Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 3/?

[violettestars.livejournal.com]

Title: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Characters: Dean/OFC, Sam/OFC, Alec, Ben, Dark Angel Crossover
Spoilers: None
Rating: T
Warnings: AU. For this fic I changed the DA time line. The pulse has already hit and Alec is out of Manticore in 2009
Summary: Dean and Sam are on a hunt outside of Seattle when they come across a young boy who looks remarkably like Dean.


*~Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dark Angel or Supernatural characters. For this fic I changed the DA time line. The pulse has already hit and Alec is out of Manticore in 2009. The characters of Lexi, Jake and Jackie are from a Supernatural AU Verse that I write. This is my first DA fic so please be kind. I hope you like it. Reviews would be great.~*

I.

Dean was cold. That was the first thought he had before he even opened his eyes. Then he remembered he was sleeping on the couch in his boxers on account of Lexi having fallen asleep in his t-shirt. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand; not making a move to get off the couch since Lexi was huddled against him. Instead, he tugged her closer in an attempt to share body heat. At the same time, Dean grabbed the blanket they were sharing wrapping it around them.

He didn't sleep well and it wasn't because he was sharing the couch with his wife. Actually, he didn't mind having her pressed so close to him. It was thoughts of where Alec had come from that had given him trouble sleeping. Manticore and their clone making system. What the hell? He tried not to think about it, which made him think about it even more. They stole his DNA and made a mini Dean. On the scale of fucked up things that happened in his life this was top of the list. Hell, this topped Sam having demon blood. There was nothing he could do about it now. He knew this but he could keep Alec safe from them. Dean shifted slightly and closed his eyes. Once he was comfortable he buried his face into the pillow and went back to sleep.

The room was warm and bright when Alec woke up which surprised him. He hardly needed any sleep and he was an early riser. Even at Manticore he was the first one in his unit to wake up. But, he wasn't at Manticore anymore and he didn't know what he should do. He stretched turning to see Ben curled into himself and still fast asleep. Alec was sure about one thing; he was hungry. He listened for signs of life in the rest of the cabin. He heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Deciding to investigate, he swung his legs out of bed carefully as not to wake Ben or Jake. Opening the bedroom door, he caught a whiff of something delicious. He followed the smell into the kitchen to find Dean standing in front of the stove in yesterday's jeans and button down shirt. Lexi was sitting at the kitchen table in Dean's t-shirt holding a steaming mug in her hands. “What's that Dean?”

Dean turned around eyebrow raised, “Hey kiddo, up early. I'm making home fries and then I'm gonna make us some scrambled eggs for breakfast.”

“Can I have grilled cheese?”

“Not for breakfast. Hey do me a favor and get Ben. Lex and me wanna talk to you boys.”

Alec did as he was told and came back a few minutes later with his twin. Dean moved the home fries to the back of the stove placing a plate on top to keep them warm. He then gestured to the boys to sit at the kitchen table grabbing a mug of coffee and joining them. He looked at his clones who both wore the same weary expression that Dean had seen in his own mirror many times before. If he was being honest, the idea of him having two clones was still weirding him out. In spite of this, he felt like he needed to protect these kids no matter if they were made in a lab. “So, me and Lex were talking last night and we think the best way to keep you guys safe is to pass you off as our kids. What that means is, when it's just me, Lex, Sam, Jackie and Bobby, we're just Lexi and Dean. But in public we're Mom and Dad.”

Lexi nodded looking at the boys, “We're going to go in the hall of records when we get to Bobby's and get you birth certificates.”

“How?” Ben and Alec asked simultaneously their eyebrows inching up into their hairlines.

“Well it's pretty simple. We're breaking in there and I'm going to fill out a record of birth and file them. Then, me and Dean are going to print you out birth certificates.”

Dean rubbed the back of his neck as he continued the telling of their plan. “The only problem is the bar code. See, Lexi's an awesome doctor and all that but the only thing she can come up with is either removing them with laser or cutting them off. We don't know if that will get rid of them and we don't wanna put you boys through something like that. Since it's winter we're not gonna worry about them, we'll deal with it later.”

“You two ok with this?” Lexi asked.

Alec and Ben exchanged glances communicating silently with each other. It was Ben this time that spoke for them, “Yeah we're okay with it.”

II.

Sam had a long sleepless night. It wasn't like he hadn't had sleepless nights before but this time he couldn't get his brain to shut off. Thoughts of the consequences of taking in a product of a secret government project ran through his mind. None of the outcomes were good. To be honest, Sam was scared shitless of what might happen to them. Sam also knew that they couldn't just hand the kid over either. He shared Dean's blood, which meant he shared Sam's, which meant he was also Sam's blood. He ignored the knocking on his door burrowing deeper into his cocoon of blankets. He sighed happily when the knocking stop and told himself he'd sleep only a bit longer. He was exhausted and too comfortable to move. He was suddenly hit with a rush of cold air as he the blankets were stripped off of him. He turned his head to see who the culprit was, when he saw his older brother looming over him before yelling, “RISE AND SHINE SAMMY.”

“You're a JERK.”

“Bitch.” Dean smacked Sam's leg with a scowl on his face, “Get your ass in gear man. I wanna hit the road.”

Dean was standing between his beloved Impala and his two clones with a serious look on his face. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at each boy in turn. “You two listen carefully. There are rules I'm about to tell you that you will not break if you want to live to see the age of ten. Number one, you do not touch my radio. Number two, you will not kick or scuff up the interior. Number three, no horse play or rough housing. Number four, you will not wipe your dirty hands on the seats when you're done eating. That's what your pants are for. Number five, you do not throw trash on the floor. Number six, no drinking anything in my car without a lid. Got it?”

“Yes sir.”

“Ok then you two are sitting up front with me and Sammy. Alec you're sitting next to me.”

“WHY?”

“Cuz I wanna keep an eye on you. I know you're the instigator.”

Alec crossed his arms and glared up at Dean. This was not fair! This was bullshit! And Alec was going to call Dean on it.“I am not! This is bullshit! You haven't been around me long enough to make that kind of assumption.”

Dean laughs. Not a little snort or chuckle but one that makes him throw his head back and laugh hard and throaty. He runs his hand through Alec's short hair still smiling, “Uh huh. Kid, don't forget your my clone. I know how you think and I can tell you're the trouble maker.”

They have a long drive, a twenty two hour drive to be exact. Dean would usually just drive straight through but not this time. For one, it's winter and two, the weather couldn't be worse. They crossed over into Idaho after dark and Dean turns on the high beams. It's starting to snow, small harmless flakes at first, then heavy wet ones. The wind picks up and Dean can't see anything but the white snowflakes in the Impala's head lights. He turns the wipers on high cursing under his breath and gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“Dean, I think we should go find a motel room.”

His eyes flick up to the rear view mirror meeting Lexi's concerned green eyes, “Yeah guess that'd be the smart thing to do.”

Dean gets off the interstate at the next exit. They have a choice of Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn. Dean pulls into the Red Roof Inn hoping to get two rooms. He comes back with only one key for a room with two queens. Sam shrugs and heads for the trunk to grab their bags so Dean can carry in Jake's pack and play. It's not the first time they've had to squeeze into one room before.

“So how are we going to do this?” Sam questions while setting the bags on the floor.

“Jake goes in the pack and play. And one of the boys in each bed with us.” Dean states shrugging out of his leather jacket.

III.

The next morning Dean is waking both boys up and telling them to get dressed. He says him and Lexi are taking them somewhere special. They rush to get dressed trying to be quiet so they don't wake Sam and Jackie. As they make the short walk in the snow both boys are dying to know where they're headed . Neither Dean nor Lexi will tell them both saying it's a surprise. Alec and Ben's eyes are wide green as they take in the chrome and glass building with the neon sign they've stopped in front of. The sign blinks sporadically spelling out O-E-N, the P no longer working. “What it is?” Ben asks still wide eyed.

“It's beautiful is what it is.” Alec replies to his brother wistfully.

Dean chuckles and lays a large hand on each boy's shoulder, “This, boys, is a diner.” Alec and Ben 'Ooh and Ah' and allow themselves to be steered towards the door. Once inside, Dean walks down the aisle of the diner with a hand on the back of each clone. He guides them towards the booth the waitress is standing at. He then gives them both a little push to let them know to slide into the booth before taking Jake from Lexi so she could sit across from the boys. He straps Jake into the highchair while giving the waitress their drink order of three milks, a tea with lemon and a black coffee.

“You two want pancakes?” Alec and Ben's eyebrows scrunch up in confusion at Dean's question. Then Dean remembers the two boys sitting across from him are not the average nine year old. In fact, they probably never even seen a pancake in their lives. “I say we go all out. Chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream. Uh, boys?” Ben and Alec devoured the chocolate chip pancakes in record time. They both agree it was one of the best things they've eaten. Though, grilled cheese is still number one at the given moment.

Dean leads them out of the diner carrying Jake in one arm and his other thrown casually around Lexi's waist. The boys argue over whether the whip cream or the chocolate chips made the pancakes so awesome while they follow their new guardians to the thrift store. The thrift store is two doors down from the diner and smells like an old woman's closet. Mothballs and age, that's what this store smells like. Alec and Ben need clothes, real clothes not the mini G.I. Joe get ups they had on now. Dean grabs a basket and begins filling it with the essentials; t-shirts, jeans, socks and underwear as Lexi takes the boys over to find some sneakers and snow boots. He grabs some gloves, scarfs and hats for them as well. He knew full well his wife was gonna bundle them up like that kid from the Christmas story when they ask to go play in the snow. Dean snickers at the thought. Poor little bastards have no idea what they're in for.

He meets them over by the shoes where the two boys are trying to decide who should get the Spiderman sneakers and who should get the Batman ones. Dean quirks his eyebrow and tells them they can take turns wearing them. Two pair of indignant green eyes meet his as if the thought of having to share something was a mortal sin. “No way.” Alec says his mouth forming a thin straight line, “I want my own pair.”

“Tough shit. You're going to learn to share or neither one of you are getting those sneakers.”

Lexi throws a surprised look at Dean who shrugs in return. He didn't mean for it to come out so rough. He also didn't intend to channel his father. He knelt down so that he was eye level with Alec and ran his hand through the boy's hair, “Hey, I didn't mean to bark at you like that kid. It's just we don't have a lot of money so you two are gonna have to share stuff ok.” Alec nodded and before he realized what he was doing he bulldozed himself into Dean's chest. He felt Dean's sturdy arms come down around him and give him a little squeeze. Alec buried his face deeper into Dean's chest liking the feel of his worn t-shirt against his skin. He felt safe for the first time in his life standing there in that thrift store in his donor's arms. After a few moments, he felt Dean's large hand push him gently away before he got to his feet. “C'mon we need to find you a coat.”

Dean watched Lexi and the boys argue over a denim jacket that they wanted badly. She shook her head telling them, 'No, it was not warm enough for winter'. In that moment Dean knew. He knew that those boys were theirs. Not in the same way that Jake was biologically theirs but those boys belonged to him and his wife now. In less than forty eight hours Ben and Alec had become their sons too and he was more than okay with that. Like Bobby had told him once, 'Family don't end with blood.', Dean finally understood the depth of feeling behind that statement.