It took time to discuss the plan. Cas-two vanished and reappeared as he recruited more people to find Jack. Dean was unsure of what was going on with the angels, curiosity snapped at his heels.

It was around lunch when they found Jack's last location, a skeevy bar downtown. Cas wanted to get right on it but Cas-two suggested getting lunch. There was a diner not far from the spot so they could scout it out.

"We can't all go." Sam added, "It might raise a few eyebrows..."

They all agreed. If the angels had Jack, then they would need to go under the radar.

"And you to can't just go wandering around either, clearly some things are different here."

Dean frowned, that's what they usually did and it usually worked out okay. Sometimes.

"Sammy, why don't you go with their Dean and scout?" D2 proposed.

"Why can't I go?" asked Cas, his eyebrows raised slightly in query.

His doppelganger answered, "You'll draw too much attention. Some of the Angel factions are watching me, and that means you as well. If they do have Jack, you don't want to spook them until we find him. Urial, for one, is unpredictable, and he's not the worst."

"Your Uriel is alive?"

Castiel-two looked at Dean and asked, "Yours isn't?"

"Anna may have killed him…" Cas replied.

"Ah, okay. No, he's very much alive…"

"And very much a dick…" D2 added.

"Yeah, ours wasn't a ray of sunshine either." The Dean's had a moment of understanding as they share a look.

"So, I'm sorry Castiel but you'll have to stay." Cas-two added, "At least until we know more."

Cas sat with a very un-angelic huff. Dean could see his friend becoming frustrated but it made sense to be cautious. They didn't want to spook the Angels into anything drastic. His rational side was on the ball today, what was wrong with him?

Dean snapped back when Sam spoke, "Dean you up for some scouting?"

"Yeah, I'm starved. You guys have bacon cheeseburgers right?" Dean replied, getting a laugh from everyone at the table.

"What?"

"Somethings are definitely the same," Cas-two answered with a Cheshire cat-like smile.

Dean flushed red and shrugged. Food, focus on food.

"Cas are you going to be okay here?" Dean didn't feel at his standard level of caution. It was surprising how okay he was with letting Cas stay but he wanted to make sure Cas was okay with it.

"I'll be fine Dean. Just call if you need me?"

Dean nodded, "Sure, come to get me if anything happens okay?"

Cas nodded, "Okay, Dean."

They all stood together, D2 asked Sam the same thing as Dean had asked Cas.

Sam reassured his brother, he grabbed his stuff and they moved out.

Outside the bunker sat Dean's 'Baby' and he took a minute to reign in his disbelief.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked turning from the open drivers' side door.

"Dude. It's white." Dean whined, aghast. "Even my car's gay." His manhood was getting shot to pieces today.

Sam laughed, "Yours isn't white?" he asked.

"Black."

Sliding into the Impala he had to admit, the cream leather seats were nice and they matched the dash.

Sam didn't seem offended by Dean. They could trust these guys, he felt it. The thought played on his mind for a moment and then because Dean was, well...him, it made him tense up.

Sam seemed relaxed, finding humour in everything. The D2 was a bit off but that he understood and Cas-two, well Cas looked...happy. He mulled it over as he relaxed into soft leather seats. Yeah, he felt a bit off, but that shouldn't be surprising. He tried to shake the weird off but some of it stuck like emotional taffy in his gut.

The car started up and calm settled into Dean's bones. Deep set tension seeping away in the familiar surrounding. Their Dean couldn't be that bad, even if his 'Baby' was white. She was perfect, the noises of the well-tuned engine soothed him.

Sam drove in silence for several minutes. Dean took the time to watch the scenery go by noting almost no difference from his world. Then Sam coughed and asked,

"So Dean, you and Cas never…" he trailed off leaving the question hovering.

"Seriously? No." he glared.

"Dude, no offence. Just curious." Sam added going quiet again but the smile didn't budge from his face.

The rest of the drive sped by in silence and Dean was grateful. They pulled up as rain touched the windshield. Parking outside the diner was easy and it wasn't far from the Bar that they needed to check.

The Diner was like a million others that Dean had visited in his universe. The blue tables were covered in that ugly yet sanitary plastic/wood and had black booths surrounding them. The waitresses were average people going about their work, it was all so..normal. Once at a table, they ordered food and Dean was salivating before it even got to the table. It was a double bacon cheeseburger with fries and the portion was huge.

As the cheeseburger passed his lips he groaned with satisfaction. Dean could see that Sam wanted to ask another question. He looked so much like his Sam that he could read the expressions on his face.
I'm not going to like this.

"What?" Dean asked, "Spit it out."

"Dude, I'm sorry it's just so creepy. You're basically the same."

"Yeah, just a few minor differences." Dean said emphasising 'minor' like it wasn't even a little bit minor.

Sam laughed, "You can ask you know. I can see you're curious."

Dean almost choked on his fries.

"What?" he forced out from around the food in his mouth.

"They met about 9 years ago but have been 'together, together' for three," Sam spoke as Dean ate. Did he want to stop this? It was probably best to hear him out right? He wasn't curious at all, nope.

"There was this whole thing with my Dean and the Mark of Cain." Sam began and Dean nearly choked again.

"He got close to this demon, Crowley? You have him right?"

Dean nodded.

"They were tight and Cas, well he took exception. It was the push he needed to explain his feelings were, shall we say, deeper than friendship. My brother, well...you can imagine. It went down like a ton of bricks."

Dean could feel the expression on his face, empathy. Yeah, he knew how he'd react and it made him wince for Cas.

"I keep laughing because you remind me so much of him in the beginning." He ate a bite of his green stuff.

Dean froze, that was the last thing he needed to hear.

"I didn't see it coming to be honest. They were always close. It was weird sometimes, their bromance but Dean was always so...Dean. You know?"

Dean did know and nodded.

"Then his face when Cas opened up and it was right there you know, the struggle... There was so much angst, and all the back and forth. It nearly broke my brain before my brother just gave in. It was a relief when he snapped out of it and stopped the masculine hetero shit." Sam paused to drink some water and Dean could feel the surprised smile on his face. Masculine hetero-shit huh?

"No offence dude," Sam added when he remembered who he was talking too, looking sheepish. "You okay if I keep talking?"

Dean grunted something close to a yes, then got annoyed at himself, he wasn't curious, damn it.

" I've never seen him happier, not even with some of the women..."

Sam trailed off at Dean's frown and picked back up with,
"This is my philosophy, it's because Cas is an Angel right? Dean, he doesn't have to worry about the supernatural crap of our lives affecting him so much, ya know?"

"Makes sense," Dean added and then kicked himself again. What was wrong with him? Stop participating in the madness!

But Sam smiled, "No drama about the hunting. Cas is more durable than we are, Angel powers right? He also has this habit of coming back from the dead, which in our family is kinda required."

Dean nodded at the reasoning. Actually, when he thought about it like that it made sense. Apart from Cas being a dude, that did not make sense.

Sam stared at him for a second and then added, "I totally went all Oprah on you there didn't I?"

He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, It's just good to talk to someone about it. I figure Dean can't be mad if I talk to you, you're him."

Dean frowned at Sams logic. Maybe? God his brain was going to break.

Sam ate more of his food and let Dean mull over it for a few minutes. He needed the time because, shit, that was a lot to take in.
He watched Sam as he ate, this Sam was softer. He had less hard edges than his brother, the ones life had forced him to develop over the years. This Sam seemed lighter, calmer, less angry and more in touch with his emotions. It made him happy for this Sam but sad for his own.

Swallowing hard he considered the question on his mind, curiosity was going to be the end of him.

"I get it. So they got married?" Dean asked trying to keep his face neutral.

Sam's eyes lit up as he nodded. Jesus, he really did want to talk about this. Like an eager puppy waiting for a tummy rub. Dean was lost, there was no way he could deny that look. Though he regretted that thought a moment later.

"You wanna see?, I have some pictures from yesterday..." Sam ventured, excitement making his tone playful, almost childlike.

"They got married yesterday?" and Dean remembered the earlier conversation, Sam had mentioned the guys had been to a wedding. Their own...right. Not breaking his brain at all. This universe man...

Sam nodded.

"Er, sure." Dean offered. It couldn't hurt. Right?

Sam took his phone out and found the pictures from the day before then handed it to Dean. The phone felt like lead in his palm, did he actually want to see this? In the end, curiosity won. He started swiping through the pictures. The first we're all scenery, flowers and an enormous cake that had, were they rock music lyrics?

"Are you looking at the cake?" Sam asked with a wide smile, Dean nodded and that smile, damn it, it just made him want to keep going.

"You like it? I had the front done all traditional because the girls insisted but then the back...you can see it's all split. Like it's peeling then there's Dean's favourite lyrics and some of Cas's. Do you like the figures at the top?" Sam asked and Dean zoomed in on the picture.

It was a tiny him in his dad's leather jacket and Cas in his trench coat/shirt combo. They were embracing and Cas had his wings out. His brain started to hurt.

"Yeah, it's different," Dean answered, his voice a little rough. There was a pull behind his ribs that he couldn't define but it was uncomfortable.

He kept flicking the phone between bites, engrossed. Guests started flicking past and it was like a knife stabbing into his gut. Charlie stood next to Ellen, Donna, Jo, Claire, Alex, Jody and his Mom. The three younger girls were wearing a version of the same black dress. While Charlie sported a suit, black on black with a blue bowtie. In their hands, they each clutched a deep blue flower arrangement. The older women had pins in the same blue flower, they were all hugging and looked relaxed, happy.

"They're hyacinths, just, if you were wondering, the girls picked them for their meaning. Sincerity? I was impressed with the details, they really went to town."Sam frowned, "It's annoying that I know that." he laughed.

Dean looked over the picture for longer than was necessary but it was amazing, sad and amazing. Sammy was talking about wedding stuff, freakin' flowers for god's sake. He didn't know what to do with that and Sam saw it.

"Sorry dude. I know it's weird for you."

He ignored that as he stared at the phone. The picture of his smiling friends got him right in the feels, Dean felt himself get choked up. It was overwhelming.

"They're alive here," he whispered.

"Who?" Sam asked looking worried.

"Ellen, Jo…" Dean paused taking a breath, "Charlie."

"Oh god Dean, I'm sorry, I didn't..." Sam stopped and changed his tone. Dean could tell he was trying to pull them away from the sadness as he added, "Yeah, they were all there, it was a great day"

"I can't believe you're talking about cake and flower arrangements." Sarcasm pushed through Dean's pain.

"Can you see you and Cas planning a wedding?"

That broke Dean out of his melancholy moment and he smiled.

Flicking through the pictures bore more emotional moments. Bobby was alive here, their Bobby, not an alternate. Along with a few other friends that he missed like crazy and everyone looked so happy. The next photo was of Dean and Cas. Dean was wearing a perfectly fitted three-piece black suit with a blue tie. It was identical in colour to the flowers the girls had been holding and Charlie's. Cas's suit was all that same shade of blue finished with a black tie. It fit him like a glove. They looked blissful. So much so that Dean felt uncomfortable again and handed Sam back the phone.

"That was..."

"Surreal?" Sam finished for him and he nodded.

Chewing on some fries he thought about what to say. "Seems like you got it better here. Everyone seems happier."

"We've had our fair share of shit but we always come out on top." Sam smiled and shrugged.

Dean finished his food in record time practically licking the plate clean. His mind pushed the pictures away as he got back into business mode.

"You ready?" Sam asked as he stood.

"Sure. Let's go"

They made their way across to the bar that Cas-two's contacts had seen Jack at. It was a Demon bar so they entered with caution. Thankfully there were only two in there, both cleaning glasses. The place was grungy, dark and stank of stale beer. There were peanut shells on the floor and their shoes crunched as they walked to the bar.

"The Winchesters, how fun." The tall black wrestler-looking dude said.

"Derek, long time," Sam replied, it was casual but there was an uneasy tension flowing through the room.

"What do you want?" The wide set woman asked, her large bust heaved as she spoke.

"Zera," Sam added as an introduction. It's not like he could say, 'This isn't our Dean and he doesn't know who you are.'

Zera turned and polished a glass, her skin was a soft golden brown and with the dark hair and facial structure, it made dean think of the middle east.

"We need some info about a guy that came in here." Sam nodded at Dean who gave a description.

"Not a Demon?" Derek asked.

"No, Sam replied, "We know the rules and you know he wasn't a Demon."

Dean was confused but kept it from his expression.

"Yeah, he was looking for the Angels' stash of weapons. Told him, wasn't a good plan. He lit up one of my guys like it was nothing but when he realised we didn't know anything, he left."

"Do you know where he went?" Dean asked, still wondering why this was all so civil.

"No," Zera added.

"Thanks. Come on Dean." Sam turned and Dean stared at him but followed in a huff.

The sky was black with the promise of a storm as they left the bar. Once outside Dean let his confusion and anger out.

"What was that?" He spat through gritted teeth, crossing his arms.

"What was what?"

"All of that," he gestured, waving his hand in the general direction of the bar, "We didn't kick any ass at all."

Sam frowned and then laughed. "We don't need too, there's a truce in place. As long as we're not asking about Demons, they give us the info. We don't kill them, they don't kill us." he shrugged, " We all stay alive longer."

Dean stood opened mouthed, "and… they agreed to this?"

Sam nodded, "Crowley did, and I quote 'Dead Demons are not productive Demons.'" Sam's Crowley impression was awful

"So do you actually hunt them? Or is it all rainbows and unicorns?" Dean sounded incredulous.

"Of course we hunt them. When they're killing people." Sam maintained eye contact. "But when we need info, they cooperate. It goes against their nature but Crowley keeps them in line."

"How do we know they weren't lying?" Dean pressed.

"We don't but if your boy was after the Angel stash, it makes it more likely the Angels have him." Sam sighed and rubbed his neck. "We just need confirmation, a lead."

"Why can't Cas-two just ask them?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, "You're calling him Cas-two?"

"It's confusing! Okay!" Dean frowned.

"Sure." he stifled a laugh. "Cas can ask, he's been trying but there are certain factions that won't speak to him directly. They would actually work against us out of spite. So we have to be careful."

"Right, those issues again? Huh?" Dean asked and Sam nodded.

As they walked away from the bar he was annoyed at not being able to blow off some steam. And worse, than that they were no better off than before.