Ficlet: Bloody Mary Coda

[hells_half_acre]

Title: Bloody Mary Coda
Author: hells_half_acre
Rating: G
Word Count: 477
Warnings: Spoilers for 1x05 (hardly a warning)
Disclaimer: This is a transformative work of fiction for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Based off the discussion generated from a recent post of mine.

Summary: Dean didn’t think of any of those people, he didn’t.

They were only 50 miles outside of Toledo when Dean heard Sam take an ominous breath. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and tried to pretend that he hadn’t been expecting it.

“Dean,” Sam began – Sam had always begun that way, even the almost four year absence hadn’t changed that habit. Dean could write a Sammy to English dictionary and most of the words would be varying intonations of his name, all meaning different things. In this case, it meant that Sam was going to ask him something that Dean wasn’t going to like.

“Yeah?” Dean replied, wanting to pre-emptively turn up the music, wishing they were listening to something a little heavier.

“Your eyes bled too,” Sam stated. It wasn’t phrased like a question, true, but Sam was waiting for an answer all the same.

“My eyes are fine, Sammy” Dean replied, knowing that wasn’t the question Sam was asking. He hoped Sam would drop it, but then, when had Sam ever dropped anything? Kid was like a dog with a bone – yet another thing that hadn’t changed about his little brother.

“But why?” Sam asked, “who’d you kill?”

Dean sighed and he didn’t think of that little boy who had died because Dean was five seconds late in rescuing him – if he had leapt that wall instead of going around it, if he had jimmied the lock just a little faster, if he had put the clues together a little quicker – maybe that kid would still be alive if Dean was better at his job. He didn’t think of that woman, who died because Dean couldn’t find the right lie to get her to leave the house, couldn’t figure out how to get the woman away from the poltergeist long enough for him to get rid of it. He didn’t think of that guy in that bar fight in Portland, that bastard of a guy who had picked a fight with Dean when he lost his money. Dean didn’t remember the horrible twisting of his stomach when he realized that in the heat of the moment he had brought that pool cue down too hard on that guy’s head. He didn’t think of how he had run away before anyone could confirm what Dean feared. His Dad had taught him better than that, his Dad had taught him how to be quick, how to lie well, how to take someone down without killing them. So, Dean didn’t think of any of those people, he didn’t.

“Sam,” Dean said instead, and maybe Sam could write his own dictionary too, he thought absently. “Bloody Mary was a cornered animal in the end, just like most everything we hunt. I think she would’ve made Mother Theresa’s eyes bleed if it meant she could escape us.”

“You think?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, I do” Dean replied.

Comments

yay!

[followingabdiel.livejournal.com]

Short but nicely done, my friend--I especially like the bit about the Sammy to English dictionary based on the different intonations of Dean's name. It's so in line with the show--I mean, when you think about the sheer number of times Sam says "Dean" in all of the varying situational tones, it's actually pretty damn funny. LOL! Anyways, thanks for writing this, and for dropping me a line to let me know that you did! Nice job!

Re: yay!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

No problem! I realized after I posted that I might not be on your friends list.

Glad you liked it. I debated putting that dictionary bit in, but now I'm glad I did! One of the things I love about the show is how much of the communication is in tone or facial expression, and not so much the actual words - that's sort of hard to get across in fanfic though.

whoops, forgot

[followingabdiel.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah--I forgot! I should have mentioned that I liked how there wasn't just one answer as to why Dean's eyes bled. I never even considered that Dean would think of more than one incident. And the distinctions between the incidents are pretty interesting. And I love the way you had Dean deflect Sam's question. Clever Dean.

Re: whoops, forgot

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Dean's a complex dude...relating to the post that sparked all this: One of the reasons I was disappointed that Kripke said there was a definite reason why Dean's eyes bled, was because I always thought that Dean is the type of guy to blame himself for EVERYTHING (further confirmed by 5x11), so if Bloody Mary worked off guilt - well, there would never just be one reason.

[mara-snh.livejournal.com]

I love the dysfunctional communication that is ironically perfectly functional for these guys. I also enjoyed the "translation dictionary" motif -- very sweet.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I'm a huge fan of dysfunctional communication. ;-)

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Dean could write a Sammy to English dictionary and most of the words would be varying intonations of his name, all meaning different things, like Chinese.

That is a brilliant line--absolutely in character and perfectly written!

Loved the whole thing!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! I really thought that was just a throw-away line, haha, shows what I know!

[crushinator67.livejournal.com]

I must say, I am glad that even though it is the middle of season 5 I am not the only one who still thinks about this! What makes it so much worse is that Kripke has actually confirmed that Dean's eyes bled in that episode because he has a secret about someone dying (it's in the season 1 official companion). This is a nice reveal, and I really enjoyed how he brushes Sam off--especially after all the crap he gave Sam earlier in the episode.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Ha, yeah, that's actually why I wrote it. I just got the Season 1 Companion the other week. Up until I read it, my interpretation of Bloody Mary had been the same as the excuse Dean gives Sam in this piece. Then, suddenly, I had to re-evaluate. I doubt Kripke is ever going to reveal the real reason, damn him :-P

Thanks for reading!

[auriliawestlake.livejournal.com]

Fantabulous shorty, me hearty.

Now, if we could just get a good reason as to why Sam saw Jess at the end of that episode, most of the still unresolved questions from S1 could be answered.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Haha, I doubt we'll ever get the answer to that. I'll chalk it up to Sam being momentarily insane with grief. :-P

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my little ficlet.

[shinybiancachu.livejournal.com]

I thought it was because Sam couldn't let her go so she was a ghost.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Hmm, no, ghosts only stick around when THEY can't let go. Sam's emotional state shouldn't make any difference.

Also, we just never see her again - if she were a ghost, and tied to Sam (rather than the place where she died like Mary was), then she would have shown up again.

So, I really do think it was either a manipulation of Sam's brain on the YED part or it was Sam being slightly insane with grief.

[shinybiancachu.livejournal.com]

That's probably it.

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

YES THANK YOU.

I SWEAR Kripke said a looooong time ago that he was going to answer that question. I still have my fingers crossed. See? *holds up fingers*

I LOVE the Sam-to-English and Dean-to-English dictionary analogy. So true. Maybe we should write one, lol. ♥

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

He did indeed, but I have given up hope that he will. It'd be lovely for him to prove me wrong though!

Thanks for reading!

[redrikki.livejournal.com]

Dean could write a Sammy to English dictionary and most of the words would be varying intonations of his name, all meaning different things, like Chinese.

So perfectly them and their relationship. Now all he needs is a guide to bitch-faces.

I liked that the reason Dean's eyes bled was actually a bunch of reasons and the guilt he feels about them is so perfectly in character for him. Nice work.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad it was in character for you and you liked my little answer to the mystery :-)

The Sammy bitch-face is the Winchester version of sign language :-P

[mymuseandi.livejournal.com]

I remember that discussion, and i'm thrilled you make a fic to go with it. It might be a rather valid reason, Dean blaming himself for practically everything that went wrong on his hunts, especially the ones that he had to work alone after Sam and John ditched him.

Short, sweet and to the point!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

oooh a very cool little ficlet. :)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

you're welcome!

[debbiel66.livejournal.com]

Really enjoyed this - thanks so much. Made me want to watch the episode again!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-)

[nwspaprtaxis.livejournal.com]

This would so be like Dean and exactly what I thought -- that a hunt went bad and there was NOTHING he could've done differently, and he'd blame and hate himself for it. He would totally re-assess and re-analyze and go over and over and over the scenario from every possible angle trying to figure out what he did wrong. *hugs him* Even when I first saw S1, I thought Dean's eyes bled because of some hunt... and I love all the different scenarios you present here.

Also? I loved your Dean-to-English and Sam-to-English lines....

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[et-tu-lj.livejournal.com]

Ooh, excellent. Such a finely developed guilt complex on our boy. *smishes*

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[orange-8-hands.livejournal.com]

I liked this. Esp: Dean could write a Sammy to English dictionary and most of the words would be varying intonations of his name, all meaning different things. and then and maybe Sam could write his own dictionary too.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

[shinybiancachu.livejournal.com]

Loved that Dean and Sam have dictionaries of the other's name. I also liked that Dean feels guilty from those he failed to save. Nice foreshawdoeing ( I think) for Dean' guilt in later seasons.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Reading this 7 years after I first read it, it hurts a lot more because Dean has become even more ingrained in seeing all his failures as who he is...

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Interesting to see how these things hold up!