Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey Sammy,” the unwelcome voice oiled its way through the doorframe.  Sam visibly cringed, but didn’t turn to face the leer he knew Christian was directing at him.

“It’s Sam,” he responded reluctantly, finishing folding the clean laundry as he pulled it from the industrial sized dryer. The last pair of Dean’s jeans were being stuffed into the duffel when Christian slimed his way to hop up on the folding table Sam was currently using. 

“Oh, Sammy. Relegated to woman’s work. Big strong dude like you.” He reached over to grip Sam’s upper arm, but Sam flinched back.

“Don’t touch me, Christian,” Sam hissed, zipping up the duffel and glaring at the older man.

“Aww, don’t be like that. I like you. I really do, but Samuel says that since Dean is the only reason the Winchesters are even allowed to share our camp, he should have chosen a girl to carry on the line, not just a hot hole for his dick.”

“Christian,” Mark said darkly from the doorway of the laundromat. “You’re overstepping.”

Sam didn’t take his glare off of Christian, who put his hands up as though to show he was no longer touching.

Mark was the quiet one of the cousins. He was Gwen’s brother and where Gwen and Christian often came to loggerheads, Mark tended to stay out of the way and out of the spotlight. But he had a soft spot for Sam Winchester nee Wesson. He’d really liked the boy and always watched to make sure Christian was never alone with him.

Now, he glared at his older cousin, who chuckled.

“Just lettin’ little Sammy know he’d be better off under Campbell protection and let Winchester have a second chance to choose.”

Sam grunted as he dragged the heavy duffel off the table and had to brush past Christian, then Mark to leave the building. The last thing he heard as he turned down the alley behind the laundromat was a scuff in the gravel behind him. Then there was a blinding pain in his head and it went from daytime to darkness.

*****

The boy had only been 12 when Dean had brought him into the winter encampment and it had been announced that Sam was his chosen. There had been mumbling among the clans, but no one had outright refused.  It wasn’t unheard or or even frowned up to be bisexual or even gay or lesbian, but Dean’s mother, Mary Campbell, had been the lynchpin for the Campbell-Winchester clans coming together. After her death, that shifted to be Dean and there were certain expectations for a child of blood from both clans to continue.

To say that Samuel Campbell had been disappointed was an understatement. He wasn’t outright refusing the accept Sam, but everyone of them knew that Samuel Campbell, the current elder statesman of Clan Campbell in the US, was of the opinion that Sam could stay on as one of the adopted, what they called stragglers who sometimes were accepted into the clan, but weren’t allowed a vote or a voice in any clan decisions.  But he still expected Dean to chose again. 

Dean’s father, John Winchester, had only had eyes for Mary from the beginning. The Winchester clan had once been powerful and well-respected, having a base of operations out of Kansas that rivaled some of the mobs of New York. But one of their bigger deals had been infiltrated by the Abaddon clan, who were known for being devious and unforgiving and the base had been lost, as had most of the Winchester clan. They’d scattered until the FBI had caught up to the Abaddon clan, funnily enough, for kidnapping after the leader’s son had fixated on a politician’s daughter and refused to take no for an answer. It all came to light and for years, all the clans had to go underground.

When the dust had settled, Clan Campbell, a crafty group, headed up by Samuel and his chosen, Deanna, both of them stubborn and dauntless, had come out on top.  John Winchester, one of the few remaining clan Winchester, had come across Mary Campbell in his travels and remembered her from when they had played as kids. They’d fallen in love and chosen each other. Mary, just as stubborn as her father, had insisted on marrying John.  Samuel had only softened after Dean had been born, the spitting image of his mother as an infant. 

He’d had Mary’s fair hair and had been born with her green eyes. It was extremely unusual to be born with green eyes, so Samuel had taken it as an omen for the clan and had embraced Dean immediately. He’d even grown to respect John.

Then Mary had gotten ill and died. And John had grieved, openly and honestly. Samuel wanted to blame John, but as it was cancer, something none of them could have predicted, he let it go as long as John promised to have Dean train with the Campbells and to let Dean choose his path. John, with very little scattered family on his side, his beloved chosen dead, and a young son, had agreed to Samuel’s commands in the beginning.

Thus Dean had learned alongside the Campbell cousins, the same age as Christian, a year older than Gwen, and four years older than Mark. There were other kids in the clan, but these four were seen as the royal circle. They were given deference, first options, first in line for meals, but they were also held to a stricter standard by Samuel.

Deanna had been from outside the clans, but Mary had been her shining star. She hadn’t disliked John, really.  She had only been wary of her daughter being wooed away. When that hadn’t happened, she’d settled. Then Dean had come along. The other kids in the clan were fierce and adorable, but Dean was the apple of her eye.

When he’d gotten close to his choosing age, as was her due as Clan Elder Chosen, she’d sat him down with chocolate chip cookies. They were both of the impression that oatmeal and raisin were gross. Mary had loved oatmeal and raisin, but she had also danced to her own beat. Deanna had sat her namesake grandson down and asked him some questions so she could gauge what kind of girl he would be seeking.

Most of the other kids coming of age had named off physical attributes before personality. Some had added skills or home situations, things they had learned that made it easier for the chosen to acclimate quickly into the clan. Christian had required beauty with submission to him. His first chosen had not been completely onboard, but had stuck it out for several years until she’d had a closed door meeting with Samuel and had been granted a divorce, but not freedom. She’d been reclassified as adopted and had found a new husband amongst them. She appeared happier now, but how she was brought into the clan was one of the reasons all those coming of age had to be counseled, and the chosen had to be accepted.

Dean had reminded her of Mary, when her daughter had been looking for a certain personality, for love, not just handsome or strong. John had been young, strong, and handsome, as well as fulfilling all of Mary’s requirements and that was that. Dean was also looking for a kind, willing heart. He’d wanted someone fierce, but not a bully; beautiful inside well before the outside was considered. He’d wanted someone who needed him as much as he needed them.

Deanna had smiled and handed him another cookie. She hadn’t been surprised by the choice of a male chosen instead of the expected opposite gender, because during his talk, he’d never said she or her. He also hadn’t said he or him.  She’d known he wasn’t picky when he’d started checking out the others around his age, leering at the boobs on the girls and young women just as much as the jean-encased asses on the boys and young men.

When Mary had died, she’d also been devastated but as long as she had Dean still part of their clan, she was okay. Samuel had started grumbling not long after her death about expecting Dean’s chosen to be a very special, very fertile girl, as Mary had no siblings and Dean had none either. He was the last of Samuel’s direct line.

Sam Wesson had been a fierce young man with the most beautiful eyes. He’d stood up in front of the clan when Dean had introduced him as his chosen and stared them all down. She’d had to cover her smile as Samuel had huffed in surprise and indignation. When Sam had blinked first, she’d gotten the feeling that Sam had only backed down because Dean had pinched him in the side. Otherwise, her husband would have had a lot to say about the strong-willed boy.

She’d known Samuel was holding out hope that Sam would back out, leaving Dean to choose again, but it hadn’t happened.  Sam had adapted really well and quickly into the clan. He only balked at stealing unless it was from the rich who could afford to lose it. He found other ways to bring in funds, working part-time jobs wherever they went, on top of his schooling and helping Kate Winchester, John’s second chosen, with the new baby, Adam.

The boy remained loyal to Dean, defending him with his vicious tongue, as well as his bony fists. Sam had brought down quite a few older boys who said the wrong thing or made a move on Sam. Christian himself had come away with busted lips and once, a sprained wrist. Sam had not been unscathed, but he refused to back down to anyone except Dean, who would laugh while he held Sam’s wrists and just waited for the fight to leave him. Then he’d hug Sam and lead him away with soft words.

It was so obvious to Deanna that Sam and Dean loved each other.  She knew Samuel saw it too, but he was getting grumpier every day. One day he’d have to hand over clan leadership and she knew he wanted it to be Dean, who would be a great leader, but Samuel didn’t want to leave the clan leadership to someone who couldn’t pass it to their own descendants.

Christian was the next choice, but both Samuel and Deanna feared for the fate of the clan under such selfish man.  The clan itself would thrive, but it would eventually fall as hard as the Winchester clan had.  With Christian as leader, he would be more ruthless and it would have stricter controls, but it would also be less happy family, more imagined mob family. Only Christian and his closest friends could really see him as a leader.

Now, years after Sam had been brought in, Samuel had intimated his desires for Dean to choose again to Christian, hoping to put a fear into Christian that Dean was the only choice, hoping he’d rethink and straighten his ways. Christian, however, had his own machinations. Dean had just turned 20 and Sam was now 16. It was standard in the Winchester clan that no one was married under the age of 16, so Dean could finalize their relationship whenever they were ready.

But to Christian, he knew that if Sam could be frightened away, Dean would go after him and he’d be out of the line of succession. And if he couldn’t frighten Sam off, his friends had offered to make him disappear in exchange for future favors once Christian rose to power. They just had to keep them from formalizing the marriage.

*****

Dean turned the corner in the impala, his father having gifted it to him after having declared his chosen as an early present. He was relaxed and happy. He and Sam had talked about what they were planning now that Sam had reached the age of majority. They had discussed how it was Sam’s choice and he still could change his mind and go his own way.  Dean was still the only person who knew Sam’s secret and had proven again and again that he didn’t care one way or the other.

After their most recent discussion, Sam had wanted time alone to think so had offered to catch up their laundry while it the local laundromat was quiet. Dean had let him go, but had tried to time arriving to when he thought Sam would be finishing up.

He saw Carl’s rusted out pickup pull out from the side road that ran beside the laundromat and glared. As Carl was one of Christian’s best friends and had already been warned against going anywhere near Sam. The pickup sped off just as he spotted Mark and Christian arguing just inside and felt his insides go cold. He couldn’t see Sam and if Mark was getting loud and Christian was the one being bitched out, there was something wrong. Maybe Sam had gotten done early or Mark had put himself in between his cousin and his chosen, but either way, Dean parked quickly and jogged to the doorway. Thankfully, the residents hadn’t noticed the spectacle they were causing.

“What the hell?” Dean growled as he stalked up to them. He saw Christian’s eyes widen and then glance out the window to the street behind him. “Where is Sam?”

“Why are you asking me?” Christian’s overly casual reply made Dean’s eyes narrow. Mark’s eyes flared as he pulled back, throwing a fist at his older cousin’s face, laying him out. Dean pulled Mark back, then leaned down to grip Christian’s shirt front.

“I’m going to kill you after I’m done with Carl,” he growled, before throwing Christian back to the ground and running outside the jump into his car and take off in the direction he’d seen the pickup going. 

Thankfully, Carl was pretty dense. He was another reason for the clan’s rules for choosing. Carl’s parents had been cousins, so he’d been accepted to the clan even before he was born, but while he had his eye on Gwen, he’d already been refused by her, as well as by Samuel. Gwen was Carl’s favor from Christian.

The pickup was only on a side road, one road off from the main when Dean roared up next to it. Carl was driving, with Shane, one of adopted, sitting the passenger seat. Dean couldn’t see Sam but he knew he was with them.  Carl caught sight of Dean and his smug look shifted to fear immediately. Dumb shit that he was, rather than pulling over, he tried to take a sharp turn, thinking the impala wouldn’t be able to anticipate the move, but he was going too fast and the tire hit the curb and Carl lost control.

The front of the truck stuttered as the tires thumped and bumped over the sidewalk and lost traction at the wrong time. Dean decelerated and spun a 180 in the street to come back to where the truck had remained upright but now something was wrong with the front end because Carl couldn’t keep it pointed ahead.

Dean felt his heart in his throat.

Chapter Text

“Will Samuel be mad that I’ve lied all this time?” Sam had asked him this morning over eggs and toast. Dean had paused in the bite and tilted his head. Sam’s voice had been soft, quiet. 

“I think he might be a little upset, but I think it’ll be easy to explain. I mean, damn, look at Miranda.” He went back to eating, trying to keep his excitement out of his voice. All it would take would be one wrong move and all the steps Sam had made towards his decision to marry Dean, much less reveal to any of them his secret, would take a huge leap backwards.

“Christian really is a bastard,” Sam finally said. Dean just nodded, continuing his breakfast. “I mean, Samuel seems like it’d solve all his issues, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.” Dean grinned into his coffee cup.

“It’s not really him you have to satisfy.” 

Sam rolled his eyes, biting into his toast viciously.

“I didn’t think we were doing too bad in that department, Dean,” he said around his mouthful and then shook his head when Dean sputtered into his cup.

“Not bad at all, Sammy.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand as he stood to put his dishes in the sink. Sam was still quietly thinking over his last piece of toast when Dean swept back by him, stopping to press a kiss to the corner of Sam’s mouth. “I’ve been summoned, so I’ll be over helping Kate with Adam. You be careful out there at the big, bad laundromat.” When Sam bitch-faced him, he snickered and threw up his hands. “Well, it’s on that main road. And traffic is so bad you might even see more then two cars today.”

The town they were holed up in at the moment was just outside the most recent encampment and had a very small population. Not easy to hide in, but the nearest police station was over 20 miles away in a nearby town.  And as long as they kept their heads down and didn’t stay too long, they’d do just fine.

“Give me five loads to think and then we’ll make the final decision later tonight, okay?” Sam had asked, shoulders hunched a little.

Dean rattled his keys as he went through the door, not letting himself reply for fear of what he’d actually say. He was pretty sure Sam was 90% of the way to choosing to come out as female and take his place at Dean’s side as his chosen wife. Sure, Christian and his buddies had hit on Sam, both physically, and sexually. And Sam had alternately took them down or shut them down, depending on which response was needed.

Dean would take whatever Sam was willing to give, even if it meant leaving the clans behind. John had been talking to him about maybe trying to rebuild the Winchester clan, so they wouldn’t be completely on their own, but it would be a big decision.

*****

Now, Dean feared that not only had this possibly set Sam back on his decision to come out, maybe splitting the clans sooner than they planned, but if Sam was in that truck and it flipped, he doubted either Carl nor Shane had buckled his chosen in carefully, if at all.

The truck skidded, clipped a faded metal mailbox and then spun, driving headfirst into the side of the local grocery store. There was metal screeching, glass breaking, and people screaming as the chaos happened. Dean was able to come to a stop in the parking lot and was out and running to the wreckage before the impala’s engine’s rumble died. He recognized the duffel Sammy had stuffed full of their clothes in the back of the pickup, but that was all he saw on his quick look.

The driver’s side door was open and Carl had stumbled out, blood dripping from a cut above his eyebrow and his arm obviously broken. Dean started to grab him, but noticed in his glance into the cabin that Shane’s body had been partially ejected through the front windshield and was still.  There was however, another shape half on the seat, half in the passenger floor board under Shane’s legs. And the familiar shoe on the foot partially sticking up from the floorboard was moving sluggishly.

“Sammy!” He paused only long enough to kick Carl in the face before he dove in through the cabin and latched on to the moving foot.  There was a groan from the floorboard as Sam’s body shifted. He wasn’t conscious and with Carl injured as he was and Shane apparently dead, He was terrified for Sam.

“Help!” He shouted, shoving Shane’s body further through the windshield to get his legs out of the way. “Help me!” 

*****

“Dean,” Deanna said as soon as she arrived with Samuel at the emergency room. There were police talking to a nurse and a doctor at the front desk. They’d already talked to Dean and Mark, who had shown up not long after the wreck. Their stories matched, that Carl and Shane had kidnapped Sam, who was Dean’s little brother (their lie to the outside world until Sam looked old enough to be legally married) and then had crashed.

Mark hadn’t mentioned Christian, but after the police told them not to leave the area, Mark had whispered to Dean that he had Christian bound and gagged in the trunk of his own car in the laundromat parking lot.  Where he probably wouldn’t be found before the clan got to him. 

Mark had only stayed long enough to testify against Carl and identify Shane’s body, then he’d let Dean know he’d pass it all along. Less than 20 minutes later, Deanna and Samuel had arrived. John was still out of town, which is why Dean had been over helping his stepmom with his littlest brother. 

The woman had wrapped Dean in her arms and hugged him tightly. Samuel had looked ashamed but concerned as he joined them. Dean was too worried to pay any attention to the clan leader, but his grandmother’s hug helped him breathe again.

“Sit, tell me how he is.” She made him sit next to her where she could keep both of his hands wrapped in hers.  Dean swallowed and nodded, his eyes hot and stinging.

“He’s still out, but he’ll be okay. He’s got a broken arm and a concussion on top of what he got when whichever bastard hit him over the head. They’re still looking him over but they’re saying the x-rays don’t show anything else broken or even cracked.” She took her top hand and stroked Dean’s face. “Nurse said that him being unconscious and stuffed into the floorboard actually kept him safer than if he’d been awake and sitting between those sons-a-bitches.”

“Good, that’s good, Dean.” She glanced over at Samuel who still stood nearby, his hands in his pockets. “Your grandfather and I had a talk on our way over here and it’ll all be Sam’s decision from here out.” Her husband sighed and nodded, then reached out to put a hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“Dean, I feel partially responsible for what happened, so I’m giving you my full backing, you and Sam, no matter what either of you decide.” He patted Dean’s shoulder. “I’m sorry this happened, son.”

Dean blinked back the tears that threatened to fall and glared up at his grandfather, opening his mouth to give him a piece of his mind.

“Winchester?” A doctor called out. Dean’s head spun and he stood up quickly, Deanna rising next to him.

“Ye…yeah,” he swallowed as he answered. He saw the concern and slight confusion on the doctor’s face and felt a shudder of fear that something bad had happened.

“I need to talk to you privately about something, please,” he said, glancing between the three of them. After a moment, Samuel waved a hand and sat down.

“Go, we’ll wait here.”

Deanna huffed and looked down at him.

“You’ll wait here. I’m going to do whatever Dean or Sam needs and right now, that’s a helping hand.” She sniffed and turned, holding Dean’s hand tightly. He tried to pull away, but she slapped his arm. “I’m here for you and Sam. So let’s go.” 

Dean didn’t want to wait anymore, so he followed the doctor, with Deanna holding his hand the whole way. The doctor gave him an odd look but waited until they were both seated in the little private meeting room.

“Mr. Winchester,” he started, glancing between the both of them. “While examining your little brother, we found a few anomalies that we just need clarity on.”

Dean felt the blood drain as he realized what they had found.  He had been with Sam for so long that seeing the boy with the female genitals that his concern for Sam’s injuries had pushed all that from his mind. Now Deanna was here and the decision would be out of Sam’s hands and Samuel’s speech in the waiting room would be for naught. 

Deanna must have sensed something because she squeezed his hand encouragingly. 

“Sam was born a female,” Dean said before the doctor could say anything more. The doctor’s confusion cleared but Deanna’s gasp wasn’t as quiet as he’d hoped it would be. “He had a lot of trouble when he was little so being a boy was safer.”

“I see,” the doctor hummed, typing something into the computer on the table. “Is he transitioning or planning to? Or is this only a defense mechanism that he keeps going?”

Dean shrugged. Beside him Deanna’s hand came up to cover her mouth and Dean wouldn’t have been surprised to see the shine of tears.

“He was working on that. We, uh, have some plans in the works that need a decision one way or the other, but I told him he could be whatever he wanted.” He snuck a glance at Deanna, who had composed herself.  “Don’t know if what happened today will affect that.”

Deanna closed her eyes and once again squeezed Dean’s hand.

“So, no one else knows…knew?” The doctor asked, glancing Deanna’s way. Dean sighed.

“Nah, just me. He’s sort of adopted.” Dean flinched at using that word, but beside him, his grandmother scoffed.

“That boy is as much part of the family as you are,” She declared, shaking her head at Dean. “No one else needs to know and you no longer need to be alone in hiding it if that’s what Sam wants.”  Dean swallowed, his head going light for a moment. He’d never thought they’d be accepted without either outing Sam or making a different choice.

“That’s fine,” the doctor said, closing the screen. He stood and ushered them both back out of the room. “We’ll treat accordingly. The safety of all our patients, no matter the gender, is our first priority.” Dean shook his hand, his grandmother’s arm slipping around his waist.  “We’ll complete the final tests as needed, but I’m fairly certain that he’ll be fine, given time and rest. I’ll send a nurse to come get you once we’re done and he’s in a room for observation.”

“Thank you, doc,” Dean replied. He watched the doctor walk away and turned to hug his grandmother before they went back to where Samuel stood waiting, nervously rubbing his hands on the thighs of his jeans.  She leaned into him.

“Oh, Dean,” She said quietly into his ear. “I understand and I’m sure Samuel will too, but like I said, it’s all Sam’s decision. And yours, of course.” Dean nodded into her shoulder.

“Thank you,” he whispered back. One last squeeze and they went back to wait with Samuel, who closed his mouth quickly before he could ask what the doctor needed to know as soon as Deanna glared at him.

*****

Sam got to come back the next day and the clan decided it was time to move on. After it all came out about Christian, his plot, what he had wrangled Carl and Shane into, he was sentenced by the entire counsel, which included Christian’s own father. All three were ousted from the clan, Shane posthumously, their names circulated to the other clans they traded with so they would not be allowed to join another clan.

Carl and Christian were escorted out of the encampment with one duffel each, all the rest of their belongings seized in recompense, which Dean and Sam decided to use to pay for the cremation of Shane, and towards the medical bills for the town citizens who had been injured in the wreck, mostly bruises and scratches.  It went a long way to keeping the town from running them out of town rather than giving them time to pack up.

They planned to move on before Sam and Dean were forced to answer to the counsel about their future. But before they left the encampment, all their stuff piled into the impala, Sam’s arm in a sling and a bandage still on his forehead, they went into a closed door meeting with Samuel and Deanna. There were no raised voices that anyone would have heard. And when the door opened again some time later, Sam and Dean were holding hands, smiling at each other. 

Deanna was in tears and Samuel was still in shock. The big decision hadn’t yet been made, but the elder and his chosen knew that their world, all the clans, would change now.  No matter which way the wind blew.