Mary woke up, she could hear Sammy crying, John was already awake. That or he'd never come to bed, he often fell asleep in front of the television, and despite that and what the neighbours and other children's parents often said (or gossiped, rather) their marriage was just fine, and even if it wasn't they had Dean and little Sammy to think about. But it was fine. They were fine.
On that thought she wrenched herself out of bed, shivering slightly as she walked across the cold, clammy floorboards. Sam had quieted down, but she would still check on him, she'd worry all night if she didn't.
She opened the door, thankful that John had fixed the creaky hinges, and peered into the room. A small figure had climbed over the crib bars and was sitting with Sam in its lap, she smiled
"Did he wake you, Dean?" the figures head whipped around, jostling Sam, and he let them know of his displeasure with a grumpy sounding murmur. Dean turned his attention to Sam and whispered to him, rocking him gently, Mary walked quietly over to the crib, she gently picked up Sam and took Deans hand, she led him back to bed and settled Sam down again. Dean had taken to Sam like a duck to water, she was proud of her boys; she drifted back to sleep with the depressing thought that she'd have to get up again in a few hours.
0o0o0
John jerked awake, Mary was leaning over him, she had shaken him awake "you need to get ready for work, John" he groaned slightly but looked at her with a smile.
"Yeah, but I thought I'd drop Dean off to school, and take Sammy to kindergarten."
Mary smiled and stepped back, heading towards the kitchen. "That's fine, you'll get to work the usual time? Or will I need to phone in?"
John ran his hand through his hair "I should get in the usual time, I'll text you if I need you to ring" Mary smiled and handed him a cup of coffee, "your turn to get the boys up" John groaned again and grimaced.
"Hopefully Dean doesn't kick me this time"
He headed towards the boys shared bedroom and smiled as he heard Mary's full laugh following him from the kitchen.
0o0o0
John cursed as he looked at the massive traffic jam spread out in front off them, he should have expected it. There was no way he was getting to work anytime soon. "Dean! Pass me my phone, quick!" he heard Dean fumbling around in the backseat before a little hand reached over his shoulder and deposited the phone in his lap. He flipped it open. Nothing. John frowned at it, he must have forgotten to charge it, he reached out and opened the glove compartment, where he kept a spare car charger. He pulled it out before staring in dismay at the chewed up wire. "Son of a BITCH" he exclaimed, pounding his fist down on the dashboard, he heard Sam gasp, "now you gotta put a dollar in the swear jar!" John frowned, "I don't remember the swear jar being quite so expensive..." he muttered, before pulling a coin out of his pocket and handing it to Sam.
John heard giggling. That was never a good sign when you had two small boys in the back of your vintage '67 Chevy Impala. He glanced at the rear view mirror before stomping on the breaks and letting out a shout "WHY THE HELL IS THERE A CAT IN MY CAR" dean looked up quickly, taking on the appearance of a deer in the head lights, Sam however, looked unimpressed and his face morphed into something dean would later refer to as Bitch face #5. He continued to stroke the small cat sitting in his lap. "Ruby wanted to come" John closed his eyes, feeling the start of a headache coming on. "Sam... You can't take... That thing... Into kindergarten." Sam frowned and held ruby closer to him.
Oh how John loathed that cat. Mary had thought a pet would be good, would teach Sam and Dean 'responsibility' but he swore that that cat was possessed. It was evil. The spawn of hell. It was small with dark brown fur and brown eyes that looked, in most lights, black as its twisted soul. It purred when Sam was around but whenever dean tried to pat it, it scratched him. His small hand still bore claw marks from their last encounter.
John sighed, pulling up in front of Dean's school. "Stay in the car, Sammy, I'll deal with the cat later." he opened the door and unbuckled Dean, picking up his small bag with one hand and leading him towards the school. "You meeting Cas?" he asked Dean as a small dark haired shaped rushed towards Dean with a huge smile. Dean grinned back and ran towards Cas, before taking his hand and leading him towards the building. " I'll wait here after school, bye dad,"
John stood blinking for a moment, "I'll take that as a yes..." he muttered, but he smiled as he saw Dean and Cas run hand in hand into the school.
He turned back to the car after making sure Dean and Cas had gotten in safely, Sam was sitting in the back with the devil-cat perched in his lap. John sighed and rubbed his forehead; he decided this was a conversation he'd leave to Mary. He pulled out of the schools parking lot and headed in the direction of Sam's kindergarten, thankfully not too far away.
0o0o0
There was no way he'd get to work before 9:30
0o0o0
Mary was leaning against the kitchen counter, the radio murmuring quietly in the background. She absentmindedly chewed on a pen as she tried to think of a nine letter word that meant 'monster' John hadn't called so she assumed he was at work. She sighed and turned to the window, only to be confronted with chaos. A plane was ramming into the world trade center. Mary's eyes grew wide and her hand covered her mouth, billowing flames cascaded from the buildings, a dark crown of smoke rising into the dirty sky.
The clock read 8:52
"John..."
0o0o0
John pulled up in front of Sam's kindergarten, "alright Sammy time to make some friends, seriously, you gotta try, ok? No more sitting in corners with picture books." Sam pouted at him, and john frowned right back, but his face softened when he saw the uncertainty inn the small boys eyes "it's OK Sammy, you just gotta stay for a little bit, I'll be back before you know it" Sam still looked uncertain but he didn't throw a tantrum, which was a blessing. John took Sam's hand and led him inside. He was greeted by a pretty, cheerful girl with a nametag that read 'Jessica' she smiled at Sam and held out her hand 'hiya Sammy! You ready to have fun?" Sam shuffled his feet and glanced up at her, '...ok...' Jessica smiled encouragingly and took his hand before smiling at John and telling him to have a nice day, she then led Sam into the large, brightly lit kindergarten. John sighed again and rubbed his temples, he waved at Sam one more time before resigning himself to being stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work.
0o0o0
"Oh my god. John. JOHN" Mary covered her face in her hands, muffling a scream, her husband had been in there, her John.
It felt like implosion. Like every light had gone out. Like the stars had gone out. Unbidden, a the last two verses of her favourite poem imbedded itself in her mind
" Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good."
And she sobbed. Dry, racking sobs that shook her entire body. Her mind was blank but for those words. Running through as if on a loop.
0o0o0
Sam was at the art and crafts table when it happened, although he wasn't quite sure what 'it' was. There where screams and loud noises and when he looked towards the window all he could see was a milling crowd of adults. The phones began ringing, the shrill sound piercing his ears.
So he did what anyone would do when faced with loud noises and frightening circumstances, he hid under a table.
He drew his knees up to his chest and hid his face in them, and stayed that way for several minutes. Then someone yanked on his hair, not exactly gently, but not painful, it was a move designed to get Sam to look up, and it proved successful.
He peered up through his long, floppy bangs and saw a smirking boy looking at him, maybe a year or two older than him. He had a lollipop. Sam wondered where he had gotten it. "What do you want" Sam said, if he were older he would have been ashamed of how his voice and lower lip wobbled as he spoke. As it was he just glared at the boy. He looked average at first glance, but Sam could see that his eyes were the strangest colour, like honey smeared over wheat toast. And his hair at first a dirty blond colour gained honey highlights in the sun, he almost seemed to glow. But then he opened his mouth and the illusion disappeared. 'Names Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe if you want, I heard the grow ups talking and I looked out of the window and there was this plane and it crashed into a building and it was like, BOOM and then people were screaming and d'you wanna see?"
Sam blinked, still processing the words that had tumbled out of Gabriel's mouth, "um, ok?" he mumbled, uncertain.
He knew Gabriel, who didn't? The guy was a prankster extraordinaire, you didn't talk to him, he talked to you. And although he wasn't picky about who he spoke to he WAS picky about who he wanted to be friends with.
Gabriel's face lit up with a grin that seemed far too large for his small face.
"C'mon Sammy!" he cried, grabbing his hand. As Sam was led away he was too surprised about what had occurred in the last few minutes to wonder how Gabriel had known his name.
0o0o0
Dean and Cas were in maths when they heard the screams, their heads whipped towards the door and, when someone pointed it out, the window, through which they could see huge clouds of smoke rising up from a building like a warning, what they could also see was a plane soaring towards a second building, standing in the ruins of the first, it was shrouded in ash, like a widows veil.
The clock read 9:03
0o0o0
Mary sat up. The words were no longer running through her mind, two new words had replaced them. Sam and Dean.
Her boys.
She had to find them.
And then the phone rang, shrill and sharp in the muted silence that had not been broken since the plane hit Johns building. She stood up numbly and picked it up. A voice on the other end spoke frantically. She didn't hear anything it said. It was John's voice. John hadn't been in the building. John was alive. Slowly and then all at once she took a deep breath and again sank to the floor. And when she said his name, she whispered it like a prayer, and he replied, with one word, that sounded like worship.
"Mary"
The date was the 9th of the 11th. The day New York stood still.