Supernatural fic: Try me;
Title: Try Me
Author: Mariana O'Connor
Character: John
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None really.
Pairing: none, gen
Disclaimer: If I owned them I would not be worrying about money - I would be charging admission and counting the bank notes.
Summary: He was just a stranger on a park bench but still, somehow, he helped.
AN: Outsider's POV, written for prompt 025 - strangers on fanfic100
Sonia Threlfall was run off her feet, the twins had been playing up all day and she was just about at the point where leaving them here in the park and running away seemed like the best idea she had had all year. Then she heard one of them, Ryan, cry out ‘Mommy, look at me!’ and she knew that once again, she’d be keeping them.
Her clothes were crumpled and her hair was greasy and heavy down her back. Her friends were worried about her because you were supposed to “get past” this stage of motherhood. They kept asking if the kids were alright, but it wasn’t the kids.
Her eyelids began to droop downwards, but as soon as she felt them connect she shook herself, snapping her eyes open. Sometimes she felt she might be going mad, but the dreams were so real… and not just the dreams.
On the edge of her fatigue she heard footsteps behind her, two sets, soft but definite. She turned to see who it was, Kathy perhaps, or Melanie, but it was no one she knew, a young man, with two kids, one walking beside him, one on his shoulders. As she watched him he let the younger one down and the two boys, after receiving a firm nod from their father, or at least she presumed that was who he was, headed for the climbing frame.
She wished Ryan and James were that well behaved. She had worried she was bruising their hands on the way here they struggled so hard to run ahead of her. She smiled wearily at the man.
“Afternoon, ma’am,” he greeted her, his voice low with just enough accent to be interesting, but not enough to be incomprehensible. “Those your boys?” he nodded out to where the twins were playing on the seesaw. She nodded. “Look like good kids.”
“They are… most of the time.” He chuckled then, and she enjoyed the sound, but reminded herself that this was a stranger not one of the usual congregation of mothers. “Those two yours?”
“Yeah, they’re both mine…” and she knew they were, the hint of pride in his voice as he looked at them and the smile on his face told her that much.
“You’re new in town?” Sonia asked, looking out at the children, the twins, suspicious of or fascinated by the newcomers, had now gone over to them and the four of them were laughing together.
“Just got in yesterday, not staying long.”
“That’s a p…” she was cut off mid-word by a huge yawn, which she tried to stifle.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” he asked solicitously, and, embarrassed, Sonia nodded behind her hand.
“Sonia,” she said, offering a hand, he took it and she was shocked by how wam his hands were. The wind outside was freezing, and she had not seen him put his hands in his pockets.
“John.” He waited for her response, his eyes on her patiently.
“I’m fine, John - just a little… ti-ired.” She yawned again, less this time, and managed a chuckle afterwards, like her sudden inability to sleep was a mere trifle. He did not look as though he was fooled.
“Kids can be a handful; my boys have given me enough sleepless nights.” He admitted.
“Oh, it’s not the twins,” she told him hurriedly, although it would have been easier to let him think that, this stranger who she would probably never see again. “I just haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. I don’t really know why.” His eyes were still watching her, like they knew everything she was not telling him, and she quickly looked away, staring out instead at the boys, running around the playground in front of them. They seemed happy, unconcerned by the world, as they clambered up and down, playing some strange made-up game.
“Nightmares?” he asked, and she turned at once, eyes wide in surprise. “I had them after Ma… when Sammy was little, couldn’t sleep properly for months.” It was his turn to look away, and she had the feeling that he was editting the story. “Almost fell asleep on the job once or twice.”
“Yes,” her voice was quiet, and they both stared out at their children for a moment in silence. “But it’s not just that.” She spoke under her breath, not really wanting him to hear, but feeling as though she should say it. For a few moments she thought she had got away with it, before he spoke, just as softly as she had, as though this was their secret, something that only he would know.
“What else?” She shook herself, once again breaking the peculiar spell of honesty he had seemed to place her under. She did not know this man, why tell him what she could never tell anyone else, even her husband - when he was around?
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it isn’t.” He was still so calm, and perhaps, she thought, it would be easier to tell a stranger, someone who she might never see again, who didn’t have anything to base her words on.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She tried to evade the question with a laugh.
“Try me.” She turned to him again and felt the compulsion to tell him everything. His eyes said that he would believe her. She had this feeling, as though his calm had spread to her, that she could tell him anything and he would not judge her. He smiled slightly, but with an edge of sadness and she could feel her mouth opening and before she really knew what she was doing, it all began to pour out, everything, while he sat there and nodded.
**
That night, she tried to stay awake. Jamie and Ryan were asleep, and she was left wandering around the house, flicking on TV channels and trying to find a book which would keep her awake. Nothing worked though and she found herself curled up on the sofa, a trashy talk show on the TV, volume low so as not to wake the boys, nodding off.
It came again, the monster in her dreams, beautiful and ugly all at the same time. It made her shudder in fear when it touched her, the sensation too real to be just some phantom creature she had conjured up in her imagination. The nausea she felt was real too, welling up inside her, and she could hear her pleas in her head as though they were real.
She had never known she was dreaming before, it added an edge of desperation to the nightmare as she struggled against it.
Then the scream was no longer hers. Its voice was like fingernails on a blackboard, or rubbing cotton wool. She could feel it behind her ears, grating against her skull, a wail that was too realistic to be real. Then, just as soon as it came, it was gone, leaving blackness.
There was a voice, a low chanting, she couldn’t tell whether or not she was still dreaming, so often these nightmares blended so perfectly into reality. There was another scream, further away now, outside her mind - real. Then there was more chanting: a voice she sort of recognised, but a language she did not, along with the faint scent of lavender.
As the voice continued she could feel herself drift off again, the curious intonation sending her back to sleep.
It did not come again.
**
When she got to the playground the next day, John was already there, his eldest boy running up the slide, his younger trying valiantly to copy him. She laughed, feeling lighter than she had done in weeks. Jamie and Ryan yelled out a hello to the pair of them and attempted the same feat, until she called out for them to be careful.
“Sonia,” John stood up as she came over to the bench and moved over. “You’re looking more awake today.” She smiled, relaxed.
“Yeah, I actually managed to get a decent night’s sleep…”
“That’s good.”
“Thanks…” she felt awkward all of a sudden, here was this man, that she had told all her ridiculous ideas to, sitting there and she now knew that she had been completely wrong. “Thank you for listening to me. I know I must have sounded crazy.” He shook his head. “I did, I was being stupid; I guess sleep deprivation made me a little mad.” She paused, “I think talking it out really helped.”
“I’m glad.” He said, and the pitch of his voice made her blink in surprise, as though the voice last night had not been a dream, the creature… but she shook the feeling off, and if she thought she could smell the vague scent of lavender clinging to him, it was just her imagination.
She was about to ask him another question, something polite, noncommital, when he stood suddenly.
“Dean, Sam!” he called across to the boys, hanging on the monkey bars. “we’ve got to get going.” His youngest began to sulk, but his elder brother helped him down and herded him across to their father, who had turned back to her. “It was nice to meet you, Sonia, I’m glad I could help.” He shook her hand once more, his skin still as warm as it had been, before he left the park, his children following him, the younger waving back at Ryan and Jamie sadly.
She sat there for a while, after they turned the corner and went out of sight, staring into space as she thought about voices and children and the tricks memory could play, until she saw something that made her snap out of her slight daze.
“JAMES! Get down from there right now!” She crossed over and took them both by the hand. “Now, I’ve got some shopping to do, so we’ve got to get a move on.” There was some moaning, but she managed to drag them away from the park. And as she stood on the side of the road, waiting for a black car to pass, she ran through her shopping list in her head, and remembered that Ryan had torn his school trousers, again. She was once more caught up in her everyday life and conversations on a park bench were all but forgotten.
Author: Mariana O'Connor
Character: John
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None really.
Pairing: none, gen
Disclaimer: If I owned them I would not be worrying about money - I would be charging admission and counting the bank notes.
Summary: He was just a stranger on a park bench but still, somehow, he helped.
AN: Outsider's POV, written for prompt 025 - strangers on fanfic100
Sonia Threlfall was run off her feet, the twins had been playing up all day and she was just about at the point where leaving them here in the park and running away seemed like the best idea she had had all year. Then she heard one of them, Ryan, cry out ‘Mommy, look at me!’ and she knew that once again, she’d be keeping them.
Her clothes were crumpled and her hair was greasy and heavy down her back. Her friends were worried about her because you were supposed to “get past” this stage of motherhood. They kept asking if the kids were alright, but it wasn’t the kids.
Her eyelids began to droop downwards, but as soon as she felt them connect she shook herself, snapping her eyes open. Sometimes she felt she might be going mad, but the dreams were so real… and not just the dreams.
On the edge of her fatigue she heard footsteps behind her, two sets, soft but definite. She turned to see who it was, Kathy perhaps, or Melanie, but it was no one she knew, a young man, with two kids, one walking beside him, one on his shoulders. As she watched him he let the younger one down and the two boys, after receiving a firm nod from their father, or at least she presumed that was who he was, headed for the climbing frame.
She wished Ryan and James were that well behaved. She had worried she was bruising their hands on the way here they struggled so hard to run ahead of her. She smiled wearily at the man.
“Afternoon, ma’am,” he greeted her, his voice low with just enough accent to be interesting, but not enough to be incomprehensible. “Those your boys?” he nodded out to where the twins were playing on the seesaw. She nodded. “Look like good kids.”
“They are… most of the time.” He chuckled then, and she enjoyed the sound, but reminded herself that this was a stranger not one of the usual congregation of mothers. “Those two yours?”
“Yeah, they’re both mine…” and she knew they were, the hint of pride in his voice as he looked at them and the smile on his face told her that much.
“You’re new in town?” Sonia asked, looking out at the children, the twins, suspicious of or fascinated by the newcomers, had now gone over to them and the four of them were laughing together.
“Just got in yesterday, not staying long.”
“That’s a p…” she was cut off mid-word by a huge yawn, which she tried to stifle.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” he asked solicitously, and, embarrassed, Sonia nodded behind her hand.
“Sonia,” she said, offering a hand, he took it and she was shocked by how wam his hands were. The wind outside was freezing, and she had not seen him put his hands in his pockets.
“John.” He waited for her response, his eyes on her patiently.
“I’m fine, John - just a little… ti-ired.” She yawned again, less this time, and managed a chuckle afterwards, like her sudden inability to sleep was a mere trifle. He did not look as though he was fooled.
“Kids can be a handful; my boys have given me enough sleepless nights.” He admitted.
“Oh, it’s not the twins,” she told him hurriedly, although it would have been easier to let him think that, this stranger who she would probably never see again. “I just haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. I don’t really know why.” His eyes were still watching her, like they knew everything she was not telling him, and she quickly looked away, staring out instead at the boys, running around the playground in front of them. They seemed happy, unconcerned by the world, as they clambered up and down, playing some strange made-up game.
“Nightmares?” he asked, and she turned at once, eyes wide in surprise. “I had them after Ma… when Sammy was little, couldn’t sleep properly for months.” It was his turn to look away, and she had the feeling that he was editting the story. “Almost fell asleep on the job once or twice.”
“Yes,” her voice was quiet, and they both stared out at their children for a moment in silence. “But it’s not just that.” She spoke under her breath, not really wanting him to hear, but feeling as though she should say it. For a few moments she thought she had got away with it, before he spoke, just as softly as she had, as though this was their secret, something that only he would know.
“What else?” She shook herself, once again breaking the peculiar spell of honesty he had seemed to place her under. She did not know this man, why tell him what she could never tell anyone else, even her husband - when he was around?
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it isn’t.” He was still so calm, and perhaps, she thought, it would be easier to tell a stranger, someone who she might never see again, who didn’t have anything to base her words on.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She tried to evade the question with a laugh.
“Try me.” She turned to him again and felt the compulsion to tell him everything. His eyes said that he would believe her. She had this feeling, as though his calm had spread to her, that she could tell him anything and he would not judge her. He smiled slightly, but with an edge of sadness and she could feel her mouth opening and before she really knew what she was doing, it all began to pour out, everything, while he sat there and nodded.
**
That night, she tried to stay awake. Jamie and Ryan were asleep, and she was left wandering around the house, flicking on TV channels and trying to find a book which would keep her awake. Nothing worked though and she found herself curled up on the sofa, a trashy talk show on the TV, volume low so as not to wake the boys, nodding off.
It came again, the monster in her dreams, beautiful and ugly all at the same time. It made her shudder in fear when it touched her, the sensation too real to be just some phantom creature she had conjured up in her imagination. The nausea she felt was real too, welling up inside her, and she could hear her pleas in her head as though they were real.
She had never known she was dreaming before, it added an edge of desperation to the nightmare as she struggled against it.
Then the scream was no longer hers. Its voice was like fingernails on a blackboard, or rubbing cotton wool. She could feel it behind her ears, grating against her skull, a wail that was too realistic to be real. Then, just as soon as it came, it was gone, leaving blackness.
There was a voice, a low chanting, she couldn’t tell whether or not she was still dreaming, so often these nightmares blended so perfectly into reality. There was another scream, further away now, outside her mind - real. Then there was more chanting: a voice she sort of recognised, but a language she did not, along with the faint scent of lavender.
As the voice continued she could feel herself drift off again, the curious intonation sending her back to sleep.
It did not come again.
**
When she got to the playground the next day, John was already there, his eldest boy running up the slide, his younger trying valiantly to copy him. She laughed, feeling lighter than she had done in weeks. Jamie and Ryan yelled out a hello to the pair of them and attempted the same feat, until she called out for them to be careful.
“Sonia,” John stood up as she came over to the bench and moved over. “You’re looking more awake today.” She smiled, relaxed.
“Yeah, I actually managed to get a decent night’s sleep…”
“That’s good.”
“Thanks…” she felt awkward all of a sudden, here was this man, that she had told all her ridiculous ideas to, sitting there and she now knew that she had been completely wrong. “Thank you for listening to me. I know I must have sounded crazy.” He shook his head. “I did, I was being stupid; I guess sleep deprivation made me a little mad.” She paused, “I think talking it out really helped.”
“I’m glad.” He said, and the pitch of his voice made her blink in surprise, as though the voice last night had not been a dream, the creature… but she shook the feeling off, and if she thought she could smell the vague scent of lavender clinging to him, it was just her imagination.
She was about to ask him another question, something polite, noncommital, when he stood suddenly.
“Dean, Sam!” he called across to the boys, hanging on the monkey bars. “we’ve got to get going.” His youngest began to sulk, but his elder brother helped him down and herded him across to their father, who had turned back to her. “It was nice to meet you, Sonia, I’m glad I could help.” He shook her hand once more, his skin still as warm as it had been, before he left the park, his children following him, the younger waving back at Ryan and Jamie sadly.
She sat there for a while, after they turned the corner and went out of sight, staring into space as she thought about voices and children and the tricks memory could play, until she saw something that made her snap out of her slight daze.
“JAMES! Get down from there right now!” She crossed over and took them both by the hand. “Now, I’ve got some shopping to do, so we’ve got to get a move on.” There was some moaning, but she managed to drag them away from the park. And as she stood on the side of the road, waiting for a black car to pass, she ran through her shopping list in her head, and remembered that Ryan had torn his school trousers, again. She was once more caught up in her everyday life and conversations on a park bench were all but forgotten.