Chapter 25

Sam finds himself in his bedroom, standing in front of someone he was sure he'd never see. It's been years since they've spoken, and their last encounter was vague and rushed. It's definitely not a goodbye for Sam to be proud of, nor is it one that he wanted to make. But now, here she is again. He gets another chance, and he's not going to waste it.

"Jess?" he says softly, unable to believe it.

"Where am I?" she asks, looking around frantically. "Who are you? What's going on?"

"No, it's — it's okay," Sam assures her quickly. "It's Sam. Sam Winchester."

Jess freezes at the name, eyeing the boy in front of her. "Oh my god," she breathes, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. "I can't believe it! Sam, it's — it's really you?"

Sam laughs lightly. "Yeah, it's really me."

Jess pulls away after a few moments. "What's going on? Where are we? I — I was in Heaven, or at least, I think I was, and now...?"

"You're alive," Sam tells her. "It's the end of 2016. And this is where I live."

"I'm alive?" she repeats. "That's not possible. I died in a fire. I remember that."

"Welcome to my life," Sam says with a nervous chuckle.

"What?"

Sam hesitates. Explaining to someone that the supernatural exists is never fun, especially when that someone has been in his life before. He decides to start simple.

"What do you remember from when you died?" he asks. "Except the fire."

"Nothing," she says quickly.

"Nothing?" Sam repeats. "Like no being stuck to the ceiling, or...?" He can see her awed look, and he knows that she does remember. "That was a demon that killed you."

"What? No way!" Jess replies as if the suggestion is ridiculous, which it is, and Sam knows that.

"Hey, Jess, remember when my brother came and we went looking for my dad?"

Jess nods slowly. "Uh huh..."

"That 'hunting trip' was a monster hunting trip. That's what my dad does. Or did, actually. I'm not sure if he will now. That demon that killed you did the same thing to my mom when I was a baby. My dad spent his whole life from then on looking for that demon, and he killed every other monster he came across on the way. He raised me and Dean into that life. I got out when I went to Stanford, but after what happened to you, I was sort of sucked back into that life, and then this happened."

"But what did happen?" Jess asks. "How am I still alive?"

"Well, long story short, God brought you back, and a bunch of other people from my past," he explains.

"Do I get to meet them?" Jess asks.

"I don't think you have a choice. Just, uh, stay away from the tall blond guy," Sam advises her.

"Why? Who's that?" she asks.

"Lucifer," Sam replies. "The devil."

Jess just stares at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, did — did you say 'the devil'?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"You're living ," she surmises.

"Yeah," he replies, less confidently. "Chuck stuck us with him."

"Who's Chuck?"

"God," he clarifies.

"I don't know whether to talk about how God has a name or the fact that you and God are on a first name basis."

"Welcome to the life of a hunter," he replies with a small, nervous shrug.

"And are most, uh, friends with God?"

"I wouldn't call us 'friends,'" Sam replies. "More like occasional hunting partners during various Judeo-Christian apocalypses."

"How many 'Judaeo-Christian apocalypses' have there been?"

"Two," Sam replies, then adds, "Uh, three, with the leviathans. And the thing with Cas... I guess it depends on your definition of apocalypse, but I'm gonna go with three. That I've been part of, at least. I don't know how many there were before me, if any."

Jess stares at him for a moment. "There have been apocalypses," she repeats.

"Uh, yeah." Sam gives her a small, slightly nervous and hesitant smile. "Surprise?"

She nods slowly. "Uh, yeah. That's — that's definitely a surprise." Her awed expression is replaced with a smile when she closes the gap between them and wraps her arms around Sam. "But that's okay, because I'm here with you again."

Sam hugs her back, his head resting on top of hers. It's been so long since he's seen her; being here with her feels amazing. He's missed this. It's been too long since he last had a moment of supernaturally-free peace. Jess is his reminder of the normal world, the one he's lost. Right now, it's almost as if he never did lose it, as if he was never pulled from his normal college experience.

It's at this exact moment that Gabriel appears in the room. He begins muttering under his breath about how annoying this whole "being teleported everywhere" thing is, but he stops when he sees the two. Sam quickly withdrawals from the embrace, but Gabriel still saw it.

"Gabriel, what — what are you —?" Sam asks, but Gabriel interrupts.

"Dad's being a control freak again," he says simply, eyeing the girl at his side.

Sam quickly makes introductions. "Jess, this is Gabriel the archangel. Gabe, this is Jessica Moore."

"Your girlfriend," Gabriel finishes. "Right... Well, I'm gonna go..." He doesn't even bother with walking; he flies away, leaving Sam and Jess alone in Sam's room once again.

Sam sighs and sits down on the edge of his bed, resting his head in his hands out of frustration. Jess sits down next to him, confused but wanting to help."What's wrong?" she asks.

"Everything," Sam replies. "Just... everything."

"Am I messing things up by being here?"

"Everyone here is messing things up by being here," he replies. "It's kinda the point."

"What are you talking about?"

Sam sighs and looks down at her. "Gabriel was my boyfriend until he died almost seven years ago."

"Oh," is all she says for a moment. "So you and him... And now I'm messing things up."

"No!" Sam says quickly. "You're not messing things up. I am so, so glad to have you back, okay? I've missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," Jess tells him, resting her head on his shoulder. Sam puts an arm around her, and it just feels natural. It feels right.