ratherastory (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ratherastory) wrote2010-12-13 03:25 pm
ratherastory) wrote2010-12-13 03:25 pm
Entry tags:
Like Father, Like...
Title: Like Father, Like...
Prompt/Summary: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
spn_las. The prompt was "beautiful mistake." Summary is spoilery up to 6.10. Crowley gives Samuel his daughter back, as asked. Samuel is pretty sure it's what he wanted.
Characters: Samuel, Mary, Crowley
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 823
Disclaimer: None of it is mine. Please don't sue.
Warnings: Spoilers up to 6.10. AU starting somewhere in 6.10.
Neurotic Author's Note #1: So somehow I'm still in it withspn_las. I'm not sure how that happened, but here we are, and this entry actually won the challenge. So.
Neurotic Author's Note #2: Ever notice that in SPN it is always bad when you get what you wish for?
She's as beautiful as he remembers. Older, more poised than graceful now, but still just as beautiful. There is grey at her temples —prematurely, just like her mother's. It's her eyes that are really different, Samuel thinks as he watches his daughter calmly pour lighter fluid over the body of a 'shifter and drop a lit match onto the corpse. Those expressive eyes that both her sons inherited from her, devoid now of the fire that he remembers. Mary's eyes remind him of Sam's, now. His grandson's words echo in his head constantly these days. What's dead should stay dead. It's more true than even Dean knows, Samuel tells himself.
"She really is remarkable," a voice breathes into his ear. The accent is unmistakable.
"Crowley." It's an acknowledgment, barely more.
"Oh, don't be that way," the demon is smug, hands shoved deep into the pockets of the woolen coat he affects, despite the fact that demons don't feel the cold, or the heat, or anything, really. "You got your daughter back. Isn't that what you wanted? Never let it be said that I don't honour my bargains."
"That's not my daughter," Samuel says quietly, teeth gritted, hands clenched by his sides.
"Come now, that's not true. That's your daughter, just the way Sam is Sam."
"She's nothing like how she used to be. You swore you'd bring her back!" He can't help the anger that creeps into his voice.
Crowley snorts. "Ingrate. D'you think it's easy, pulling a person out of heaven? I can only do so much, you know, even if I am king of Hell. You're lucky you got this much of her. Be grateful, at least her soul isn't where your grandson's is."
Beyond the flames, Mary raises her head to look at her father, nods once to confirm the kill and nothing more, eyes empty. His Mary hated hunting, wanted nothing more than a normal existence, a husband and children and a white picket fence and a dog. Walks to the park, picnics in the yard, road trips to the Grand Canyon. A lawn to mow. She hated his trips away, hated it even more when he brought her with him, forced her to learn about silver and consecrated iron and how to salt and burn human remains.
His Mary was young and vibrant and beautiful and at the end she had fought him tooth and nail on everything. This woman, this stranger who's almost his own age, is content to follow where he leads —so long as it means they're hunting, which she does with brutal efficiency. Never when she was alive was she this focused on the hunt. There's nothing in her of his baby girl.
"Quite the hunter, your lass," Crowley says, as though reading his mind. Demons pick up on surface thoughts, he reminds himself. "It must be nice to have her back in the fold, as it were. Back in the family business. Isn't that what you wanted all along? She's nice and biddable, now."
"I don't want her biddable," he spits the word with all the derision he can muster. "God damn it, I gave everything to have her back!"
"And you do," the demon points out, oh-so-reasonably. "You do have her back. Just because you didn't read the fine print," Crowley clucks his tongue disapprovingly. "You really ought to know better, Samuel."
He whirls, anger boiling to the surface, but Crowley has vanished. Mary saunters over, casually wiping the blade of her silver knife on a rag, making sure it's completely free of blood before sheathing it again. Samuel forces himself to breathe, his pulse to return to normal, and gives her a brittle smile.
"What'd Crowley want, Dad?"
"Just checking up, I guess."
She nods, doesn't question further. "We going back to base after this?"
He blows out his cheeks in a gusty sigh. "I was thinking that I could give Sam and Dean a call. We could meet up with them, if you'd like."
There's nothing he wants less, but apart from Gwen, those two boys are all that's left of their family. The children for whom his daughter gave up her life nearly three decades ago. Her eyes flick to him and then away again, registering mild curiosity.
"What for?"
He stares at her, at a loss for words. Then he sighs once more, and leads the way back to the truck. She hops into the passenger seat —hers since the subtle jockeying for the position of his second-in-command was resolved upon her return— buckles her seatbelt and settles in for the ride, hands folded demurely in her lap, eyes closed. He finds himself stealing glances at her during the drive, at the delicate profile he thought lost to him forever. Like this, she's exactly how he remembers, and it's easier to convince himself that this is the best mistake he's made in his entire life.
Prompt/Summary: Written for
spn_las. The prompt was "beautiful mistake." Summary is spoilery up to 6.10. Crowley gives Samuel his daughter back, as asked. Samuel is pretty sure it's what he wanted.Characters: Samuel, Mary, Crowley
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 823
Disclaimer: None of it is mine. Please don't sue.
Warnings: Spoilers up to 6.10. AU starting somewhere in 6.10.
Neurotic Author's Note #1: So somehow I'm still in it with
spn_las. I'm not sure how that happened, but here we are, and this entry actually won the challenge. So.Neurotic Author's Note #2: Ever notice that in SPN it is always bad when you get what you wish for?
She's as beautiful as he remembers. Older, more poised than graceful now, but still just as beautiful. There is grey at her temples —prematurely, just like her mother's. It's her eyes that are really different, Samuel thinks as he watches his daughter calmly pour lighter fluid over the body of a 'shifter and drop a lit match onto the corpse. Those expressive eyes that both her sons inherited from her, devoid now of the fire that he remembers. Mary's eyes remind him of Sam's, now. His grandson's words echo in his head constantly these days. What's dead should stay dead. It's more true than even Dean knows, Samuel tells himself.
"She really is remarkable," a voice breathes into his ear. The accent is unmistakable.
"Crowley." It's an acknowledgment, barely more.
"Oh, don't be that way," the demon is smug, hands shoved deep into the pockets of the woolen coat he affects, despite the fact that demons don't feel the cold, or the heat, or anything, really. "You got your daughter back. Isn't that what you wanted? Never let it be said that I don't honour my bargains."
"That's not my daughter," Samuel says quietly, teeth gritted, hands clenched by his sides.
"Come now, that's not true. That's your daughter, just the way Sam is Sam."
"She's nothing like how she used to be. You swore you'd bring her back!" He can't help the anger that creeps into his voice.
Crowley snorts. "Ingrate. D'you think it's easy, pulling a person out of heaven? I can only do so much, you know, even if I am king of Hell. You're lucky you got this much of her. Be grateful, at least her soul isn't where your grandson's is."
Beyond the flames, Mary raises her head to look at her father, nods once to confirm the kill and nothing more, eyes empty. His Mary hated hunting, wanted nothing more than a normal existence, a husband and children and a white picket fence and a dog. Walks to the park, picnics in the yard, road trips to the Grand Canyon. A lawn to mow. She hated his trips away, hated it even more when he brought her with him, forced her to learn about silver and consecrated iron and how to salt and burn human remains.
His Mary was young and vibrant and beautiful and at the end she had fought him tooth and nail on everything. This woman, this stranger who's almost his own age, is content to follow where he leads —so long as it means they're hunting, which she does with brutal efficiency. Never when she was alive was she this focused on the hunt. There's nothing in her of his baby girl.
"Quite the hunter, your lass," Crowley says, as though reading his mind. Demons pick up on surface thoughts, he reminds himself. "It must be nice to have her back in the fold, as it were. Back in the family business. Isn't that what you wanted all along? She's nice and biddable, now."
"I don't want her biddable," he spits the word with all the derision he can muster. "God damn it, I gave everything to have her back!"
"And you do," the demon points out, oh-so-reasonably. "You do have her back. Just because you didn't read the fine print," Crowley clucks his tongue disapprovingly. "You really ought to know better, Samuel."
He whirls, anger boiling to the surface, but Crowley has vanished. Mary saunters over, casually wiping the blade of her silver knife on a rag, making sure it's completely free of blood before sheathing it again. Samuel forces himself to breathe, his pulse to return to normal, and gives her a brittle smile.
"What'd Crowley want, Dad?"
"Just checking up, I guess."
She nods, doesn't question further. "We going back to base after this?"
He blows out his cheeks in a gusty sigh. "I was thinking that I could give Sam and Dean a call. We could meet up with them, if you'd like."
There's nothing he wants less, but apart from Gwen, those two boys are all that's left of their family. The children for whom his daughter gave up her life nearly three decades ago. Her eyes flick to him and then away again, registering mild curiosity.
"What for?"
He stares at her, at a loss for words. Then he sighs once more, and leads the way back to the truck. She hops into the passenger seat —hers since the subtle jockeying for the position of his second-in-command was resolved upon her return— buckles her seatbelt and settles in for the ride, hands folded demurely in her lap, eyes closed. He finds himself stealing glances at her during the drive, at the delicate profile he thought lost to him forever. Like this, she's exactly how he remembers, and it's easier to convince himself that this is the best mistake he's made in his entire life.
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*chills* Oohhh, be careful what you wish for, indeed. Crowley, ah what a SHIT. ♥ And, while I know it'll break Dean's heart a thousand times over? It's just exactly what Samuel deserves. Sorry, Grampa Sam, but you screwed up and this is what you get.
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*headdesk*
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I've read stories that have John liking Metallica (which I don't see happening) and another set in 1983 prior to Sam's birth with Dean humming a Metallica song that wasn't released until 1991. Heck, Metallica wasn't even formed until around 1985 or 1986.
I did love this story and could see Crowley (had he lived) returning a RoboMary to Samuel the same way he returned a RoboSam.
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I try to avoid specific pop culture references if I'm not 100% sure about them, which is how I've avoided a lot of canon blunders. Basically there's a lot of authorial hand-waving that happens when I write. ;)
I'm glad you enjoyed it! The idea of a Mary who doesn't care about her sons gives me chills.
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I kind of feel like they're putting secondary characters and plotlines in because they don't have a lot of story about the actual boys and their relationship to cover a whole season worth of episode. I could be completely wrong but I just feel like I'm watching a whole other show which I'm not 100% liking...I'm HOPING that the boys will deal and get back to some sort of actual caring relationship SOON.
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I'm hoping the second half of the season will be more about the war in heaven so we get more Cas. \o/
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Also, common sense: Samuel lacks it. Crowley can't have gone to Heaven, because unlike Sam, Mary's body didn't accompany her soul there (this is assuming that she actually went to Heaven, of course. For all we know, she might even be in Purgatory).
Maybe all he did was reanimate her burnt ashes and stuffed it with what she needed to know to keep functioning. This Mary is probably even less human than Robo!Sam himself, and that makes Samuel's mistake even more tragic.
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"Ingrate. D'you think it's easy, pulling a person out of heaven? I can only do so much, you know, even if I am king of Hell. You're lucky you got this much of her. Be grateful, at least her soul isn't where your grandson's is."
OK, so I am curious; what is your take on how Crowley got Samuel out of Heaven? Per the show, Samuel got ‘pulled down’ when Sam got ‘pulled up’; but I don’t get that at all. I mean, Crowley is a DEMON. How the heck is he affecting the souls that make it to Heaven at all?
The only thing I have managed to come up with is that Crowley struck some sort of deal with Balthazar (after all, when you are running from the Host of Heaven with contraband, there are worse people to have in your debt than the King of Hell). It might also explain why an ex-angel is so interested in collecting souls and places such a high value on them in his current circumstances…
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Actually, my take is that Samuel went to hell. He's a hunter, and from the looks of it wasn't all that great a guy, even if he tried to do good things for his family. I'm sure Show disagrees with me, but it's the only thing that makes sense in my head. The king of hell does not have dominion over heaven, that's not how it works.
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Then I started pondering just how a demon was supposed to get a soul out of Heaven. Much less two.
The deal with Balthazar was the only solution I could come up with. But even that was unsatisfying. I am left to wonder if the writers will even bother explaining how that all went down now that Crowley is ‘dead’*.
*Which I have my doubts about…after it would seem that he may have just written himself a one-way ticket to Purgatory; the place he wanted to know the location of this whole time anyway. I am totally waiting for him to show up with some Super Double Cross action.
;)
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*is hopeful*
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And damn, those ears where HARD!
*chuckle*
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Although, incidentally, I do see this as Crowley double-crossing Grampa Samuel and lying through his teeth about not being able to get Mary back -- we've already seen a (presumably) much less powerful demon pull a soul out of heaven intact. At least, I assume so. There's nothing anyone can say to convince me Sam didn't go to heaven in AHBL, and I'm still pretty sure Azazel was just messing with Dean's head about it not being 100% Sam.
Anyway. I really kinda wish we could see soulless!Mary and soulless!Sam interact. I think they'd like each other. Insofar as two people completely incapable of affection can like each other. I do think they'd be relieved to find someone else who makes sense.
Thanks for sharing! :)
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Someone else needs to write soulless!Mary and soulless!Sam interacting. It would break my heart. ;)
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It's totally what he deserves. Even though I really want a story when she is fully there and, once she learns what he did, gives him a thorough ass-whooping and and takes off.
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Glad you liked the story! :)
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And yes, the golden rule is never make a deal with a demon. It always ends in tears.
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Thank you! I can't believe Samuel is so stupid, especially after he and his wife were both killed by a demon. Sheesh.
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Brief but cutting. What an awesome idea.
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