Dean hadn't even realized he'd stopped, much less where. But he really shouldn't have been surprised to find himself outside a very familiar-looking house. He somewhat reluctantly got out of the car and walked towards the front door, and had to wonder if it was just the heavenly surroundings that had the smell of pie drifting around the house.
"Knock knock" he called out as he knocked on and opened the door.
"I swear, Mary. This boy has pie radar."
Dean laughed as he headed in towards the sound of his father getting shushed by his mother. "The nose knows," he added as he reached them.
"If I knew that's all it took," Mary said as she stood to give her eldest a hug, "I'd bake them more often." She motioned to a chair, encouraging him to sit as she resumed her seat next to John. "You'll have to wait though. It just came out."
"Worth the wait, I've no doubt," Dean said as he plopped into the chair.
"Not that we don't love seeing you," John started hesitantly, giving his son an appraising look, "but what brings you over here to our little neck of heaven?"
Dean tried to laugh off the comment, but quickly realized his dad, followed after a back and forth look between the men, his mother wasn't going to buy it, it died in his throat.
"I was just driving...and thinking..." He wasn't sure how he wanted to word his question. But he really wanted - needed to ask. "I told you about, well, my last long drive."
John shook his head, but Mary nodded. "Jack mentioned a bit about it last time he visited. Something about alternate realities..." She shrugged. "I didn't really understand what he was talking about, so he dropped it."
"Yeah... I was...I was just curious." He couldn't bring himself to look at his parents. "I wanted to see if there was a world out there where we...had a normal life. Without monsters."
"And...did you?" John asked after a beat.
Dean just shook his head in response. "Like I said, I was curious." He looked up now. "Wouldn't have changed anything. Doesn't change anything."
Mary gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's something we've both thought about." John nodded beside her. "I think it's natural, especially with the lives we had. But...that was a while ago, wasn't it? What has you thinking about it now?"
"Oh, it's not that. Well...not really." He faltered again, but figured he'd already started... "It just... I realized in all those different realities, it was always just us. Just me and Sammy. I just... I was wondering, if things had been different..." He shrugged.
John laughed. "Talk about random thoughts."
Mary swatted his leg. "What your father means - we were talking about you boys. When you were little." She leaned forward to pick up a picture out of a pile on the table in front of them.
"Your mother - who loves you boys! - was pondering on what big brothers you would have been to a little sister."
There was another swat from Mary as John smiled at her with a squeeze around her shoulders. This, conveniently, had them miss their son's reaction to this comment.
"Really...?" Dean was rather proud he made that sound relatively casual.
"What can I say," Mary said slightly abashed, "I was outnumbered."
"And what would this little sister be called?" Still calm. Teasing even.
"Well...it would have only been fair to name her after John's parents," Mary mused. "Since he was so...accepting with naming you boys after my parents."
"Definitely would have put my foot down on Henrietta though," John laughed.
"So...Millie..." Again, his parents' teasing between themselves had them peacefully oblivious to the curious emotions flitting across their eldest's face.
And was saved from having to explain any of that by the sudden appearance of a certain trench-coated angel outside the window.
"Oh, Cas is here." Dean saw that his parents had both also seen the angel.
"I'll see what he wants," he said as he rose from his seat.
"He's more than welcome to come in," Mary offered. "Plenty of pie."
"Cas isn't really a pie lover..."
"You just don't want to share," John teased.
Dean had reached the back door, but turned back. "Damn right." He walked out as his folks' laughter followed him.
"Cas...?" He did a quick subtle pan around to be sure the angel was alone. "Whatcha doing here?"
"I checked with Jack," the angel stated flatly. "His team have a location for Chuck. Or, at least, a last known location."
Dean glared his friend down. "You could have left that info with Bobby. So let's try that again." At the still blank stare, he couldn't help but groan. "Let me guess - you took her straight to Sam and spilled everything."
"No." Again - flat. Blank. And then it crumbled. "We went to the bunker, but Sam wasn't there." At the elder Winchester's cautiously relieved look, Cas barreled on. "He showed up while I went out to buy food. I walked in to him holding a gun at her." He threw his arms up.
Dean just groaned again. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't really surprised. Maybe at how long it took, but overall - not a surprise.
"And how did Sammy take it?" he hesitantly asked, not really wanting the answer. Not really needing the answer.
"He was... I'm not sure actually."
That shocked him. "What?"
"He seemed...indifferent. Angry that you didn't want to tell him. But about Millie... I don't know." Cas watched his friend pace and he couldn't help but match his voice to the frenetic energy. "He walked away and I heard him and Millie talking. And then he collapsed."
That stopped Dean in his tracks. "What?! What happened?"
"I don't know. Millie said they were talking and he just brushed her shoulder. That was it. One second he was standing and then he wasn't."
"And you just left? Left her with Sammy, alone?"
"No!" Cas shot back, insulted. "Jodie and Aileen showed up by the time I got Sam to his bed. He's fine, Dean. Just unconscious." He watched the turmoil on his friend's face. The need to go. To be big brother. To fight the monster. "Millie has locked herself up in the dungeon."
"Great. Just...great." Dean turned back towards the house, trying to avoid the angry - yet pitying look on Cas' face. But the view of his parents happily chatting and looking at pictures wasn't helping.
No worries by an angel visit... No desperate desire to go back... To ignore the voice in my head that Sammy will be fine... He's strong. He's smart. He obviously felt the same way I do about this new predicament.
But damn it. I can't just sit here. Eating pie...
"What do I do Cas?"
The angel came up beside him. "We'll find Chuck. Get answers." Dean nodded when he paused, so he continued. "You can't go down... Jack..."
"I know."
"I'll try to come back. I just..." Cas was stuck. He wanted to help his friends, but things had changed.
"I know," Dean repeated with a bit more emphasis. "New boss in town. And I'm already on thin ice." It was an excuse, of course. They both knew if he went, Jack would let him. Cas' quick trip alone told him that.
But he had to try, didn't he? This new normal.
"Play it by ear, right?"
Cas nodded. "I'll let you know when we find Chuck."
The pop beside him had Dean randomly grinning, wondering when he had gotten used to that.
New normal... Little steps...
With a shack of his head, he walked back in the house and fervently hoped pie would help.