( Doesn't take away from the sincerity of the moment. And how monumental it is. He stayed. That matters. Maybe they'll have a Gingerale about it. But, he doesn't want his friend stewing. )
As far as explanations go, mortal danger's a pretty rock-solid one. Not letting him off the hook, you shouldn't, but maybe that helps you process it. You feel like any progress was made?
[That counts as progress, right? And yeah, remembering now what demons were like, how scared he was the last time he and Dean were together, he could see how Dean would think that it was better for him to forget it all ever happened.]
I don't think it was to keep us safe. I think it was more to keep him safe. But Dean is not a well-functioning human so I can't really expect him to act as a well-functioning person would.
I don't know, man. I'm not going to lie, the stuff I remember from right before he left is really rough. Like I'm going to have to go back to therapy rough. Maybe he thought he was helping. But it was more for him than it was for us. If it was actually for us, he would have asked.
( Maybe not by relationship, not all his life, he doesn't know anything. )
Just going out on a limb here. You think Dean, in his moment of crisis, was going to sit you both down, your mom, in the hospital, and you and ask if you wanted to be erased from his life. To keep you safer. And, if he did sit you down. What would the alternative have been?
( He's just trying to find the devil's advocate here. Because yes, he gets it, he gets how it looks and sounds and yeah, it's selfish, but he sees like, maybe the 10% of how selfish it is.
Still, ride or die for Ben Braeden, this one right here.
-- Wait. A second. He pulls the needle up from the record. He leans in, whispering. )
( He leans against the table, crossing his arms, trying to maybe give his buddy different perspective. )
Just saying. All your feelings. Rudy-valid, you know. But. Maybe think a little harder into what he was going through then. People give up kids for adoption cause they can't be good parents. ( Early in his childhood, his father fell into that category. But they found their way together. ) If he knew you were his from the jump, yeah, I'd be pissed on your behalf. Tell him to stand ten feet away. Pass notes, be the go-between cause he wouldn't deserve you but -- I don't know, Braeden.
He didn't think he was my dad, but I always counted him as my dad. I didn't care if we were fucking biologically related. And there were other ways to protect us that he could have tried and he didn't. He did everything he could to try and keep me away from the hunter shit, but never taught us anything to actually protect ourselves when he wasn't there because hunter Dean wasn't "good enough" for us.
[It's not the fact that he gave them up. That, Ben maybe could have handled if it was just simply a matter of him being like "I don't want to be here," and walking away. Sure, he still would have been pissed, but he would have understood.]
He put us in this glass jar and pretended to be normal, but when the jar broke, he couldn't handle it and instead of finding a way to fix it, he erased my memory and walked away. I'm not mad because he gave me up, I'm mad because my mom got fucking possessed and almost died, and his response was to take what little we did know away again. How was that fucking protecting us?
[Ben's trying not to be loud, because they are in public, but while he knows Dickerson is trying to help, there are layers to this shit sandwich that he's not interested in him defending Dean on.]
He should have told us how to have that not happen. He should have made her get the goddamn tattoo. Dean says he left because he couldn't protect us? He didn't try because all he actually did do is not be there while being the only person who actually knew anything.
[He slumps back against the chair and rubs a hand over his face.]
And yeah. Parents give kids up for adoption all the time. But if the kid is old enough, they're still allowed to be pissed about it.
( Dickerson knows when he's struck a cord. His voice goes quiet. He doesn't raise it. Doesn't pick the fight both of him know he wants. But, it also means that, like Dick wanted, logic's being followed. So, he goes quiet, knowing a nerve is rattling.
Ben's hurt. If he could undo the hurt, he would. But, he doesn't know how. )
I don't know. Maybe, he knew whatever he had to deal with began and ended with you guys in that hospital. So, he figured - better than safe and not knowing me. ( But he can't say. His voice modulates, but Dickerson doesn't back down, or blink, just takes it all in. Acoustics are shit in here, anyway. ) I know. I know you're pissed. I'd be, too. ...Not following the tattoo thing, though. That... like, family bonding?
The tattoo prevents the person who has it from being possessed.
[He didn't realize it when he was a kid, but he sees it now, the cracks in the ways that Dean tried to protect them. He also feels bad for unloading it all on Dickerson, but it takes a lot of effort to play nice with memories he's still processing.
He's not going to comment on anything else because he said what he said.]
Unless, he's asking for space from his best friend. Which, he shouldn't feel as protective over. He wishes he weren't on call so he could grab a beer, throw darts emotionally and shoot the shit with Helene, who is probably eyeing them, too.
There's an instinct that kicks in, one he first felt years ago but never followed through on. Kid needed a friend more than he needed - and it's not like Dick's ever been place to be what someone needs. He's got the ex-fiancee to prove it. Dad didn't leave him a great blueprint and his mom's still out there somewhere. )
You want to just go over and bother Helene? She asks anything too deep, I'll chuck an olive at her.
I do want to meet her. Felt like a good olive branch.
[The Dean stuff ... well, he can pretend to be fine while they talk. Or maybe she can tell him something that will make it make more sense.
And he also is reconfirming that he does need to go back to therapy but he doesn't know who will do the actual therapizing, so that's a problem for future Ben to sort out.
Dickerson, however, is offering a fun alternative, so he nods.]
( He lets him off the hook, like he has since the beginning of their friendship. Dick likes to be the person to prop him up, to be there. To not say the thing. Or say it at the right time. And sometimes, he knows exactly what to say.
Like now. It's easier to push it all to the side. Bother Helene, catapult a fry or a cherry at her if she tries to get into Ben's feelings.
When Ben inevitably leaves, he stays behind. Checks the time, cause he's no longer on call, and orders a real drink. He tells her to leave the bottle and to join him. Also: )
Helene has been friends with both Ben and Dickerson for a long time. She knows they're both a pair of dumbasses and she knows that he carries a torch for Ben that Ben seems oblivious to.
(She doubts it, but he's got a lot going on right now so Helene isn't going to get mad at him about it.)
( His flat look should overtake the glint in her eyes, but she's the one person that pierces that armor. )
Before he came down, I would've said, nothing about this adds up. Long story. But, the more he says and the more Ben hears, I don't know. I see where he's coming from and why he did what he did.
( He just wishes Ben didn't take everything on his shoulders to then take it right on the chin. )
[Helene nods as she steals one of his fries, before tipping her head to the side.
"Why doesn't always make it better, dude. You can't logic away your feelings. And you know Ben. He's not going to let it go until he's ready to let it go."
She pauses before leaning in closer.
"And if you keep telling him how to feel, he will punch you in the face."]
I'm not telling him how - ( He throws a fry at her, that she might catch, he's not trying to send it, just - toss it at her point. ) You know how he is. You know how deeply he takes shit. And this, it's upset everything. This dude -- ( He takes a sip of his whiskey. ) Just. Way out of nowhere. And a part of it's my fault. I did the digging.
["So you want to make sure it works because you feel like you're the one who dumped him in Ben's lap?"
Helene raises an eyebrow as she does catch that fry, and pops it in her mouth. It sounds drier than she actually means it - breaking things down into brass tacks always lands that way. But she wants to make sure she's understanding the root of Dickerson's issue.
[After heading home from the bar and making an impromptu phone call with Elena, Ben passes out and tries not to think about all the things he's trying to juggle. The morning doesn't make things much better, and he knows that he can't wait for his new therapist to talk to his mom.
So he makes his way over to the house, knocking on the door as he opens it and glances around. He doesn't see Rudy's car in the driveway. Hopefully he's already gone to work.]
( She's going over the notes for one of her local stump speeches. She's hunched over a half-eaten bagel at the counter, not in her heels yet, but dressed for work. ) Clarke's upstairs, but on a Zoom call.
( Civilian, as Dean would put it, in case he wants to discuss any recent revelations. She comes around the counter to pull her son in for a good morning hug. )
Do you want some coffee? ( She steps back, checking her watch. ) Are you in early at the garage today?
There are very few things you could ever do to fuck up my day, just by fucking up your own. And, I don't see the wringing of the hands and I don't think you're dating anyone, so I'll rule out, you got a girl pregnant or spent a night in jail.
( She takes her own coffee with her and leaves all of the campaign stuff in the kitchen as she leads him out to their back porch, to sit at the table. Sound travels in the house. But, also. It's a beautiful day out. And her son is here. )
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
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[She was one hundred percent trolling for the hot goss, but they know and accept that about her at this point.]
I just ... feel like I'm still catching up. He's spent like ten years missing us, allegedly, and I'm still trying to sort through it all.
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As far as explanations go, mortal danger's a pretty rock-solid one. Not letting him off the hook, you shouldn't, but maybe that helps you process it. You feel like any progress was made?
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[That counts as progress, right? And yeah, remembering now what demons were like, how scared he was the last time he and Dean were together, he could see how Dean would think that it was better for him to forget it all ever happened.]
I don't think it was to keep us safe. I think it was more to keep him safe. But Dean is not a well-functioning human so I can't really expect him to act as a well-functioning person would.
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( Just - to keep it in perspective. Maybe he'll get there. But, maybe it helps to help him. )
Keep him safe. From what? Penetrating his non-functioning heart?
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[Ben shrugs.]
I don't know, man. I'm not going to lie, the stuff I remember from right before he left is really rough. Like I'm going to have to go back to therapy rough. Maybe he thought he was helping. But it was more for him than it was for us. If it was actually for us, he would have asked.
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( Maybe not by relationship, not all his life, he doesn't know anything. )
Just going out on a limb here. You think Dean, in his moment of crisis, was going to sit you both down, your mom, in the hospital, and you and ask if you wanted to be erased from his life. To keep you safer. And, if he did sit you down. What would the alternative have been?
( He's just trying to find the devil's advocate here. Because yes, he gets it, he gets how it looks and sounds and yeah, it's selfish, but he sees like, maybe the 10% of how selfish it is.
Still, ride or die for Ben Braeden, this one right here.
-- Wait. A second. He pulls the needle up from the record. He leans in, whispering. )
Your until now dead grandmother? Mary Winchester?
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Yep. Apparently she's not so dead anymore. That's kind of a thing with them so I try not to think too hard about it.
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( He leans against the table, crossing his arms, trying to maybe give his buddy different perspective. )
Just saying. All your feelings. Rudy-valid, you know. But. Maybe think a little harder into what he was going through then. People give up kids for adoption cause they can't be good parents. ( Early in his childhood, his father fell into that category. But they found their way together. ) If he knew you were his from the jump, yeah, I'd be pissed on your behalf. Tell him to stand ten feet away. Pass notes, be the go-between cause he wouldn't deserve you but -- I don't know, Braeden.
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He didn't think he was my dad, but I always counted him as my dad. I didn't care if we were fucking biologically related. And there were other ways to protect us that he could have tried and he didn't. He did everything he could to try and keep me away from the hunter shit, but never taught us anything to actually protect ourselves when he wasn't there because hunter Dean wasn't "good enough" for us.
[It's not the fact that he gave them up. That, Ben maybe could have handled if it was just simply a matter of him being like "I don't want to be here," and walking away. Sure, he still would have been pissed, but he would have understood.]
He put us in this glass jar and pretended to be normal, but when the jar broke, he couldn't handle it and instead of finding a way to fix it, he erased my memory and walked away. I'm not mad because he gave me up, I'm mad because my mom got fucking possessed and almost died, and his response was to take what little we did know away again. How was that fucking protecting us?
[Ben's trying not to be loud, because they are in public, but while he knows Dickerson is trying to help, there are layers to this shit sandwich that he's not interested in him defending Dean on.]
He should have told us how to have that not happen. He should have made her get the goddamn tattoo. Dean says he left because he couldn't protect us? He didn't try because all he actually did do is not be there while being the only person who actually knew anything.
[He slumps back against the chair and rubs a hand over his face.]
And yeah. Parents give kids up for adoption all the time. But if the kid is old enough, they're still allowed to be pissed about it.
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Ben's hurt. If he could undo the hurt, he would. But, he doesn't know how. )
I don't know. Maybe, he knew whatever he had to deal with began and ended with you guys in that hospital. So, he figured - better than safe and not knowing me. ( But he can't say. His voice modulates, but Dickerson doesn't back down, or blink, just takes it all in. Acoustics are shit in here, anyway. ) I know. I know you're pissed. I'd be, too. ...Not following the tattoo thing, though. That... like, family bonding?
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The tattoo prevents the person who has it from being possessed.
[He didn't realize it when he was a kid, but he sees it now, the cracks in the ways that Dean tried to protect them. He also feels bad for unloading it all on Dickerson, but it takes a lot of effort to play nice with memories he's still processing.
He's not going to comment on anything else because he said what he said.]
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( So, there's some validation? )
What can I do.
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[He understands he's trying to help, but it's Ben's shit he's got to sort through.]
I think ... I just need some space to sort through all of this. It happened a long time ago but right now it's all still ... fresh.
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( Space doesn't translate.
Unless, he's asking for space from his best friend. Which, he shouldn't feel as protective over. He wishes he weren't on call so he could grab a beer, throw darts emotionally and shoot the shit with Helene, who is probably eyeing them, too.
There's an instinct that kicks in, one he first felt years ago but never followed through on. Kid needed a friend more than he needed - and it's not like Dick's ever been place to be what someone needs. He's got the ex-fiancee to prove it. Dad didn't leave him a great blueprint and his mom's still out there somewhere. )
You want to just go over and bother Helene? She asks anything too deep, I'll chuck an olive at her.
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[The Dean stuff ... well, he can pretend to be fine while they talk. Or maybe she can tell him something that will make it make more sense.
And he also is reconfirming that he does need to go back to therapy but he doesn't know who will do the actual therapizing, so that's a problem for future Ben to sort out.
Dickerson, however, is offering a fun alternative, so he nods.]
Yeah, sure. Let's do it.
[Helene is always an excellent distraction.]
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Like now. It's easier to push it all to the side. Bother Helene, catapult a fry or a cherry at her if she tries to get into Ben's feelings.
When Ben inevitably leaves, he stays behind. Checks the time, cause he's no longer on call, and orders a real drink. He tells her to leave the bottle and to join him. Also: )
Don't give me that look, Hel.
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Helene has been friends with both Ben and Dickerson for a long time. She knows they're both a pair of dumbasses and she knows that he carries a torch for Ben that Ben seems oblivious to.
(She doubts it, but he's got a lot going on right now so Helene isn't going to get mad at him about it.)
"Dean seems like an okay guy."]
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Before he came down, I would've said, nothing about this adds up. Long story. But, the more he says and the more Ben hears, I don't know. I see where he's coming from and why he did what he did.
( He just wishes Ben didn't take everything on his shoulders to then take it right on the chin. )
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"Why doesn't always make it better, dude. You can't logic away your feelings. And you know Ben. He's not going to let it go until he's ready to let it go."
She pauses before leaning in closer.
"And if you keep telling him how to feel, he will punch you in the face."]
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( HE ASKED. But, he still feels responsible. )
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Helene raises an eyebrow as she does catch that fry, and pops it in her mouth. It sounds drier than she actually means it - breaking things down into brass tacks always lands that way. But she wants to make sure she's understanding the root of Dickerson's issue.
"Did he ask you to go digging?"]
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So he makes his way over to the house, knocking on the door as he opens it and glances around. He doesn't see Rudy's car in the driveway. Hopefully he's already gone to work.]
Hey, Mom? You home?
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( She's going over the notes for one of her local stump speeches. She's hunched over a half-eaten bagel at the counter, not in her heels yet, but dressed for work. ) Clarke's upstairs, but on a Zoom call.
( Civilian, as Dean would put it, in case he wants to discuss any recent revelations. She comes around the counter to pull her son in for a good morning hug. )
Do you want some coffee? ( She steps back, checking her watch. ) Are you in early at the garage today?
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[And yes please coffee. He moves to fix it from the coffee maker, wanting something to do with his hands.]
Are you busy? I was hoping that we could talk, but I could come back later? I don't want to fuck up your day.
[Which probably tells you enough about what he wants to talk about but he needs to at least try to unpack some of this.]
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( She takes her own coffee with her and leaves all of the campaign stuff in the kitchen as she leads him out to their back porch, to sit at the table. Sound travels in the house. But, also. It's a beautiful day out. And her son is here. )
What's on your mind?
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