Dean woke in a cold sweat from the dream that he was having. No, more like a nightmare. He wanted to scream for his mommy but mommy was dead. And why was he calling her mommy? He was an adult, a grown man who had annihilated the Yellow-Eyed demon. He had stopped the Apocalypse, destroyed vampires and shape-shifters and all those other monsters that roamed around at night looking for their next meal.
He went to run his hand through his short, spiky hair and came up with a handful of blond locks. What on Earth was going on? He looked down and almost screamed. He was in his bed. It wasn't the bed of the latest seedy motel that he and Sam were shacked up in but the bed of his childhood in Lawrence. And the room! It was the room from when he was four. What was going on? Had he encountered another djinn?
Dean looked up again and did a double take. Sitting on the end of his bed was Chuck Shurley.
"What are you doing here?" Dean asked this of Chuck in the voice of his youth. It sounded so young to his ears. "Why am I here? Did the djinn get me? Am I dweaming again?"
"No little one. You are not dreaming. This is real, as real as it gets."
"How? How can this be? I want my mommy?"
"Your mommy is down the hall and so is daddy. 'Kansas' said to rest your weary head and that there would be peace when you are done. Well, you are done. You deserve this."
"I don't understand. What does my home state have to do with rest? States can't talk. And what is going on? Please tell me. I am so confoowsed!"
Chuck laughed heartily as he heard little Dean talk about states. Of course the child would have no idea who Kansas was. He liked Metallica and AC/DC.
"First, Kansas is a band. They sing a song called 'Carry on My Wayward Son'. Those were lyrics from the song. Dean, you have given your all to the cause, both your brother and yourself. You have sacrificed your lives and your happiness. You have lost ones you held dear and friends have died fighting the good fight. You stopped the Apocalypse. You destroyed Azazel and Lillith. It is time for you to have your heart's desire."
"What do you mean? How can I have what I truly want? There must be something attached to this offer."
"Dean, I am God. I am not Chuck the prophet as you know me. I can change the course of time. Alter realities and change history. I have made it so that your mother never dies in a fire. You never become a hunter. Your daddy dies in his bed, an old man next to your mommy. Mommy dies an old lady surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sammy marries Jess and has babies. You marry Lisa and Ben is your son. You have other babies too. Jo and Ellen never die nor does Ellen's husband. Bobby's wife is never possessed. Pastor Jim, Caleb…they are alive and well."
"But if I never become a hunter who stops all the evil and how do I meet Jo and Ellen. All of them. Are they a part of my life or do I not know them?"
"You will meet each of them Dean in time, in a different capacity. Ellen and Jo will be your neighbors. Pastor Jim is the local pastor at your childhood church. Bobby will become your father's friend when he is looking for a job as a mechanic. As for all the evil in the world…I can make it so that it doesn't exist. I am God. I created all the beings on this Earth, be they good or bad."
"Azazel will have been locked away with the other demons. They will not be able to get out. All the stories of vampires, werewolves, the things that others take to be legends will be just that, a legend. You will get to have the childhood you deserve. You will be happy."
In tears Dean asked, "But what about Cas? What happens to him and our friendship?"
"Castiel is an angel of the Lord. That was always true. But he is your guardian angel. When mommy tells you at night that angels watch over you it is Castiel that watches you."
"Will I remember any of my former wife? Will I remember that I was a hunter out to kill the beasties?"
"NO, it will all appear as a bad dream to you. It is why you woke up in that cold sweat from the nightmare. I have altered your conscious memory. When you wake up tomorrow morning you will believe our conversation to be part of that same dream. Dean, this is my gift to you. You have served me well. Rest your weary head and find the peace that you so richly deserve."
And with that Chuck was gone and Dean fell into a deep sleep. The next morning it was as Chuck said. It was all part of a very weird dream. Mommy and Daddy laughed about it when Dean told them of the story and baby Sammy, six month old baby Sammy gurgled happily as he clung to Dean's finger.
THE END