Author's Note: Thank you so much to Evenmoor, DaughterOfPoseidon333, and lljn105 for your wonderful reviews. They really made my day. I hope everyone continues to enjoy this story.

Chapter Five: Finding Help

"Daddy… can I sleep in your room?"

Dean looked down at the little girl staring up at him with pleading green eyes and tried to figure out how parents ever told their children no. He had always sucked at it. Growing up, he had always given in to Sam. He'd spend their grocery money on any crap the little guy begged for even if it meant that he himself would have to go without eating for a day or so. And it seemed that age had not provided him any defense against sad-eyed children. But he had to try to put up some sort of resistance.

"Why don't you wanna sleep in your room, sweetie? It's a very nice room." And he supposed it was… if you were a little girl. Personally, he thought that it looked like a pink and purple bomb had exploded and it made him wonder if other-Dean had a girly side to him or if Melissa had designed the whole room.

"I like your room more."

"Why?"

"'Cause your in it."

And how the hell could Dean say no now. "Come on."

Rebecca jumped from her bed into Dean's arms. He carried her across the hall and into other-Dean's room. He put her down on the bed and waited for her to lie down.

"What bout Nick? If he wakes up lone, he'll be scared."

"We wouldn't want that." Dean wondered if they always shared the bed with their father or if he was just a sucker. "I'll go get him."

Dean left the bedroom and walked into the boy's room. He was currently sleeping in his crib after he'd fallen asleep in Dean's arms while the hunter had tried to calm him down. He'd cried himself into a fit when Dean had scolded him for climbing onto the kitchen table. Dean had taken pity on him when the little guy had begun to wail and grab at his pant legs. Yep, he was a sucker for kids.

Dean gently scooped up the sleeping child and brought him to the master bedroom, where he laid him down on the opposite side of the bed from Becca. He put a pillow near Nick so that he wouldn't roll off the bed. He stood back and smiled at the young girl sitting there. "Goodnight."

"Daddy, wait."

"What?"

"You didn't say it."

"Say what?"

"Bout the angels."

It took Dean a moment to realize what she was talking about. Of course his other self would continue on his mother's traditional goodnight. "Goodnight, Becca. Goodnight, Nick. Sleep well, because angels are watching over us."

"Night, Daddy." The little girl lied down, curled up on her side to face her brother and closed her eyes.

Dean watched them for a few minutes until he was sure they were both sleeping peacefully. After everything he'd been through, it was weird to be saying those words. But it seemed to help the child sleep and she didn't need to know that a lot of angels were just super-powered asses. Of course there was one who wasn't. And he just might be able to help.

Not wanting to wake the kids, he left the bedroom and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He had heard Sam and Jess come home while he was putting Rebecca to bed, but since they stayed in the spare room downstairs and had their own bathroom, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be disturbed.

"Uh, Cas. Hey if you can hear me get your feathered butt down here right now." Dean waited a moment but received no reply. "Dude, Castiel, you up there? Can you here me. I really need some divine intervention here." When he got no response, he loudly muttered. "Useless angel prick." And not even that got his friend's attention. His Cas must not be able to hear him from this dimension, and alternate Cas either didn't exist, didn't hear him, or didn't care.

With a sigh, Dean pulled the bathroom door open and came face to face with Sam.

"Dude, what the hell!"

"Who were you talking to?"

"Uh, no one."

"I heard you talking."

"You stalking me, now?"

"Dean."

"Dude, I wasn't talking to anyone."

"Really, because it sounded an awful lot like you were calling out to someone named Castiel, who you think is a useless angel."

"Well, then you'd better get your hearing checked." Dean brushed past Sam and headed for the stairs. He really needed a drink.

He was at the top of the stairs when Sam grabbed his elbow. "Dean, Jess told me about your computer search earlier. We were already concerned about your state of mind and now this? This calling to angels thing? What is going on with you? I know it hasn't been easy on you but I think you're getting worse, man."

"Dude, seriously, thanks for the concern but I. Am. Fine." Dean shook his brother's hand off and went down the stairs. Only to stop dead at the sight that met him in the living room. Jess was sitting on the couch with Dean's mom to her left and his dad in the recliner across the room. Dean stared at them, his mouth slightly opened. He'd known they were alive here, but actually seeing them? It was a bit much. His mom looked beautiful, like she had somehow kept her youthful appearance that he'd always remembered but gained more wisdom in her features as well. And his dad… well, the man looked… sane. He was clean-shaven, didn't have a scar on his body, and his face held laugh lines instead of those of worry and hard-living. They were the parents he remembered from when he was four and the sight made him almost want to cry.

The others misinterpreted his stunned silence for anger. "Dean, this isn't an intervention or anything." Sam spoke up. "But we're all very concerned about you."

Mary Winchester stood and started forward, her mouth opened to speak but before she could get a word out, Dean had crossed over to her and enveloped her in a hug. She seemed stunned by the show of affection when she'd obviously been prepared for a very different reaction. She adjusted quickly, though and began to rub his back.

Reluctantly, Dean stepped back just as his father approached and he turned and gave John the same greeting he'd given his mom. He released the older man, taking in the shocked expression on his face.

"It's great to see you guys." The hunter stated truthfully, trying to pull himself back together and act like how his other self would. But he wasn't sure how other-Dean would interact with them. "Uh, but isn't it a little late for a visit?"

"Sam called us, son." John explained.

"He told us you were having trouble. That you were researching the afterlife and spirits." Mary gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, well Jess has a big mouth." Dean mumbled none too quietly.

"Hey!" Both Sam and Jess objected.

"Dude, I told her I'm writing a book. I just needed more info for it that's all."

"And up in the bathroom just now you were trying to call for an angel." Sam spoke as though he was talking with his brother but he had turned to the others as he said it.

"It's called praying." Dean informed him.

"That's certainly not the words they taught us to pray in church."

Dean shrugged. "So, I improvised."

"Honey, why do you think Jess would be an earthbound spirit?"

The hunter turned to stare at his alternate self's mother. She had posed the question to sound like she was concerned about his frame of mind, but Dean read something else on her face. Honest curiosity and a little bit of worry. And not the 'oh, no. my son's crazy' kind of worry. And that's when it hit him. Her family had been hunters here too. And with no demons to screw up her future, she had succeeded in leaving the life behind and raising a normal family. And now she was concerned that her daughter-in-law was a ghost. Relief flooded through the young man. He needed someone to talk with and help him get home. He had briefly considered calling Bobby until he remembered that the older hunter had only gotten into that line of work after his wife had become demon-possessed. So no demons equaled no hunter-Bobby. And after Cas had refused to answer him, he had feared he'd be on his own. But maybe he had just found some help after all.

…

…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…

…

For the second time that day, Dean found himself waking up somewhere other than where he had fallen asleep. This time, the smell of alcohol hit him before he'd fully come back to consciousness. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. He didn't mind a beer every now and then but the whiskey smell here was so overpowering that he felt a little nauseous. He opened his eyes and found himself on an old couch in the living room of someone who seriously needed a house cleaning service. He heard hushed voices coming from the other room and decided to go investigate. As he moved to sit up, the next unpleasant sensation hit him. Pain. His sides felt like they were on fire, but they dulled in comparison to the throbbing coming from his shoulder. Looking down he realized that his shirt had been removed and that there were now bandages wrapped tightly around his ribs. 'Where that creature had clawed you' his slightly traumatized mind reminded him. And the bite on his left shoulder was covered by a large gauze pad and tape. This of course meant that he couldn't try to retreat into denial and blame the whole experience on some crazy dream. Oh, well.

Dean slowly got to his feet and shuffled to the doorway of the room where he'd heard the voices coming from. Inside the messiest study he'd ever seen sat his brother and an older man with a beard and a battered baseball cap. That must be the 'Bobby' his brother had talked with. They were huddled around a desk and too absorbed in their discussion to realize that they now had an audience of one.

"Look, Sam, it don't make a lick of sense. The only ones who've done something like this before were them damn angels and there ain't nothin' for them to gain by doin' this now."

"I know, Bobby. But our Dean must've done something to cause this. This guy doesn't even have a clue about this stuff."

"And yer sure Dean's where this guy came from."

"He's gotta be."

"Not that that's actually yer brother and his brain's messed up."

"I considered that but it doesn't add up. This Dean isn't wearing the same clothes and he has a wedding band on. And you saw him… except for the fresh wounds he doesn't have a mark on him. He claims to have gone to sleep at his home and woken up in the motel with me."

"Dammit. I don't even know where to start."

"If only Cas would get back to me." Sam sighed.

"Well you know he likes yer brother more." Bobby chuckled.

Dean had heard enough. He needed answers. "What the hell are you guys talking about?"

If he'd surprised them, they didn't show it. "Look who's up. Mornin' sunshine." The older man greeted.

"Dean." Sam turned towards him, acting like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "We were just discussing…"

"Yeah, I heard your crazy talk. Perhaps you should lay off the whiskey and rejoin reality for a moment so I can get some answers."

"He's just as pushy." Bobby commented.

Sam sighed. "I know it's hard to understand but monsters, ghosts, demons, and other supernatural creatures all exist."

"Yeah, got that memo. It was carved into my skin not that long ago."

"Well, Bobby and I hunt them down and get rid of them. Along with my brother."

"Dude, I might have helped you earlier, but I'm not making a habit of that. I've got kids to think about."

"I wasn't talking about you." Sam cut him off before he could protest that he was Sam's only brother. "Just listen, okay. You don't belong here. You are from another dimension or an alternate universe, or whatever it's called. My Dean and I ended up in another one not too long ago and now it looks like you and him somehow traded spaces."

"You know you're nuts, right?"

"Just listen to him, ya idjit." Bobby growled.

"Dean, look at me. There has to be some differences in my appearance."

Dean was about to scoff again but something made him stop and do as he'd been told. He looked at his brother. Really looked at him. His hair was longer than it'd been yesterday, he was dressed completely different than usual, there was no wedding band on his hand and there were traces of scars that he was sure his baby brother had never had.

"Oh my god." This wasn't his brother. He entered the room and fell into a chair before his legs went out from under him. This was impossible. But no other explanations came to mind. "So I… I mean he… I mean..."

"I think you broke him." Bobby commented.

"Dean, I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but we're trying to find a way to fix this. We'll get you home and get my brother back."

"But we're gonna need yer help, boy."

Dean turned to face the older man. He was trying to process everything and not lose his mind at the same time. But, under it all, he needed to help fix this… whatever it was that had happened. He needed to get back to his children. "What can I do?"

"We need you to pray for an angel named Castiel to come here and help us. He's a friend of our Dean and I'm sure he'll show if you call him." Sam responded.

"An angel. Talk about friends in high places. Okay. I can do it." He took a deep breath, wondering if the fact that he was starting to just accept everything Bobby and Sam told him meant that he had lost his sanity after all. "Castiel, angel of our great and powerful Lord, I pray and humbly request that you grace us with your presence."

"Dean." A voice spoke behind him. Dean jumped up and spun around, coming face to face with a dark-haired man wearing a trench coat. The newcomer cocked his head to the side. "That was an unusual, although greatly appreciated, prayer for you to say."

Author's Note Part Two: Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoyed. Please take a moment to review and tell me what you think.