Sammy's Surprise Visitors
One shot. The Winchesters go to visit Pastor Jim one Sunday morning. Sammy's three and Dean's seven
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.
Pastor Jim sighed as he looked out at his modest congregation. Somedays he wondered if any of them could ever be reached. Several of them thought so much of themselves that he was surprised they hadn’t drowned in the rain yet. There on one of the front pews sat Sister Maude. Everyone thought she was one of the saints of the church. If only they knew some of the things he did. Every week she would hide in her house when he came for a visit so on Sunday she could complain to all the ladies that he never came to visit her. On the pew across from her was Mrs. Smith who considered herself a devout woman and was only too pleased to point to her son, the preacher, as prove of her status. Jim had to bite his tongue to keep from retorting that the atheist Madeline O’Hara’s son was a preacher too.
Wiping that thought and the look that accompanied it away, Jim looked towards the back where Mr. Gage and Mrs. Crab sat with their spouses on different sides of the church. They sat in the pews noses in the air even though they had been caught having an affair. “Ewww, I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole” Jim thought. “Okay, I’ve definitely been spending too much time around Caleb.” he added as he admonished himself for having such a mean spirited thought. Hearing a beautiful voice he gazed over at the choir and listened to Mrs. Viola sing the special. Here was an example of a devout woman. It showed in everything she did, especially when she sang. The look on her face led you to believe she was looking at the Lord himself. He hadn’t seen that look on many people. As she finished, Jim said a silent prayer that someone would be reached today before walking up to the podium to preach.
Towards the end of Jim’s sermon the back door creaked open. Jim continued to preach as all heads turned to see who was coming in this late. A scruffy looking man and two small boys walked in and silently sat down on the end of the closest pew. Jim smiled as he recognized the Winchester family. John looked so uncomfortable sitting there. He knew the man would rather be anywhere else than in the church. Dean was sitting beside his father drawing on a bulletin. Jim remembered the reaction to the last drawing Dean had made in the church and made a mental note to pick up and destroy this one so none of the ladies would be shocked. Little Sammy sat on the other side of his dad staring with wonder at the stained glass windows. Sammy’s eyes were huge as he took in every aspect of the painted scenes before quickly darting his eyes to the front. Sammy’s small hand came up to wave, and Jim returned the gesture as he concluded his sermon.
After the invitation was finished, Jim called on Mr. Richard to pray. He walked to the back of the church picking up Sammy as he passed and waited to great the congregation. Jim and Sammy shook hands with everyone as they left complementing Jim on his sermon and playing with Sammy.
Once the church was empty, Jim locked the building and led the Winchesters back to his home. He made short work of lunch and soon everyone was fed and the table cleared. Setting out a box of toys Jim and John sat at the kitchen table to talk.
“I’ve got a hunt out of state. It’ll take a week maybe two. Think you could keep the boys for me?” John asked.
“Sure, John. You know I love having them here.” Jim assured his friend. “They’re welcome to stay. . .” the rest of his sentence was cut off as Sammy came bounding into the room hollering, “Look! Look!”
“Samuel Winchester! No yelling inside.” John scolded.
At the sound of his dad’s voice Sammy immediately stilled. “I sorry, daddy.” he loudly whispered.
Suppressing a laugh Jim pulled Sammy into his lap. “That’s okay, Sammy. Now what did you want to show us.”
Sammy shoved the book he was holding into Jim’s face. “Look! He’s in your book.”
Pushing the book away from his face so he could see, Jim noticed that Sammy was pointing to a picture of Jesus sitting and talking with the little children. “That’s Jesus, Sammy.” he told the little boy.
Sammy grinned at the picture. “I like him. He waved to me.” he said.
“He what?” Jim asked. “When?”
“At church” Sammy answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He was by that lady singing.”
Stunned John and Jim exchanged looks before staring back at Sammy. “You mean the man sitting next to her?” Jim asked thinking Sam was just confusing him with a man from the choir.
“No, he was standing up.” Sammy told him. “Can I go play with Dean now?”
“Of course, Sammy” Jim replied as he attempted to wrap his mind around what the youngest Winchester had told them.
Sammy raced back into the other room while the two men at the table sat and contemplated what this new development meant. John and Jim watched Sammy carefully the rest of the day making sure there were no more surprise visitors. When Sammy assured them that he hadn’t seen the man again at church that night, John decided that Sammy must have been imagining things. After saying goodbye to both his boys, John left on his hunt positive that his boys were safe with Jim.
Hours later Jim turned off all the lights and headed upstairs to bed. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. Passing by the boys’ room he stopped to check on them one last time. Pushing the door open Jim was surprised to see little Sammy sitting up in bed staring at the corner of the room. Jim walked over and sat down next to the little boy. “What’s wrong, Sammy? Did you have a nightmare?” he whispered.
Sammy stared at the corner for a moment more before nodding his head. Looking up at Jim Sammy smiled and said, “Mrs. Viola was here with Jesus. She said to tell you she’s safe in his garden now.”
Jim glanced from the empty corner to Sammy. Replaying Sammy’s words in his head, he gasped. Mrs. Viola’s favorite song was “In the Garden”. She sang it at least every other month and they had often joked that she was one of the best and brightest flowers in God’s garden. There was no way Sammy could have known that unless. . . No, that wasn’t possible. Sammy must be dreaming about a garden because they had gone to Mr. Bob’s to pick strawberries in his garden that afternoon. Confident that that was the answer, Jim sat and stroked Sammy’s hair until he fell asleep again and then went to bed himself.
The next morning Jim, Dean, and Sammy sat around the table eating breakfast and making plans for the day. Halfway through the phone rang. Excusing himself Jim went into the other room to answer it. All the color drained from his face as he listened to the caller on the other end of the line. After the call ended, Jim took some time to compose himself. He quickly made another call and then walked back into the kitchen. “Boys, Mrs. Nanny and Mr. Bob are going to come stay with you for a little while. I want you to be on your best behavior for them, okay?” he asked.
“Sure, Pastor Jim.” Dean answered. “But where are you going? Did something happen to dad?”
No, Dean. Your daddy’s just fine. One of the ladies in my congregation died last night and I need to go visit the family.” Jim informed him. “I won’t be long. Maybe we can go fishing when I get back.”
“Yea! Fishing!” Sammy hollered as he danced around the table.
Jim smiled as he watched John’s youngest laughing and dancing around. How was ever going to explain this to John? “At least I have a week or two to figure it out.” he thought.
Pulling out of his driveway a half hour later Jim hoped that this was a one time event. John didn’t need anything else to deal with. Jim said a special prayer for the Winchesters as he drove to Mrs. Viola’s home to console her family.
The End
A/N- Wanted to see if I could write Pastor Jim. A lot of the people represent folks I remember from my dad’s churches. There was a little girl that used to wait on the back pew for my dad to come by and pick her up so she could “help” him shake hands every Sunday. She was as close as he got to having a grandchild.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.
Pastor Jim sighed as he looked out at his modest congregation. Somedays he wondered if any of them could ever be reached. Several of them thought so much of themselves that he was surprised they hadn’t drowned in the rain yet. There on one of the front pews sat Sister Maude. Everyone thought she was one of the saints of the church. If only they knew some of the things he did. Every week she would hide in her house when he came for a visit so on Sunday she could complain to all the ladies that he never came to visit her. On the pew across from her was Mrs. Smith who considered herself a devout woman and was only too pleased to point to her son, the preacher, as prove of her status. Jim had to bite his tongue to keep from retorting that the atheist Madeline O’Hara’s son was a preacher too.
Wiping that thought and the look that accompanied it away, Jim looked towards the back where Mr. Gage and Mrs. Crab sat with their spouses on different sides of the church. They sat in the pews noses in the air even though they had been caught having an affair. “Ewww, I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole” Jim thought. “Okay, I’ve definitely been spending too much time around Caleb.” he added as he admonished himself for having such a mean spirited thought. Hearing a beautiful voice he gazed over at the choir and listened to Mrs. Viola sing the special. Here was an example of a devout woman. It showed in everything she did, especially when she sang. The look on her face led you to believe she was looking at the Lord himself. He hadn’t seen that look on many people. As she finished, Jim said a silent prayer that someone would be reached today before walking up to the podium to preach.
Towards the end of Jim’s sermon the back door creaked open. Jim continued to preach as all heads turned to see who was coming in this late. A scruffy looking man and two small boys walked in and silently sat down on the end of the closest pew. Jim smiled as he recognized the Winchester family. John looked so uncomfortable sitting there. He knew the man would rather be anywhere else than in the church. Dean was sitting beside his father drawing on a bulletin. Jim remembered the reaction to the last drawing Dean had made in the church and made a mental note to pick up and destroy this one so none of the ladies would be shocked. Little Sammy sat on the other side of his dad staring with wonder at the stained glass windows. Sammy’s eyes were huge as he took in every aspect of the painted scenes before quickly darting his eyes to the front. Sammy’s small hand came up to wave, and Jim returned the gesture as he concluded his sermon.
After the invitation was finished, Jim called on Mr. Richard to pray. He walked to the back of the church picking up Sammy as he passed and waited to great the congregation. Jim and Sammy shook hands with everyone as they left complementing Jim on his sermon and playing with Sammy.
Once the church was empty, Jim locked the building and led the Winchesters back to his home. He made short work of lunch and soon everyone was fed and the table cleared. Setting out a box of toys Jim and John sat at the kitchen table to talk.
“I’ve got a hunt out of state. It’ll take a week maybe two. Think you could keep the boys for me?” John asked.
“Sure, John. You know I love having them here.” Jim assured his friend. “They’re welcome to stay. . .” the rest of his sentence was cut off as Sammy came bounding into the room hollering, “Look! Look!”
“Samuel Winchester! No yelling inside.” John scolded.
At the sound of his dad’s voice Sammy immediately stilled. “I sorry, daddy.” he loudly whispered.
Suppressing a laugh Jim pulled Sammy into his lap. “That’s okay, Sammy. Now what did you want to show us.”
Sammy shoved the book he was holding into Jim’s face. “Look! He’s in your book.”
Pushing the book away from his face so he could see, Jim noticed that Sammy was pointing to a picture of Jesus sitting and talking with the little children. “That’s Jesus, Sammy.” he told the little boy.
Sammy grinned at the picture. “I like him. He waved to me.” he said.
“He what?” Jim asked. “When?”
“At church” Sammy answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He was by that lady singing.”
Stunned John and Jim exchanged looks before staring back at Sammy. “You mean the man sitting next to her?” Jim asked thinking Sam was just confusing him with a man from the choir.
“No, he was standing up.” Sammy told him. “Can I go play with Dean now?”
“Of course, Sammy” Jim replied as he attempted to wrap his mind around what the youngest Winchester had told them.
Sammy raced back into the other room while the two men at the table sat and contemplated what this new development meant. John and Jim watched Sammy carefully the rest of the day making sure there were no more surprise visitors. When Sammy assured them that he hadn’t seen the man again at church that night, John decided that Sammy must have been imagining things. After saying goodbye to both his boys, John left on his hunt positive that his boys were safe with Jim.
Hours later Jim turned off all the lights and headed upstairs to bed. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. Passing by the boys’ room he stopped to check on them one last time. Pushing the door open Jim was surprised to see little Sammy sitting up in bed staring at the corner of the room. Jim walked over and sat down next to the little boy. “What’s wrong, Sammy? Did you have a nightmare?” he whispered.
Sammy stared at the corner for a moment more before nodding his head. Looking up at Jim Sammy smiled and said, “Mrs. Viola was here with Jesus. She said to tell you she’s safe in his garden now.”
Jim glanced from the empty corner to Sammy. Replaying Sammy’s words in his head, he gasped. Mrs. Viola’s favorite song was “In the Garden”. She sang it at least every other month and they had often joked that she was one of the best and brightest flowers in God’s garden. There was no way Sammy could have known that unless. . . No, that wasn’t possible. Sammy must be dreaming about a garden because they had gone to Mr. Bob’s to pick strawberries in his garden that afternoon. Confident that that was the answer, Jim sat and stroked Sammy’s hair until he fell asleep again and then went to bed himself.
The next morning Jim, Dean, and Sammy sat around the table eating breakfast and making plans for the day. Halfway through the phone rang. Excusing himself Jim went into the other room to answer it. All the color drained from his face as he listened to the caller on the other end of the line. After the call ended, Jim took some time to compose himself. He quickly made another call and then walked back into the kitchen. “Boys, Mrs. Nanny and Mr. Bob are going to come stay with you for a little while. I want you to be on your best behavior for them, okay?” he asked.
“Sure, Pastor Jim.” Dean answered. “But where are you going? Did something happen to dad?”
No, Dean. Your daddy’s just fine. One of the ladies in my congregation died last night and I need to go visit the family.” Jim informed him. “I won’t be long. Maybe we can go fishing when I get back.”
“Yea! Fishing!” Sammy hollered as he danced around the table.
Jim smiled as he watched John’s youngest laughing and dancing around. How was ever going to explain this to John? “At least I have a week or two to figure it out.” he thought.
Pulling out of his driveway a half hour later Jim hoped that this was a one time event. John didn’t need anything else to deal with. Jim said a special prayer for the Winchesters as he drove to Mrs. Viola’s home to console her family.
The End
A/N- Wanted to see if I could write Pastor Jim. A lot of the people represent folks I remember from my dad’s churches. There was a little girl that used to wait on the back pew for my dad to come by and pick her up so she could “help” him shake hands every Sunday. She was as close as he got to having a grandchild.