Saving Grace [a Supernatural Story]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I know I said this about Dean too but I can't get over it, he's just so perfect," a woman's voice interrupted my sleep. It was distant and distorted by static like a radio station that wasn't quite tuned to the right channel, but I could still hear the awe in her voice. She sounded familiar, it must be Mary.

"Just like his mother," a man answered her. I didn't have to see him to know he was smiling with pride and pure happiness. He sounded familiar too, definitely John. She laughed lightly, seemingly tired but obviously happy too.

"I know we just met but you can believe me when I tell you this Sammy, I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you this happy and safe for the rest of your life, even if I have to die to do it. It's a mother's job after all," Mary went on. She must have finally had her second baby. As if to confirm, I felt a seat belt click in place where I could feel the weight of a baby's car seat. Then we were on the road. One more Winchester to drive safely home, I could handle that.

***

"You doing okay back there Sammy?" John called, earning a laugh from Mary and some indecipherable but definitely happy baby noises from Sam.

"I can't believe he's already 3 months old," Mary sighed, "time needs to slow down."

"I know, but just think. Soon he'll be kicking his first soccer ball, shooting his first gun. Maybe he'll even be able to keep Dean's energy occupied."

"My baby shooting a gun is not nearly as comforting as you seem to think it is."

"Not for hunting dear, just for protection. Just because we retired doesn't mean the demons we've sent back to hell have."

"Yeah well, I'd die before I let any of them get near my babies," I could practically see Mary's glare just from her tone. God help whoever came after the Winchester boys. John just chuckled.

"Our boys have the most bad ass mother in town."

Everything sped up from there, like I was fast-forwarding a movie. The fire, the boys growing up, the long nights with John staying awake at the wheel by sheer force of anger and desire for revenge. Through it all, I did my job getting them from one hunt to the next safely. Soon it was just Dean driving, all grown up and just as angry and sad as his father had been. Then Sam was there too, carrying on the Winchester legacy with his brother. Saving people, hunting things, the family business. I was proud to be part of it, and even prouder of John's boys for carrying on despite everything they'd been through.

"Save them." I knew the voice but I couldn't quite place it. Save them how?

I woke up slowly, dragging myself out of the dreams inch by inch and letting my senses come back one by one. I could hear soft snores coming from beside me and my cheek was pressed against something warm. Taking my first deep breath of the day, I recognized the smell of Sam's cologne. Huh?

Finally opening my eyes, I lifted my head from where it had been resting against Sam's arm. He was still asleep, my laptop still balanced on his stomach with Netflix's 'Are you still watching?' message across the screen. Oh right, we had been watching Family Guy together after our talk. We must have fallen asleep before either of us had thought to turn everything off. I carefully reached over with the arm that wasn't under Sam's and turned the volume down low, flicking on subtitles and pressing play before I laid my head back down while I waited for him to wake up.

My mind wandered back to my dreams that hadn't really been dreams after all. They were memories from before I was sent into this human body. Sam being brought home from the hospital, the time they had all gone to pick Dean up from his first play date, then all the hard times to follow. Once John had lost Mary, he'd been completely consumed with getting revenge on Azazel. He came back from retirement and brought the boys into the business too, even though he and Mary had wanted them to have normal lives. Sam tried that later, but Azazel took that away when he took Jess away. Now that they had finally gotten rid of Azazel, they could have given normal another chance, but they hunted instead. I guess it was kinda all they had left, that and each other. Well, now Dean had Cas too but settling down with a soon-to-be former angel could hardly be considered normal. I don't think the Winchesters could do normal if they wanted to anyway, they could barely stand being at the bunker so long. They'd found a few cases that were close enough to work without leaving me here alone, but I could tell they were used to a lot more and were getting antsy cooped up. I'd just have to work harder so I could actually help them instead of holding them back.