Finding Home (Main Post) - SPN gen

[nightspear]

Title: Finding Home

Rating: PG-13/R for language, mostly

Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of materialistic value from this.

Pairings: Mostly gen (briefly Sam/Jess)

Summary: Stanford-and-beyond AU. Sam has left hunting, but not everything is willing to stop hunting him. The demon's plans have been set in motion. What will it take for him to find his way back? Mostly gen. Rating for language.

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7  Chapter 8  

Chapter 9  Chapter 10  Chapter 11   Chapter 12   Chapter 13   Chapter 14   Chapter 15  Chapter 16

Chapter 17   Chapter 18   Chapter 19   Chapter 20   Chapter 21   Epilogue

General Notes:

I want to mention that this story is primarily an exploration—of the Winchesters’ relationships with each other and with the rest of the world; of the way people change and develop and respond, especially when I mess with the order of canon events; of the world around our two boys; and of that odd little society of people we refer to as “hunters.” That’s not to say there’s no plot—man, I’ve definitely got stuff up my sleeve.

This is about Sam and Dean—or, really, about 'samndean,' with a good helping of Papa Winchester thrown in.  It’s biased a little toward Sam-centric, especially in the first chapter or so, but both of them have a strong presence no matter how many states away they are from the current narrative.  There are secondary characters, some invented, as is necessary for Stanford-fics, but they will always remain secondary to the Winchester boys.  Sam’s characterization seems right to me but may not to you—I’m going on the idea of a Sam who’s a little more messed up from his fallout with his family than we see explicitly on the show, but please tell me if it seems too far off the mark.  As it’s my first Supernatural fic, I’m trying to get the boys right, and I’d be grateful if you’d help me.

 

It’s AU, following Sam’s leaving for Stanford (assuming he's a senior in the "Pilot" episode).  Some things come earlier than they do in canon or happen differently, but this is still the same universe—I haven’t changed the rules or mythology.  Well, maybe, concerning psychic-ness, but to be fair, we don’t actually know exactly how that works, so...

 

Romance isn’t really my thing.  Jess is present, there are hints and suggestions of others if you squint, but our favorite fraternal relationship is what I’m focusing on.

 

You might recognize a few lines from the show, some taken directly and others altered in some ways or said by a different person.  This was done deliberately, either for irony or to draw some parallel (sometimes both), so keep that in mind.

There’s talk of religion at points in this story, as well as some "blasphemous" talk. These are not necessarily my views, nor are they views I am trying to promote. I do think they fit for Sam, Dean, and others affected. I don’t think any of it’s truly offensive, but if it is, well, that wasn’t my intention. And as for taking the Lord’s name in vain...they do it a lot, but that seems to me more like a linguistic habit than a religious attitude.

I’m not from Stanford, and New Haven, CT is geographically the closest I've ever come to Palo Alto, CA, so there are almost certainly mistakes about their class system, etc.  Most of it's pretty vague, as it's not that important, and some points are things I've researched lightly.  Let me know if something really grates on your nerves, though.