Dean opened the door and stood baffled as a short, overweight woman wearing a maid outfit smiled politely at him and asked "Good afternoon, sir. Are you in need of room service? A change in sheets or perhaps some fresh towels?"
And sure, she did seem like an average maid that clean up these kinds of hotels, complete with a smile and the politeness that should come with the service. But common, those are always faked tired smiles, and most of the time, there are more rude words and curses. And the dog stood way back, to relaxed for a hellhound. So Dean just opened the door widely and let the maid in.
*Sam quickly stood up and gave the maid a surprised look, while she just smiled at him. "You are way too polite to be the maid – Dean stated, his eyes darting the woman, his body on high alert – Heck, you're even too polite to be an angel. Jeremiel, I guess?"
"Was I that obvious, or are you just that observant?" the maid smirked, but there was nothing vicious about it. She turned to *Sam and gave him a somewhat sympathetic look before she spoke "Hello, Sam. I am sorry. I was made aware of the situation just moments ago. I would have come sooner if I knew." And *Sam gave the woman a small nod, his expression still confused and his eyes wide like he could actually see the angel inside.
"Alright, you can skip the pleasantries. – Dean said with an eye roll – We need to fix this. And I know a way, a spell. I... We just need your help to get one ingredient..."
"And what would that be?" Jeremiel asked and observed the human. It was intriguing to see this particular human without seeing *Lucifer inside, yet he had the similar spark. When Dean replied they needed archangel grace, the angel raised one brow. Despite the fact that this Dean wasn't the fallen angel Jeremiel knew, he sure did seem to know a lot about angels and he couldn't help but wonder what important role that Dean had in his world.
"Now, I know it is a long shot – Dean continued – to ask *Michael or *Gabriel, or especially *Raphael to let us borrow some of their grace, but if we are going to set everything back the way it was supposed to be, we need it."
"None of them would help – Jeremiel said sounding slightly mournful – None of them would care." And it was true; all the archangels in this world gave up on it a long time ago. They gave up on their own brother a long time ago too and left *Lucifer to fight his own battles alone. But *Lucifer found a new family to belong to, and Jeremiel couldn't have been more glad. He was the only one who still cared. Well, almost the only one. "However, there is one more option. I could go and ask Father."
Dean's brows shot up, his look turned into a very surprised one and he said "Wait. Wait. So, Ch... I mean God is here? In Heaven?" and when Jeremiel nodded Dean continued "Well, that's um... Unexpected..."
Jeremiel frowned feeling slightly amused "You said that with such disbelief. Did you think there isn't God?" The woman the angel was possessing shifted her weight on the other leg, bringing her hands to her waist and stared at the hunter, interested to see what his reply would be.
"God? Oh, I know there is God. Heck, I've even met him. He was a washed up writer, who told me to hoard the toilet paper for an upcoming apocalypse. – Dean said sounding dismissive – And I know he won't lift a finger to help."
And as surprising as those words may have been for the angel, he made no comment about them, but instead only said "Oh, Dean. You have to have a little faith." and simply walked out the door. Dean huffed a laugh as he watch the woman sway her hips to the door and thought to himself Yeah, that's what Cass said too when he pulled me out of Hell, remembering just how misguided his friend was back then. *Sam was quiet through the entire conversation and managed to breathe out the air he didn't even realize he was holding.
When he saw the angel last, his powers were only at their beginning and he could see the divine inside the human Jeremiel was possessing at the time. His powers had developed over time and now he could see so much more. He could see the actual angel inside, complete with wings and a float of grace through the entire system. He could feel a pulse emanating from him and it almost felt like a heartbeat. But *Sam said nothing, looking at Dean who had such a disappointed and tired look on his face.
"Um... Why don't we grab a bite to eat and then we can consider other options? I'm starving." *Sam said hoping that if Dean ate, he might feel just a bit better. He was almost desperate and defeated, *Sam could feel it. Even without his psychic powers, he knew that look on his brother's face.
With a deep sigh, Dean grabbed his jacket and said "Yeah, sure." He was hungry, he hadn't eaten anything since he woke up that morning in a new world. As he walked to the door he asked "Where are we, anyway?"
"Illinois. Place called Normal." *Sam replied and returned the ironic smile Dean had on his face. Normal, huh? Dean thought to himself Nothing normal about this. But where did he hear that name before? Seems like they worked a case in this exact place a long time ago. He was just about to ask *Sam what case they were working here when he opened the door only to be surprised by the dog.
He flinched at the sight of it, but this time the dog just stared at him for a few seconds before tilting its head sideways and then he whined. Dean frowned, confused by this reaction and *Sam had the exact same expression. "It's like... Like he's apologizing for something he didn't do." *Sam said having read the dogs emotions.
Dean just stared at the hellhound. A lot of old memories started crawling back to his head since he got to this world and this one was a particularly painful one. The night they fought Lilith. The night they lost. The night he got dragged to Hell. But he didn't say anything. He wouldn't reminisce on Hell. Not now, not while he had bigger problems, or so he told himself. The fact was, he buried that a long time ago and he wanted it to stay buried.
Moving slowly, still keeping his eyes on the hound, he circled around it and tried to walk away, but the hound followed him, almost looking like a lost puppy. "Maybe he just misses *Dean." *Sam drew a conclusion and Dean just nodded letting him think that must be it. He frowned when *Sam opened the car to let the dog in, but sat at the driver's seat like he always does, clearly annoyed by the dog.
It was slowly getting dark outside when Jack and *Dean walked in the bunker laughing about something known only to them. Jack sat at the table and pulled up a book when *Dean announced he was going to get a beer out of the fridge. "You want one?" he asked Jack and when Jack thanked him, but refused, *Dean just shrugged and went to the kitchen.
And just when he was out of sight, Jack was startled by the flap of wings and when he turned around he saw Sam and Michael. Sam still had a book in his hand, but his confused look quickly turned into a slightly angry one. "Don't do that." He said as calmly as he could and Michael just rolled his eyes.
"Hey Jack – Sam said with a slight smile – Where's Dean?" Jack gulped and Sam noticed the slight fear in Jack's eyes. The kid looked down at the book, avoiding eye contact and tried to say "He's um... He's..."
He got interrupted and his eyes widened at the sound of *Dean's voice, that was clearly approaching "Hey, I took two beers, just in case you change your mind. If not, that's fine too, I'll drink them both. Oh, and by the way, that burger place was... awesome." The last word just rolled out of his mouth robotically and he just stopped in his tracks when he saw Sam. But then his eyes met Michael's and he silently gasped having felt a sharp pinch in his chest.
Sam was clueless as to what was going on, and not knowing it wasn't really his brother un front of him, he supposed that the look on *Dean's face was a guilty one, and they just busted them drinking beer and having fun instead of trying to come up with a solution. So he gave *Dean a dirty look and might have said a few scolding words before he left the room, but *Dean wasn't really listening.
He just glared at Michael; a part of him knowing exactly who it was that was standing in front of him and staring directly at him. All sort of emotions swarmed inside of him and they felt so strange to him. Like they weren't his emotions at all. Michael was a mess as well. He stared at *Dean feeling just a bit of his brother there and he was starting to think he was losing it. Maybe he was reflecting his own emotions onto *Dean? He was his perfect vessel after all.
They broke their eye stare when Michael shook his head, trying to get a grip of his senses and he just walked away in the direction Sam went. *Dean breathed out a sigh of relief, even though deep down he knew. Michael had seen right through him. He knew the time had come to reveal to Sam who he really was, and he dreaded the moment he would have to look him in the eyes and tell him he is his worst nightmare. *Dean looked over at Jack, who seemed nervous and scared, and he smiled brightly at the kid. He gave him a comforting nod, the look in his eyes trying to reassure Jack that everything will be alright.
They both looked back at the doorway when Michael came back, looking almost frantic. "I don't understand, how could it be gone?!" he shouted out, his face red in anger.
Sam followed right behind him, pale and with a hopeless expression. "I... I don't know. It's not there. The pearl is not there. Something must have happened... I... I remember reading its case file and I inspected the bag and then put it back in the drawer..." Sam said, sounding apologetic. He shut his eyes, feeling all his burdens just amplify. They finally found a way, a way to solve this, and he just started to hope that the archangel would finally leave them alone.
*Dean saw Jack flinch at the sound of the pearl, but not having a clue as to what they were talking about, he kept his mouth shut. Instead he kept his focus on the archangel who was hyperventilating. But when Michael turned around, *Dean's eyes widened in fear of the sight, and he didn't know what was worse. The fact that he just saw what he did, or that the others had no reaction to it whatsoever.
Michael turned to face them, bewildered, and just as any time he lets his emotions get the best of him, he lost control again. He lost control and fell into unconsciousness. His eyes gave a bright blue glow and as it dimmed down it was replaced by a fiery red. The kind of red *Dean knew all too well.
Lucifer glanced back at Sam and then down at the floor before he said to him "You should try and get some rest while he's out of it." and he sounded so sincere and so thoughtful. And he meant it. But that is not the only reason he wanted Sam out of the room. Luckily, Sam sighed in relief, feeling so tired of the day he had. Of the week, of the past four months he had. And he took any opportunity he could. They would just have to figure something out in the morning.
"You coming?" Sam asked *Dean and *Dean flinched as he was pulled out of his thoughts. *Dean gulped silently, but managed to pull on a smile as he raised the two beers in his hand and answered "Yeah, just wanna finish this." Sam simply shrugged and walked away in the direction of his room.
When they were finally alone, Lucifer looked at Jack with slight disapproval in his eyes, but then he focused on *Dean. He gave him a deep stare, wondering how it was possible, what was he actually seeing, sensing there. *Dean returned the stare, his eyes darting the archangel with some spite in the mix. Lucifer finally broke the staring contest as he pointed a finger first at *Dean, then at Jack and then said "Ok, you two better tell me what is going on here. Cuz my brother might have thought he was going crazy, but I know my grace when I sense it. So why would Dean Winchester have a butt load of it?"
*Dean opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. It wasn't just the fact that a powerful being stood before him and could take him out with a snap of his fingers. It was also the fact that the being in front of him was a part of himself, a creature of his dreams or nightmares, *Dean wasn't sure anymore. And yeah, Jack told him there was a Lucifer in this world, kinda obvious when you have just met his kid, but *Dean never anticipated he would feel so confused by his emotions when he actually met the Devil.
Lucifer's attention got drawn to Jack, when the kid pulled out something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. His posture was shrunken, his expression apologetic as he looked up at his father and said "I'm sorry. I found it and I... I didn't know what it was. It had no label on it; it just rolled when I pulled open the drawer." He looked at *Dean, his eyes sad as he continued "I guess it was this that brought you here somehow." On the table stood a small evory pearl.
"Brought him here? What do you mean, Jack?" Lucifer asked calmly. He didn't feel mad at the kid, there was more worry in his voice.
Jack's eyes were on the ground for a few moments, his mind contemplating a good way to explain to his father he wished for one. He bit down on his lower lip and looked up at Lucifer remorsefully as he explained "I... I guess I felt lonely. I wanted someone to... – and he just could say the words – I... I think I might have made a wish and it came true. He... He is from another world, like the SSam and DDean we met before... But... He, he is different..."
"Different how?" Lucifer asked still in a calm matter, but something just bubbled up inside *Dean. Like a part of him wanted to save the kid from having to explain it, wanted to spare him the possible lecture he might receive. Breathing heavily, he stood his ground and spoke.
"I am Lucifer."