everyonelives | i'm leaving you my last curse

She did not, and I wasn't really in a position to press. She just asked for you to call her back. It seemed like there was a question she wanted to ask, but I wasn't the person she wanted to ask it to.

[She wanted Dean, and was a little thrown when she got Mary instead.]

She sounded ... a little frazzled, I think.

( He's listening, he is, and normally his instinct would be to call his best friend, but instead he just, a little too loudly bellows )

Cas. ( And before he appears, he asks no one in particular. ) She's - why now? How?

[Mary doesn't have those answers. But she does jump slightly when Cas appears out of nowhere, as requested.]

Dean. Mary.

["Hello, Castiel."]

( A little too loudly for anyone's taste, considering he's right out in the hall, Dean just jumps right in. He's happy nobody starts with a Happy Thanksgiving. )

Lisa Braeden. You completely erased me from her and Ben's minds.

Yes, as you asked me to.

[He doesn't know why this is coming up now, nor why he's answering questions for things that happened years ago, but he assumes this is going somewhere.

He's not sure he likes where it's going, but he's along for the ride, as Dean seems upset. Upset with him? Hard to say. But that isn't the question that's been asked yet.]

Is there any way that wall could've come down.

( And why now? Why now is also his question! And so as to not to continue to confuse him. )

She called. She called the old phone and says she wants to speak to me. She's looking for me but she shouldn't know who I am, Cas.

[Castiel just shrugs, because no, there shouldn't be. But where Dean's involved, there's a lot of things that happen that shouldn't. "Not that I'm aware of. But it wouldn't be the first time something went ... awry where Winchesters are concerned."

Mary muses, reflecting back on the albeit brief conversation with Lisa before offering:]

You lived with them for two years. Did you take any pictures?

Yes. ( They were a family unit. ) Why are you asking about pictures? ( Except, he follows her thought process. It's impossible not to. His voice returns to a normal level as he turns to Cas. ) So, when you erased me - you just erased me but any...thing left behind. Anything I didn't get to, or didn't know about, didn't think about.

( He sighs. )

You're saying I did a shit cleanup job.

( No, Dean. You're saying it. )

But, then how could she -- ( He just stops - takes a breath. ) So, what, she just stumbles onto some paper trail of this guy she doesn't remember. ( His eyes close. ) And thinks he hit her car and killed her boyfriend.

( He covers his face with his hands, letting out a guttural "uuuuuugh," )

What do I do, I just call her back.

That's up to you.

[Mary's not going to force him, and she's not going to judge him either.]

But she sounds like a woman with a lot of questions, so it might be easier if you rip the band-aid off rather than ignoring it.

[If she doesn't hear it from Dean, she might find the answers somewhere else.]

( She's right. He's sorry. )

Sorry for - ( To, Cas. He leaves his best friend and mother as he winds his way back into the common area, then the kitchen to the phone drawer, though he finds where his mother had left the phone. He hesitates, but maybe he can clear things up.

He doesn't know how. She wants him to call. Maybe they remember everything. But why would they seek him out after all of that.

He dials the last number that dialed him. )

[Ben's phone springs to life on the table next to him at dinner, and his eyes go wide as he looks at the caller ID.]

Shit.

[He snatches it up, answering the call before it can disappear to voicemail, and brings the phone to his ear...

... and is immediately at a loss for what to say. Hello feels dumb, in the grand scheme of things, but in the end, it's all he's really got.]

Hello?

( Dean waits. Dreading. And then he hears a voice and can't stop himself -- )

Ben?

Yeah.

[And suddenly he feels like he should be having his conversation anywhere but where the three pairs of eyes are currently watching him, but he also doesn't know why either.

He swallows hard before trying to figure out what he needs to actually say. What do you do, just come out with "Hey, I think you're my dad?" Would he even be receptive to that? Would he even want that?

Fuck it.

He shoots his mother an apologetic look before pushing up from the table and walking away for a little less pressure.]

Thanks for calling back. This is Dean, right?

( Lisa purses her lips, not wanting to pry. Letting him take the lead. As much as this is also her mystery. Is that his father?

Dean feels inadequate all over again. Just good enough and then somehow he'll also never be.

He doesn't move, doesn't pace, just looks up at a patch of ceiling that needs to be redone. Has that wet stain always been there? )

Yeah, this is Dean. I heard your mom was looking for me.

It was both of us, really.

[He drops onto the couch in the living room, and stares straight ahead, trying to figure out what comes next. He knows he needs to tell Dean about the DNA test. That was the point of all this. But he also can't help but ask.]

So the only thing I remember of you is you standing in that hospital, apologizing for hitting us with your car, but we've got neighbors saying that you lived with us for two years and that you showed up at my birthday when I was eight. Which is actually real?

[A pause.]

I mean, are you just the guy that hit us or were you ...

[His voice cuts off because it's a very fine line to walk.]

... Were you actually here?

Edited 2025-03-25 03:18 (UTC)

Both of you.

( If his pictures were there, any left behind documents, logs, if one of them started a search they couldn't explain...

His eyes shut, because of course neighbors still have memories. And of course there are still pictures. And documents. He thought he was keeping them safe. He thought he had no other choice, like he didn't deserve that life. And then Sam had no soul and the freaking veritas curse...

He remembers seeing them both in the hospital. His version of goodbye.

He can't gaslight them. Not anymore. He doesn't defend himself. Doesn't trip over his words. Can only give the truth without knowing how to go where next. He looks behind him to see if his mother or if Cas followed or if he's alone in this.

He settles himself into a chair using one hand to steady himself. )

I was there.

( Actually. )

[He nods slowly, taking that in. So many questions spring from that one answer, and he knows he should probably filter to the ones that cut less to the heart of the matter but there's something about this that feels like muscle memory.

Sitting on the phone, taking to someone who he doesn't want to slip through his fingers, though not really sure that's something he can control.]

So why'd you leave? Was it ...

[Because you were disappointed in your son? Did Lisa know, before this weird memory loss happen?]

... Did you and my mom break up or something?

Kind of. Originally. ( He sighs. ) Ben, you and your mom were in danger, because of what I do. And, it was safer for the both of you to - to forget me.

( It feels like too little too late, but it also feels... just a little good getting it off his chest. )

You don't remember me, right? But, you remember that crazy lady. And all the kids being swapped. They were changelings, Ben. And, I swung back through to see your mom not knowing she was a mom, and -- you did real good in that house under construction. You remember taking charge and leading all the kids out of there. You were so damn brave for your age.

[There's something that catches in his chest, from those patchwork memories of that night that he never could quite make sense of. Childhood trauma does a number on you, and all he could remember is being so scared. There's something that swells in his chest at the fondness of the words and he can't ...

There's a part of him that's angry too, that this person took memories of someone who had been important, because they decided it was safer for him to forget. But he's so close to answering a question he's had all his life that he can't deal with that part of it right now.

He places the phone down on the coffee table, pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes as he tries to sort through these feelings he doesn't understand, the layers of questions that he doesn't know how to peel away. But eventually he does catch his breath, leaning back into his couch.]

Look, I don't know if you already knew this and you just made me forget but the reason why we dug all this up is because I took a DNA test and we got a hit on a guy named Adam Milligan as my paternal uncle. I guess he's your brother or something? So ... if you didn't know, I guess now you do.

[It's probably not the best way he could have delivered that news, but he doesn't know how else he was going to be able to get it out.]

Ben?

( During his rest, Dean has to call out, has to make sure he's still on the line. And then his voice comes through again. And he can breathe again.

Lisa approaches from the hallway, not trying to disturb her son's privacy, but because she remembers a figure from that night, too. Not a conscious one. Not a face. Someone helped. Someone was there. Someone else. And maybe Dean?

He hopes for something else, he had an explanation at the ready, more to say, but Ben wallops him. Something he used to be so damn good at. He knew just when to land a right hook verbally. The words swim in his head. Dug all this up. DNA taste. Adam Milligan (and Michael somewhere out there in the word). Paternal uncle. )

He - is. ( Was, he means to say. ) He's - Ben. ( He can hear her now. 'He's not yours. I had a fling with a biker. He's not yours.' But, he screwed himself, didn't he. He can't be made with a woman whose memories he erased. Memories of him, of -- ) She - ( He closes his eyes. ) She told me you weren't mine. I didn't - I haven't -- ( Had a test. ) You - Ben, I loved you. ( Fiercely. Like his son. ) I... ( He sinks down, leg stretching out before sitting up straighter again, clearing his throat. ) Where are you, are you and Lisa still in Battlecreek?

( He's up in an instant, a plan in place, bringing his phone down and putting Ben on speaker as he looks up how long it will take him to get there. )

I can be there in 12 hours.

[Somewhere in the bunker, vampire hearing is picking up on that juicy little reveal, but Caroline doesn't say anything. Instead, she gives Elena a meaningful look that maybe she should go check on her boyfriend.

Back on the other end of the phone, Ben doesn't know what to do there. Because yeah, they're still in the same house. The family is a little bigger, but maybe there's a part of them that knew they would need to be found again. And maybe him being here in person will ... trigger something.

He tells Ben he loves him but it doesn't ring true. It's not something he can reciprocate or even know if he wanted, not as he is.

Ben glances over at his mom, not knowing if he should be the one to make this decision.]

Hold on.

[He puts Dean on mute.]

He wants to come here. He wants to be here tomorrow, basically.

Ben!

( Nobody replies and Dean reviews the routes, even before he's told he's welcome.

Lisa listened to all of that. She gave him space, but she listened and she joins her son on the couch, taking his hand with both of hers.

"Do you want him here tomorrow?" She just asks a simple question. "It's not up to him. I still don't understand what he did or why he wanted to protect us and why it shook out like this, but, put me aside. And, I'm sorry if - that I - we can cross any bridge we want, now, but it's up to you if you want to. You can also keep talking to him. I know I for sure want to know how he took our memories of him, away."

She looks down at the phone again.

"What if he brings everything you need answering." )

What if he just unilaterally decides to take it all away again?

[He doesn't like the idea that he's just been put on a shelf, and that he's worth knowing, worth letting in because all of the sudden they're blood related now. He doesn't like that he was able to just make Ben forget he even existed.

It's fucked up.

He also knows that they're still living in the same place Dean left them so it's not like they can do anything to stop him from coming. If he's going to come - and it seems like that's his plan - they should at least probably set some expectations or ground rules.]

Look, I didn't take that test because I was looking for a dad, alright? I was just looking for an answer. So if you come, this isn't going to be some Father Knows Best bullshit. I already have a dad.

[Even if he didn't really need Rudy by the time he and Lisa got together, he's not blind to it. And it feels comfortable to have that buffer.]

But both Mom and I want answers so ... yeah. We're still in the same place.

( "Wouldn't you rather find out why, then worry that he did. I don't condone it, and I don't understand it. And I do want to knee him where it counts for all of this. But, I don't want you hurt. So, if he hurts you. We have a problem. But, it's four against one if we want it. If you want it. Up to you."

She lets go, sliding over a bit, letting him take the wheel.

Ben's voice finally comes through again. And it stings. Hard. He can do what he can, at least. Father Knows Best bullshit. He's not his father. He left that behind. )

12 hours.

( He can't leave any platitudes. Won't. He's been the guy that doesn't want anything else. Hell, when he'd tracked down Adam Milligan, he wanted nothing to do with him. Thought it was a trap. It was.

He hangs up, turns to find Cas, and instead finds his girlfriend. His eyes try to search hers, try to sort his own thoughts. )

Caroline?

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