Everything In Life is Only For Now
Disclaimer: The Winchester boys aren't mine, but I'd make Dean wear boots all the time if they were.
Word Count: 605
Pairings: Dean/OFC, Sam/Jess (HET)
Rating: PG (Angst. Sweet Sammy angst.)
Spoilers: None, save for my 'verse.
Miscellaneous: Written for the What Can You Write in 15 Minutes challenge at
spn_het_love.
A/N: Because vignettes are all I seem to write for these challenges, this one was set in the
Strange Angels 'verse. It's really all about Sam, much like the 'verse itself.
Summary: He was dreaming of her again, the way she screamed with her hair streaming around her, and the demon inside was a dark stain rattling through his hips.
Beta(s): Just me, along with every mistake.
“Charlie! Hey, Charlie! Are you awake?” Dean’s voice was a sibilant hiss across the motel room, pulling him from a restless sleep. He was dreaming of her again, the way she screamed with her hair streaming around her, and the demon inside was a dark stain rattling through his hips.
There was a rustle of sheets followed by a sleepy voice. “No…” A mattress popped like someone was sitting up, an intake of breath as a hand slapped against the wall. “Ouch!”
“You sound like you’re awake.”
“I talk in my sleep. And, thanks to you, I’m going to have a bruise.”
“Behold the power of the world’s biggest prick.” It was followed by a snort off his right ear. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too goddamn much? You might wake up Sam and Ellie.”
Charlotte yawned, stretching out the vowels. “Any particular reason you woke me up?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“No kidding. I just don’t see why that means I need to be miserable right along with you.” Her breath came out in a huff. “You want to go for a walk or something?”
A low chuckle echoed across the room as the mattress next to him dipped. “I thought you’d never ask, Charlie.” Dean hit the floor, pounding towards the closet like he was stalking a chupacabra. A man on a mission.
“You’re insane, you know that? It’s still dark outside.” Another metallic rattle of mattress coils slithered its way towards him and there was a thumping noise interspersed with the softer slap of a foot against the carpet.
“Got your shoe.” Dean’s voice was full of a smile, self-satisfied and proud of himself, but there was a note deep inside that he remembered from California. The way she would sound whenever she convinced him to do something with her, happy that he was there. “And a jacket.”
He blinked when the door opened, the crackle of the light bulb softer than their voices. “Thank you,” Charlotte said, the rustle of fabric moving against the rain and he saw their dim figures in the doorway as she put on her jacket. “But you do realize I can’t walk in that. I have to keep the cast dry.”
Dean’s laugh couldn’t wash away everything, the silent scream that always followed her in his dreams and the song of Shemhezai as it burrowed deeper into his bones. “I thought we could take a walk in my car.”
Charlotte’s chuckle was exasperated but whatever she was going to say next was muffled by the closing door, the room falling back into darkness. The patter of small feet was followed by the rush of air as the mattress bounced and Sam felt tiny arms coming around his neck. Ellie burrowed into his chest and the little girl kissed his cheek.
“It’s going to be okay, Sam.” Ellie’s voice was as tiny as the rest of her but it was strong. “Just knowing it makes it true.” There was belief locked in every syllable, as real as the longing Dean couldn’t disguise in one whisper and as sincere as the way Charlotte’s laugh answered questions Dean hadn’t even asked.
He didn’t say anything, listening to Ellie shift as her breathing became regular and the arms around his neck pulled down as she curled up in her sleep, back against his right hip. Ellie would never know the things he’d seen, the way her body lay in pieces on an altar. Sam hoped to God that she was right, that belief could be strong enough for all of them.
At least until he could fall asleep again.
A/N:
The title is a lyric from the song “For Now” from Avenue Q. I think my muse has a plan to write ficlets based on each of the songs because this is the second one (although the first I have posted).
I wrote this in fifteen minutes. I should be scared since it usually takes me hours to write something this long if I’m limited to a word count… And it took me longer to edit than to write, which probably defeats the purpose of the challenge, but I’m an editing fiend.