After they snuck out of the lobby - a surprisingly easy task, since the volunteers were all gossiping about the disturbance and the fans were off to panels - the three of them went to find a place to collect their thoughts and come up with a plan.
They ended up at a small decent looking cafe that had free wifi, however slow it was.
"Take everything out of your pockets and put it on the table," Sam instructed them as they sat down in a booth. "We need to see all we have."
Dean grumbled but complied, dumping his wallet and some spare change out on the table as Cas did the same.
In total, the three of them had enough money to stay at a motel for a couple nights. They hoped that would be enough time to figure everything out.
"We're gonna have to go to the local library if we want to do any kind of research," Dean said, looking at his phone with a scowl.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"There's no reception on my phone." Dean grumbled, pushing his phone back into his pocket. "I bet the credit cards would be a bust too," he added glumly.
"Damn," Sam breathed. "Well, maybe we should find a motel first, then go to the library. We could bring all the books back there."
"Good, ol' fashion hunters style," Dean nodded with a grin. "I like it."
"Great. Let's go then," Sam said, standing up, walking over to the waitress that stood behind the counter.
"Can I help you?" She asked dryly.
"Where's the nearest motel?"
She rose an eyebrow, looking back at Cas and Dean, letting her eyes drift to Sam. "There's one a few blocks down."
"Thank you," Sam nodded. "And uh, maybe a bar?" If they stayed longer than planned, they could always hustle pool.
The lady shrugged. "There should be one close somewhere."
"Aright. Thanks," Sam smiled, him, Dean and Cas turning to leave.
"Have a nice day!" she yelled as the door closed behind them.
The dry heat beat down on them as they walked, waiting on the sidewalk for cars to pass by.
"Remind me again why we didn't steal a car?" Dean asked as they trudged along.
"Because currently, if people see us, they'll think we're Jared or Jensen or Misha, and we can't do that," Sam said.
"Why? They're not even real."
"You bring up an interesting question," Cas said distractedly. "If this universe isn't real, does this mean we are not?"
"Of course we're real!" Dean snapped.
"Alternate realities are as you call them. Alternate. Different. It doesn't make them any less real than you or me."
"Look, Dean," Sam sighed. "They're real. This universe is real. Believe me, I hate it too, but this...version of us have families-"
"How do you know that?" Dean demanded.
"There were wedding rings on their fingers. We already know Jared is married to...fake Ruby," Sam said, the last part coming out hesitantly.
"Genevieve," Dean recalled.
"Yeah, right. And I'm sure they have kids by now. The other guys, too. We can't do that to them. We can't risk them getting involved in anything stupid, for their sake," Sam finished.
Dean sighed, running his hand through his hair. He was sweating, his throat slightly dry from the heat. "Alright," he said finally. "I guess you're right," Dean grumbled as they crossed the street.
He's was cranky as they walked up to the motel, and was relieved to be in the air condition, if only for a moment, as they walked into the lobby of the motel to check in.
"One room," Dean said gruffly to the man behind the desk.
The man rose an eyebrow, looking at the three of them. "You guys look familiar."
"We get that a lot-"
"You're on tv, right?"
"No," Dean replied shortly. "Look, it's been a hell of a day. Can I just get the room?"
"Just making conversation," The man mumbled as he grabbed the cash from Dean's hand, opening the register to place it inside. "You get room twelve. Checkout is at eleven thirty a.m." He said, handing Dean three room keys.
Sam leaned over the counter and asked for directions to the nearest library as Dean walked briskly out the door, back into the Arizona heat. Castiel followed him outside, Sam not too far behind with a piece of paper that had directions written on it.
Dean handed out the room keys before leading the group down the string of motel room doors until they found theirs. The three of them entered the slightly rundown, but otherwise clean looking motel room.
"Different world, cleaner motel rooms," Dean mumbled, immediately laying down on the bed closest to the door. A headache was beginning to form.
"We don't have time to take a nap, Dean," Castiel sighed.
"Does it seem like we're getting out of here anytime soon?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "In this world, your battery power is drained, I'm a freaking smart-ass pretty boy actor, Sam's married to a demon. My head hurts, I'm freakin' laying down."
"Can you two stop arguing for a second? No wonder people...ship you," Sam used air quotes, shaking his head. "All you do is act like an old married couple!"
"They what us?" Cas asked, cocking his head to the side. "I don't see how we would fit in a package."
"That's not- know what? Don't worry about it," Dean chimed in with a huff.
"Listen, Cas is right, we have to go," Sam said. "According to him, this...Dieul person is important, and to track her down we'll need time to track her. We don't have the car, so it looks like we'll be walking everywhere, and the library is-" he looked down at the directions in his hands "-five blocks away. If you run fast enough, we can make it there in plenty of time before it closes."
"Run? In this heat?" Dean asked incredulously. "You out of your mind?"
"Well, if we wanna get out of here-"
"More like if you wanna pass out on the sidewalk."
Sam rolled his eyes. "I'll get some water from the lobby's vending machine-"
"And?/" Dean interrupted.
"And you can stop being such a bitch about it," Sam said as Dean looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"You don't get to call me a bitch. I call you bitch, jerk," Dean retorted.
"We'll be fine," Sam insisted. "You know, the heat is actually good for you. Makes you live longer. Why do you think older people move out here? It's so they don't have to battle harsh winters."
"If I die of heatstroke I swear, I will haunt your ass."
"I don't think that's possible," Cas said idly. "I don't feel Heaven's power. I don't recommend dying in this world. Who knows where you soul would end up."
"Great. We can't even do the one thing we're actually good at," Dean mumbled petulantly.
Sam rolled his eyes. "We're wasting time. Let's go, before the library closes."
Sam was looking intently at the computer screen when Dean came up behind him, dropping another stack of books onto the table.
"Everything on angel lore I could find. Which, wasn't much, by the way," Dean complained.
"It's like they don't even care here," Sam mumbled to himself.
"The books won't help anyway," Cas said dismissively. "Dieul wouldn't be in many books; she wasn't much of a fighter."
"Well great," Dean said snarkily. "Then you tell us how to find her."
"I felt something...strange back at the hotel-" the angel began.
"Oh, that's right. That paramedic chick's voice reminded you of her," Dean nodded. "Hey, what's your deal with Dieul anyway?"
Cas looked up from table, looking upset. "My deal is that she was kind. Dieul wasn't like the other angels. She didn't like to fight, and she was mocked for it. We were made to be warriors; it was all we knew and all we would ever know. And yet, she was different. Our teachers were instructed to break us down and build us back up again, emotionless, to ignore pain, only driven in the need to follow orders. While they used harsh words and harsher punishments, she used words of encouragement and offers of practice." Cas looked at Dean intently. "I saw her die, the person I looked up most to, other than God. I never forgot that, no matter how many times Naomi wiped my memories. And if there is a chance she is alive and well, that I could bring her home no matter how broken it is, I damn well will."
Dean was quiet. "That's all well and good, Cas, and I agree we should find her, especially if she could get us out of this universe," Dean added. "But why did she fake her death? I-I mean it seemed pretty horrible with her getting bullied for being different, so why didn't she pull an Anna and rip out her grace out? Why travel to a whole 'nother freakin' universe?"
"I don't know," Castiel mumbled. "Peace, maybe? This world - this universe, nothing supernatural or other-worldly exists here. Nothing and no one to bother her."
"So she just quit being who she really was?" Dean asked. "Why?"
"That's something I'd like to find out. We have to find her," Castiel insisted.
"I'm already on it," Sam told him. "I hacked into some cameras outside the hotel and managed to get a license plate number off the ambulance. Now I can figure out what hospital it's from. And we'll go from there."
After another long and hard day of work, Dani pulled up on her driveway, wanting nothing more than to take a relaxing bath, drink a glass of wine, and go to sleep, in that order. She got out her keys and opened the door, kicking her shoes off to the side, setting the keys like she always does on the small wooden desk beside the door.
Looking around the room, Dani noticed that it was cleaner then when she had left it, if the lack of her feet not constantly stepping on toys was anything to go by. She smiled. Chris had cleaned up, anticipating her return from her late shift. She'll have to find some way to show she was grateful, both for this and for agreeing to pick up Emily from the babysitter.
Walking into the bathroom, Dani plugged the tub and turned on the hot water, lighting a scented candle as she went out the door. Grabbing some comfortable pajamas from her dresser, she headed back into the bathroom where the steam from the hot water had begun to fog up the mirror. She added some bubble bath, and took off her clothes, stepping in carefully. Dani sighed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, letting her mind drift, focusing on the scent of the candles she'd lit earlier.
Even though she was trying to ignore it, her thoughts kept going back to earlier this morning at that hotel. There was a certain strange feeling there, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. She was worrying for nothing, she reasoned with herself. So she happened to meet the actors that played the Winchesters and Castiel. They may have had the same face, but they weren't the same people. They lived very different lives. There was nothing to worry about.
Dani finished her bath with that thought in her head, drying off as the soapy water drained from the tub. She changed into her pajamas and headed out to the kitchen, getting herself a glass of wine to try and help her relax some more. Just as she sat down on the couch and had brought the glass to her lips, the doorbell rang. With a groan, she set the glass down, opening the door.
"Oh, God," she huffed as her mind finally processed the three people on her doorstep her eyes going wide for a moment until she realized it was time. She had to face this. Dani sighed, stepping back as she opened the door wider. "Come on in. We have a lot to talk about."
A.N.: Hey, guys! Hope you guys like this new chapter! I'll be starting school in two days (ugh) but i'll update when I can. Also, I should I have put this last chapter, but I've never met/seen the guys, nor been to a convention. I do not own Supernatural. See you guys next time!
