Prologue [1] – Jessica Moore

Everything was perfect, just the way Jessica Moore wanted it to be.

In fact, this was better than living the life she'd had. She was happier here. She was in her own little house, tidying up, as though she was expecting company. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail as she reached on her tiptoes, on top of being on a stepstool, to wipe the dust off of the ceiling fan. This was normal for Jessica, and she wanted to keep it that way.

After nearly falling and breaking a bone on the stepstool, Jessica got down, exhaling loudly. She looked at what was left that had to be cleaned and sighed. Cleaning was not as simple as most people thought. It took a lot of effort and commitment—that was what most people failed to understand.

Jessica folded up the stepstool, walking to the small closet in the hall, where she dropped it off. She pretended to look at an imaginary watch on her wrist. He would be home at any moment. If he didn't have a job, he would honestly help Jessica clean the house.

She smiled at the very thought of him. Those puppy hazel eyes that always captivated her. His unyielding loyalty. His intelligent mind that seemed to touch her own in a way that most people couldn't. And that shaggy hair that most women found unattractive on him, nobody needed to get her started on that. She loved everything about him.

If only he was here, with her, in Heaven.

At that thought, Jessica's smile dipped softly into a frown. Although her boyfriend of almost two years, Sam Winchester, was in her Heaven, he wasn't really in Heaven. No, he was part of Jessica's imagination, which made her Heaven what it was: a life with Sam Winchester. A life that didn't involve ceiling fires or creepy people sneaking into her apartment in the middle of the night and attacking her...

Jessica shivered. For the longest time, she tried so hard to not remember how she died. It had been cruel, incomprehensible, and grueling for the former Stanford college girl.

Knock, knock, knock.

Jessica's head turned to the door. Her brows came over her eyes. Sam never knocks, she thought. Sweating lightly, she went to the front door. When she opened it, she had to take a step back.

She had a stranger at her door, and she and Sam never had visitors.

"Jessica Moore?" the stranger asked. His voice threw Jessica off guard. It was deeper than she expected of a man like this. He bore many layers of clothing, the top layer being a beige trench coat. His blue eyes held desperation.

"Yes?" Jessica asked slowly. "Can I help you?"

"M-may I come in?"

"Um...sure." Jessica eyed the stranger oddly as she let her visitor in. He stepped in carefully, eyes looking throughout all of the house. Jessica shut the door. "I'm sorry, but, who are you?"

The stranger turned to her. "My name is Castiel."

Castiel? What a strange name. "Well, I guess an introduction isn't needed since you know my name." Which I don't appreciate. "If you're looking for Sam, he's not home yet."

"I'm not here for Sam, I'm here for you."

Jessica began to sweat again, but for a different reason this time. Her heart began to run fast in her chest. "Me?"

Castiel had his hands out in surrender. "Please, hear me out. I'm not here to hurt you."

"I think it's time you left," Jessica said shortly, opening her front door once again. She didn't know who this Castiel was, but she wanted him out. She hoped he complied, she wasn't sure what she could do if he ended up being hostile.

"Please. Sam is in trouble, and so is Dean."

Jessica looked at Castiel like he grew an extra head. She'd understood, after a time, that she was in Heaven. That the Sam that came home to her wasn't her Sam. To hear this stranger say that Sam and his older brother Dean were in trouble...

"What do you mean?" Jessica finally asked past the lump in her throat.

"There's not much time for me to properly explain it here." There was an urgency in Castiel's tone. "I need to know whether or not you want to help."

"I...I..." Jessica had no idea how to respond to this. She was cleaning the house one minute, and the next she had Castiel saying that the Winchester brothers were in trouble. "What's going on, exactly?"

"You understand that you're in Heaven, yes?"

Jessica nodded, feeling a twinge in her heart. She didn't like the reminder that this was Heaven, not reality. Well, not the reality that she wanted. Her reality had her Sam Winchester, not the one that Heaven conjured for her to help her be at peace.

"On Earth, Sam and Dean Winchester...they're missing. I can't track them down."

"So...you made a house call, thinking that I would have any idea as to where they are?" Jessica blinked. "I'm starting to wonder if you know we're in Heaven."

"Of course I know we're in Heaven, I am an angel." Castiel stared at Jessica, slightly annoyed. "Will you come with me or not?"

"Is there a catch?" Her mind went to the fleeting thought of this really being Hell in disguise, and that Castiel was about to show her that her heaven wasn't one at all.

"No catch, I just need an answer. Time is running out, and the longer I take standing here with you, the less time I have trying to find them."

Jessica licked her lips. She had the chance to go back. A second chance. As far as second chances went in her book, this was the rarest of them all. A second chance at living. She could get to see her Sam again, even if he was tangled up in whatever mess Castiel refused to speak about.

But fear crept into her head. She had no idea what she would be walking into. She had been in Heaven for over a decade (she had painfully kept track of time in a place that didn't seem to have any concept of it at all). How much had the world changed? Had it gotten worse? Better?

Castiel waited a bit impatiently as Jessica remained silent, caught up in her thoughts and fears. She was wasting both of their time. He needed an answer right now.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jessica looked at the angel. "What will happen if I leave here?"

"I'll stop time so that nothing will be disturbed. When you return, everything will resume as though you never left."

That was a relief, at least. Jessica wasn't sure what kind of craziness would ensue should she leave and Sam come home to an empty house. He said "when" I return, not "if". Jessica wasn't sure if she was reading too much into that one simple word. "Can you find us a way out of here?"

Castiel nodded and tried his hardest to keep from smiling. "But this means you'll have to show me a little trust."

As long as I can see my Sam again, I'll give you anything that you ask for, Castiel.

**Bit of a shocker, right? I mean, Jess, who died in the very beginning, episode 1. 

Boy, will she be in for an eye-opener.

And let's be honest, writing her Heaven was a little...complicated. No, Sam isn't dead. Jess has a Heaven!Sam. Just imagine him as he was back in the good ole seasons when things didn't rip your heart out as much.

See? Pure puppy ^ **