Chapter 7: What Could Have Been

Dean felt himself slip into nothing, the car around him disappearing, Sedona leaving his side. He was just standing in nothing, with his eyes closed, unable to open them. When he finally did open his eyes, he found himself standing in a while room, with a woman in front of him. She had short black hair and yellow eyes, and she looked pretty but unpleasant at the same time. She wore a flowing red and yellow dress, one that seemed to symbolize many things. Dean asked her, "Who are you?"

"I am the Reaper," she answered.

"What do you want with me?" Dean asked.

"It is not what I want from you, Dean. It is what I should've had from you," she answered.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"You were supposed to be dead many times, yet you always got away. Last year, you were supposed to die of a damaged heart, yet a man healed you and killed another instead. Then you killed a shapeshifter that looked just like you, and now he lies in a grave with a headstone that bears your name. Only a month ago, you were in a car accident where your father and brother were killed, and yet you were taken from death by the hands of a fallen angel," she said.

"I must be lucky, I guess," Dean replied.

"Do you really think you can get away from death that easily? I invented movies like Final Destination to show you the consequences of getting out of my grasp!" the Reaper shouted.

"Sorry, haven't seen that one. I'm not much of a movie fan," Dean replied.

She became more serious, asking, "Do you think this is funny, Dean?"

"A little bit," he replied.

"You are fortunate. Your fate no longer lies in my hands. Neither does the fate of your brother Sam," she said.

"What about Sam?" Dean asked.

"He is in another world now, Dean. Your fates no longer lie in the hands of evil. They lie in the hands of God," she answered.

Dean paused, then he asked, "Were they serving bullshit at the Reaper convention this morning?"

She became angry, then Dean felt himself pulled back. When he was clear again, he found himself standing in the middle of the living room of a nice house. Sam was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, and Jess was next to him. There were two boys and a girl sitting on the floor playing, aged at about 6-years-old. A woman with long blond hair and blue eyes was on the phone in the kitchen next to the living room. She said to Dean, "Honey, there you are. Your parents are coming, you should check to see if they pulled up yet."

Dean looked at her and asked, "What?"

"Dean, I'm serious! Go check!" she said to him.

Dean turned to look back at Sam, asking, "Sammy?"

Sam looked up at him and smiled, answering, "You haven't called me that since we were kids."

"Is everything alright, Dean? You look upset," Jessica said.

"I'm uh..." Dean tried to get his bearings straight.

There was a knock at the front door nearby him, and the blond on the phone told him, "That's probably your parents. You better answer that."

Dean went to the doorway and opened it, and there stood John and Mary, looking happy and healthy. Mary hugged Dean, and it was like being able to feel his mother for the first time in years. John asked him, "Did you fix the lawn yet? I thought I told you to use the new fertilizer."

"What?" Dean asked, completely blown away.

Mary brushed his face, saying, "Honey, it's cute when you play dumb but now isn't really the time. Now where are my grandkids?"

"What?" Dean asked again.

Mary and John went to the living room, where the two boys and the girl ran up to him. Mary picked up the girl, saying, "Hello, Mary. You look beautiful today."

"Dean and Sam Jr!" John said, taking the two boys in each arm.

Dean didn't know what he was seeing. There were people standing in a beautiful living room, people that were supposed to be dead, people that he never even knew were alive. It was like he was living some kind of a dream. Sam stood up and went up to Dean, asking, "Are you alright?"

"This isn't right," Dean said.

"What do you mean? We came to celebrate the birthdays of the triplets!" Sam said, pointing at the kids.

"No, Sammy, this isn't right," Dean said.

Sam led him out to the back yard, where it was quiet, then he asked, "What are you talking about, Dean?"

"This isn't right. You're dead, dad's dead, mom's dead, Jess is dead, and I don't know who the hell that woman is in the kitchen! Where the hell did the kids come from and why do they have our names?" Dean asked.

"Dean, those are your children, and the woman in the kitchen is your wife, Sarah. You've been married to her for six years now. I've been married to Jessica for eight years, and mom and dad have been alive since long before you were born. There are no dead people in that house," Sam explained.

"No, this isn't right," Dean started.

"Are you having one of those mental breaks again? I could get your medication if you want," Sam said.

"No, Sammy! This isn't right! None of this is right!" Dean shouted.

Sam put his hands on Dean's shoulders and said, "Okay, I understand that you're upset, but there's nothing wrong with this situation. I don't know why you're getting all worked up, you should be happy that your triplets are six-years-old now."

Dean couldn't believe it. He burst out, "Sam, we are demon hunters because a demon killed mom, then he killed you and dad and I was turned into an angel of death."

"Dean, I don't know what you're talking about, but you're starting to freak me out," Sam said.

"Sedona, where is Sedona? She would know what I'm talking about," Dean said.

"She lives down the street, Dean. I thought you weren't talking to her after she married that doctor," Sam said.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? I could get you something if you need it," Sam said.

Dean started running down the street in the direction that Sam had pointed, hoping to find Sedona. He saw her standing outside of one of the other houses, arguing with another man. Dean ran up to her and asked, "Sedona?"

"Dean! I'm so glad you're here," Sedona said.

The man stepped in Dean's way, saying, "I don't think you should be talking to my wife anymore."

"That's what I keep telling you! I'm not your wife!" Sedona yelled.

"I'm going to call your therapist. Maybe he can sort this out," the man went into the house.

Sedona grabbed onto Dean, telling him, "I don't know what happened, but none of this is right! I'm married to a doctor living in a nice small town, and he doesn't know anything about demons or anything else!"

"I know. My family is alive, and I have a wife and three kids," Dean replied.

"What's going on, Dean?" Sedona asked.

"I don't know, I think it's some kind of a test," Dean said.

"A test for what?" Sedona asked.

"Did you see the Reaper before you came here?" Dean asked.

"No, but I was talking to a man who said he was an angel of God," Sedona answered.

"We need to find a way out of this reality before it turns bad," Dean said.

"What makes you think it will turn bad?" Sedona asked.

"That's how all the real fairy tales end," Dean answered.


Dean and Sedona went back to his house, where Sedona met everyone and they all seemed to be very kind to her. Dean pulled Sam aside and asked him, "What do you remember about the past few years?"

"I remember that you and I got married, you had kids, and Jess and I were planning a family as well. You got a job as a contractor, and I was working for a trucking company. Mom's going back to school to be a nurse, and dad is an inventor," Sam said.

"No, I want you to really think about this," Dean said.

"Dean, I'm thinking and I'm not seeing where you're getting at," Sam said.

"Think Sammy. You have to remember," Dean said.

"Dean, are you alright?" Sarah asked, walking up to him.

"No, I'm not alright," Dean replied.

"Dean, I think I know what's wrong," Sedona said.

"What?" Dean asked.

She walked up to Sarah and punched her in the face. At first, nothing happened and she just looked hurt, then Sarah's face started to change, becoming like that of a red skinned demon. Sedona grabbed Dean and shouted, "They're not real!"

They both started running outside, where the Impala was still in the driveway. Dean and Sedona ran into it, then Dean turned it on and drove out to the street. Sam ran out to the front lawn with John and asked, "Dean, what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving all of our asses," Dean said.

He drove down the road as fast as he could, then he asked, "Now what?"

"Now, we wake up," Sedona replied, pushing the steering wheel so that Dean was aiming for a tree.

He hit it, then everything went black again. When Dean woke up, he was back with Sedona driving down the road. He looked at her and asked, "Did you remember what happened?"

"Yes," Sedona answered.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked.

"I don't know, but I'm thinking that something is going terribly wrong," Sedona answered.

"What about Sam?" Dean asked.

"He's fine, trust me," Sedona answered.