Crossroads
My Prayers Wordless, Heaven Is Burning Down
Huntington Beach, California
My foot tapped anxiously on the elevator floor as I watched the lights blink on one by one, carrying me up to the ICU. It finally came to a stop and the doors parted. I jogged down the hall toward Jimmy's room, only to be met halfway down the hallway by Michelle as she slammed into me, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace.
"There's been a miracle!" she gasped. "He's awake!"
"Really?" I grinned, trying to act oblivious. "Can I see him?"
"Of course!" she smiled. "He's been asking for you!"
She took my hand and more or less dragged me toward his room. I stepped through the door and sure enough, the chubby bastard was sitting up in bed. All long hair, scruffy beard and glasses and a stupid grin on his face. Relief washed over me, so intensely it took all I had not to burst into tears. I crossed the room, reaching him in just five large strides, and embraced him.
"You fucking asshole." I sniffed. "You really scared me."
"Sorry about that." he laughed as I pulled away.
"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't woken up."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that." he smiled. "I'm okay."
"I'm gonna go home and get some sleep, Baby." Michelle said, wrapping her arms around my neck. "It's been a hell of a past 24 hours."
"Goodnight, get home safe." I smiled, kissing her gently. "I love you."
"Night, Chelle-belle." Jimmy chuckled.
"Goodnight." she rolled her eyes; she'd always hated his nickname for her. "Stay alive, please?"
"I'll try."
She laughed in response, before leaving the room.
"So, you're alive and kicking, huh?" I grinned, taking a seat beside Jimmy's bed.
"You know, it's the damnedest thing." he replied. "I felt like I was in limbo."
"You kinda were." I chuckled.
"No, I mean, really in limbo." he frowned. "You know that one cliff I like to sit on, the one that looks out over the harbor?"
"Yeah?"
"I was there."
"Wait, like a dream?" I asked.
"I think so..."
"How is that possible? You can't dream while you're in a Coma."
"There have been some rare cases reported." Jimmy said, picking at his nails. "It's possible."
"Yeah but, how do we even know that shit is true?"
"We don't." he sighed. "But I know what I saw. I could feel the breeze on my face, and that's not even the strangest part."
I cocked my head to the side, giving him a questioning look.
"It wasn't the ocean below me, it was Huntington Beach High School." Jimmy stated.
"Okay..."
"Our old homeroom." he continued. "It was like I was looking down on it from a bird's eye view, watching the day we met."
"What?"
"Yeah, I watched us get into that fight, and get kicked out of class."
"That's what you dreamed about? Not giant Gummi Bears in some Acid-Fairy Wonderland, dancing along a rainbow river?" I snorted.
"Shut up." Jimmy chuckled. "But anyway, I felt completely at peace, I'd even go as far as to say I was looking at my own version of Heaven."
"Okay, that's really gay." I teased. "Your Heaven was High School?
"Can you stop being a smart ass for five seconds?" he snapped. "No, my Heaven was jamming in the garage with you mere hours after that first fight."
"So you seriously think you were in Limbo?" I asked. "Or just some weird, freaky coma-dream?"
"All I know, is that as soon as I was about to jump from that cliff, accept my fate and pass on, some crazy vacuum force pulled me back to reality."
"Well, you did kind of OD on quite a cocktail of different things." I sniggered. "Maybe it was the drugs?
"And I should be paralyzed, relying on a fucking machine to breathe." Jimmy said, the frown back on his face. "The Doctors couldn't explain it but, I'm perfectly healthy; No sign of OD, no sign of brain damage, even my heart seems to be normal."
"Normal?"
"You know I've always had an enlarged heart, and suddenly, I don't anymore." he said, seemingly still trying to grasp the fact himself.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "It makes zero sense."
"Well..." I sighed. "Zero sense or not, I'm just glad you're okay."
"Where'd you go anyway?" Jimmy questioned, narrowing his eyes at me.
"For a drive."
"You were gone almost 10 hours." he frowned, staring me down, suspicion etched in his features. "Michelle told me."
"I stopped into Johnny's, got too drunk, had to stay at a motel until I was sober enough to drive." I shrugged. "I was a wreck, man, I thought you were dying."
"Why do I get the feeling you're lying?" Jimmy pressed.
"I'm not." I stated, matter-of-factly.
"Uhuh." he nodded, cracking his jaw. "If you say so..."
***
Despite seeming perfectly healthy, Jimmy had been kept at the hospital another night under observation. Standard procedure, just in case. The Doctors still couldn't figure out how he'd magically bounced back from a coma, and I played along. Though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't amazed at Crowley's work. I'd expected Jimmy to wake up, sure, but curing him of his heart condition? I never saw that one coming.
Why would Crowley go that one step further to help?
It was getting on for 11pm when I finally made it home, and I decided I was too tired to really worry too much about Crowley. What mattered was that Jimmy was Alive and Healthy, and that was good enough for me. The house was dark when I stepped through the front door. Quiet, though I could hear the shower running as I made my way upstairs.
"Mich, baby, I'm home." I called out, taking off my leather jacket and hanging it on the back of the door.
I jogged back downstairs, flicking on the light in the kitchen and retrieving a beer from the fridge. - God knows I needed one after all I'd been through over the past 24 hours. I made my way back upstairs, cracking the bottle open as I sauntered over to my bed. The bitter, fizzy liquid relaxed me almost instantly as it trickled down my throat. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and laid down, finally at ease.
A strange smell hit my nostrils, like rotten eggs, but worse, and I felt droplets hit my face. Was there a leak? Couldn't be, this was California, it only rained for maybe two weeks a year, here. And that smell; did we leave food in here and forget about it? More droplets hit my face and my eyes snapped open.
I froze.
Michelle was pinned to the ceiling, her skin sickly pale and a look of pure terror etched across her delicate features. Suddenly, red liquid began to seep through the fabric of the white nightgown she wore. I scrambled to my feet in a panic, just as her body was engulfed in flames. The fire spread quickly and mere seconds later, the entire room was ablaze.
"MICHELLE!"
I had to help her, but my legs wouldn't budge. I could feel the heat from the fire on my face, but was in far too much shock to move. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I just barely registered a large form burst in through the door and drag me out of the room.
"NO!" I shouted.
"BRIAN!" the voice, almost drowned out by the roar of the flames, replied. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"
"MICHELLE!"
"IT'S TOO LATE, BRIAN!"
"NO!"
My protests were ignored as I was dragged out of the house and across the front lawn. I struggled against the figure's tight grip, watching in sheer terror as the upstairs window shattered in a fiery explosion. It felt like an eternity before I finally registered Matt's familiar face, fear-stricken as he surveyed me.
"Brian, are you okay?"
"Michelle..." I said, my words barely audible.
"I'm sorry." Matt's replied. "I couldn't do anything."
"She's..."
Matt's expression was grim as he nodded.
My heart constricted, my stomach burning and making me feel sick as I felt hot tears trail down my face. Matt tugged me against him, wrapping his arms around me tightly as I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder...
My foot tapped anxiously on the elevator floor as I watched the lights blink on one by one, carrying me up to the ICU. It finally came to a stop and the doors parted. I jogged down the hall toward Jimmy's room, only to be met halfway down the hallway by Michelle as she slammed into me, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace.
"There's been a miracle!" she gasped. "He's awake!"
"Really?" I grinned, trying to act oblivious. "Can I see him?"
"Of course!" she smiled. "He's been asking for you!"
She took my hand and more or less dragged me toward his room. I stepped through the door and sure enough, the chubby bastard was sitting up in bed. All long hair, scruffy beard and glasses and a stupid grin on his face. Relief washed over me, so intensely it took all I had not to burst into tears. I crossed the room, reaching him in just five large strides, and embraced him.
"You fucking asshole." I sniffed. "You really scared me."
"Sorry about that." he laughed as I pulled away.
"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't woken up."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that." he smiled. "I'm okay."
"I'm gonna go home and get some sleep, Baby." Michelle said, wrapping her arms around my neck. "It's been a hell of a past 24 hours."
"Goodnight, get home safe." I smiled, kissing her gently. "I love you."
"Night, Chelle-belle." Jimmy chuckled.
"Goodnight." she rolled her eyes; she'd always hated his nickname for her. "Stay alive, please?"
"I'll try."
She laughed in response, before leaving the room.
"So, you're alive and kicking, huh?" I grinned, taking a seat beside Jimmy's bed.
"You know, it's the damnedest thing." he replied. "I felt like I was in limbo."
"You kinda were." I chuckled.
"No, I mean, really in limbo." he frowned. "You know that one cliff I like to sit on, the one that looks out over the harbor?"
"Yeah?"
"I was there."
"Wait, like a dream?" I asked.
"I think so..."
"How is that possible? You can't dream while you're in a Coma."
"There have been some rare cases reported." Jimmy said, picking at his nails. "It's possible."
"Yeah but, how do we even know that shit is true?"
"We don't." he sighed. "But I know what I saw. I could feel the breeze on my face, and that's not even the strangest part."
I cocked my head to the side, giving him a questioning look.
"It wasn't the ocean below me, it was Huntington Beach High School." Jimmy stated.
"Okay..."
"Our old homeroom." he continued. "It was like I was looking down on it from a bird's eye view, watching the day we met."
"What?"
"Yeah, I watched us get into that fight, and get kicked out of class."
"That's what you dreamed about? Not giant Gummi Bears in some Acid-Fairy Wonderland, dancing along a rainbow river?" I snorted.
"Shut up." Jimmy chuckled. "But anyway, I felt completely at peace, I'd even go as far as to say I was looking at my own version of Heaven."
"Okay, that's really gay." I teased. "Your Heaven was High School?
"Can you stop being a smart ass for five seconds?" he snapped. "No, my Heaven was jamming in the garage with you mere hours after that first fight."
"So you seriously think you were in Limbo?" I asked. "Or just some weird, freaky coma-dream?"
"All I know, is that as soon as I was about to jump from that cliff, accept my fate and pass on, some crazy vacuum force pulled me back to reality."
"Well, you did kind of OD on quite a cocktail of different things." I sniggered. "Maybe it was the drugs?
"And I should be paralyzed, relying on a fucking machine to breathe." Jimmy said, the frown back on his face. "The Doctors couldn't explain it but, I'm perfectly healthy; No sign of OD, no sign of brain damage, even my heart seems to be normal."
"Normal?"
"You know I've always had an enlarged heart, and suddenly, I don't anymore." he said, seemingly still trying to grasp the fact himself.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "It makes zero sense."
"Well..." I sighed. "Zero sense or not, I'm just glad you're okay."
"Where'd you go anyway?" Jimmy questioned, narrowing his eyes at me.
"For a drive."
"You were gone almost 10 hours." he frowned, staring me down, suspicion etched in his features. "Michelle told me."
"I stopped into Johnny's, got too drunk, had to stay at a motel until I was sober enough to drive." I shrugged. "I was a wreck, man, I thought you were dying."
"Why do I get the feeling you're lying?" Jimmy pressed.
"I'm not." I stated, matter-of-factly.
"Uhuh." he nodded, cracking his jaw. "If you say so..."
***
Despite seeming perfectly healthy, Jimmy had been kept at the hospital another night under observation. Standard procedure, just in case. The Doctors still couldn't figure out how he'd magically bounced back from a coma, and I played along. Though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't amazed at Crowley's work. I'd expected Jimmy to wake up, sure, but curing him of his heart condition? I never saw that one coming.
Why would Crowley go that one step further to help?
It was getting on for 11pm when I finally made it home, and I decided I was too tired to really worry too much about Crowley. What mattered was that Jimmy was Alive and Healthy, and that was good enough for me. The house was dark when I stepped through the front door. Quiet, though I could hear the shower running as I made my way upstairs.
"Mich, baby, I'm home." I called out, taking off my leather jacket and hanging it on the back of the door.
I jogged back downstairs, flicking on the light in the kitchen and retrieving a beer from the fridge. - God knows I needed one after all I'd been through over the past 24 hours. I made my way back upstairs, cracking the bottle open as I sauntered over to my bed. The bitter, fizzy liquid relaxed me almost instantly as it trickled down my throat. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and laid down, finally at ease.
A strange smell hit my nostrils, like rotten eggs, but worse, and I felt droplets hit my face. Was there a leak? Couldn't be, this was California, it only rained for maybe two weeks a year, here. And that smell; did we leave food in here and forget about it? More droplets hit my face and my eyes snapped open.
I froze.
Michelle was pinned to the ceiling, her skin sickly pale and a look of pure terror etched across her delicate features. Suddenly, red liquid began to seep through the fabric of the white nightgown she wore. I scrambled to my feet in a panic, just as her body was engulfed in flames. The fire spread quickly and mere seconds later, the entire room was ablaze.
"MICHELLE!"
I had to help her, but my legs wouldn't budge. I could feel the heat from the fire on my face, but was in far too much shock to move. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I just barely registered a large form burst in through the door and drag me out of the room.
"NO!" I shouted.
"BRIAN!" the voice, almost drowned out by the roar of the flames, replied. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"
"MICHELLE!"
"IT'S TOO LATE, BRIAN!"
"NO!"
My protests were ignored as I was dragged out of the house and across the front lawn. I struggled against the figure's tight grip, watching in sheer terror as the upstairs window shattered in a fiery explosion. It felt like an eternity before I finally registered Matt's familiar face, fear-stricken as he surveyed me.
"Brian, are you okay?"
"Michelle..." I said, my words barely audible.
"I'm sorry." Matt's replied. "I couldn't do anything."
"She's..."
Matt's expression was grim as he nodded.
My heart constricted, my stomach burning and making me feel sick as I felt hot tears trail down my face. Matt tugged me against him, wrapping his arms around me tightly as I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder...
Notes
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!I swear to Chuck, I love Michelle. This was just necessary for the story's sake. Everyone needs an Origin story and well, I guess I took the easy route.
I wasn't gonna update this until Broken Arrow was complete, but I've been binge-watching Supernatural from the beginning and am gonna continue watching until I'm entirely caught up. I've seen up to about halfway through Season 11 but I stopped watching for ages and fell behind. Then I decided to start this fic and thought restarting the entire series might serve me well. Plus, I have a friend now who's suuuuper into Supernatural and they're motivating me.
Anywaysss, I hope you all enjoyed this long overdue update, even if it was pretty fucking heart-wrenching. Isn't that what Supernatural is notorious for, though? XD
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Until next time xx
@shortygirl
I'm going to my 2nd one in June, gonna meet Misha, Richard Speight and Matt Cohen
And maybe get my Hunter's Journal signed by Jim Beaver ^_^
2/9/18