Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Normal people would have probably classify this as a Nightmare, or at the very least an exercise in utter embarrassment.  But I don’t really get embarrassed so, no harm no foul right?  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.  

I am sleeping when there’s a loud crashing noise in my room.  I shot bolt upright in bed blinking sleep out of my eyes.  That’s when I notice the two figures in my room.  With a speed, I didn’t know I possess I whip out my pistol and point it at the figure closest to me.

A groan comes from behind the shrouded figure closest to me, a large lump of a person is in a tangle of limbs on my loveseat, and as he tries to stand he falls off onto the floor with another moan.  Clearly not a threat for the moment I keep the gun trained on the first figure who I can now make out has dark, short hair and a tan coat.  He proceeds to raise his hands in defense, slowly.

“What the fuck man.”  Says a deep voice which sounded thoroughly wrecked albeit familiar.  In retrospect, the divider between my bed and the sightline to my door wasn’t smart but it is pretty.  Which is why I didn’t see the third man, who comes into my sight rubbing his head like it’s sore and saying, “Where the fu-” then he stiffens as he sees me.  My mouth goes agape as the familiarity of it all starts to fall into place.

“No,”  I say in disbelief, gun faltering slightly.  “No way, ” I say vehemently as my eyes roam over the two, taking in their features in the soft moonlight coming in from the tiny window.  Meanwhile, the second guy on the floor rolls over, chin-length shaggy hair flopping about as he eyes me and the subsequent gun in my hand.  I want to close my eyes and rub my temples to make this crazy illusion go away, but I won’t drop my arm just yet.  “I’m having a fever dream, because this. Is.  INSANE.”  My voice hisses in an angry whisper pointing vaguely with the gun but ending still trained on… coat guy, because I know how this works.  

“Alright, well Ms. Fever-Dream, can you put down the cap gun?  Before you, I don’t know, poke someone’s eye out with it.”  The short-haired guy by the divider says and I narrow my eyes at him in annoyance, finally giving him a full once over with both eyes.

“If this is a dream, this ” I wave the gun for emphasis, “is as powerful as I want it to be.  Especially since I’m aware of the dream,”  I respond with snark to pair with the sarcasm I was served, but I lower my gun anyway.  The boys all relax slightly as I swing my legs out of bed and drop the gun behind me.  “Besides… it is just a cap gun.”  Both the long-haired man on the floor and the guy standing off to my left give me legendary bitch faces which make me internally squeal even as I refuse to name them.

“I don’t understand.  Was the gun only about to shoot bottle caps?  In what way was that useful or dangerous?”  Says dark haired guy by my feet, complete with a slight head tilt and all. Sur-fucking-real. Short haired snarkmaster just rolls his eyes and I can’t help but burst into raucous laughter.  

“No, Cas, it’s just a fake gun.  Kids use them for fun sometimes.”  Then there’s floor guy, who has finally managed to right himself to a standing position, still holding his head while I control my laughter and just give Cas a disbelieving stare. 

“You must be confused,”  Cas says and I roll my eyes at him, moderately surprised that he was the first to attempt to explain anything.

“Less so than you should think, which is going to be shocking for you.”  My eyes shift from Cas to…

“Cas! Will you explain what the friggin’ heck is going on?  Where are we?”

“I don’t know where we are but I have a feeling, this young woman will be our solution.”  

I smile brightly in response to that and open my mouth to answer when I am cut off by the gargantuan man who is now facing my bookshelf.  

“Uh… guys?”  Then he reaches to grab something from the top shelf and turns around holding something very familiar.  “Why does she have the First Blade?”  Snarky balks at it and I scramble out of bed to snatch it from-

“Sam, you really shouldn’t touch things that aren’t yours.”  I quip at him. He looks at me like I’m a fish with wings.   I look to Cas, who has his head cocked again, then to the last guy whose gaze has drifted lower to my… ah.  Yes.  Pants-less legs.  Seeing as I am currently donning an oversized black band tee and lacey black underwear.  He’s totally checking out my ass as I smirk and flip the 3D printed blade around in my hand then place it back on the shelf.

“Who are you?”  He asks in wonder, still openly gaping and confused.  I catch a glimpse of wild auburn bed head and piercing blue green eyes in the decorative mirror next to the bookshelf, then turn and fix them with a knowing gaze.  

“I’m Allison, and damn are you Winchester boys lucky you landed here.”  

“You know about us?”  Sam asks.

“Are we in the future?”  Dean looks to Cas.

“No this isn’t the future, Dean, this is an alternate universe.  I’m positive of that.”  Cas turns to me for confirmation (Which, is weird that he already trusts my answers, right?), to which I nod.

“But you must be a psychic or how else would you know anything about us?”  Dean says.

“I would say you guys might wanna sit down, but I know you won’t so…”  I pause, turn to grab my laptop and promptly power it up.  One quick YouTube search and I am able to flip it back to them.  They all take a step closer as I hit play on the J2M video from the con last week.  Their faces, now clearly illuminated by the screen’s glow, are showered in confusion.  “Welcome to the most boring version of reality.”  I watch realization dawn on Dean and Sam’s faces.  

“Dude, we’re in the TV show world again.”  Sam groans, slapping a hand over his face.

“Close enough.”  I shrug.

***

Chapter Text

It’s a few moments later when Dean had finally stopped swearing and I had returned my laptop when Sam approached me with his questions.

“So… I take it you watch the TV show which is how, you know all about us, right?”  

I gesture for him to sit on the bed with me.  In my periphery Dean is talking with Cas, all up in each other's personal space which makes me smile. 

 “Which is also why you have the knife-”

“And the cap gun, oh, and this.”  I show Sam my hand and he takes it confused until he notices the silver band on my right-hand ring finger.  He pales slightly and then I gesture to my neck where there’s a familiar amulet hanging on a black cord.  “And I have a couple Samulets, anti-possession… charms, a couple shirts, some leggings-”

“Ok, uh wow, so is the show big here? Or are you just a…” Sam’s voice drops off, he’s clearly hoping I’m not some Becky.  I wince slightly at the fact that I may have overwhelmed him but I figure it’s better to lay out all of my cards then to pretend I don’t have any.  After all, I know where dishonesty would get me with these boys. 

“Fanatic?”  I fill in for him, it’s evident he didn’t want to hurt my feelings or be rude.  I chuckle lowly and notice the other two listening, feeling heat creep up my cheeks.  “Yes… I am, but!  The show is also pretty big here.  Averaging 2.5 million views every week-”

“You hear that Sammy?  We’re famous here.  I can’t tell you whether that’s horrifying or awesome.”  Dean puts a hand on his face, stressed, and Cas claps him on the shoulder in solidarity.  I smile at the look Dean gives Cas, then when he turns back and catches me staring, Dean rolls his eyes toward me and Sam.  

“So how much do you know about us then?”  Dean asks and I feel that same embarrassing fire creeping up the back of my neck.

“I’ve got a Trivial Pursuit about you.”  I say and look back to Sam who just laughs, probably out of disbelief.  “Anyway you could probably explain anything to me about what’s going on and I would get it.”  Both Sam and Dean nod, processing, then I look to Cas who seems to be giving me a disgruntled look.  I cock my head at him.  

“Are we in your bedroom?”  All three of us give Cas a look of duh, Sam raising an eyebrow and looking back at the bed he is currently sitting on.  I nod slowly, just to humor him.  “Are there any other people in this house?”

“Just one.”  

“Well, they are awake and heading this way.”  My eyes go wide.

“Shit!”  I move frantically, Sam jumps up next to me, uncertain where to go.  I grab Dean by the arm and then shove him onto the bed, he gets the gist, then I mouth ‘closet’ to Sam, pointing to both him and Cas and quickly move for the only viable option, a plain door just next to the entrance of my room. 

With lightning speed I jump into bed next to Dean who proceeds to cover us both up.  I fumble for my phone for a moment, before giving up and leaning over Dean for my laptop perched in the window sill.  I thank whatever gods watch over this universe that I still have SPN pulled up.  Flopping the laptop down, I turn back to Dean and pull the pillow out from under his head to place it over his face.  He makes a noise of discomfort but I shush him.  

Rolling over I curl up, almost big spooning the computer. However, this now places Dean as my big spoon.  My butt bumps back into his pelvis and I freeze, wanting to apologize until his hand comes up to grip my hip in… what I hope… is a comforting motion.  To hell with it , I think and settle down, tapping the screen just before retracting my arms below the covers.  Conviceably, casually, comfortable, or what will at least pass for it.  

The heavy footsteps descend the stairs of my house, coming down to just one-half level between us.  

“You know, normally I don’t just jump into bed with girls I’ve just met,”  Dean whispers into the back of my neck.  It’s warm and pleasant and raises the hairs on my arm, but I manage not to shiver at the sensation.  I can feel his fingers start to trail down from my hip, over my underwear and to the bare skin of my upper thigh.  The steps of the small half flight to my basement room are creaking now.

“Not now Dean!”  I say through gritted teeth.  

“So that means there’s gonna be a later?”  

I can hear the smile in his whisper, the bold bastard.  Bold, sexy , bastard.  Under the blankets I smack his hand away just as a soft knock is heard from my door.  The door opens, without my answer, as is common in my family.

“Kiddo?”  Comes my dad’s soft voice.

“Yeah?”  I respond, making my voice crack a little, and really I applaud my acting.

“You alright?”  He inquires just as I see him appear around the divider and meet my eyes.  I blearily rub fake sleep out of my eyes.  

“Mhmmm,”  I respond, nuzzling my face into the pillow.

“Were you… having a bad dream?”  He looks at me, confused.  

I shake my head. “No.  Wasn’t asleep yet.  But I was watching somethin.”  I mumble.  

Understanding dawns on his face. “Supernatural.”  He guesses, following my decoy perfectly.  I feel Dean stiffen behind me at the mention of them.  Ignoring that, I smile weakly and nod.  

“What episode?”

I freeze only minisculely before responding. “Four-oh-one.”  My dad looks confused before I elaborate.  “Cas’ first episode.”  At that, he nods.

“When Dean is raised from hell.”  He muses, clearly remembering the episode, and I nod in response.  A moment of silence passes and I let my eyes drift shut.  More marvelous acting, because my body could not be thrumming with anymore energy unless I was a real live wire.  

“Well, I’ll let you sleep.”  

I nod and make a humming noise in response.  Then I hear his bare feet shuffling on the tile, exiting my room. 

 “Night kiddo.”

“Night.”  I respond, then I hear the door shut and he’s gone, footsteps receding. After the last of the thumps echo away through the house I roll over to face Dean.  Gingerly I lift the pillow from his face to peek under it at him.  Dean’s eyes hold the traumatizing memories my dad so callously brought up without knowing.  I push the pillow aside and place a gentle hand on his cheek. “You okay?”  

His glazed over eyes meet mine and quickly regain focus.  He doesn’t respond, meeting my eyes for a moment, like he’s trying to figure me out.  Whether or not he can actually trust me, and I get it.  All the dumb play flirting aside, I’m a wild card he never wanted in his life.  After another moment he sits up, pulling back the covers.

“It’s… surreal.”  

I sit up next to him, wanting to say something but not knowing how to say it.  

“Why didn’t you tell him we were here?”  At this point the closet door opens softly behind me.  Dean’s eyes flick back to Sam and Cas before coming back to me.  “I mean, he watches the show too, doesn’t he.”  

It’s not a question and I have to look away from his imploring gaze, choosing instead to look at the lines of my hands and fingers.  Truth be told, I don’t know why I didn’t tell my dad.  He’s my rock, my everything.  If there’s anyone who would be willing to run face first into adventure with me, it would be him.  Am I just being selfish? 

“Allison?”  I hear Cas’ gruff voice from next to me and feel his large hand come up to my shoulder.  I turn to look at him and then Sam, who has chosen to sit on the back of my love seat, then finally back to Dean.  I sigh, feeling my own shoulders droop with the weight of what this all really means .  Not just multiple dimensions (Which, that’s hell yeah cool), but the existence of monsters, demons, ghosts, a god .

“He… He doesn’t exactly believe in the supernatural.”  I look up into Cas’ eyes, knowing he’ll understand or at least hoping he will.  And, dear god, do I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.  Looks like I’ll have to change my own expression to praying … since that’s a thing I can do now, I guess.

“How can he not believe in Supernatural if he… watches it?”  Sam questions gently. I look to him and quirk an eyebrow at what he just said.  Sam rolls his eyes in realization. “Hearing what I just said, I’m gonna retract that question.  Of course, you don’t believe everything you see on TV.  What I mean is… If he were to see us here, see the proof … wouldn’t he believe it?” 

 I shrug at that. “I mean, yeah probably.  But he’s a pretty devout atheist.  I’d rather not give him an aneurysm in the middle of the night if I can help it.”  I pause and go back to fiddling with my fingers.  “To be honest, I’ll probably tell him.  Just not now.”  And I don’t want to explain further than that.  I can feel Cas’ hand drop from my shoulder.  “It’s not just him though… this universe is just-”  I cut myself off, trying to search for the word with my hands, then I turn to Cas and stare at him imploringly.  “Can you feel it?”  

At first, Cas looks confused but then his features smooth over.  He lifts his gaze and his eyes glow the angelic blue I once thought to be low budget tv CGI.  Sur-fucking-real.  

“There is magic here, though it is much more rare and of a different strain than our universe.”  Then he turns that ethereal look on me. I watch as the glow fades away back to the more human shade of blue, mesmerized.  I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open slightly.  “But it has great potential.”  A chill runs down my spine and stars seem to prickle behind my eyes. 

“Fucking knew it!  And no one believed me! Fuck!”  I curse, flopping back into the pillows, completely flabbergasted in a way the brothers plus angel didn’t do even with their magical universe hopping.  

Ignoring me, Cas turns to the brothers, meeting their eyes in turn. “There is none of the ‘traditional’ things that go bump in the night as you two would say.”  

He even uses the damn finger quotes, I let out a breathy laugh which seems to amuse Dean as he casts me a smile.  

“Got it.”  Dean nods his head, crossing his arms behind him as he flops down on the bed next to me.  “Friggin’ perfect.”  I reach over and pat him on the stomach. He grunts which makes Sam chuckle.  

For once I am completely aware of the mirrored irony in our story arcs.  One who has never known a life without magic, and one who has never known a life with magic. It seems the jaw-dropping moments are determined to keep hitting me over the head.

“Oh and, just to clear the air… I’m not some Becky Rosenberg.  I’ve been doing this ‘fan thing’ for a while and I know how to not be a total wannabe.  Freak out.  Spaz, er… whatever.”  

Cas looks confused and Dean just cracks up.

“Thanks for that.”  Sam blushes a bit and rubs the back of his neck.  I wink at Sam and he flusters, which is just damn adorable on a grown man.  Cas gives him a side eye that is twinkling with humor.  “Alright, shut up!”  Sam quips.

“Don’t worry, Sam.  It’s not you I would trick into marriage.”  I coo at him, which makes Dean crack up even harder.  Cas gives Sam the most parental look I have ever seen, and Sam holds up his hands in defense in preparation to rant about the situation.

“Yeah, Sammy!  The hot girl whose bedroom we randomly appeared in would obviously pick to creepily seduce the more attractive brother.  After all, look where I ended up.”  Dean makes a sweeping gesture to the bed and I elbow him just as he lifts his arms.

“Not you either, idiot. I’ve got a bit of a thing for the ones with a more… stormy disposition.”  It’s a smooth recovery on my part as I flick my eyes over to Cas and give him my most flirtatious smile. He smiles jovially in response.  Sam bursts out laughing and points at Dean.  

“Oooh! She got you!” 

I look back over at Dean, and he’s adopted the most petulant look, glaring between me and Cas.  I swing my head back to face Cas, raising my eyebrows as if to say this is the human you chose?   He nods his head at me and rolls his eyes.  Sam’s laughing dies off and a silence falls over the group.

“So… what now?” Sam asks as Cas moves to sit by my feet. 

“Well… how did you guys end up here?”  I ask. 

Sam blinks at me then points at Cas.  

“Right.”   I drawl, then my finger comes up to rub my chin in thought.  “But why are you here?  And what I mean by that is, what drove you into jumping univ-...Oh. OH!”  I look between them with wide eyes, whipping my head to Dean and sure enough just under the collar of his jacket is a smattering of grey dust and dried blood.  “The crypt.”  My voice comes out in a horrified whisper and I turn sad eyes on Cas.  I can’t help myself, before I know it I’m leaning forward onto my knees to sit next to him, my hand gently coming to rest on his cheek.  

His blue eyes look troubled and harsh, stormy like the ocean but chilled like a glass of water.  It’s weird how easily I’m able to understand him, almost as if there’s something else-

“I’m fine, Allison.”  Cas tells me softly.  I can feel Dean’s eyes on me as my thumb tracks over Cas’ cheekbone.

“One, you can call me Allie.  And two...You’re not, but you will be.”  I let my hand drop after a moment, but my eyes tell him I won’t be doing the same with the subject, and he knows I mean Naomi.  I don’t know how I know that he knows (Which I know, is a confusing statement, and I apologize), but I do. 

Castiel inclines his head slightly, relenting.  “You still have the tablet?”  Cas hesitates at this, as if he’s unsure whether or not he should tell me. After a brief moment he grabs my hand and puts it on his abdomen. 

“Oh my god!”  I gasp at the strange feeling of… rock hard… abs.  “You’ve been working out!”  I joke and retract my hand from his stomach, trailing up his arm and squeezing his bicep as if I’m feeling those muscles.  I earn a tiny smile from the otherwise stoic angel.  Sam and Dean look on, utterly confused.

“Mind sharing with the class guys?”  Dean quips, but Cas and I are still staring at each other.  Sam laughs silently watching Dean fume behind me.

“It was necessary for…”  Cas’ grumbling voice explains as he gestures his hand and looks around.  My eyes light up in realization.

“Of course!  Cause it’s a powerful magical object!”  I smile at him.  “But that’s brilliant Cas!”  And I’ll be damned at the sly but proud smile that crosses his face.  

Sam rolls his eyes, watching the new dynamic develop.  Dean’s eyes dart between Cas and me.  Sam clears his throat loudly and then we break our freaky mind bond.  Cas meets Sam’s eyes, then Dean’s, who gestures exasperatedly, impatient and unhappy at being left out.  

“Right.”  Cas says, coming back to Earth, “I needed to escape Naomi.  If she gets ahold of the tablet it could be catastrophic for us all.”  

Sam nods in understanding, remembering how Dean recanted something similar.  Dean’s looking at Cas with utter disappointment, knowing there was more to it.  I glance at Dean’s scornful face then catch a glimpse of the pain in Cas’ eyes.  I sigh dramatically at the two of them, then I meet Sam’s eyes, but he just looks confused and resigned to being left out of emotional stares.

“I’m not going to deal with the whole ‘Winchester’s never communicate well’ trope.”  I glance from Sam to Dean, pointing at each.  “So here’s how it’s gonna go down.  If I can even slightly tell you’re keeping something from one another, I’m gonna nark.”  Then I cross my arms and stand so I can look between the two more efficiently.  Dean looks wary and glowers slightly.  Sam somehow looks both nervous and relieved.  Cas looks utterly impressed, which almost makes me laugh.  Dean opens his mouth, probably to regale me something about staying out of his business.  “Save it Dean.  I’m not gonna overshare about who you’ve been writing about in your diary.”  Dean’s mouth flaps a few times, trying to think of a comeback, but I pointedly look from him to Cas and back.  His eyebrows fly up and now he’s full on stuttering.

“But I-... I don’t have-...that’s-”

“Anyway.”  I close off the conversation, then my gaze swings back to Sam.  “The thing he didn’t tell you about the crypt was right before Cas left he said he had to protect the tablet from Naomi and... you.  Both of you.  Or maybe just humanity in general.  The context was kinda left up to interpretation.”  I glance at Cas who has gone stiff at the reminder of his obvious distrust in the Winchesters.  “I’m not gonna disagree with Cas on this one, I don’t think anyone needs access to the tablets.  But the fact of the matter is, Dean feels as if Cas doesn’t trust the two of you.”  Sam scoffs then looks to Cas, a bit of hurt in his eyes.  He’s really got that ‘kicked puppy’ thing down to a tee. 

“So that’s why you ran off?  Because you didn’t think you could trust us.”  

Cas can’t meet anyone’s eyes.  “I believed that was the best way to protect the tablet.  Until I received a vision of… this world.”  

At this, I cock my head at Cas. “What kind of vision?”  I ask him, scooting closer to him.  Something is nagging at the back of my head. 

“This world, the type of magic here, would keep the tablet from Naomi’s grasp.”  Cas gives me a confused look.  “I don’t understand.  I thought you would know this already.” 

 I shake my head at him and roll my eyes. “You guys may be a TV show in this universe but that doesn’t mean we watch every moment of your lives.  Anyway, the last episode I saw was the brothers with Chrissy… If I could wager a guess, this”  I turn my finger in a circular motion, “Would be the next episode.  AKA, whatever led you here I wouldn’t know about since I’m apart of the events.”  Sam and Dean seem to understand this, but Cas just looks like he is getting a headache.

“So essentially, “ Cas continues while pinching the bridge of his nose, “You’re not Chuck, but you’ve had a front row seat to all the major plot points in our lives.”  Then he looks up at me for confirmation to which I nod vigorously.

“Exactly, angel boy.”  Then I wince because I will not be calling him that in the future, and clap my hands together.  “So, back to this vision Cas.  I’ve just got this hunch it might be important.”  He nods.

“Right.  I was jumping between Biggerson’s to throw her off.  I could feel her, or her minions rather, trailing me.  Not close enough, but too close.  Suddenly this image appeared in my mind of this world.  And how easy it would be to find help here because our story is well known.  I saw, in my vision, it was… this small house-like structure with a yellow slide.  And this bridge over train tracks with a hole in the chain link.  Sam and Dean were there, on that bridge with me… and you.”  

During all of this, my eyes rise in wonder, my heart begins to beat faster in amazement.  Then slowly, unsure of my own sanity at this point, I walk to the head of my bed and reach behind the mattress to procure a small black book.  There are strange purple symbols drawn on the cover, and they glint as I quickly flip it open, leafing through the pages to a specific spot.  Then I pass Cas the book.

We all wait in silence as Cas reads my hastily scrawled handwriting.  Then he flips the book shut and looks up at me, slight confusion swirling in his eyes.  I gesture for him to get on with it, then he looks down and starts reading again. 

 Suddenly Dean gets up, sliding off the bed to stand in front of me. 

“What is going on?  What’s he reading?”  Sam says from where he still sits, looking between me and Cas, who is slowly developing a fascinated understanding of the situation.

“You can’t be all righteous about us not telling each other things and then not tell us the important stuff too!”  Dean tells me, frustration evident in how he balls his hands into fists.  I feel a small twinge of regret because he is right, but mostly I just feel inexplicably proud.

“I know, and I’m sorry.”  I reach over to squeeze Dean’s arm, then I gesture to Cas.  “He’s reading my dream journal.”  Dean looks at me like he’s waiting for the punchline, complete disbelief.  

“Your dream journal?”  I nod at him and he scoffs, realizing I’m serious.  “Sorry princess, this isn’t the time to go over your darkest desires.”  It’s patronizing and it makes anger flare up in me.  I let go of his arm only to smack him instead.  It shocks him and he feigns pain, grabbing the spot.

“Don’t be a dick, Dean.”  Sam scolds, while simultaneously placating me.

“Shut up, bitch.”  Dean quips back as he sits back down on the bed, next to Cas.

“Jerk.”  Sam rolls his eyes.  “Why is your journal important?”  He adds, trying to get back on topic.  I smile at him for being reasonable and cross my arms as I open my mouth to speak.

“It’s important because I’ve been seeing her dreams as visions for years.”  Cas cuts me off and makes dead eye contact.  I can feel the color drain from my face.  Dean does a double take between the two of us.

“Years?!”  He questions and when neither of us responds he looks at Sam for clarification.  Sam holds up his hands in defense as if to say he also has no idea.  “ Guys. ” Dean interrupts and waves a hand in between us to break off the stare.  I don’t know what to say, I have no idea why Cas has been seeing my dreams.  But the little fact of years has me floored.

“All of them?”  I ask him in a tiny squeaky voice, my face squeezing in embarrassment. Thankfully though, Cas shakes his head.

“I do not seem to be privy to all of them since I have not had visions of David Bowie.”  Dean does a double take to look at me.

“Seriously?” He asks.

“I will not apologize for the musical genius of a man who is literally not of this world.  He’s a god.”  Sam laughs at that, smiling at me and shaking his head.

Dean raises his hands in surrender.  “Okay, fair point.”  

“So which ones?”  I turn back to Cas. He shrugs.

“They weren’t frequent.  They were of our world, Sam and Dean, different monsters, things happening at the time.  I was beginning to think it was a side effect of almost becoming human since all of them seemed to be steeped in..”

“Anxiousness.”  I finish for him.

“Cas, you thought you developed anxiety?” Sam asks

“Can angels even get mental illness?”  Dean wonders. 

“Guys, rude ”  I tell them, and they give me twin bitch faces.  “You don’t just confront someone about their anxiety, ”  I say with a shrug.  “Anyway, they’re my dreams.  I remember them.  I was… worried about you.”  

Cas narrows his eyes at this but chooses not to say anything.  He knows it’s more than that, but I’m glad he doesn’t say.  

“Well then, Cas, what made you change your mind and realize you weren’t just..” Sam tries to ask with more sensitivity.  

But Dean finishes with, “Off your angel mojo meds?”  I shoot Dean a pointed look, but he just shrugs.

“Well, up until the last vision… err, dream.  I had only ever seen things I knew of.  But when I saw you, and your world with us in it…”

“You realized you had stumbled into a whole different enchilada.”  Dean finishes for Cas.  “Which is nice and all, but how the hell does this slumber party talk factor into us getting home?  There’s-”

“We’ll figure it out Dean, relax,”  Sam says as he runs his fingers through his hair, clearly exhausted.  Dean’s eyes land on Cas and they stare at each other, having a silent conversation all on their own and very different from the one I’d seen between Dean and Sam.  I give Sam the most sympathetic look, which confuses him for a second before he notices, then he just nods and rolls his eyes.  All the damn time , I see him mouth, which makes me cough to hide a laugh.  

“I have a few ideas, anyway…” I tell them, and the enamored boys turn to me with expectant and questioning looks respectively.  “But they’ll have to wait until morning.  I’ll call in an emergency favor and we’ll figure it out.  For right now, though, I need sleep.”  Feeling my eyes grow heavy as the adrenaline of the situation finally starts to wear off.  I see Sam nodding in agreement and stifle a yawn at the thought of sleep.  “One of you can sleep here with me, the other two can go upstairs to the spare room.”  Dean looks like he wants to argue at first, probably some ingrained instinct to not get split up, but then quickly raises his hand, his qualms forgotten.

“Dibs!” Dean calls and jumps into my bed.  I roll my eyes at his antics, then stand up to lead the other two upstairs with a grand gesture.  I quickly dash into my closet for spare linens and pillows.  Making sure to grab my longer blankets because, hello, Sam is a freaking giant and as I search I hear whispering.  

“So… we’ve all just decided to trust her?”  That’s Dean’s voice, sounding surprisingly sincere instead of incredulous.

“Yes.  But we don’t really have another choice.”  Cas responds. Ouch man, and I thought we had a connection.  I shake it off though, reminding myself once again that they have every right to be as freaked out by this situation as I do.

“I like her. And I’ve got this freaky feeling that she is the best option.”  Finally, Sam, coming in and saving my precious ego.  Feeling the smoothness of the comforter I want I yank it out with some difficulty.  Then, just because I think I’m funny, and not because I think he needs it, I pull out my TARDIS blanket for Cas.  It’s extra long and the softest thing possible, I’m hoping at least Sam will see the humor in it.  

“By the way… you have a really big closet and like… a lot of clothes.”  I hear Sam say from the doorway, making me jump.  

“Thank you?” I respond, kneeling on the ground with elbows deep in blankets.  Sam just nods as I procure two pillows and then stand to face him.  I nod back at him, unsure what to say after my eavesdropping fest.  Cas comes into view next to Sam and I smile at him.  

“Anyway.”  Tired of the momentary awkwardness, which is 95% on my part, I leave the closet and head out the door, then jog quickly up the small flight of stairs.  From there it’s just a left turn 180 degrees and up the stairs.  Repeat once more and we’re standing outside the spare bedroom door, precariously across from my dad’s room.  

I open the door and flick on the light revealing a room, much smaller than my own, but one that was actually intended to be a bedroom(compared to mine).   The opposite wall is accented with a deep shiny purple and a bright teal curtain over the window.  In the room is a warm brown T style bunk bed with no lower bunk.  In its stead is a large red armchair and ottoman decorated generously with large white flowers, a bookshelf stacked with old trophies, a desk(attached to the bunk bed), and an old dresser with a large oval mirror attached.  I glance back and see Sam shutting the door behind us, then he turns and grimaces at the accommodations. 

“Bunk beds?”  His face squishes funny and I laugh to myself.

“It’s memory foam.”  I offer with a half-hearted shrug.  There’s not much else to say, it was too small for me even when I was a teenager 

“Dibs.”  Cas says, almost mocking Dean from earlier and shocking the hell out of Sam as he climbs the ladder, settling down amongst stuffed animals and a furry blanket.

“But Cas, you don’t even need to sleep!”  I cough to cover a laugh, Sam is practically whining.  Plus Cas’ following bitch face makes the situation even better.

“It took quite a lot of energy to get us here, Sam.”  Then Cas scoops up the large stuffed cat and squishes her to his chest, collapsing backwards with a sigh.  Sam stands stupefied next to me as I watch Cas gingerly pet the faux animal.  “Does she have a name?”

“Blizzard.”  I respond, a bright smile on my face. I’d always hoped the fanon that Cas loved cats was true.  

“Why does Blizzard have burn marks?”  Cas asks, turning wide eyes on me, almost as if I might have injured her on purpose once upon a time.

“She got into a fight with a night light a long time ago, unbeknownst to me.”  Cas nods gravely.

“She’s a fighter.”  Cas commends, then gently sets the cat next to him.  I shake my head, still unable to believe my luck just being in this situation, then I toss him the blue blanket.  

“You two are ridiculous.”  Sam says off handedly, and makes his way to the chair, giving up on his fight.

“We’ll blow up an air mattress tomorrow Sam.”  I console him as I pass over the blankets and pillows.  Sam doesn’t say anything, but I can tell the mention of him staying multiple days discourages him a bit.  

“Thank you for this, you didn’t have to do any of it.”  I smile at Sam, and shake my head in disbelief.  “You could have just kicked us out into the street, or I don’t know, had a real gun and shot at us.  Cause that’s happened.”  Then Sam laughs lightly, thinking back on worse times clearly. 

“I would never forgive myself if I kicked you guys out.  Nor would the fandom.  But for what it’s worth, they would never believe me anyway.”  I say with a dismissive shrug. Sam just gives me one of his little smiles that is so genuine it makes my heart squeeze.  Sam’s thankful for me .  I’ll save the celebratory dance for later.  “I’ll come to wake you guys up in the morning if you’re not up.  My dad will leave for work at 7ish.  Otherwise, keep the door locked and the light off, capiche?”  

They both nod and I take that as my cue.  I’ve never been great at goodbyes, no matter how temporary.  So I don’t wish them goodnight, just tuck tail and get out of there before I trip over my own tongue anymore. 

The trip back downstairs is steeped in thought of what ifs and what next and what about .  It’s a never-ending cycle of confusion, unsureness, and anxiety.  What if I can’t help them?  Will they just leave to find something else?  What happens next if we find a way back would I- no, it’s way too early to consider that.  What about the boys?  What if they didn’t want to leave?  Knowing their universe needs them, I don’t know if I could just stand by and let them stay here, but also… knowing they could be truly happy here.  Free from fear.  But here they’d be doppelgangers, they’d have to live a quiet life.  Hell, they’d probably love that.  

I find myself just outside my room, the door still partially open.  These thoughts are totally ridiculous.  Not to mention, something I totally should not be worried about unless they actually happen.  Man, fuck anxiety.  I take a deep breath and re-enter my room, shutting my door behind me without looking up.  Then, slowly, I walk around the divider and see Dean. 

 I know I’ve been pretty dang good at holding in the fangirling.  But, honest to Chuck, here is the Dean Winchester lounging on my bed.  He’s procured a pair of grey sweatpants and has stripped off his henley to reveal a plain white t-shirt.  His bare feet are crossed at the ankles and his arms are on his stomach as he squints at his phone.

“Do you have signal?”  I ask as I walk back into the closet to find a pair of shorts and make myself more decent for sharing a bed with a virtual stranger.  When I re-emerge I shut off the light and pull the closet door shut.

“Yeah, surprisingly.  No internet, just cell service.  Though I don’t think I’d reach anyone I know if I were to call them.”  He watches me approach the bed and I purse my lips in thought, crossing my arms.

“Well, you could try anyway.  See what happens?”  It’s probably a bad idea, but Dean tilts his head back and forth at the suggestion anyway, weighing the pros and cons. “Worst case scenario is you get to make a prank call.”  I give him a mischievous smile which Dean returns in full. Quickly he pulls up his contacts while I jump over him to settle into my spot.

“Who should I call?”  He wonders as I check my own phone quickly and see that it’s just after midnight.  I hum in thought and drop my phone back to the bed.

“Bobby?” 

 Dean mulls it over for a second and then nods, scrolling to the contact and tapping the call button.  Dean puts the device to his ear and I lean in right next to him to hear it ring.

“Hello?” Comes the sound of a gruff and familiar voice.  Chances were very high this was not Bobby, but before I could stop him Dean said,

“Bobby!” In a voice of disbelief, eyes bugging out I shake my head fervently, with no other way to warn him.

“Jensen?... Why are you calling me this late?” I watch Dean freeze, eyes going vacant as the reality of the situation sets in.  I’m able to snatch the phone from his ear.

“Jim?” I ask, knowing any other possibility wouldn’t make sense.

“Danneel, is that you now? What’s going on?”  

“Sorry about that, Jen’s just a little past his bedtime.”  I tell him with as much apology in my voice as I can muster.

“Yeah, and I’ll bet he’s been indulging in some adult juice too, hasn’t he?” I laugh lightly, thankful that for once the actors on a show are exactly as close as they appear to be.  Dean’s eyes are still shell shocked and staring at me wondering just how fucked he’s gotten himself this time.

“You got us there, Jim.  Well, I’ll let you go.  Sorry for the drunk dial.  I’m just glad I caught him before he started ranting about how he hopes Bobby never ever dies and leaves him like John did.”  I can hear Jim chuckle on the other line; it makes me smile that somehow this has either happened before… or I’m just a really convincing Danneel.  Either way, I’m happy.

“Have a goodnight Dani.  And keep a close eye on that husband of yours.”   I know Dean hears that cause his eyes go even wider and he mouths ‘I have a wife?’ at me.  I wave him off.

“I will. Night!”  Then hanging up the phone, I turn to meet Dean’s eyes as I let out a low whistle. “Well that was a close one.”

“Is she hot?”  Dean asks, gazing at me with a goofy smile on his face.

“Who, Jim?” I tease.

“My wife .” 

I roll my eyes at him. 

“She’s not your wife.  She’s Mrs. Danneel Harris Ackles.  Jensen Ackles’ wife.”  

Dean just stares at me, blinks once and then says,“But is she hot?”

“God, you’re insufferable.”  He gives me these puppy dog eyes that make me cave.  

“Fine.  Yes, she’s very hot.  Totally fuckable.  Happy?”  He gives me a blinding smile, mulling that over.  The silence stretches on and I’m about to suggest that he turns off the light so we can sleep when he turns to me with this weird wistful look in his eyes.

“Do they have any kids?” His voice is timid, almost like he doesn’t want to know but desperately needs to.  Needs to know that in some other universe some other version of him might just be happy. 

 I give him a little half smile then reach over to take his hand.  

“Not yet, but Daneel is due sometime in May.”  I tell him, and wait for his reaction.  It’s a slow one, like the last snow thawing in a Minnesota April.  But when it finally arrives he looks happy, if not a little sad, but mostly happy.  The moment lasts long enough that Dean’s gaze drifts away from me to stare up at the ceiling as he slides down the pillows of my bed.  He takes our twined hands and puts them onto his chest with a great sigh.  I reach over him to click off the bedside lamp, darkness closing in around us. Just as I’m leaning back into place Dean speaks.

“Wanna make a baby?”  

“Dean!” I scold and smack his chest with our twined hands which I promptly drop.

I settle back onto my pillow, snuggling into it.  Just when sleep seems within reach I feel Dean roll over next to me and his eyes staring at my face.   I glance at him and then look back up at the ceiling.  He doesn’t stop staring, so with a frustrated sigh I roll over to face him.

“I swear if you come onto me again I’ll-”

“No, it’s not that.  Promise.”  He says through a chuckle.  “Although, you didn’t say no.”  His hand is on my arm and heat creeps up my cheeks and for the love of CHUCK will I get flustered every time these boys do or say anything even remotely sexual.  

“What then?”  I say, obviously exasperated.  But Dean doesn’t laugh again which makes me think it might actually be something.  Nor does he answer right away which gets my mind spinning on the anxiety ferris wheel all over again.

“How much do you know about me?”  Oh okay, that’s a… well it could have been a way more loaded question.  This one’s only like… half a minefield.  I smile at him, a shy little thing and look off to the side.  “That bad, huh?” I laugh lightly at that and before I can stop my mouth I speak.

“You’re my favorite character if that helps?” No, no it doesn’t you total idiot.  Foot in mouth NOW.  Dean just gives me the most devious look, I mean it’s positively wolfish.  He’s lit up by the moonlight and surrounded by the pillows and blankets of my bed.  Hand touching my arm, he gives it a little squeeze and rubs his thumb lightly.  All of it makes my insides tingle and yet another blush spread over my freckled cheeks.

“Am I now?”  His eyes are positively twinkling as he takes his hand and trails it lightly up my arm.  I shouldn’t have given him the ego boost after telling him off for the come ons.  I’m a horrible traffic cop giving off mixed signals.  So, it’s only fitting that I smack his hand away.  That’s twice now tonight I’ve slapped off Dean Winchester’s advances.  Am I really a fan girl?  Honestly, when did I become this sensible?

“Knock it off, Winchester.”  I laugh lightly, still feeling awkward about my confession despite the positive response.  I can tell that behind his bravado, Dean actually wants an answer but doesn’t want to admit it.  He’s watching my face and waiting, not at all put off by my rejection.  So I give in, again.  This boy is making a softy out of me.  “The show starts where the books do, except I expect the show is more intimate than the books since we can see you.”  I pause for a moment and close my eyes to collect my thoughts.  When I open them Dean is still there, just a breath away.  I reach up, despite better judgement, but right on track with the mixed signal side of things.  Gently, my fingertips trace over the side of his face.

“I’m still coming to grips with the fact that you’re real.  Like, you’re actually right in front of me, in my bed real.”  I suck in a breath and bite my bottom lip as I pull away from his face.

“Do you want me to pinch you?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Stop it!”  I chide and roll my eyes.  “I know a lot but I don’t know everything.  I know the story but not the person.”  Dean nods at this.

“And I don’t know you at all.”

“Nope.” I let the ‘p’ pop out in finality.  Then after a moment I can feel my eyes drifting shut, the adrenaline crash finally kicking in.  “Dean?”

“Hm?”

“Can we sleep now?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.”

“Cool.  

It’s not long after that I start to drift off, sending out a silent prayer to Chuck, of all beings, that they would all still be here come morning.  It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life for an adventure to start and I’m beyond ready.  I fall asleep to the sound of Dean breathing next to me and the feel of my heart beating out the rhythm for a new future.

* * *

Chapter Text

  Chapter 2

I wake slowly the next morning.  Two snoozed alarms later and I was still comfy as I snuggled into the warmth next to me, thoroughly in a deliriously dozy haze.  I can feel something fuzzy pressing into my cheek and a heavy, warm weight holding down my arm as tingles shoot up and down it.  I smell pine and musk and something dark I’m not quite able to describe.  I try to flex my tingling arm as the sensation begins to sprout with pain and swish my tongue around in my mouth.  My eyes leisurely open one at a time breaking through a thin layer of crust.  I see my dark blue ceiling covered in stars coming into focus above me, noticing the soft glow of sunlight from the tiny window.  Watching the dust motes dance lazily through the air.

It hits the point where my arm begins to throb so I glance down and find an eyeful of sandy brown hair.

Oh… that’s right. Dean .

Memories of last night flood my brain and I start to smile as my spare hand comes up to rub my forehead in disbelief.  My thoughts start rolling around. What now?  What do I do now? What do WE do now? The boys have spent the night, but what comes next?  

Getting them home.  My brain supplies like it’s an obvious solution and not a totally impossible concept until yesterday.  Yesterday when the characters of a TV show appeared in my bedroom.

Yeah totally normal.

Suddenly, I realize that I can’t keep this to myself, despite all the effort I went through last night just to keep my father from stumbling into it.  With my mind made up I start shifting my arm, simultaneously encouraging my bed mate awake.

“Wake up, Winchester.”  Then I use my other hand to boop his nose.  He wrinkles it in response then lifts up his hand that was across my abdomen (Which, I somehow failed to notice.  Weird. ) and rubs his nose, then he drops it back where it was and hugs me closer.  A squeak escapes me in surprise.

“Mmm.  Don’t wanna.”  Dean mumbles and nuzzles down into my shoulder, which makes me laugh this light airy chuckle.

“Too bad.”  I tell him and hear him let out a huge bear of a sigh.  I finally free my arm, shaking it out to get the blood flowing properly, but Dean is still holding me captive.  I sigh and look down at him to see his little smile but his eyes are still stubbornly closed.

“I didn’t know you were so cuddly.”  I tell him with mild defeat slumping into my shoulders and I run my hand over his hair.  He hums in appreciation as I lightly scratch his scalp.

“Bet there’s still a few other things you don’t know, Ms. Alternate Universe.”

“I’ll accept the crown for now… But… technically,”  I drawl out the last word and tap my fingers on his arm.  “You’re from the ‘Alternate Universe’ since you’re in my universe.”  I laugh at myself and Dean picks his head up from my shoulder to give me a weird smile.  “God, this is so insane.”  Quickly I take advantage of the new position and slip out of Dean’s grasp and jump off the bed.

“Yeah, I know.”  Dean says then scrubs a hand over his face.  I smirk at him and start to gather up my hair into a loose bun.  Dean stares at me the whole time and I try not to look at him but it’s a heavy stare.

“You can’t keep doing that.”  I scold him.  He gives me an innocent look from where his head rests in his hand, propped up on an elbow.  He opens his mouth to object, probably, and I point a finger at him.  “You know exactly what.”  Dean shuts his mouth and holds up his hands in surrender.  “I just met you, okay? So… I can’t just act like I’ve known you forever.  Especially because you don’t know me at all .”  I finish my rant and start off toward my closet.

“You’re right.”  He says and I turn back to look at him.  His feet dangle off the bed as he sits up.  I raise my eyebrows expectantly, hoping he might continue.  “I should take you out for a drink first.”  A devilish smile crosses his face and I groan as I walk into the closet, away from him.

“You’re impossible Dean Winchester.”  I call out.  I hear chuckling behind me in response.

"That wasn't a 'no', so I'm taking it as a win!" When I come back out to the room Dean has changed back into his jeans and is pulling on a t-shirt.  I suck in a breath at the sight of his smooth, lightly tanned skin just before it disappears under the black cotton material.  I swallow thickly watching him do a quick smell check then shrug and go to grab his flannel off the couch.  He sees me and gives me a lazy lopsided smile as he pulls on the green and black flannel.  “We’re gonna need to get you more clothes.  And… other necessities.” 

Dean’s smile drops and his jaw clenches.

“We’re not gonna be here long enough for that.”  He turns toward the bed to fix the blankets and pillows.  I give him a sympathetic look behind his back and grab his arm lightly.  He’s fluffing a pillow but he drops his hands to the bed at the contact and turns to look at me.  I rub his arm lightly but bite my tongue to hold in all the more realistic thoughts that he may be stuck here for a while.

“Maybe just borrow some deodorant?”  I suggest and he smiles at me while reaching over to pat my hand, then he goes back to his task.  Feeling better about the situation I walk away saying as I go, “I need to make a call.  Use whatever you need to from the bathroom. Toothbrush.  Make up.  Shower.  Whatever.”

“Where is it?”

“Up the stairs, to the left.”

“Got it.”

Then I’m out of the bedroom, up the half flight of stairs, across the family room and out the sliding glass door next to the bathroom.  It’s warmish outside, to a native northerner, temperature hanging just above 50 degrees fahrenheit.  It’s a nice day for late March.  The 30th to be exact, it’s almost April.  The sun shines down on me in my black tank top and black leggings, and my feet easily walk between the melting piles of snow still littering the back patio area.  I walk over to the covered porch and hop up into one of the tall chairs.  The wind blows softly, giving the air a slight chill despite the bright sun, and goosebumps start to form on my arms.  Pulling out my phone my thumb deftly unlocks the device and pulls up the contact Sarahhhh .  I press the smooth surface to my ear and hear the trill ringing.  

“Hello?”  Answers a very confused voice.

“You’re not gonna believe this until you see it.  So I need you to get over here now.  It’s an emergency.”  I tell the voice on the other side, then I pause to let her process.  

“You’re serious.”

“Deadly.”

“ Shit .  What’s going on?!”

“Like I said, you won’t believe me if I tell you.”  I hear a sigh on the other end and run my fingers through my hair.  

“Fine.  I’m coming.  You want Caribou?”

“Yes!”  I say with relief.

“Hot chocolate?”

“Yes, but make it two.  And two coffee’s.  One sweetened, the other black.”  I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the response.

“What the fuck ?!”

“Trust me.  We need it.  Emergency and all.”  I huff a laugh and I hear some grumbling and shuffling on the other end.  

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Perfect. Love you!”

“Yeah, you better.”  I sigh a breath of relief as I tuck my phone into the elastic waistband of my leggings and stand up.  I hop swiftly back into the house before the chill can settle in, and almost run into Dean coming out of the bathroom.  He looks flustered and drops his gaze down as he rubs the back of his neck.

“I- uh… used your toothbrush.”

“Kinky.”  I say with a smirk.  He glances up at me like he wants to say something else but he doesn’t.  “Okay. Well, let’s go wake up your brother and angel.”

“Right.”  Dean says slowly with a nod and wipes his palms on his pants.  I nod back and take off up the stairs to my left, passing through the kitchen rounding the corner and up the second flight to the spare bedroom where I pause to knock.  Cas opens the door and my brain freezes for a minute on the sight of him.  Damn all these boys and their astonishingly good looks.

“Is it safe to leave the room?”  Cas asks.  I laugh and nod glancing around Cas to see Sam still asleep, stretched treacherously between the chair and the ottoman, making himself a human bridge between the two.  I hear Dean chuckle behind me then he pushes past me and Cas, pulling out his phone to take a picture of the moose.  I roll my eyes at the two and signal for Cas to follow me.  He nods and we leave the upper hall, down the stairs, and pass through the living room to the dining room where we sit at the table, a moderate size mahogany one with four chairs around it and two off to the side.  Cas sits kitty corner to me and I angle myself to face him, he copies me and our knees bump.  It seems the moments of how surreal this all is haven’t stopped yet, cause here I am, bumping knees with Castiel.   I clasp my hands together on the table and twiddle my thumbs.  Cas’ gaze is trained out the window just to his left of behind me, where the nice blue sky with the wispy stratus clouds are visible.  His gorgeous blue eyes reflect the sky, he’s so pretty it makes me sad.

“Do you want cereal?”  I offer and Cas looks at me, tilts his head, his eyes sparkling with amusement and curiosity

“I don’t-”

“I know Cas, I’m trying to be polite.”  Cas shuts his mouth and nods.

“No thank you.” He responds.  I smile at him for using such a simple human expression.  He gives me a little smile back.  I fidget with my fingers some more, squirming in my seat.  Castiel tilts his head slightly, squinting his eyes to observe me and I have to look away, not used to someone with such a penetrating stare.  “What is it you want to tell me?”  Asks Cas’ grumbly voice with low tones.  I huff out a laugh.

“Whoever said you don’t understand humans is a liar.”  I tell him and he smirks at me, waiting for me to go on.  “Right.  Well…”  I sigh.  “I had another dream.”  I say softly, barely audible.  

“I know.”  I look up at Cas in surprise. 

“Wow.  Okay, uh… I can’t tell if that’s weird or cool or creepy.”  There’s Cas’ smirk again and it makes me smile, a relaxing feeling floats into my body.  He makes me feel better about the craziness of all this.  Whereas Dean just keeps me on my toes, constantly having to check my peripherals, afraid I might crash… and Sam is just like, a new pair of glasses that aren’t quite the right prescription.  Blurry, the whole world looks jarring around him.  Cas is calmness, a message in a bottle that you can just pluck out of the raging ocean.  

“It would appear we are connected.”

“I think I’ve decided.. And that’s really cool.”  I give Cas a bright smile and he smiles back, then looks down shyly.  He’s positively adorable and no one can convince me otherwise.  Precious cinnamon roll doesn’t even come close.  Wait… what were we talking about?  Oh yeah, freaky cool dream mind connection thingy. “Well, what are we gonna do about it then?”  I look at Cas with slightly panicked eyes.  He reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ll just… cross that bridge when we come to it.”  Despite trying to control myself, I laugh at Cas’ use of metaphor, just a derisive snort comes out.  That’s when Dean decides to make his reappearance with Sam as they come clambouring down the stairs, both of them laughing till Dean shoves Sam who goes sprawling over one of the tan leather couches in my living room.  I catch Cas’ eyes and we’ve both got wistful smirks on our faces.  The same thought crosses our minds… If only they could be this happy everyday .

“I’m gonna gather up some computers for you guys.”  I say as I stand.  “If you want cereal or something for breakfast, just scour the kitchen for whatever.”  Dean nods, licks his lips, and heads for the kitchen.  Sam manages to push himself to a sitting position.

“You want some help?”  Sam asks, and I nod at him gratefully. 

“Coffee should be here soon too.”  I tell all of them, Dean makes an appreciative noise as he rifles through the cereal options and selects one.  Good ole Marshmallow Mateys.  I head for the stairs.

“I knew I liked you.”  Dean says, I roll my eyes without turning back, Sam follows me.  We’ve just reached the bottom of the stairs when Sam speaks up, reaching out to grab my elbow.  

“I just wanna say thank you, Allie.  For letting us stay and helping us find our way back.  Summoning Dean coffee, this has been the least stressful escapade in a while.”  I smile kindly at him.  

“You should knock on wood.”  Sam chuckles and obliges, rapping on the support beam.  “Honestly, what kind of fan would I be if I just turned you out in the cold?”  That makes Sam laugh.

“I’m also really glad you’re not like Becky.”  I shudder at the name,  

“Yeah, she’s like the perfect example of how not to be a fan.”  With that I turn into the basement, hopping down the few steps, and into my room.  I rummage for a second before coming up with an iPad, a charger, and a bluetooth keyboard.  My thoughts are swirling with all that’s happening.  It’s like, no matter what’s going on I can’t escape the racing thoughts honing in on the improbability of all of this.  The real people sitting in my house who feel as if the entire world rides on their shoulders.  “Will they be alright up there?”  I glance at Sam and see his confused face, clearly not privy to my train of thought, before realization dawns on him.  In the end he just shakes his head.

“I don’t know.  Dean’s been super irritable and upset lately.  Anytime I ask about what happened in that crypt.”  I grimace and turn around to go rummage in another part of my room, under the bed.  So it’s exactly as bad as I thought it might be.  Awesome.  Well, at least Dean currently has a bowl of cereal to occupy his big mouth, so the chances of a fight are slightly minimized.  

“It wasn’t good, Sam.  I could tell you what happened, and I will if it becomes a problem, but for now I hope he’ll tell you on his own.”  Sam scoffs at that as I pull out a large red laptop and charging cord to pass to him.  

“Yeah and we both know how that works.”  I nod to that sentiment and then head out of my room.  

“Maybe they’ll just work it out on their own.”  I say hopefully, but I know neither of us really believe that.  The Winchester way of ‘working it out’ often involves fists in other people’s faces.  Which, needless to say, is completely toxic and not constructive at all.  As we pass through the family room I make a detour to snag another laptop and charger.

“Uhhh… why do you have so many electronics if it’s just the two of you living here?”  I laugh at that as I wrap the cord and turn back to him, it’s a bitter sound though, and Sam notices a concerned look etched into his face.

“Well… besides just the fact that Dad and I like them?”  I pause and glance away.  “My mom died a few months ago.  So we kinda have extra now.”  Sam stalls behind me momentarily, but easily takes a giant step to catch up just as I’m passing through the entryway and up the stairs into the living room, which are parallel to the set of stairs that lead up into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”  And I do, I know Sam of all people is sincere.  I turn back to him once we reach the top and he manages to put a hand on my shoulder despite his arm load.  “You get it.  I’m fine.  I don’t need to talk right now.”  I cross the living room and round the corner of the couch, ending up right next to the dining room, stepping up to a medium brown leather recliner, a set of two.  The chair is covered in a thin layer of dust and next to it is a small striped ottoman.  I flip open the lid of it and pull out another. slightly larger, iPad.

“But if-”  Sam starts

“If I need to, I’ll find you.”  When we turn to face the table Dean has a look of confusion on his face, spoon halfway to his open mouth.  Cas on the other hand, already knows.  I ignore Dean and start passing out devices, iPads first.  My mom’s goes to Cas and my old one goes to Dean, along with the wireless keyboard.  I let Sam keep the laptop he’s holding then I sit at the head of the table, seeing as Dean has stolen my previous spot.  Sam, meanwhile, takes the last empty chair at the table, furthest from the kitchen, but with the best view of the entire room.

“Alright, here’s the drill.”  I say as I whip open my laptop and unlock it with ease.  I quickly open up my browser and start adjusting settings for the other devices.  “We need to find a way for you all to get back to your universe and solve the shit going on there.  Now, I’ve preemptively locked down all searches regarding anything to do with the show, your name’s, your counterpart name’s, and I completely blocked off tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook.”  They all give me incredulous looks that to switch to varying degrees of impressed.  “Just to be safe.”  I clarify by holding up a hand.  

“Holy shit.”  Dean breathes out.  “You must be some kind of… computer super genius!”  I laugh at that and Sam gives his brother the most patronizing look from across the table.  

“No, I only know a little more than the basics.”

“And you don’t understand computers, so it all seems impressive to you.”  Sam adds.  Dean shoots Sam a bitch face and I laugh again.  Cas is rolling his eyes across from me.

“Well, I’m no Charlie, and I’m guessing Sam could easily get around the blockage if he tried, but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt he won’t try to.”  I give the aforementioned Winchester a distinct look.  He smiles at me and I really hope that means he’s going to behave.  “Anyway.  Let’s go at this like a research paper.  All of us take our own approach, copy and paste anything relevant into your own google doc I’ve just set up for you.”  I hit enter on the last doc, all titled neatly with each person’s name.  “Dean, you’re Cas’ gopher if he needs help operating the iPad, but Cas, first thing I want you to do is type up any relevant info you already know.”  Cas nods and I smile brightly.  “Any questions?”

“You’re very organized.”  Cas comments.

“Thank you.”  I say with a wink.  “I wear it with pride.”  Sam, who has already started typing away pipes up.

“Who’s Sarah?”  I blink at him for a moment, then it occurs to me, facebook messenger had been left open on that computer which could only mean...

“Oh right!  Coffee!”

“Coffee?” Dean asks hopefully just as the sound of the back door creaking open reaches our ears.  The door shuts with a heavy clunk and all the boys turn in the general direction, then glance back to me.

“Who did you bring into this?”  Dean asks in a hushed angry tone.

“Another expert!”  I snap back as an explanation and quip all in one.

“Another fan you mean?”  Sam asks and he also has a disapproving frown.

“Allie!”  Sarah calls,  “Help me carry this shit.”  I look between the unhappy brothers and the stairway in the kitchen.  I feel panic start to creep in.  

“Go.”  Cas says, meeting my eyes with a calming gaze that tells me he trusts me and that he’ll talk to the boys.  I nod my thanks and dash down the stairs, catching Sarah right at the bottom of them.  In a rush I pull her back down the stairs and more into the family room.  

“Woah, woah.  Hey! Ok.  What the fuck?”  She says but she goes where I pull her, the carrier of cups in her hand slosh a little bit.  “Who are you talking to up there?”  She asks and I meet her eyes carefully.  

“The emergency.”  

“Uh okay.”  She rolls her eyes.  “So what’s the problem?  It’s nine a.m. on a Saturday and you have me show up at your house with 5 Caribou orders.”  I give her a pained shrug and take a deep breath to hoard inside of me.  I let it out quick and sharp as I speak.

“What you’re about to see is gonna seem crazy but I promise you, I am NOT playing a joke on you.  Okay?  Even though it seems impossible, it’s real.”  Sarah scoffs but then sees my serious expression and quickly sobers.  

“Yeah, okay.  It’s real.  Not a joke.  Got it.”  She concedes and I let out the rest of that breath.  

“Okay, give me those.  And let’s go upstairs.”  Sarah passes over the drinks without complaint.  Then we turn and head through the entryway and up the stairs into the living room.  For the moment Sarah can’t see past me, which is probably for the best.  Until Sarah’s curiosity gets the better of her.

“Allie just-”  Sarah practically shoves me to the side so she can finally see the people at the table.  “Uhhh.  Woah.  What. What?!”  All three men are staring back at her, three faces only ever seen on the small screen in poor quality.  Sam speaks first, standing to attempt an introduction, stretching out his hand. 

“Hey.  I’m Sam-”

“Winchester.  Yeah.”  Sarah’s voice is breathy with disbelief, she shakes his hand, eyes wide and turns back to Allie.

“I’m guessing we don’t need to introduce ourselves.”  Dean says and Sarah turns back to him.  

“No… just,”  Sarah flips back to Allie again.  “What the hell are the Winchesters and Castiel doing in your dining room!”  She’s practically yelling which makes me wince as I start distributing drinks.  

“Guys, this is Sarah.  My best friend.”  I tell them, then respond to Sarah herself.  “It’s kinda complicated.. “  I set a cup in front of each man then answer their curious looks.  “Black for Sam.  Mocha for Dean.  Hot chocolate for Cas.”  All the boys, but Dean in particular, give me appreciative looks.  

“Thank you.”  Sam says and the other two nod in agreement. My phone chooses the next moment to start blaring the SPN credit theme.

“Oh crap.  I gotta get that.  Sam, will you…?”  I ask and nod towards Sarah.

“Yep.”  He answers, I smile at him then dash off down the stairs.  Securing my phone from where I’d apparently left it on one of the couches in the family room, I quickly decline the call, and quietly creep closer to the stairs to listen.  Sometimes you just gotta dive in head first, a bucket of cold water to the head can break the shell shock.  It would do Sarah good.

“So basically, Cas and Allie are connected somehow, so Cas decided to drag us to this universe.  Which is a way to protect the angel tablet from Naomi.  Now we’re working on ways to get back.”  Sam finishes his rough explanation, thankfully Cas chimes in.

“However, Allie has blocked us from looking up any info about ourselves in this universe.”  Alright well… that wasn’t exactly pertinent information.  But at least they’re trying, I think.

“And now here you are, and you brought us coffee.  You’re all caught up.  Can we get to work now?”  Dean is definitely still annoyed.

“Alright.  Got it.  So, you’re acting out a new version of The French Mistake for her.”  I have to restrain myself from face palming at the fact that my best friend still can’t believe what’s in front of her.  The resounding silence from the chorus should be answer enough but  Sarah keeps rolling.  “Seriously, you can drop the act while it’s just us and tell me… is this some ‘Make-a-Wish’ thing?”  Dean laughs at that.

“Isn’t that some program for kids with cancer?”  Cas asks.

“Shit, you think she’s dying?”  Dean adds, then laughs again.

“Guys, she just thinks we’re the actors-”  Poor Sam, trying to bring clarity to an insane situation. 

“Of course you’re actors!  There’s no way this is real.  So just knock it off!”  She’s sounding borderline hysterical.  Jesus what have I gotten us into?

“Is Allison really so dramatic as to not tell you she’s dying and stage an elaborate thing like this?”  Sam asks and I wince from my eavesdropping position.  There’s a few moments of silence as, what I suspect, is Sarah considering her answer and the boys all watching her with muted fascination.  

“Yes.”  Sarah finally responds in total deadpan.  More silence, I actually facepalm this time, making a light smacking sound.  Just like that, with one word, Sarah has sent me reeling back into the crazy fan territory.  Fantastical. Or, if not that, straight into the manipulative, secretive, and exceptionally dramatic category… which… honestly? Fair.

“I can change her mind.”  Ah Cas, my favorite voice of reason already.  The sounds of the chair scuffing backward echoes in the house, probably Cas standing up.  I quickly sneak to the base of the other stairs to easily watch the following exchange.  Only their heads are visible but that’s enough.  

“How?”  Sarah wonders, crossing her arms as Cas squares up with her.  He simply raises his hand and places two fingers on her temple.  Castiel’s eyes flash blue and Sarah gasps, stepping away.  “Oh my god!”  She covers her mouth and points at Cas.  I choose this exact moment to make my entrance, finally having been vindicated by not being an overdramatic liar.  Sarah’s pointing finger goes to the boys and then gasps again, hand dropping from her face.  “You’re real !”  She turns to me and laughs.  “They’re real.”  I nod at her and grab her arm, rubbing up and down firmly.  Hopefully grounding her in reality.  And keeping her from passing out, just in case that might be an option for her.

“Sarah, are you-”

“I’m fine.  It’s just, wow.  Okay.”  Sarah’s gaze turns back to Cas.  “So you’re actually an..?”  

“Angel.  Yes.”  Something twinkles in Sarah’s eye while staring at Cas.  

“Wow.” Then she swallows and tears her eyes away from him.  “So, you’re all here from an alternate universe where everything we’ve ever seen on your TV show actually happened.”  Then she plops down on the arm of the couch just behind her, her words settling like the reality altering infinity stone in her stomach.  I rub her back sympathetically.  

“I know.  It’s very Twilight Zone in here right now.”  I tell her as Cas sits back down.  She laughs.

“There’s probably a universe for that too.”  Sarah says with the tone of someone in a dream-like state. I hum in thought at that.

“Who would have thought the multiverse was full of TV shows.”  Sarah looks at me and smiles.

“Makes you wonder what TV show we’re in.”  She adds and I shrug in agreement. 

“Not to cut the revelations short, but we’ve got work to do if we’re ever gonna get back to our universe.”  Dean interjects.

“Sorry, you’re right.  Research time.”  Sarah says with a nod and claps her hands.  “My laptop is in the car.”  Then she’s up and moving.  We all watch her go.  After a moment I stand up and scoot around Dean to grab a spare chair.  Breaking up the head of the table into two spots, I take the one closer to Dean. 

“So… she’s an expert?”  Dean asks and I give him an annoyed look.

“Yes.  An expert, who never dreamed any of this stuff was true, like I did.  So she’s more in shock.”  Dean nods considering this.

“I didn’t think individuals in shock could pull a fake gun out and use it to threaten others.”  Cas quips and I glare at him.

“Hey now, I-”  

“So, what you’re saying is you believe in us?”  Dean gives me a wolfish smile as Sam groans.  “Did you click your heels and wish really hard on a blue star?”  I smack his arm lightly.  Thankfully Sarah makes her reappearance, jumping up the stairs.  Then she settles into the vacant chair and dutifully opens her laptop.  We all settle into work for a bit, but before long Sam clears his throat and all of us look up at him.  

“I feel like we should learn a bit more about the two of you before we just put you to work for us…. So, tell us... What do you do?”  I nod and turn to Sarah, wondering who should go first.  She nods to me.  

“Uh, well.  I’m kinda a teacher, er- paraprofessional.  I teach a few styles of fighting and dance on the side.  I live with my dad, mom passed away a bit ago, but my dad and I always did better together rather than separate.  Uhhh… yeah.”  The boys look moderately impressed.  

“What styles of fighting?”  Dean asks with that same flirtatious smirk.  Sarah quirks an eyebrow at the interaction, but I just send my eyes skyward again.  

“Dean.”  I warn him.

“Can we spar later?”

“You’re insufferable.”  

“Anyway…” Sam interrupts and gestures politely.  “Sarah?”  She nods and clears her throat.  

“Hey, I’m Sarah Johnson.  I’m a veteran who works security detail most days, then works in a garden conservatory the other ones.”  

“What branch?”  Sam asks. 

“Army National Guard.  Eight years.”  Dean laughs and everyone looks at him.

“So we popped through the universal wall to find two bad asses who admire the cause.”  Dean gives us both a huge smile.  “Awesome.”

“I don’t think it was a coincidence.”  Cas speaks up for the first time since we all sat down.  I clear my throat, trying to chase down the embarrassed heat at the back of my neck from the way Cas is looking at me.  

“Last question.”  Dean says, putting a finger up.  “How old are you two?”

“Thirty-two.”  Sarah and I respond in sync which makes the three of them give us a weird look.  

“I’m older, by eight months.”  I add in while Sarah just rolls her eyes.

“Allie always has to add that.”  Sarah complains.

“Well I did graduate a year before you.  We can’t all be the product of baby envy.  Someone had to be the inspiration.”  I do a grand gesture with my hands.  Sam snorts and Dean actually laughs at that.  Cas gives me a little smile and then shakes his head.  Sam leans closer to Sarah and nudges her lightly.  

“Is she known for having an ego normally or is it just-”  

“Oh no.  This the norm.  Anytime you give her a compliment she just says ‘I know.’  It’s never thank you or anything.”  Sarah tells him to the sound of more laughing.  I just shrug because I can’t deny it.  

“Confidence is attractive.”  Dean tells me.  I roll my eyes at him, ignoring the comment I shoot a glance at Sarah.

“Normal is for losers.”  After that a comfortable silence lapses for a few moments until Sam speaks up again.

“Well… is there anything you’d like to know about us?” Sam asks.

“Yeah, is there even anything you don’t already know?”  Dean adds, clearly still at odds with the whole TV show thing.  He seemed to be doing better about it with just me around, but now that Sarah is here he’s back to that original level of ‘Dean hates outsiders’ angst.  

“Actually, yeah.  I do have one.”  Sarah speaks up and all eyes turn to her expectantly.  “Allie and I have this current running debate about what your Hogwarts houses are.  So, just wondering if you guys have taken the test or not?”  My eyes widen in interest.  

“It’s a double sided theory, but I still bet I’m right.  Especially now.”  I tell her.

“Well, I’m definitely a Gryffindor and Sam is totally a Ravenclaw.  He’s such a book nerd.  Cas is probably a Hufflepuff, but who knows he’s a wild card.”  Dean answers smoothly, clearly he’s thought about this before.  I smile knowingly and give Sarah a pointed look.  

“Alright, alright fine!  You win the perceived houses card.”  Sarah tells me with a huff of annoyance.  Then turning back to the boys, “But have any of you taken the official Pottermore test?”  The brother’s shake their heads but Cas just tilts his in confusion.  Sarah claps her hands excitedly.  

“We’ll have to make some fake emails.”  I tell her.

“So what?!  That’ll take you all of an extra minute.  You do set up for Dean and Cas, I’ll do Sam.”  And so it began that after some furious typing and multiple fake email accounts later, all three boys sat using a rather large amount of focus to take their quizzes.  I hover by Cas as he answers all his questions, the obscure questions confuse him so there was a lot of nudging him to listen to his gut or heart or whatever. Sarah is hovering over Sam’s shoulder when he finally shoos her away.  She plops down and waits.  On Cas’ last question I scurry over to my seat.

“When all three of you are done give me a look and then I’ll tell you all to turn your screens towards us.”  Of course because I didn’t specify I get a raised eyebrow from Sam upon his finishing… although whether that’s because of surprise or not is yet to be determined.  Cas just looks up confused and nods at me.  Then finally Dean- 

“What?! I’m a Hufflepuff ?” He’s clearly so surprised he couldn’t keep it in.  

“And that’s another point for me.”  I add, and Sarah just glowers. 

“Alright, I wanna see you two.  Spin ‘em.”  Sarah commands.  Cas’ iPad screen shows red and gold banners and Sam’s is green and black. “Aw come on! How did you even do that Allie?”  

“I’d like to think it’s the teacher in me that understands one’s motivations better than the average person.”  I say with a haughty expression. Sarah scoffs and rolls her eyes at me.  Sam looks impressed and intrigued. 

“Actually, I’d like to know the thinking behind it.” Sam asks.  I look at the three of them, Cas is still confused and Dean is pouting.  Well, this will either make him feel worse or better.

“Okay, uh.  Well, it’s pretty obvious that you Winchester boys are exceptionally brave, that’s the obvious thing.  So I’d bet pretty heavily both of your secondary houses are Gryffindor.  But I guessed this based on your core motivations.  Sam, ever since you were little you always wanted something more for life.  Not that you don’t love hunting, but you always wanted a better life for yourself.  Stanford was the epitome of your ambitions.  You’ve always been a very ambitious person.  Which is what Slytherin’s are at their core.”  Sam nods. Clearly understanding the logic there.  “It has nothing to do with your past.  Demon blood, or the vessel for the devil aside.  They don’t have anything to do with your true motivations.  And despite popular belief, Slytherin is not an evil house.  My secondary is Slytherin.  So it just made sense.  Wear it with pride.”  I smile at him and he chuckles softly and then turns to his computer, probably closing things out.

“Alright, give it to me oh sorting hat.”  Dean says and I smirk at him.  

“Like I said, you’re obviously a brave cat, Gryffindor is definitely your secondary.  But you’re a Hufflepuff because of your caring nature.  You raised Sam, you were always there when your dad wasn’t, and your dad pretty much conditioned you from a young age that taking care of Sam was the most important thing in the world.  That’s never changed for you.  You’d die for family and sacrifice for family before anything else.  Yes you’d always save the world, but if Cas, Sam, Charlie, Bobby, or anyone you care about was on the line, then they come first.   Then there’s the way you relate to kids and people in general.  That’s what makes you a Hufflepuff.”  Dean doesn’t say anything, so I take that as acceptance.  

“You gonna do Cas too?”  Sam asks.

“If he wants.”  I say while watching Cas.  

“Please.”  He tells me.  I nod and dive back in.

“Up until you pulled Dean out of hell, I doubt you even had a house.  You just didn’t have much driving motivations that weren’t typical of all angels.  But you rebelled against everything you’ve ever known for the greater good.  Leaving Dean in purgatory, going off on your own.  Taking the tablet and running with it to keep it from Naomi.  Taking a chance and opening a portal to an alternate dimension again , based on weird visions you were having.  You do these things to protect others, you do it for these two, but you also do things for the greater good.  Cas is the only true Gryffindor here because, when it comes down to it, his split second decisions are always the most brave and sometimes reckless options.”  Cas nods throughout, but remains silent at the end.  

“Huh.  You are good at that.”  Sam compliments me. 

“I know.”  I say and they all chuckle.  

“So, what’re your houses?”  Dean asks.  Sarah answers, finally getting a chance to speak again.

“I’m a Ravenclaw and Allie is a Gryffindor.”  She says and Sam scoffs.

“You’re both Gryffindor’s too?  Are you sure you two aren’t soul tied or something?”  Sam asks, mostly jokingly, of me and Cas.  We respond at the same time.

“Cas doesn’t have a soul.”

----“I don’t have a soul.”  

Then we both proceed to give eachother intrigued looks while everyone else looks confused.  

“This connection thing is starting to freak me out.”  Dean quips as he looks between the two of us.

“Can we get back to work now?”  I ask as I feel an embarrassed heat spread up my cheeks.  Silence is my answer as we all start typing and searching through various sights on the web.  Sarah and I have the advantage of getting to search through all the Supernatural related archives… or disadvantage depending on how you view it.  Since all the TV show mojo is highly unlikely to actually work in this universe.  My facebook tab lights up with a notification and I click over to see a message from Sarah.  I give her a look before reading it.  

-Msg from Sarah Johnson: We still need to talk about this ‘connection’ you have with Castiel. 

I roll my eyes and type back a response.

-Msg to Sarah Johnson: Later.  Don’t break up the studious energy right now.

I hear a big sigh from next to me.

-Msg from Sarah Johnson: Fine. :P

Chapter Text

 “Okay, that’s it.  Either my brain will melt or I will spontaneously combust.  One of the two is bound to happen.”  

“That’s exceptionally unlikely, if not next to impossible Dean.”  

“No, it’s not Cas.  I’m being completely serious and logical right now.”

“Oh relax, it’s not that bad.  My tension headache is like… level three and we’ve only been at this for-”  I check my wrist watch. “Oh, what the fuck.  Five hours?  We need to stop.”  I close my laptop and then rub at my temples.  “I take it back, it’s been horrible.  I need a drink.”

“Finally!  You’re speaking my language.”  Dean gestures towards me and pushes away his tablet.  Sam sighs at his brother and continues, but Cas also sets his device down gently.  

“Natural selection proves to be weeding out the weaker types.”  Sarah snarks and I laugh despite the dig being partially aimed at me.  

“I think I’d prefer something more… physical than the internet.”  Cas inputs.

“You mean you could keep going?  Cas, dude.  You’re fucking insane.”  Dean stands and shakes himself out.  “My ass is aching .  I need some grub too.”  Cas eyes go in a particular direction that I catch and smirk at the angel.  When Cas sees the expression he doesn’t blush like a human would, simply looks at me and raises a challenging eyebrow that knows things.  

“If you guys aren’t going to stay could you hurry up and leave?  Because you’re loud and distracting.”  Sam quips, rolling his eyes at Cas, Dean, and me.

“Yeah yeah, shut it Sammy.  We’re not as distracting as the thousand and one times I’ve watched you push your hair out of your face.”  Dean proceeds to ruffle said hair which earns him a rough shove from his brother, Dean stumbles very… ungracefully which makes everyone chuckle.  Fighting down the slight blush, Dean adjusts his flannel.  “Bitch.”

“Jerk.”  Sam counters, not even looking up as he types something else into the computer.  

“Does that mean… ‘ I love you ’ in emotionally constipated man child?”  I ask pointedly to Sarah.  

“Oh, of course.  But only after many years of studying their lowest form of evolution did we discover this fact.”  Sarah says in her best British nature documentary voice, which is admittedly horrible but still makes me laugh and smile adorably.  When the two girls catch the boys staring at them in confusion Sarah clears her throat awkwardly and also stands up.  “Uh, Cas… why don’t I show you some books we have here, and then we can run to the library for extra info?  That way Sam can have his quiet.  Oh and we can also pick up some food for this nerd herd.”  Cas shrugs and stands up.

“Sounds like a plan.”  Sam nods at them.  

“Ew, Dean.  They’re making plans… I think that’s our cue.”  I say and start to shuffle sideways out of the dining room towards the stairs.  

“Tell you what, nerds, Allie and I will remove ourselves, but we’ll go find some psychics and-  Wait do you-”  I roll my eyes and interrupt him.

“Yes, Dean.  We do have psychics.  This world isn’t that different from yours.”  Dean claps his hands together.

“Perfect.  We’ll see what the psychics say, stay out of your hair, and then reconvene in the morning.  Kapish?”  

“Whatever, Dean.”  Sam says with a sigh.  With that Dean and I hop down the stairs, eager to ditch the rest of the crew.  As we’re tugging on our shoes, Sarah and Cas come down the stairs laughing.  Dean and I give them both an odd look, then meet each other's eyes.  It’s obvious they were laughing about us.  I clear my throat and the other two stop laughing.

“Hey, Sarah, make sure to blow up some air mattresses for everyone.  I need my bed back.”  

“I don’t know.  I thought we had fun last night.”

“Shut up, Dean.”

“Yeah sure, Allie.  I’ll get them all sorted.  But… what about your Dad?”

“Oh, he left on a business trip this morning.  So I’ve got a few days before we have to bring him into this whole thing too.”  I shrug, standing up to grab my jacket, wallet, and keys.

“That’s… rather convenient.”  Cas comments, to which I just shrug.

“Even a universe devoid of magic can have small coincidences.”  Then I turn for the door Dean is already opening.  “Text me if anything comes up.”

“Yeah, we will.  Drive careful.”  Sarah responds, giving me a small smile and shooting a weirdly wary look at Dean.  

“Nope, only reckless!”  I respond and shut the door behind me, reaching for the garage opener.

“Please tell me you don’t drive some minivan.”  Dean whines.

“O, ye of little faith, Dean Winchester.”  We step out of the garage and Dean get his first glimpse of The Beast.

“That’s a-”

“Oh, I know.”  I smile at the large blue Chevy.

“But it’s-”  Dean tries to clarify.

“1999 Chevy Tahoe in dark blue.  Originally owned.  Loved to death.  You’re gonna like the penguin stickers.”  I explain, walking over and unlocking The Beast.

“Penguin stickers?!”  Dean’s voice squeaks.  I finally catch on to Dean’s judgement and level him with a hard glare.

“Oh and your army men and legos aren’t tacky?”  Dean’s mouth flaps, flabbergasted at the nerve, I raise my eyebrows, wondering if the point landed.  I pull open the door with a large metallic groaning noise and watch it click in Dean’s eyes.

“That.. sounds like Baby.”  Dean admits and walks around to the other side to get in.   I smile softly and step up into the cab.  

“Now you’re getting it.  She may not be the… conventional classic, drool worthy thing.  But she is to me.  She’s strong and tough and they just don’t make them like her anymore.  And I know she’s huge but!  You can fit an entire queen sized mattress back there.  Great for drive-ins.”  I flip the key and turn over the engine which makes a whistling noise before starting up with a solid rumbling.  Dean nods and bounces slightly in his seat as he shuts the door.

“Comfy seats.” He comments as he straps in.

“Yeah, I don’t know how you do the leather.  That shit burns my skin right off.”  Dean laughs and nods to that.  I adjust the gear shift behind the steering wheel and reverse out of my driveway.  “I hope you like Bowie.”

“Bowie is a god.”

“Correct answer, Dean.”

“So where are the penguin stickers?”  I smile at him and gesture to the window behind him as I turn the car towards the Twin Cities.

* * *

In another car heading in the opposite direction, Sarah adjusts the volume down slightly to gain Cas’ attention. 

“Do you think Sam would notice if we were gone a little bit longer?”  She asks, Cas shakes his head side to side.

“What did you have in mind?” He inquires.

“There’s this… tea shop nearby and I could just really use some zen and just like… talk for a bit?  If that’s okay.”

“That would be okay.”

“Cool, well.  Let’s hit the library first, then tea, and then we’ll grab dinner.”  Cas nods and turns his gaze back out the window.  After a few minutes, just as they’re pulling into a local library parking lot, he speaks up.

“Is Allison typically the type of person to… be this passionate so quickly?”  Cas asks.  Sarah snorts in response.

“Totally.”  Cas frowns slightly at this.

“I mean… I get the ‘vibe’,” Here Cas uses the finger motion, which makes Sarah laugh as she pulls into a parking spot and shuts off the engine.  “That she may be very passionate with… someone.”  Sarah turns and looks, shocked to see the slight pink tinge on Cas’ cheek.

“Cas, are you asking me if I think Allie and Dean are gonna have sex?”  She balks, and Cas shuffles in his seat.  After a moment he nods once.

“I believe that would be the term.”  Sarah laughs and the lines in Cas’ forehead deepen.

“Cas, you just met her.  She’s putting up a good front because… she loves everything you stand for.  And I do too.  Heck, she admires the heck out of Dean.  She’s always identified with him more than Sam.  But… no.  She’s not really the type to jump around… if you catch my drift.”

“I… catch your drift.”  Cas says awkwardly, then moves to get out of the car but Sarah catches his arm.

“But that’s not all.  I’m not kidding when I say she’s putting up a good front, she wants to impress you guys, but really?  She’s a lot like you, Cas.  She’s bad at flirting, and making new friends, she misses references all the time.  It’s like… she’s got this super brain that knows all these things but then occasionally there’s just these big… gaps in all that information.”  Sarah shrugs at the end and then let’s go of Cas’ arm.  They both climb out of the car and walk towards the building.  Sarah stuffs her hands in her pockets, attempting to keep the cold away.

They’re inside, browsing through books deep in the occult section when Cas speaks again.

“Do you think that, not just my connection with her, but all of ours, is what drew us to this place?”  Sarah pauses, her finger on the spine of a thick brown tome.

“Yeah, that would be a logical conclusion.” 

“So, then the key to returning to our world would be expounding on that connection?”  Cas ponders and can see the wheels in Sarah’s brain turning.

“Strengthen the signal and then reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?!”  She exclaims, earning a shush from a few aisles over.  “Sorry!”  She says, and turns excitedly to Cas.  “You really think that’s the key?”  Cas nods.  “How would we even… strengthen Allie’s natural abilities?  If the source of magic in this universe is rare, and not strong to begin with…” She shrugs.  “I don’t even know where to start.”  Cas tilts his head to the side and then walks off down the row of books, turning in search of something else.  Sarah follows quickly.

“Part of it may be a social aspect, we get to know her more and that will strengthen a natural connection.”  Sarah nods, just trying to keep up.  “But another part may be finding other individuals in this realm who have a connection to magic here.  Genuine people who may be able to guide her.  Since her apparent power is based in… manifestation of sorts, and happens while unconscious-”

“Oh!  What about that herb the boys have used to walk in other people's dreams?  What if we find a way to do that in this universe? Then, one at a time we can send you all in to convene with her, have heart to hearts or whatever.  Broaden the natural connection and the magical one at the same time.  Capitalize on both and potentially-”

“Then we’d have a mixing pot of energy for our purposes.”  Cas pauses, turns down an aisle for self help and health books.  Plucking up several meditation books and other hokey hippie style things.  “Do you think Allie will agree to try this?”  Sarah nods vigorously. 

“She’d do anything for Team Free Will.  I’m gonna go find some dream books and maybe some natural Wicca books.  Meet you at the check-out in 15?”  Cas nods after being momentarily stalled by the first part.  He watches Sarah’s retreating back almost wistfully, a part of him already feeling disappointed at the loss of such devoted humans when they eventually return where they belong.  It makes his chest feel funny, in a good and sad way.  He doesn’t know what to do with that so he just turns back to the books.  Focus on the task at hand.

* * *

Sam doesn’t feel as bad as he normally would when he easily gets around Allie’s minor security protocols.  He’s a Slytherin after all.  So far, everything they’ve found has been only minor references to what might be out there, and everything conflicts with each other.  Different religions, beliefs, practices, hopes, hoaxes… the list goes on and on.  So he does what he really hadn’t done the last time he'd been in an alternate universe.  He'd just been trying to save his own sanity at the time.  Things are different now.  Besides… everyone else is taking a break, why can’t he?

The red N with a grey background fills his screen as he relocates to a couch for more comfort.  Charlie would get a huge kick out of this.

* * *

“Dean Winchester, I cannot convey the amount of joy you knowing every word to All Too Well gives me.”  I tell Dean as I round the corner of The Beast and step up onto the sidewalk.  He rubs the back of his neck and gives me a shy smile.

“Well… it is one of her best songs so…” He says it quietly, like fighting off embarrassment.  I bump my shoulder with his and smile at him.

“You’re not wrong.”  I agree and nod in the direction we need to walk.  “Wish we could have parked closer, but that’s cities for you.”

“I’m impressed at your parallel parking skills with the Beast.”  Dean says with a very obviously flirtatious smile, and I smile back.

“She’s got a good turn radius.”  I say and shrug it off.

“Definitely an attractive quality.  Someone who can handle a vehicle.”  Dean says and I laugh, cause he’s a total idiot.  

“Yeah, whatever.”  I say and go to bump his shoulder with mine again, but this time I put more power into it and Dean stumbles.  I laugh and quickly step out of range in case of his retaliation.  Dean smiles, but it’s colored with mischief.  “No, Dean don’t-, Hey!  Look, here’s our shAHH!  DEAN!”  I yell as he catches up, grabs me from behind around the waist and picks me up.  I start laughing as he spins me around.  We’re still laughing as he sets me down and I open the door to Eye of Horus for him and gesture grandly.  “After you, sirrah.”  Dean laughs again.

“You just wanna look at my ass.”  He says as he passes through the doorway.

“Well, now that you mention it.”  I say and follow him into the shop.  “It would be nice to look at if you wore some skinny jeans, or slacks.  But right now I’m too distracted by bow legs.”  Dean turns around with raised eyebrows.  “Well, if you want to be objectified I can be very critical.  But if you have a praise kink, you can just say it, hun.”  Dean chokes at this, eyes widening comically, cheeks reddening to a wonderful flushed color.  I smile at Dean lecherously, step in close and gently pinch his chin between my thumb and forefinger.  “You are very pretty Dean, especially when you blush.”  I examine his face purposefully dragging the moment out, watching as a pink tinge creeps up to his forehead, lingering on a few of the more delicate freckles.  I pinch his chin just a smidge tighter as I meet his eyes again, his pupils are dilated looking like a rabbit caught in a snare.  “Now stop being a brat until we get our work done, hm?”  Dean swallows thickly and nods just a tiny thing, then I brush past him out of the entry doors and into the shop.  The smell of incense washes over me and the little tinkling bell over the door alerts the shopkeeper to our entrance.

There’s different stones and crystals everywhere, varying sizes, in large piles and separated into dividers.  Multiple rows of bookshelves about varying topics of meditation, divine intervention, natural medication, scrying, interpreting dreams, understanding tarot cards, and the tarot cards themselves.  A shopkeeper is bent over a book behind the register and looks up at us with a kind smile on their face.

“Need help finding anything?”  They ask.  I smile pleasantly and lean my elbow on the glass counter.

“Do you have any psychics in today that have openings?”  The shopkeeper looks between the two of us and a sweet, shy smile spreads on their face.

“Couples session?”  They ask and I laugh lightly.

“Not quite, just trying to settle a.. Disagreement.”  I tell them amicably, and the shopkeeper nods.

“Right, well Taylor could take you in about ten minutes?”  

“Sounds perfect.”  I turn back to Dean, who’s still slightly flushed, as the shopkeeper goes through a beaded curtain that click clacks in the relative silence of the shop.  There’s a lulling calm kind of music playing softly from the back corner that feels jarring with the tense line of Dean’s shoulders.  I lean back into the counter, crossing my arms across my chest and tilting my head at him.  “Did I wind you up too much?  Cause if you go into this reading all strung up the psychic won’t need any tarot cards to read you.”  Dean shakes his head for a moment before remembering he can talk.

“N-no.”  Dean’s voice breaks and he has to loudly clear his throat to lower it to its proper register.  “I’m fine.”  He says gruffly.  I narrow my eyes at him, doing a quick up and down that has him fighting not to squirm, it’s so obvious he’s trying to be good.

“Yes, you are.”  I say in a whisper and meet his eyes, he smiles a little bit at that, perhaps he’s finally catching onto the game.  

“Any ideas what we should ask them?”  He asks as I go to examine a few books and he follows right behind me.  

“We don’t need any.  If they’re legit they should be able to pick up on it.”  I pick up one of the tarot boxes and start shuffling through the card designs.  

“But Cas said there isn’t any magic-”

“No, Cas said the magic of this universe is rarer but there still is some.”  I tell him as I set the cards back and shuffle over to the crystals.  

“So, how do we-”

“I’ve dabbled enough to know the fakes from the real ones, Dean.  Psychics are like fortune cookies in a way, completely random, generalized, and every once in a while they’re right.  But you can always tell a genuine article, from the cookies made in California.” I pick up a particularly nice amethyst and hold it out to him.  “I just love the way these sparkle, something in my lizard brain is so pleased.”  

“Yeah, that makes sense.  And you’re right,”  Dean gently takes the stone from me, our fingers brushing just a little bit.  “Sparkley stuff makes me happy.”  I look up at him and the soft little smile on his face as he holds the gem stone makes me melt a bit.  He turns it back and forth, looking at how it glints in the shop lights, then he sets the stone down and looks back up to find me still staring.  “What?”  He asks, his tone a bit sharp and a bit worried.  I just shake my head at him.  “Seriously, what?!”  Clearly someone is still on edge.

“Nothing, just thinking about how much taller than you I’d be with heels on.  Maybe even just a pair of chunky boots.”  Dean does not look amused, but what I said was true even if I wasn’t thinking about it right at that moment. 

“I’m at least two inches taller than you.”  He says indignantly.

“Mmm.. barely.  And most of my heels are over two inches.”  I give him a toothy smile that makes Dean chuckle drily.  

“Are you always this full of yourself?”  He asks, only spluttering slightly. 

“That just means I’m never hungry for anyone else.”  I walk on to the next section, bracelets held by pegs in the wall.  “But you can keep trying.”  Dean sighs and I hear him shuffle up behind me.

“Is this some kind of game to you?”

“I like to keep things fun.”  

“Are you always this enigmatic?”  Dean asks, sounding only slightly frustrated.

“I’m actually quite direct, you’re thinking about it too hard.” I hear Dean huff next to me which makes me smile again.  “It’s true! I don’t really know how to be mysterious.  I probably just seem mysterious because I know so much about you and you don’t know much about me.”  I hear the clacking of beads behind us, the shopkeeper returning to their post on a stool behind the register.

“Well, that’s not my fault.”  Dean says a bit petulantly.  I roll my eyes at him and mimic his tone.

“Well, then ask me some questions.”  I look up at him and only just barely resist sticking my tongue out.  

“Fine.”

“ Fine. ”

“Are you done?”  He asks, exasperated.  I slide over to look at the rings and necklaces displayed on interesting tree-like structures and don’t respond.  “Okay uhh… what’s your favorite color?”

“Purple.  Yours is probably blue, or you’ll say you don’t really have one.”  I tell him as I admire an especially pretty azure crystal necklace.

“Why do you think mine is blue?”  He asks, eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion.  I look over at him, a smirk of mischief lighting my features.

“Well, why else do you spend so much time gazing into Cas’ eyes?  They are a very pretty color.” 

“What?! I don’t stare at him ‘cause his eyes are pretty!”

“Oh?  There’s another reason?”  I ask coyly.  Dean splutters, then wags a finger at me.

“I thought I was asking the questions, not receiving the second degree.” 

“Carry on then.”  I sigh, because it’s starting to feel just a little mean to needle him this much.

“Umm..Favorite musician?”

“David Bowie.”

“Okay, I could have guessed that.  What about favorite band?”

“Panic! At The Disco.”

“Don’t know them.  What kind of music?”

“Emo, sorta pop rock.”

“You like emo music?”  I nod.  “Next you’ll be saying you like heavy metal.”

“I do, actually.  Korn, Slipknot, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold.”  Dean nods appreciatively, though I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know many of those bands very well.

“Favorite song?”

“I usually go with Hotel California, but that’s always subject to change or mood.”

“You an Eagles fan?”  Dean asks, sounding more interested now.

“I like most music.  And even the music genres I don’t really like, I have exceptions to the rule.  In fact the only genre I really don’t like is Modern Religious music.  I hear it in thrift stores all the time, and it drives me batty.  At least Hillsong United knows how to make their propaganda actual music.”  I move on to fiddling with more of the books, and Dean leans on the side of the book shelf smiling.  

“Not religious then, are you?”  Dean assumes and I nod.

“Good conclusion.  How’d you get there?”

“Last night you called your dad a devout atheist, and you just called religious music propaganda.  One plus one.”

“Now who’s full of themself.”  I quip and straighten up a few books on the shelf.

“Nah, not really.  I’m always hungry.”  I glance over at him to see the most enticing twinkle in his eye and I chuckle.

“Fairplay,  Winchester.”

“You did say I could keep trying.”

“Mhmm, I did.  As long as you keep that mouth in check.”  I remind him and bite down on a smile as a light blush easily creeps back up his neck.  “I like when you’re clever.  Being mouthy and playing dumb isn’t a good look.”  Dean swallows and looks around the shop, unable to meet my eyes as he crosses his arms over his chest self consciously. 

“Who says I’m playing?”  I grab a softcover book off the shelf and smack him on the side of the head with it.  “Ow! What-”

“You literally built your own EMF meter out of an old walkman.”

“That doesn’t mean I-”

“Dean, I will smack you with the book again.”  Dean shuts his mouth and looks down at the ground.  “Be kind to yourself, or I’ll pavlov you.”  Dean looks back up, a laugh startling out of his lips.

“You’ll get me to salivate every time a bell rings?”  

“No, you’ll flinch every time you say something negative about yourself.”

“How would you-”  I wiggle the book and smirk at him.  “Ah, okay.  That does make sense.”

“Would a dumb person have even understood that reference to begin with?”  I ask him pointedly, and turn back to my browsing, only just catching the tiny pleased smile on Dean’s face.  

“Favorite TV show?”  Dean resumes questioning.

“Doctor Who.”

“What? But I thought-”  The clacking of the bead curtain interrupts him as a woman with curly blond hair and richly dark skin steps out onto the shop floor.

“You two must be my next victims.”  She says with a raised eyebrow.  I laugh good naturedly.

“That’s us!”  I say in a sing-song tone and a side of spirit fingers.  If possible the woman’s brow climbs a bit higher just before she offers her hand. 

“I’m Destiny.”  She says as I grab her hand.

“Allie.  And this is Dean.”

“Pleasure.”  Dean intones as he too shakes her hand.  I watch as something in her eyes shifts as she gets a good look at Dean, then she turns to her shopkeeper.

“Taylor, I think we’ll close early today.  I’ll still pay you for the whole shift though.”  Taylor nods and gives us a smile as they grab their bag and head for the door.  “Lock it as you leave please.”  Destiny calls after Taylor, then looks back between the two of us.  “Follow me dears.”

* * *

With the books safely in the backseat of Sarah’s car, she leads Cas into Indigo Tea , which Cas notices smells of vanilla and warmth.

“Do you know what you want?”  Sarah asks, turning to him as she slips out of her coat to set it across one of the platforms with the low tables you get to sit criss-cross at on cushions.  

“No.”  Cas says, studying one of the teapots that’s in the shape of a koala.  “But I like the energy here.”

“Hmmm… did you like what Allie picked for you this morning?”  Sarah asks as she fluffs her hair and arranges it over one shoulder.

“Yes it was… sweet.  I liked that it was… creamy.”  Cas talks as if recalling the exact taste of those molecules together and Sarah smiles.  

“Cool, I’ll pick something out for you, and I’ll get a pot of my favorite so you can try that too.”  And with that she strolls over to the counter to order while Cas is left to consider how exactly he should sit at this table.  He’d seen it before over the millenia, mainly in Asian countries.  In the end he just opts to continue studying the various designs on mugs, teacups, and teapots.  Sarah returns a moment later with their tea on a tray and gestures him back over.  

“The designs are… nice.”  Cas says as he carefully studies Sarah’s smooth plop onto the platform.

“You weren’t sure how to sit, were you?”  She says with a smirk and Cas just sighs.  “Take off your coat, it’ll be easier.”  Cas’ hesitancy makes her laugh.  “I won’t bite too hard.”

“You intend to.. Bite me?”  Cas asked, even further confused.  “Do the humans of this universe have vampiric tendencies normally?”  Sarah bursts out laughing.

“It’s an expression.  Just a way of making people feel more comfortable.”  Cas just blinks at her.  “It’s a dad joke.”  Cas still looks wary but takes off his coat and puts it on a nearby coat hook.  After a moment’s more hesitation he also removes his suit jacket.  

“Am I also supposed to remove my shoes?”  Cas asks, observing Sarah’s on the ground next to the platform.

“Yes, it’s respectful.”  That part Cas understands, and a moment later he’s sitting across the table from Sarah trying to figure out where to place his arms.  Sarah takes pity on him by speaking up again.  “This one’s yours.”  She indicates the wide brimmed mug with a little white foam and a dusting of brown powder across the surface of the liquid.  “It’s a chai tea latte.  Should be creamy but have a more spiced flavour than this morning.”  Cas picks it up and smells the cinnamon among the other flavours.  When he tastes it he makes a pleased humming noise and then immediately takes another sip.  Sarah is smiling.  “Glad you like it.”  

“What is in the teapot?”  Cas asks between sips, he has a small foam mustache on his upper lip that makes Sarah bite her own lip.

“It’s Strawberry Cream Black tea.”  Sarah points to a smaller container.  “Then some milk,”  She points to a shaker, “Sugar, and two cups, of course.”  

“I think I will like that as well.”  Sarah can’t seem to stop smiling, Cas in person is so sweet and awkward. 

“Should I make you a small cup to try when you’re done with the chai?”

“Yes please.  Thank you.”  Cas inclines his head towards her respectfully and Sarah has to fight down a blush.  

“You’ve got a bit of foam on your upper lip.”  She tells him, pointing at her own upper lip.  Cas casually licks it off, as if this is the only action in his repertoire that is completely and inherently human.  It makes the back of Sarah’s neck heat up.

“Are you feeling alright, Sarah?  You may still be in shock because of the ‘universe hopping’.”  Cas is staring at her, that unwavering and unearthly gaze.  

“Yeah, I’m feeling fine.  What about you?”  Sarah deflects the attention away from herself like a game of ping pong.  

“Nervous, to tell the truth.  This universe feels safe enough, and I’m pretty positive no one could follow us here.  At least, not without a connection to someone in this universe like I have with Allie.  It would be too easy to get lost in the multiverse.”  Cas pauses and takes another sip of his chai, seeming to contemplate something.

“Then what’s making you nervous if it’s not those things?”  Sarah asks as she finishes mixing up her tea and takes a revitalizing sip.  Cas still looks ponderous, his gaze drawn out the window next to them, then it’s back on Sarah.  Studying her.

“Allie mentioned that she knew about what happened in the crypt, so that leads me to wonder if you have as well.”  Sarah sets her tea cup on the table and clasps her hands together.

“Yes, I know what happened in the crypt.  That seemed… really difficult.”  She paused, watching his face carefully, then deciding to add one more thing.  “And I’m sorry about Meg.  I know you two were… friends.  Sort of.”  Cas looks down at that, setting his own mug on the table but leaving his hands clasped around the ceramic.  He nods, not looking up.

“Thank you.  I will miss her.  And that’s not something Dean or Sam have been very understanding about.”  Sarah reaches over and places a hand on top of Castiel’s wrist.

“No matter what she was, or did, it’s okay to be sad ‘cause you miss her.  She took care of you for a while, and she stood by you.  It’s not like Sam and Dean are perfect examples of morality.”  Sarah tells him earnestly.  Cas nods, raising his head to meet her eyes briefly before looking back out the window again.

“I worry though, about just how deeply I’ve hurt Dean with my actions. He-”  Cas cuts off, his lips sealing together in a tight frown.

“He broke through Naomi’s conditioning.  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make you kill him.  And she never could.”  Sarah pulls at Cas’ wrist lightly so he releases the mug and she can take his hand.  “Cas what she did to you was wrong.  She manipulated you, tortured you.  But you’re still your own person, with your own thoughts and feelings, with people you care about, people you love.”  Sarah squeezes his hand and Cas looks at her, his eyes clouded with guilt.  “She can’t take that away from you.  You may be an angel but you’re not a robot.  She can’t just reset you cause she thinks you’re broken for caring about the rest of the world.”  Cas squeezes Sarah’s hand gratefully and withdraws to drink more of his chai.  Though the atmosphere has changed to a more somber tone, the silence is not unpleasant. They both just stare out the window, and when Cas finishes his chai, Sarah offers him the cup she made him of her tea.  “Oh and if Dean doesn’t forgive you, Allie will probably deck him just on principle.”  That gets a small smirk out of Cas and makes Sarah smile in return.

* * *

Dean and I push through the beaded curtain together into a room draped in deep purple curtains.  Small globe-like light fixtures hang from the low ceiling in each corner.  In the center is a round table covered in a deep blue crushed velvet table cloth with a comfy looking black leather wing back chair on the far side, and a black leather quilt patterned bench on the near side.  Destiny goes around behind the wing back where there’s a set of drawers and a lightly smoking incense burning, suffusing the whole room with a calming smell you’d expect from these kinds of interactions.  There’s no crystal ball anywhere in sight, in fact the room is relatively plain yet well dressed.  Destiny comes around from behind the wing back and sits, gesturing for us to do the same, and sets a deck on tarot cards on the table.  Dean and I sit on the bench with our thighs pressed together, palms clasped politely in our laps.

“Hmm…”  Destiny intones as she gazes into the space around our heads.  I can tell she’s studying our auras, and out of the corner of my eye I see Dean start to open his mouth.  I elbow him and he closes it.  “Taylor was correct about your energies being mingled enough to assume you to be a couple. The potential is strong.  But there’s more at play than just your two hearts.”  Destiny meets both of our eyes in turn, but lingers on Dean.  “You doubt my legitimacy, but you should trust your friend’s instincts.  Allie has a strong gift.  An exceptionally rare one too.”  Destiny’s gaze shifts back over to me.  “But you don’t understand it, do you child?”  I huff out a light laugh.

“Not even slightly.  Sometimes I’d thought, before this happened, that my dreams were trying to… warn me of things.  But only like… hard to interpret warnings of bad times.”  I tell Destiny and can feel Dean’s gaze burning into my cheek but I don’t look at him.  Destiny just nods.

“You’ve lost someone.”  Destiny says, in that silky sympathetic way that makes a grimace pull at my face.

“My mother.”  Destiny nods, her gaze momentarily going to Dean, a curious expression pinching between her brows.

“You’ve both had a tough hand when it comes to dealing with loss.”  I hear Dean take in a breath next to me and can feel his whole body go rigid. On impulse I reach out and grab one of his hands in both of mine.  “The dreams you had, I’m assuming they happened in the week before your mother died, they were nightmares, correct?  But they weren’t fully formed.  They just made you restless, you’d wake up in the night, like you could feel a disturbance but couldn’t grasp what it was.”  I nod, squeezing Dean’s hand and feel him squeeze back.

“But during the day, I’d get these impulses to.. Draw?  Because I had these images stuck in my head, and I just needed to get them out.  I didn’t know how else to do it.”  Destiny nods again, and begins shuffling her cards.  “They were always symbolic things too.  Like dragonflies, which are my mom’s favorite.  And roses, which is her first tattoo.  They were stuck there until I got them down on paper, and even then I couldn’t interpret them.  Or connect them with my nightly unrest.”  I say dejectedly.

“This type of experience, a precognition of sorts, is because you’re sensitive to disturbances in the… waves of the universe shall we say?  Not usually the universe at large though, just the way things ripple around you.  You have dreams because your subconscious is better at interpreting the input your conscious mind is receiving.”  She’s quiet for a moment, letting me absorb the new information.  Then she turns to Dean.  “I suppose that’s how you came to be with us, as improbable as it feels even to someone like me.”  I glance at Dean and see his eyes widen at that statement.

“You can just… tell I’m not from here?  Wow.  You’re...something.”  Destiny laughs, a rich melodious thing that temporarily dispels the thick aura of the room.  

“Well, your aura is quite strange on the whole but you’ve got a sort of… background noise to you that doesn’t sync up with us.”  Destiny gestures between me and herself.  “That and… well I do watch television from time to time.  Gotta see how Hollywood represents people like me so I’ll know how to combat the crazies who think they know everything just cause they watch Supernatural .”  There’s a shocked silence for a moment before I burst out laughing, even though Dean isn’t.  When I look over and see his disgruntled expression I go into another round of giggles.  Even Destiny is smiling.

“I said you were moderately popular.”  I manage to get out between giggles.  “Oh gosh, did you think he was Jensen at first?!”  I ask Destiny and she chuckles a little bit.

“For a moment I thought I was gonna have a conference with TMZ after our meeting.  You are most certainly not his wife, and you’re both exceptionally flirty. M-mm.”  Destiny shakes her head in mock disapproval.  “But you are Dean Winchester.  Pass on my love to Missouri, will you?”

“I haven’t seen her in years.”  Dean says a bit awkwardly.

“Exactly.  And you’ll be changing that when you get back.  She worries about you.”  Destiny scolds

“But we will be getting back?”  Dean clarifies, leaning his elbow on the table.  Destiny nods, and looks back over to me.

“Your abilities plus your love of the characters, forged a connection.  A connection between you and the one with a soul most similar to yours.”  Dean and I both blanch at that.  

“Cas doesn’t have a soul though.”  I tell Destiny, my voice sounding a bit raspy from the shock.  She narrows her eyes at me, then looks to Dean and back to me again.

“I find that unlikely.  Even knowing the lore from the show, Cas is different.  He always has been.  Angel with a shotgun and a soul.”  Dean lets out a gruff little laugh at that, which makes Destiny and I look at him questioningly.  Dean rubs the back of his neck.

“Cas is bad with guns.”  Dean tells them, I roll my eyes.

“It’s not like he needs them to kick ass, Dean.”

“I know that, Allie.”  Dean quips back at me.

“But you two, have complimentary souls.”  Destiny interjects, drawing our attention again.

“Wait a minute, wouldn’t that mean that my ‘soul’ is complimentary with Cas’ too?  If their souls are so similar.”  Dean asks in an almost bitter confused tone, Destiny inclines her head in agreement. 

“Yes, the four of you have a complicated intermingling ahead of you.  But it will be worth it.”

“Woah, Four?!  Who’s the fourth?!”  Dean exclaims and Destiny just shakes her head at him, a wondrously knowing twinkle in her eyes that will probably infuriate the more volatile Winchester brother.  I, on the other hand, have had enough meddingly in my future interminglings, even the hint of a thought that I might be ‘intermingling’ with fictional tv show characters turned real boggles my mind into oblivion.  No, thank you.  I’ll take the check please. 

“Destiny, what can you tell us about returning them to their universe?”  I ask to change tracks and put my hand on Dean’s leg in an effort to remind him of the same.  He sighs next to me and we meet eyes momentarily, making my message clear with that look.  He pinches the bridge of his nose.  I rub my hand up and down soothingly for a moment before withdrawing.

“Let’s look at the cards, shall we?  Often their message is something more concrete to work off of, and besides… I’m not sci-fi enough to really tell you a way to open an interdimensional portal, so to speak.”  There’s humour in the crinkles of Destiny’s eyes that is so real and comforting, I feel exceptionally grateful to my instincts bringing me here.  I nod and Destiny passes me the cards, the backs are matte black with glittering stars.  I shuffle them twice, then pass them to Dean to shuffle once, when I get them back I slide a chunk out of the middle and place it on top as I always do.  Setting them in the center of the table, I meet Destiny’s eyes as I let out a calming breath.  “How many are we drawing my dear?”  I don’t think about my answer before it comes out.

“Six.  Three for each of us.  One for now, two for future.”  Destiny nods and places her hand on top of the deck.

“Let’s start with the present, shall we?”