AN: This is a more upbeat chapter. Funniness and getting-along-ness return, along with the revealing of another Dark Angel/Supernatural connection.

Chapter 9

They helped Father Lawrence up the steps of his church, handing him over into the capable hands of a severely-dressed nun.

"Thanks guys. And nice to meet you Logan, Max, and Alec. Do you guys need a place to stay, Dean?" Jimmy was having a hard time keeping his eyes open and there was a nasty bump on the back of his head, but had refused to go to the hospital, saying he had spent enough of his life in them due to his previous job.

Dean shook his head. "Naw, we're all set. Keep an eye on that head, alright, Jimbo? If anything about it bothers you, you go straight to the hospital. And get something to eat and drink, but not too much at once, okay?" he said, hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

Sister Beatrice gave him a matronly smile. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he's alright. I'm used to patching Father Lawrence up, aren't I?" she asked, giving Jimmy a stern look.

"It's not my fault some people decide to come to confession drunk and swinging," the youthful priest grumbled.

Dean chuckled and said, "All right. Get him in bed, sister." At her disapproving look, he added "Not that way, but you know what I mean."

Laughter evident in his voice, Sam told Jimmy Lawrence to keep safe and thanked the nun for taking care of the young man.

Descending the steps, Dean let out a sigh. "You know, I could really go for a drink right about now. That nun always scares the crap outta me."

Alec snickered. "Wow. The big, bad ghost hunter is afraid of a nun."

Dean looked affronted. "Oh, I don't know. I just get this vibe offa her, like she doesn't like me or something."

Max huffed and rolled her eyes. "Like that never happens," she said in her most sarcastic tone.

This stopped Dean in his tracks. He turned around to face the three younger members of the group and opened his mouth to speak but paused.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Dean lowered his eyes and looking very uncomfortable, cleared his throat before speaking. "I-uh. About earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You didn't deserve it." He grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. "I just didn't want you going inside, you know, maybe getting hurt. But, uh, you ended up saving all our lives, Max. An' I guess I should probably thank you for that." His hands were in his jacket pockets now, shoulders tensed, ready for a refusal of his apology.

Max was taken aback. Of all things, she had not been expecting an apology and a thank-you from the jerk. "Oh. Um. You're welcome. Just don't order us around like that again."

"Yeah, or she'll kick your ass, right, Maxie?" Alec grinned and dodged the swat. "Hey, watch it. My neck's still sore from the little twisty thing Ben did to us."

Max made a face. "Stop whining, you big baby." She lashed out again and chased Alec to where their motorcycles were parked when he bolted.

Logan chuckled as he watched. "Why he keeps annoying her is beyond my comprehension."

Sam laughed. "Probably the same reason Dean does things on purpose that he knows gets on my nerves."

"Yeah, it's funny getting you all riled up like that," Dean retorted, getting in the car. "And just so you know," he said, pointing a finger at his younger sibling, "you do things that annoy me, too, on purpose. Like organizing my trunk. God, that is so annoying. But personally, I think the kid does it because he's got the hots for her."

"Of course he does, he's her boyfriend," Logan said dryly.

Dean looked in the rearview mirror with surprise. "Oh. That explains it."

Logan had no time to ask what he meant before Sam spoke up from the front passenger seat. "Just because he's your clone doesn't mean he's a one-night-stand kind of guy, Dean."

Before the conversation could go any further, Max and Alec pulled up beside the Impala on their motorcycles. Alec leaned over to talk to Dean through the open window. "You still want that drink?" he asked.

Dean blinked. This kid was being pretty forgiving, considering. "Sure. You know a good place?"

"Yeah. A couple of our friends should be getting off work soon, so we could swing by and pick 'em up." Alec smirked. "You can buy, you know, to make up for that drill sergeant impression you pulled earlier."

Smiling wryly, Dean said, "Aww, I apologized, didn't I? Okay. Fine, I'm buying."

Alec laughed. "All right! Let's go then." He and Max took off with two identical rumbles.

Back in the car, Dean scratched his forehead. "Why is it that I have a bad feeling about this?"

Sam shook his head smiling. "Could it be that you just agreed to buy drinks for an unknown number of kids in their twenties?"

"Or it could be the fact that Transgenics can't get drunk," Logan put in smugly from the back seat.

Dean bit out a curse and proceeded to follow the two X5s with a rumble of his own.

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The sign on the much-graffitied building read, "JAM PONY BIKE MESSENGER SERVICE".

Getting out of the car, Sam scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. "Hey, isn't this where that whole Transgenic siege last year was?"

Max and Alec walked up. "'Course it is. Max and I used to work here, but our covers got blown."

Max scowled. "You mean your cover got blown. Logan and I had to come to rescue your idiot ass."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hey Sky," he greeted a short bald guy walking a bike out of the building with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

"Hey Alec! Max! Long time no see. Sorry guys, I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta get this package over to sector nine pronto or Normal'll can by ass," Sky said with a furtive glance back. "See you around."

"Yeah, see ya, man." "Catch ya later, Sky." Max and Alec walked into the establishment, both in their own way looking like they owned the place. The Winchesters glanced at each other before shrugging and following them and Logan into the messenger service.

"Bip, bip, bip, you imbeciles. These packages are missing their mommies terribly." A fairly annoying voice drifted out the window from an inside room.

Alec grinned and strode up to the counter, hoisting himself up on the ledge. "Hey Normal. Didja miss me?"

Dean and Sam could now see a man in a dorky (in Dean's opinion) yellow polo shirt with short spiky blond hair and black-rimmed glasses standing behind the window. "Oh. Oh, this is wonderful. My Golden Boy is back."

Here, Dean mouthed "Golden Boy?" to Sam and got a smack in the arm in return.

"And Missy-miss, too. Oh, this is wonderful." Normal hurried through the door separating him from his unexpected visitors and shook Alec's hand, patting him on the arm with his free hand.

By this time, there was quite a crowd gathered around the two returning ex-bike messengers. Most prominent were a lanky young man with badly dyed hair and a blank yet happy expression, and a young black woman with an undeniably big attitude and hair to match it. Dean gulped as he hoped all these people weren't going to tag along. Because that would be a lot of drinks.

Sam had gotten a peculiar look when he'd heard Normal. And it became more pronounced when he was able to see him. Suddenly, he smiled, ducking his head and clearing his throat. "Reagan Ronald? You probably don't recognize me, but—"

Normal blinked at him, recognition dawning in his eyes. "Ha! Jiminy Cricket! Sam Winchester? Oh, this is a surprise. What have you been up to since Stanford?" His eyes landed on Dean and widened. Reagan "Normal" Ronald was struck speechless, a rare thing.

Sam tipped his head at Dean. "This is my brother, Dean. I've just been working with him since I left school, doing odd jobs here and there."

Normal's eyes had yet to leave Dean, making the latter a little uncomfortable, but his jaw came back up. "But how…" He tore his eyes away from Dean and he looked over at Alec, who was now watching this new development unfold with amusement.

"Dean here is probably my DNA donor. 'Cause apparently, all us Transgenics look like somebody out there," Alec said with a shrug. "Small world huh? I never knew you went to Stanford, Normal."

"No?" Normal's gaze went back to Dean. "I was working on my law degree when I met Sam. He was in his fourth year. I transferred to Harvard and then the Pulse messed everything up right when I was supposed to graduate and I ended up here, working with a bunch of reprobates. That reminds me, get moving, people," he clapped. "Bip, bip, bip. Get those packages delivered. No loitering during business hours." The crowd dispersed as bike messengers bid Max and Alec goodbye before riding out the door grumbling.

Max walked up. "So Normal. Alec and I are just gonna grab Cindy and Sketchy and blast. We're goin' to Crash and Dean here's buyin', so we gotta go."

"Well, it was good to see you all. It was wonderful seeing you again, Sam," Normal said, shaking his hand. "And nice to meet you, Dean." He looked the demon hunter over while shaking his hand as well. "You know, you are a beautiful man. Just like Golden Boy."

Dean froze. "Umm. Thank you?" he stuttered. Behind Normal's back, Alec, Max, and their two friends were rolling with silent laughter. Sam and Logan were also having trouble keeping their faces straight. "Heh. Right. I, uh, nice to meet you, too, Normal. Heh." He pulled his hand away and backed towards the door, wiping his hand on his jeans. "So what do you say we get goin', now, kids, huh? Yeah?" Dean scurried out as if he was being chased by stacks of gay porn.

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Dean was waiting outside when the rest walked out of Jam Pony still tittering over Dean's reaction to Normal. He grabbed Sam's arm. "Dude! What is up with your friend?" he sputtered. "He was, like, ogling me."

Alec chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, that was probably partly my fault. I did a little cage fighting after I got out of Manticore and Normal was one of my biggest fans." He threw a couple punches in the air to demonstrate. "He used to creep me out, too, but I guess I kinda got used to it. The guy can't help liking the way I look and move and everything else about me," he said, preening.

Max got a mischievous look in her eyes. "Uh-huh. You know, Alec, we should tell Dean about Normal's gladiator fantasy," grinning when Alec's eyes widened in panic.

"No, no, no Max. Don't you dare. I'll never get over that one. I'm scarred for life," Alec shuddered.

Sam grinned, too. "Oh, I wanna hear this."

The black woman rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't. Once was enough to make Original Cindy feel sick. She wit' Pretty Boy on that one."

Dean put in his two cents. "Oh, I gotta agree," he said hurriedly. "I definitely do not want to hear about it. So why don't we get goin' to that bar 'cause now I really need a drink."

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The dim bar wasn't crowded yet when the group filed down the stairs and sat down at a table in the back room. Dean stood up to fulfill his promise of buying the drinks. "Beers okay for everyone?"

"Just get a couple pitchers," said Max.

Cindy turned to her best friend. "So you wanna tell OC what's goin' on wit' the man yo boy's cloned from and his brotha who just happens to know Normal suddenly bein' in town, boo?"

Max grimaced. "It's a long story."

Sketchy grinned eagerly. "I've got all night and I bet Cindy does, too. So? C'mon, Alec. Buddy?"

"Fine." Alec shifted in his seat. He took a deep breath. "Do you believe in ghosts?" he asked with a serious look.

OC made a face. "What's that got to do wit' anything?"

"Yeah, what do ghosts have to do with it?" Sketchy asked.

Alec smiled mischievously. "We just came from a little ghost-bustin' outside of town."

Original Cindy raised one of her meticulously plucked brows. "Uh-huh. I don't believe it."

Sam chose this moment to break in. "Believe it. Dean and I have been hunting them our whole lives."

Sketchy looked at the older man eagerly. "Really? Ghosts are real?" You could practically see the wheels turning in his head evaluating Sam for a possible interview candidate.

Sam nodded. Gesturing with his hands as he talked, he explained, "Yeah. Vampires, werewolves, demons; they're all real. The Pulse? Gremlin. 9/11 attacks? Demonic possession. The Titanic? Wasn't really an iceberg. It was a group of sirens."

"Really?" Logan looked intrigued. He was starting to think a catalogue of the supernatural would be very useful to compile and wanted these guys' input on it.

"Telling tales outta school, Sammy?" Dean drawled, plopping the pitchers down on the table as he sat down.

Sam quirked his mouth in a smile and shrugged. "Dean, three of them already know and they're just gonna tell their friends, anyway. Might as well get it right."

"All right. Go ahead, geekboy." Dean said. And Sam did. He told what had happened, withholding the personal parts, such as the fact that Ben was Max's brother and Alec's twin. He had a feeling that the two Transgenics didn't want everyone to know the whole story.

"Wow. Ghosts are real," was Sketchy's sagacious response, once Sam finished telling his tale.

"Well, whaddayouknow. Three years ago, I wouldna believed my best boo was a genetically revved up female, and ten minutes ago, I didn't believe in ghosts," Cindy said, shaking her head and taking a drink from her glass.

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Claiming he was tired of losing to Alec's genetically enhanced skills, Sketchy challenged Dean to a game of pool. Poor Sketchy. He had no way of knowing that this was how Dean had earned his living for most of his life. Needless to say, Sketchy lost.

Dean patted his opponent on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid. Just practice a little more and you'll be playing like a pro." He fingered the bills Sketchy had handed over. "This oughta help pay for all the beer you kids are guzzling up. I swear, it's like you have these bottomless pits for stomachs."

"Did you just take advantage of that kid, Dean?" asked Sam, looking up from the paper on which he was writing out notes for Logan.

Dean put on an angelic expression. "Of course not, Sam. He wanted to play, so we played. Nothing wrong with that."

Sketchy interrupted. "Hey, can I interview you guys? I'm a reporter for New World Weekly. I bet they'd love a ghost hunter interview."

Dean grimaced and shook his head, "Well, we'd love to, but you know, being officially dead has its downsides, one of them being we gotta stay outta the news. Sorry kid. Love New World Weekly, though. Great articles."

"What do you mean, officially dead?" asked Cindy. "You don' look dead to me."

"Dean," Sam warned his brother not to say anymore.

"What?" Dean said, shrugging. "We've been reported dead so many times that I bet those government idiots don't know whether to bother chasing after us anymore. It's kinda funny."

"How many times have you been reported dead?" asked Alec.

"I dunno. Five for me and four for Sam, I guess. One more than Sam, anyway." Dean flashed an "I win" smile at Sam, who shook his head at his brother.

"You're such a freak, Dean," he said smiling.

"Oh, I'm a freak? You're the one with the weird friends," Dean retorted teasingly. "Jesus, Sammy, I get that you wanted the whole white picket fence, steady job, 2.5 kids deal, you know, 'normalcy,' when you went off to school, but a friend named 'Normal'? Damn, you musta been desperate."

Sam shrugged. "Oh, he isn't that bad. No one called him 'Normal' when I knew him, so I'm guessing that came later. But he did say 'bip' a lot. I can't believe he's still using it."

Original Cindy crossed her arms and drawled, "Well, believe it, sugah. Normal's bipped us all out."

"Why does he say it, anyway? I mean, what does it mean?" Sketchy asked.

Sam took a sip of his beer before he answered. "It's pretty simple. We were in line at the checkout at the library right before closing, and the people were moving kind of slow, so Normal started shouting, 'Bustle, you incompetent people, bustle.' He just kept saying it over and over again, and was kind of getting on my nerves, so I told him to shorten it to 'bip' to make it easier for everyone involved. I guess it stuck," he observed, chuckling. "Sorry."

"I was only around the guy for, like, five minutes and his 'bipping' already annoyed the hell outta me," Dean said. "I was ready to clobber the guy."

Alec smirked. "Really. All I saw was you hightailing it out of there as fast as you could after Normal came on to you."

It only took Dean ten seconds to join in laughing along with the rest of the group.

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AN: I always did wonder what "bip" meant. This is my explanation. I made it mean "Bustle Incompetent People." Not so good, I know, but can you think of a better one? Normal going to Stanford—was it lame? I read a fic once with him going to Yale or Harvard and came up with "what if Normal went to school with Sam?" And wasn't there an episode in Season 1 with him mentioning Harvard?