Epilogue:

Sam opened the blinds and looked out at the Summerhouse with a smile. They had postponed putting the pond in for the time being for obvious reasons. The air was sweet and fresh from all the flowers and aromatic plants though as he opened the French windows fully, and he breathed it in with full-on pleasure.

All his senses felt alive.

He felt alive.

He had been doing so, ever since that day nearly three years ago, when both his brother and Annie had hinted at him that he also was turning into a were. But in his case, into an Alpha, the same as his counterpart from that world.

And seeing how his brother had handled it so brilliantly, even the male pregnancy part… well, Sam hadn't been afraid. (Although he wasn't ashamed to admit, albeit only to himself, that if that had been the case, perhaps he wouldn't have been quite so calm! That would probably have freaked him out completely!)

But the change that he had undergone…?

When he had realised, that very evening that Dean had left him with Annie, he had had a single moment of panic: one solitary moment where his brain had sent him to his feet and told him to run back to where they had been arrived in his dimension and try to find the portal or whatever it had been and beg to be allowed to go back… but then… he had looked across the garden to the kitchen window and had seen both Deans standing the other side, looking back through at him. Watching him.

From where he stood, he could only see their heads: their clothes were in shadow and he couldn't tell who was who: his brother or his brother's look-alike, and they both looked so alike that they definitely could have been born as identical twins… but actually…

… the more he looked. The more he knew. The one on the left looking at him was his brother. His actual brother. He wasn't sure what sense was telling him that that was the case but he was sure… he was positive.

And before he could think about what he was doing or why he was sure, he had mouthed 'Screw you!' to the omega that he knew was his Dean… and the other man had laughed aloud and raised his middle finger in a rude gesture back at him, and Sam had also laughed…

This was what his brother had been worried about. Why he had tried to argue against Sam coming to this dimension. And the younger Winchester had been adamant that he was going anyway, because his brother would be there, and his niece, and his new brother-in-law… they would all be there and he was going as well no matter what. He was going to that new world to be with his family.

And so there he was. With his family. Adapting to that world. A world of Alphas and omegas and betas. He just had some catching up to do, that's all.

As if sensing his sudden peace with the situation, the omega that was not his brother gently rested his head against the other's shoulder momentarily, there was one last instant where both their green eyes met Sam's through the window… and then they were straightening up and continuing with whatever they had been doing in the kitchen together as if the moment had never happened.

Sam was left standing out in the garden with Annie. Whose hand he suddenly realised that he was still holding: he hadn't let go of her even as he had shakily risen to his feet just then.

"I slept with Dean!" Why had he just blurted that out? But it felt important to be honest. "The other Dean I mean. Not my brother. More than once. Quite a few times in fact!"

"I know." Her response took him by surprise. "Once he realised that it would be easier to let me in on the secret of what really happened all those years ago, he's been quite open about what happened. He said that you and Castiel saved his life there. You kept him sane when his Heat was threatening to tear him apart."

"You're not mad?"

Annie stared at him. "Why would I be mad? You saved my friend. If anyone should be mad, it's Sam in there, but if he isn't, then…

And if we're talking baggage, then I have a twelve year old daughter. That means I'm not a virgin omega. And I only managed to have a beta daughter, so I'm a defective not a virgin omega! Is that a problem?"

"Oh God, no! I mean…" Sam wasn't quite sure what he meant. But he went for it anyway. "I don't want there to be any secrets between us. I mean… I like you."

It was lame. It was soppy. His big brother would have called him out for being a sap. But Annie simply smiled: "I like you as well."

That had been three years before.

And now Sam turned from the open windows, with the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle in his lungs and smiled as he saw his wife standing in the doorway to the room, with their son in her arms.

"Does it look like we can use outside?" Annie asked, as she handed the baby over to his father. "It'll be easier if we can."

Sam grinned and bounced little Dean in his arms: "It looks like a perfect day out there for a first birthday."

His brother had cried on being told his new nephew's name. Well, that wasn't quite true: his first response has been to ask why on Earth would his sister-in-law and brother be wasting their son's name by bringing yet another 'Dean' into the family… and then Sam had told him that little Deanie was named for the bravest, most worthy, most important man in his life… and then Dean had cried. (So had the other Dean, but that particular omega cried at everything anyway so that didn't count.)

And now, here they were at his first birthday. Sam couldn't believe that the time could have gone by so quickly.

Or where the last three years had gone to in general.

He and Annie had sat in the garden that evening and talked until it had nearly gotten dark. Sam had felt excited as they finally came inside the house: he had asked the beautiful brunette omega if she'd like to see a movie with him and she had said yes, and nothing was going to upset him now.

Although that had immediately changed upon the realisation that no one had seen his brother for the past couple of hours, not even Evie or Samuel. His niece was quite upset by Dean's absence as she was even more protective over her dad than her other father was… and that was saying something!

Even though the ongoing situation seemed for the moment to have settled down, it was still felt by them all that anything, or wrong action, could cause more violence and possible riots once again. But luckily Dean did reappear safely soon after with the excuse of having been for a walk… which Sam didn't believe for a moment and wondered what he had really been up to.

He had found out the next day, and it was with some trepidation that he greeted his brother when the older man approached him early the next morning.

Really early: the sun was only just peeking over the horizon when the older man tapped gently on his bedroom door, although when Sam opened it, he wasn't surprised to see the little girl literally swinging on her dad's arm. "Daddy's been sick again." She informed him.

"Oh. Okay." He wasn't really sure how to respond.

Dean grimaced: "Morning sickness. Afternoon sickness. All the bloody day sickness. Remind me to never let Samuel come near me again after this one arrives!"

Despite himself, Sam chuckled. "I seem to remember you saying something like that last time."

"Yeah, well. You obviously didn't do a good job in reminding me! You… erm… you wanna come for a walk? There's something I need to show you."

Sam had been surprised by the change in topic. And by his brother's unusual hesitation. "Okay."

He quickly got dressed and joined them at the front door, unsurprised by Samuel also being there, determined not to be parted from his pregnant mate again. Castiel was also waiting, always ready to accompany his family no matter where they went.

"Where are you going?" the other Dean was hurrying down the stairs: the sharp-eared omega had heard their voices. "What's happened? Are you all alright?"

"Nothing. We just thought we'd go out for an early walk that's all. Before too many eyes start to notice Sammy here."

But even as he opened the front door, his counterpart had grabbed for his arm in a panic: "You are coming back, aren't you?"

Dean smiled at the other Dean: "Count on it," he assured him.

Sam hadn't been quite sure where his brother had been intending to take him, but as they walked along he recognised the area from his runs… and then after a while, he also recognised the street that they had arrived into from their own world: the one that they had been attacked on.

"Of course! That house!" He registered suddenly. "You… She… transformed it right in front of our eyes. With everything's that happened, I'd forgotten about it!"

The older Winchester grunted. "I hadn't. I'd wondered why… and then yesterday I came down to find out."

"You came back here? On your own?" Samuel was suddenly distraught. And angry. "I know that it's gone a lot quieter for the time being, but still, if some of those assholes had caught you outside on your own… you're still very much a target!"

"I was careful." Dean spoke to try and assure him. And to be honest, failed miserably. But he would have to deal with his mate's feelings later. Now was about his brother.

Fishing in his pocket, he produced the keys to the afore-mentioned house and let them all in.

"It's the same house. Our house. Just that it's in this dimension. And I got to wondering…" he fumbled in his other pocket and produced…

… the two stones.

Both were smooth like pebbles on the one side. But the other side of each was marred and sharp as if they had been one large one that had somehow been snapped into two. But really, neither looked like anything innocuous at all.

Yet still Sam's heart skipped a beat in panic and then pounded at a mile a minute at the sight of them.

"What are those, daddy?" Evie had a tight hold on him: the nauseating sensation of being transported through the portal just those few short weeks ago still clear in her young memory.

He grunted in response: "They're what started this all, baby girl.

But anyway, I got to wondering about the house and what had happened when we arrived, so I came back here yesterday to have a look."

"On your own." Samuel couldn't help but put in, anger now plain in his voice. Evie's hand tightened even more on her dad's arm.

Dean ignored his mate momentarily. "And when I stood here yesterday, I realised that there's a door there that's not in our house. In fact it couldn't be as it's a solid wall." He indicated what he meant: the others in the room, on looking as well, could also now make out the faint outline of another doorway, almost as if it had been lightly sketched onto the wall just to the side of the large open plan living room, one that formed the external structure of the dwelling. "And it's a door without any handles.

One handle for each side of a door: that makes two. And we got two stones."

Even while the others were trying to follow this somewhat lunatic but completely Dean Winchester logic, Dean was stepping up to the wall and the non-existent door, and holding out one of the smooth, unremarkable stones to approximately where a handle… if one even might have existed on a two dimensional near abstract image… should have been…

And as the rough edge of it touched that point on the wall, the stone suddenly glowed blue in his hand, and changed shape to become that of a perfect round doorknob. The click as it slid into position was audible.

The rough outline that had been so hard to notice before suddenly glowed blue as well, as if a strong light was being shone behind and through the gaps between a door and its frame. And then suddenly, there was a door there. A solid wooden door that matched all the others in the house but set into what had been a solid brick wall that couldn't have possibly had anything behind it…

Dean turned the handle.

And the door swung open towards him.

"To get back through, we'll need the other one as well." Which was already glowing and changing in his hand even as he was speaking, holding it to the other side of the wood so that the two halves could connect through what had simply not been there before, to form a whole, permanent link. And then the glow was gone and all that was left was a door, with two normal-looking handles… except that the opening created could never have been, and the room that they could all see lying beyond was an impossibility beyond any current law of physics…

"That's our house!" Evie suddenly squealed with excitement and took off running straight through it, grabbing at Dean's hand as she did and tugging him along in her excitement. "We're home! We're home! But." She stopped as abruptly as she had started and looked up at her dad with wide eyes: "What about Nana Dean? And Grandpa Bobby? Are they coming as well?"

"Not to stay." He caught her up in his arms. "But we're not coming back here either. Our place is in that world there," he indicated the still visible view of the house that they had all just been standing in, everyone else also having hurried through the doorway to join them in case, "at least for the time being, anyway.

But we can come and see Uncle Sam here, as often as he'll have us!"

"What?" His younger brother had almost shouted at him.

"I meant what I said yesterday," Dean reminded him calmly. "I finally found my place and it's in that world: that's where I need to be right now. But you?" he continued. "You were carving out a place for yourself here, and you were happy. And you were enjoying having this house and being normal, and I got to wondering why Our Lady would do all of this and not let you have happiness after it. We're entitled to some happiness, Sam.

So I came yesterday and played with the stones, and realised what they were meant for…"

"Did you come through here without me?" Samuel exploded with fury. Beyond fury. His eyes blazed red and the room was suddenly filled with the most awful stench : it was burnt toffee and old discarded fireworks, and Sam , to his own surprise, suddenly felt that he was also reacting with rage, but against the younger Alpha. He wanted to posture at him and show him that he was the stronger one… but then sanity and reason won back through and he blinked his sudden surprising turn of emotion away even as Samuel continued to berate his brother: "Did you? Without me? Without her?" he indicated their little girl.

"What if you had gotten trapped here! What if the door had closed and you'd never gotten back…?"

Dean regarded him with a slightly apprehensive expression. But. "That's why I came alone," he said carefully. "So, if that had happened, or I'd have been sent on to somewhere else entirely, then you and Evie would at least have had each other… I didn't want to risk getting all of us lost somewhere that might have been dangerous… "

But then he was wincing as his daughter swung her arm and hit him with a proper good punch into the side of his jaw. "You never do that again, daddy. You don't ever go anywhere without me!" and then she was throwing her arms tightly around his neck and hanging on like a limpet, deep sobs already racking her little body.

Dean hugged her back, but found himself watching his mate. The stink was gradually subsiding but the young man was still extremely upset and angry at him. "We. Are soooo. Talking about this later."

"Sammy…"

"I said. Later."

Evie hid her head into Dean's shirt. And even Castiel winced at the tone in the young man's voice.

"Well, that's garbage anyway." Sam declared, uncaring of the tension. He himself was furious at his reckless brother, and confused at himself. "Because I'm staying there with you. I told you that!"

"But you don't want to." Dean tore his attention away from Samuel and turned to him with a sigh: he wasn't even arguing, he was just stating facts. "The door's safe. The stones didn't even stop glowing yesterday when I tried. But they have today. They're permanent, Sam. They're a gift to us.

And I want you to have that gift! Come and live back here, and have your job and have this house and have what you've dreamt of your whole life: the picket fence; the loving wife; the kids and the dog; the whole nine yards.

And we'll be right through there. It'll be like we live next door to each other.

Only in another dimension."

Sam could have hit him: he really could have hit him… if his brother hadn't been pregnant then he'd have hit him. "What if it doesn't open again?"

"Try it."

Castiel , who was nearest to the door, carefully leant through and pulled the door to. The catch caught and stayed shut with a click. Nothing changed though: nothing even hinted of blue. The angel turned the handle and the door opened easily, revealing the other room still on the other side…

"You make it sound so easy…"

"It is easy, Sammy. It's okay. Try the door a couple of times and see for yourself. You can have your dream… It's going to be okay…. Our Lady's letting us have this…"

"No!" Sam had stormed past his brother and back into the other world and out of the house, slamming the front door behind him. Halfway down the street he had suddenly stopped, terrified that it had all gone wrong and that he had unintentionally trapped himself on the wrong side of the portal or whatever it was… but then to his relief, he saw the others also exit the house and start to return: Castiel now walking hand in hand with a still puffy-eyed Evie, and Dean and Samuel slightly behind with the Alpha's face still looking like thunder and his brother's looking unusually contrite.

And that had been the end of the subject as far as Sam had been concerned… at least for the rest of the day. And perhaps the day after.

But then… the number of bodies living in the omega and Alpha's house had gotten to him… and the lack of privacy that came of just about being twenty-four seven with two little girls-cum-whirlwind hellraisers, and two older girls talking about makeup and parties, and Johnny and Castiel having found a common interest of nature especially flowers and insects, and of the omega Dean tending his own plants and happily continually encouraging everyone to eat, and of his Dean spending as much time as he could with Bobby and eating copious amounts of pie (which strangely seemed to be the only food that didn't immediately make him have to race to the restroom from the ever present morning sickness ) and the much resented enforced quarantine of simply not being able to walk around outside like he so desperately wanted to…

Even taking Annie to see a film had proved to be a bust, as the beautiful omega was still extremely nervous about being away from the house, and even the darkness of the evenings didn't mean that somebody wouldn't notice his incredible likeness to his Alpha counterpart, so they had had to settle for staying in and watching a movie together: which had been nice until just about everyone else had joined them in the living room and passed comments; insulted the plot, and wondered where they had seen the actors before and in what.

Sam had to admit. He did crave a bit of peace.

He had ignored his brother completely for the rest of that day that it had happened… although thinking about it after, he hadn't seen Dean for the rest of that day. And when he had seen him the next day, his brother was walking slightly more bow-legged than usual and had a fresh bite overlying his mating one.

But from somewhere those house keys had appeared on the table beside his bed…

Sam didn't even realise when his jogging route took him nearly straight to it a couple of days later.

He didn't even remember picking those keys up, but there they were in his pocket.

He just wanted to see…

The door was still there. The handles still in place.

He tested them to make sure, with a mixture of trepidation in case it shut and wouldn't open… and an almost melancholy for being so close to home…

The door shut. And opened again. And shut. And opened.

And then Sam was back in Dean's house: back in their house. There were their certificates on the wall. And there Evie's artwork was on the large refrigerator. And there were the framed copies of the photos of Mary with Dean, and of John with them both, and of his niece as a baby and as a toddler and on her last birthday… And there, was the garden that Castiel had worked so hard on, and it was blooming with colour outside…

He opened the fridge, expecting it to be rank and full of spoilt, stinking food, but instead found that it had been cleared out and obviously wiped clean: Dean must have done that those couple of days ago. Sam wandered up to his room… found some of his books… lay and relaxed on his bed…

It became a habit. Just for a couple of hours a day.

First of all he left the adjoining door ajar.

And then he closed it without realising, the first time panicking a little bit in case that was the time that it wouldn't open… And then, after it did, it became the norm for him to slip through and close the other world out without hesitation to recharge before he had to go back again.

And then, after about a week of doing this, Sam opened the door and was surprised to see his niece and Cassie happily playing with a zoo animal set in the house in the were world. "Erm… hello."

"Hiya, Unca Sammy! Come and play with us! We wanted to come and ask you earlier, but daddy said that the rule was going to be that we must knock first, and only go through if you invited us, and we would be in serious trouble if we didn't do as we were told."

"Erm… where is your dad?"

"They're upstairs, unpacking. Daddy said that he's given you long enough to get used to the idea that we'll only going to be living next door, and he wants to get settled here before he starts to get too big with the baby! I like this house. I like my room. It's not daddy's paintings but these ones move! Come and see, Unca Sam!"

Later that day Dean had raised an eyebrow, smirked at him but refrained from saying anything. Although Sam had known that that wasn't going to last very long.

He sighed: "You think that the door… portal… whatever it is… is definitely there for good?"

"Yeah. Yes, Sammy. I really do."

"Okay… So you're moving in here…? It's a really nice house. And we're going to knock first…?"

"Oh yes. On both sides."

There was a moment's silence between the brothers.

Sam broke it: he looked up to the ceiling and spoke aloud "Thank you, I guess then. But," he clarified, feeling silly about talking to the Goddess as if she would have actually been bothered to be listening to him, "If there's any change. If that door gets closed permanently for whatever reason…. Then I want to be on whichever side of it that my brother is. That's not negotiable. Please."

So that is what they had done.

And Sam had been insanely grateful for his own space literally the next week after when his full Presentation as an Alpha had hit, along with the bliss of suffering a full lifetime of puberty being compacted into the space of about twenty-four hours.

Dean had obviously been expecting it, he had later realised, as a box had suddenly appeared in his bedroom full of fleshlights and other… erm… similar useful items. And he had never been so acquainted with his right hand in his entire life!

He now fully understood how his brother had been so over-welled all those years before, especially given that he had been in close proximity to his young soul-mate at the time, who had also been undergoing his own Presentation.

Sam felt that every sense was now emphasised: every breath was a myriad of (at that exact moment in his bedroom, absolutely disgusting) aromas; every taste was doubled in intensity; every sound was magnified; his vision intensified to put him firmly as a non-human being anymore…

There was someone in his house, he registered. Taking a deep inhale, he could scent… Samuel and the other Sam outside his door, with trays of what smelt amazing food! He could almost taste the other scent merged with both of theirs to signify that they were both mated Alphas, and therefore of no threat to him.

He had opened the door to grab the food with thanks, trying not to blush as they both blinked and hastily moved away from the rush of rank aroma that had escaped his room to envelope them. But over all of that he could scent the distinctive smell of his brother that he had always known but never registered. Dean was downstairs, probably the source of the delicious smelling food, and his scent was happy and mated and content and mixed with not only his Alpha's but also with a newer lighter fragrance that Sam realised must belong to his new nephew or niece to come…

And then he was having to all but snatch the tray into the bedroom, gulp down a bottle of water and take care of his newly discovered and already much explored knot!

"What time is it, sweetheart?" Annie disturbed Sam's memories. "They'll be here at twelve. Is the grill all ready outside?"

"I've only got to pull it out of the shed." He smiled at her. "Need any help in the kitchen?"

"Lots of slicing!" She laughed. "Bring Deanie: he can sit in his high chair while we work."

Sam loved this. He loved having someone of his own to come home to. He loved having a son. He loved his life.

After his Presentation, he had somewhat sheepishly returned to the omega Dean and Alpha Sam's house in that world expecting a lot of ridicule and lewd comments (mostly from his own brother), but to his surprise they had all greeted him with simple excitement.

Although he had realised quite quickly that Johnny definitely now steered clear of him as much as possible, and he didn't blame the young omega for that. Now that he had become a full Alpha in every proper sense of the world he could scent the boy's wonderful and distinctive aroma fully and was uncomfortably aware of him where-ever he was throughout the house.

But.

Annie's scent?

That was incredible.

And now he had somewhere that he could take her on dates. Where they would never be bothered by Alphas as no one even knew what Alphas were…

He courted the beautiful omega with all the deference that she deserved.

Someone would ensure that she got down to Dean and Samuel's house safely, she would knock at his door… always looking stunning and his mouth was always hanging open with just how lucky he was to have such a woman as that even look at him… and they would go out for a meal in Lebanon or go to see a movie, or go for a drive… he taught her how to drive… or do something as simple and mind-blowing for her by simply going for a walk in the sunshine of his world.

Sam had gone back to work: back to his Book-Keeping. The owner was happy to see him and understood fully about the 'family emergency' that had called the brothers away in such a hurry. He was just happy to have him back, and in fact, offered to subsidise a degree in Accounting if the younger Winchester would be interested…?

(Dean had asked his brother to take a letter to his own boss, apologising for his abrupt departure and explaining that the thought of 'losing' their beloved father-figure uncle had scared them so much, and on realising how much just seeing the little girl had made the old man rally, that he and his daughter had decided to stay there to look after him…. His foreman, upon reading the letter, had sniffled a little and given Sam the message to pass back that he completely understood and that Dean had a job there whenever he wanted, or references for any future endeavour.)

Annie was now at his house (Dean having insisted on signing the deed over to his little brother's name despite Sam's objections), near enough permanently. Lauren was also with them, anxious at being in the way at first but Sam had insisted that she join them for quite a few of their dates: it was important that they be close, especially if he wanted to ask her mother to marry him…

Both mother and daughter had stared at him and burst into tears. Their excitement and happiness was a huge relief to Sam as he had been stressing about asking for quite a few days (although he did take Annie out to an amazing restaurant later that evening and got down on one knee to propose to her properly.)

They had a simple wedding. Followed by a formal (and extremely private) mating.

He had been working hard on his degree, juggling books at work with books of study at home, as well as being newly mated with a teenage step-daughter, but he was well on his way to getting his CPA for his job. It had been then that the owner had made Sam an offer: his boss himself was hoping to be able to retire in about five years and wanted to ensure that his practice, and his clients, were left in good hands, so would Sam consider becoming a junior partner, with the intention that he would take overall control eventually…?

The young man had momentarily panicked: although he had the house in his name now and was earning good money, they still didn't have much in the way of savings to put towards this venture.

But.

Just as he was about to explain this to his boss and make his apologies, his desk drawer had flung open, banging him painfully in the knee and making him curse. Sam could have sworn he saw a flash of blue momentarily. And then he noticed a previously, definitely-not-there before, cheque book and accompanying bank card for an account in his name…

… an account that co-incidentally, had the exact amount of money in it that he needed to secure his perfect future…

That evening was the first time that Sam went on his own volition outside to watch the moon above, and got down on his knees to thank Her with all his soul…

"They're going to be here soon!" Lauren was running into the kitchen. "The restrooms are all spruced up! I've vacuumed the living room. Anything I can do in here?"

Sam smiled at his daughter. "Give me a hand and we'll get the grill out and set it going. Have you heard from Johnny? Is he on his way okay?"

The young male omega had been much happier being around Sam once his scent had adjusted to be that of a mated Alpha, so much so that he had dared to ask if the newly married Winchesters would mind if he used their address as a 'home base' to apply for Colleges in their world.

Despite all the changes in society that were coming about in his world due to relentless pressure from his parents and Dean, Johnny still felt very unsafe. He had embraced Sam and Annie's dimension as his own, his achievements from his school 'somehow' being recorded in the system and seemingly nobody noticing the anomaly that he was not and had never been on this world's register…

His omega mother had been very upset at him opting to move to another dimension to study , but as Dean had pointed out to his counter-part, now he was simply just another ordinary anxious mom, and not an anxious mom of a male omega in a still mainly Alpha dominated world!

But Dean, the original omega Dean, still very much missed his second son, so they had decided so as not to inconvenience Sam and Annie (despite their reassurances that they weren't at all), that every so often Johnny would 'come home' for a weekend and stay with his mom in the Bunker for an 'omega bonding session'.

Or, given that he was and probably always would be, nervous about returning through to the other world, sometimes his entire family would come through to meet him in that concrete place, enjoying time together without any outside stress. No talk of asshole Alphas or omega troubles, just them all reconnecting. The young man was nearly through his second semester and enjoying every single minute of not being discriminated against.

"He just should be here in about half an hour." Lauren responded as they lifted the grill out between them. "He said that he'd pick up the cake for us as he's going right by the door of the bakery."

"I must remember to thank him: that's been a big help." Annie was approaching them, the little boy running on his stubby legs in front of her. He has proved to be just as fast a prodigy as his older cousin and was already terrifying them with his antics every day! "You stay clean, you! I want you looking nice for your party! Everything's ready here: all we need are the guests!"

"I bet they're already on the other side of the door waiting until twelve to knock!" her daughter laughed.

Annie smiled: "Go and let them in."

And now, here they all were, pouring into Sam's house through the door from another dimension: loaded with presents for the birthday boy, and extra drinks, and Dean had brought dessert (guess what?) and the other Dean had brought equally delicious puddings, and Sam, the other Alpha Sam, had brought along a cool new contraption that was meant to make grilling time easier 'if Sam wanted to try it' (by which he meant that he wanted to try it but hadn't had the chance), and here were Evie and Cassie, each proudly holding one hand of his nephew Robert, who, like his little cousin, was all dressed up in his Sunday best…

… not that either of them were going to stay that way for long. Evie and Cassie were obviously bad influences on Robby, and Robby was already a bad influence on the overly-excited-to-see him Deanie, and they all blamed Mary-Anne as being the main instigator behind the scenes (usually with a lot of truth to the allegation.)

And now here were Castiel appearing out of nowhere as, although he had stayed in that world to protect both Deans and their respective families, he had agreed to go and fetch Bobby and Benjamin to join them for the birthday party.

Almost as soon as he had conceded and moved back into the house in this world, Dean had asked Sam if he would mind fetching his friend down from the Reservation so that he could at least see Evie for her rapidly approaching fourth birthday.

To his surprise, his younger brother had agreed immediately and set off that weekend to fetch the elderly Pawnee, as he also wanted to apologise to him for his initial rudeness and lack of respect the first time they had met. Driving down to Lebanon together seemed the perfect place to start.

But the man had shrugged him off, saying that he had understood. Sam still felt terrible about how he had acted all those years before, especially as the Native American meant so much to Dean and his niece, and he had to face the realisation that he had only held onto his resentment all this time out of jealousy .

Evie had been ecstatic to see her 'other' granddad at her birthday. (And not only for the presents that he had brought!) And of course, Dean was thrilled to see his friend as well, and by extension Samuel.

But they were all taken by surprise when Bobby had really hit it off with the aged Native American. So much so that they had gotten drunk together on numerous occasions (on one memorable one they both had to be dropped off at the Bunker to 'go and sleep it off') and had kept in touch ever since.

(To Sam and Dean's amazement, they had discovered that their cell phones had service even as far as each other's dimension. And then to everyone's amazement, that service distance had extended from Sioux Falls, South Dakota in one world to Pawnee, Oklahoma in the other. They didn't ask how. They just gave thanks for it. But at least they could all keep in general touch no matter where they were, like the family that they had become.)

Eventually, Bobby had wrapped up his affairs in Sioux Falls enough to be able to take an extended break, and had come through to Sam's world to go and stay with the now very feeble other man for a month that had turned into six or seven, to ensure that all the tribes' considerable knowledge was documented properly while those living could still remember all the stories as they should be told.

And now here they were for little Dean's first birthday. And even while they and Castiel were being greeted ecstatically by everyone, all the Winchester's other friends were arriving: Jody and Donna; Charlie and then Garth.

Claire appeared in a fluster with her girlfriend. She had eagerly taken the chance to explore a different world than her own, which had resulted in her own Presentation also as an Alpha very quickly. Kaia was a beta and the love of her life, and upon returning to this dimension the two of them were proving to be an extremely effective team in the Hunting circle. Dean snorted at their slightly dishevelled appearance: Claire good-naturedly punched him in the arm and then gave him a massive hug. "What's up, pops?" She sniffed at him. "Are you pregnant again?!"

He blushed: "Yeah. And it's twins this time. Suppressants for sure after this!"

It was Samuel's turn to snort: "We'll see!"

Sam had a more pressing question for his brother though. "Never mind that. How was the court case? You said it collapsed…?"

Dean shrugged, but his expression gave his very genuine relief away. "They folded. We knew they would. For all their claims, the tape was there as proof that they were the aggressors."

The previous year, the parents of the Alpha that had been very seriously hurt by Dean after attacking him those three years before had decided to sue him in a civil litigation. They claimed that their 'poor, innocent boy' had been robbed of millions of dollars of potential earnings, despite not having any proof or reasoning for their claim.

But the case had attracted the attention of the media once more, and then the nation had become aware of it, with the result that the numbers of people who had still been protesting weekly at City Halls up and down the country even if the Alpha Sam and the two Deans had long since stopped personally attending them, suddenly swelled at the disbelief and disgust that such a brutal, biased, probable rapist attacker against an omega and their child dare to try and claim damages for coming off second best in a fight that he himself had instigated.

The marches began all over again. The protests once again hit the major news headlines. And Dean had been swamped with requests for yet more interviews, and had duly given them as part of the ongoing struggle for equality. But he had to admit: despite the Alpha Sam's assurances that the family had nothing, he couldn't help but be worried…

It was the Alpha who explained. "They tried to show the tape again in court but only the end part: only where their son got his ass kicked, or rather, his spine snapped. They argued to exclude the beginning part where the bast… erm, their son… had actually been the attacker. I argued that it was all part of it and needed to be viewed as a whole.

But then other CCTV footage was released from somewhere that no one had ever seen before. Not only that but it had audio and had picked up the disgusting threats that they'd made that day! It's from a different angle… actually, it looks like it might have been taken from Dean and Samuel's house… and it clearly not only shows you all standing looking at the house with your backs turned to the Alphas, but also them signalling to each other as to what to do and who to strike at first. Remember: they thought this was my Dean and myself, not you two.

It wasn't unpremeditated as their lawyer was trying to claim. If it had been my Dean there… or even the both of us, I…" His voice faltered momentarily at the horrendous thought…

"The general public saw it before the family could even start to try to bury it. It's been all over the media: that's why there's been such a fuss and such an upsurge of interest in our cause. His parents were getting so many death threats that they knew not even their lawyer could twist things in their favour so they pulled the claim. But they're still getting the backlash from it: they've publicly had to disown their son for his actions that day and are now trying to say that they were only doing it because they needed to pay his medical expenses."

He paused, then addressed the whole room, but mainly his family: "I do understand Johnny feeling safer in this world. I wouldn't stop any of the rest of you if you feel the same, despite us fighting to try and change it."

There was a general nod of response and Sam took the chance to hug his brother tightly, and with a lot of feeling: he wished that he could have been there with him while he was going through all that stress…

"When you've had these two, how about you and me meet up one evening for a good old fashioned camp-out beneath the stars? The Impala misses you! And it would be good to have some time just me and you. I've missed that, big brother. I really have."

Dean looked up and met his eyes with a smile. "Me too, Sammy. That sounds good."

"I still got one last question though."

Dean sighed at him. "Shoot."

"You fed up with being called Johnny yet?"

He started to laugh at the look that his big brother give him. "It's got so damned bad that I've started to answer to it automatically! I'll be forgetting my own name soon!"

And then the real Johnny was arriving with the cake, to the cheers and welcomes of the family. He shyly smiled when he saw Castiel, and the angel also looked slightly bashful.

Claire nudged her father figure: "He's legal, now." She indicated Johnny. "Over eighteen, as per the new law. You're safe to ask him now…"

"We er…" Castiel was unusually reticent, even for him. "We have talked… Johnny has asked… but I think it is better to wait until he has grown and had a bit more life experience so that he does not end up thinking that he has made a huge mistake…"

The male omega smiled and went to stand close beside the now definitely embarrassed angel: "That's what makes you just all the more perfect. But I'm warning you now, Mr Castiel Novak. I'll play your game: I'll even go on 'dates' to put your mind at rest. But the moment I graduate I'm coming to propose to you, and you are going to say yes." And with that, he was leaning forward to plant a kiss of Cas's cheek, to the accompaniment of much laughter and good-natured catcalls from their audience.

"Eighteen?" Charlie whispered to Dean.

"We finally managed to get the law changed. All genders and Presentations have to be eighteen years old before they can be mated. We had to say that it was for all, but everyone knows that it's only been done to try and stop Alphas from claiming 'Soul-mate Dispensation'. It's too easy to get hold of drugs that they can use to coerce omegas to agree with them no matter what.

But now if an omega is under the legal age of eighteen, it doesn't matter if they're 'mated': the new law comes into play and they get separated. The Alpha goes straight to prison and there's no bail. The omega is kept somewhere safe until either the drugs are out of their system in which case the mating will be revoked legally and the Alpha gets his or her life really bollocked, or they can confirm without threat of external coercion that it is a genuine mating, in which case the Alpha can apply for release. But even then, they're not allowed back together as mates until both parties are officially eighteen.

If they are truly soul-mates, then they still will be, and it's only a matter of waiting a few years until they can be together again for the rest of their lives. To our surprise, even some of the" he coughed as he tried to find a polite word, "usually less receptive States to our agenda have agreed that actually that's reasonable. That both parties in a mating be at least of legal age. And they're policing it as such. Yeah… definitely a surprise.

It's already noticeable how the numbers of Alphas claiming and mating young omegas have dropped when it's means an immediate gaol sentence for them!"

"That's… that's amazing!" The red-head was genuinely thrilled. So was Annie, who was listening to the conversation in relief that perhaps… just perhaps… another omega would never have to go through what she had done…

Dean grinned at his sister-in-law on seeing her emotion. "It's changing, Annie. We're changing it. Bit by bit. Won't be tomorrow, but it's getting there. We'll make it a safe world for our children to grow up in. Now, is that food ready yet? I'm hungry!"

She already knew him too well: "You're always hungry!"

He smirked: "True. But hey, I'm eating for three now! Got any pie?"

And laughing together, they followed everyone else outside to the garden and the party really got going.

.

.

.

.

Dean woke later that night, unsurprised to find his son and daughter in the bed with him and Samuel.

Robby had been an escape artist from his cot fairly early on so they had given up on that within a year, but try as they might, they couldn't convince him to stay in his own child-size bed. He much preferred to be in with them.

And, from the looks of it, his big sister had encouraged him to join them that night anyway.

Dean sighed. Samuel continued snoring. Evie was mumbling in her sleep. And Robby was like a little wriggly hot water bottle.

He sighed again. It was no use: he had to pee.

Carefully he worked his way out of the bed, wondering whether there would be any space for him when he came back, or whether he should just go and sleep in his daughter's room.

But on his way back across the room from the ensuite, his attention was caught by the light outside and carefully he moved across to the window to gently part the drapes and see the moon, shining with all Her Glory…

The glow seemed to call to him.

He wanted to be outside.

Sneaking down the stairs, he unbolted the back door and slipped outside into the garden. It was years of instinct now for him to inhale deeply, breathing in all the fragrant aromas of the night: all the jasmine, all the roses… Their perfume hung like a soft mist in the air and brought him peace.

And then he saw her.

She was walking towards him across his lawn: the perfect figure of a beautiful woman, wearing a long dress that showed off her shapely silhouette. She was glowing so brightly that he couldn't make out her features, but it didn't matter.

He knew who She was.

The nahurac curved and rubbed itself around her legs with excitement and pleasure as she walked, greeting the goddess with every bit of pure love from every inch of its body.

"Hey, baby," Dean couldn't help but say to the beautiful beast that had been sent to help him so often when he needed reassurance, and that he was always so grateful to know was near. "Haven't seen you around for a while. I started to wonder if you'd gone...?"

"She might not be visible but she'll always be here for you. She has been from the very day in the warehouse. She was sent to protect you and she will."

The goddess was right in front of him now, still the blue so bright that he couldn't make out anything but her eyes…

… and they were of the most intense and brilliant blue, and the pupils were the universe itself, full of stars and darkness for as far as Dean could see, drawing him into their depths, sending him slipping and spinning and sliding around the nebulas, across the spiralling galaxies, circling and falling deep into black holes and out the other side, all the time, safe in her arms…

Dean blinked and came back to himself. He was still standing in his garden: he hadn't moved from that spot, and yet he felt that he had travelled to the edges to everything that there is, even beyond everything that there is, and back again… "Wow."

"My apologies," her voice was so calm that he felt that he could gently weep just from the softness of it. "It is so rare for me to come down from my home that I did not control myself very well: I did not mean to disconcert you…

I just wanted to say thank you. You have done everything that I hoped and surpassed it…

I knew that you are a very, very good man, Dean Winchester, and that you would try to put this world right for me…

It needs to be put right, it deserves to be as I had created it to be… It will take time, but you will do it…

For that, you will always have my thanks, and my blessings…

My pet here will be with you for you always, until your end in this life, but don't worry: you will see your children have children, and their children have children…

You have earned the right to enjoy it.

She will lead you home when it is time, and I will be waiting to greet you.

I am so very, very proud of you, Dean…"

And with that she was turning and walking… floating… drifting away, vanishing into the very light of her own rays from her light above as she did: there one moment and dissipated the next like a shadow simply fading away beneath a cloud…

Dean woke with a start.

He was standing outside his back door, in his garden, dressed in his sleep clothes.

Had he just slept walk?

But the dream had been so real?

Had that just happened?

Could it have just happened?

With a sigh, he turned to go back into his house, glancing up at the beautiful moon as he did, breathing in the almost physical glow and sighing in pleasure.

"Goodnight My Lady. Sleep well."

But even as he re-bolted the back door, he couldn't help but reach his arm out, just to see…

Just in case…

And the nahurac bucked her head against his hand, purring loudly.