The room shook as the spell progressed, the green glow was blinding. Sam had drawn a complex looking symbol onto the library wall. He pressed his bloody hand to it and everything froze. The world tilted to the left, then rolled and Dean's stomach lurched. His breakfast made a bid for freedom, a hard swallow forced it down.

Only minutes passed but it felt like an hour as the spinning came to an abrupt halt. Dean felt sick, really sick. Lying there subdued, a groan escaped him. Despite instinct telling him to get up he remained still, much longer than he should have. 'Stupid hangover, stupid spell', he thought. That was like being put in a blender. Why did I volunteer for this again?

Tilting his head to one side he was pleasantly surprised, they hadn't gone anywhere. Cas was lying next to him on the hard tile floor of the bunker where they'd stepped into the spell. Sam was missing and so was the spell circle, Weird. Dean squinted as the lights assaulted his sensitive eyes.

"Hey Cas, you okay?" Dean asked, shaking his friend's shoulder.

"Yes Dean, I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yeah, I have all my parts. I don't think it worked though it all looks exactly the same," he added, standing then used the wall to steady himself.

"It definitely worked; this doesn't feel like our universe."

Cas turned to him, squinting into the air like he could see the atoms holding it all together, maybe he could? Then he brushed non-existent dirt from his trench coat and looked around. The Angel turned as if making a note of the room. It looked exactly the same to Dean.

"It's almost the same; it just feels a little... different." His rough tone was speculative.

The sound of approaching footsteps had his heart racing and adrenaline pumping through his veins.
Like an idiot, Dean had left his gun in the bag. The demon knife was in his belt so he reached for it then crouched, ready to face whatever evil approached.

It was a surprise when the footsteps belonged to Sam.

He looked like their Sam, something was different but Dean couldn't put his finger on it. The likeness was, well, it was creepy and it threw him. Straightening in surprise, he hid the knife behind his back and smiled.

Sam looked tired and a little confused at seeing them standing there.

"Morning guys." He said, "How are you awake?"

"Er…" Dean started, unsure how to begin this conversation.

How did you tell someone you were from an alternate reality? I mean he'd done it before but this was Sam, it was just different.

"You guys were so out of it last night! Did you have fun?" A slight frown passed over his face.

"Er...Yes?" Dean answered, unsure of how to turn this around.

"Good. The girls did everything but you know the cake was my idea," he paused to glance at Cas.

Dean tried to keep a neutral expression.

"Cas, why are you wearing your trench coat? Are you regressing or did you forget to do the laundry again?" Sam laughed, moving to a desk to flip through some papers.

"Erm…" Cas replied, glaring at Dean.

"I thought you weren't going till tomorrow?" Sam added with his back to them.

Dean glanced at Cas and shrugged.

"We ah, decided to go today?" Dean offered, unsure of what he was agreeing too.

He was digging a hole and it was getting deeper. Cas held eye contact, willing him to fix it. The silent argument was moot a moment later when Sam spun and aimed a sawed-off shotgun in their direction. Dean cursed as Sam asked, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

Shit.

Tension radiated from the doppelganger as he scowled at them. Dean should've been in fight mode but wasn't. Kicking himself again for the gun oversight he felt completely off his game. Maybe he wasn't ready for this? 'Too late now ass-hat' he internally chastised.

His brother, who wasn't his brother stared at him like he was a stranger but it was Sam, not a shifter or anything and it threw him. 'This is going to get annoying', he thought. Alternate universes made his brain ache.

Dean was actually relieved that he had an opening but not so much about the shotgun.

"Just, be cool okay? We're not here to hurt you or anything". Dean held his hands up on replacing the knife in his belt. "We're Dean and Cas, just not your Dean and Cas."

"Yeah, I figured that out. Cas hasn't worn that coat in years…" Sam stared them down.

"We're not shapeshifters or witches or whatever."

"You won't mind proving it then will you?" Sam threw a bag at them; it contained the usual 'prove you're not an evil SOB' kit complete with silver, holy water etc.

Dean and Cas touched, drank and cut until Sam was satisfied they weren't anything dangerous. Dean winced as the knife sliced through his skin and he bled over the floor. Once they were done, Cas leaned over and healed him, taking the last of the hangover with it. Sweet relief poured through his veins. The bouts of nausea faded to nothing. The back pain was gone and so was the perpetual ache he'd had around his kidneys for weeks. He always meant to ask whether Cas healed everything when he did that and apparently that was a solid yes. Cleaning the blood with a towel from the bag, Dean glanced at Sam for his approval. He gave it with a nod.

Sam took a seat himself and propped the gun on the table. Once comfortable he instructed them to walk over to the wall and then to return.

They both looked at him like he'd lost his shit until he said "Devils trap under the rug, can't be too careful. Now sit."

"Nice." Dean smiled, impressed. They needed to do that back home.

"I'm glad you're impressed, I live for that shit." His sarcasm made Dean's smile wider.

Oh, this Sam was snarky, awesome.

"Just a few questions before we get to why you're in our home without an invitation…"

"Sur-"

"-Where were we born?"

Dean smirked, "Lawrence, Kansas."

"Your favourite song?"

"Trick question. It's a tie between Zeppelin's- Ramble On and Traveling Riverside Blues."

"Where did we carve our names in the Impala?"

"It was our initials and they're on the rear window deck."

Sam paused, thinking of harder questions, "What am I most afraid of?"

"Clowns." Dean glared and Sam shuddered.

Dean was getting bored and decided to give answers before Sam could ask.

"Your childhood best friend was a Zanna named Sully. You have no taste in music, Hair Metal, really? We won't discuss your taste in women and green stuff is not a food but you eat it anyway. You're also a fan of talking about your feelings. Are we done?"

Sam scrutinised Dean's face for several long minutes before asking, "So, what do you want?"

Dean turned to his friend, happy that Jeopardy: Winchester Edition was over, "Cas you wanna get this one?"

Cas nodded, "We are from a reality like this one. We came to find our friend." Cas paused and corrected himself, "My Son, Jack. He's here and we've come to take him home."

Sam's eyes went wide, "Your Son?"

"He's adopted," Cas added as if it was perfectly normal for Angels to have adopted sons.

"Right."

"Have you seen him?" Cas asked.

"He's youngish, looks like late teens/ early twenties, blonde-ish hair and is about Cas's height?" Dean added, "Oh yeah and eyes glow like gold when he's mad or whatever."

The flippancy of the last part made Sam's brow rise in surprise. "Golden eyes huh?"

"Yeah not like the demon, less creepy- more Angel." Dean clarified but it didn't sound less weird.

"Can't say I've seen him and I'm sure Cas or Dean would have mentioned if they'd seen someone with gold glowing eyes." Pausing, he frowned, "This is going to get confusing isn't it?" He moved the shotgun to the side then rubbed his hand through his long hair.

This Sam had longer hair than his Sam; he could see the difference now.

"So Jack, he's an angel?"

"He's Nephilim," Cas added before Dean could caution him against it. They had no idea how this Sam felt about Nephilim, they could be seen as monsters here. Dean's fears subsided when curiosity crossed Sam's face.

"Interesting..." He commented relaxing back in his chair.

Dean thought the guy was taking this all very well and said so.

"If your lives are even a little like ours, you can understand why I'm pretty good with strange," Sam replied. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

"Yeah, I get that" Dean shuffled in his seat.

"So you didn't stop Lucifer's kid from being born huh?"

"Wait, What?" Dean asked looking shocked, "You did?"

"Yeah, the mother, Kelly, she made the choice. She sacrificed herself with a little angelic help."

Sam explained. "Yours was Kelly too right?

"Wow. Yeah. No in ours, she went through with it and we got Jack."

Cas looked horrified at the idea of Jack not existing or maybe it was Kelly being killed by Angels, either way, Dean pushed him a reassuring smile.

"He's not evil then?" Sam's genuine interest peeked through.

"No, he's good and kind," Cas interjected with a vague threat.

"The kids family. We just want him back so we can go home." Dean added trying to defuse Cas's temper. Then smiled at Sam with the 'please don't say things like that' look.

"We haven't seen him as far as I know. Why did he come here in the first place, maybe that will give us somewhere to start?" Sam asked.

Dean gave Sam wide eyes and Cas added, "You'll help us?"

"Sure, Can't have a rogue Nelphim flying around, no matter how kind he is. The Angels definitely won't like it and were not on the best of terms with them at the moment. So we'll help you get him back. You're basically us right?" It was a rhetorical question, they could all feel it.

Dean nodded wanting to ask more about the Angels but didn't feel it was the right time.

"So why not? Hey, it's probably more disturbing that this only rates about a seven on my weird shit-o-meter." Sam smiled.

Dean laughed, yep it was definitely Sam. The truth of his intentions lit his face. This could be easier than they'd thought.

Famous last words.

"Cas?" Dean prompted for him to explain.

"Dean became possessed by the Archangel Michael and Jack thought the answer to saving him would be here," Cas spoke quickly.

"You said yes...to Michael?" Astounded, Sam met Dean's eyes.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time…" Dean scowled adding extra sarcasm.

The flashback hit like a shockwave. Dean became rigid in his chair. He could hear Cas and Sam asking if he was okay but couldn't answer. The images came thick and fast. Blood rushed through his veins, pulsing so loud he could hear it. The room started to dim around the edges, shadows closing in. The panic, the helplessness it overwhelmed everything else as he spiralled into the memory.

It was playing like a horror movie in his mind. Saying yes to Michael then defeating Lucifer, realising he'd been betrayed. It consumed every thought and emotion. Sam's strangled cry as he realised that Dean was gone. It was a hollow, broken plea. Panic raged as he fought for control in the memory. He could see Cas and Sam staring at him, worried. He was screaming, wasn't he? Why were they so calm?

The hand on his was cool and strong. Cas.

"Dean…" Cas whispered, "Dean come back. I'm here. You're okay. You're safe. He's gone, you're safe."

His hand became warm and it was the same as a thousand times before. Cas pulled the emotions away. Drained them like rain dripping from his skin. Slowly the panic receded; the shaking ebbed and became a fine tremble. The whole thing lasted moments. Dean came back to the room with a shudder.

"Are you here?" Cas asked, "Are you okay?"

Dean nodded as he took in both Cas' concern and Sam's shocked expression.

"Are you alright if I carry on?" Cas prompted.

Dean looked at his hand and had a serious internal struggle. He was terrified to let Cas move but knew it made him look weak to maintain the contact. Cas glanced at him like he was a damn wounded animal but with a tight smile added, "Let me know if you need me?" and tentatively removed his hand.

Sam was staring at the interaction trying to figure out what was happening.

"The memories won't fuck off…" Dean commented as he looked at Sam.

"I get it," Sam replied, genuine understanding in his eyes, he'd been there.

Looking at Cas Dean added, "Thanks Cas, I'm good." The deep breath he took helped to steady his frayed nerves.

Cas took that as his cue to continue, "Lucifer was on a rampage," Cas added, "Dean had no choice."

"Wow, you guys have been through the ringer. Lucifer is in his cage here, has been for a while."

"Lucky you..." Dean wrapped it in sarcasm. .

Seems like they have things better here, he thought. Though he still fighting off memories, it was settling down. One day it wouldn't be this bad. One day...

Sam interrupted his thoughts, "Ah, I get it now. You feel responsible?"

"Something like that," Dean replied, as he shuffled uncomfortably in his chair.

"Do you know what he was looking for?"

"A relic, it was destroyed in our world." Cas answered, "The wrath of Joshua."

"'I've never heard of it. Sounds made up." Sam stood and grabbed a book from the shelf behind him.

"It's a little-known relic, one that was destroyed aeon's ago in our world but Jack found its essence here and followed it," Cas added. "He'd been gone for more than a week and we became... concerned."

"You let your Son go to an alternate reality alone?"

Cas ground his teeth together, "No. He left a note."

They'd been furious at Jack for bailing and had started the plan to find him immediately. The note had said he would come back in a week regardless of what he found but he hadn't. While annoyed, they hadn't started to panic until then.

Sam sat with the book at the table and flicked a casual finger through it.

"Aren't Nephilim supposed to be all-powerful?" Intrigued, Sam looked at Dean.

"You could say he had a bit of a fuel problem," he replied with a wry smile.

"I still have a million questions but I should go get the others and fill them in, they'll be pissed if I leave it too long. Hell, Dean will be pissed I've waited this long."

Yet, Sam didn't move. They sat, staring at each other until Dean couldn't take it anymore. "Is there a problem?"

"They're going to be hung-over, very hung-over" Sam replied, sheepishly.

"Oh yeah? Dean flashed a cheeky grin and Sam returned it, "Oh yeah." A smile took over his face, it was brilliant.

"Party?" Dean asked.

"Wedding," Sam replied.

Dean hadn't seen that look on his Sam for a long time; it saddened him. It was also unnerving. It was so...open, so happy.

"Can I ask something personal?"

"Er, sure, if you have too," Dean replied, not liking his tone.

"Are you guys? You know, together?"

Dean and Cas exchanged a look and Dean laughed. Then his eyes went wide as he registered Sam's meaning.

"What? No! Why would you ask that?" Dean looked horrified. Every memory of him and Cas together over past months bombarded him and he shoved it away with enough force to make his head spin.

Cas just stared at Sam like he'd grown another head.

Before Sam could elaborate, footsteps sounded, followed by the melody of relaxed laughter. The words were inaudible but the voices were very familiar, it was eerie and then time slowed to a crawl.