Disclaimer: The Winchesters belong to Eric Kripke and I will be forever grateful to him for sharing them with us. I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing them from time to time; I promise to return them as I found them. And I know the rule. If I break them, I buy them.
Chapter 10
"Dean, I need to talk to you."
He opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in the driver seat of the Impala. It's not like he hadn't dreamed about it before, but not like this. He could smell the leather and when he touched the steering wheel, it felt real.
"Dean?"
He looked toward the passenger side. "Jessica?"
She smiled, relieved. "Yeah. I need to talk to you."
Dean looked at her, confused. "Me?"
"I've been trying to talk to Sam but – but he still feels so guilty about what happened. Every time I try to communicate, he puts me back up on that damn ceiling."
"He puts you – what?"
"He still feels guilty about what happened to me, so his mind keeps reliving it. Every time I make a little headway, up I go." she nodded upward.
"Oh." Dean looked at her. "So the dreams; they're you trying to communicate with him?"
Jessica nodded. "Yeah. Dean, he has to know something and since I can't tell him, you have to."
"Tell him what?"
"What happened to me wasn't his fault. He couldn't have stopped it. The demon would have waited for a time when Sam wasn't home; he could have been in class or running errands. He ignored the dreams, but he had no way of knowing they were real – and it wouldn't have mattered, anyway."
"You knew about the dreams?"
"I do now. And another thing, the premonitions are going to start up again. He has important work to do, Dean. You both do."
"Aw, Jess. He's back in school; he's building a life –"
"No, he isn't." she looked at him. "And you know it."
Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know. But he is in school and he's doing great. I don't want to see him give that up."
"It's important that he doesn't." Jessica said. "You have to make sure he stays in school. He needs you, Dean, so much."
Dean felt tears in his eyes. "I'm always there for him."
"I know that." Jessica smiled. "He knows it, too."
"Why does he have to get the damn premonitions? They're going to put him in the hospital."
"Only if he keeps fighting them. Dean," Jessica leaned forward. He has to stop fighting them. He can't stop them and if he doesn't learn how to live with them –"
"What?" Dean asked quietly. "What will happen?"
"I don't know." she saw the disbelief on Dean's face. "I really don't know. Dean, please, talk to him. Help him through this. He can have a good life, but it's never going to be the normal life he thought he wanted."
"Thought he wanted?"
"You've seen him how he lives. You know he doesn't have any real friends. When he's not in class, he's studying. He rarely goes out and when he does, it's not for very long and he's not comfortable enough to have fun. He's enjoyed the solitary hunts he's been on more than almost anything else since he's been back at Stanford. Dean, he needs you to help him with the transition and he needs your help with the premonitions. He's got to stay in school, but he can't stop hunting. Not now."
"What should I do?" Dean asked, his voice hoarse.
Jessica smiled at him. "Just do what you've always done."
"What about the dreams about you? Are they going to stop?"
She looked sad. "I won't try to contact him again until he's ready for me to say goodbye. Or until he doesn't need me to. But you have to tell him he isn't responsible for my death."
"I have told him that, Jessica. He doesn't believe me."
"Then I have to tell him myself."
"With the dreams?"
She nodded. "But I'll be careful."
Dean nodded, satisfied. He didn't want to see Sam in pain, but if the dreams helped him get passed Jessica's death, they would be worth it.
"I have to go. Take care of him, Dean. Please?"
He nodded again. "You know I will."
Jessica leaned forward and kissed Dean gently on the cheek as he closed his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, he was alone in his bed.
Sam woke up to the aroma of bacon cooking. At first he thought he was dreaming, but then he heard Dean rummaging in the kitchen.
"When did you learn to cook bacon?" he asked, standing in the doorway.
"Mornin', Sunshine." Dean joked. "Want coffee?"
"This domestic thing is freaking me out."
"It's just bacon, Dude." he grinned at Sam. "Wait until you see what I do with eggs."
They were out later when Dean's cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID display and, seeing it was his boss, he answered the call.
"Sam walked down the street to give his brother some privacy. A moment later, Dean slapped him on the back. "Dude, we have a job."
"What?" Sam followed quickly.
"That was Mike. Remember I told you I helped him with a poltergeist?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Come on."
TBC
