Author's Note: Sorry for the week long wait. I was possessed by a demon that refused to let me write about the Winchesters. Anyway, I'd like to thank DaughterOfPoseidon333, lljn105, KnightJellyofCamelot, Evenmoor, Sam's folly, and DimensionJumper for their wonderful reviews.

Chapter Seven: Battle Plans

For the second morning in a row, Dean woke up to sunlight streaming through the window and warming him. Of course he was also being kept warm by the two small bodies pressed up to him on both sides. The larger of the two was snuggle up with an arm resting on his stomach and her head buried in his armpit while the smaller one was half on him and nuzzling his neck. Blinking his eyes open, he smiled at the two of them before glancing at the clock. Seven-fifteen am. Damn, he had only slept four hours. Dean shifted uncomfortably. He really had to pee but he didn't want to disturb the children.

So, trying to ignore his discomfort, he thought back to his conversation with his mom. Well, she wasn't really his mom, but it was close enough. He'd given her an abridged version of his life, mindful not to say anything that might get her pissed off at her John Winchester. The man seemed like an okay guy, and Dean certainly didn't want him to have to pay for an alternate version's screw-ups. In the end, he'd told her a lot more about himself than he'd ever intended, but kept some very important stuff to himself. No need for her to know how many times he'd died horrific deaths or to learn about the seriously bad crap he'd been through. And his retelling of his life helped them form a battle plan. Since she'd been away from the fight so long, she had no contacts or resources, except for her father and she was certain he wouldn't help. She said he'd probably just try to recruit Dean. But Dean had mentioned some people who might be of help. So, today Dean was going to take a little trip to visit Missouri Moseley while his mom tried to contact Ellen Harvelle. She was sure that if the woman was the same here as in Dean's dimension, that she has to have heard of the Campbell family. They would try to get as much information as possible and then meet up tonight under the excuse that Mary was once again going to help council her son. Having a plan was making Dean feel a lot better. He couldn't wait to get started, but he'd have to play it carefully to avoid any more suspicion from Sam and his wife.

The little body on his left shifted slightly, putting the little guy's face on Dean's. The boy nuzzled the hunter as he made little sleepy noises. Then, before Dean could react, he felt little, but surprisingly sharp, teeth clamp down on his jaw.

"Ahh!" Dean jumped into a sitting position, Nick falling back on the bed, giggling happily. "Dude, that was not cool, little man! No biting."

Rebecca sat up rubbing her eyes. "Hi Daddy." She mumbled.

"Hey, sweetie. Sorry I woke you. Your brother was trying to eat me."

The little girl put on her most serious face and looked at the little boy, who had gotten on his hands and knees and was crawling into Dean's lap. "No no, trouble-maker." She scolded.

This only made Nick laugh again.

"What do you say we get up and feed the little guy before he eats us both?"

"Yeah, let's go." She jumped off the bed and ran to the door.

Dean got to his feet, scooped up Nick and opened the door. He reached down to take Rebecca's hand at the top of the stairs, but she pulled it away.

"Daddy, I can do it myself."

Dean shrugged and followed her down and into the kitchen. Sam was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. A bowl of oatmeal sat untouched in front of him.

"Mornin' Sammy."

"Hey, Dean. How did everything go last night?"

"Fine. I'm gonna meet up with Mom again tonight."

"Good. That's really good, Dean."

"Yeah. Oh, and if Jess doesn't mind watching the kids for a little, I'm gonna go out for a little today."

"Where?"

"Just to see a friend."

"That's great, Dean. I keep telling you that you have to get out more. Reconnect with your friends."

"And see, I'm listening, Sam."

"I'm proud of you, man."

"Dude, really? Could you be more gay?"

Rebecca laughed. "Dude, cuh you be gay?" she parroted.

"Dean!" Sam scolded, while his older brother used a hand to unsuccessfully cover up his laughter.

"What? Gay means happy right?"

"Yeah, Unca Sam." The little girl defended her father.

"Yeah!" Nick joined in.

"Oh great. You're the bad influence but I'm the one getting told off." Sam complained.

After breakfast, Jess arrived back from a morning jog just as Sam was leaving for work. On his way out, the younger Winchester explained to his wife about Dean's plans for the day. They both commented on how good a development this was and how their intervention the night before had turned out for the best as if Dean wasn't standing only a few feet away. Dean then spent the next few hours watching 'educational' cartoons, playing with action figures and giving the children horse rides on his back. Then it was time for lunch followed by walking with Nick for twenty minutes to put him to sleep for his nap. Only once the little boy was sleeping comfortably in his crib and Rebecca was coloring pictures at the kitchen table did Dean tell Jess goodbye and head out the front door.

He pulled the car up in front of Missouri's house and climbed out, locking it behind him. As he made his way up the walk, the front door opened and a familiar woman escorted a well dresses middle aged lady out.

"Don't you worry about anything, hon. Your financial troubles will sort themselves out. These things always do." It looked like some things never changed, even in alternate realities.

Dean made his way to the front door and once the lady had driven off he smirked at Missouri. "I know, people don't come here for the truth, they come for good news, right?"

She looked at him curiously. "And just why do you assume I was saying what she wanted to hear, boy?"

"Let's go inside and I'll explain everything."

But instead of moving to let him in, she continued to stare at him in that see-into-your-soul kind of way that had made him so uncomfortable last time. "There is something very wrong with you." She put her hand on his face. "Oh, you poor child. I have never seen such pain, let alone in one so young."

Dean stepped back out of her reach. "Can we just go inside?"

"Well, if you're gonna be that rude you can turn your skinny butt around and go. But you're right, this is a conversation best kept for private. But if you continue thinking those thoughts I'm gonna toss you back out, you understand."

Dean opened his mouth to reply but was cut off.

"And you watch your language."

Dean sighed. Of all the things to stay the same, why did it have to be this?

…

…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…

…

Dean once again woke to the unpleasant sensation of pain. If this was what his alternate self had to live with on a constant basis, he felt sorry for the guy. He knew he'd never make it in this world. He missed his children, his home, his normal job, and his Sam. This Sam was okay, but he had never wanted to see his baby brother this jaded, not to mention all the scars he seemed to have collected. His Sam might be a nosey little pest sometimes, especially lately due to his concern over Dean, but he was a good kid. Which brought to mind the question of how his little brother was coping with alternate-Dean. He definitely wouldn't believe the truth (and hopefully that Dean hadn't tried to tell him the truth) but there was no way that the differences would go unnoticed by his brother. He wondered briefly if he'd be locked in an asylum by the time he got home. Sam had assured him that his Dean knew how to handle this kind of situation, so he just had to trust… himself.

With a groan, he sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes. He'd stayed up way too late reading books that just a couple days ago he'd have considered to be fiction. They had come up empty so far, but after a quick breakfast, he'd get right back to it. The sooner they figured this out, the sooner he could get home. If he didn't get himself killed first.

He seemed to be the first one up, so he made his way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There wasn't much, but he did find some eggs, American cheese, and some thin sliced ham. After making sure none of it had gone bad, he turned on the coffee maker and went to work making breakfast. He hadn't been eating properly since Melissa's death, but he was starving after not eating at all the previous day.

By the time the others entered the room, he'd just finished making the final ham and cheese omelet.

"Damn, that smells good." Bobby commented.

"Dude, I'm surprised you can smell anything over the stench of whiskey and beer."

"Watch it, smartass."

"Why did you make four plates of food?" Sam asked.

"I didn't know if Castiel was going to show up and I didn't want him to be left out if he did." Dean shrugged, then thought of something. "Uh, do angels eat?"

"Oh, yeah. Cas is going to want to keep him." Sam snickered.

"I take it your Dean doesn't treat him very well?" Dean couldn't figure out how anyone could treat an angel of the Lord without respect.

"Dean treats him like he treats everyone else: sarcastically, with a touch of rudeness."

"Oh. So, uh… what's the deal with him? How did he get into this life style?" they took their plates into the study and sat down to eat.

"Our mom was killed by a demon when he was four. Dad raised us to be hunters. The same demon killed him a few years ago, but Dean ganked it a year later. Anyway, we've been doing this our whole lives."

Dean stared at him in shock. He wasn't sure what kind of answer he'd been expecting, but this wasn't it. He couldn't imagine losing his mother at the age of four. And being raised to do this? He thanked God that his life had turned out better.

"How did you guys meet Castiel? Do all hunters work with an angel?"

"Nope, just us. Cas pulled Dean out of Hell."

"Why was Dean in Hell? Wait, do I even want to know?"

"The idjit sold his soul to save this guy." Bobby nodded to Sam.

"Oh." Dean looked between them, trying to determine whether or not they were screwing with him. They both looked dean serious. Not sure how to continue the conversation, he turned his attention to the open book in front of him. He was quite certain he didn't want to know any more about the life that he could've ended up having.

Dean took another bite as he turned the page, then almost choked on the eggs. "Guys, look at this. These are the same symbols that were on my hand, right?"

Bobby leaned over his shoulder to get a look. "Good catch." He took the book out of Dean's hands. "Let's see what it has to say."

The Winchesters watched anxiously as the older man scanned the text. "Is it helpful?" Dean asked.

"Oh, yeah. What we got here is basically instructions for the adversary on the abomination's one weakness." He then looked up at Dean. "Your blood."

"My blood?"

"Yep. When Cas mentioned bloodlines, he was closer to the actual ritual than he thought."

Sam stepped forward. "Dean and I are from the same bloodline. Wouldn't my blood work just as well?"

"No." Came a voice from the corner of the room. They all spun to face Castiel. "Your blood has been tainted since you were six months old."

Dean looked at Sam, the question obvious on his face, but his little brother ignored him. He turned back to the angel. "Have you been watching us?"

"Yes. I had to return to my duties in Heaven but I kept an eye on your situation. I wanted to be ready if you needed my help."

"Great, so now you turn all heavenly-stalker." Sam mumbled.

"What exactly does the text say?" Castiel asked Bobby.

"Just that Dean here has to infect the thing with his blood."

"Well, why don't we take some of his blood and the three of us go inject him with it while Dean stays here nice and safe." Sam suggested.

"No can do." Bobby responded. "Says here that the adversary must infect the abomination by pouring blood directly from his veins into an open wound on the abomination's skin. Guess it needs to be really fresh."

"Dude, that's just gross." Dean made a face. "Not to mention freakin' unsanitary."

"You still okay with this?" Sam asked.

"Okay? No, not so much. But I'll do it."

"Great, now we just have to figure out where he is."

"He will be preparing for the ceremony." Castiel informed them. "If we discover that location, we will know his as well."

"There has to be a specific place?" Bobby inquired.

"Yes, and a specific time."

"Then, I guess it's back to the books."

Author's Note Part Two: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and if you did (or even if you didn't) please take a moment to review. Thank you so much.