ATTENTION!: as much as I love Supernatural, I didn't really like most of s12. Bringing back Mary was stupid, and the whole plot about the British Men of Letters was such a nonsense to me; I enjoyed the Devil's spawn part though. So, this season is going to be readjusted in a rush until I reach the moment where my story actually begins. This means no Mary resurrected and no BMoL, with all derived consequences that I'll try to explain as best as I can. Semi-canon until then!
Prologue
Dean looked around, awed, as light and warmth suddenly filled the garden.
"Dean, you gave me what I needed most. I want to do the same for you."
And saying that, a single happy teardrop rolled down her cheek. The dark entity took it on a fingertip, and offered it to the hunter.
"Take this. With all my gratitude and power, I'll grant you a wish. No matter what it is, it will be conceded, but only once and only for you."
He extended his hand hesitantly and accepted the gift, that had solidified in a tiny, black round pearl.
"If my sister gifts you with a present, I'll do something for Sam too," Chuck smiled kindly. "The Fates probably won't be happy, but... well, I'll leave instructions with Castiel."
"Come, Elohim. Let's be siblings again," Amara said, holding hands with her brother. "Goodbye, Dean."
And then they were dissolving, two big columns of light and dark smoke ascending to who knew where, until only Dean remained in the garden. He looked again at the black pearl on his hand.
"Now what the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
Dean didn't doubt Amara's willingness to return a favour, but he knew better than to trust wishes. They always seemed to have a catch.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meanwhile in the bunker, Castiel and Sam were about to go downstairs when a sudden wave pierced the angel's brain.
"Sam..." he called, with a hand on his temple.
"Cas, what it is? Are you alright?"
"I think there is... there is someone in the bunker."
Immediately Sam reached for the revolver on his back, but Castiel held his wrist.
"No, it is not... it is not a malevolent presence. I believe... God sends it to you."
Barely reassured by this, Sam put away the weapon but continued to be on guard. Slowly descending the stairs and looking around, when they made it down to the table on the war room, the 'presence' became perfectly visible to them.
Standing in the connected next room, the library, there was a person. A young female with long, curly blond hair and a couple of beauty marks on her pretty face. She wore a short white nightdress.
"Sam..." she whispered, stunned.
The hunter didn't do much better. Incredulous and afraid of being delirious again, he could only stutter:
"Jess... is that you, Jessica?"
The woman stood there, confused, not knowing where she was, looking at the two men in front of her.
"Sam?" she said tentatively, not daring to move. "You look... different."
"Yeah, it's me," he babbled, a lump in his throat, taking a step forward. "Though I feel like it should be me the one asking you that. Are you really... Jess?"
"Of course I am. Who else could I...?" Then an image flashed through her mind. Pain. Blood. Fire. "Wait, what is...?" Jess mumbled, a hand on her head.
There was so much fear, and betrayal, and hurt. She felt herself swooning, her knees going weak. Sam ran to her side and caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground.
"Jess! Jess, are you ok? Talk to me, precious."
He cradled her gently against his body, trying to give her comfort.
"I'm... I'm ok, just a memory, I think. Sam," she called him earnestly, grabbing the collar of his jacket and locking eyes with him. "I have the feeling... I shouldn't be here, right?"
The hunter gulped loudly.
"No, Jess, you shouldn't," he answered softly, caressing her face. "But I'm still crazily happy that you are. I missed you to the point of madness."
She smiled faintly, relishing his tender embrace.
"Cas," Sam called the momentarily forgotten angel. "Can you... check her up, to see if everything is fine?"
Castiel nodded, understanding the real meaning of such request. He came closer and put two fingers on the woman's forehead, letting his grace flow through her. No angelic trace, no demonic miasma, no monster vibe. Just a pure, unadulterated human soul.
"She is alright, Sam. As far as I can tell, there is nothing to worry about. However..."
He trailed off, unsure of how to voice his doubts. He didn't need to, though, as probably the same questions were running wild in the hunter's mind too, because as happy as he was to have Jessica back... she was dead, should be dead. Why was she here?
"Jess, precious, do you need anything?" Sam asked, gently helping her back on her feet. "Water? Food? Warmth?"
"No, I'm mostly ok. Though... I'd prefer to be a little more dressed in front of your friend."
And she smiled, that little benevolent but slightly amused smile that Sam remembered to love so much.
"My apologies," Castiel muttered, being guilty of nothing, while taking off his trenchcoat and offering it to the woman. "I know that usually humans feel uncomfortable in front of others while in a state of under-dressing."
Jessica frowned a bit due to his strange phrasing, but accepted the coat and put it on, buttoning it up.
"Sam, what's happening?" she finally asked, turning to him. "Where are we?"
"Well, we're..." he started, doubting what or how much information he should disclose. "We're in a protected bunker in Lebanon, Kansas. This place belonged to a secret society of wise men currently extinct, which my grandfather was a member of. You're safe here, Jess."
"Safe from what?" she asked, altered. "Protected against who? How did I get here, Sam?"
"Jessica..."
"Allow me a moment, Sam," Castiel interrupted, looking at her. "Miss Jessica, could you answer that last question to us, actually? How did you get here, I mean. What do you remember from before?"
"Fire," she choked. "And then... nothing. Everything was normal again, I was at home baking cookies for the welcoming... and suddenly I found myself here in my sleepwear, with a boyfriend that in a couple of days went through some notable makeover."
Sam was staring at her flabbergasted, mouth hanging open. He exchanged a swift glance with the angel, who seemed to understand the situation way better than him.
"Miss Jessica, if I may address you like that," Castiel tried in his most reassuring voice. "Please, do no freak out, but what you speak of was not real. I mean, yes, it was real in a sense, but only for you. Apparently that was your piece of Heaven, Miss Jessica. You were in Heaven because you died in that fire eleven years ago."
The woman inhaled sharply, processing the information, and fighting the urgency of her brain to rebuke that everything was a lie. She was alive, waiting for Sam to come back home after going away with his brother only for a couple of days.
"First, just Jessica is enough, and second... that can't be true," she forced a trembling smile. "Are you mocking me? Because if you wanted to pull a scary prank on someone, let me tell you that you're already two days too late for Halloween."
"Jess, precious..." Sam intervened. "He's telling the truth. And we're not in Halloween either, we're... it's 2016, Jess."
She looked back at him, and saw his eyes glistening with barely contained tears. And then she had to believe it, because the unmistakable sadness reflected there couldn't be fake.
Her own tears ran free. She had died? Just... why? She was young and happy, she was in love... she had her whole life to live. What did she do wrong to have her chance stolen away? Did she deserve to die?
All the while, Sam kept her in his arms. He lovingly stroked her head, taking in her sobbing and weeping on his shoulder. Castiel looked away, distressed, trying not to intrude in an obvious private moment, until eventually the woman calmed down.
"Jess, sit down for a little, ok?" Sam said, pulling out a chair for her. "I'll go to the kitchen and make you an infusion."
She nodded quietly, sitting down. Sam disappeared through the aisle door, and Castiel, not wanting to be left alone with an unstable stranger, followed him.
"Sam," he whispered when they were out of hearing range, but the hunter spoke first.
"Why is she here, Cas?!" he grumbled. "How is it even possible?"
"You should not act so surprised. After all, you and Dean have also come back from the dead, and even with less help."
"What do you mean, 'less help'?"
They had reached the kitchen, so they started talking at a normal level again.
"I already informed you when we got back to the bunker that I received a message. I am an angel and raised Dean from perdition, but that woman there... she was brought back to you by God himself, Sam. As a 'Thank you' gift."
Sam stopped thoughtful, a mug and a tea bag on his hands.
"For real?" he asked, hopeful. "I mean, if... if it was Chuck who brought her back, does that mean she's gonna stay? Forever? She won't... disappear after a couple of hours, right?"
"No, Sam, I do not think she will."
The younger man went silent for a moment, allowing the happiness to sink in. He was still a bit afraid to do it, but wanted so much to believe in the angel's reassuring words.
"By the way, Sam, there is something I want to ask you," Castiel said. "This woman that has suddenly appeared, is she the same Jessica you told me about? The college girlfriend that was killed by your demon-possessed friend Brady?"
"Yes, Cas, that's her."
"Oh, Sam..." the angel cooed compassionately. "Then now I understand why... It is finally obvious why none of your other relationships had a happy end. I am so sorry."
"What?" the hunter frowned, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"It is far from being pleasant to me to compliment a demon in any way, but I must admit that Azazel certainly got his workings very well done. After all, this female that was thrown into your life is your soulmate."
The mug that was in Sam's hand just a second ago crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces. He was frozen on the spot, overwhelmed by what he had just heard.
"What... what again, Cas?"
"She is your soulmate, Sam. Did you not know it?"
"How the heck could I have known it?!" he shouted. "Are... are you even sure?"
"Of course I am. God only created a batch of soulmates, when a few times he loaded a soul with too much information, thus splitting it. It is a very rare occurrence, and even more rare when the halves actually get to meet each other. There is no possibility I would misread the distinct vibe that you two give off together."
"But what does that have to do with the rest of my relationships?"
"If you had met them before Jessica, there might have been a chance of them being fulfilling, but after meeting your soulmate and losing her... No, your soul simply would not have been satisfied enough. Ever again, Sam."
The hunter nodded absentmindedly, absorbing this new information while crouching down to pick up the broken pieces of the mug. It was too much to take in at once, specially having the living object of the issue barely a few metres away, waiting in the library.
"Sam," called the angel, putting a helping hand on his friend's shoulder. "I remember how to make tea myself. Go to her."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dean returned to the bunker a few hours later, to the immense happiness and relief of his brother and his best friend. He sputtered his surprise for a while when introduced to the subject of Jessica's return, but confirmed that Chuck had wanted to reward them somehow.
He didn't mention Amara's pearl gift, though. That was his own business to deal with.
After a relaxing shower and most needed dinner, he finally laid down in his bed. He felt a bit stupidly amazed that the sun would rise again tomorrow, knowing he had helped to it. By doing so, he had earned the gratitude of an almighty entity, which brought back the black pearl to his mind.
As soon as he was back home, Dean had hid it in the depths of his nightstand drawer. Could he really ask for anything? Did he want to ask for something in the first place? Because man, this kind of things tended to turn dangerous in the long run and bite you in the ass... but it would be nice to have the fridge always stocked with beer, right? As it would be good to have freshly-baked apple pie for the rest of his life, short as that might be. Or an infinite supply of clean underwear for when they had to sleep in cheap motels. Would the pearl be enough to convince Sam to cut his girly hair? Get back the Colt from wherever it was with enough ammo to kill all the demons in Hell...
To resurrect Charlie, or Kevin. To send the remaining lost leviathans to Purgatory. To allow Cas back in Heaven. To free Adam from the Cage.
Dean felt like his brain could burst just thinking about the possibilities. He closed his eyes, intending to sleep and let it be for the night. Tomorrow would be another day.
Looking for: any fanfic with AnnaxRuby or JoxCharlie? I don't mind if they are only a background couple.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!