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It was only the second day since the airplane had touched down from Germany onto the tarmac in Texas. Jetlag be damned. You and the kids had piled into the rented minivan that afternoon and made it to the Family Business Beer Company. It had been a fun evening: enjoying the outdoor scenery and mild temperature, partaking in trivia night, the kids polishing off a pizza, and you tasting a flight of ale.
Scratch that off your bucket list. Even if you all hadn’t been lucky enough to spot Jensen or Baby at the establishment, it was still a thrill for the whole family. Well, minus the husband who had to hold your own family business down almost 9,000 kilometers away.
Your eldest, 13, was still on a rant about one of the trivia answers. “They got it wrong. The weapons he never got to use out of the trunk were the throwing stars. It was in the finale.”
“Well, some people have blocked that episode from their memory for good reason. So, we’ll give them a pass this time, huh?”
You spot him shrugging in the rearview mirror. He mumbled, “Dean wouldn’t give them a pass.”
It was a valid argument. The rush and adrenaline of the day were taking a collective toll on the three of you. The sun had set. You wished you’d gotten a chance to see more of the prairie expanse on the isolated road before you made your way into the busier section of Dripping Springs, Texas. That would have to wait until tomorrow.
A good ten minutes into the drive back, eyelids heavy, a wave of exhaustion washed over you.
“What the…?” You blinked in rapid succession at the view out of your windshield.
You were seeing double. Hallucinating. That had to be the explanation for the group of people your headlights spotted up ahead on the side of the road. Your foot hit the brake pedal, hard, on reflex.
“Ma!” Your kids screamed in unison. Then, your daughter, all of ten years old, piped up from behind your seat, “It’s Sam and Dean!” Two seatbelts unclicked. They pushed into the backs of the front seats. Fingers pointed at the group of people. You should have reprimanded them about unbuckling, but under the circumstances, you were just as dumbstruck as they were.
“Oh, wow!” Your son crooned.
Yes, it indeed appeared as if the fictional characters were leading two men straight at your car. If that wasn’t crazy enough, there was the identity of the others with them.
“Ma?” Your son asked.
“Yeah?” You shook your head, trying to shake yourself out of the dream you more than likely were in.
“I think Jensen and Jared are with them.”
“I think so, too.” There was no need to think. You’d recognize them anywhere. Even if Jared now sported a haircut shorter than Jensen, who was a mop-top of flippy bangs complete with a long beard. You’d recognize them even covered in blood, which unfortunately they all were. Your heart raced to see they all held a weapon of some kind in their hurried approach to the vehicle.
“Wait, that’s impossible.” Your daughter stated.
Before you could answer, you heard the side door of the minivan swoosh open. Your son had taken it upon himself to yell out to the band of heroes. “Hey!” He waved with glee.
“Ma’am,” Sam knocked with a hurried urgency on the driver’s side window.
The glass whirred down. You could have sworn you hadn’t moved, yet found your finger on the button responsible for the window. “Yes?” Your voice creaked out of your throat.
“Would it be possible if we-” he began with the puppy dog expression you’d seen countless times on screen. He readjusted the duffle bag slung over a shoulder.
Dean appeared out of nowhere, crowding the tiny open space left by your rolled-down window with another large body. “We need to get you,” he gruffed out, noting your two kids in the middle back row, “all of you, out of here. Pronto.”
“I’m sorry,” it was Jensen’s turn to speak and have you whirl your head to the right of the vehicle. He and Jared were standing, out of breath, wide-eyed. “I’ve gotta get back home, to my kids, before…”
“We’ll explain on the way.” Dean huffed and tried your door handle. “Probably best if I drive.”
You felt your brow furrow. “Why is that?”
“Look, this is gonna sound crazy,” Sam piped in, “but there’s a very high likelihood that we’ll be ambushed by, well…”
“Vampires?” Your son was all smiles as he folded his legs up onto the seat so Jared could squeeze past him and sit directly behind you.
“Werewolves?” Your daughter did not look as enthusiastic, squished between your son and Jared.
Sam and Dean looked at them, a little stunned, and said in unison. “Demons.”
“You’ve seen the show, then?” Jared gave you a small nod in thanks when your eyes met in the rearview mirror.
“You all are the reason we’re in Texas to begin with.” You answered, giving each man a quick glance. Jensen had already situated himself in the shotgun seat next to you. “I can drive you wherever you need to go.” You nodded with confidence.
Dean chuckled. “Listen, Ma’am… we’re not talking about a pleasant Sunday drive here.”
Your stare back at him was complete with pursed lips. “I’ve got it. Besides, it’s a rental, I’m the only one that should be driving it.”
“You ever been in a high-speed chase before?” Dean sassed.
“You ever driven on the Autobahn before?” You sassed back.
Dean opened his mouth, thought for a second, then closed it.
“We’re from Germany.” Your daughter explained with a proud grin.
“That’s so cool.” Jared smiled at the little girl next to him.
“Probably best you don’t cross Ma,” your son peeked between the front seats at Dean, “Da never would.”
“Dean,” Sam huffed. “Let’s get them, and us, out of here. Not worry about the how, but the now.” His little head tilt motioned to the other side of the minivan where he headed with an urgent stroll.
“Fine,” Dean murmured. “Thanks for the ride.” He added.
You nodded, “No problem,” then pointed at your children, “Make sure those seatbelts are back on or we’re not going anywhere.”
When all was said and done and everyone was in the van, Dean had put himself in the very back, and Sam bookended the middle row with his mirror image.
“Keep heading west,” Jensen sat leaning forward and gripped the dash.
“What happened?” You tapped on the screen and turned off the GPS so as not to be distracted from the directions of your human navigator.
Jensen sighed. “I was at the house, settling in for the night after putting the twins to bed…”
*
Jensen was ready to watch some mindless television for a couple of hours. With Dee and JJ out of town on a mother-daughter adventure, one would think the goings-on in the house would have been a little calmer. But, Arrow and Zepp only seemed more determined to make up for the two missing family members and exhaust dear old dad.
The kids and he had survived their first full day unattended. No broken bones. No stomach aches. A little more sugar in their systems than usual. But Dee didn’t need to know about that.
He sighed and took in the quiet before turning on the television. The silenced phone on the coffee table lit up with a call from Jared. He let it go to voicemail, expecting his friend would rub in how nice it was to be all by himself at home. He’d remind Jensen how Gen had packed up the kids and the dogs and headed to visit family in Idaho so he could prep for the extensive Walker shoot happening that week. Jensen ran fingers through his way too long hair and scratched at the itchy beard that would impress a recluse hiding from civilization for decades. He hoped the physical transformation playing Soldier Boy was going to be worth it.
He gazed through the wall of sliding glass doors offering a panoramic view of the backyard. Or it would be a beautiful view if the sun was still out. The moonlight shimmered and bounced atop ripples of water in the pool.
He did a double-take and squinted at a corner by the fence. A shadow. A shift. Some movement had gotten his attention. Just as suddenly, it stopped.
His mind raced, playing the often visited scenario over in his head. If there was danger, would he have time to go and get one of the rifles out of the gun safe before going to the twin’s rooms? Would he have to rush to them without a weapon and use his bare hands to fight off an invader? He reasoned he might be up for the challenge. After all, he did play Dean Winchester for fifteen years.
The debate in his head stopped when he caught a large silhouette moving toward the glass. It looked like a small group of people. Then, one of the floodlights clicked on and haloed the people outside.
“Holy shit.” He murmured. “No way.”
Any other person would have suspected their brain had finally admitted defeat; had cracked, fissured because of what was staring back at him. But, he reasoned, being on Supernatural for as long as he had made even the extraordinary seem plausible.
Jensen opened the sliding door and gave the three males plowing their way into the living room a wide berth.
“We had to have been dumped in the wrong place!” Dean Winchester bellowed, eyes wide and frantic as he canvassed the area with his gaze. “Cas, did you mess up the locating part of the friggin’ spell, too?”
“No, Dean, I didn’t.” Cas sighed and also surveyed the surroundings. The cold, focused stare of his blue eyes fell on Jensen. “Your doppelganger is right there.” He lifted a stiff arm to point with an angel blade.
Dean frowned. “Are you the repair guy?”
Jensen frowned back. “No. What the hell are you doing here? What are all of you doing here?”
“You’re Jensen Ackles?” Dean blinked in disbelief.
Jensen nodded.
Sam huffed. “Look, I’m guessing you play this guy,” he pointed over to his brother, “in a show called ‘Supernatural’?”
Another nod.
“So, you know about Crowley?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, the smarmy bastard trapped us in Rufus’ cabin, surrounded by demons. The only way out was a spell by Mr. Double-Agent Angel, here.” Dean rambled, peering through the windows, gun locked and loaded at his side. “The limited ingredients we could scrounge up bought us a ticket to an alternate universe…”
“And, a lock of Dean’s hair was an ingredient that got us near his facsimile in this universe.” Cas’ brow wrinkled with worry. “Unfortunately, we think some demons made it through the time rip as well before it closed.”
“Who’s here in the house with you?” Sam asked.
“My-my kids.” The words trickled out of Jensen’s mouth. Worry and fear for the twin’s safety overwhelmed him.
“Crap.” Dean sighed. “I’m glad we brought the ingredients with us. But, we can’t just spell hop to another earth now, hoping we find a closer DNA match that’ll be able to get us back home.”
Sam shook his head. “Not until we take care of the demons. They’ll track our scent, and these two, like Crowley’s good little bloodhounds until they find us all or get sent back to hell. Tell me we’re lucky, Jensen, and the Padaleski guy is living in Vancouver like in that other alternate universe we crashed into a couple of years ago?”
Jensen tried to process all the details. “He’s ten minutes down the road. Well, five if I take the boat.”
“Boat?” Dean and Cas asked in unison.
“Guessing his family is there, too?” Sam frowned.
“Just him this weekend.”
A sigh from Dean. “Alright, well, would you call him? Tell him to get his ass over here so we can have the both of you in one spot for safekeeping?”
Jensen scrambled for his phone and tapped Jared’s name. It rang and rang, then went to voicemail. Jensen hung up and was about to try again when he noticed he had a voicemail. From Jared. He listened. “Shit.”
“What?” Dean asked.
Jensen played the voicemail again, this time on speaker.
“Hey, J. Is that you and some of your asshole buds wreaking havoc out in my field? Funny, dude. Good payback for my last prank, but… Oh, man. What the hell is that? Smoke grenades? Who’d you hire for that? What the-? Hey! Hey! Slashing my truck tires is not cool!” The faint sound of a doorbell rung in the background. “You better be bringing some tires and bourbon to make up for all this bullshit. How’s a guy supposed to relax with all…”
Right before the message ends, Jared’s loud curses layered atop glass breaking.
“We gotta get over there!” Jensen yelled, then remembered Arrow and Zepp upstairs. “My kids!”
Sam held up a hand. “A card-carrying Texan like you has a gun safe, right?”
Jensen nodded.
“Let’s arm up, then. Your kids old enough for arts and crafts?” Dean asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good, you’re going to introduce them to their new babysitter, Cas, and have them help demon-proof this place. Where’s the salt?”
*
“We took the boat to Jared’s. Someone had to go and get all bossy and try to steer.” Jensen looked pissed.
“Stupid place to put a pier,” Dean mumbled under his breath, yet was still able to be heard by everyone from all the way in the back.
“There’s no more boat.” Jared pursed his lips. “But, these guys got to the house in time and took care of the three demons that invaded my home. We had to escape on foot because of all the damage done to my cars.”
“Not before we found out a dozen more had made it through the time rip,” Sam added.
You pushed the gas pedal and sped up. Jensen’s face displayed his worry for his kids as he checked his phone. “My twins are gonna need therapy after all this. Arrow just sent me a video of Zepp lining every door and window in the guest house with salt while Cas is using their fingerpaints to design a devil’s trap on my wife’s favorite rug.”
Jared leaned forward and across the divide to clap his friend’s shoulder. “At least the paint is washable.”
“Always with the silver linings.” Dean huffed.
Jared raised both hands and cocked his head toward the back of the minivan. “Hey, dude, I was just minding my own damn business. You all are the worst party crashers ever.”
“We’ll fix this.” Sam stated with conviction. Your daughter studied him. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Oh, I know. You and your brother always save people.” She smiled, then blurted, “You’re not as old as him.” A finger crooked over at Jared. “Ma, what season are they from?”
“Well, from the sounds of it, Dean’s been back from purgatory for a few months. And from the look of Sam’s hair, I’d say we’re talking season eight.”
“Christ,” Dean cocked his rifle, “can we save the TV Guide episode summary for later? We’ve got company coming up fast.”
You checked your rearview mirror and saw a truck speeding toward you.
“Side swipe is a hell of a lot better than full impact. Time to put your money where your mouth is, Ms. Autobahn.” Dean warned the occupants, “Everybody get down.” He pointed at your son. “You especially. Don’t you dare peek that head over the seat.”
Pinging sounds ricocheted off the shell of the vehicle. Your heart raced even faster than the odometer. “Are we being shot at?” You yelled back at Dean.
Then, a bullet struck the rear pane in answer to your question. A crack bloomed like a flower in the glass.
You hugged a tight curve around a bend. Your glance back once the vehicle was on the straight and narrow had you catch Dean shattering the rear window with the butt of his rifle. “Hey! That’s gonna cost me!” You scolded.
“Least of your worries. Besides, I’m pretty sure these two male models can foot the bill.” Dean fired shots at the truck. “Any ideas on how we outrun these guys? I’m counting four.”
“Maybe not outrun them. But, buy us some time and not roll out the red carpet for them back to my house.” Jensen gripped the dashboard. “Up ahead, a couple of miles, take the right when the road splits.”
You nodded. “Where’s that take us?”
“To a dead end by a collapsed bridge.” He answered.
“Wha-?”
“Sam?” Dean interrupted you. “We got those supplies?”
“Yep.” Sam tapped the duffle on his lap.
“Gonna need you to get us at least a few minutes lead, Ma’am.” Dean yelled. “Floor it.”
“Yeah!” Your son exclaimed, head ducked down and protecting his sister like a shield. “You can do it, Ma!”
“Everybody, hold on!” Channeling all your superhero energy and maternal instincts into one goal, you slammed the pedal and rocketed the minivan toward the destination.
*
It was quite a sight. One that you covered your son and daughter’s eyes for, clutching them tightly under your arms like baby chicks to their mother hen. The three of you hid behind bushes, as ordered, by the side of the road. Along with Jared and Jensen.
You held collective breaths as the truck that had been following you - until you’d lost them in your dust ten minutes ago - careened to a hairpin stop feet behind the now parked minivan. The four demons sprinted out and swarmed it. After a quick peek in the broken rear window, they opened the door. Two climbed inside while the other two stood watch.
“They’re not here.” You heard the muffled announcement from the vehicle’s interior.
Suddenly, you saw the two pairs of hands that belonged to Sam and Dean swing out from under the van, and grab any demon ankles they could. Bodies toppled to the ground, dragged between the tires, and disappeared from sight.
The brothers sprang out from the other side seconds later, dusting themselves off as the demons inside and under the van, trapped, yelled in defeat.
“Huh.” Jared stated. “Spray painting a devil’s trap on the roof actually works to cage the bad guys on multiple layers beneath. Good to know.”
“Let’s hope we never have to use that little tip.” Jensen sighed.
Hunched down, you all watched Sam chant in Latin. Smoke trickled out of the van and out from under it. You waited for the all-clear so you could get back on the road to Jensen’s home as soon as possible. There were still a handful of demons out there.
The status of your rental was the least of your worries, but still. “So, on top of the spray paint and broken glass, I’m gonna have to also try and explain the smell of sulfur when I return that thing.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Jared squeezed your shoulder. “I’m pretty good at tall tales.”
*
“It won’t be long before the rest circle back this way.” Dean pulled out a flask from his duffle bag and tossed it to Sam. It had the sign of the cross etched in the metal.
“Cas, watch my back while I head outside to turn the pool into a holy sauna, would ya?” Sam asked.
Castiel nodded, following him out the sliding doors.
You twiddled your thumbs, sitting on the stool in front of the bar counter. This pool house was as big as your home back in Germany. You could hear Jared and Jensen talking to all the kids in the only bedroom without any windows. Your children were given orders to watch the twins. From the sounds of it, they would be barricading themselves in there until the coast was clear.
“This was not the vacation we signed up for.” You shook your head, hands shaking.
“Hey, don’t worry, we’ve got this. And, it’s all because of you.” Dean offered you another flask, this one pulled from his inside jacket pocket, after taking a sip himself. “We were lucky you stopped and helped us out.” He winked. “And, you’re an awesome getaway driver.” He tilted his chin in your direction. “The speaker system all ready to play our greatest hits?”
You nodded, your eyes crisscrossing as the alcohol seared its way down your throat. Your finger was at the ready to blare Sam’s recorded exorcism once the remaining demons descended on the home.
“Good. Your son is really a huge fan of us, huh?”
“Oh, absolutely. The whole family is.”
Dean beamed with pride. “Well, he’s an honorary hunter for remembering what we did years ago to send a bunch of demons back to hell when we were trapped at a police station.”
“When all’s said and done, just tell him to stay in school and get good grades. That will be thanks enough for me.”
“So,” Dean whispered, “is Jensen going through some stuff?”
“What do you mean?”
“The hair, the beard… dude’s looking rough.”
You wished you could laugh.
*
Your son had been disappointed, even though the plan he recommended had gone off without a hitch.
He’d run out of the room, his sister and the twins in tow, only to see that the bodies of the vessels were awake, dazed, and relatively unscathed after the demons had been summarily extracted.
You were relieved that decades of therapy might have been averted with nary a drop of blood spilt.
Sam and Dean conversed in the corner with Cas for some time, preparing the spell ingredients, while Jared and Jensen checked on the handful of people now in Jensen’s living room.
“So,” Sam rubbed his hands together, announcing to you and your kids on his approach, “we’ll need to try and get these people back to where they came from, along with ourselves.”
Dean clapped your son on the shoulder. “You did great, kid.” He pointed to each child individually. “Every one of you did awesome! Bravest kids I’ve ever seen.”
“I was also impressed by your salt lines, Zeppelin. And, Arrow, you are a very good finger painter.” Cas’s baritone complimented the youngest ones in the group.
“So, you’re just going to drag all these people along with you through a portal and hope you make it back to your time and place?” Jensen asked.
“Hey, if you’ve got a better idea, we’re all ears.” Dean raised his hands.
“Wish we could do more to help.” Jared shrugged.
“Just make sure this little lady’s rental is paid for. That bill is going to pack a wallop.”
Jensen smiled. “No worries there. We’ll take care of the heroes left behind.”
*
Once Sam, Dean, and Cas had left with their charges, you’d stayed to help clean up. You even took over the kitchen and made everyone a meal, trying to relax and let the evening’s events process in your head. Jensen offered you and the kids use of the guest room back in the main house. There was even mention of letting you soak in the silver bathtub you had seen on the video house tour.
Your son nibbled on a sandwich, off by himself, staring at the corner where the hunters had disappeared.
You headed over and sat close to him. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” He huffed. “I just…”
You ruffled the hair on top of his head. “What?”
“I just wish we could have warned them. Cas, Dean, and Sam. You know, about what happens.”
Jensen spoke, jolting the both of you to his presence. “Let’s hope their universe can play our blu-rays.” He smiled. “I stashed a few Supernatural seasons in Dean’s duffle, along with a note.”
Jared laughed. “You Back to the Future’d him?”
“Hey, that’s what he gets for telling me I couldn’t out Dean him.” Jensen sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone wants those two to have some happy any more than Jared and I do. Considering all they’ve done for us. I mean, saving us tonight… that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Jared raised a glass. “To Sam and Dean.”
“And Cas.” Your daughter piped in.
“Yep.” You added, “To the motley crew of heroes.”