Djinn Dreams 8

"Lexie don't run off too far, we have to get going soon!" I yelled after the girl as she ran into the jungle-gym. I sat down on the park bench to watch her swing from the monkey bars and rest my swollen feet. Being pregnant was a lot harder than I had first imagined. I sighed and rubbed my protruding stomach as Lexie screamed for my attention. I waved as she declared herself Queen of the Park, standing on a nine foot tall slide.

"God there you are!" I heard a voice call out. I ignored it figuring it was someone who'd found their child hiding from them. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I looked back.

"Dean!? What the hell? You scared the shit out of me!" I gasped jumping back from the hand clinging to my shoulder.

"Emily, this isn't real. Wake up." Dean said shaking my shoulders staring me in the eyes. I pushed him away from me.

"What the hell? Seriously knock it off!" I said confused.

"Emily! I'm telling you this world, this isn't real." He said.

"Are you drunk? Did Sam take you to the club again?" I asked shaking my head at him.

"Damn it no! I'm telling you that right now, you are laying in the living room of the bunker. You cut your hand remember? There was djinn poison on it?" He said insistent.

"I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about Dean," I said keeping my voice low, "I don't want you around here right now if you're going to act this way. I have Lexie with me."

"Lexie?" Dean said taken aback.

"Yes Dean. Your daughter." I said slowly. Just as I finished I watched as Lexie shot off the end of the slide skidding head first, hands out into the mulch. She sat up dazed and then noticed the scrapes on her little pale hands. Her face went from a milky white to red in ten seconds and she let out a high pitched wail.

"Ah shit." I sighed. She jumped up and ran towards us, tears screaming down her face, mixing with the dirt.

"It burns!" She screamed running. Dean stepped back shocked for some reason. She made a beeline for him, just like she always did when hurt. She reached out to be picked up and Dean looked at me for guidance.

"She wants you." I shrugged. Dean reached out unsure and lifted her into his strong arms. Lexie wrapped her legs around him and her arms stuck around his neck while she sobbed into his shoulder. He looked around as if hoping for someone to give him a clue.

"Boo boo!" She screamed her face reddening even more. Dean jerked his head back as she screamed into his ear.

"Okay okay! It's just a scrape." Dean finally said sitting down on the bench and pulling her arms from around his neck. He examined the scrapes and blew on them some to ease the burning. "We might have to amputate." He said seriously to her. Lexie's eyes grew wide and she began screaming her little blonde head off.

"Dean!" I sighed.

"I'm kidding!" Dean repeated over and over until Lexie hiccuped to a stop.

"Kiss it?" She said holding her hands out. I smiled, like always, wanting daddy to kiss her troubles away. Dean's jaw clenched as he stared at the little girl. He took her small dainty hands into his calloused large hands and pressed them against his lips. He rasp-berried them after he kissed them and Lexie began to giggle. She scooted closer to him and put her head on his chest. He stared down at her as if he'd never seen her in his life. His eyes were filled with something I'd only seen the day she had been born. He kissed her on top of her head and she wrapped her arms around his.

I smiled at the sight of my four year old daughter and my husband. Lexie had been a spitting image of Dean since the day she was born. She was freckled across her nose, that was exact to her fathers, and cheeks which were exactly the same to her father's bone structure. But it was her pretty little eyes that I was so please to see were captured. Deep, green, warm eyes that sparkled when she laughed. Thick, sandy brown hair fell to her shoulders and the only thing she had inherited from me, were her curls. She was the perfect image I had in my head when I dreamed of my baby. Seeing her with Dean everyday was just the cherry on top to my perfect life.

As Dean rocked Lexie back and forth in his arms, murmuring to each other, I began to daydream of what my son or daughter I was carrying would look like now. I'd hoped for a boy, alike Dean in every single way but Dean wasn't having any of that. He wanted another girl, with deep brown hair like mine.

"We got to go, I need to get home. My feet are killing me." I muttered standing. Dean stood, Lexie sliding off his lap, but not letting go of his hand. He took his eyes off her to look at me. He seemed confused and frustrated about something. "We'll talk when we get home?" I offered. Dean nodded and we walked off to the parking lot.

The Impala was scorching from sitting in the shadeless parking lot for so long. I opened the door to let the heat out and Dean let out a snort.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, just... a booster seat... in the impala... never thought I'd live to see the day." He muttered. What in the world was he on?

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked reaching out and feeling his forehead with the back of my hand.

"Yeah, fine..." he said but paused, "not really."

"Dean..." I whispered confused.

"When we get home. Want to drive? I don't know where we are going." He said handing me the keys. I stared down at the set he handed me. The metal naked woman key chain dangled from the ring, beside a bottle opener, and a Biggerson's advertisement chain. I hadn't seen the ring like this since before Lexie was born. I reached into my pocket confused and pulled out the keys to the Impala, now a mixture of garage keys, house keys, and various keys we still didn't know what for. There was only ever one set of keys. How did he get another set? I looked over at Dean, uneasy about getting in the car with him. He was hooking Lexie in and laughing at something she was singing to herself.

Something didn't feel right.

Lexie was upstairs asleep when Dean and I could finally talk. We sat down at the island in the kitchen and Dean kept staring at me.

"What?" I asked. I felt the jar of holy water in the drawer I pulled out silently and glanced around the room. Dean followed my eyes and I whipped out the jar and dumped the water over his head. He jumped back shocked by the cold water rushing down his head and face but there was no burning or screaming. He wasn't a demon. I quickly spun around and snatched the closest silver knife.

"Back up." I said holding it out, putting myself between him and the stairs to Lexie's room. Dean wiped away his eyes and smiled small.

"It's me, you can put that away, I'm not going to do anything Em." He chuckled grabbing a dishtowel off the stove and wiping his face off. I stayed firm.

"Not until you prove you're Dean." I replied, "You aren't my Dean... you're different."

"I'm your Dean. I swear, just not in this universe. Listen to me Emily." He said putting his hands up and stepping closer.

"NO!" I said shaking the knife. He sighed.

"I'll let you cut me, I'm not anything but human." He said holding out his arm. He stepped forward slowly, arm out waiting for my move. I slowly step forward and nicked him on the back of his arm. He didn't even flinch. He wasn't a skin walker. I set the knife down slowly and he put his hands back up and stepped back.

"If you aren't anything not normal, then what the hell are you?" I asked.

"I'm telling you Emily. I'm Dean! Dean Winchester!" He said putting his hands on his chest. I looked at him suspiciously. How was it possible that he was my Dean, but didn't remember our daughter, where we lived, or anything else? I had just asked him this question and he'd answered with,

"It's complicated Em. I'm Dean from reality. This isn't real. I know it looks real, and feels real, but it's not real. We woke up a few days ago in my reality and you were washing dishes. Sam had left one of our hunting knives in the sink and you cut your hand. We had been hunting a djinn and used the knife but for some reason it didn't kill the djinn. That means his poison was still on the knife and active when you cut your hand. The poison entered your blood stream and here we are, in your own little djinn dream." Dean replied.

"But, it can't be."

"It is."

"Dean, stop fucking with me okay? I've had a rough week as it is. I mean I don't know what you're trying to do but it's not funny anymore." I sighed.

"Emily! I'm telling you the truth!" He said slapping his hands on the island. I sighed.

"It can't be Dean. I remember everything. I remember the day we met. I remember the day Lexie was born, and her first day of school. I remember being here. My life. I know you're just being an ass. I'm already tired from this baby? So please knock it off okay?" I asked sighing. I wanted to cry. He knew I was already worried and tired from this pregnancy so playing these games weren't fun anymore.

"That baby isn't real!" He argued.

"Are you shitting me? How about you carry this eight pound sac of tissues and fluid in your uterus and tell me it's not real Dean." I yelled.

"Emily, look at me. Have I ever lied to you? Have I ever told you something this serious and been kidding?" He asked staring me in the eyes.

"No, but you're being crazy Dean. Grab my hand, feel it?" I asked grabbing his hand. "This is reality. You need to go to bed. Did you hit your head at work today?"

"No, Emily." Dean sighed.

"Well, there's something going on here, and it's not because we're living in a dream reality." I chuckled. Dean looked away from me, eyes upon the floor and lips thin. He was upset now.

"Emily, can't you remember anything?" He whispered tears forming in his eyes.

"What?"

"Don't you remember the last time this happened?" He asked softly looking back at me.

"What are you talking about Dean?"

"When we met! When that djinn got a hold of Jen and you!" He said.

"Dean, I don't know what you're talking about. We met at Sam's wedding." I said shaking my head confused.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Sam and Ruby?" I said slowly.

"Ruby?"

"YES DEAN! His wife? Your brother's wife?" I said shocked.

"But Sam's with Jen." Dean said softly. I started laughing.

"Jen and Sam can't stand each other! Where on earth did you get THAT idea? Maybe we should take you to the hospital, you're starting to worry me." I said softly. I walked over and put my hands on his shoulders while he stared down at the counter top surprised. "Let's just get some sleep, maybe you'll feel better in the morning."

We walked upstairs together and I checked on Lexie before walking into our room. When I walked into the bedroom he was standing near the bed looking around surprised.

"What?" I asked.

"It's the same." He whispered.

"Same?" I asked.

"It's the same as the other one in the dream. Big white bed, bathroom, dresser, it's all the same. Exactly the same." He whispered spinning around looking at the room. I shook my head and changed into my pajamas while he stared at the walls.

"Coming to bed?" I asked.

"Yeah..." He said stripping.

He was not better the next morning. In fact he was worse.

"I'm telling you Emily. Please wake up! Please! Don't make me go back without you! I can't leave here without you! We need to wake you up before something happens to the baby." He said the next morning as we laid in bed.

"Dean," I whispered putting his hand on my belly, "I'm fine, the baby's fine. I just went to the doctor remember?"

"NO! Emily! Just wake up!" He said panicking and tears forming in his eyes. He stood up and began pacing the floor.

"Dean you're really really starting to scare me." I whispered leaning up against the headboard worried.

Dean stopped pacing and stared at me. He struggled to regain composure but he couldn't. He sat down at the end of the bed and began to cry. I don't mean just cry, he began to cry so hard his whole body racked with shakes.

"Dean!" I whispered climbing over the bed to him. He hid his face from me and shook his head.

"I don't know what to do Em. I don't know how to fix this. You won't believe me, you don't remember anything, and I can't handle all this. I can't." He broke down, "It's been almost two weeks since you cut yourself and now I can't get you back. I should have came sooner, but I promised. I promised I wouldn't."

"Dean," I whispered rubbing his muscular back. I'd never seen him this way. Dean wasn't the man that always showed his emotions, especially crying. He was a Winchester, he always said, Winchesters bury emotions and forget about them.

"I can't." He whispered.

"Dean please." I said resting my head on his bare shoulder. What do I do? I don't know what to do. I don't know what he's talking about. I don't know what was wrong with him. I didn't know if he was telling the truth, which I highly doubted, or if he was just making this all up. If he had been making all of this up, why would he be crying right now? He would never cry like this even for a joke. "Okay, I'll..." I paused, "I'll do what ever you want, just please stop crying." I whispered running my hand through his soft hair. He looked up from the floor and wiped his tears away.

"I don't even know what to do Emily." He whispered.

"Then how do we fix this?" I asked.

"I just figured that you would know when you found out this wasn't real. When you began to see it wasn't real, feel it wasn't real, know it wasn't real it would just stop... but it's not going to happen, because you don't feel any of that." He said softly shaking his head. I clenched my jaw. Something didn't feel right to me. What would he possibly gain from joking about all this? A good laugh? Knowing that he terrified his pregnant wife to death? I mean he couldn't even tell his buddies about it because they'd kick his ass for crying.

"Dean... I don't know why, but I'm beginning to believe you. You're not yourself... you never would act this way, even if it was for a joke. You wouldn't scare me like this if it wasn't real." I said slowly. There was a loud crash outside the door and we both jumped up and ran to see what it was. I screamed when I seen Lexie's door had disappeared, leaving a blank wall.

"LEXIE!" I screamed banging on the wall. What the hell was going on.

"Emily!" Dean said pulling me back. He grabbed my wrists and we watched as another door disappeared with a loud crash.

"What's happening?!" I screamed.

"Your world is becoming a dream... things you once believed were real are now becoming just a dream again." Dean whispered looking around as people faded in photos hanging from the walls.

"I'm scared Dean," I sobbed. He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me tight.

"I'm right here Emily. I'm right here." He whispered kissing the side of my head. I heard the sound of ripping paper and Dean pulled me to the left. I shut my eyes and clung to him as a gust of wind blasted against us. I felt the floorboards shake under our feet and we fell on our backs. I began to scream as Dean was torn from me.

"Dean!"

"I'm right here! We're going back Emily. I'll be right beside you. Okay? I'M RIGHT HE..."

Everything went silent. I opened my eyes only to find that the darkness was around me. I reached down and felt my belly. I let out a sigh of relief to feel the small bulge. I was awake... I think. I tried to sit up but was unsuccessful. I struggled against what ever invisible force was holding me down.

"Dean?" I called out. My voice echoed and echoed for what seemed to be forever. Where was I?

"Wake up Em." I heard someone calling out to me. The voice sounded like it was screaming at me underwater. It was muffled out by the echo of my voice, and the darkness that surrounded me.

"Dean?" I whispered softly.

"Emily, wake up." I felt someone's hands on my shoulders lifting me up. My head lolled back but I couldn't open my eyes or lift my head.

"EMILY!" The voice screamed.

My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't feel air passing through my lungs.

"Emily?" The voice said now clear and deep. It was Dean, kneeling beside the couch.

"Air!" I gasped with my last breath. Castiel appeared beside Dean and rested his hand on my head. The tight feeling in my chest evaporated and soon the air was passing through my lungs steadily.

"Dean what happened?" I asked sitting up and looking around. Dean's face was tired with lack of sleep, and his eyes searched mine.

"You fell into a djinn dream again."

"How?"

"You cut yourself on one of Sam's knives."

"Oh, I remember." I whispered feeling the dull ache in my right palm. I looked around the room before noticing the beard that was grown on Dean's face.

"What's with the beard?" I asked.

"I haven't left this spot in two weeks." He said laughing. Castiel glanced at me before confirming Dean's statement.

"Two weeks?! The baby? Is it okay? I haven't..." I stopped when Castiel raised his hands nodding.

"It's just fine, we've pulled some strings. Winchesters are important to the angels." He said glancing at the half asleep Dean. I smiled small and thanked him.

I rubbed my eyes still feeling rather tired and stretched out my aching legs.

"Where's Jen and Sam?" I asked.

"Asleep, it's three in the morning." Cas said.

"You should go wake them." Dean mumbled as he put his head on the couch cushion for a rest.

"Okay." Cas said and walked toward the hall.

"I'm still confused." I whispered.

"You're telling me." Dean yawned.