canon au } { post-1413: lebanon

[makesomethingup]

Michael: [Michael had been keeping out of everyone's way when he heard about John being here because this wasn't about him. He didn't want to take up space that Dean and Sam could have, and honestly he had zero context for the man. But in the meantime, while the boys are out figuring out the damage they've done to the timeline, he's trying to get ahold of his mother and she's not answering her phone. Worse than that, trying to call her phone tells her that her number's not in service, and that gets him Concerned. Reason flies right out the window, and he makes a beeline for Mary, the only Sane Adult in the bunker at the moment, not thinking about the implications of who might be with her] Mary!

Mary: [that level of panic in Michael's voice is never a good sign, as he tends to be the most even keel Winchester she has ever met.] In the kitchen.

Michael: [rounds the corner, holding up his phone] My mom's not answering her - [he stops dead when he sees John, mouth gaping for a moment before he finally finishes the sentence] - phone. Bela's not picking up her phone.

John: [and he was leaning against the counter next to Mary, drinking a beer. He didn't want to be out of touching distance from her, so until she told him to get out of her space, he was firmly staying in it. He wasn't expecting others to be in this place, but he should have. Still, when a not so miniature version of Sam entered, John had to keep himself from choking on his beer]

Mary: [ignores that, focusing on the problem at hand] Maybe she's busy with a client.

Michael: [shakes his head] No, you're not ... [and he dials the number again, on speaker, and they hear: "The number you're trying to reach has been disconnected. Please try your call again later."]

Mary: [frowns] Which phone is that?

Michael: Her phone. The one she doesn't use on jobs because only we have it.

Mary: ... Damn. Try her other numbers, see what you get. I think Sam has a list of her burners somewhere.

John: Need help? I could take half the numbers and dial.

Michael: Yeah. Let me find it first. [and he'll wander off before he has to do any more talking]

Mary: [sighs as she reaches for her phone] He's a shy one. You have to give him a little to warm up.

John: I wasn't given a memo about Sam having a son.

Mary: He's got a daughter too. I'm sure they were getting there.

John: They were pretty distracted already. Don't blame them. Any other mini Winchesters I should know about? [nope, not going to bring Adam up to his wife. He'll check on that kid later]

Mary: Liv isn't here actually. She's up in Boston. But Ben might be around somewhere. He's Dean's, not Sam's.

John: Really? Dean didn't mention having a woman.

Mary: He doesn't. It's a little more complicated than that. [deep breath] They're from another timeline?

John: Another... I think I need to switch to something stronger.

Mary: Whiskey's in the top cabinet. [glances over to him with a smirk] The world is a complicated place. [Michael comes back around the corner and she steps away] I'll be right back.

Michael: [as she goes to call Sam, he holds up the ... very long list of his mother's burners] You said you wanted half.

John: Yeah. Toss me a burner and let's see if we can reach her.

Michael: [slides one of the spares across the table and then folds the page in half, tears it, and passes that to him. it's a half a page, but it's ... still a lot of numbers. because Bela is that extra] There you go.

John: [and he'll grab the bottle of whiskey and two glasses, setting them down between them. He'll pour himself a drink before taking the phone and list] So, you mom's name is Bela. Pretty name.

Michael: Yep. Bela Talbot. [which he throws out there because John died not long before Sam met Bela, so he might have been aware of her during her active years. He also doesn't touch the alcohol, and instead focuses on dialing through the numbers. Most of them are not active, but on the few he does get a voice, he apologizes for the wrong number and hangs up]

John: I've heard of a Bela Talbot. Occult artifact dealer. [and he's doing the same with his number set] Keep meaning to track her down and compare notes.

Michael: Dean and Dad ran into her about a year after you died? Something about a rabbit's foot. [that she ... you know ... stole from John]

John: ... Oh she did not raid my stash after I died. [laughs]

Michael: I don't think raid is the right word for it? It was a very targeted strike and it wasn't actually her. [a beat as he pauses in the number he's dialing] As in she hired someone to go in and get it for her.

John: Makes sense. [dialing dialing dialing]

Ben: [and this is going to be the time he wanders in, hair disheveled from taking a nap after he showered, a few days scruff on his face, and in sweats and a t-shirt, barefoot. He's not paying attention, just zombie walking through the room to find coffee]

Michael: [sees that and immediately gets up and taps Ben on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper softly] So don't freak out.

Ben: [groans, blinking sleepily at his cousin] Coffee first.

John: [has turned and is both fascinated and amused]

Michael: [rolls his eyes before stepping to the side so that Ben can see John]

Ben: [sighs, because he's not getting his coffee until he humors him. So he'll rub his eyes and look over at John. Nope, no recollection.] Who's the old dude?

Michael: That's John Winchester. [a beat for that to sink in] Remember what I said about not freaking out.

John: [nope, still amused. But he raises an eyebrow at the 'old' statement]

Ben: [and he's awake, snapping his head to look at his cousin again, then back at John] Demon, Shapeshifter, Zombie, or Spirit?

John: [laughs] I've been waiting for someone to actually act like a hunter around here.

Michael: None of the above. Dean made a wish. [points at John] And look, I was here when Mary showed up, I learned that you don't mess with Dean and his parents.

Ben: Uh huh. [still skeptical, side-eying John] Hi. [moves around the counter to get a mug and the coffee pot] I need a lot of coffee for this.

John: You really are just a miniature Dean.

Ben: [snorts and pours a mug, then downs half of it before refilling] In more ways than we admit, Grandpa.

Mary: Sam and Dean are on their way back. [she's gonna leave out the fact that Sam had his bad news voice on] I told him about Bela.

Michael: Oh, and most of Bela's phones are disconnected. Now you're all caught up.

John: Sorry, kid.

Ben: Wait, Bela's not answering her phone? And where did Sam and Dean go?

Mary: At first it was to make a grocery run. Dean wants me to make Winchester Surprise. But it's more than that she's not answering her phone. It's that it's completely disconnected.

Michael: [yep, and Michael is trying not to think about the reasons that could be the case, but his big nerd brain is already filling in some of those blanks.] I'm gonna go see what I can dig up. [and he's going to bounce from this room again because he needs to go have emotions elsewhere]

Ben: [nods. And he is going to walk over to take Michael's seat and pours some whiskey into his coffee] Let me know if I can help. [and he's going to try and stare at John without actually staring at John]

Mary: [goes to get her own cup of coffee and glance between the two of them in this silent standoff. then she shakes her head] I'm going to go see if I can give Michael a hand. [and she'll leave the two of them to talk]

John: [which will probably take at least five minutes to happen, and John will see that Ben knows how to ask questions around what he wants to know, but never asks directly. Just like his father. But he can see there's pain there, which will be noticeable more when Ben's spine stiffens as Sam and Dean return]

Michael: [and has already done the math on that bad news and will be hiding in the library because he doesn't want to be the guy demanding to get his mom back to John's face when it's not technically John's fault]

Dean: [and is not going to get into it with Ben because they have bigger things to worry about atm]

Ben: I'm going to go check on Mikey [and yup, he's going to just leave and check in on his cousin]

Dean: [yeah is just going to take his coffee and pull Mary or John aside to talk to her about what's going on]

Michael: [doesn't look up when Ben comes in] We're getting Mom back right?

Ben: [and he'll go sit down next to him, close enough for Mikey to lean against him if needed] Of course we will. I'll open another rip in time to pull her here.

Michael: [slumps back against his seat as he stares at the books] I mean ... no offense to John or whatever, but Mom is Mom. I don't want to lose her again because Dean made a bad wish.

Ben: We're not going to lose her. [and that's his firm, authoritative voice]

Michael: Good.

Ben: [because of all of them, Ben has no problem sending his grandfather back to wherever he came from. Even if it would get him killed or at the very least thrown out of the family business]

Michael: [rubs his eyes, as he does] We should probably stay here until it's over. [hopefully his dad will do the right thing. He could see Dean sacrificing Bela for John but not Sam]

Ben: [nods, then reaches for his phone] I'm thinking that if the rest of the world is odd, but everyone in the bunker is unaffected... it's not just Bela. [he opens his contacts and right next to each other: Linds. Liv. He hesitates, not sure if he wants confirmation]

Michael: [shifts to peer over his shoulder] You sure you need to know?

Ben: From what I heard, the rest of the world believes our dads are completely different than who they are now. If it's true, the timeline shifts will penetrate into here eventually. [sighs and tucks his phone away again] Sam will figure that out. He'll choose us. Dean will too.

Michael: [nods and they'll just ... Wait it out. Unless one of their dads comes to get them for the family dinner]

Sam: [he actually will, because the fact about Bela has finally come to the forefront of his mind] Michael? Are you in here?

Michael: [looks up at his voice] Yeah?

Sam: [and he will find them sitting there and sigh] So Bela's not answering any of her numbers?

Michael: [and he picks up his phone and dials Bela to get the "the number you have dialed is no longer in service" message] We got that for most of them.

Ben: We haven't tried Liv. We don't want to know. [stoic, slipping into his emotionless soldier mask]

Sam: [nods and pulls out his phone. He hits the speed-dial for Liv and puts it to his ear]

Olivia: [it does ring! But it goes right to voicemail since she doesn't recognize that number] You've got Liv. You know what to do.

Sam: [and he's going to just take that she's busy doing something with Hal that, as a father, he doesn't want details about] Hey Liv, it's your dad. Just checking up on you. Give me a call back when you can. [and he hangs up] Well, you're sister is still here, so the trip through the timelines still happened.

Michael: [nods] So we probably won't disappear, but mom's still dead. [Cool. though as he's considering that both Michael and Ben's phones ding from the Winchester kids group chat]

Olivia: Did either of you also get a weird voicemail from Sam Winchester?

Sam: Actually, she wouldn't be. Dad thought I was in Palo Alto, so it was before she and I even met. So technically, she could be alive out there and just... doesn't know who we are. [because Sam is sure Bela would have gotten out of her deal if she had never had to deal with them]

Michael: [he shrugs because he doesn't think the world is that forgiving, but whatever you say Sam. but he glances down at his phone and nods] Also Liv thinks you calling her is weird.

Ben: Hey at least she still knows us. [shrugs. It's a small win? he texts back with] He's standing in front of us.

Sam: [blinks. Then groans as he opens the tab on his phone to his website to search for an author bio] This is getting too confusing.

Olivia: Did you go to one of his dumbass TED talks?

Michael: She thinks you do TED talks?

Sam: Yeah, we're not going to talk about that. [family life, family life...]

Ben: Oh, now I have to see this. [and he's going to work on finding them]

Michael: [texts back his sister] Not exactly. Weird supernatural thing. Where are you?

Olivia: Out with Argent. He got another lead on Monroe's followers.

Michael: She's with Argent, hunting Monroe. So ... nothing too crazy, I guess. We still wound up in Beacon Hills but maybe since you were off being internet famous and Dean was wherever Dean is we never found you guys?

Sam: But I'm still your father...... right?

Ben: [finds the video and he laughs] Oh damn, that hair, Sam.

Michael: I mean ... technically? You said dad, but she referred to you as Sam. [so he's guessing there's just no relationship there]

Ben: Could be reverse lookup on the phone number. [sees Sam looking at him] Hey, I'm learning more about technology, thank you. Lydia's moved on to modern day life skills.

Michael: The question wasn't "why does this Sam Winchester guy think he's my dad?" And I doubt she would know what a TED Talk was if he didn't look you up

Ben: Alright, I'll ask the big one. [texts Liv] He's just wanting to check up on if you're okay. Things are weird around us.

Olivia: Things are always weird around us. Be more specific.

Ben: Pretty sure Dean broke the timeline again.

Olivia: Have you found Dean too? I thought the cops were looking all over for him and he was like underground somewhere.

Ben: [looks at Michael] I'm scared to even find out who she thinks we're supposed to be.

Michael: She said she's with Argent - I'm assuming we're still hunting.

Ben: As long as we're not werewolves.

Michael: [to Liv] What happened after we got here from 2028?

Olivia: ... We decided that running water was better than rage zombies and stuck around Beacon Hills?

Ben: [still watching the TED talk] Sam, you have an unhealthy obsession with kale.

Sam: Well, it's a good... turn that off. [glaring at Ben]

Michael: But we never met up with Sam and Dean?

Olivia: No. Sam was an asshole and Dean was a ghost. Why? Did you find him?

Michael: Something like that. [looks up from his phone] Okay, so it looks like when we got here, you guys weren't around to help with the Dawn situation and we never met up. I guess we googled you and decided it wasn't worth the effort, and we never found Dean.

Sam: [rubs at his forehead] This is worse than I thought.

Ben: I don't know, the man bun is pretty bad.

Sam: [snatches Ben's phone from him and turns the video off]

Michael: So what do we do?

Sam: [is tapping on things on Ben's phone before handing it back] I don't know. I need to figure out if we can even reverse this.

Ben: [is unable to open YouTube] What did you do to my phone, Sam?

Sam: Parental controls.

Ben: You're not my dad.

Michael: [rolls his eyes before taking Ben's phone and undoing whatever Sam did] What did Dean do in the first place?

Sam: I'm pretty sure he's still a hunter with Dad, while I never left Stanford. [and there is a wince, because that means Jessica might be alive and married to him] The wanted poster had the same image from when Dean first ended up on the FBI's most wanted list.

Michael: [nods] If John is here and we just yanked him out of time, then ... I don't think Dean is with him.

Ben: Not unless my idea of us being in the bunker isolated us from the timeline changes. I mean, Sam didn't disappear to where ever he lives, and we didn't go to Beacon Hills...

Michael: Or maybe it just hasn't gotten to us yet.

Sam: It didn't instantly catch up with us when we left the bunker, but there's no guarantee that we will stay uninfected. Which means we're working with a limited amount of time to figure out how to fix this. [straightens up] Let's hit the books and see what we can find on this pearl. Three sets of eyes will make the work go faster

Michael: [nods and eyes the shelves] I'll see what I can find.

Ben: [follows them] I hope I'm not a vampire. It'd suck to have my fiancée kill me.

John: [and he's managed to shake Dean off his leg for a moment and enters the library, seeing the boys and their books] I take it things are worse than we hoped?

Michael: The pearl might have pulled you out of time so the world is course correcting around you.

Ben: And the bunker probably buffered us from the initial rewriting of time, but it likely to catch up sooner rather than later.

Michael: So yeah, it's pretty bad.

John: So my staying here's gonna end up breaking our family apart anyway.

Sam: [nods, looking down at the floor, trying not to show how much it hurts him]

Michael: [is not going to confirm or deny either way. he's just trying to find some books]

Ben: Yeah, and since we don't know how much time we have before it finds us, sooner is better than later.

John: [goes over to put a hand on Sam's shoulder, squeezing] It's gonna be alright, son. You figure out how to fix this. I'll go tell your brother and Mary.

Michael: [comes back with a stack of books and hands some of them off to Ben]

Ben: Right, reading. [and he will go off with Michael and let John and Sam have their moment because when Sam starts crying, everyone cries]

Michael: [Yep, they'll just figure out how to make everyone sad. and Michael is rationalizing it as John may be gone, but he'll be getting Bela back in the process so she can handle sad dad. he hopes]

Ben: [yup. he gets it. And later, when Ben takes a coffee refill break, he'll see John talking to Mary and Dean and just stand out of sight, watching how John treats Dean, then shakes his head and gets his coffee and a protein bar before heading back to the books]

Michael: [and eventually Michael will turn one of the books around and point it towards Sam] You have to destroy it. [which is not good, because he knows that Sam wanted to use it to get rid of Michael, but ... well. That's the way things go]

Sam: [looks over at the book and sighs] So it's a one and done. Damnit, Dean.

Michael: I'm sorry, Dad.

Sam: Can't even keep what he did wish for either. [and he’s going to just punch the table]

Michael: [he ... doesn't really know what to say to that. it's not his call, and it's not his dad to lose. And John Winchester doesn't really mean much to him, but he also doesn't want Sam, Dean and Mary to be sad. Life is hard.] I can handle it, if you want?

Sam: No, it'd be better to come from me. I'll tell them before dinner.

Michael: [nods] Anything you need me to do?

Sam: [shakes his head] I guess just get back to looking for another solution to the original problem.

Michael: [he nods] Yeah, me and Ben will keep on it.

Ben: Team research powers activated.

Michael: [he gives his dad a small smile] We got this. You should go.

Sam: [and he nods and goes off to give the bad news]

Ben: [once he's gone] You know we're not going to find anything, right?

Michael: Do I expect to open a book titled "How to Evict an Archangel"? No. But is it possible that there might be a way to come at it from the side? Maybe.

Ben: Maybe. But I don't think he wants it. I think he's set on how he wants to approach this. If he did believe there was another way that would work, the pearl would have worked.

Michael: Wishes aren't that simple. [he pulls over the book that he showed Sam and turned it to face Ben] The pearl gives you your deepest desire. You don't ask for anything. It dives inside of you and finds the thing that you've longed for the most. I don't think that Dean doesn't want to be free of Michael. I think he just wanted his dad longer.

Ben: Yeah. I know the feeling. [and he's going to push himself up] I'm gonna hit the can. Be right back.

Michael: [nods and goes back to work, not really sure what he's supposed to be trying to convince Ben of here]

Ben: [don't worry, Mikey, Ben doesn't even know what he needs to hear. But he's not heading to the bathroom. He's heading to the indoor training spot and just punch the hell outta a body dummy.]

Mary: [hears the punching, and stops in the doorway, watching him as he goes to town. John is gone, and things are back to the way they were, but it's still just as heartbreaking.] Feeling frustrated?

Ben: [take a break, leaning over the dummy's shoulder and catching his breath] Just a bit.

Mary: I don't blame you. Things have been tough lately.

Ben: [and he pushes his own frustrations aside to turn and face her] You doing okay?

Mary: [she nods with a small smile] I don't think I was meant to keep him in the first place. And I know he's waiting for me when I get back. [to Heaven, she means]

Ben: Of course he will be. I mean, I don't know much about him, but he seems like the kind of guy who'd fight heaven and hell to get back to you.

Mary: [she nods] He and Sam are a lot alike that way. Dean too, a little, though I think he takes more after me in others.

Ben: Yeah. People say I'm a lot like him, but I barely knew him growing up. He was already the soldier. And here... [sighs] I think I'm more just a result of the world I lived in than being like anyone.

Mary: Well, that's true of all of us. Our parents play a role, but the world shapes us too. My parents never would have made a deal like I did.

Ben: [nods, and his fingers itching along his ribs in phantom pain of his old tattoos] Deals do suck, especially when they come due.

Mary: That they do. But sometimes, you're so desperate that you don't see another way out.

Ben: No, we don't.

Mary: [she nods, watching him carefully] But there are other ways.

Ben: Sometimes. [and he's going to turn and face the dummy again, going to punch it again, but it's a soft punch, more working on aim than force]

Mary: We'll find another way here too.

Ben: [nods, another slow swing] Maybe I'll find something back in Beacon Hills with Dawn. Different library, different set of eyes.

Mary: [she nods] New eyes can't hurt. And I'm sure Lindsay will be glad to see you're in one piece.

Ben: Yeah. And right now, I think I need to be there.

Mary: Then go. We'll call you if we need you.

Ben: Sure. [and he'll go to tell Michael he's leaving]

Michael: [blinks at him] Are you sure?

Ben: I'll look through Dawn's stuff, see if I find something not here. But he doesn't want me around, and if you're going to keep trying to find another solution and keep him on board, it's better if I'm not here.

Michael: I don't think it's as simple as that.

Ben: Probably not, but I'm not in the mood for dealing it right now.

Michael: Okay. [he won't hold him back. It's his choice and his relationship with Dean] When are you heading out?

Ben: Probably in like, a half hour. Traffic'll be light, get through the deset before the heat of the afternoon.

Michael: Okay. Drive safe.

Ben: Call me if you need me. And call your mom. Make sure she knows you miss her. [smirks]

Michael: [rolls his eyes] Already texted her. She's on her way back.

Ben: Good. I'll let you know when I get home.

Michael: Good. [and with that, he'll let him go pack and he'll get back to work]

Ben: [yup, and he's going to just fill his bag pretty quick, text Linds that he's heading back home, and head for the garage]

Dean: [is sitting in his car, mostly thinking about his dad, not really paying attention to the rest of the world around him]

Ben: [Yup, not even going to try. He'll just go for "his" car and drop his bag in the trunk, checking to make sure he has a full clip in his gun before closing the trunk and heading to the driver's seat]

Dean: [snaps out of his stupor at the sound, sees him packing up to go and ... he should say something. He should stop him. But he doesn't. Now isn't the time, and he'll probably just make things worse]

Ben: [Well, if he's not going to say anything, Ben's going to just chalk it up that he's right in not being wanted, and he'll start the car up. His jaw is grit so hard that it hurts, anger tears threaten to fall, but he just checks his mirrors and goes to pull out]

Dean: [he's just not sure he has anything new to say. he hasn't changed his mind in terms of Ben, in terms of not wanting to actually have a conversation about what's happening because he doesn't have anything new to share. So he lets him go. Maybe when he actually has an answer to this while situation, things will be easier]