Time's Not On Our Side, Sam Winchester

Chapter III: The Figure In The Woods

*January 2, 1815*

It's the next morning. You sat at the table, eating your breakfast with your family. "How was last night's dance?" your father asked. "Oh, shush. My head is killing me," your mother whined.

"Maybe you should stay away from the liquor, Mother. Your liver isn't getting any younger," you told her. "Oh, hush, child. You have no knowledge in that thick head of yours." "Mother... Please," William intervened.

"Quiet, William. I am capable of taking Mother's insults." "Of course," he replied with a hint of shame in his voice.

"Your daughter has met a boy, Papa. I think she likes him," Penelope blurted out. You gasped, giving her a look.

"Don't listen to the child, Father. I will not be giving my hand in marriage anytime soon," you told him. "I'm not lying," she said, her mouth full of food.

"Don't speak with your mouth full, dear. It's very unladylike," your mother scolded, lightly tapping a napkin on her lips. "So is getting so incredibly drunk that your younger children have to wonder why Mama isn't feeling well, but here we are."

It was silent. Not the good kind either. "Awkward..." Jack sighed. "Jack, why do you only speak up when you don't need to? Anyways, look at the band that rests on her wrist!" Penelope said, excitedly. You sighed as you let your father take your hand.

"Did he give this to you?" your father asked, a slight smile played on his lips. You nodded and let your mother take a look.

"Let me see that!" She examined it very closely, and finally, "What an ugly old thing. This boy is not the one. Surely he doesn't have enough to support a family," your mother said. You had reached your breaking point.

You stood abruptly, your chair squealing. "Mother! Love isn't about money! I am not marrying a man because of his riches." Silence again, but this time no one knew what to say. Not even Negative Jack.

"I'm gonna...wash the dishes. Yes. If you're finished with your breakfast, I will take the dishes."

One of the many struggles of being poor. Each family member has two plates, one bowl, spoon, knife, and fork to themself, so someone has to wash them after every couple of meals.

A few of them handed their dishes, and you added them to the dish basket. "I'll be back soon."

You walked through the woods until you found the stream you had visited time and time again. You sighed and took your cloth to the first dish, watching as with each stroke, something would taint the water and go downstream.

You stopped and let the stream clear up. You realized that today is beautiful. The water is so clear, and the way that the sun reflects off of it, causing it to sparkle. And the scenery... it's just so peaceful.

You couldn't just sit there. You left your basket on the ground and stepped over the stream.

You walked out into the empty field to a swing made of a wood plank that you and William had set up years ago. You sat on it and watched as you went forward, into the sun, giving you a warm feeling. Then you swing back under the shadow of the tree, chilly and dark.

You swung for a while, but suddenly, you heard a twig break in the woods behind you. You ignored it. It's probably just an animal.

But then, it happened again. You slowed the swing and jumped off.

"Hello?" you called, walking toward the trees. No answer, but you saw some movement.

A figure of a person got closer and closer. "William? If that's you..." There was no answer, and you were getting scared. It was not William or anyone from your family.

Finally, the sun shone on his face, and the shadow of the trees slowly revealed him like a curtain being pulled away at a theater... not that you've ever been to a theater. "Guess again, Ladybug." He smiled. Oh, that smile.

"Sam. What are you doing here? I-I mean, not that it's a bad thing..." "Um, I was just walking," he said with a worried expression.

"Oh. You look worried," you smiled. "No. No, I'm not. I... It's beautiful out here." "Yes. It is quite nice today... oh, bollocks..." you said under your breath, earning a light chuckle from Sam. "What's so funny, sir?" you asked, leading him back into the woods.

"You just reminded me of someone I know," he replied. "Someone good, I hope," you said. "Oh, he has his moments... Hey, uh, where are we going?" "Well, I was supposed to be doing dishes, and I lost track of the sun," you told him.

He stopped to think, but you kept going. "The... the sun. Right..." he trailed off before realizing that you were leaving him behind.

"Hey, maybe you could teach me that sometime?..." he asked, running after you. You stopped in your tracks, and he almost walked right into you.

"W-What?" he asked, nervously as you studied his face. "Nothing. Nothing. It's just... you're a strange man, Sam Winchester." You began to walk again. He shrugged and followed closely behind.

"Ah, here we are." You stepped over the stream and sat on the edge. You began your washing again. You listened to the sloshing of the water as you hummed a lullaby called A Night Time Blessing.

This song got you and your siblings through the war. You would hum it to them while you hid in the bomb shelter. The ground shook. The only sound to be heard were the explosions and the sounds of the younger children whimpering, and your voice.

"That's a pretty song." His voice broke your trance, giving you a startle. You sighed and placed the clean dish in your basket. "I used to hum it to my brothers and sisters in the war. I don't know... I guess my thoughts just wander back to that time..." You gave another sigh and grabbed another plate from the basket.

"Hm." he hummed. You looked up from the water and noticed that Sam was on the other side of the narrow stream, his legs crossed.

"You know, I don't remember that time as the worst time of my life. I'm actually quite fond of it, which I know is kind of morbid." He gave a light chuckle and placed a finger in the water, creating a tiny whirlpool.

"How many siblings do you have?" he asked. You smiled at the ground and placed the last plate in the basket before making direct eye contact. "Six." "Six?" he chuckled.

"Yep. There's William. He's older than me, and we have four younger ones. Well, five if we're talking from William's view, which we're not... Uh, There's Penelope, she is..." you laughed, "then there's Eileen, and she is something, that girl. Then we've got Jack. He's... We're a bit worried about him. He's kinda... disheartening. He's been like that since the war. It hit him the hardest out of all of us. He used to be so optimistic, and the war ruined that. Um... Then there's the twins. Bernadette and Branson, and they are the wildest things you've ever seen... we consider them the family pets."

He chuckled. "Hey Ladybug, what's down there?" He pointed with a jerk of his head. "Oh, you mean at the end of the stream? It's quite impressive. Come on, I'll show you."

*Hey guys! I hope you like this part. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @nothing.ever.really.ends.spn and I'll be updating this next Saturday!*