canon au } { post-3b, of absentee fathers and winchester planning

[ooglyboogleys]

[After Ben returns with food, he and Dawn take the last shift and she takes the opportunity to judge his spoils.]

Dawn: Those can't still possibly be good. [meaning the ho-ho's]

Ben: Turns out Hostess and Little Debbie weren't making food. They made chemicals in the shape of food, so yes, they actually are still good. No nutritional value, but it's a comfort.

Dawn: [eyes skeptically some more] I am never eating Twinkies again.

Ben: In an apocalypse, you don't get picky. [holds one out to her]

Dawn: [he has a point. She sighs and takes a hold of it, almost as though she was trying to determine if it was going to kill her just by looking at it. But eventually she gives in and takes a bite, chewing quietly as she does]

Ben: [opens his and leans back, his eyes on the door - always alert. His eyes flick to Michael a moment, making sure his cousin was sleeping, and then back to the door] You mentioned that Olivia could backfire on Lucifer. What did you mean by that?

Dawn: [chewing quietly on her ho-ho for a moment, and she holds up a finger, indicating she wasn't ignoring him, she was just swallowing] How Sam stopped the Apocalypse back home. He said yes and then he managed to hold Lucifer down and take him back into Hell. Not an easy thing to do, but the thing that gave him the power to push through it? Family. [she eyes what's left of her hoho] Sam's had almost twenty years of waiting for the right moment. If he's still in there - and he probably is - Lucifer dangling Olivia in front of him might give him the push he needs to take control and change the game.

Ben: Family didn't do much keeping him from not saying yes in the first place. [just saying] And Olivia was a baby. He wouldn't recognize her.

Dawn: Family was probably the reason why he said yes. [she glances over to Michael] Angels don't discriminate who their vessels are. Sam probably let Lucifer take him so that Lucifer wouldn't take Michael. He was what? Two, three? How long would it have been before he was old enough to consent to something he doesn't understand?

Ben: Long enough that we could have taken Lucifer out and people could have stayed alive. Long enough for Sam to have raised them properly for this world.

Dawn: Yeah, that's the thing about Winchesters. When it comes to family? They don't really care about anything else. And I seriously doubt that Sam said yes lightly. They probably had him backed into a very tight corner.

Ben: [snorts] Some of them do.

Dawn: [smirks a bit, before leaning back against the wall] You're telling me you wouldn't lay down your life for Michael or Olivia?

Ben: Oh, I would. Don't see my dad being the kind to do that for me.

Dawn: [there's a quiet pause as she looks down at her hands] You might be surprised what he's willing to give up to keep you safe.

Ben: The Dean you know is probably vastly different than the one I knew.

Dawn: Maybe. Dean said he was kind of a dick but Dean doesn't really have a high opinion of himself on a good day, so it's hard to say.

Ben: My first day here, he told me to shut up and don't get in his way if I want to live. And that was before the whole facial resemblance kicked in. I had only just started to look like him when he died, and by then he only talked to me when he was barking orders.

Dawn: [she nods] And at that point he had lost his brother, had a young niece and nephew to worry about, and was suddenly confronted with a kid who may or may not be his in the end of the world when pretty much anyone was fair game to die. [she glances to him, raising her eyebrows] Would you have wanted to get attached to you? Or more to the point, let you get attached to him?

Ben: Yeah, because at the end of the day, all you have left is the people who you care for. You don't see me pushing my cousins away. Not treating them like they aren't worth anything.

Dawn: Dean doesn't see it that way. He sees himself as a live grenade. He's just waiting for someone to pull the pin and when they do? He wants any collateral damage out of the blast radius.

Ben: [gives her a look] Yeah, tell that to a ten year old who just lost his mother and needed someone. The only reason I'm alive and sane is Bela.

Dawn: Now see that? That surprises me.

Ben: Why?

Dawn: She's never exactly struck me as maternal. Nice, and good for Sam, don't get me wrong. But mom material? Not really.

Ben: [shrugs] She figured it out. She wasn't like mine, but she at least know how to talk to people and show they cared.

Dawn: I guess having kids of her own ... evened her out.

Ben: [shrugs] Don't know the Bela you know either, so I can only tell you what I know. [finishes his ho-ho. He doesn't eat anything else of any actual substance.]

Dawn: [nods a bit. She finishes off hers, before glancing back to Michael] Still. You're in a position to end the war. Just get Michael to his sister? And I have a feeling Sam will do the rest.

Ben: If he doesn't, I will. [leans his head back against the wall]

Dawn: [there's a pause] Do you want to give that a little context?

Ben: [smirks to himself] You were just asking if I was willing to lay my life down for Michael and Olivia. You didn't ask how far I would go to protect them.

Dawn: Well, yeah. But there's pretty much two things that can kill an angel - an angel sword and the First Blade and unless you're sporting the Mark of Caine, the latter isn't going to get you anywhere.

Ben: [reaches to his side that was hidden from her and holds up an angel blade that he can balance perfectly in the palm of his hand] Good thing I have one of these then.

Dawn: [eyebrows raise] Think you can get close enough to do the job?

Ben: Right place, right time... if he's distracted. [he shrugged and flipped the blade in the air before catching it by the handle] If Sam takes control, may be exactly what I need to get it done.

Dawn: [nods a bit] Then I guess that's a plan.

Ben: As long as we're not too late. Cause I have to say, dragging around four stragglers is going to slow us down, and who knows that the hell Lucifer is doing to Liv right now. [sliding the angel blade slowly into his sleeve. If Dawn listens, there is the sound of metal on metal as Ben works to put the blade in it's holster]

Dawn: Hey now. We're not just stragglers, were three werewolves and a Watcher. If you clue us in on the plan maybe we might be able to help you.

Ben: You sure you want to leave this area? Odds are if you have friends on the other side, they could be trying to come get you, and you really want to leave the exit point for that?

Dawn: If they're going to send help, it'll be soon. And if they're going to send help, odds are they'll want to help Sam too. [or they're two stupid vampires and will do it because Dawn told them too] We take the time to put a good plan together, we save your cousin, we go home. Done deal.

Ben: And the time we take hoping for an if? Not time I'm willing to take

Dawn: Wow you are so a Winchester. Do you have an actual plan?

Ben: [eyes roll] Plans are only as good as getting you to the place. After that, you need guidelines

Dawn: [Yep. Totally a Winchester.] Do you even have back up?

Ben: Michael is all the backup I've needed for years.

Dawn: So you're going to run into a compound full of demons and get into a showdown with the Devil with no back up and no concrete plan.

Ben: I have a few tricks up my sleeve, don't you worry your pretty little head.

Dawn: [she purses her lips, studying him for a moment before shaking her head] Yeah, no. We're going with you. And we're going to have a plan.

Ben: [gives her a look, then shrugs] Fine. [that's the look Dean gets when he's planning on ditching them all]

Dawn: [uh-huh. She is well aware of that look, and she is prepared for being ditched to be honest] Look, I'm just thinking that if you're going to save the world, you'll want someone one your side who's actually done it before.

Ben: [Laughs at that]

Dawn: You don't think I have?

Ben: Sweetheart, seeing you arrived here with a blade in your shoulder that I pretty sure wasn't part of your plan... yeah

Dawn: Okay, no. That wasn't. I'm not saying there aren't a few hitches every once in a while, but I've survived three Apocalypses.

Ben: Three?

Dawn: Three. Four if you count Sam and Dean's but I wasn't directly involved in that one.

Ben: Four... you guys apparently aren't just happy with one?

Dawn: Well, we kept stopping them. For some reason the bad guys kept thinking they had to try again.

Ben: Uh huh.

Dawn: [she shrugs] You can doubt me all you want, but Michael can probably vouch for me. Or at least my sister.

Ben: Even so, you're not of this world, sweetheart. The you that was here, maybe would be able to.

Dawn: Well, too bad. I'm the me you've got. And you'd be stupid not to use me.

Ben: Alright, great savior... what kind of plan do you think we should have?

Dawn: Well, first things first. Where's he keeping her?

Ben: Not really sure.

Dawn: There's your first problem.

Ben: Thank you for pointing that out. Didn't realize it was a problem.

Dawn: Regardless of where he is he's going to be surrounded by demons. So you - and Michael - will have to sneak around the legions of demons to get to Olivia, who is probably not far from Lucifer himself. Your best bet? Having something to draw their fire.

Ben: And let me guess... three werewolves and a watcher?

Dawn: [holds out her hands to the side as though to say "just saying."] Possibly more if you take the time to do it right.

Ben: I could always just take two werewolves. Leave you and Papa Wolf here to wait for your cavalry, and the other two come with me.

Dawn: Yeah, Peter won't let you take his niece. He'll kill you first.

Ben: I would really like to see him try. [there's something he's not telling you, Dawn. It's the third time he's said that phrase] But whatever. Leave the baby wolf with you.

Dawn: [you really shouldn't underestimate Peter Hale, Ben] If you don't know where you're going, how are we supposed to meet up with you?

Ben: Don't werewolves have the ability to track by scent? [really, Dawn? Even he knew that]

Dawn: Sure they do. But given that you know that, I wouldn't put it past you to cover your tracks.

Ben: If I'm taking two of them, I'm sure they will know ways that I don't to keep those tracks uncovered.

Dawn: Mmm-hmm.

Ben: [is about to respond but he hears something. His head snaps away and his hand goes up, motioning for her to stop talking. The room was dark and he squinted for a moment, then stood up. Dawn may notice that his eyes take on a bit of a brighter tone as he scans the room carefully, hand on his gun]

Dawn: [does pick that up, and falls silent as instructed, waiting to see if he hears or sees anything]

Ben: [takes a few steps to the right, tilting his head. then he relaxes] Looks like we have mice. Must have smelt the food. [His eyes dim back to normal as he goes to sit back down]

Dawn: [head tips to the side, and gestures to his face] So what's with the whole glowy eye thing?

Ben: Just one of my tricks.

Dawn: What kind of tricks exactly?

Ben: Now that would be telling. [cheeky grin]

Dawn: Uh-huh. [yeah, she doesn't trust that grin]

Ben: You should get some sleep. Morning will be here soon and you need your strength.

Dawn: [she shrugs] My watch isn't up yet. I can handle it.

Ben: I can handle it for both of us. Unless you plan on being carried again all day tomorrow.

Dawn: [a look] I didn't.

Ben: [just has that look on Dean's face most people want to punch when he's being smug]

Dawn: You keep saying that you're not Dean's kid? But hell if you don't act like him. It's gonna get you punched in the face one day.

Ben: [at that, the smirk drops and he goes back to his spot] So what's this Dean of your world like anyway.

Dawn: He's ... an ass. Eighty percent of the time he's a lovable ass but still an ass all the same.

Ben: So not much different.

Dawn: Nope. Different circumstances, but same end result, I guess. But I've known him since I was a kid, so I'm used to him at this point.

Ben: And I exist in your world too, right?

Dawn: Oh yeah. You totally kicked my ass at Grand Theft Auto.

Ben: [thinks] I think I remember that game. You drove around stealing things.

Dawn: That's the one. Granted, my video game skills were not the best, but I like to think I put up a valiant effort.

Ben: I don't think I ever met you though. When did you meet me?

Dawn: [oh. that's the complicated part] Um. So you know how I said that back home Sam held Lucifer down and jumped into Hell?

Ben: Yeah?

Dawn: Well, after that Dean ... stayed with you and your mom for a while.

Ben: ... Really? [ scoffing]

Dawn: Yeah. Really. [no she's super serious.] He still doesn't know you're his though.

Ben: Probably better for me in the end that way.