Warnings: None that I can really think of
AN: You might want to watch this video. It'll make sense later: watch?v=AQXVHITd1N4&t=1s
1958
November turned to December and Sam was starting to lose hope of ever getting back to his own time. The 50's weren't so bad if you could look past all the racism, sexism, wealth gap, homophobia, and everything else. It had a cool aesthetic though. Maria seemed to love being able to grease Sam's hair back to help him fit in. She really liked spending time with Sam. But Buddy did too. He was trying to teach Sam how to play drums and he was teaching Sam how to take care of the guitars and equipment for when they went on tour in January.
The doomed tour, and Sam would be there to watch it all crash down.
Buddy and Waylon were out, talking with the other members of Buddy's new band. Sam had been there when he told the Crickets "screw you" and left them behind. So he had convinced Waylon to join him and a couple others on the tour. There was this pretty cool cat from California that was going to be joining them, as well as another fellow Texas boy. Sam and Maria knew exactly who they were and what was going to be happening to them.
So Sam and Maria stayed behind while Buddy and Waylon did their thing. Sam wasn't sure what to do, so he took to helping Maria with the cooking. There was a small radio plugged in, sitting on the counter. Maria was reading through a cookbook, trying to figure out which recipe would be best for dinner that night. Sam set at the table, reading the week befores copy of Life. Elvis had just played a little bit ago, followed by one of Buddy's songs. After a few ads and some talking from the DJ, a Connie Francis song came on and Maria couldn't stop smiling. She turned to look at Sam.
"Stupid cupid you're a real mean guy." She sang. Sam glanced up at her. "I'd like to clip your wings so you can't fly!" She walked over to him, making him look up at her. "I am in love and it's a crying shame…" She leaned in to kiss him then, but Sam gently pushed her away.
"Maria…" Sam said. The song was still playing in the background and Maria stood there awkwardly.
"I just thought…" She started to say.
"You're married to Buddy." Sam told her.
"Yeah, and I love him, but you know what happens." She said.
"And I care too much about him to hurt him like that." Sam said. "You're the one that said you would have rather loved and been in pain than never have loved at all." Maria nodded and set down, hiding her face. "Maria…"
"I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do." She looked up at Sam. "What am I supposed to do?" Sam leaned forward.
"You spend as much time with him as you can." Sam said. "You love him like you're gonna lose him." Maria nodded. "I know how hard this is, but it will be okay." She smiled a little, trying to hold back the tears. "Why don't we change the subject and forget about what just happened?"
"When are you going to cut your hair?" Maria asked with a laugh. Sam glared some.
"Never." He stated, matter of factly. Maria laughed.
"Good thing the 60's is coming up. Though you might get mistaken for a member of the Manson family or something." She stood up and went back to the cookbook. "Sam, would you chop some veggies for me?" Sam went right to it, so thankful that they had moved away from what had just happened.
They spent the rest of the afternoon cooking and making small talk. Sam ignored the looks that Maria tossed his way when she thought he wasn't looking. She knew it had been a mistake to try to kiss him. She tried to just focus on the task at hand, getting ready to put the chicken and veggies in the oven. She put it in then went to do the dishes, but Sam had already gotten to them. Maria started throwing away the packaging when a song came on.
Day-o, day-o.
Maria stopped what she was doing and looked over at Sam, who looked right back at her with a smile on his face.
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Maria started miming along with the song.
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Sam and Maria faced each other and slowly started to stand up straighter, moving their arms as the song continued, smiles on their faces.
Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Stack banana 'til de mornin' come
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Sam and Maria started mirroring each others movements, touching their head with one hand and their side with the other, switching back and forth between head and side. Sam reached over and grabbed an empty stockpot and flipped it over to use it as a drum while Maria kept dancing.
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Sam put the pot down as they stacked their hands, making it look like they were building a tall tower. The song kept playing and they kept dancing until they heard the garage door open, meaning Buddy was home. Maria turned down the music and went to check on her chicken. For a moment there, they both forgot about their situation, living in the moments that laid several decades ahead of them. A movie that Sam watched with Dean at a theater in some little town, and a movie that Maria went with her friends to see because Michael Keaton was just so dreamy.
"Smells good in here." Buddy said, hanging up his jacket and kissing Maria. "What were you two up to today?"
"Just cooking and listening to the radio." Sam said. Maria nodded.
"I was listening to see if I heard songs by either of those boys you'll be touring with next month." She cringed a little. The pain weighed heavy on her heart, knowing that in a little more than a month, her husband would be long gone.
"Well, Sam and I have some practice to do tomorrow. He's getting really good with drumming." Buddy patted his shoulder. "You might have your own band someday. Or you, me, and Waylon can team up and be bigger than Elvis." Sam just smiled and glanced over at Maria. They both wanted to save him,but they knew that they couldn't. Maria turned to busy herself with dinner. "Maybe I could convince you to become a singer while we're at it."
"That's more of my brother's speed, not mine." Sam laughed. He had mentioned his brother a couple times, but he played it off as he was in the military and not around much. Which was partially true in Sam's eyes, so he wasn't lying completely.
"Well, you've proven yourself to pretty good on the drums, and you're picking up guitar pretty quick. So you could probably sing like an angel but think you sound like a walrus." He laughed. Maria got toast ready for their meal. Roasted chicken with vegetables and toast was one of her favorite comfort foods from her childhood. And today, she was really missing her home and her parents. Hell, she was even missing her little sister. And even though Buddy and Sam were there, chatting away to each other, she felt like she was alone.
"How are you honey?" Buddy asked her then, snapping her out of her moment of loneliness.
"Oh, I'm great." She said, pasting a smile on her face. "I can't wait to see you two play together." She looked over at Sam, trying to hold back the tears. Part of her wanted to leave Buddy, to get away from the pain and possibly get back home. But she had been in love with him since the day she met him. She had even had a bit of a crush on him back in high school when she learned about him in her music appreciation class.
"Well, let's eat up and then maybe Sam and I can put on a show for you." He laughed. "I could call Waylon up and have him play with us too." It was nice having Waylon around sometimes, since Maria and Sam could talk openly about things to him. Sometimes Sam forgot that there have been hunters as long as there had been people, because monsters would never go away and people were always going to need saving.
Maria served the food, just like she always did, even if sometimes Sam would cook instead. Occasionally, they would get something from town, or Maria and Buddy would go out together and Sam would go hang out with Waylon or just fend for himself. Something that he was used to doing. But they had really become a family since Sam fell into this time and part of him didn't want to leave it.
But Dean was waiting for him.
The food was eaten, dishes were cleaned, and later that evening found Sam and Buddy in the garage with Maria sitting on a crate, watching them play. Sam wasn't the best drummer in the whole world, and wouldn't be winning any Grammy's anytime soon, but he kept pace for Peggy Sue pretty well and even did decent on That'll Be the Day.
"I think Mr. Winchester was lying to us about being able to play." Buddy teased. "I might just have to add him to the band." He patted Sam on the shoulder. "Holly and Winchester could be a good band name." Sam just had to nod. He knew it would never happen unless he decided to intervene and save Buddy from getting on the plane. But he also knew how just unsinking the Titanic could change everything, down to the smallest details. And he wasn't going to be responsible for any of that.