Comrades and Brothers
SYNOPSIS: Ep. 15, season 6 "French Mistake" spinoff – The thing about Jensen and Jared is that they differ from their characters…a lot. So the brothers may be in a strange place but at least they're on speaking terms. Jensen and Jared? Not so much.
Author's notes: This is the only way I can write an RPF story and technically, since it is a spinoff of an episode, it isn't even an RPF. In my personal opinion, Jensen and Jared have become characters through the episode "French Mistake". So in this way I am not using the actors, just their "another universe" characters and thus I can pretty make up anything from that world.
Part 2
Misha shook his head. "No. My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the lord. And you two are not Sam and Dean. Are you?" Misha's voice came out less an inquiry, more a statement of fact, to which Jensen had no verbal response but to shrug his shoulders. This had gone from the realm of weird to downright crazy. People couldn't just pop out of nowhere after all. As if Misha had read his mind, he replied with, "Humans cannot travel as angels, no."
"Pinch me I must be dreaming," Jensen muttered to Jared. "I think he was just in my head. This is all one big hallucination, isn't it, Padalecki? Someone from the crew put something in our drinks before the take."
Jared shook his head slowly, just as awed. "I…don't know." He bent down to grab a fistful of dirt, letting it slip through his fingers. "This feels pretty real to me." Jared looked back up to Misha and suddenly made to touch him. The man let him, an oddly childish curiosity lighting his face. "I can't believe I'm actually standing right in front of a real live angel."
"What the hell are you doing, man?" Jensen hissed as he swatted away Jared's hand. "Quit trying to channel your inner weirdo."
"I'm not trying to channel my inner weirdo! There's a real live angel in front of us, man, and not just any angel, it's Castiel. What do you expect me to do?" Jared asked with a huff, snatching his hand back.
Jensen gritted his teeth. "Don't you get it? None of this is real. I'm dreaming right now and I'm gonna wake up any minute and I'd appreciate it if the dream version of Padalecki would stop acting like a wacko in the meantime. Geez! Is that so much to ask for in my own head?"
Jared cast his partner a look of bewilderment when his words sank in and realization dawned. "You think you're dreaming this?" he asked in an incredulous voice.
Jensen looked suddenly indignant and his voice wavered, "Well yeah! How else can Misha appear out of thin air and read people's minds," he waved his hand toward the trench coated Misha, "and Jim is stuck in Bobby mode! He thought we were demons or whatever and he's loaded!"
Suddenly Jared pulled Jensen by the collar of his shirt and their foreheads collided. Jensen hissed in the sudden spark of pain and made to push Jared back but the other man's grip only tightened and he had no other choice but to stay still. "Why don't you just calm the hell down right now, Ackles? Now listen, OK? I'm real. I'm as solid as you and I'm seeing the same crap you are. You feel this? Here? Do you?" He tightened his grip further and watched as his co-star gave a stiff nod. "Good. That pain you're feeling right now? That ain't in your head. It's real. I'm real. You're real. Everything and everyone here are real. Whether you like it or not, we're here as far away as home as can be it seems, with them." He nodded toward the angel and hunter. "And they have answers, I'm sure of it. So just stay focused and we'll get through this in one piece. OK?"
Jensen nodded and Jared let him go with a relieved sigh. "When did you become so convincing?"
With a sheepish smile, Jared shrugged and said, "It's what I do for a living, remember?"
Jim coughed into his fist and the two turned back, slightly embarrassed to have momentarily forgotten they weren't alone. "Right. So if the pep talk is all done with, let's move on to the more pressing matters at hand." He turned to Misha, his face darkened with worry and suspicion. "If these guys really aren't from this universe, is it safe to assume the Winchesters were sent to where ever the hell they came from?"
Misha mulled over the question for a moment. Jensen could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "Yes, it would be safe to assume so. I did not know where Balthazar would send them as I busy fending off Raphael's men, but if Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, Dean Winchester's and Sam Winchester's counterparts from the other dimension, are here then I would assume the Winchesters are presently in their world, safe from heaven at the moment."
Jared's eyes bulged at the explanation. "They're in our world?"
Misha spared him a glance. "Yes."
"What the hell do you mean 'safe from heaven'? Aren't you the good guys?" Jim demanded at the same time as Jensen said, "Take us back then."
Misha sighed as if he was dealing with a bunch of difficult four year olds and Jensen had to laugh at that thought. It lasted only a moment before his expression was as blank as ever. "Most of us are still sided with the humans but Raphael has always been a traditionalist. I do not know which exact world Dean and Sam were sent off to but the spell should be over within a day."
"Should?" Jared asked, latching onto the word.
There was a small hesitation before Misha said, "If the Winchesters do not pull out of your world tomorrow, I cannot get them back."
A heavy silence descended and Jared had to ask, "What about us? Is there a way for us to get back?"
Jensen already knew the answer to that by the glum look on Jim's ashen face and Misha's ever blank stare, like a permanent stoic mask. "The only way is for the Winchesters to get back. You two should be instantly teleported back to your world then but otherwise there is no other way. I am sorry."
Jensen swallowed. "So if they don't make it…"
Misha gave no word of confirmation but his grim expression was all the answer they needed. Jared slumped to the ground. "This sucks. Really, really sucks."
"I know," Jensen agreed thinking of Danny and her dream of some day becoming a mother, of having a family with Jensen. What if they were stuck in this upside down world forever? What if some hunters from another dimension were stuck in their world, with their families and careers and everything Jensen and Jared had ever known for the rest of their lifetime? It was insane and Jensen tried to stop thinking about it. Dean and Sam were good at what they did. Jensen knew that. He was in Dean's head more times than not. If anyone could get the deadline right, it was the Winchesters. They'd make it and tomorrow Jensen and Jared would be back in a world where Misha wasn't actually Castiel and Jim wasn't really Bobby Singer and they'd all forget this happened.
In the meantime though. "What are we supposed to do?" Jensen wondered aloud.
"Stay put until tomorrow," Misha said seriously. Then without a further word he disappeared to the sound of flapping wings.
"Hey wait a second!" Jensen looked around them and cursed. "Damn angels. And we need to talk to Kripke about the wing effects when we get back."
Jared grimaced and stood up straighter. "It's not that bad. I like the effects."
"Well I hate it," Jensen declared.
Jim huffed, "Them angels for you. Guess you two are stuck with me for the time being. Come on then, let's get in the truck. Don't need to spend the night out here."
"Where are we going?" Jensen asked as he climbed in the front, marveling at the inside. It was the exact truck they had at the set. He suddenly wanted to see the Impala.
Jim glanced at the men as he initiated the engine. "Back to the salvage yard."
"Right," Jensen nodded.
It was surprisingly not long before they were at Jim's –Bobby's place. It looked the same as Jared remembered from all the years he acted on the Supernatural set. It was hard to get used to the idea that this was not the set and Jim wasn't playing as Bobby but was actually Bobby. He kept turning to Jensen only to have to forcefully remind himself Jensen wasn't Dean and he wasn't Sam. This wasn't a new episode they were shooting. It was the real deal.
Jared was currently in the study pouring over the dozens of demonology books and ancient text. He felt almost like a kid on Christmas or in Disney World for the first time. Nearing midnight, Jensen found him on his second read of a more modern text that had more Latin in it than anything that could be found in a public library. "Hey, man," he said without looking up, completely absorbed in reading.
Jensen paused at the doorway, leaning back with his arms cross, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hey," he greeted back, his voice carefully neutral. "What are you up to in here?"
Jared snorted at the question. Jensen was stalling; something else was obviously on his mind. Jared set the book back on the table and looked up at the man. For all that they worked with each other on set; Jared practically knew nothing about Jensen. They had never been friends. In fact Jared had never ever associated the word with Jensen before. They were more…acquaintances if anything. Partners, co-stars, associates…any one of those would fit. But not friends, not brothers. Jared and Jensen would never be as close to each other as the Winchesters.
"Hey, earth to Padalecki." Jensen's fingers were snapping in his face suddenly. "You there dude?"
Jared scowled and swatted his hand away. "Yeah I'm here. Don't call me dude."
"Woah. OK. Whatever, sorry," Jensen said not at all sorry. He backed off with a shrug. "So what were you doing?"
Jared suddenly remembered the books and grinned brilliantly as he picked up the one he had been reading before the interruption. "Bobby has a lot of awesome books."
Jensen's face darkened at the name. "Don't call him Bobby," he muttered.
Jared snorted. "Get over it. He's Bobby Singer so we might as well call him by his name."
Jensen rubbed the back of his neck. He hunched his shoulders. "Yeah well it's still weird."
"Whatever, Mr. Sensitive," Jared said ignoring Jensen's scowl. He was getting better at this.