Lightning Crashes 𖤐 Sam Winchester

Chapter Eight

THE NEXT MORNING, Sam and Jody sat at the kitchen table and talked while they drank coffee. It was around ten, and the girls were still asleep.

Sam sat at the table with his hands closed around his mug, his eyes focused on the sleeping woman. She laid across the mattress, buried beneath the blankets from her lips down, with Miracle laying at her feet. It had taken her a while to get back to sleep.

"Poor girl can't even remember her life, but she still hears him." Jody said. "It's like having PTSD, but you don't know what caused it."

Sam sighed. "I want to help her remember, but I also don't know if she's ready to remember. If she should remember."

Jody took a sip of her coffee. "One of these days, she might remember. Give it some time. . . Give her some time."

"Do you think she'll want that life back?" Sam asked.
"Honestly? No. I look at Astra, and I see a young woman who wanted a life full of love and peace. She despised her own power and she hated her father more than anything. She wanted an escape."

Sam watched as Miracle positioned himself between the woman's legs, laying his head down.

"Miracle's really warmed up to her." Sam mentioned. "Ever since Dean. . ."

Jody watched as Sam's eyes moved from the dog and down at the mug in his hand. He took a drink of his coffee, swallowing the warm liquid.

"I miss him, too, Sam." Jody told him. "But you're not alone. You will never be alone."

The woman stood from the table and placed her hand on his shoulder. Sam smiled as he swam in grief. "I know."

Jody poured her coffee into the sink. "I've got to run, but feel free to anything, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks, Jody."

When Jody walked out the door, Astra woke. Sam stood from the table and walked into the living-room as she sat up, immediately looking for him.

"Hey, I'm here." Sam said, sitting in the chair beside her. Astra rubbed her eyes tiredly as she leaned against the couch. "How do you feel?"

The woman avoided his eyes as she ran her fingers through Miracle's fur. "I feel crappy."

Sam nodded. "Those nightmares, I know how it is. And honestly, I don't think they will ever go away; but they'll die down eventually. It just takes time."

"What if I don't have time?" Astra asked. Sam looked at her confusedly, but she only shook her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Sam, everyone around me seems to disappear within a matter of time. And if you disappear. . ." She laughed nervously. "I'll have no one."

"Astra, you're not going to lose me. Ever. Zeus doesn't scare me. I've dealt with monsters and beings bigger than him— I've fought God."

"Who's God?" She asked.
Sam chuckled. "I'll educate you on that later. The point is, I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you."

Astra stood to her feet and walked towards Sam. The man looked up at her from his seat, watching as she approached him. He waited, curious as to what she was doing.

"I saw him, Sam." She told him. "In my nightmare, I saw him. He was so angry at me, he wanted to end me. But he didn't. He's the reason for my fall."

"Sounds like your dad does care about your life, after all." He told her.

Astra stared down as her stomach began to growl. Sam chuckled, watching as she rose a brow.

"Yeah, we got to get some food in you." He said. "There's a place a few minutes away, we can go get some breakfast."

"Did someone say breakfast?"

Claire entered the room, barely awake as she stumbled in. Her hair was in an unkempt bun, her sweatpants hanging low on her hips.

"Uh, yeah. Astra and I are gonna go grab some breakfast, do you want to go?"

"And third wheel? Hell no."

Sam scoffed at her comment.

"What does third wheel mean?" Astra asked.
"It means I'm not going to be the one to kill the romance between you two." She said as she pulled the milk out of the fridge. "Anyway, bring me some bacon, that's all I ask."

The romance between you two. Astra felt her face turn hot, and Sam clenched his jaw before grabbing his keys.

"We'll be back in an hour. Care to keep an eye on Miracle?"

Claire shook her head. "I got him."

Inside of one of the local diners, Sam and Astra sat in a booth and waited for their breakfast.

"Do you think that Zeus will ever try to bring me back?" Astra asked him.

"I don't think so, but even if he tries to, he won't know where you are." Sam explained to her. Astra took a drink of her orange juice.

"Do you feel unsafe?" Sam asked her.
She shook her head. "It's not that, it's just. . . I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"No one's gonna get hurt, Astra." Sam told her. "And when you're ready, if you want to. . . We can start working to find out about your past."

Astra watched as the waitress walked over and placed their food down on the table. The old lady smiled as Astra's eyes widened. Her pancakes were thick and fluffed, covered in strawberries and whip cream.

"You act like you've never seen pancakes before!" The old lady said. Sam smiled as Astra panicked.

"This is my first time." Astra said. "They're so. . . Big."

The old lady laughed. "Enjoy."

As she walked away, Sam reached for the bottle of syrup. "Here, try some of this on it."

Astra watched as Sam poured syrup on the top, long enough until it covered the stack. She grabbed her fork and cut through the soft pancake, picking a piece up with a slice of strawberry. As she popped it into her mouth, her tastebuds sparked at the sweetness. Sam laughed.

"This is amazing." She said. "Why didn't you get any?"
He poked at his eggs. "I will once in a while, but I'm just a healthy eater. Dean, on the other hand, ate stuff like this every day."

She swallowed another bite. "Well, I guess this is the best way to gain some weight, you heard my doctor."

"Yeah, he'll be proud."

Astra looked up at him. "Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"How did Dean die?"

Sam inhaled as his shoulders tensed, and he poked more at his food with his fork. "We uh, we were on a case. . . It was a vampire nest. We went in and wiped all of them out. . ."

Astra watched as he shook his head, hiding his grief with a sad smile. "I thought we had done the job, we killed all of them. But Dean. . . He couldn't move. The vampire he was fighting had pushed him directly into a sharpened rod sticking out of the wall, and it impaled him. If I had moved him, he would've died bleeding out before I could get him help."

He clenched his jaw, and Astra felt sympathy for him. She regretted asking him, knowing it hurt still.

"Sam, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I can't imagine losing someone I love."

Sam shook his head, but she could see the tears that covered his face. "It's fine, can you excuse me?"

Astra watched sadly as Sam stood from the seat and headed towards the restrooms. Sam hurried inside of the bathroom, locking the door behind himself before walking towards the sink. Running the water, he cupped his hands beneath the water and splashed his face.

He placed his hands on each side of the sink as he stared back at his reflection. He took a few deep breaths as he steadied himself, shaking his head.

"It's been a year." Sam told himself. "Just. . . Move on."

The man hung his head low as he fought his emotions.