Title: Jesus Take The Wheel
Author: Okelani2082006
Rating: T
Genre: Spiritual/Angst
Type: One-Shot
Status: Complete
Chapters: N/A
Main Character(s): OC
Secondary Character(s): Sam
Pairing(s): None
Spoilers: Spoilers for "Hunted."
Summary: This is a Supernatural tale featuring an OC and her encounter with Sam Winchester. The story takes place at the very beginning of Hunted and is slightly AU. It begins in the early evening, round five o’clock...
A/N: This story takes place at the very beginning of Hunted. For the sake of this story, the car Sam “borrowed” broke down and he is on foot to Lafayette.
A/N2: The story Hannah tells Sam is true and actually happened to me. Therefore, I dedicate this story to my beloved grandfather and to a merciful Lord who was with me even though I turned away.
Jesus Take The Wheel
Hannah Gerard was just a normal girl trying to make a living in the world. Granted, she had an odd manner of achieving it. Her home was nothing more than a two-bedroom homestead in southwestern Colorado with a renovated barn where her eighteen-wheeler was stored when she wasn’t driving across the interstate. Ah, the open road, she adored it! Freedom lay ahead of her whenever she pulled out, hauling a trailer full of merchandise bound for the east or west coast. As a result, the road was her home for nearly ten months out of a year. Many thought her lifestyle was poor, lonely. Hannah didn’t agree. She was a private person, more content with the sound of the radio and the clouds above as her companions. How could it be lonely?
Her first year as a semi truck driver had been interesting to put it mildly. Over the course of just a few weeks, she had met and talked with more people then she could possibly have met back home in six months. Most were friendly and kind, rekindling passions from her teenage years and bringing her soul to light in ways she never imagined.
A new year had rolled around in no time and she had eagerly started driving again. Her parents had recognized her need for the freedom the open road gave her and at the end of the year helped her buy her very own semi. Delighted, Hannah had used the skills her father had taught her about repairs and proceeded to modify the truck extensively. It was her truck in every way by the time she finished. A year and a half later, she had bought the homestead in Colorado and moved in during the summer.
Hannah shook her head in wonder. To think she’d been a truck driver going on five years now! Chuckling, she cranked up the CD player and sang along with Carrie Underwood. She roughly had another two hours before she reached the next rest stop where she could spend the night. At least she didn’t have to hurry back for another shipment! Laughing at her own thoughts, Hannah let her eyes dance across countryside bathed in the warm golden glow of the sun before twilight.
Her brow furrowed for a moment and she pushed the brakes. There, she wasn’t seeing things. A tall, gangly man was walking along side the road with his thumb out, bag on his back. There seemed to be a cast on his right arm. Frowning, she considered giving him a ride. It was getting dark and traveling on foot in these parts, well, wasn’t exactly favorable. Picking up a hitchhiker wasn’t a great idea either. But, a little voice seemed to whisper to her heart, urging her to help this young man.
Slowing the semi down, she came to a stop next to the young man and rolled down the window.
“Come on an’ get in,” she called gruffly. The young man paused, slowly opening the door. His eyes were dark in shadows, but judging by the uncertain set of his mouth, he did not think this was such a great idea. You and me both. Finally she asked, “Look, ya want a ride or not?”
“Yeah. Thanks,” he mumbled.
Quickly, he dropped his bags on the floor and scrambled in. Once the door was closed, Hannah shifted gears and the semi roared down the road once more. Turning down the music, she studied her passenger carefully from the corner of her eye. His clothing was slightly rumpled and there was a cast on his right arm. For a moment she caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes were blue-green, like the ocean, and shining brightly. He reminded her of a lost, frightened puppy.
The silence was only broken by Carrie Underwood’s sweet, melodic voice. At length, she spoke up. “My name’s Hannah.”
The young man just nodded his head, distant and forlorn. Sighing inwardly, Hannah forced her lips to move again in question. “Where are you going?”
“Lafayette, Indiana.”
Hmm, quite a ways away. Well…
“If you’d like, I can take ya there. Tomorrow, though. I’m beat now, and there’s a rest stop about an hour and a half from here where I’d like to spend the night.”
For the first time since he climbed into the truck, he looked at her. His face lite up with hope and amazement.
“Really?”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “Sure. I don’t have anywhere to be for another week or so.”
“I—that’d be great! I—thanks,” he stuttered. Hannah grinned, “Don’t thank me yet. You might regret it after listening to country music for twelve hours.”
His mouth fell open for a moment before he offered a genuine smile. “I’m sure I can handle that.”
Chuckling, Hannah gave a girlish squeal. “Oh, this is my favorite song!”
Turning up the volume, she grinned at her companion as the strands of music filled the cab. “What’s your name?”
“Sam,” he answered somewhat shyly. Making a face she grumped playfully, “Sam, short for Samuel? Good name, means His name is God.” Before Sam could comment Carrie Underwood started singing again:
She was driving last Friday
On her way to Cincinnati
On a snow white Christmas Eve.
Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy
With the baby in the back seat
Fifty miles to go she was running low
On faith and gasoline
It’d been a long hard year.
She had a lot on her mind
And she didn’t pay attention,
She was going way too fast
Before she knew it she was spinning
On a thin black sheet of glass
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn’t even have time to cry
She was sooo scared
She threw her hands up in the air
Jesus take the wheel,
Take it from my hands,
Cause I can’t do this on my own.
I’m letting go,
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on.
Jesus take the wheel.
It was still getting colder
When she made it to the shoulder
And the car came to a stop.
She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat
Sleeping like a rock.
For the first time in a long time
She bowed her head to pray
She said,
“I’m sorry for the way
I’ve been leaving my life
I know I’ve got to change,
So from now on tonight.”
Jesus take the wheel,
Take it from my hands,
Cause I can’t do this on my own.
I’m letting go,
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on.
Oh Jesus take the wheel
Oh I’m letting go,
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on.
From this road I’m on
Jesus take the wheel
The song faded out. Hannah watched Sam quietly. He didn’t seem to realize that a tear was creeping down his cheek. Nothing more was said between them for the remainder of the drive. Hannah knew Sam needed time. Perhaps later he’d be willing to talk. She doubted he would but if he wanted to she would listen.
Driving the eighteen-wheeler into the rest stop, Hannah shifted the truck into park. Turning, she climbed through into the living quarters.
“Hey Sam, want to join me?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he mumbled climbing back to join her. Hiding a frown, she pointed to the bottom bunk. “You can sleep here. I’ll take the top. Are you hungry?”
“Not really,” Sam said, attempting a sheepish smile. He didn’t succeed. Hannah dug through her stores and handed him a wrapped, peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“Here, eat this. You need something in your stomach.” Squeezing her hand into the ice chest she handed him bottled water next. Satisfied, she grabbed a sandwich and water for herself, and then climbed back to the driver’s seat and out the door. She could stretch her legs and eat at the same time. Kept the blood flowing better. Besides it would allow her guest some privacy. After a couple circuits around the lot, her sandwich was gone. Sam cautiously joined her. The sandwich was smashed in his hand, barely a bite taken, completely forgotten. They walked in companionable silence for a time until the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Rain clouds were rolling in.
They returned to the semi, climbing aboard just as the first drops tumbled from the heavens. Hannah waited patiently while Sam squished into the tiny bunk. He was basically curled up in a ball. Making sure everything was secure for the night, Hannah let her mind drift, absently humming “Jesus Take the Wheel”.
“How can you just hand over your life like that?”
“Beg your pardon?” Hannah glanced over her shoulder. Sam was staring at the sheets.
“She kept asking Him to take the wheel.”
“Ah,” Hannah said, realization dawning on her. “Jesus Take the Wheel?”
He nodded slowly. Maneuvering around the chair she stepped closer. He was so afraid. It was made plain by his tense form. Taking pity on him, Hannah sat down on the edge of the bed, lightly touching his shoulder.
“Hey, it’s no big deal. Everybody goes through crisis in their lives that leaves them desperate for help.”
“How do you know He’s there, that He’s taken the wheel?” Sam asked, his voice growing huskier. Hannah considered her answer carefully. “In my own experience it seems to be when you relinquish control and give it to Jesus. Your life is just suddenly full of purpose, a peace, I suppose. It’s rather difficult to explain. Faith probably sums it up best.”
She gave him a searching look. "Sam, belief in Jesus is a beautiful thing but it doesn’t resolve the trouble in life. We have to face life; we have to live it. The question is whether or not you’ll finish the race. Will you give up on God during the hard times or will you hang on until the end? Letting Jesus take control of one’s life is a big step, a leap of faith so to speak.”
Ceasing her lecture, Hannah placed her hands in her lap. “A leap of faith,” she mumbled. Shaking her head she looked out into the night, listening to the rain strike the pavement.
“I wish He’d take the wheel from me.”
Hannah looked back and watched as salty drops escaped the corners of Sam’s eyes. “I’m so tired,” he whispered. “I can’t keep going like this anymore, always wondering who I am and after…I just want something to go right!”
Instinctively, Hannah pulled him into her arms, embracing him tightly; rocking gently like a parent would to comfort their child. He hesitated before burying his face in her shoulder, crying softly. “Everything will be all right, Sam,” she murmured. “God is in control. He’ll take care of you.”
Sam began to sob and Hannah just rocked him quietly, recognizing his need to release his grief, his frustration, and his anger, offering comfort the best she could. Soon he pulled away, his cheeks flushed with shame, eyes red-rimmed.
“Hey now, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Hannah soothed, wiping his cheeks. “We all have to cry sometimes.”
She met his bitter gaze with sad understanding.
“Ya know, during my high school years I was an absolute mess. See, my grandparents had been having health issues, bad ones, cancer and diabetes. I know I was very blessed to have ‘em at all but at the time, well, I took it for granted. My grandpa was my best friend. We used to take these long walks and just talk for hours.”
Hannah took a deep breath, reining in the rising stampede of emotion. “He taught me so much about life, how to hope, how to dream, and when he died it was as if a piece inside me died. I couldn’t talk to God. Every time I did I felt like a hypocrite when I promised to change something and never did it. I was hiding behind walls I built as a child to protect myself from people. Barely three days after the…first anniversary of his death, I was hit by a car.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam whispered in horror. “How did it happen?”
“I was on my way to zero period, round six-forty or so in the morning. I parked across the street from school where I always had and was crossing the street. There isn’t much traffic so early in the morning and I was feeling kind of low as it was. Well, I looked both ways multiple times, let a couple cars pass and saw a white car with its blinker on slowing down. I thought it was turning into the junior parking lot. So, I started across. Near the double yellow movement from the corner of my eye made me look up. The white car was coming right at me. I don’t have any real recollection of fear, just the urge to get out of the way. I tried to move but he clipped me anyway.”
Sam was watching her sympathetically. Hannah continued quietly. “It happened so fast. The next moment my chin was planted in the asphalt and my left leg was numb. I’d thrown my violin when the car hit me cause it spun me ‘round like a top and my backpack was just a rock on my back. I can only remember thinking at first, ‘I just got hit. A car hit me. Get up! Move, get up!’”
Shaking her head, Hannah released a shaky breath.
“You don’t—“
“Yes, I do Sam,” she cut in. “You have to understand, what I experienced that day and the weeks that followed were a turning point for me.” I have to tell you. You need to understand that God takes care of us even when we are the most stupid, stubborn jerks possible. I don’t know you very well but I just…I can’t explain it. I just have to tell you.
Licking her lips, Hannah went on slowly. “The boy driving the car, he came back. He came back apologizing and panicky. I think he asked me if I was okay which I obviously wasn’t. I asked him to help me up, get me out of the street before another car steam rolled me into the pavement permanently. Unfortunately, my backpack prevented me from going anywhere and he had to help me get loose. He then helped me to the sidewalk where a mom and her daughter had pulled over in the parking lot and were coming to help. A friend of mine was also there and I think she got my stuff out of the street. I can’t be certain, I was busy trying to stay on my feet and reaching the curb so I could sit down. After that everything becomes a bit blurry, although at the time I am pretty certain I was pretty coherent. I was afraid when the mom had her daughter call 911. I remember being afraid of being alone with a bunch of strangers and being hurt. My friend, she sat beside me and honestly I think she was more afraid then I was. She called my folks who were home sleeping. My dad got there just when they were getting me on a stretcher for the ride to the hospital.”
Hannah grunted, shaking her head. “When they were loading me up, I saw the white car that hit me. The side mirror was dangling off it. Something hit it and well, the other’s believed I hit it. But I didn’t. I remember exactly when the bumper hit my leg and my upper body was relatively untouched except when I fell. In the hospital I was checked over, cleaned up and x-rayed real good. And do you know what? Nothing was broken or fractured. I was just bruised, with a nice scratch on my knee and swollen chin. At the time, reality hadn’t really set in for me. I was distant, watching it from outside time with no real connection. It wasn’t until three days later when I was talking with my high school pastor that I found out what a miracle it was nothing serious had happened. On Tuesday, the day after I was hit, another girl was hit crossing the street in some other part of the city. She was in a coma.”
A few tears snaked down her cheeks. “It was a miracle at all that I even saw him. I’m certain if I hadn’t moved I’d have been in the windshield. The reality of that, it takes a while to set in. I went home that day, slept for five hours and ate something and went back to sleep. I didn’t find out till later that the choir, the Bible study, and my family were all praying for me when they found out. That was the beginning of a slow change. I very slowly started to hand over my life to God because I finally understood; I have absolutely no control. I can die at any moment, anytime, if He deems its time for me to come home.”
“God took care of me that day; He kept me coherent, sent friends to comfort me, and kept me alive. I must have a purpose if He willing spared a lying, no good, piece of trash like me. And I was. Finally, after long internal debates and emotional roller coasters, I gave Him the wheel. I was ready for my life to change, to take a step out the door He opened for me. I was ready, but it was a long road to get there. Such a painful road to pass over,” Hannah murmured.
Slowly a smile spread on her lips. “But God gave me the strength to endure that time. I know I couldn’t have done it alone. That was my mistake from the beginning; I was depending on my own strength to see me through. Who am I kidding? I was so weak; a babe could have taken me down. But God didn’t give up on me. How can I give up on Him? God was with me in the lowest, blackest, canyon I could possibly find myself in and He’s been with me on the highest mountain peak. Have you ever read the poem “Footprints”?
Her listener shook his head negative. “Well there’s a line that basically says during the hardest, darkest times in our lives Jesus carries us and during the good times He’s walking beside us. It’s encouraging to know that our Savior is willing to pick us up and carry us.”
Glancing at the clock, she sighed. “Well, if we want to get an early start I need to get some shut-eye. Good night, Sam.”
Hannah clambered into the top bunk, curling up beneath her blanket. “Oh, and Sam, thanks for listening.”
Praying silently she rolled over onto her side, letting blissful sleep claim her.
The next afternoon, the semi was parked in the parking lot of a motel called the Blue Rose. Turning to Sam, Hannah grinned and held out a hand. Sam looked at her hand then her face, uncertainty and longing in his eyes. His fist unclenched and took her hand firmly in his own, shaking it heartily. Then he surprised her by pulling her into a warm embrace. Hannah breathed deeply, embracing him in return.
“Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear. Hannah pulled back and cupped his face. Pulling his head down she kissed his forehead.
“You take care now, ya hear?”
Sam nodded, a smile creasing his features, his cheeks slightly pink.
“That’s better.”
Seeing his confusion, Hannah explained, “Your smile. It can light up a dark room. Don’t ever lose your smile, all right?”
Hannah didn’t think he fully grasped what she meant as he nodded and gave a crooked beautiful smile, complete with dimples.
“Goodbye, Sam.”
She climbed into the semi, turning the ignition to hear the engine purr to life. Glancing out the window, she saw Sam watching her. With a final wave, Hannah drove down the street, back to the interstate.
Fin
