A/N: I feel obligated to warn everyone that Dragon Age Inquisition is hitting shelves in a few weeks and I will very likely be MIA while I play it. So, with that in mind, I'm going to try to get some chapters out and stockpile a few so there isn't another lapse in time between updates.
I've started a sort of spin-off to End of Me revolving around Jane and Castiel and their relationship from the Croatoan Future chapters. For some reason, I couldn't get the idea of them out of my head so I'll write it out. It's not canon with my EoM head-canon and has NO bearing on this story. It's just going to be a 'what if' piece about that alternate future. It's called Diary of Jane and should be posted sometime after this chapter.
Chapter is sort of set during 5.05 Fallen Idols.
77: It's All Okay
"Dean!"
Dean was standing in what constituted the hotel room's kitchenette, frowning. He had been in the garden, face to face with Lucifer, who had just killed… him, well future him. Zachariah had pulled him out of there and now… He blinked, catching his wife who was suddenly flying into his arms. "Jane." His Jane, who was literally a gift from God, and he realized Zachariah didn't know about her. Or maybe now he did. Who knew how the hell this stuff worked?
"You were there on the bed and now you're here. What the hell is going on?" She sounded angry, worried, and confused all rolled into one. "You were gone for-" She clamped up when she realized they weren't alone.
Zachariah was staring at her, was staring at Dean, his eyes narrowed.
"Well if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you." Dean spat out, swallowing down the fear he was feeling as his arms tightened around Jane. If any of what had just happened was true, how much had Zachariah seen? Or learned?
"Enough Dean, enough. Haven't you seen enough? You saw it, you saw what happens. Just say yes."
"Dean?" Jane's confusion was only growing as she tried to turn a bit from the position he had trapped her in, attempting to peer around at Zachariah.
"You." She had drawn the King Dick's attention. "What are you? Why can't I-"
Dean turned, taking Jane with him and glanced down at her, giving a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. He could see just how lost she was and inwardly sighed.
Zachariah realized attacking the wife wasn't going to get him anywhere and went back to pleading. "Dean, just say yes. Before Lucifer gets Sam and billions die."
Dean was silent, staring into Jane's eyes, a rainy day cloudy shade of gray that he was so familiar with. Over the past three days, or minutes, or however long he was gone; he had been looking into these eyes only they were so different. Damaged, hurt, cold… his Jane's eyes were warm, filled with love and worry for him. He had missed her. "Nah."
"Nah? You're telling me you haven't learned your lesson?" The rage in Zachariah's voice seemed to darken the already dark room.
"Oh I learned a lesson all right." He had learned several lessons as a matter of fact. "Just not the one you wanted to teach."
"Well, I'll just have to teach it again, won't I? I got you now boy, and I won't be letting go-"
"What the hell?" Jane was beyond lost now. They had just been listening to Zachariah threatening Dean and now they were outside, in the middle of a damn road. "Seriously, what is going on?"
Laughing, Dean kissed the top of her head and let her go, turning to find Castiel smiling at them in a bemused sort of way. "Nice timing, Cas."
"We had an appointment."
"Any word yet?"
"No Dean, the Colt is still MIA." Jane was bored and it was obvious in her tone of voice. After Castiel had gotten them away from Zachariah, Dean had reunited with Sam –which had been very unexpected-, and then sent her packing back to Bobby's. She had been put on Colt duty, which meant searching for the damn thing and following up on leads.
She enjoyed being around Bobby, really she did, but considering there was an apocalypse going on, she wanted to be with her husband. He still hadn't told her about that night a few weeks ago, when he had disappeared for what was a minute to her but apparently some odd days for him. He had given her some bit about the future and that had been that, no details, nothing really. He had also ignored, at least while in front of her, Castiel's requests for more information.
What are you?
She had to admit it, she was officially curious. She was an anomaly, something the angels had no idea what to do with, and it worried her. Was it her psychic ability? Was she something more than mildly freakish? She was going to drive herself crazy worrying about this.
"Jane? Jane?"
"Huh?" She had zoned out. "Sorry, Dean. I'm having issues."
He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. "We're chasing after Paris Hilton."
"I'm sorry, say that again? I could have sworn you said-"
"Paris Hilton."
Jane was quiet for a moment. "Dean, outside of her sex tape, do you have any idea who Paris Hilton is?"
"She carries around the tiny mutts, right?"
"That'd be her. So why are you chasing her?"
"Well…"
Jane settled back against the counter, listening as he launched into a story that involved people being murdered by seemingly famous people. Some of these people were also technically dead. It sounded interesting and she was missing out. "How's Sam?" She asked after he was done regaling her with the details.
"He's… okay. We're okay." Dean knew she wasn't really meaning Sam but them, how were they doing, functioning together. "Baby steps, sweetheart, we're taking it slow."
"No holding it against him." Jane said flatly, knowing her husband and how he could be. Dean messed up, not on scales like Sam tended to do, not epically, but he did. But there was never anyone to hold him accountable, not really anyway. Anyone else, Sam especially, and Dean was there to pass judgment, boot to the ass, and then remind you of the mess-up for the rest of your life. It wasn't easy being on the end of Dean's scrutiny. "You can't accept someone back in your life and hold stuff against them, when you made the decision to talk to Sam and try this out again, you basically agreed to sweep that crap under the rug."
"Janey, have you ever tried sweeping your brother causing the apocalypse and being destined to be a meat suit for Satan under the rug?"
"Yep." She knew what he meant, but considering Sam was her brother-in-law… "Nice try though."
"Castiel?"
"This is an odd thing, Jane. What is it for?"
Jane wasn't sure why Castiel had popped in on her, he was supposed to be hunting down the Colt. Something he wasn't having luck with either, even with his angelic powers to help him. It was a little funny and a lot depressing. But he was here, and she was going to bug him about what had been bugging her. "What…" She turned away from her laptop in order to look at whatever it was that had gotten Cas' attention. "That is not for guys." She held out a hand, wondering why he insisted on exploring her things. "This is a tampon Castiel, it's for a woman's monthly." At his blank expression, she smiled slightly. "A woman's menstrual cycle, this is for that." Maybe she wouldn't bug him. It seemed wrong, trying to pry information from someone who had no idea what a tampon was.
He stared at the tampon, frowning. "But-"
"Enough with the feminine hygiene products. If you're that curious, get a female vessel and experience the joys of PMS."
"I am male."
She facepalmmed herself.
He was done probing her about her personal belongings and simply stared at her. "I believe you wanted to ask me a question."
Maybe she would bug him. "Did Dean talk to you about his, um, experience? The future thing?"
"Alternate future, not our future, not necessarily." Castiel corrected, apparently considering it. "Or perhaps it was simply a construct of Zachariah's, something he created to persuade Dean to say yes to Michael."
"Anything else?" She wanted to be specific, to ask about herself, but that seemed egotistical. The world did not revolve around her.
He considered her for a long moment, finally shaking his head. "No, nothing else. Nothing of import at least. Most of what he said involved Zachariah and death."
"Sounds like Dean."
