Dean had spent the morning under several cars and hadn't seen his dad since they arrived. "Want to grab some lunch?" his dad now came up and asked him.

Dean had noticed there was a college down the road. " Actually I have an errand to run, Dad," Dean answered. He did want to spend time with his dad, but he also needed to figure out if this was real, or what was going on.

"OK, see you later," John replied. He asked Dean if he wanted to get lunch every day and Dean usually said no, so his refusal wasn't a big surprise.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean found a professor he thought could help him. "What can you tell me about djinns?" he asked after introducing himself as a student.

"They're all over the Koran, going back centuries," the professor began.

"Yeah, yeah. Get to the wish part," Dean said, impatient.

"What about it?"

"Do you think they can really do it?" Dean asked.

The professor decided this guy was disturbed. "No. They aren't real, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I mean in the stories, if you had a wish, but didn't say it out loud, could the genie make it happen?" Dean realized the question was ridiculous.

"Yes. I suppose so. They were supposed to be very powerful," the professor said, still suspicious of Dean's sanity.

"Thanks," Dean said and left. The professor was going to be of no help. Dean didn't know why he had bothered coming here.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

At the end of the day, Dean was tired. Hunting was hard work, but this was different. It was constant, keep to a schedule, having a boss work. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep this up. He went to look for his dad, remembering he had to give him a ride home.

"Why don't we go to your place and pick Carmen up. You guys can get ready and then bring me home, and I'll get ready," John suggested.

"Ready for what?" Dean asked.

"Your mother's birthday dinner. You didn't forget did you?" John asked.

"No, of course not," Dean said, wondering if he had a present stashed away somewhere.

He almost forgot where he lived, coming from a different direction, but luckily his dad didn't notice his hesitations at certain intersections.

"Hi, Carmen," he said when he walked in the door. She was already dressed in a slinky black dress. He could definitely get used to her.

"Carmen, you look lovely as usual," John said.

"Thanks. Can I get you something to drink while we wait for Dean to shower and get dressed?" Carmen asked, giving Dean a push in the direction of the bathroom.

"A beer would be great," John said.

When Dean was out of the way, John asked, "Has Dean been acting strange lately?"

"Just last night," Carmen said. "Did he say anything to you?"

"He just said that he had a dream about when he was a kid and was feeling nostalgic," John relayed his brief conversation to Carmen.

"Maybe he had some kind of nightmare where you and Mary died and he went to protect you. Afraid to admit he was scared?" Carmen hypothesized.

"That makes sense. A grown man wouldn't want to admit he was afraid to lose his parents, but of course nobody ever wants their parents gone, no matter how old they are."

"Maybe we should just act like nothing is wrong. If that was all it was, he'll probably be fine now," Carmen said.

"OK," John agreed.

A little while later Dean emerged wearing a suit. He felt uncomfortable as he always did in suits, but Carmen lit up when she saw him. "You look so handsome. All the other women will be jealous of me," she said and kissed him.

Dean just smiled at her. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," John and Carmen both answered.

"Will Sam be there?" Dean asked.

John sighed. "Of course. I told you last week, he and Jessica were flying in."

"Jessica?" Dean said excitedly.

"Yes. They're getting very close. Probably won't be too long before we hear wedding bells," John said with a smile on his face. He couldn't imagine a better daughter-in-law than Jessica Moore.

"That's great,' Dean said with an even bigger smile.

John was wondering since when Dean cared about anything Sam was up to, but was glad. He had always hoped his two sons could be closer. They were so different and there was so much distance between them.

"I've only met Jessica once, but she seems really sweet," Carmen was saying.

"Yes, she is," Dean enthused.

John was again puzzled by Dean's sudden enthusiasm for the couple but decided to keep it to himself. Maybe Sam was in this dream Dean had.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam and Jessica pulled up to the house in their rented car. Mary heard the car and ran out to greet them.

"Hi, Mom," Sam said giving her a hug.

"Hi, Mary," Jessica said.

"I'm so glad you two could make it. We haven't seen you in months."

"I know. We get so busy with our studies. Sorry, we don't get here more often," Sam apologized.

"That's OK. When you both get your law degrees, you can come back here for a week long celebration and rest."

"Sounds good," Jessica said.

"Well, come on in and get ready. The others should be here shortly."