Author's Note: I'd like to thank lljn1055, DaughterOfPoseidon333, sam's folly, KnightJellyofCamelot, Nyx Ro, Rainy- Trees, and Apes for your wonderful reviews. It makes my day to know that you are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. And now, only one day after I posted chapter eight... I present chapter nine! Am I awesome or what?

Chapter Nine: A Busy Day

Dean used the tongs to turn the hand-breaded fish fillet over, careful to not yet again burn himself with the hot oil. According to his mother, fried tilapia was one of the kids' favorite meals. He had frozen French-fries heating up in the oven and baby carrots cooking in the pot to his right. And there was a plate of fresh bake oatmeal raisin cookies on the counter. He wasn't doing too badly at this whole pretending to be Daddy-Dean thing. As a bonus, his 'normal' activities seemed to have placated Sam and Jess. They hadn't harassed him about his recent weird behavior for at least a whole hour. Miracles do happen.

"Dean, do you want me to set the table?"

"Sure, Sammy. Make yourself useful for once."

"You really are a jerk."

"I know."

"Daddy, can I help?"

Dean turned to see Rebecca run into the kitchen. "Sure, sweetie. Maybe Uncle Sammy can give you some napkins to put on the table."

"But I wanna help you, not Unca Sammy."

"Well, I've got really hot food here and I don't want you to get hurt. But you know that Uncle Sammy can use all the help he can get. Do you really think he'll be able to set the table all by himself?"

"Okay, Daddy. I'll help him. But I still like you more."

Dean laughed. "Good taste, kid. But we do love Sammy, right?"

"Yep."

Dean took the fish out of the pan and rested it on paper towels to help drain the oil from it. Then he pulled the fries from the oven and dumped them into a large bowl. After transferring the carrots from the pan, he put all the food on the table just as Sam and Rebecca had finished setting out the dinner-wear.

He walked into the living room to see Jess sitting on the couch reading some chick magazine while Nick was stacking wooden blocks as high as he could before knocking them over with a shriek of joy.

"Hey, chow time."

Jess put down the magazine and got to her feet. Nick looked up at Dean with a grin, then went back to playing.

"Hey, little man, food." That apparently was the magic word, because the boy jumped to his feet and ran over to Dean. Taking his hand, the child led him back into the kitchen.

"Foo." He said pointing to the table.

"Yep, food." Dean answered, picking him up and placing him on a chair.

Dinner went well except for the slightly suspicious looks Sam and Jess kept shooting at Dean. Afterwards, he abandoned the two of them to cleanup duty while he retired to the living room to play with the children. He was lying on his back with both kids bouncing on his stomach when the doorbell rang.

Sam opened the door and Mary Winchester walked in smiling at her oldest and her grandchildren.

"Hey, kiddos. You beating up poor Daddy?"

"Just so long as vampire-boy doesn't try to bite me again." Dean muttered.

Both children giggled and pretended to try to bite him. Well, Rebecca was pretending while her little brother was actually putting forth serious effort to chomp down on who he thought was his father.

"Hey!" Dean cried out. "Dude, I said no biting! Go terrorize Grandma."

Both of them obeyed, jumping up and running to greet her.

"Gramma! Did you come to play?"

"Actually I came to talk to your daddy."

"Can we play first?"

"No, Becca." Dean answered looking at the clock. It was well past eight. "It's time for bed."

"Awwww."

"C'mon. Let's go."

Half an hour later both kids were fast asleep in other-Dean's bed and Dean was sitting on the loveseat style swing on the front porch. His mother put her arm around him and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Dean really missed her in his life. It was hard for him sometimes to remember what it was like to be comforted by a parent. His mother had been gone from his life for twenty-seven years and after her death his father had become more drill-sergeant than parent. It was strange, but nice, to be treated like a well-loved child.

"You're doing great with those kids." Mary informed him. "My son would be happy to know how well you're caring for them."

"They're great." Dean grinned. "A bit of a handful, though."

"They get that from their father." She teased him. "So, did you have any luck today?"

"Nah. Missouri couldn't help. She said that I'd have to wait for my Sammy and your Dean to fix things."

"Well, I may have had better luck."

"Yeah?"

"Ellen says she has something that may help. Her and Jo are driving here and should arrive tomorrow."

"That's great! Wait. They're coming here? What about Sam, what will we tell him? And will it be safe to have the kids around?"

"She assured me that it wasn't dangerous. As for Sam, well, we'll think of something to tell him."

"How about the truth?"

Mother and son turned to see Sam step out from the shadows in the yard near the porch. Dean cursed himself for not being more careful.

"Dude, you really are stalking me aren't you?"

"Cut the crap, Dean. Why are you guys talking like Dean isn't your son?"

Dean and Mary exchanged a look.

"Do we tell him?" Dean asked quietly.

"If we don't, it will put my son in a bad position when he gets back. Trust me, I wish it hadn't come to this, but I don't see another way."

"Dude, he is so not gonna believe us."

"Tell me the truth." Sam insisted coming up onto the porch.

"This isn't your brother." Mary started.

"Are you trying to tell me that Dean is adopted?"

The two older Winchesters burst out laughing.

"Dude, you'd like that wouldn't you? Nope. You and Dean are totally related."

"But he's not the Dean you know." Mary held up her hand. "Please don't interrupt. Think of it like this. Do you remember watching Doctor Who with me when you were younger? There were a couple of episodes where they traveled to other dimensions where one specific point was changed which in turn resulted in things being completely different. Well, this Dean comes from a different dimension and..."

"Mom, you know that Doctor Who is fiction right?"

"I asked you not to interrupt. You're not too old to be grounded if you can't follow simple directions, you know."

"Sorry."

"As I was saying, this Dean comes from a very different world. He got sent here by a demon…"

"Actually, Missouri thinks it's something a lot older and more powerful." Dean commented.

"The whole 'no interrupting' thing goes for you too."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, your brother is in the place where this Dean comes from. This Dean's life is much harder and our Dean is in real danger there. We are trying to find a way to switch them back."

"Yeah, sure. So what's the real truth?" Sam was smiling until he saw their expressions. "You guys are serious?"

"Yes." Mary said.

"You're nuts. Both of you."

"Dude, don't make me show you all my scars that your Dean doesn't have."

"What?"

Dean lifted up his shirt to reveal his marred skin.

"So? That proves nothing."

"Sure it does. Did your Dean have scars like that?"

"How the hell should I know? I don't exactly go around trying to see him, I mean you, when you're naked!"

"And thank God for that." Dean muttered. "But seriously, these are claw marks. Why would an auto shop teacher have claw marks? Or bullet wounds? Or a burn in the shape of a freakin' handprint?" Dean revealed Cas' mark on his shoulder.

Sam shook his head. "No. This is crazy. You're crazy. This is some sort of breakdown from Melissa's death. Pretending to be someone else as a way to distance yourself from the pain."

"That psychology stuff is crap and you know it. And if I had lost it, why would Mom be backing me up with this?"

"I don't know?"

"Because it's the truth." Mary stated.

Sam ran his hands through his hair. "But… no. I don't believe in alternate dimensions."

"Too bad. 'Cause here I am."

"No. You're having a mental breakdown…" He pointed at Dean, then turned towards their mom. "… and you're humoring him for some reason."

"No, Sam." Mary denied gently. "Remember when you were a teenage and you wrote that paper for school about how the possibility of infinite dimensions was backed by science. It got you an A if I remember correctly."

"But that was just in theory."

"And sometimes theories get proven."

"No." Sam repeated, but this time there was no conviction in his voice.

"Tomorrow, when our company arrives, have Jess take the kids out somewhere. You can stay. We will be trying to get this Dean home and our Dean back. If after that you still think we're crazy, Dean and I will visit a councilor of your choice. Is it a deal?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really, Dude." Dean answered.

"Okay, then."

Mary smiled. "Good. Now let's all get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

…

…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…Supernatural…

…

Dean aimed the gun at the target and squeezed the trigger. He winced yet again at the loud sound and the kickback. Then he fired again. And again. When the gun was empty he lowered it and looked at the target. Every shot he'd taken had left a hole in the painted wood. Perfect.

"You really are a fast learner." Sam clapped him on the back and nodded his approval.

"It's not that hard." Dean shrugged. "It's actually a little easier than that archery course I took at summer camp."

"Well, I don't think you want to go up against the abomination with a bow and arrow."

"True."

"So, if you're confident in your marksmanship, why don't we move on to the hand to hand stuff? You're going to need to get close to him if you're planning on bleeding on him."

Dean handed the gun over to the younger man. "How exactly am I going to accomplish that anyway?"

"I'm thinking the best plan would be to take him by surprise. Cas, Bobby, and I will engage him and try to keep him distracted. You sneak in and hide somewhere. When he's close to your position, you cut yourself with a knife then try to tackle him. It should be easy if he doesn't see you coming. By then, the rest of us should've already wounded him and all you have to do is get your blood in his."

"Dude, you make it sound so easy."

"It won't be. But we can do it."

"You don't think I can, do you?"

"I just said…"

"I know what you said, but I heard the doubt in your voice."

Sam sighed. "Look, it's just… this guy's really powerful and you're not a hunter. Something tells me he'd give my Dean a run for his money. But that doesn't mean we can't win this."

"I know we can." Dean insisted. "Because I sure as hell am not gonna die in some crappy alternate reality where I'll never get to see my children again. That's just not gonna happen."

Sam smiled. "Then let's get back to training. You go hide somewhere in the area. I'll walk through and you try to take me by surprise."

"Let's do it."

Hours later, Dean lay on the couch reflecting on the fact that he'd never been in so much pain in his entire life. Sam hadn't gone easy on him and he now had several bumps and bruises in addition to the injuries he'd gotten the previous day from the grawlton. He'd taken some pain meds and was now trying to get some rest. There would be more training tomorrow up until sundown. Then Castiel was going to transport them all to right outside the building where the abomination had set up shop.

Dean was scared. He was trying not to show it to the others because he knew that they already doubted his capabilities and didn't want to show any weakness in front of them. But he was scared. The only other fight he'd had with a supernatural creature had almost cost him his life and this would be a million times worse. Dean also knew that a lot was at stake. Not just his life and a way to hopefully get back home, but the fate of this world as well. If the ritual was completed, the abomination would gain such power that he'd be unstoppable and Dean severely doubted that he'd use that power for the good of mankind. This knowledge put a very uncomfortable weight on his shoulders. Between that and the fear, he felt like he was suffocating. He wondered how alternate-Dean lived like this everyday.

"Can I getcha anything?"

Dean turned his head to face Bobby. "No thanks."

"Ya sure? You look like you could use a drink."

"Probably could, but tomorrow's gonna be difficult enough without a hangover."

"Suit yerself."

There was a brief silence.

"Hey, Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think our chances are tomorrow?"

"'Bout a million ta one. But we've had worse and come out on top."

"But you had your Dean with you then."

"You think yer not up for it?"

"Didn't say that."

"Good. 'Cause you got enough of him in ya to win this thing."

"You think so?"

"I said it, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem, boy. Now stop yer whinin' and get to sleep." Bobby smiled to soften the words. "We got us a busy day tomorrow."

Author's Note Part Two: Hope everyone enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks.