A/N: I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE. I WROTE A TON OF CHAPTERS BUT MY COMPUTER CRASHED (the night before my midterm too) AND I LOST EVERYTHING SO I'VE BEEN SLOWLY TRYING TO GET MY STUFF BACK. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HASN'T GIVEN UP ON ME YET, I LOVE YOU ALL! AND I HAVEN'T ABANDONED THIS FIC YET I PROMISE!
Chapter 17: What a Shit World
After seriously spraining her ankle, Mia was given crutches and told to stay off of her foot for at least a week and use crutches for the following month. To Mia, it was a death sentence. The boys stuck with her for about a week until Bobby found them a case. Mia hated watching them drive away, although they'd promised to be back once she was feeling better, she knew she'd be missing out on a bunch of adventures. And since the last one ended with the three of them nearly being busted by the Feds who were now tailing them, she feared for their safety.
Bobby reassured her that they would be fine, and took on the role of an overprotective guardian in order to ensure that Mia's ankle would heal quickly. He made her favourite foods, constantly changed the ice pack on her ankle, and waited on her hand and foot for the first couple of weeks. Mia enjoyed and appreciated being looked after and spending time with Bobby, but she was restless to get out of the house and back on the road and felt guilty taking Bobby away from cases as well.
The boys checked in daily, or rather, Sam called. Dean could usually be heard chewing loudly in the background of the phone call, occasionally calling out random things to get his brother's attention. He seemed to be more invested in their cases than her.
Mia marveled at their many cases, which Sam explained in rich detail. He told her all about a case where they'd found the ghost of a woman that was killed on the highway and appeared every night on the anniversary of her death to warn motorists of the violent spirit that had killed her. They added that they'd let Henricksen catch them and throw them into Prison purely to get rid of a spirit that was haunting the place, then managed to break out of prison with the help of a guard who'd been close with their father. He confided in her about Madison, a beautiful werewolf that he'd fallen for and had been forced to kill. Mia comforted him in his misery about this case.
He also told her about another case, where a demon had possessed him and made him kill a hunter and catch himself on tape, his demon self then convinced Dean that he wasn't possessed and enlisted his help to cover up the murder before trying to kill not only Dean but Jo as well, who happened to be working a case within the area. Luckily, Dean had managed to exorcise the demon and the two of them marched into a tattoo parlour to put a pentagram over their hearts as it would prevent demonic possession.
"You're gonna have to get one too," Sam told her in a serious tone.
Mia yelped, she feared that getting a tattoo was really gonna sting.
A particular case piqued Mia's interest, it had resulted in the boys calling Bobby for backup, leaving her utterly alone and bored. After watching several reruns of Little House on the Prairie, the boys all returned with burgers and fries for all.
"You guys are back!" Mia exclaimed, hopping off the couch and wobbling over to them. She could walk now but was very unsteady on her feet.
Sam enveloped his friend into a huge hug and remarked how much better she seemed to be doing from the last time he'd seen her.
Mia beamed and turned to Dean who eyed her coolly.
"Dean," Mia nodded.
"Tiny Tim," Dean replied, nodding at her leg and single crutch.
The two of them exchanged smirks and Mia wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing his torso tightly.
"I knew you missed me too!" She cried as he struggled to breathe through her tight grip.
Bobby walked in behind them and saw Mia giving Dean a boa constrictor hug and pulled her off of him, believing that she was trying to kill him.
They sat down at the kitchen table and ate as Dean and Sam recounted their tall tale.
"There was this thing, we didn't know what to call it. There wasn't any lore or anything on it," Sam began between bites of his food.
Dean added, "It started with the supposed 'suicide' of this professor dude, who everyone believed was killed by this ghost who haunts his office building. Then there was an alien abduction where this jock was probed and forced to slow dance with some alien, and then another guy was apparently eaten by a crocodile that lives in the sewers."
"Alligator," Sam corrected.
"Whatever," Dean rolled his eyes, "the point is, it didn't make sense. Then, we realized it was a trickster."
"A trickster?" Mia frowned, "from mythology? Like Loki?"
"Exactly," Sam smiled, "so get this, they can only be killed by a stake through the heart, and they have an affinity for candy. So we found the only guy that fit that description and we staked him."
Bobby snorted.
"That's all? It was that easy?" Mia questioned.
Dean nodded, "Yep, we found the son of a bitch and we got him, that's all there is to it."
Mia sighed, "I wish I could've been there. That sounds like an awesome case."
"It wasn't all 'awesome'," Bobby replied, "these two idjits were fighting like an old married couple when I got there, if I hadn't told them what to look for they'd still be bickering over who stole whose candy."
"That's not true," Dean pouted.
Bobby stared at him and then imitated Dean in a high-pitched voice, "Sam where are my chocolates? They were right here!"
Mia and Sam giggled at his impersonation.
"I do not sound like that," Dean insisted.
"You sort of do," Sam laughed.
Mia sat up straight. "Okay, I think I'm good to walk now, so what's OUR next case?"
The three men exchanged amused glances. They knew Mia had been developing cabin fever but if she seriously thought they were gonna let her back into the hunting world in her condition, then she was severely mistaken.
"Mia," Bobby began gently, "you remember the doctor said you needed at least 6 weeks to fully recover, and it's only been 4."
She sighed, "But my ankle is fine! I can walk, and we're always in the car so I don't have to worry about being on my feet too much."
"Bobby's right," Dean agreed, "if we're running from something or someone, I'm gonna have to carry you and we're both gonna get killed."
Discouraged, the young girl turned to Sam for help but he lowered his eyes.
She groaned, "Fine, I'll stay here until the doctor says it's okay. But at least give me something to do, I think I've watched the entire series of Little House on the Prairie, and that show has like eight seasons."
"We'll get you more books so you can help with research on new cases," Bobby promised.
He and Dean then took off to get groceries, leaving Sam and Mia to do as they pleased. They ended up lying in front of the TV watching Footloose and cracked open a case of beer.
As they both reached a happy level of drunk, Kevin Bacon began furiously dancing in the abandoned factory. Mia rolled over to face Sam.
"I can do that routine," She told him.
Sam scoffed, "No you can't. No one-no one but him can do it."
She sat up, "Yes I can, I can prove it."
He rolled his eyes and took another sip of his beer, "How're you gonna do that?"
Mia stared at him determinedly. "Follow me."
Groaning, Sam drunkenly followed Mia off of the couch and outside towards the older barn in the back of the property where Bobby typically used to house broken-down cars, but for whatever reason, it seemed to be empty with nothing but sawdust lining the floor and the rafters. It was pitch dark, and Sam had the brilliant idea to bring over the Impala and aim the headlights at the interior so he could see everything that was happening.
Mia moved to begin the dance, but quickly slipped off her bracelets and necklace before handing them to Sam to keep safe. The last thing she wanted was to lose anything while she was drunkenly imitating Kevin Bacon.
She turned the radio on in the Impala hoping to find a song she could do the dance to and nearly burst out laughing when she found the actual song 'Footloose' playing on one of the local radio stations. She cranked the volume up and opened both of the front doors so the music would flow out.
She began by playing air guitar just as the character did in the movie and then she climbed up to the rafters and continued her dance up there, swaying her arms, jumping, spinning, and running around. She was careful about landing on one foot so she wasn't injuring the other any further but somehow her ankle wasn't hurting at all anymore. She figured it was a mix of the adrenaline and alcohol that took away the pain but it wasn't like she was complaining. She ran and did a front flip to Sam's amazement.
"WOW! I didn't know you could do that!" He exclaimed from below.
Mia ran and did a back handspring before popping up and yelling, "9 YEARS OF GYMNASTICS, BITCH!"
Her friend laughed even louder as Mia continued the dance. By the time the song was nearly over they were joined by a very pissed-off-looking Dean.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Dean screamed up to Mia.
Sam smiled, "She's re-enacting the dancing scene from Footloose."
"You're going to break your ankle again!" Dean shouted through cupped hands.
Mia ignored him and ran to grab the rope that hung from the ceiling and ended at the far side of the rafters.
Dean began to feel fear for his friend and shook his inebriated brother. "Sammy, she's gonna get herself killed."
"She's-she'll be fine," Sam slurred.
Mia laughed excitedly as she swung on the rope while Dean silently panicked. She gazed down at a pile of tarps in the corner of the barn. It seemed as good of a landing spot as ever. She swung faster and faster as Dean called up for her to come down before she broke something.
"You want me to come down? Okay, I'M COMING DOWN!" She called before letting go of the rope and doing a front flip as she came down.
Sam and Dean yelled out for her and ran to catch her but they were too late. Mia hit the pile of tarps with a loud thud and the brothers sprinted to where she had landed on her back.
"Mia, oh my God, are you okay?" Dean exclaimed as he reached her.
They were surprised to find that instead of bleeding or horribly injured as they had imagined her to be, Mia was perfectly fine. In fact, better than fine, she just seemed disappointed that she hadn't landed properly.
They dragged her to the doctor to make sure there wasn't any internal bleeding or concussions but he reassured them that she was perfectly fine.
"And by the way you walked in here I can see that your ankle has healed faster than usual," He added with a smile.
Sam, who had sobered up, frowned at the man. "What do you mean?"
"Her ankle, I don't know how but it's completely healed."
"That doesn't make any sense," Dean replied, "yesterday she was waddling around the house like a penguin and now she's perfectly okay?"
"Dean, you told me she fell two stories onto a thin sheet of tarps and she did this without so much as a bruise. In the least, she should've broken or sprained something, but no. Mia, it looks like you've got someone looking out for you, up there."
Dean rolled his eyes before carting his friend and younger brother out of there and back to Bobby's.
After a long discussion, Bobby agreed to let Dean and Sam take Mia on their next case. He hugged her goodbye and sent cookies with her as well as a pillow to rest her foot on when she was lying in the Impala for too long. Mia hugged her caregiver goodbye and realized she was going to miss him a lot, but the lure of adventure was calling to her and she couldn't wait to get back out there.
Dean had read about several mysterious disappearances in the town of Joliet, Illinois so they drove out to the town, booked a motel, and conducted some research. After determining that all of the people had been last seen off of a particular highway, Sam instructed Dean to drive down it to see if he could find anything about the disappearances while he and Mia poured through books to determine what they were dealing with.
"It's a Djinn!" Sam concluded after reading through the case several times.
"Gin?" Mia asked in confusion from her bed.
Sam grabbed a book and walked over to sit beside her. "No, no, a Djinn, it's like a genie. They're found all over history. They're monsters that grant wishes."
"That doesn't sound so bad to me," Mia frowned as she glanced at the description of the creature.
"It grants your wishes at a terrible cost," Sam added, "they suck your life away while they put your head into this fantasy world where your dreams all come true."
Mia thought it over as Sam called his brother to give him the news. What would her biggest wish be?
Dean told Sam he'd found an abandoned place a couple of miles back that he wanted to check out. Sam insisted that Dean grab either him or Mia for back up but Dean was sure it was a dead end. He hung up.
Sam turned to Mia. "I have a bad feeling about this…"
She shrugged, "Dean's a big boy, he can take care of himself. If he doesn't call back in a half hour, then we worry."
Sam nodded distractedly as he hoped his older brother would be alright.
Unfortunately, Dean was not all right. As he explored the abandoned factory, the Djinn crept up on him and cornered him. He held Dean in a chokehold and put one hand on his forehead to see into his brain and determine what his greatest wishes were. Then Dean blacked out.
When he awoke, he was naked, lying in bed in some strange place.
"It was all a dream," he thought to himself. "I haven't even left the motel yet."
He turned to the spot next to him and nearly flipped when he saw some beautiful, brunette, lying, naked, yet covered in blankets, in the spot next to him.
He quickly got dressed and walked around the strange apartment. Had he hooked up with this gorgeous chick and dreamt of hunting the Djinn?
Dean grabbed a phone and dialed Sam's number. "Hey, you gotta help me,"
"What's wrong?" His brother asked in a concerned tone.
"The Djinn, it attacked me, and now I'm in this strange place!"
"Your gin? As in drinking gin?" Sam questioned.
"No, no! The Djinn! The one we were hunting, it got me and I woke up next to this hot chick-"
"Carmen?" Sam chuckled.
"What? You gotta help me!"
Sam chuckled, "Are you drunk? You're drunk dialing me, aren't you? Dean, go to sleep."
His brother hung up, leaving Dean confused as ever. Where the hell was he? Why wasn't Sam helping him? Who the heck is Carmen?
He looked at the envelopes on the table and read some addressed to him, and some addressed to Carmen Porter. After glancing around at some pictures of the two of them together, he figured that whatever strange alternate universe he'd been thrown into-this woman was his girlfriend. He glanced at some other photographs and felt his heart hammer in his chest when he came across a particular one. It was him and his mother, and he seemed to be the same age that he was now while his mother was a little older than he remembered. That meant…
"She's still alive," Dean gasped before he bolted out of the apartment and grabbed his keys before gunning it for his childhood home. He rang the doorbell incessantly until she answered. Her blonde hair was messy and there were darker circles under her eyes than he remembered but it was still her.
"Dean, what's the matter?" She asked worriedly.
"Nothing," Dean choked back tears, "I just, really wanted to see you."
Mary raised her eyebrows at him but said nothing. She let him into the house.
"Can I ask you something? When I was a kid, what did you always say to me when you put me to bed?" He asked.
Mary seemed confused by the question but answered nonetheless, "I told you that angels were watching over you."
He launched himself at his mother in a hug, it really was her!
"Dean? Honey, you're scaring me. Do you wanna tell me what this is all about?" She asked in confusion.
"I'm just happy to see you, that's all," Dean laughed to hide his tears. "You're beautiful."
Once he composed himself he walked around the room, taking in all the family photos. He saw himself graduating high school, going to prom, and going on family vacations with Sam and his parents. He then saw a picture of his dad in a softball uniform and laughed.
"He loved that stupid team," Mary sighed tearfully.
Dean studied his mother's face, "Dad's dead?"
She gazed at him worriedly.
He continued, "And the thing that killed him was-"
"A stroke," Mary finished. "He died in his sleep, you know that."
Dean nodded gratefully. He was glad his father died normally instead of how he remembered. Losing his soul to the yellow-eyed demon…
"Look, I'm gonna call Carmen to pick you up," Mary began and reached for the phone but Dean stopped her and begged her to let him stay, claiming he missed home.
Mary agreed and let him stay on the couch, she gently cupped his face and asked if he was okay.
"I think so," He replied.
"Get some sleep," She told him before getting up to leave. "I love you."
Dean felt the words get caught in his throat. He couldn't remember the last time he'd said those words, or even heard it said to him since he was a little boy. "Me too," was all he could muster before his mother left him to sleep.
Elsewhere, Sam and Mia had begun to panic. It had been an hour since they'd spoken to Dean and he wasn't answering his phone.
Sam had hotwired a car nearby to take them out the stretch of highway Dean had disappeared from.
"How will we know which building he's in?" Mia asked as she fiddled with her necklace.
Sam stared straight ahead. "He said that the place looked like an abandoned factory. We find that we find him."
Mia nodded. "We will find him," she said in the tone of a prayer more than a statement.
When Dean awoke, he remembered what had happened. He was in some strange Djinn dream. He climbed off the sofa and walked over to the kitchen where his mother was making him a sandwich.
He greeted her and she smiled. "Look, I'm totally thrilled that you're hanging around here, but I gotta ask, don't you have work today?"
Dean paused. He had a job?
"You know," his mother prompted, "at the Garage?"
"Oh," Dean exclaimed, realizing he was apparently a mechanic, "I took the day off."
"Okay, great," Mary chuckled before handing him a bacon and tomato sandwich.
Dean moaned at how delicious it was and offered to mow the lawn to his mother's shock. She agreed and he spent the morning mowing the lawn, drinking beer, and taking in the sunshine. Soon, his brother showed up, having flown in from California with his girlfriend, Jess, who was still alive.
He ran out to greet them with enthusiasm but was taken aback by the cold treatment he received from Sam. It seemed like he had his guard up around him, which worried Dean.
Later, Sam, Jess, his mother, himself, and Carmen all went out for lunch to celebrate because it was Mary's birthday.
"How about we get you a cheeseburger after this," Carmen suggested, noticing the disgusted look on Dean's face when he received an entrée of asparagus.
"You are the perfect woman," Dean grinned back.
During the dinner, Sam revealed that he and Jess were engaged to everyone's delight. Dean beamed like a proud father and hugged his brother, but Sam still acted cold and distant toward him.
Strangest of all, in the corner of the restaurant, Dean saw a woman. She had long brown hair and was dressed in all white. She seemed to be gazing at him as if imploring for help. He got up and walked towards her but before he could get close enough, she vanished. He frowned and turned to his family who stared at him as though he was crazy.
Later that night, Sam cornered Dean and asked him what was going on.
"I just thought I saw someone I knew, but I guess it was nothing," Dean dismissed, but Sam still seemed edgy.
"Since when are you being so nice to me?" Sam asked in confusion.
"You're my brother," Dean chuckled, "I'm proud of you."
"That's what you said when stole my ATM card, when you bailed on my graduation, and when you slept with my prom date, on prom night," Sam replied harshly.
"I did all of that? Geez, man I'm so sorry-"
"No, I'm not asking for apologies," Sam replied with an amused expression, "I'm just saying, we don't talk outside of holidays, and I don't think we have anything in common."
"Sure we do," Dean answered, "we both hunt!"
Sam looked at him as though he'd gone certifiably insane. "I've never been hunting in my life, Dean."
Dean felt his heart breaking. This wasn't his Sammy… As amazing as this alternate universe was, he missed his real brother.
That night, Carmen, who was a nurse, had to work the night shift at the hospital and left him to his own devices. Dean watched the news and saw a memorial for an Indianapolis plane crash.
"Wait, no, I stopped that plane crash," Dean exclaimed, remembering how he and Sammy had done it together almost a year ago.
But that wasn't all… He pulled up his laptop and was shocked to see that all the cases and people he, his dad, Sam, and even Mia, had solved in the past were not saved. Dean's world shattered around him.
This wasn't a dream come true, it was a nightmare.
Sam hated him, his father was still dead, and all the people he'd saved were dead. All the monsters he'd beaten were still alive.
Dean felt an icy coldness creep through him as he processed everything. He knew he needed to be alone, he wanted to figure out what to do next. So he drove down to the old cemetery and wandered around until he found his father's grave.
"All we did," he sighed, leaning against his father's headstone, "all the people we saved. It doesn't matter anymore."
He rubbed his eyes, "I don't know what to do, Dad. I need help, but everyone just thinks I'm crazy. I don't know what to do or where to go."
He heard a young couple with a little girl nearby that seemed to be visiting their own late relative.
"Mommy, why can't I bring my princess dolly with me?" The little girl demanded as she climbed out of the car.
"Because, sweetheart, you'll get her all dirty, come on," The mother said as she lifted the girl out of the van and threw the little mermaid doll back into the car.
Something suddenly clicked. Princess… Mia! What had happened to her in this universe?
He thought of Mia, who always listened to him and teased him, but could give good advice when he needed her to.
Maybe she could help, maybe she'd be able to give him advice. He hopped into the Impala and gunned the engine, driving off to Denison, Texas where he'd first met her.
Hours later, he arrived on her foster parents' doorstep and rang the doorbell. A very confused short blonde, woman appeared and asked what Dean wanted.
"Is Mia here?" He asked hopefully, trying to glance behind Mrs. Miller to see if he could spot his friend in the doorway.
The woman seemed extremely confused. "Mia? The Wilkins' girl? She doesn't live here, she's just over in the Cedar Mills area."
Dean frowned, "What's the address?"
"Why, how do you know her?"
"She's a friend from school, she must've given me the wrong address," He lied, hoping that the woman would buy the story.
Mrs. Miller narrowed her eyes for a moment but then shrugged, figuring the man in front of her seemed harmless enough. "She lives in the cabin at 56 Chestnut Avenue."
Dean thanked the woman and drove over to the address. He immediately smiled when he saw the cozy little cabin. It was perched on the edge of the lake, the stars shone brightly behind it and the lights were on in the second-story window. It seemed to be out of some kind of fairy tale… It suited a girl like Mia.
He took a deep breath before walking up to the front porch and knocking on the wooden door.
A woman with long, wavy brown hair, and bright hazel eyes opened the door. She smiled at Dean, and immediately, without needing any confirmation, he knew this woman had to be Mia's birth mother.
"Hi, Mrs. Wilkins, I'm a friend of Mia's, is she around?" He asked grinning.
Mia's mother beamed and she turned towards the inside of the house before calling for her daughter.
"Oh, Mia," she called in a melodious voice, "there's a boy at the door for you."
He heard booming laughter coming from deep within the house and a male voice call back, "Mia, sounds like your boyfriend is here."
"Dad!" A familiar voice chided angrily before appearing in the hallway behind her mother.
Dean was surprised. Mia seemed a lot happier, her blue eyes seemed to sparkle and her face seemed fuller, as though she was much healthier than the last time he'd seen her.
"So," her mother asked in an amused tone, "who's this?"
Her daughter seemed confused. "I-"
Dean quickly interrupted, "I'm actually an old friend from high school, I moved away a couple of years ago and I'm just passing through and wanted to catch up."
"I'm so sorry, I don't really remember you," Mia replied apologetically. "What was your name again?"
"Dean, Dean Winchester, we took uh, Latin together," He lied smoothly, remembering that Mia had enjoyed taking that course.
Mia cocked her head at him inquisitively then nodded.
Dean continued, "Yeah! I'm back in town visiting friends and was wondering if you wanted to grab something and catch up?"
Mia's mother gave her daughter an encouraging smile before gently pushing her out the front door.
"Mom!" Mia exclaimed.
"I'm sure she'd love to catch up, Mia just be back before curfew, alright?" Her mother grinned mischievously and mouthed the words 'he's cute!' and then shut the door behind them.
Mia rolled her eyes at her mother's antics. "I'm sorry about my mom, she can be a bit… much at times. She thinks I need help talking to boys."
But Dean wasn't bothered, seeing her happy, with her own family was more than enough for him. It was what he'd wanted for his friend.
"I need to talk to you," Dean suddenly remembered why he'd driven out there.
Mia continued to gaze at him in confusion, "I still have no idea who you are; you say we went to high school together?"
Dean sighed and led Mia over to the picnic table by the lake. They sat down across from each other.
"You're right, we didn't go to high school together. I only said that so I could talk to you alone. The truth is, and I know I'm going to sound crazy for telling you this, but I need your advice… Look, this world, your world, I'm not from here. I mean, I am but it's different," Dean struggled to explain.
Mia raised her eyebrows at him, "So you're like an alien?"
"No! It's like… A parallel universe, in my universe, you and I are good friends. We travel the country together with my brother, who's your best friend. We hunt monsters; demons, spirits, and all the things that haunt your nightmares. In this world though things are different."
He went on to explain about his family, and how hers was gone in this other world. He told her about all of their adventures and by the end, Mia was engaged in what he was saying but still looked unconvinced.
"Look, I know what I'm saying sounds completely bonkers, and I wouldn't blame you for getting up and walking away from me, but I know you, you're my friend. I know that your favourite movie is The Princess Bride, your parents named you after Amelia Earhart, and your favourite thing to eat is french fries. I just… I need your help. You, other universe you, would know just what to say."
Mia seemed taken aback by his words and reflected upon them for a moment before looking up at him. "You're right," she began, "everything you just told me sounds completely crazy, but as much as you claim that you know me, I don't recognize you."
Dean felt a lump grow in his throat. He'd known she wouldn't recognize him, but he'd just hoped it…
"However," Mia continued with a compassionate expression, "the me that you do know, is the real me. I won't turn my back on my friend, even though we aren't exactly friends here."
Dean beamed at her in gratitude. "That means so much."
She nodded, "So the way I see it, you have two choices. Stay in this alternate universe, or whatever you wanna call it, and live out the life you were meant to live. Or, you can hunt down this Gin-"
"Djinn," he corrected.
"Right, that. You can hunt this thing down and get it to take you back to your world where me and your real brother are waiting for you, and hunt down more monsters but be miserable instead," Mia explained.
Dean bit his lip, feeling conflicted by the ultimate choice that lay before him. "If you were in my position, what would you do?"
Mia sighed. "I don't know… On one hand, you have this responsibility to go hunt this thing down and find your real life where all those people you saved are still alive but…"
She cut off as though she was forcing herself to keep from saying anything else.
"What?" Dean prompted her, "But what?"
"You got your wishes granted, Dean. Your mother is alive, you and your brother got to grow up normal, and your brother is engaged and has his dream job, you have a girlfriend that adores you and you want to give all of that up? To be miserable? It doesn't seem fair, you've lost so much and now you have to give up everything you could have had. I know it seems selfish but if I was in your position, I think…"
She glanced towards her house, where a warm glow seemed to exude from the windows. Inside was her family, both of her parents alive.
"I'd stay here," she finished softly.
Dean nodded sadly. Even though she'd only known him for ten minutes, this Mia knew him well.
"But my happiness to thousands of people's lives? It should be no contest," he added, thinking about the right thing to do.
"Technically, in this universe, you never saved them in the first place so no lives were really ever lost," Mia shrugged trying to make him feel less guilty about his feelings.
Dean shook his head and glanced over at the lake. He jumped, startled when he recognized the figure of a young woman standing in the middle of the lake.
"Do you see that?" Dean asked Mia, pointing out toward the woman.
"See what?" she asked as she followed Dean towards the lake.
Dean was transfixed. It was the same woman he'd seen at the hospital but her clothes were much dirtier and much more ripped, she looked as though she was sick or dying.
"Dean!" Mia's voice called fearfully.
He spun around and instead of his friend, he saw dead bodies, their hands tied by ropes to some invisible ceiling, their bodies rotting, their clothing still on.
His eyes widened and he took deep breaths trying to convince himself what he was seeing wasn't real. It couldn't be real.
When he looked again, the bodies were gone and instead, there was a very panicked-looking Mia in her white flowy top and jeans.
"Dean," she said in the voice one would use with a frightened animal, "come back here, please."
He wondered why she was so panicked but once he took a step he realized why. In his trance, he'd walked halfway into the middle of the lake without realizing it. The water level was nearly up to his chest. He hurried back to shore where Mia was waiting, looking freaked out.
A warm towel and some dry clothes later, Dean explained that a woman had been haunting him and he had no idea how to help her and now he'd seen dead bodies.
Mia couldn't think of what to reassure him with but insisted that it was probably just repressed memories of some old case, or a nightmare that was haunting him in his life.
"No Mia, this is a sign. I can't just be happy, my old life doesn't want me to be. I have to hunt down this Djinn and go back to you and Sam," he said in a heartbroken voice.
He wished more than anything he could just stay in this world and be happy. Why couldn't his brother have everything he'd ever wanted? Why couldn't his mother live out her life? Why couldn't he just be happy with the family life he'd always wished for? But there were monsters that needed to be hunted and lives that needed to be saved. He said goodbye to Mia who wished for him to stay in this world and took off back home to hunt himself a Djinn.
Dean said his goodbyes to Mia, and then stopped by a farm on his way home and collected some lamb's blood in order to kill the Djinn. When he reached his childhood home he dug through the silverware drawers for a silver knife but was caught by Sam who insisted on following him on whatever mission he was on.
"This is a bad idea, Sammy. You shouldn't be coming with me, you're gonna get yourself killed," Dean sighed as he gunned the engine towards Joliet, Illinois where he'd last seen the Djinn.
"Why don't you just tell me what's going on?" Sam pleaded, "The truth, Dean. I want to hear it."
Dean took a deep breath before telling his brother that he was hunting a Djinn, and needed to find out how to kill it before getting back to his old life.
Sam, of course, took the news badly and asked his brother to stop the car but Dean was determined. He locked the doors and blasted his rock music, ensuring that Sam was in for a long ride to the abandoned factory.
When they arrived, Sam was shocked to see that his brother had been right all along, the Djinn, a human-looking monster with glowing blue eyes and blue tattoos all over his body, put his hand on top of the girl that had been haunting Dean and soothed her out of her cries for her father.
Everything suddenly made sense. "The Djinn doesn't grant wishes," Dean whispered to his brother, "it only makes you think that it does. It probably uses some supernatural chemical to read your mind and put you into some kind of dream, then it feeds off of your life essence… Wait, then that means….I'm here too, what if I'm strung up like everyone else dreaming this as it's happening."
Sam, who had been terrified watching the Djinn leave the room, dragged his brother towards the door. "Dean, this is real! I'm real, you're real and if we don't get out of here, that thing is going to come back and kill us!"
Dean froze and looked at the girl the Djinn had just soothed. "What if the reason I see her and all those other bodies is because I'm waking up, and my dream is colliding with reality."
"Dean, look," Sam began in a scared voice, "you were right, okay? Can we just get out of here?"
But Dean had a different idea, he grabbed the knife dipped in lamb's blood-the only weapon that could kill a Djinn, and pointed it to his heart.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Sam exploded as he tried to wrestle the knife away from his brother.
"There's an old wive's tale, that when you're about to die in a dream, you wake up," Dean replied before lifting his arm to plunge the knife within him.
"All right, stop!" Sam commanded.
Dean froze and when he looked up he saw everyone he loved surrounding him.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Jess said as she emerged from Sam's side.
"She's right," Carmen added, "you can stay with us, you can be happy here."
"But all of those people," Dean sobbed.
Mary emerged and came to give her son a hug. "It's not your job to save them, you deserve to be happy."
Sam stepped forwards, "We can still be a family, everything you ever wanted."
"It's not too late," Mia spoke soothingly to him, putting her hand on his arm that clutched the knife, "put it down and stay with us."
"I'm sorry," Dean told her, tears falling from his cheeks as he took one last look at his mother, "I have to do this."
He brought the knife down and heard the crying of the people around him. He could especially feel Mia's grip on him tightening, and Sam crying out his name.
When he opened his eyes, the two of them were standing in front of him looking terrified.
"Oh Aunty Em, there's no place like home," Dean joked as he came back into consciousness.
"Thank God," Mia exclaimed as she continued using their blade to cut the ropes from his arms.
Sam sighed in relief, "I thought we'd lost you there for a second."
"You almost did," Dean replied sorrowfully as his first arm came down. He blinked a couple of times to get used to this reality and gasped when he saw the Djinn come up behind his younger brother.
"Sam!" He cried out. Luckily, Sam was able to react in time and jump out of the way. The Djinn swiped for the younger Winchester again while Mia hurried with the ropes around Dean's arms.
Sam fought with the monster as Dean jumped from his restraints, Mia grabbed the silver knife dipped in lamb's blood she'd brought in and ran for Sam. By now the monster had wrestled Sam into a position where he was being pinned to the ground in a chokehold, and his hand was over his forehead, to pull him into a dreamlike vision as he'd done to Dean before. But Dean was quicker and wrapped his arms around the monster's neck as Mia plunged the knife into its back, piercing its heart.
The monster died in Dean's arms, and the three of them panted for a moment, catching their breath. Dean then stood up and dashed over to the girl who'd haunted his Djinn dream.
He noted she was still alive, and pulled the tube draining her blood from her neck, and carried her out of the building with Mia and Sam following him.
After dropping off the woman at the hospital to be taken care of, Sam, Dean, and Mia packed up and went back on the road together.
Sam suggested that Dean take the back for a nap to rest up but he was reluctant to and their argument resulted in Sam offering to take the backseat while Mia rode shotgun to ensure Dean wouldn't pass out due to fatigue.
"So," Mia began after a long silence, "how're you holding up?"
"Fine," Dean replied, "I'm thinking about stopping for some food in a couple more miles, are you hungry?"
Mia ignored his question and pressed on, "I know you're not okay, and Sam knows it too."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Dean, we almost lost you back there, and you refuse to tell us what happened… But Sam knows what wish you were dreaming of," Mia told him.
"Oh yeah, what's that? All the strippers and booze I could drink?"
Mia shot him a look. "No. Your family, alive."
Dean froze at the girl's words. His younger brother knew him too well.
"Let me guess," Mia began quietly, "your dad and your mom were alive-"
"My mom was still alive," Dean cut her off, "but Dad died of a stroke. Sam and Jess were engaged, I had a girlfriend and a home. Our family never became hunters in the first place, I had a normal childhood in a normal home, with normal family pictures all over the walls."
"And you were able to give all of that up?" Mia asked in a confused tone. Of course, she was glad Dean was alive but wondered why he would give up his dreams to come back to a nightmare.
Dean stiffened as her words were reminiscent of the words she'd spoken to him in the dream state.
"I had to," Dean replied, "all of the people, my dad, Sam, you, and I saved, they were all dead, and all the monsters we killed were still alive. Our entire lives meant nothing in this world. Me living in a world where I was constantly haunted by my past and all of the things I was never able to do would've driven me insane."
Mia nodded encouragingly, "I know it must've been really tough for you to pull yourself out, but I'm grateful you did. Sam and I would be lost without you."
"It just doesn't seem fair," Dean continued sadly. "Why do we have to give up so much for this job, and all we get is bad luck."
"You've saved so many people. Sure the benefits suck but the job is worth it, trust me. Think about all those people you saw on TV, thanks to you they're all alive, and their families are okay. You did that, you, Sam, and your dad. These people have no idea how much they owe you."
"But why is it always us? Why do we have to suffer? Why can't Sam be engaged to Jess and have his dream job? Why can't my mom live to see her children grow up? Why can't you still have-" He stopped and looked away.
"Have what?" Mia demanded, noting the change in her friend's behaviour.
He sighed, "In my dream, your parents were still alive too. I went to you for help and your mom answered the door. She's beautiful, by the way."
Mia's heart ached as she imagined Dean's dream as a reality.
"It's unfortunately, the way things have to be. But it's not all bad, I mean, you and Sam seem to be pretty close, that's nice. I know it doesn't fix everything, but without hunting I wouldn't know what to do with my life. I thank my lucky stars every day that you and Sam found me and took me in," Mia confessed.
Dean gave her a half-smile. She was right, in his dreamworld, Sam and him seemed to hate each other. He looked at the brunette beside him who was determined to make him feel better and realized maybe things weren't as awful as he believed. He had Sam, Bobby, and Mia after all.
"You know, if you want, you can change the radio station," He said to her softly.
Mia seemed taken aback. Although it looked like a simple gesture, she knew that it held great meaning as he hardly ever let anyone, not even Sam, touch the radio.
"Thanks," She grinned as she scanned the stations for something she would enjoy. After flipping for a couple of minutes, she came across a song she remembered listening to as a little girl.
"Steppenwolf?" Dean chuckled, recognizing the artist.
Mia shrugged, "I've always liked this song."
"You don't know, what we can find," She sang quietly so as not to wake up Sam who was still snoozing in the back.
"WHY DON'T YOU COME WITH ME, LITTLE GIRL!" Dean sang back, uncaring of his volume.
"On a magic carpet ride!" They sang together with big smiles.
Sam sat up in the back, roused from his nap, and rolled his eyes. "Can you guys shut up?"
Mia immediately turned down the radio and apologized but Dean turned it back up and continued singing along loudly. Mia eventually joined him in a softer voice, all the while, shaking her head and smiling at her friend's theatrics.
Sam groaned and rolled over in the backseat, knowing he was gonna have to deal with the obnoxious singing for the next few miles. But Dean was happy, for the moment at least.
The oldest Winchester smiled at the winding road and told himself that as crap as his life was, he still had some of the people he cared about, and he was gonna make sure nothing ever happened to them.
Or so he believed…
Next Chapter: Sam goes missing and it's up to Dean, Mia, and Bobby to find out who, or what, has gone after him...