Born Again Part Nine: In the Beginning
Author: Twilight
Feedback: Always welcome
Rated: PG-13
Summary: Dean is going out of his mind and Sam…Sam’s just gone.
Notes: Parts of this story is based on a documentary I saw a year or so ago. The story is completely plotted and outlined and I began before I saw many episodes into season five. I would say this takes place mid season five, somewhere before Abandon all Hope and then goes AU.
Part One
Part Nine: In the Beginning
Sam fidgeted in the uncomfortable seat, sinking down and then straightening in the chair, jumping a little when Lanna smacked him on the thigh.
“Would you hold still…it’s gonna be fine.”
He nodded, because she was right.
He didn’t need to be nervous.
They were waiting at the customs lounge, outside the international flight terminal, at the airport in Philadelphia, for Tess.
The week before Sam had been lying on the couch, watching some cheesy movie on the Lifetime channel, trying to take a nap, because he had been having trouble sleeping in his own room, in his own bed.
Most nights, whenever he closed his eyes, strange images, sometime faces, sometimes places, sometimes the figure in shadow would wake him from a restless sleep and he would get up and go to the living room, turn on the tv and try not to think about what his mind was trying to tell him, what he was trying to remember, because each time he tried to focus on the images, all he would get was a pounding headache for his troubles.
This time, when he had woken in a sweat, fire dancing behind his closed eye lids, he had given up on sleeping, snagged a beer from the fridge and slumped on his sofa, channel surfing till something caught his eye. Lifetime was having a Melissa Gilbert marathon and Sam knew she used to be on Little House on the Prairie, but he didn’t know what the show had been about and tried not to get frustrated by his strange new existence.
At one point he had shoved his hand under a pillow and then down between the two cushions and felt a cool, smooth, object. Extracting his hand, he realized he was holding a cell phone, a dead cell phone, so he found the charger in his study and plugged it in, charging it just long enough to be able to turn it on and look at the contact list of people he should know and among them was a number for Tess.
Since getting the post cards from Spain a week earlier, he had read and reread them, badly wanted to get in contact, talk with Tess before she was scheduled to arrive home in a few weeks, but he couldn’t find an address book or even a word document on his computer with contact information, so he was relieved and a little scared…he could admit that to himself…to find his phone.
That night he had scrolled through the phone, wondering who the other people on his contact list were to him…friends…clients…but he couldn’t dial any of the numbers.
What would he had said to whoever answered.
Hello, it’s Sam. You know me, I guess, but I can’t remember you.
No, he needed to wait until someone who knew him better could help slot the puzzle pieces of his life back together…which brought him to Tess.
But the thought of making that call scared the shit out of him too.
It had seemed that they were still together, even though Lanna wasn’t too sure…and why was that? Was he unfaithful, was he the kinda guy that wanted a girl on the side?
He didn’t think so.
But then why had he not told Lanna anything about Tess?
Maybe he was just a very private person?
His house was in the boonies and miles away from other neighbors…maybe he was some sort of recluse?
Or eccentric…artsy?
“You’re thinking to hard,” Lanna told him, pounding her fist on his thigh again, shaking him out of his own head.
She had showed up the next morning with fresh coffee and hot donuts from a local joint and when he had told her about the phone, she insisted that he call.
She told him if anyone could answer his questions, it would be Tess, so together they made the call.
Looking to his friend now, he couldn’t imagine what he would have done without her. If it weren’t for Lanna, he would still be locked up in the loony bin and no one would know he was there…at least not until a month later when Tess had gotten home to discover he was missing and a lot could happen in a month.
For instance, even though he couldn’t remember who he was, he had a good idea of who he was now and Lanna was a big part of his world and he worried what would happen when Tess finally did get home.
After all, Lanna was the one who had showed him around his own town, took him to the market to stock his fridge, guessing what he might like to eat and Lanna had helped him go through boxes and drawers full of stuff, like bank books and legal papers and mail that didn’t seem like they were his own things, but were.
Lanna had taken him to her mom’s BBQ that first weekend, where he felt comfortable for the first time, being around her family, her mom, putting a face to the voice he had heard on the phone while he was still in the hospital. And later, after stuffing himself with grilled hamburgers and potato salad, they all piled into Old Blue and went to see the fire works from the promenade in Havre de Grace. And when he saw the first burst of color streak the night sky, it was like nothing he could imagine, the powerful booms followed by fiery beauty, like nothing he had ever experienced before, because to him, this new him, it was the very first time.
And Lanna was the one who had taken him to the local dives, bought him fruity, girlie drinks and explained to everyone who nodded to him in acknowledgement that Sam couldn’t remember them, but would be happy to get reacquainted.
And Lanna…Lanna was the one who had discovered his parents death certificates, stuffed into a box with some old and worn photos, the man and woman from the picture on his nightstand and in his dreams, wearing matching Christmas sweaters with a little, cubby, black haired boy perched on their laps. The same boy splashing in a little blow up pool or playing ball or riding a bike, all his childhood and then a photo of them with their arms around his shoulders, in a blue cap and gown, a diploma clutched in his hands.
Also tucked in the box was a newspaper clipping, telling of the fiery car crash that had killed them ten years before, on the back roads in, Furnace in Borrow, in the UK and it was Lanna who took the items from his hands, placed them reverently back in the box and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, helping him mourn for a family he couldn’t remember.
When that first call to Tess had connected and she said Sam with clear affection, his stomach had twisted and it was Lanna who took the cell phone from his hands and explained what had happened to him.
Tess had wanted to come right home, but Sam bulked at the idea for some reason.
He didn’t want her to cut her trip short for him, because…well, because to him, she was a stranger and he thought that if she was spending time with her family, then he shouldn’t intrude.
They had spoken for a while, and Tess agreed to stay, if he called her every night and when she arrived home, Sam would pick her up at the airport and so he agreed, warming to the tone of her voice and her soft words of reassurance and encouragement.
So that’s why he was here, restless in his seat, reading and rereading the parts of the constitution, artfully displayed on the walls of the terminal and people watching, because despite not needing to be, he was nervous.
The airport was bustling with people, business commuters, families returning from vacations, people waiting for loved ones, all milling around the waiting area and he could see people on the other side of a glass wall, waiting to get through customs after picking up their suitcases and he wonder which one was Tess.
Would he feel a spark of recognition, would he know by the way she looked or walked or talked that she was the person he had been dating for the last five years?
A group of people, dragging bags and carrying canoes, exited the double doors from customs, talking and laughing loudly and then a smaller group, older men and women, meeting a driver holding a sign with something printed on it.
Each time the door opened, he would perk up, looking at the people passing through and wondering if one of them was Tess.
It seemed like hours, but the emerging passengers dwindled, so he settled back into his seat again, fidgeting to get comfortable, half expecting another slug from Lanna when a shadow fell across his lap and he looked up to see the most beautiful woman, golden blond hair, striking blue eyes and a smile that he just knew was for him.
“Sam?”
And he stood, because this had to be Tess.
She reached for him, pulling him in for a hug so tight he could hardly breathe, or maybe he couldn’t breathe for another reason.
“Tess?” he asked, feeling slightly shy and really stupid…who else could it be?
“Hey, baby…I missed you,” and she planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
Then she and Lanna were talking, but Sam didn’t know about what.
He reached up a shaky hand to touch his mouth where she had kissed him and he wondered if this was what love felt like.
“Earth to Sam.” Lanna snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times, until he looked to her and she said, “right…so are we ready to go?”
He nodded, reaching for Tess’ suitcase and she took his other hand, leaning in close.
Somehow he managed not to make a complete jackass out of himself, even though Lanna had been shooting him weird looks and rolling her eyes at him all the way home.
“So,” she said when they finally pulled up to the house. “I guess you’ll call if you need anything?”
He nodded, slipping out and kissing her on the cheek, “thanks…for everything.”
She passed him his keys, patting his hand. “Have fun,” she whispered, smirking, making kissy faces as Tess pulled her own bag from the back of the truck. “And, seriously, call me later.”
“I will…geez,” and then he grabbed Tess’ bag and her and Lanna hugged liked they had known each other for years, laughing about what, Sam didn’t know, but he was smiling and felt…happy, so he let them stand and chat as he went to unlock the door.
Lanna waved as she pulled out and Tess walked into the house and to the kitchen. tossing off her shoes as she went, stretching and cracking her back, before rooting through the fridge like she had belonged here and then Sam realized, that was because she had.
He thought it would be strange, awkward to finally meet her, but it wasn’t.
“You want a beer?” she asked, pulling out two and he nodded, following her to the back deck and sitting in one of the chairs that faced the woods. The night was humid and the crickets and frogs were already warming up for a night of song and he relaxed, because this felt right…finally he felt right.
And over the next few months, things just kept getting better and better.
Part Ten
Feedback: Always welcome
Rated: PG-13
Summary: Dean is going out of his mind and Sam…Sam’s just gone.
Notes: Parts of this story is based on a documentary I saw a year or so ago. The story is completely plotted and outlined and I began before I saw many episodes into season five. I would say this takes place mid season five, somewhere before Abandon all Hope and then goes AU.
Part One
Part Nine: In the Beginning
Sam fidgeted in the uncomfortable seat, sinking down and then straightening in the chair, jumping a little when Lanna smacked him on the thigh.
“Would you hold still…it’s gonna be fine.”
He nodded, because she was right.
He didn’t need to be nervous.
They were waiting at the customs lounge, outside the international flight terminal, at the airport in Philadelphia, for Tess.
The week before Sam had been lying on the couch, watching some cheesy movie on the Lifetime channel, trying to take a nap, because he had been having trouble sleeping in his own room, in his own bed.
Most nights, whenever he closed his eyes, strange images, sometime faces, sometimes places, sometimes the figure in shadow would wake him from a restless sleep and he would get up and go to the living room, turn on the tv and try not to think about what his mind was trying to tell him, what he was trying to remember, because each time he tried to focus on the images, all he would get was a pounding headache for his troubles.
This time, when he had woken in a sweat, fire dancing behind his closed eye lids, he had given up on sleeping, snagged a beer from the fridge and slumped on his sofa, channel surfing till something caught his eye. Lifetime was having a Melissa Gilbert marathon and Sam knew she used to be on Little House on the Prairie, but he didn’t know what the show had been about and tried not to get frustrated by his strange new existence.
At one point he had shoved his hand under a pillow and then down between the two cushions and felt a cool, smooth, object. Extracting his hand, he realized he was holding a cell phone, a dead cell phone, so he found the charger in his study and plugged it in, charging it just long enough to be able to turn it on and look at the contact list of people he should know and among them was a number for Tess.
Since getting the post cards from Spain a week earlier, he had read and reread them, badly wanted to get in contact, talk with Tess before she was scheduled to arrive home in a few weeks, but he couldn’t find an address book or even a word document on his computer with contact information, so he was relieved and a little scared…he could admit that to himself…to find his phone.
That night he had scrolled through the phone, wondering who the other people on his contact list were to him…friends…clients…but he couldn’t dial any of the numbers.
What would he had said to whoever answered.
Hello, it’s Sam. You know me, I guess, but I can’t remember you.
No, he needed to wait until someone who knew him better could help slot the puzzle pieces of his life back together…which brought him to Tess.
But the thought of making that call scared the shit out of him too.
It had seemed that they were still together, even though Lanna wasn’t too sure…and why was that? Was he unfaithful, was he the kinda guy that wanted a girl on the side?
He didn’t think so.
But then why had he not told Lanna anything about Tess?
Maybe he was just a very private person?
His house was in the boonies and miles away from other neighbors…maybe he was some sort of recluse?
Or eccentric…artsy?
“You’re thinking to hard,” Lanna told him, pounding her fist on his thigh again, shaking him out of his own head.
She had showed up the next morning with fresh coffee and hot donuts from a local joint and when he had told her about the phone, she insisted that he call.
She told him if anyone could answer his questions, it would be Tess, so together they made the call.
Looking to his friend now, he couldn’t imagine what he would have done without her. If it weren’t for Lanna, he would still be locked up in the loony bin and no one would know he was there…at least not until a month later when Tess had gotten home to discover he was missing and a lot could happen in a month.
For instance, even though he couldn’t remember who he was, he had a good idea of who he was now and Lanna was a big part of his world and he worried what would happen when Tess finally did get home.
After all, Lanna was the one who had showed him around his own town, took him to the market to stock his fridge, guessing what he might like to eat and Lanna had helped him go through boxes and drawers full of stuff, like bank books and legal papers and mail that didn’t seem like they were his own things, but were.
Lanna had taken him to her mom’s BBQ that first weekend, where he felt comfortable for the first time, being around her family, her mom, putting a face to the voice he had heard on the phone while he was still in the hospital. And later, after stuffing himself with grilled hamburgers and potato salad, they all piled into Old Blue and went to see the fire works from the promenade in Havre de Grace. And when he saw the first burst of color streak the night sky, it was like nothing he could imagine, the powerful booms followed by fiery beauty, like nothing he had ever experienced before, because to him, this new him, it was the very first time.
And Lanna was the one who had taken him to the local dives, bought him fruity, girlie drinks and explained to everyone who nodded to him in acknowledgement that Sam couldn’t remember them, but would be happy to get reacquainted.
And Lanna…Lanna was the one who had discovered his parents death certificates, stuffed into a box with some old and worn photos, the man and woman from the picture on his nightstand and in his dreams, wearing matching Christmas sweaters with a little, cubby, black haired boy perched on their laps. The same boy splashing in a little blow up pool or playing ball or riding a bike, all his childhood and then a photo of them with their arms around his shoulders, in a blue cap and gown, a diploma clutched in his hands.
Also tucked in the box was a newspaper clipping, telling of the fiery car crash that had killed them ten years before, on the back roads in, Furnace in Borrow, in the UK and it was Lanna who took the items from his hands, placed them reverently back in the box and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, helping him mourn for a family he couldn’t remember.
When that first call to Tess had connected and she said Sam with clear affection, his stomach had twisted and it was Lanna who took the cell phone from his hands and explained what had happened to him.
Tess had wanted to come right home, but Sam bulked at the idea for some reason.
He didn’t want her to cut her trip short for him, because…well, because to him, she was a stranger and he thought that if she was spending time with her family, then he shouldn’t intrude.
They had spoken for a while, and Tess agreed to stay, if he called her every night and when she arrived home, Sam would pick her up at the airport and so he agreed, warming to the tone of her voice and her soft words of reassurance and encouragement.
So that’s why he was here, restless in his seat, reading and rereading the parts of the constitution, artfully displayed on the walls of the terminal and people watching, because despite not needing to be, he was nervous.
The airport was bustling with people, business commuters, families returning from vacations, people waiting for loved ones, all milling around the waiting area and he could see people on the other side of a glass wall, waiting to get through customs after picking up their suitcases and he wonder which one was Tess.
Would he feel a spark of recognition, would he know by the way she looked or walked or talked that she was the person he had been dating for the last five years?
A group of people, dragging bags and carrying canoes, exited the double doors from customs, talking and laughing loudly and then a smaller group, older men and women, meeting a driver holding a sign with something printed on it.
Each time the door opened, he would perk up, looking at the people passing through and wondering if one of them was Tess.
It seemed like hours, but the emerging passengers dwindled, so he settled back into his seat again, fidgeting to get comfortable, half expecting another slug from Lanna when a shadow fell across his lap and he looked up to see the most beautiful woman, golden blond hair, striking blue eyes and a smile that he just knew was for him.
“Sam?”
And he stood, because this had to be Tess.
She reached for him, pulling him in for a hug so tight he could hardly breathe, or maybe he couldn’t breathe for another reason.
“Tess?” he asked, feeling slightly shy and really stupid…who else could it be?
“Hey, baby…I missed you,” and she planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
Then she and Lanna were talking, but Sam didn’t know about what.
He reached up a shaky hand to touch his mouth where she had kissed him and he wondered if this was what love felt like.
“Earth to Sam.” Lanna snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times, until he looked to her and she said, “right…so are we ready to go?”
He nodded, reaching for Tess’ suitcase and she took his other hand, leaning in close.
Somehow he managed not to make a complete jackass out of himself, even though Lanna had been shooting him weird looks and rolling her eyes at him all the way home.
“So,” she said when they finally pulled up to the house. “I guess you’ll call if you need anything?”
He nodded, slipping out and kissing her on the cheek, “thanks…for everything.”
She passed him his keys, patting his hand. “Have fun,” she whispered, smirking, making kissy faces as Tess pulled her own bag from the back of the truck. “And, seriously, call me later.”
“I will…geez,” and then he grabbed Tess’ bag and her and Lanna hugged liked they had known each other for years, laughing about what, Sam didn’t know, but he was smiling and felt…happy, so he let them stand and chat as he went to unlock the door.
Lanna waved as she pulled out and Tess walked into the house and to the kitchen. tossing off her shoes as she went, stretching and cracking her back, before rooting through the fridge like she had belonged here and then Sam realized, that was because she had.
He thought it would be strange, awkward to finally meet her, but it wasn’t.
“You want a beer?” she asked, pulling out two and he nodded, following her to the back deck and sitting in one of the chairs that faced the woods. The night was humid and the crickets and frogs were already warming up for a night of song and he relaxed, because this felt right…finally he felt right.
And over the next few months, things just kept getting better and better.
Part Ten