Highlander - Series Fan Fiction / Supernatural Fan Fiction ❯ Immortal Love ❯ Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not mine.

 

Chapter 4

 

Sam could feel that he was on the verge of hyperventilating but he couldn't bring himself to do anything other than stare. It was Jessica, his Jess, standing in front of him. Sure her hair was shorter but he'd know her anywhere. But how had she survived the fire? Shaky fingers reached into his jacket and he pulled out his gun, aiming it at her.

 

“You're not Jess so stop the games.” Sam demanded despite the fact even he could hear the waver in his voice.

 

“Sam it's me. I know this is hard to believe but I can explain. I was going to tell you when you got home from looking for your Dad but you know what happened instead. I'm just going to sit on the couch and we can talk, okay?” She slowly moved over to the couch and sat down, leaving the chair opposite free and Sam cautiously sat on the edge of it. He scanned the room for weapons or threats but couldn't see anything.

 

“How can you be Jess? The fire...they wouldn't let me see, said there was too much damage.” He kept his gun aimed at her, knowing that this had to be a trap of some kind.

 

“It's a long story. I was born in 1866 in Charleston, South Carolina. I was the youngest of six children and we were middle class. Dad worked in a bank and Mom stayed home. It was a pretty normal childhood for the times and by the time I was twenty I was engaged. Then the 1886 earthquake hit. It was horrible. I could hear my mother screaming as the house crumbled around us. When I woke up everything was still and I was buried in the remains of the sitting room. They dug me out nearly a day later and it was declared a miracle that I had survived and was uninjured. One of the rescuers gave me a headache every time he came near and I didn't know why. Three days later he approached me and asked how old I was. I told him twenty and he just groaned and asked `why me' before dragging me off to talk privately. His name was Dr. Pierce Adams and he told me the same story I need to tell you.” Jess paused and he knew she was judging how he was taking things so far. He was trying to figure out what she could be since she obviously hadn't aged in over one hundred years.

 

“So what's the story?” Sam asked when he realised she was waiting for some sort of response.

 

“I am Immortal. To quote a rather stuffy friend, `From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the gathering when the few who remain will battle to the last.' And that's Duncan for you, he can be a bit...formal and wordy at times but he is over four hundred years old. What it means is I don't age and I can't die permanently unless I lose my head.” Jess explained and Sam stared at her in shock. Immortal?

 

“You could be a demon possessing her corpse and spinning a pretty tale.” Sam argued, hating to do so.

 

“So shoot me, that should prove it one way or another. Just let me stand up so we don't wreck the couch.” With that Jess stood and moved into a clear section, spreading her arms out to the side.

“Come on Sam, it's not that hard.” Sam raised his gun but hesitated. What if this wasn't Jess, just some delusional girl who looked like her and knew about her. He heard her sigh and then she was in front of him, her hand over his on the gun and his eyes went wide as she forced him to pull the trigger. The sound was muffled by her body and he watched as her body jerked and then fell back, a crimson stain spreading across her blue shirt.

 

Snapping out of his shock Sam dropped to his knees and applied pressure to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding only to receive a sad smile. A shaking hand closed over his and he could see her struggling to breath.

 

“Wait.” She whispered and then she stopped breathing. Sam choked back a sob, he should have put the safety on but he hadn't and now he was responsible for her death. There was no use trying CPR with the damage the bullet had done, if only he'd been carry rock salt and not silver. He ripped her shirt open to see if he could do anything only to stare as little flickers of blue light began to spread across the wound and it began to close before his eyes. He couldn't look away as what had been a fatal gunshot wound healed until there wasn't even a scar left. A gasped breath had him falling backwards away from the now breathing body on the floor. Blue eyes blinked open and then she was sitting up and staring at him.

 

“So was that anything like a demon?” he asked and Sam shook his head.

 

“Jess?” He asked and she nodded, reaching out a hand to him. Sam grasped it tightly, staring into her eyes before pulling her into his arms and holding her tight.

“I'm sorry, so sorry.” He murmured into her hair and Jess wrapped her arms around him.

 

“What for Sam?” She asked, pulling back so they could have eye contact.

 

“What happened, it's my fault.” She rolled her eyes and hit him upside the head before standing and pulling at his hand so he'd get up.

 

“I need a shower and a change of clothes and then we're going to talk, no more secrets.” She sat him on the couch and headed for her bedroom before turning back to him.

“I heard about St. Louis Sam, I'm sorry about Dean.” Sam gave her a confused look before chuckling.

 

“Wasn't him, it was a shape shifter. Guess that means it was you Becky saw.”

 

“She saw me? Oops. I better go clean up.” With that she ducked into her bedroom leaving Sam to look around the main room of the apartment. There were few photos and he smiled as he found one of the two of them hidden in a little corner. It had been taken the week they'd moved in together. There were also a couple of Jess with several men and a blond woman, all strangers to him. Other than that there wasn't much about the apartment that screamed Jess to him.

 

Sam turned as he heard her come back into the room and was relieved to see all traces of blood were gone. The shirt she was wearing was identical to one he'd given her but that one had been destroyed in the fire. Seeing his look she shrugged.

 

“It was something to remind me of you so I bought it when I saw it. Want anything?” She pointed to the kitchen.

“Dying's hungry work.” She went about making them sandwiches and then they sat back down.

 

“Jess...what happened that night?” Sam asked after he was finished and she sighed.

 

“Do you really want to know?” he nodded so she took a deep breath.

“I'd just put cookies out for you and was going to get the bed ready. There was a man in our bedroom except there was no way he could have gotten in past me. He turned around and his eyes were yellow. He called you Sammy, said you had good taste. I lunged for the bed where I had a sword hidden but I was thrown against the wall and pinned there. I couldn't move and he laughed, said I'd make a nice present for you, just like your Mom. Then I was on the ceiling and there was a pain in my stomach. For some reason it didn't heal like it should have. He heard you come in and vanished but the shower came on. Then you were lying under me and all I could think was please don't look up. But you did and then you were screaming and I couldn't say anything. I tried to let you know I loved you and then everything went black. Woke up in my own coffin days later and my teacher, the man who found me after the quake was in the process of digging me up.” Jess explained and Sam pulled her close again.

 

“I'm so sorry you went through that. It's all my fault.”

 

“Was it true, is that how your Mom?” Sam nodded and Jess hugged him tightly.

 

“After she died Dad became consumed with the thought of revenge. He learnt about what's really out there and how to hunt it. Dean and I grew up on the road, learning how to hunt pretty young, though Dean protected me from it as long as he could. I never liked hunting; I just wanted to be normal so I applied for college. Got a full ride and Dad kicked me out when I said I was going. I never wanted to leave them fully I just wanted to have my own life. And now the demon's back and Dad's still missing though he did call a few days ago so we know he's alive.” Sam explained and Jess nodded.

“But you being killed....I dreamt about it, exactly how it happened for weeks. I thought it was nerves or something. I've been having dreams since then of things before they happen and I don't know what to do.”

 

“So you're psychic? If your gift was just manifesting there was no way you could have known. Listen to me Samuel Winchester, what happened is not your fault. It's that damn demon's, okay?” Sam stared at her in awe before nodding.

“Good. By the way where is Dean? Figured you two would be sticking pretty close.” Sam dug his phone out.

 

“No missed calls.” Sam dialled Dean's number and swallowed as it went to voice mail.

“Something's wrong, he should answer.”

 

“Where is he?” Jess asked, reaching for her own phone.

 

“Burkitsville, Indiana on a hunt. Dad gave us the information. Dean thinks I'm tracking Dad down, I couldn't tell him I was following up your gift card. There's a pagan god, the locals sacrifice couples to it for prosperity.” Sam explained and Jess nodded, dialling her own phone.

 

“Richie? I need a favour. You're still in Indiana right? Good I need you to go to Burkitsville and find Dean Winchester; he drives a black '67 Impala. He could be in trouble. No not our sort the kind that got me killed and nearly killed you a couple of years ago so go armed. Thanks, I owe you one. And don't tell the old folk because yes he's Sam's brother and yes Sam is sitting beside me. I don't need a lecture from you tough guy or do you need another ass kicking? Thanks Rich, let me know when you find him.” Sam watched in awe as she arranged a rescue for Dean and then hung up.

 

“Think he'll find him?” Sam asked, ready to run back and save Dean if he had to.

 

“Richie's an ex-street kid and like me. He'll find Dean, he can charm just about anything from anyone. Real ladies man. Has a bad habit of getting killed in public though. My current id he let me use his original last name for.”

 

“Current id?”

 

“You didn't think I still use Jessica Moore did you? Be a bit suspicious if I did. It's Jessia Ryan now.”

 

“So your real name?” Sam asked.

 

“Jesselynn Stanton. Did you want to know more about Immortality?” She asked and he nodded.

 

“Okay so we're all stuck in this cosmic joke called `The Game'. Basically we all go around chopping each other's head off till there's only one of us left and that person gets `The Prize'. None of us have any clue what that is though and I doubt it even exist. The rules to the Game are; no Immortal can fight on Holy Ground, no matter who regards it as Holy. Immortal combat is one on one - no outside interference, no two on one. Mortals aren't meant to learn about Immortals, if you're killed you move on. No Immortal can have children. At the last, all Immortals will feel drawn to a distant land, to fight for the Prize - this is the time of the Gathering. In the end, there can be only one, the last one standing will receive all the power of all the Immortals who ever lived. Although it's not really a rule, it's generally regarded as poor form to use a gun or similar weapon to shoot your opponent before beheading them. Bad sportsmanship or something.”

 

“So you kill other Immortals?” Sam asked in horror and Jess shrugged.

 

“Only when they don't give me a choice and I know one day I'll run into someone who is either a way better fighter than me or its simply their lucky day. If I could hang up my sword for good I would but I refuse to die without a fight.” Sam nodded, was it really any different than what he did hunting? And then he mentally went over the rules again.

 

“What did you mean no Immortal can have children?” Back at Stanford he'd dreamed of matting her and having children together.

 

“All females are barren and the men are infertile. I can never become pregnant Sam. That was part of the reason I was going to tell you. I saw you ring shopping and I didn't want you to propose thinking one day we would have kids.” Jess explained, not meeting his eyes.

 

“So what now? You said mortals aren't meant to know but you sent me your address.”

 

“I love you Sam, I didn't want you thinking I was dead after what you saw. I...I'd like to try again, this time with the truth known. But being with an Immortal can be dangerous. Anyone who comes after me could decide you make good bait.”

 

---------------------------

Richie rolled his eyes as the girl tied to the tree screamed.

 

“Relax I'm here to get you out.” He called making the guy turn more in his ropes, trying to see him.

“Please say you're Dean Winchester.” Richie begged, he'd been riding nonstop for the last few days and was feeling a bit grumpy. Jess' call had not come at a good time but he'd learnt fast that he could never say no to her.

 

“Who are you?” Dean asked as Richie went to work on the girls ropes.

 

“Name's Richie. Got a call asking me to check up on you as a favour since you weren't answering your phone; luckily I was still in the state. There you go miss.” He helped her up and then turned to Dean, cutting through his ropes with his knife.

 

“Thanks. Keep an eye on that Scarecrow would you.” Dean told him and Richie frowned, looking back the way he'd come.

 

“What scarecrow?” And then he moved, just dodging the blow.

“Never mind.” He grabbed the girl by the arm and shoved her towards the road. Dean quickly joined them having gotten free of the last of his ropes. As they ran Dean filled the younger looking man in since he seemed to have a clue.

“So this sacred tree you're talking about—“

 

“It's the source of its power.” Dean explained and Richie nodded.

 

“So let's find it and burn it.” The Immortal called as they ran.

 

“Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up.” They reached a clearing only to find the townsfolk waiting for them.

“This way.” They turned only to find they were now surrounded.

 

“Please. Let us go.” The girl begged, Richie and Dean automatically but her between them and Richie's hand slid under his coat, reaching for his sword. Maybe he should take Methos' advice and start carrying a gun.

 

“It'll be over quickly, I promise.” One of the men assured them.

 

“Please.” She pleaded again.

 

“Emily, you have to let him take you. You have to—“ he didn't finish as a sickle emerged from his stomach. Emily and the woman beside him screamed before the woman was taken by the scarecrow as well. Dean held Emily as her family were dragged away, everyone else scattering in fear.

 

“Come on, let's go. “ Dean coaxed and the three left the orchard, Richie watching their backs the whole way.

 

TBC....