It's a lot to cover, and he's trying to do it step by step, okay? )

[Elena gives him a reassuring nod - he's doing great and this crazy party had to start somewhere.]

The witch in question is part of a coven called the Colony. Their Inner Circle has been body jumping over and over again in order to maintain their hold on their power. Their heirs are trying to keep that from happening again. That's why we were going after the bodies in the first place.

[Miranda nods slowly as she takes in the information. "So if she dies, then there's a chance she could jump into one of us? But only one of us."

Sam nods.]

Fortunately, there is a loophole. If one of you kill her, it breaks the bond, and she can't jump into anyone.

And she dies. For good. No do-overs.

( no jumping, do not pass go, do not collect $200. )

If we kill her. We being me, Miranda, or

( "Lucas," Ezra contributes, also here. Grayson sits up straighter, looking at his wife, son, and then back to the Winchesters. )

What happens if one of us isn't the one who kills her?

( Dean shifts, moving his weight to the other foot.

"Then she'll end up in one of you," he says simply. "But, we don't know who."

"Even if we had the time to trace it back, she has Mayflower magic behind her. Old stuff I've only seen modified and modernized. It might take me days to unravel how any of it really works," Ezra explains.

"Which is why we only have a short window," Dean takes back over.

Jeremy hates all of this, hates that his parents were pulled in, that they can't just get a second chance. That they have to go after a witch. Witches were nasty and the last thing any hunter wanted to encounter.

He watches his sister, Sam, even the squirrelly witch who looks like he's only here to contribute because he has to. Something else nags at him.

"What aren't you telling us?" Jeremy asks, sitting forward, sliding to the edge of his seat, his shoulder moving out of his mother's range. )

Lucas has already agreed to go. Ezra has witches on the ground there already, so hopefully this will be easier than someone going in blind.

[Miranda frowns as she tries to process this. "Is Lucas ... good at this? Killing ... witches?"

It feels weird to say, but it seems as though everything is working out in their favor.]

He's a hunter. He was raised into this, like Sammy and me. ( not even close to how he and his brother were raised, but the fundamentals, deep down, they're there. ) If anybody has a better chance, they're not in this room, and it won't matter anyway because they're not one of the three of you.

( They'll discuss strategy soon, learn about his experience, how they could use it to their advantage. )

You were all owed the explanation. ( and so here they are. ) Look, we have experience in this, in people coming back. A lot of experience. So, we can get everyone set up, settled. And, you have the bunker long as you need it. Right now, it's safest here, anyway, what with Hernandez'... bogarting your returned bodies.

( sometimes, Dean just doesn't say it pretty, does he.

Jeremy stands, then.

"So, mom and dad are staying here while Lucas, a hunter none of us know, is entrusted to kill the thing that will keep one of them from getting possessed." )

Lucas has a chance of getting possessed, too, Jer. He's stuck in this, same as them.

[She knows what he's getting at and if she could just leave this to Ezra and the other witches to handle this she would.]

And if someone else does it, it won't work. You can't do this for him or them.

["Why would he?" Miranda blinks at that, alarmed. The idea of her son being at risk for this is not a question she's willing to consider. "I understand why you've been dragged into this, Elena, but he doesn't have to be."

Elena flinches, and while she tries to hide it, it's not hidden well (3). She swallows, refocuses on her brother and tries to stay on the matter at hand.]

Point being, while we don't know Lucas, we do know his brother and his parents. They can be trusted.

( His determination doesn't waiver, putting his parents lives into the hands of some guy,, but his mother's confusion snaps him out of his righteous moment. It also softens Elena's side. The fact that it has to be Lucas, if not his parents, further presses at him. That he can't do anything for them, himself. That he just subtly outed himself for what he's been up to the past decade, longer even...

Grayson sees Elena's flinch (13) and makes the connection that there's something his kids aren't telling him. That even though Jeremy isn't directly 'magically' involved in this, he's involved in something. He's a few chairs away from his wife or his instict would be to grab her hand.

Jeremy kicks himself for his display, deflating and sitting back down.

"The less that converge on Mexico City, the better," Ezra says. "They're not on high alert yet, and news of Kirsanov's untimely death hasn't made it to the home office, but it's almost a matter of time." He makes it clear that he understands Jeremy's needs, but at a certain point there are too many cooks, and there is nothing subtle about a caravan of people. One of which has - literally in the physical sense - nothing to do with this.

Dean also catches Jeremy's stance, his -- lack of laundered attire below the belt, and gives his girlfriend a look. Is her little brother Jeremy Gilbert a hunter?

Jeremy has explaining to do as he's satisfied enough and sits back down, still frustrated. )

You said, Mexico City?

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