Never Forget
Synopsis: Pre-series. Dean and John are working separate hunts in New York when the unthinkable happens. It wasn't supposed to happen like this; it was supposed to be an easy hunt. Hurt!Dean Angst!Sam Angst!John
Setting: This story is set mutually in Palo Alto California; but mainly in NYC on September 11th 2001. Pre-series.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all of their associated content belong to Eric Kripke and the CW, I own nothing of the sort.
A/N: This may contain some material that some readers find sensitive and it is pre-series AU. Reviews Appreciated And Thank you to my AMAZING Beta Merisha!
"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. "
- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001
7:32 AM, September 11th, 2001
"Yeah, Dad…" Dean told him "It's a simple poltergeist, nothing I haven't handled before."
"I know, Dean, but it's your first hunt alone and I'll be honest…I don't like it."
"Dad, I'm 22 years old, I've been hunting since I was 5!" Dean reminded him
"I know…I just have a bad feeling about this one son."
"Look, both of these hunts are pieces of cake. I joined the department no problem, using my real name did kinda help, considering I'm working for the city. It's a poltergeist in an office building, how hard can it be?"
"You'd be surprised son, even the most simple of hunts can turn on you. Now are you sure the inspection is scheduled for the 11th?"
"I'm positive, I've done all my research. It's not as easy without geek boy, but…." Dean trailed off, immediately regretting his words. He knew how his father hated to be reminded of his younger brother's betrayal.
They hadn't spoken his name in nearly 8 months, since Sammy's abrupt departure.
John's sigh could be heard over the line.
"Just be careful kid."
"Always, Dad." Dean smiled as he hung his phone up.
He turned around to the stand next to the bed of the motel where he wass currently staying.
"Shower…Check." He thought aloud.
He grabbed his turn-out gear from the desk and headed down to his car.
"Well baby, this oughta be interesting." He said as he sat himself down in his beautiful 67' Chevy Impala. "Who knows, maybe we'll get to fight one of these big-city fires along the way!"
He pulled into his new assigned parking spot at station 52 in Lower Manhattan.
There had been reported sightings of an angry poltergeist in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The evidence built up after the third person inexplicably jumped to their death.
He'd had the perfect cover. He signed up for the firefighting program and after a couple weeks of training and registering for a NYS License he was ready to report for duty.
Today's inspection would be particularly useful considering he'd be working in the south tower from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM with the rest of his squadron.
Seeing civilians die all because some stock-broker decided to jump from the building after the Great Depression was unnerving, especially knowing that nothing had been done immediately after the first suicide and more people had been dying because of it. If they had just known sooner, maybe they could have saved some of those lives.
These victims had families too! Dean hated not being able to watch over his own sibling, Sammy, 24/7 anymore, but life goes on, or at least he'd tried to convince himself of that.
He lined up with the rest of his crew for role call and waited for the daily chores to be assigned.
"Baker…" his captain began, "You've got kitchen duty."
"Rodriguez…You've got dorms."
"Stoker… Start hanging the hoses."
"Gage and DeSoto…Make sure the squad is up to date on supplies and then help Stoker with the hoses."
"Winchester… Oh, you're the new one." The captain smiled as he glanced at his newest member. "You'll be happy to know you've got latrines."
Dean groaned as the other members of his shift laughed at his misfortune. "Damn firemen", he grumbled under his breath.
"Got somethin' to say about my orders Winchester?" The captain asked with mock seriousness.
"No sir." Dean replied suddenly, feeling sheepish.
"Good, then get to work men! We'll be heading out at 8:30 for the drills." He then dismissed them.
Dean got right to work with his assigned task. It wasn't fun, but that didn't necessarily mean the work was hard.
When all of the chores were eventually finished, the men dressed in their turn-out after a quiet morning of chores and gathered in the engine bay.
"Alright…" The captain began, "DeSoto and Gage, you two head on over in the squad."
"Baker and Winchester, you head over on the engine… and Stoker, you and I can cover the ladder truck."
After all were loaded up and on the way, it was nearly 8:45.
John sat in his motel room going through the documents, knowing he couldn't do anything until at least 9 PM, after dark was the only time he would even chance going after the Llorana (or woman in white).
"Might as well see what this town has for news." He thought
He turned on CNN and watched regular programming.
Something felt…off. He couldn't think of any other way to describe it, but he knew it was something to do with Dean…it was his fatherly instinct again.
He'd had it since that fateful night when Mary was taken from him, it was almost like it had given him an ability to sense when one of his boys were in trouble and usually it was spot-on.
He glanced at his watch, it read 9:01. "I guess it can't hurt to call him…." He figured Dean would know to have his phone with him.
Just as he reached down to grab his cell phone, it immediately started ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and was astonished to see Dean's name pop up.
He quickly brought the phone to his ear. "Dean?" he questioned.
"Dad???" His son almost shouted into the phone.
"What is it, Dean?" John asked, knowing in his gut that something had gone very wrong from the tone of his son's voice.
"Don't…dad….news….radio…said…" He tried to relay the message to his father but the static made it almost impossible to understand what he was saying.
"What, Dean?" John had stood up and was now pulling his jacket on, paying no attention to the television.
"Loud, dad…falling…plane….news…" Dean tried to relay the message again but to no avail. John had gathered that something was loud and falling and something about the news.
It was then he remembered that he'd left CNN on the television and as he turned around, the sight that greeted him was enough to bring even the mighty John Winchester to his knees. There, on the television was a plane crashing into the South Tower at 9:03.
John glanced at his watch…shit it was 9:15.
"Dean?" John asked into the phone, praying that his son would answer him. "DEAN!" He tried again.
"Dad?" Dean questioned "Love…you." From the other end of the phone there was a terrible explosion and the call ended as abruptly as it had started.
"DEAN!" the heartbroken father yelled as he tried to re-connect the call.
"The number you have reached is not in service at this…"
"DAMNIT!" he yelled.
He knew immediately what he needed to do, he needed to get to the city. He quickly rushed from the room, grabbing only his keys and his cell phone as he jumped into his truck and sped towards the city, and his son.
Sam glanced at the clock as he turned on the television, it was only around 7:45 and classes didn't start until 8 so he decided he'd relax and watch a little TV.
He turned on the set and noticed that the last channel he'd been watching was ESPN and there was definitely nothing interesting about men's swimming. So he decided he'd try to catch up on current events and he turned on CNN.
When he caught site of the screen, he immediately dropped the bowl he was holding.
People were running in all directions, emergency crews were struggling to keep the injured on the stretchers while attempting to keep the frantic onlookers from exploding onto the scene.
He had no idea what'd happened or where it'd happened, so he turned the volume up as loud as it would go and sat back in stunned silence as the newscasters voice came on.
"I am saddened to report to you all, that today, on September 11th 2001, two planes have crashed into the North and South towers at the World Trade Center here in New York City. It is unknown at this time how many casualties there have been, but rescue efforts are under way as the rescue crews battle the blazes and the destruction to rescue the fallen. We will update you when more information becomes available."
Sam sat back in astonishment. "How is that possible?" he wondered
"How could two planes hit two buildings and it just…" he struggled to think of why this happened or how it happened. He eventually came to the conclusion that this was no accident.
As he continued to watch the newscasts he couldn't help but notice it was quarter after 8, he'd missed his first class but to be honest he didn't care. What was happening right now across the country was far more important.
He wondered if his dad and brother knew about the tragedy, he hadn't talked to either of them in a long time but he thought he should at least call Dean and see how he was. So many people had lost there lives and their family members and Sam felt as though he needed to assure himself that his brother and his father were both okay.
He was about to reach for his phone when one of the on-scene reporters managed to catch an injured woman as she was walking away from an ambulance.
"Ma'am, what can you tell us in regards to what you've witnessed here today?" Asked the newscaster
"There's bodiesall over the place. So much… destruction… everything just blew out of the building. There's got to be hundreds of people killed here. There's damage like five blocks away."
The woman walked away from the newscasters shaking her head, it was too surreal.
As Sam was about to turn his head from the screen he caught site of a gurney being rushed from the rubble and into an awaiting ambulance as the debris continued to fall around it.
It was at first impossible to see the face but when he did, Sam switched the TV off.
"That looked like… but it couldn't have been…" He tried to convince himself as he picked up his cell phone and again turned the television on, muting the volume.
As he again caught site of the face, Sam was almost positive it wasn't Dean. This man, though built like his brother, had too much blood covering him for Sam to be sure. He had bandages extending from every visible part of his body and the rest was covered by the turn out gear.
Sam quickly turned away from the television and dialed Dean's cell phone number.
"The number you have reached is not in service at this time, please hang up and try your call again or consult your directory for…"
Sam hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He was about to call his dad and just as he hit the green button he heard a frantic voice on the other end.
"Sammy?" His dad cried into the phone. "Kiddo, please answer me."
"Dad?" Sam asked
"Oh god, Sammy…" John broke off unable to continue and it was at that moment Sam knew… that was no stranger on the TV.
"Dean…" John began again, trying to speak through his unstoppable tears. "Your brother, Sammy… New York City… The news." John managed to get across before he again broke into sobs.
"Dad, I saw him" Sam told his father, trying to console him while panic exploded through his entire body
"What?" Asked John.
"On the news, Dad…they rushed him out on a gurney."
"Oh, Thank God!" John cried, at least Dean was alive…for now.
"Sammy I need you… I… I know this college thing is important to you but…"
Sam felt his anger rise but bit his tongue.
"I'm on my way, Dad." Sam told him as he snapped his phone shut.
*Reviews = LOVE! I'm trying to be sensitive with this ENTIRE story and get my facts straight so please correct me if I've done something wrong or not to your satisfaction! And Thank you So Much to Merisha for being my beta!