Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	leighleighla:supernatural:dean

Fic: Pickin' Up a Twang
Title: Pickin’ Up a Twang
Author: LeighLeighla
Fandom: Supernatural
Claim: Dean Winchester
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Uh…stuff? Crossover with Doctor Who
Summary: Dean, at age eight, is taken in by an unlikely lady…
Table/Prompt: AU Table: #1

Under the cut:



Donna was twenty-five when she found Dean. He was eight, and wandering around the streets of London by himself. He obviously had been for some time from the state of him.

She’d followed him to an alleyway, where a dead man was laying face-down on the grimy pavement.

She didn’t know how she knew the corpse was Dean’s father. She just did.

******

Donna had heard all sorts of terrible stories about foster care and kids with rubbish bags and the like and she’d seen Little Orphan Annie before and she wasn’t about to let Dean rot somewhere with little girls singing “It’s a Hard-Knock Life” or some nonsense.

So she adopted him.

Her parents and friends thought she was barmy and mad, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

The only person who supported the idea was her old grandfather. But she knew he would be.

*****

Dean Winchester (that was his full name) didn’t utter one word for an entire year. While it drove Donna out of her skull, she couldn’t really blame him. If she’d found her dad dropped dead in a random alley, she wouldn’t feel like a chat either. The doctors had said Dean had post-traumatic stress disorder.

Her mum thought Dean should be put into therapy, but the way the boy had wrinkled his nose told Donna that he would talk when he was good and ready to.

And he did.

“Morning,” he’d said.

Donna stopped her journey into the kitchen. “Er…morning…”

“I made bacon.”

She’d been about to comment that nine-year-olds shouldn’t use stoves, but she was hungry and the bacon looked perfect.

****

When Dean was ten, Donna learned that open flamed terrified the hell out of him.

The power had gone out, she’d lit candles, and he’d shut himself up in his bedroom.

She’d figured he was afraid of the dark.

“Come on Sweetheart. It’s not so scary.”

He hadn’t replied.

After this happened twice more, Donna took a look at his record, and found that his mum had died in an electrical fire.

After that, Donna threw all of her candles away.

*****

The fighting started at fourteen.

Dean was tall and handsome instead of little and cute, but he had a temper on him.

“You broke that boy’s nose!”

Dean had shrugged.

“You BROKE his NOSE!”

“Yup.”

“You’re grounded!”

“What?!”

“Grounded!”

“He’s a pillock! He deserved it!”

“GROUN-DED!”

“You can’t do that!”

“Why not? Cause I’m not your real mum? Guess what, Sunshine, I’m the closest thing you’ve had since you were four! And you’re grounded!”

He’d stared at her, his green eyes blank, for a good minute before wandering off and up to his room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Donna had hung her head. “Bugger.”

She had a temper on her, too.

*****

When asked what he wanted to do with his life, Dean never really had an answer. He’d shrug or grunt or when prodded say that he didn’t really know.

But Donna knew. Since he was little he’d loved cars; their insides and outsides and in-betweens, and everything about them.

She’d turned to him one night at dinner and said “What about cars?”

“What about ‘em?”

“Why not do somethin’ with em?” she’d said. “Fix ‘em, build ‘em, hell, sell ‘em if maybe that’s what you wanna do.”

“Cars.”

“Yeah,” she’d smiled. “You should do something you love.”

He gave her a small grin.

*****

He was twenty when she met Lance.

“I don’t like him.”

“What do you mean you don’t like him? What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Dean had said, looking sheepish. “He bothers me.”

“Well, he doesn’t bother me,” Donna said. “Is this because you don’t want to share me?”

He turned red. “No. That’s stupid.”

Donna grinned. “You’re such a sweet boy.”

He rolled his eyes.

*****

She was going to kill this crazy Martian for abducting her on her wedding day. And if she didn’t, Dean would.

“My son’s got arms bigger than your head! He’ll massacre your for kidnapping me!”

****

A Robot Santa later, they were sitting on a roof.

“You’ve got kids then?”

“Just Dean. I adopted him. Twenty-one now; acts tough but he’s a sweetheart, really.”

Martian Boy nodded slowly and wrinkled his eyes. “He really going to kill me?”

Donna grinned. “Probably.”

*****

When they arrived at the reception, they found it in full swing. The first one to step from the crowd of gawkers, wondering where Donna had gone, was of course, Dean. He caught sight of the skinny alien, reeled a fist back and slugged him in the nose.

“Dean!” Donna cried.

“That’s for nabbing my mum, you sonofabitch!”

****

After it was all said and done, Donna sat down on her parents’ front porch next to Dean, who’d been waiting for her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“I should’ve listened t’you about Lance,” she admitted.

He nodded. “For what it’s worth…Merry Christmas, Mum.”

She patted his arm gently. “Merry Christmas, Sweetheart.”

****

The airport was crowded and Donna sniffled slightly as she straightened out the collar of Dean’s jacket. “Call. And write!”

“Mum, who writes these days?”

“Just…keep in touch,” she said. “And don’t be stupid. And eat vegetables.”

He gave her a small grin.

“And I want to know all about this brother of yours when you find him,” she went on. “And I want pictures!”

“Mum.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek.

He hugged her with one arm. “I’ll call you when I land, okay?”

“You’d better. Or I’m comin’ after you.” She wrapped both arms around him.

*****

She burst out of the TARDIS and up the front porch of her parents’ house. She swung open the door, and Dean looked up.

He smiled at her. “Hey, Mom.”

He was more muscular and much tanner than he’d been before he’d left. He looked a little older, but he was still her baby.

She squealed slightly and rushed over, hugging him tight. “Look at you! You’re so handsome!”

“So I was ugly before I left?”

Donna pulled back. “Shut up.”

He smiled.

“Is he with you?”

“Nah, he decided to stay behind. I think he’s weirded out about the whole…English brother thing. Maybe next time.”

“What’s he like?” Donna asked. “Does he look like you?”

A throat cleared from the door and she turned. “Oh. Doctor.”

Dean quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t I punch him once?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Yes. You did. It’s nice to know that my broken nose is so forgettable.”

Donna sighed. “Dean, you remember the Doctor, don’t you?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, sure. Hey, man. Don’t tell me you’re tryin’a get into my mom’s knickers.”

Both of them protested loudly.

Dean raised both hands. “Okay. Just checkin.”

Donna turned to him. “What is with that accent?”

“I’ve been toolin’ around the Midwest for the better part of a year now,” Dean shrugged. “I picked up a twang.”

“Hrm,” Donna said, frowning. “Into the kitchen. I’m going to drown out your ‘twang’ with tea.”

Dean smirked. “Yes, Mom.”

“It’s Mum.”

END