A Very Supernatural Journey Chapter 15

[womanofletters]

A birthday story for Enkidu07, co-manager of the E/O Drabble Challenge.

by womanofletters, theymp, mainegirlwrites and wynefred

Previous Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

This chapter by wynefred

X X X

Summary: Rachelle has returned to her own universe. Will things go back to normal?

Chapter 15: Through Hell and High Water


The swirling winds whipped around her, ripping away the sensation of Dean's hands on her arms, his breath on her face, and his lips caressing hers. Her heart cried out, No! I'm not ready! The intense feeling of loss threatened to tear her into tiny pieces. In that instant, she hated the vortex for stealing her away from Dean.

When the tumult settled, Rachelle realized she stood in the same spot she'd left just moments before, though the scene around her was significantly altered. Gone were all signs of the battle with Wąda. No frightened screams filled her ears. No coppery scent of blood assaulted her nostrils. No horrible creature from the depths of nightmares lay dead on the ground. The night air almost suffocated her with its feeling of peace, tranquility, normalcy.

An eruption of laughter and singing caught her attention. A group of students sat in a circle under the shelter of a large tree, the wan light of a nearby street lamp casting shadows over their faces. Each student strummed a rhythm on their guitars, their soft voices rising into a pleasant melody. Together, they painted an image of lives without care, without worries, and without fear of evil creatures lurking in dark places to turn their world upside-down. They looked happy... and Rachelle envied them.

Rachelle tried to shake off her melancholy thoughts. She couldn't stay here. She had to... what? For a moment, she became overwhelmed with a sense of disorientation. She must have swayed on her feet because, before she knew what was happening, someone held a supportive hand at her elbow.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rachelle's heart skipped a beat at the timbre of his deep, gravelly voice. He sounded just like... but no, that was impossible. Right? She blinked a couple of times to force her eyes to focus. The guy standing next to her was definitely good-looking, but he couldn't compare to a certain rugged hunter. Worry creased his brow. "Maybe you should sit down," he urged.

"No," she heard herself say. The word sounded weak, like it came from very far away. She breathed deeply to clear her head and tried again. "No, thanks. I just need to... to go home."

"That sounds like a good idea. Can I walk you? You really don't look like you should be on your own right now, Rachelle."

Rachelle looked at him closer. She knew him from somewhere, though it felt like a lifetime ago. Yes, he was in her Psych class... Brandon? Brendan? Brennan! That's it.

"I'm okay, Brennan. Thanks." She gently shook herself from his grip and headed slowly down the sidewalk. Her wavering steps became more confident and determined as she walked, the crisp air refreshing her somewhat. In no time, she found herself standing on the front walk to her very own house.

Rachelle walked up the stairs to her rooms but hesitated before her door, both excited and reluctant to discover what waited for her on the other side. Her hand shook a little as she put the key in the lock and turned. Just as she'd expected, there in the living room sat the cozy blue couch that she and Meredith had bought together. She really was home. She sat down on the soft velvet, rubbing the fabric thoughtfully and remembering the hideous plaid monstrosity that had resided in its place in the other universe. She almost missed that eyesore if only because he had sat on it. She sighed, a confusing mixture of emotions churning inside her.

A knock on her door startled her. Rachelle opened it to find Mer standing on the threshold. Her friend looked anxious. "Look, Rachelle, I just wanted to apolo... oomph."

Rachelle threw her arms around Meredith, stopping her mid-word. She cried out, "Oh, I missed you, Mer!" She clung to her friend as her jumbled emotions bubbled up in a torrent of tears.

Mer hesitated before returning a tentative embrace. "Oooookay. Rachelle, are you sure you're feeling alright? You're kinda scaring me."

Rachelle got herself under control, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hands. She'd cried more these past few days than she probably had in her entire life. She felt emotionally and physically wrung out.

She ushered Meredith into the room and onto their couch. Meredith sat on the end of the couch, as far from Rachelle as possible, and regarded her with wary eyes. Rachelle rallied herself to begin, but where? Fumbling for words, she finally opened with, "I guess you're wondering where I've been."

"What do you mean? Tonight? You went for a walk right after our fight." Meredith responded, her voice guarded.

"No, not just tonight. I've been... wait, you talked to me tonight?"

Mer's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Of course. Don't you remember? We had that stupid argument about whether or not I'd invited you to dinner tonight." She paused as if considering whether to go on before plowing on. Words tumbled over each other in her haste to get them out. "I honestly don't remember inviting you over and I could've sworn we talked about this. Alex and I had plans with..."

"Your parents," Rachelle interrupted. "I know. You made those plans weeks ago. Your parents are visiting for only a couple of days and you didn't want to miss any time with them."

"If you knew that already, what were we arguing about?" Mer flailed her arms in exasperation.

Rachelle took Meredith's hands, her eyes imploring her friend to listen. "Mer, I've got something to tell you... something impossible... and I need you to believe me."

Meredith chuckled humorlessly. "Can't be any more impossible than the things you've been saying lately."

"I'm serious, Mer."

Meredith gave her friend a searching look before answering cautiously. "Of course."

Rachelle sighed, gathering her thoughts before beginning her long story.

X X X

"Well, that explains a lot," Mer replied after a moment of silence.

"You believe me?" Rachelle couldn't help being incredulous at her friend's response to her wild story.

"Not only do I believe you, I'm actually relieved. You've been very un-you lately... ever since you disappeared in the pool that night. We've all been really worried about you."

"It was that bad, huh?" Rachelle's heart went out to her friend. It was one thing for Rachelle to go through this crazy experience... she had Dean and Sam to help her through it... but it was another thing altogether for her friend. Meredith hadn't had the support of friends who knew what was going on. She'd been completely in the dark.

"Well, yeah. I mean, first you disappeared, sucked down that vortex thing, and I couldn't find you. You'd been right therejust a moment before, and then you were gone. I panicked and ran off to find campus police. By the time I got back with them, you were drying off by the side of the pool, looking very much like someone who hadn't vanished into thin air. Campus police thought I was pranking them."

"Oh, Mer, I'm so sorry!"

"That wasn't the worst part. You'd changed. Honestly, I thought you'd lost your mind. You insisted that Laura had been with you in the pool, even dragged me over to her room to prove your point. I finally convinced you to calm down, that we'd figure it out, but when you got here you went nuts again. You insisted that this couch was wrong. Frankly, the couch you described sounded hideous."

"It was," Rachelle snorted softly. "That was easily the tackiest, most revolting eyesore I've ever seen. And somehow that monstrosity felt like a representation of everything that wasn't quite right in that world."

"Well, the other you must've felt the same way, because she seemed to take that couch personally. I even tried to calm her down by playing some of our favorite Supernatural episodes. You know, she'd never even heard of it? Of course, now that I know what was really going on, I can understand. You seriously met Sam and Dean? I'm so jealous!"

Rachelle laughed at that. "I really did miss you, Mer. The other Mer was great, but she wasn't you. And she'd never heard of Supernatural either! Didn't even know what a drabble was!"

Mer's eyes widened with exaggerated astonishment, "How did you survive?"

Rachelle chuckled. "Well, I had the real thing!"

"Sounds like every fangirl's dream come true. I want to hear all about it. Don't leave out a single detail. Is Dean as hot in person as he is on screen? What's he like? I bet he smells yummy," Meredith winked.

Rachelle smiled at the memories running through her mind of her time with Dean, but the smile turned sad and wistful at the thought of everything she'd left behind. "I promise to give you all the sordid details tomorrow. It's been a really long day and I'm wiped."

Meredith jumped to her feet. "Oh, right! Of course you are! What was I thinking?" She wrapped her friend in a warm hug. "I'm just so glad you're back. Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. Come down for breakfast if you want, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks."

Rachelle walked her friend out and prepared for bed. Despite how bone-weary she felt, sleep eluded her. Her mind played over the events of the last day, dwelling on that one brief, amazing kiss. She could still see Dean's anguished face as the vortex swirled around her. Unable to contain her emotions any longer, she turned her face to her pillow and sobbed herself out before falling into a fitful sleep.

X X X

The next morning, Rachelle walked across campus to her first class. She still wasn't used to the idea of continuing with her normal, everyday life. She reached the commons area where she'd found herself the night before and stopped for a moment to soak in her new reality.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of purple on the ground. She turned to look. The morning light glinted off a small object on the ground and she bent down to examine it. Hope thundered through her chest with the realization of what she saw. Picking up the item, she smiled as the barest tendrils of a plan grew in her mind.

X X X

As the swirling winds died down, Rachelle took in the sight around her. She was devastated by the horrors she saw: bodies strewn everywhere, people crying and moaning in pain, and the blood! There was so much blood!

She felt a crushing sense of déjà vu at the sudden change in her surroundings and moaned in despair. Not again! So, this is what going crazy feels like.

Rachelle wandered the disaster zone, too much in shock to process what she was seeing, much less form a clear thought long enough to decide on her next course of action. She could tell that the people around her were already trying to pick up the pieces. She recognized a few faces among the people trying to locate survivors and assist the wounded. Police officers questioned stragglers before releasing them to stumble home. A triage area was set up, where paramedics treated injuries and shipped the worst off in ambulances.

It occurred to Rachelle that she should go home and check on Mer. She needed to figure out what had been going on, what else had changed this time, but she put it off. She couldn't face the idea of going into that home that wasn't quite her home with the couch that wasn't her couch, the friends that weren't really her friends. She didn't think she could handle any more differences that confirmed her suspicion that she was losing her mind.

She made her way closer to the triage area, drawn by the emergency lights and the sense of organized chaos permeating the space. Standing, frozen, just outside the circle of light, she watched the activity without really processing the details. It took several moments before she realized someone was calling her name.

"Rachelle! Rachelle, are you okay? Mer, she doesn't look hurt. Rachelle?" Amy stood in front of her, talking over her shoulder to Meredith who was being attended to by a paramedic. Rachelle blinked at her friend, trying to clear her numb brain.

Rachelle saw Mer wave off the medic's assistance as she stood, swaying slightly before finding her balance. Making her way to Amy's side, Mer greeted Rachelle with a warm smile that surprised her friend, especially considering the stupid fight they'd had earlier.

Mer's gaze became concerned. She shared a meaningful glance with Amy before turning back to Rachelle. "Hey, sweetie. What's wrong? You're kinda scaring us."

"Which is saying a lot considering the last couple of days," Amy added.

Meredith snorted. "No kidding," she replied. "Rachelle?" She directed her next comment at Amy but her eyes never left Rachelle. "Do you think we should have a paramedic check her out?"

The comment broke Rachelle from her stupor. "No." The word sounded choked and weak. She cleared her throat and tried again. "No, Mer. I'm fine, really. Just... confused. What happened here?" She looked around, indicating the devastation surrounding them.

Amy blurted, "What happened? Rachelle, you know what happened! You were right in the middle of it!"

They were interrupted by Shawna, who showed up with a really tall guy with long, dark hair. She was talking easily with the guy, but stopped mid-word when she spotted her friends. "Rachelle? What are you doing here? Weren't you just...? "

Amy and Meredith looked confused, the looks on their faces mirroring how Rachelle was feeling... heck, how she'd been feeling for days. Well, might as well face whatever this is, she thought. "What? I was just what?"

The strange guy stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, a genuine expression of concern on his face. "Rachelle, we sent you home almost a half hour ago. The vortex took you away. How did you get back?"

"You know about the vortex? Who are you, anyway?" Rachelle could hear the shrill tone to her voice, but felt it was understandable considering the circumstances. She shrugged out from under the stranger's grip. He might be good looking, but that didn't give him the right to touch her as if they were friends.

The guy's eyebrows came together, his expression thoughtful as he stepped back from her. Before he could respond, his attention was diverted to a spot behind her. She turned and saw another guy striding toward them, his gait self-assured and determined.

The new guy spoke her name, his voice both frustrated and hopeful at the same time, then grabbed her by the shoulders in much the same way his friend had done a moment before. "I don't understand. How did you get back?"

The man regarded her with such emotion... passion, friendship, joy, anger, fear... all jumbled together. She felt she could get lost in his gaze, and the thought scared the hell out of her. She shook his hands away, not missing the hurt that crossed his eyes for a moment.

The two guys shared a look that appeared to hold an entire secret conversation... a conversation that involved her. It pissed her off.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on here?"

The second guy turned away, his shoulders stiff as he stood with his back to her. The other guy turned to Meredith for assistance. Mer stepped forward and took her hand. "It's a long story, Rachelle."

"I like long stories," she responded.

"Then you'll love this one." Mer looked back up at the long-haired guy... really, somebody should at least tell me who these guys are. The tall man indicated that he needed Meredith for something. Mer nodded and continued, "Rachelle, let Amy and Shawna take you home. I'll be there in a bit. Then we'll clear everything up. I promise."

X X X

Meredith watched her friends escort Rachelle down the streetlight-dappled sidewalk toward home. She had her suspicions about her friend, but wanted to confirm it with Sam and Dean. "Is that who I think it is?"

Sam answered, "If you think it's the other Rachelle, the one who belongs in this reality... yeah, I think it is."

"So what? They switched back? Just like that? Easy peasy?" Dean sounded upset, though Mer couldn't figure out exactly what was bothering him.

She pressed, "But that's good, right? It means the other Rachelle made it back to her universe and ours is safely here where she belongs."

"Yeah, it's great. But..." Sam also seemed uneasy.

"But what?"

"What exactly are you going to tell her to explain what happened here?" Sam continued.

Meredith didn't hesitate with her response, though she wasn't exactly sure why he even asked the question. "The truth."

Sam and Dean exchanged one of their complex looks. Dean was the brother who spoke up first. "Are you sure? Remember, this isn't the same Rachelle you've known this week. This Rachelle doesn't know anything about what's been going on here. She might not believe you."

"You're right," Mer retorted, "She's not the same Rachelle. She's our Rachelle, and now she's home, and she's scared and confused. Unlike the other Rachelle, she probably hasn't had any answers for the weird things that have been happening to her. We're going to give her those answers. And she'll believe us because she'll know we're telling her the truth."

The brothers nodded approvingly, then turned to survey the damage around them. A thought struck her, "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Again with those shared looks that felt like a secret conversation. Apparently, they came to some kind of decision, because Sam replied, "Yeah, we are."

"You'll at least stop by the house and say goodbye to everyone, right?"

Sam rolled his large shoulders while Dean ran a hand across his jaw. Dean refused to look her in the eyes, but Sam returned her gaze with a sad, penetrating one. "No.. We've gotten more involved than we like to. It's best if we go now."

"But... but what about Shawna? What about Rachelle? Don't they deserve better?" Her words seemed to cut both men.

Dean stiffened. "That's not my Rachelle," he said sadly, then slumped away toward his sleek black car.

Sam sagged into himself as he answered her, "Shawna's... it's better this way. Trust me." He gave her one last penetrating look, his eyes begging her to understand, then turned to follow his brother.

Meredith watched until the taillights disappeared around a corner. She wasn't sure how she'd explain their leaving, but she knew that, with the exception of Rachelle, none of them would ever forget the Winchesters.

Read Chapter 16: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea