Topic: Double Vision

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-11-18 17:35 EST
((The following scene takes place in the middle of Supernatural Episode 7x3, "The Girl Next Door", while Dean is lying low with Sam and Bobby at Rufus' hunting cabin in Montana and recuperating from a broken leg. Meanwhile, younger Dean and Paige travel through the portal from Rhydin so that he can see Sam one last time, but instead, they run into his older self, whose soul has been separated from his, creating two Deans, one older, one younger.))

Whitefish, Montana Fall 2011" I did my best to comfort Paige, to dry her tears. I'd already guessed what had happened between her and my alter ego. My other half. My older, bitter self. After all, I was him and he was me, and I knew what I'd have done if I was in his shoes. I left Paige in the car and started toward the hunting cabin in the woods that had once, apparently, belonged to Rufus. If Bobby had ever had a best friend, it had probably been Rufus. They'd fought like brothers, like me and Sam, but in the end, were devoted to each other. I used to think my Dad was Bobby's best friend, but looking back, I realize Dad never really let anyone get close, not even me. I used to wonder what it would be like if Bobby was our Dad. In some ways, he was more of a father to us than John ever was, but it doesn't do any good to think like that. It only drives you crazy. The cabin wasn't much to speak of. Nothing fancy, just some place to lie low in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't sure yet what had happened to Bobby's house or why he and Sam and me were there. I wasn't sure of a lot of things, but I had a feeling I was about to find out. Paige hadn't really prepared me for what I'd find when I ventured through that door. The place was a mess, and that's putting it mildly. Someone had tried to clean it up, most likely, Paige, but I noticed bits of broken glass on the floor and other tell-tale signs of someone's rage.

What surprised me the most, though, was myself. I'd gotten used to seeing a younger face when I looked in the mirror over the last few months and seeing my older self right there in front of me was a little unsettling, almost as unsettling as it had been coming face to face with post-Apocalyptic future me. It was the same old me. I didn't look any different than what I remembered really, except for one thing. "What happened?" I asked, seeing the cast that went half up my other half's right leg. "What do you think happened?" Older Dean told me, his voice sounding older and rougher than I remembered it. "It's broken." "Well, yeah?" I agreed. That much was obvious. "But how?" "It's a long story, and we're running out of time," he replied sourly, giving me the once over, and I realized this had to be as weird for him as it was for me. "Sam will be back soon, and you need to be gone." "Sam is why I'm here. I'm not leaving until I see him and make sure he's all right." "I know why you're here, but you can't see him," he answered, stubbornness or anger flashing in familiar green eyes. "What do you mean?" I started. "I mean you can't see him. He's not right. I don't know if he's ever gonna be right." I knew Sam's grip on sanity was tenuous, at best. I knew the wall Death had put up in Sam's mind to keep him from remembering Hell wasn't going to last forever, but I'd never given up on him. In a lot of ways, Sam was stronger than me. After thirty years in Hell, Alistair had finally broken me. I never for a minute thought Lucifer would ever break Sam.

"What do you mean, he's not right' What's wrong with him?" "You know what?s wrong with him. The wall came down, and he came close to losing his mind. He almost shot me. Thought I was Lucifer, so if you think I'm gonna let you see him, you're wrong. You're not getting close to him. Seeing you could put him over the edge, and I'm not willing to take that risk. Are you?" My heart sank when I realized he was right. I should have realized it right from the start. This entire trip had been in vain. It had done more harm than good. Paige was a mess from seeing an older, broken me. I was a mess because of Paige and Sam, and I could only guess what my other half was feeling seeing Paige and knowing she belonged to me. But I wasn't ready to give up, not yet. "It can't be that hopeless. What about Cas?" I asked, shoving my hands in my jeans pockets as I stood a polite distance from where he sat, afraid to get too close for fear our souls might be melded again, and then what would I do'

The last time I'd seen Cas, he'd been bent on releasing the souls from Purgatory and taking control of Heaven away from Rafael. I knew things had changed since then. I knew Balthazar and Rafael were dead. Ezekiel had told me as much, but he hadn't revealed much more than that. "Cas is dead," the older Dean remarked, his voice as cold as his words, but I knew better. I knew he was hiding his pain behind those cold, emotionless words. I knew because in that moment, I felt his pain, and it tore through me like a knife. "Dead?" I echoed, doubtfully. "How can he be dead" He's an angel. How did he die" Who killed him' Was it Crowley?" He looked away, and I knew he was doing his best to keep his emotions in check, but we both were feeling the same thing. Grief. Anger. Confusion. Cas had been like a brother, a mentor, and most importantly, he had been a friend. He'd pulled me out of Hell and given me another chance at life. He'd sent me and Sam to Rhydin to keep us safe from Raphael. He'd sacrificed so much for us, and now he was dead" I shook my head in denial, unable and unwilling to accept it. "No?" "I'm sorry, but it's true. I saw it with my own eyes," my other half told me sadly. "You can call on him all you want, but you won't get an answer. He's gone." "God?" I muttered, not realizing in my ignorance the irony of that one word.

"God?" my older self sputtered. "God's the one who started this whole mess."

http://i41.tinypic.com/23kc7kj.jpg

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-11-19 12:52 EST
Dean went on to quickly explain how Cas had taken in all the souls from Purgatory in hopes of becoming a God, in hopes of redeeming Heaven and Earth, but as usual, it had ended in catastrophe. Realizing his mistake, he'd let the souls go, but it was too late. He had unwittingly unleashed an evil far older than demons, older even than angels, and that was what Sam, and Bobby, and my older self were now facing. Leviathan.

Yeah, I didn't know what they were either. Sea serpents" Demons" Neither of those. Created by God before angels and before man, lore says that God banished them to Purgatory, fearing they'd destroy the rest of his creations. Interestingly, some lore also says that Michael and Gabriel are the only ones who can kill them, but that would be impossible since Michael is stuck in the pit with Lucifer, and Gabriel is dead.

It didn't matter much really. While all of that was very interesting, I didn't think it affected me much. In one week, if everything went according to plan, Paige and I would be whisked back to Rhydin, and I'd never see Sam or Bobby again. It was what I wanted. It was the choice I'd made. My other half had Sam, and I had Paige. It seemed only fair.

"Who killed Cas?" I asked again when he was through. "Was it the Leviathan?"

Dean shrugged. "What's it matter" He's gone, and there's no bringing him back."

"God brought him back before. Maybe he will again."

"I don't think so," he said doubtfully.

I didn't have to ask about his thoughts on God. I already knew and shared them. As far as I was concerned, God was a deadbeat dad who'd abandoned his children. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm going to Hell for saying that, but I've already been there, and I don't intend on going back. Free Will is a sham. It's just God's way of wiping his hands of any responsibility.

"So, what happens now?" I asked curiously, letting him call the shots or think he was calling the shots.

"Now, you grab me a cup of coffee and some painkillers, and then be on your way,? he said, shifting a little on the couch, as if he was trying to get comfortable.

I knew it must be driving him nuts to have to sit there, unable to do much of anything for himself, not even able to drive. I hadn't seen the Impala outside, so I assumed Sam had her. That thought brought me back around to the reason I was there in the first place.

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-11-19 12:55 EST
He watched while I poured him a cup of black coffee and handed him a bottle of painkillers. The prescription said to take one every six hours. He took three.

"You shouldn't be here," he said as he tossed the pills back. "It was stupid to come here. It's dangerous."

"Yeah, well" Try and tell Paige that. This was her idea, not mine."

He swallowed some of the coffee and smiled a little. The first smile I'd seen since I walked in the door. "Just as stubborn as we are," he muttered.

I felt a wave of jealousy rise up inside me, hot and angry, and before I could stop myself, I was making accusations I didn't mean to make. "So, you get to sleep with my girl, but I don't get to see Sam. Is that how this works?"

He snorted derisively. "I can assure you, we didn't do any sleeping."

"Why are you such a dick?" I retorted, more annoyed than angry.

"I'm you, remember?" he said, taking another swallow of the coffee. "A little older, a little wiser, but still you."

I narrowed my eyes, feeling suddenly defensive. "I might look like a kid, but I'm not an idiot. I know you better than you know yourself, and I know what happened because I would have done the same thing myself!" I blinked, surprising even myself with that statement. Why was I angry then" He'd only done what I would have had I been in his shoes.

"I didn't ask her for it," he explained after a quiet moment. "She just?" He shrugged, unable to offer a valid defense.

I didn't know what had been said between them while I'd waited in the car, but I knew Paige well enough to know how she felt about him. Me. Us. "She loves you," I told him, realizing suddenly how hard this must be for her.

"Look, I didn't mean for it to happen," he continued. "It just did. It's not like she slept with another guy. I'm you? Or I was you fifteen years ago. What do you care anyway' I had her once. You'll have her for the rest of your life."

"You haven't learned a thing, have you?" I replied, grimly. It didn't matter if I was seventeen or thirty-two. My soul was his soul. Up to a few months ago, I'd lived the same life that he had. I knew everything there was to know about him and then some.

"The hell are you talking about?" he retorted.

"You know as well as I do that nothing is certain. Nothing is written in stone. We thought Cassie would last, but it didn't. And Quinn and Lisa. And don't even get me started on Jo. The one that got away. You know as well as I do that nothing lasts forever. Nothing."

"Yeah, well" You better do your best to keep her safe then and make it last as long as you can."

"She'd be better off without me," I told him grimly. It was true. I'd been over it a thousand times in my head. Just like Lisa. She'd be safer anyway, and she'd find someone else in time, but some part of me couldn't bear the thought of being without her. Was I being selfish' Maybe, but I didn't care. If I'd learned anything, it was that life was too damned short.

"Try and tell her that," he said, as if he'd read my mind.

"F*cking demons," I blurted out. "Used her to try and kill me. How long you think before they try again?"

"I'll take care of it."

"What do you mean, you'll take care of it?" I asked, doubtfully. I'd done everything in my power to protect Paige, short of one thing. My heart froze in my chest when I realized what he was thinking. The only thing he could be thinking.

"I mean, I'll take care of it. One of us deserves to be happy. It might as well be you. Besides, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Paige."

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-11-19 13:02 EST
"No deals," I told him. "One year, ten years. It's not worth it. I'm not going to Hell again, and neither are you." I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about making a deal with the King of the Crossroads. The King of Hell. Crowley, that son of a bitch.

"Crowley wants something," he said, confirming my suspicions. "I just gotta figure out what."

"So, you're gonna make a deal with the devil to keep Paige safe. That's" that's awesome," I said sarcastically. "Great plan, genius. Just don't bargain my half of our soul away because I'm planning on keeping it. Yours either, for that matter."

"Don't worry about me. Just worry about taking care of Paige."

"What about Sam?" I asked, circling back to the reason I was there in the first place.

"You take care of Paige and let me worry about Sam."

"I wanna see him. I promise I won't try to talk to him. I just?" I felt myself twisting all up inside at the thought of never seeing my brother again. "I just need to see him one last time."

He seemed to consider that a minute before replying. "He's due back here any minute. If you stick around a little while, you might catch a glimpse of him, but if you try to talk to him, I swear to God I'll kill you."

"Big threat coming from a guy who doesn't believe in God."

"Yeah, I do. That's the problem."

I frowned, understanding what he meant by that remark. It wasn't so much that we no longer believed in God. It was more that we'd simply lost faith in Him. There was no point in praying to someone who clearly didn't care and wasn't even listening. I understood about Sam, too. Seeing me was dangerous. It could break the last tenuous grip he had on his sanity. I knew my other half was only trying to protect him, and I couldn't find any fault in that. I nodded my head in agreement. "I won't talk to him. I won't let him see me, I swear."

He nodded grimly back. "Don't screw it up this time, Dean," he addressed me by name. "You've got a real chance at happiness. If you can't do it for us, then do it for her."

"I'm not gonna screw it up. I only came here to see Sammy one last time and to say good-bye."

"I know why you came here. Don't worry. I won't break my promise to Dad. I'll take good care of Sam. I won't let him down. Promise."

"And I'll take good care of Paige."

"You better." He smiled again, in a meager attempt to add a little humor to the situation. "And my liver. Take better care of my liver. It's gotta last you a lifetime."

I thought about telling him to take a little of his own advice, but I knew it would only fall on deaf ears. He wasn't planning on living long enough to worry about his liver or his cholesterol or his blood pressure. I'd been given a second chance at life, but his fate had already been decided. He'd never had a choice really. The yellow-eyed demon had decided it all when I was four. I turned for the door. There was nothing more to say, and we both knew it. He had his life, and I had mine.

"Take care of yourself, Dean. Go back to Rhydin, get married, have kids, live the life I can never have. If you can't do it for you, then do it for me."

I laid my hand on the doorknob, my heart heavy, hearing the hope in his voice, the pleading, feeling like I was turning my back on myself, on my brother, on the only life I'd ever known. Once I walked out that door, I knew I was never coming back. He'd go on with his life, and I'd go on with mine. From this moment forward, we'd be two separate people who shared one soul.

"Good-bye, Dean,? I told him, my back still turned, unwilling to turn around and look him in the eye, knowing I'd see nothing but loneliness there. At least, he had Sam. I took some comfort in that. And with that said, I walked out the door.