Supernatural Fic: "Facets," Canon & Original Characters

Dec 27, 2020 04:20

Authors: sailorhathor and Riguel
Fandom: Supernatural RPG The Second Coming
Rating: Adult
Date Written: March 2019
Word Count: Each post will include as close to 10,000 words of RP as we can get, although I'll break it up into stories.
Category: Drama, Horror, Romance
Summary: The group listens to the recordings of Val recalling what he saw of Kerry's memories. Sam and Dean deal with what they reveal about Kerry's identity.
Warnings: Language, adult themes
Notes: Dylan sings a few songs by Elvis Presley in this chapter. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

Played by Riguel: Sacha, Val
Played by Sailorhathor: Dylan, Skylar, all others

At times, the action may seem to backtrack when one player responds to the other. This is the nature of RP and a story written by two people. I inserted an extra line after each player finishes writing their part to try to help the reader keep it all straight.



Val didn't mind the new nickname Skylar had found for him, even if it actually meant nothing in Swedish. It meant something for Skylar - and now he understood what Skylar thought it meant - so that was good enough, he thought. Yet, he didn't expect the furtive kiss while they were cooking. Val quickly looked around and concluded that no one had seen.

"No, you don't remind me of any animal. But you're a bit like the cool exchange student from the U.S. I never knew I wanted to hook up with when I was in college," he replied with a playful glance of his light blue eyes.

*****

On their way to the kitchen, Sacha and Dylan passed by Val, who was now standing in the hallway on the phone, talking in Swedish. He waved at them when they passed by to say hello, but continued his conversation.

Once they arrived in the kitchen, Sacha and Dylan had barely had time to say hello when Skylar let him know that Kerry was talking. Sacha wasn't sure what happened since Kerry didn't give a lot of details besides waking up and being able to speak, but obviously it was great news, and Dylan was excited to hear his sister talk almost fully normally. Was it because of the dreamwalk?

It's only when he approached the table that he spotted the dog. It was a bigger dog, but not a mean-looking one. As Dylan had anticipated, he also looked quite well behaved since he hadn't moved when Dylan and Sacha had come in. Still, he looked excited and happy to see Dylan, and for some reason, he also seemed to look enthusiastically at him. Sacha's lynx didn't react in any way inside his head. The lynx wasn't very fussed about the dog apparently. Maybe it was just him, the human, who was wary about the dog.

Sacha moved his attention back to Kerry and Dylan. Since Val wasn't in the room at that moment, he couldn't ask if anything happened during the dreamwalk session, and he thought Dylan would anyway quickly ask his sister what happened.

Skylar grinned back at Val with a chuckle. "The cool exchange student... I can deal with that."

Dylan finally let Kerry go when his father and Marianne made their appearance at breakfast. They were told about her new ability to form sentences and they also rejoiced with her, then hugged their hellos with Dylan and Skylar.

Putting his hand on Sacha's shoulder, Dylan said, "Uncle Jed, this is my boyfriend, Sacha."

"Well!" Jed offered his hand to shake. "How are you holding up with the crazy circus we got going here?"

Marianne also offered a hand in greeting. "I'm a childhood friend of the gang here. What do you think of what Dylan does for a living?" She smirked, sniffing out how much he knew about the hunting.

Jed mentioned that he might've found a local shaman for Val to visit with that afternoon, and he and Marianne sat down to eat. Dylan patted Sacha's shoulder. "I know you're hungry, but do you want to come over here and meet General Sherman real quick? Might as well see how it's going to go before we chow down."

For his own part, Sherman was nearly losing his mind trying to get someone to tell him it was okay to get up. The dog crawled a few inches forward and whimpered when Dylan looked at him. "Can I get up? Are you gonna pet me? Can I smell the new guy? Huh, huh, can I?" that look said, his tail wagging excitedly.

Sacha took Jed’s hand and gave him a firm handshake. ‘’I’m fine with all of this. Just takes a bit of getting used to.’’ Sacha didn’t make any additional remark. He didn’t know whether Dylan had ever spoken about him to his father and if he had, what he had said exactly.

Marianne also said hello. She seemed to be gauging him and what he thought of Dylan’s job. From her tone and her question, Sacha guessed she probably didn’t know he wasn’t himself a regular person. Sure, Dylan’s job was odd and Sacha knew little about supernatural things in general, especially compared to Dylan, but being who he was and given the circumstances under which they had first met, Sacha had a pretty open mind about everything. ‘’It’s an interesting line of work,’’ he simply replied.

Sacha let out a small sigh when Dylan suggested he meet the dog before sitting down to eat his breakast. He gave his boyfriend a slightly worried look, but followed him to the spot where Sherman was lying. ‘’What if he barks at me?’’ Sacha checked the dog as he approached. He looked like he was ready to pounce on both of them. ‘’He seems quiet so far, but he also looks like he wants to jump on me.’’ Sacha shook his head. ‘’I don’t like it, when dogs jump on me. I think the lynx won’t like it either, but so far, he’s quiet too,’’ he told Dylan.

"A bit of getting used to... Now that is an understatement," Jed said, and laughed. "I like your dry sense of humor. When Dylan talked about you over the phone, he lit up like a firefly. Seems to really like you."

Dylan turned a little red with embarrassment. "Dad... Sacha knows how I feel about him."

Leaning closer to Sacha as if he was going to tell him a secret, Jed remarked, "The only time he calls me Dad is when I embarrass him."

Dylan rolled his eyes and then chuckled.

"An interesting line of work," Marianne repeated. She turned to Jed. "You're right, he does have a dry sense of humor."

Walking toward Sherman, Dylan said, "If he barks at you, I'll tell him to stop. And he won't jump up on you unless you invite him to." He knelt down closer to Sherman. "Up."

Sherman stood up and wagged his tail.

"What a good dog!" Dylan petted him, scratching behind his ears and kissing his head. Sherman sniffed him with excitement. "Did you eat all your breakfast? Was it delicious? Oh you're a good dog, such a good dog." He let the dog lick his face. "Come let Shermy smell you. That will show you that he's not going to freak out," he said to Sacha. "I won't let him jump on you."

Sherman sniffed his master and tilted his head to one side. He smelled like a kitty! Oh, Sherman wanted to play with the kitty! Where was it??!

Bailey took the two spoons out of the tea pot. "Val, your tea is ready," she called into the hallway.

Sacha hadn't necessarily wanted to show off his dry humor, but his usually guarded personality had made him give these answers. He didn't want to get all sentimental and mushy around so many people in the kitchen, especially when meeting Dylan's father. The man had taken his reply well anyway. From what he was saying, Dylan might have spoken to him about him already. For once, though, he could also see that Dylan was a bit embarrassed when his father teased him. Sacha didn't say anything anymore. Instead, he put his arm around Dylan's waist and pulled him closer for a brief moment, his eyes doing the talking when he looked at Dylan to let him know it was all good.

Sacha stood next to Dylan, who knelt down in front of his dog and petted and hugged him. When Dylan told him to come closer so the dog could smell him, Sacha stiffened a bit. He forced himself to come closer and slowly got down as well to be at the dog's level. "I don't want him to lick me all over, though," he said, a bit worried. Once he was closer and he looked at the dog, he finally felt something stir inside. His lynx was now very aware of the other furry creature next to him, but he didn't feel any fear. "He knows there's a dog," he said softly. "The lynx, I feel it." The lynx was mainly curious. He didn't feel any fear or aggression coming off of Sherman and he responded the same way, curious and a bit excited to have another non-human around. Sacha's eyes switched involuntarily as his lynx wanted to show up. He pushed it back, however, and made sure he kept himself in check.

Val heard his name. He also wanted to go talk to Sacha and Dylan now that they were up, so he cut short his phone conversation before getting back into the kitchen.

"Sorry... Just needed to catch up with someone from home," he said when he walked back in. "Hey, good morning!" he said to Dylan and Sacha, who were checking on the dog, before going back to his spot around the table and serve tea. "It smells good."

Dylan looked up at Sacha and chuckled, ducking his head. "I guess I sounded excited while talking about you on the phone. That's because I was. But you know how I feel about you." He leaned in and gave him a little kiss.

When Sacha came close, Sherman began to sniff in his direction. He moved back to look at Sacha, ears going up and head tilting curiously to one side.

"He's not going to lick you unless you invite him to by offering your face," Dylan explained.

Sacha did not offer his face, but his eyes did change briefly.

Now this was very confusing! Sherman knew this man was somehow associated with the cat or maybe, because of the eye change, he was the cat! He could smell the cat everywhere on the two men, who had not yet showered. The dog got down in the play stance, hind quarters up in the air and front half flat on the floor, and wagged his tail to tell the cat he wanted to play. "Woof!" he barked.

"Ah-ah, no speaking," Dylan instructed.

Sherman glanced at him, then began to whimper instead, still begging the kitty to play.

"No playing right now. We'll go out and play later. Sit."

Being obedient, Sherman sat and waited.

"We've got to eat now. You be good and stay." Dylan took out his bag of bacon pieces and gave the dog a couple. Sherman seemed very happy with his treat and settled down to wait for all the people to finish eating. "Good dog."

As they walked toward the table, Sherman kept watching the big person cat, his tail wagging.

Several people wanted tea. They each got a cup and held it out for Val to fill. Dylan and Sacha took seats across from Val and got themselves a helping of food. "Tea party time? Can I be the Mad Hatter?" Dylan joked.

"You kind of need a hat," Bailey joked back.

Now it was Sacha’s time to blush a tad when Dylan confessed he might have been a little excited when he spoke with his father about him. Sacha didn’t mind, nor when Dylan gave him a peck since his boyfriend looked still a bit on cloud nine, probably from their earlier round in bed.

Sacha had to admit, the dog was really well behaved. He seemed to be obeying Dylan’s every command. Sherman was probably motivated because there was bacon as a treat if he behaved well, but who didn’t like bacon anyway? Even when the lynx showed his eyes, the dog didn’t go all crazy. He looked more curious and like he was ready to play. “How old is he? Have you had him since a long time?” he asked.

Before he had discovered he was a lynx shifter, when he was still just a kid, Sacha had always wanted a pet. His mother had never accepted because feeding and taking proper care of a pet was an expense they couldn’t really afford, and also because she was away from the house very often and she wasn’t keen on leaving her young son alone to take care of a pet. It all made sense and was reasonable when Sacha thought about it now, but when he was a kid, he didn’t get it and just thought his mother was too strict.

Sacha was getting more comfortable as he saw the dog sitting there and listening to what Dylan told him to do, even if he wanted to go around and jump up and play with them. “Maybe I would feel different if I had had a pet dog when I was younger,” Sacha said. “Dogs that I came across before... They were not so well behaved. Even just while walking down a street.” Sacha turned to look at Dylan. “I usually change sidewalk so they don’t smell me or bark at me.”

Val started to pour tea for everyone who put a cup in front of him. It was a rather large tea pot fortunately, so there was enough to fill each cup and allow everyone to taste. “Hope you like it,” he said to Kerry when he gave her cup back.

Sacha and Dylan sat across from Val. “I got you a few extra types of teas, probably stuff you can’t find in the US,” he said to his cousin.

“You didn’t have to, but thanks,” Sacha said. “They have found a shaman you can go and visit,” he added since Val hadn’t been in the room when Jed had said so.

"Shermy is four years old. Aren't you Shermy? Yes you are." He petted the dog's head again.

Sherman wagged his tail happily.

"I've had him since he was a puppy. Trained him myself. And was he ever an adorable puppy." By now, Dylan was using a cutesy voice to speak to and around Sherman; the dog responded to it with happy wags and a lolling tongue, panting with a special doggie grin.

"I'm glad that you're finding Shermy a pleasant dog to be around. If we want him to be a good watchdog, we have to train him properly."

Sherman took his eyes off them long enough to get a drink of water from his bowl.

"Thank you," everyone said, and began to add the amount of milk or sugar, or artificial sweetener, that they liked.

"It smells r-really g-good," Kerry remarked of the tea.

Jed nodded. "Yes, a shaman from the Potawatomi tribe will meet with you this afternoon if you want. He's extremely curious to talk with you too." He clapped Val on the shoulder. "What do you say?"

Sacha had to bite back a chuckle when Dylan started to speak to Sherman with that different little voice. He recognized it because he had used it when talking to his lynx as well, although not so much. It was one of the things he liked about how Dylan behaved with his animal side. He never forgot that the lynx was also a person.

Val’s face lit up when he heard the confirmation from Jed that he had managed to arrange a meeting for him with a Native American tribe shaman. “Oh, that’s awesome!” he said. “Yes, sure. It’s great. This afternoon works for me, I guess.” He glanced at his cousin, as if to check whether that was fine with him too, though they had nothing scheduled. Sacha smiled and nodded, happy to see that his cousin had something exciting lining up for the day.

“Where is he based? Maybe I can borrow Sacha’s car if I have to drive somewhere to meet him.”

Val took a long sip of hot tea and started to mentally inventory all the things he might want to talk about and ask him. “Do you know him?” he asked Jed.

"He's based over by Topeka at the Potawatomi reservation. Don't worry how you're going to get there. I need to talk to him about a few things anyway, so we're going to take you." Jed turned to Skylar. "Do you need to make a stop in Topeka?"

"Yeah, actually, I got a couple things to do there."

"Here's what we do, then." Gesturing to Marianne, he explained, "Marianne and I will take Val up there. You follow us in your car. When we're all done, Marianne and I will head back to Missouri and you can take Val back to Lebanon with you. Sound good?"

"Works for me. Or, Val can ride with me on the way over, whichever he wants to do." Skylar grinned at him.

Nodding, Jed replied, "You could say that I know the shaman. I've met with him in person several times before and spoken with him on the phone a bunch more times than that. His English name is John Fatespeaker because his Native American name means 'He Who Speaks to Fate.' Very interesting man." Jed was nodding again. "He can't wait to talk to you too. He's never met a Russian shaman before."

During the break in the conversation, Lilly said brightly, "This tea is very good! What kind is it?"

Kerry blew on hers and sipped some more, licking her lips.

It seems like everything was already planned for Val’s visit with the shaman, which made things even easier. He wouldn’t have to bother Sacha and borrow his car to go. He appreciated that they offered him a ride, but he appreciated even more hearing Skylar butting in to suggest he’d take Val in his car for the drive up to Topeka.

‘’Might be less crowded in Jed’s car if I ride with you, sure,’’ he replied to Skylar with a coy smile.

Val nodded at the little bit of info that Jed gave him already on the shaman he was about to meet. ‘’I hope he won’t be disappointed with meeting me because although I’m originally Russian, I’ve been raised in Lapland, so my shamanic tradition is Sami. I guess we have quite a few things in common with Siberian shamanism, but it’s not the same. I don’t even speak Russian,’’ Val said.

‘’Our grandfather was a Siberian shaman,’’ Sacha interjected. ‘’That’s probably where you got your natural skills at this anyway.’’

‘’That’s what I was told too when I started training.’’

Val drank the rest of his tea and sat up. ‘’I guess it’s a long drive. I’m going to go to my room to get ready. I want to be in the right frame of mind when I meet John.’’

What Val actually meant was that he wanted to clear his mind and meditate a bit by himself before taking the road. He was curious and excited to go and talk to another shaman, but he was taking it seriously from a spiritual point of view. Meeting a tribe elder or a shaman who was happy to share time and maybe knowledge was always an honor. Val was aware he was young and not the typical image of ancestral shamanism, so he hoped the meeting would go well. He wanted to gather his thoughts and prepare for the encounter.

Val picked up the pack of tea and showed it to Lilly. There was a label on it, but it was all written in Swedish, so he explained it for her. ‘’It’s black tea. Earl Grey base with also lavender and tangerine in it.’’

‘’When do we need to leave?" he asked before going to his room.

Sacha finished what was on his plate and took another slice of French toast since he was still hungry. ‘’If they’re gone all day, what do you want to do?’’ he asked Dylan.

"I'm sure John will be happy with speaking to a shaman from Lapland too. Either way, you're different and the same," Jed commented.

When Val said he was going to his room, Dylan cut in. "Don't forget, we've got to go over what we found out from Kerry's dreams last night with the group."

"It's only nine, and we don't have to leave until one," Jed informed him. "You'll have some time to get ready."

Lilly looked over the pack of tea. "Tangerine, mmm. I've had those. Fruit is the best food you can get up here."

"We'll be another ten minutes or so." Dylan referred to Sacha and himself. "If you're done eating, why don't you go wait for us in the library? Then we can discuss Kerry's dreams from last night."

Several people from the group took their plates to the sink and rinsed them, then placed them in the dishwasher. They also said thank you to the cooks and gave them compliments before taking their tea to the library.

Dylan sighed. "These recordings are going to blow their minds." He took Sacha's hand and squeezed it lightly. "Once we have this place to ourselves, I would like to... well, it's private. Let's talk about it when we're alone." He smirked, waving his and Sacha's hands back and forth a little.

“Oh, yes... You’re right,” Val said when Dylan reminded him about the recording of the night before. He had just mentioned it to Dean and Sam earlier and now he was forgetting it. “I guess I got up so early I thought it was later than that. I’ll join you back in the library in a bit. I’m going to brush my teeth.”

He heard Jed saying they wouldn’t leave till right after lunch, so he indeed had still plenty of time.

Sacha watched Lilly from the corner of his eye. It seemed like she had never seen a pack of tea before. He also didn’t understand her comment about tangerines, but he didn’t ask what she meant.

Sacha was about to get up. The others had gone already and cleaned up. Dylan took his hand before he had time to grab their plates. “What do you want to do?” Sacha said with a little smile. Dylan looked like he had some special - private - plans for them for later on, but he didn’t want to explain further. “Okay, you’ll tell me later. I just hope I can have a nap after lunch and it doesn’t interfere with your plans. I really didn't sleep enough last night, or this morning.”

"I didn't either," Dylan agreed. "Why don't we both nap together after the talk about Kerry's dreams?"

It took her a few minutes to notice, but Lilly finally realized that Sacha kept glancing at her and peeking out of the corner of his eye. "Hi nice kitty!" she called down the table.

Dylan couldn't hold back an amused snort.

Everyone still left in the kitchen chuckled and shook their heads, as if to say That wacky Lilly. No one asked her why she called him that because they either already knew or thought it was just Lilly being kooky. Sam took her arm and walked her out of the kitchen, saying, "He'd probably prefer that you call him Sacha."

Shortly after, Dylan came into the library, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Is everyone here? Ready?" Once he was sure everyone who wanted to listen was there and prepared to listen, Dylan tried to ready them for what they were about to hear.

Kerry sat quietly with her head down. It didn't take long for Sherman to notice she seemed nervous and scared, so he came over and put his head in her lap. Instantly, Kerry brightened up considerably, petting his head.

"Alright everybody, what you're about to hear may sound crazy even for us, but please approach it with an open mind. Remember, these are Kerry's dreams, but they're also memories." Dylan punched a few buttons on his phone, and the first recording of himself and Val talking began to play.

Part of the way through, Sam and Dean reacted to what they were hearing, looking at each other with alarm. "How do you know about that?" Dean asked Kerry. "You weren't there."

"I w-was there, " she replied quietly. "Just n-not in this re-reality."

"What?" He looked at Sam.

"Just listen. We'll discuss it all later," said Dylan.

When Val got to the part about Dean being killed and there being body parts lying around in pools of blood, Kerry couldn't hold it in anymore and began to cry.

Val was back in the library before Dylan started to play the recordings. He sat next to his cousin and in front of Kerry.

He wasn’t used to hearing his own voice. But of course, the sound of his voice or his accent as he was talking were not the things that the rest of the people were carefully listening to. The content of what he was explaining to Dylan and that he saw with Kerry still sounded fascinating to him. He could see a mix of disbelief and confusion on the faces of Dean and Sam mainly.

When Kerry started to cry, Val reached for her hand across the table. He could imagine how overwhelming it all was for her to hear now all over again what she had managed to show him the night before - and what she perhaps had relived and had nightmares about way too many times in the past.

‘’Shhh… Be brave one more time,’’ he said softly to her. ‘’You won’t have to dream about all this anymore. I’ll help you chase those dreams away.’’

Kerry nodded, placing her other hand over his and cradling it between her palms. "I'll tr-tr-try." She managed to smile softly. "But don't l-let go."

The description of this dream ended. Dean and Sam looked at each other. "I don't understand. Why does Kerry see herself as part of this event that happened to us? Why does she see it as ending so badly? That's not what happened," Dean said.

"That's not what happened to you," Dylan replied. "But these things did happen to someone. Just listen to dream number two."

Now he played the recording that described Kerry's second dream. While listening, Sam commented, "It's like your life if a few things happened differently, Dylan. I remember you mentioning Renae, but... she died, right?"

"Yes. Here. Renae died here. But where Kerry comes from, she's still alive."

"Where Kerry...?" Dean looked at Sam. Something in his facial expression said he was starting to get it.

Once the description of this dream was also finished, Dylan tried to explain by first asking a question. "Have you two ever had any experience with alternate dimensions?"

The brothers looked at each other again and rolled their eyes. "Oh God, is this like the TV show about our lives?"

Dylan just looked back at them with a raised eyebrow.

Trying to explain as succinctly as possible, Sam said, "This angel was trying to protect us, to hide us, from other angels, so he sent us into an alternate reality where we were actors in a TV show about us. Dean only played Dean; his name was Jensen Grackles."

"Ackles," Dean corrected.

"Yeah. And Castiel's name was Misha and he was obsessed with posting to social media."

Kerry giggled.

"So, what you're saying is that Kerry's from an alternate dimension where she's our sister," Dean said, trying the words on for size. "In this other place, we didn't stop the Apocalypse, Lucifer walked away with Sam's body, and Kerry watched us all die."

Dylan nodded.

Dean seemed torn, knowing alternate dimensions existed, but unsure how to take the possibility of Kerry's story being true. He turned to Val. "What do you think, Val? You saw these dreams firsthand. Do you think they are proof that Kerry comes from an alternate dimension where she's our sister?"

((Notes: I didn't expressly say that Dylan recorded Val's description of the second dream. This post implies that he did.))

Val gave Kerry a smile and let her hold his hand while the rest of the recording played.

He waited till they were finished with listening to the second recording. Sacha was captivated by the recording as well, although he knew already the gist of it, since Dylan had talked to him about it the night before. He had also already explained to him his theory about alternate dimensions and realities and now that it was up for discussion, he was happy to see that even Sam and Dean seemed to have a hard time fathoming the concept.

There were other things Sacha wasn’t sure he understood. The dream description was talking about Lucifer and then Dean and Sam were discussing about how ’it’ didn’t happen as Kerry dreamed it. Did that mean that Lucifer really existed and had been fighting with the two brothers? Was it possible they were referring to something or someone else than what was usually understood by Lucifer?

Sacha was trying to think about all that and wasn’t even paying attention to the TV show anecdote. Val, on the other hand, was. ‘’You acted your own selves in an alternate world?" he asked curiously. ‘’That’s… Interesting.’’

Dean and Sam were beginning to get a grasp of the concept of the parallel world. They addressed Val to see if he could help confirm or clarify the situation. ‘’From what I’ve seen when I dreawalked, I’d say these were memories, indeed. I dreamwalked on Kerry, but it wasn’t like a normal dream. I didn’t interact with her. She wasn’t available for that. She was there but it was not her unconscious sleeping self I saw. It was her in her past, in her recollection. She made me see what she remembers and what probably has haunted her since it happened.’’ Val scratched the side of his head and looked at Kerry, then back at Dean and Sam. ‘’I’ve dreamwalked on a lot of people, it was different this time. It was memories, not dreams or nightmares.’’

"Yes! Everybody else in that world thought we were 'Jared' and 'Jensen,' but we still knew we were the real Sam and Dean! I guess the actors were sent somewhere else for a short time." Sam shrugged, still looking a little shell shocked over the whole thing. "They even made us act! I thought we did a good job."

Val gave his assessment of Kerry's dreams, which made Sam ask, "But if we have a sister in another dimension, then where is the Kerry from this dimension? Shouldn't there be one here too?"

Dylan began, "Possibly, but - "

Dean interrupted with, "Shit. Oh shit!"

"Dean?"

"Hang on. I'll be right back." Jumping up, he headed toward the rooms, leaving everyone to wait, perplexed. Two minutes later, he returned with two pieces of paper, which he was looking at and saying, "Oh shit."

"Dean, what is it?"

His eyes were on Kerry. "Kerry, when were you born in relation to Sam and I?"

"I was b-born between y-you," she replied. "Two years af-after you, and alm-most two years bef-fore Sam."

Dean sat down hard in his chair. "Fuck. I think she's telling the truth."

Amazed at what his brother was saying, Sam said, "Why do you think that?"

"Because of the state of Kansas." Dean held up the two pieces of paper. "Sam, these are our birth certificates. I don't know if they still do this today, but back when we were born, they would print how many live children and deceased children your mother had before you on your birth certificate. On mine, there's nothing in that space, because I was the first born. But on yours..." He read off the paper. "Sam Winchester, before you were born, your mother had one live birth, male, and one stillbirth, female."

Gasping, Sam looked at his brother and then Kerry. "We had a sister in this reality. We did. But she died."

((Notes: I don't know if other states did this, but my Texas birth certificate is like this. It has all the live births and deaths of my brothers and sisters cataloged on it.))

Val looked at Kerry and then Dylan after Dean revealed they apparently had a sister. “In her reality, Kerry has lost Dean and basically lost Sam as well and in this world, you have lost your sister. It can’t be a coincidence that Kerry somehow crossed over and arrived here.”

“What do you mean?” Sacha asked.

“Just what I said. Maybe something or someone or fate wanted to reunite them,” he said while smiling to Kerry.

"It is awfully strange that Kerry was brought here, especially since we're not only family, but we're the only people who could actually help defeat Lucifer in her world if it became necessary," Dean commented.

"F-family?" Kerry looked at them both. "Then you b-believe me-me?"

The two brothers looked at each other once more. "Will you spend the day with us?" Dean asked. "We can talk, go over some of the memories you have, and... and then I'll know."

"We'll both know," Sam agreed.

They wanted to be sure Kerry wasn't a shapeshifter or some other dangerous creature pretending to be a family member. The Winchesters were well known in the hunting community as the guys who could get shit done. They had to be careful. Dylan knew she wasn't a creature trying to kill the brothers, but they needed a frame of reference, now that Kerry could communicate with them.

"I think I want to go to Lawrence for the day," Dean declared. "Visit Mom's grave. I've never looked around at the other headstones nearby. I'm wondering now if there's one there for our sister." He patted Kerry's hand. "Will you come with us? Maybe-Alternate Kerry?"

She smiled, tears in her eyes. "I'd l-love to go."

Suddenly nervous, Dylan said, "Do you need me to go with you, Kerry? Do you feel okay? Anything weird happen since you woke up?"

"I've b-been fine," she told him. "I will be ah-alright. S-sam and Dean c-c-can look after me. I'll b-be fine, I prom-promise."

"Okay." Dylan seemed reluctant to let her go, but she was a grown woman. "You have my number if you need any help."

"Of c-course." Kerry stood up, crossing the space between them and giving him a mighty hug around the neck. "I l-love you, Dylan."

He hugged her back, closing his eyes to fight back the tears. "I love you too, Kerry. Forever and ever."

The others went to give Kerry a hug, celebrating her miraculous recovery. Jed especially spent some time talking to her, as he was going home to Missouri that day and wouldn't see her for a while.

Dylan turned to Sacha. "I guess we really will have the place to ourselves today." He tried to smile, though inside, he felt a little sad.

Sacha didn’t miss the change in Dylan’s attitude and how his body language betrayed him when Dean proposed that Kerry go with them for the day. It was close to what Dylan had feared. In his head, Sacha knew it was not that, actually. She was an adult, she could go and spend the day with her potential ‘brothers’. It didn’t mean that Kerry was leaving Dylan. To Dylan, however, it was probably much more. It most likely sounded ominous and final, as if she was starting to distance herself from him. It would take time for him to get used to the idea he didn’t have to attend to her every need. Hopefully he would be there to remind his very protective hunter boyfriend that it was okay and hopefully Kerry was really their sister from another world. If that was the case, they would all still stay together and see each other.

Things seemed to go in that direction when Kerry came to Dylan and hugged him.

Sacha looked at Val who nodded discreetly, as if to acknowledge what he was thinking. His cousin was overly perceptive and no doubt he had caught the same vibe from Dylan.

“Yes, it will be quiet here with everyone gone,” Sacha replied.

After everyone was done hugging and acknowledging Kerry, and congratulating her for being her own self again, Val walked up to Dean. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Once she was all hugged out, Kerry came back over to Dylan. "W-will you h-help me get a bag to-together of drinks and s-s-snacks? It's a long-long drive."

Dylan seemed excited that she'd asked him to help with this. "Sure! I have a bag that would be perfect for that." He turned to Sacha. "I'll be back soon, okay? Will you wait for me?"

Dean turned to Val when he approached him. "Uh, sure." He stepped over into a less populated area of the library. "What's up?"

Sacha was still sitting and looked at Dylan who was already up, ready to go and help Kerry pack food. He placed a hand on the small of his back and rubbed it soothingly. ‘’No problem, take your time. I’ll catch up with Val when he’s done talking with Dean. I’ll still be here.’’

Val followed Dean to a more quiet area in the library. ‘’When we were listening to the recordings, I'm not sure you picked up the few comments Dylan and I made about Kiera. We didn’t focus on that here, but in a nutshell, that’s why I asked you for a rope last night. By the way, it’s in Dylan’s room. I’ll go get it and give it back to you before I leave later. I tricked Kiera to get into the trunk - where supposedly her dead body is being kept by her father - and I locked it and wrapped a rope around it. This all happened during the second dreamwalk. This way, I think Kerry is safe from Kiera taking her over, you know? As in possessing her since she cannot roam around in her mind anymore. But it’s temporary, of course. But in case something happens and Kiera makes an appearance while you’re with her today, let me know.’’

Val paused and looked at Kerry, who was still talking with Jed and Skylar.

‘’I don’t like what I did, but that was the only way, for the time being, to help. Kerry hasn’t said anything about it, but she must know something is different. The day before, when she was still not talking, she was anyway asking me to help her get her body back, and she was talking about Kiera. She hasn’t said anything yet. Maybe she’s too overwhelmed about the situation, so I didn’t bring it up either, but I thought you should know.’’

A content smile came to Dylan's face. He bent over and gave Sacha a little kiss. "I love when you touch me," he said quietly.

Kerry grinned, watching them.

Dean listened and nodded. "That Steven guy needs to wake up and tell us how to get rid of his daughter. It's not fair that anyone should have to tie her ghost up anywhere; she shouldn't be possessing Kerry in the first place. But yeah, we'll be keeping watch for the little brat. Have you seen any instances of catatonia this morning?"

Turning around in her chair, Bailey asked, "Dylan told me that Steven might be waking up today. How does he know that? What happened?"

Val nodded when Dean asked him if Kerry had still exhibited any signs of her previous passive behaviour. "For a very brief moment, she seemed to have zoned out. We were talking and... It's like I had missed part of the conversation, but she didn't realize she didn't talk to me, I think. It was just a minute, or maybe two."

Bailey stepped in and inquired about Steven. "He appeared during the second dreamwalk session. When I had locked up his daughter. He saw it. He knows what I did." Val sighed, clearly feeling guilty, but also not at ease with the fact that Steven was a powerful being and he had pissed him off. He didn't like confrontations and wasn't used to fighting, physically or mentally, in dreams or in reality. "He couldn't do anything because I had set us up in the forest and the trees protected me when he tried to come after me in his wolf form. I think he was just waking up and regaining consciousness. He was not yet awake, but it was last night. Maybe he is right now."

Dean shrugged. "I guess we can't expect Kerry to be completely cured after only a couple sessions, huh? Okay, we'll keep a lookout for times when she zones out, too."

"And we'll report it back," Sam added, as he had just joined the conversation.

Bailey couldn't help but get a little excited at the idea that Steven might awaken from his coma that day. "Okay, I'll go see if I can get Rain on the phone and keep you guys updated." She started to rush away, then came back. "I know everybody's mad at him, but remember, he's been in a coma. He won't be strong enough to defend himself."

After she went off to make her phone call, Sam and Dean decided to go discuss Steven with Dylan. Everyone dispersed to pack or whatever they needed to do for the day; Val and Sacha were left alone with Skylar.

"What kind of snacks and drinks do you want for the trip?" he asked Val. Skylar had gotten up into one of the chairs on his knees and was now facing backwards in it, his hands holding onto the back support rail.

Val was back with Sacha and sat on the table. ‘’Nothing special. Just water and maybe fruits. Apples are easy to eat on the go. Maybe a sandwich? I’m not sure how long the drive is.’’

‘’You did a little miracle with Kerry, it seems,’’ Sacha said. ‘’I didn’t think that it would make such a big difference. Not that I underestimated you, but… It’s amazing.’’

Val smiled at his cousin. ‘’I didn’t know either. It’s hard to foresee how people react to this if they’ve had a trauma. I’m glad I could help.’’

‘’We’ll make sure Steven doesn’t go after you. I’ll talk to Dylan,’’ Sacha said, now a bit worried for his cousin’s safety. ‘’Let’s hear what Bailey says.’’

‘’It’s okay now, but sure. I’m not certain I can fend off a necromancer in the long run,’’ Val shrugged. Then his face changed and he lit up a tad. ‘’We’ll have to work on your case next. That’s why I decided to come here originally,’’ he said to Sacha. ‘’You know, I met our grandfather when I had my initiation dream, or whatever you want to call it.’’

"The drive is about three hours. We'll probably have dinner there and then drive back." Skylar got down out of his chair. "What kind of sandwich do you want? Aren't you a veggie-saurus?"

While Sacha was talking, Skylar kept nodding his agreement with his words. "The difference really is amazing, Val. This is exactly what Kerry needed."

He didn't know if he was overstepping his bounds by asking, but he asked anyway. "What case?" Skylar questioned of Sacha.

“Yes, but I will eat a sandwich with cheese and lettuce and tomato, or peanut butter. I can do my own sandwich in the kitchen if you don’t know what to put on mine. It’s okay.”

When Skylar asked Sacha what his cousin meant about his case, he blushed a little. Val didn’t want to speak in his place so he just waited to see what he would reply.

“I... I started dreamwalking. I’ve never done it before and I don’t know why I do it. So I spoke with Val and I asked him if he can help me out and figure out why and how to control this.”

Sacha looked at Val when he spoke and then at Skylar. He conveniently omitted details like the fact that so far he had only dreamwalked on Dylan, and in almost each case, he had ended up in some kind of sexy time with him.

"Okay, so would you rather have a cheese sandwich or peanut butter?" Skylar asked. "I'm a meatasaurus, but I think I'll have a peanut butter and banana sandwich myself."

After hearing Sacha's story, Skylar said, "Wooow, I wish I could dreamwalk. It sounds so cool. I mean, I guess what I do is a type of dreamwalking, but I don't ever enjoy it." He put on a tight-lipped smile, then added, "I'm going to get my lunch bag and put some snacks in it. See you back here at one, okay Val?"

He headed for the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Dylan came back into the room. "All done. You wanna go take that nap now?"

Sherman sat down at his feet, looking up at him.

"Is it okay if Shermy comes in there with us? He can sleep in his doggie bed, yes hims can."

The dog wagged his tail at the cute little voice.

Val had never heard of a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and as much as he liked bananas, he wasn't sure he wanted to mix them with the taste of peanut butter. "I'll have peanut butter, just that. Nothing else on it. Thanks."

"What you do is probably a bit different than dreamwalking. Are you conscious of it being a dream as it happens and can you remember it when you wake up?" Val asked. "Actually, we can probably discuss all that on the way to Topeka later on."

After Skylar had left, Val chatted a little more with his cousin. He got up when he saw Dylan coming back in the library. "I'll get some stuff ready for my trip. We can catch up later," he told Sacha. "You know where my room is."

Sacha watched Dylan talk to his dog. Sherman had received an invitation to go and take a nap too with them, though Dylan specified right away that it would be in his dog bed. Sacha knew he had upset Dylan the day before with his comments about not liking to be around dogs, and he didn't want to argue about that again. Sherman certainly was a good dog, and for any normal person, having the dog sleep in the corner of the bedroom while they were in the bed would probably not be a big deal. Sacha, however, was already thinking that if his lynx would want to come out at any point, it would be an issue.

"Doesn't he want to go and play outside or... Something?" Sacha tried. "The lynx cannot come out if he's in the room with us. It would get messy, I think."

Skylar opened his mouth to respond, but then stopped when Val said they should talk on the way to Topeka. He laughed. "Good idea."

Dylan bent down closer to the dog. "You don't wanna be lynx food, do you?"

Sherman wagged his tail like he was perfectly happy to be lynx food, not really understanding the words, only the tone in which they were said.

"He can probably go with Kerry and Dean and Sam. Sam seems to like dogs. And it's a ride in the car."

Sherman's ears perked up; he understood the word "car." He jumped up and down and barked excitedly.

"Oh boy! Let's go drop you off with Kerry." He turned to Sacha. "Go pour yourself in the bed and I'll join you in a couple minutes." Dylan started to walk away. "You mark my words, my dog and your lynx will one day play together." With a confident smile, Dylan headed for the kitchen.

Sacha hid his smile when he heard Dylan propose that the dog go in the car with Kerry, Sam, and Dean. It’s not that he didn’t like the dog, but he wasn’t at ease around him yet.

Hearing Dylan tell him that he was expecting that his dog and the lynx would play together one day sounded like total science fiction to Sacha. In an ideal world, yes, why not, but he thought it wouldn’t happen with him and Sherman in this world.

‘’Okay, I’ll wait for you there,’’ Sacha said.

A moment later he was in the bedroom. He took off his shoes and jeans and the t-shirt Dylan had lent him. They hadn’t even taken their shower. Probably they would do that after their nap. Sacha put the pillows at the top of the bed and slid under the covers wearing just his underwear to be more comfy for sleeping.

Dylan was gone for a few minutes. Sacha could tell he was on his way because there was talking in the hall, then the door opened and he grabbed a blanket off Kerry's bed. "This is one of Shermy's favorites. Just spread it over the back seat and..." The door closed.

More talking. Bailey's voice. Two or three minutes of a conversation before it got a little quiet, and then Dylan came in, closing the door behind him. "Ahhh," he said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Dylan looked at Sacha as he leaned against the door. "Hi baby. Well, we don't have to worry about an attack from Steven just yet. He's not awake. However, he has been moving and making noise in his sleep, which means he could be trying to come out of the coma. Sleep, unconscious state, whatever it is." While he spoke, Dylan took off his clothes down to his jockey shorts. "It's not something we have to worry about right now. We can just have our nap time."

Getting on the bed, Dylan crawled up to his boyfriend on his hands and knees and kissed the side of his head before slipping under the covers with him. "Want me to sing you to sleep?"

‘’I guess it’s good if he’s still out of it, but for Kerry, the sooner he wakes up, the sooner his sister can ask him to get Kiera out of her mind and body, right?’’

Sacha was obviously not only saying that because of Kerry, though he wanted her to be free and rid of the ghost, but he was now also thinking about Val. He didn’t want Steven to unleash his anger on him because of what he had done to Kiera when he dreamwalked.

He smiled when Dylan suggested he sing for him. ‘’Okay, yes. I like your voice. Choose a good lullaby for me,’’ he said while he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and held him close. ‘’One day you’ll also have to show me your drumming skills,’’ he added.

"It's good for right this moment, when I'm beat and I'd like to take a nap with my handsome boyfriend." Dylan grinned. "All this shit with Dophim can wait. Trust me, it will keep til he wakes up."

Dylan cuddled up to Sacha and laid his head on his shoulder, where he could kiss the side of his face and sing softly into his ear. "Oh, when do you want to get up? I'll set the alarm on my phone."

Once they had that squared away, Dylan said, "I'll finish the song I started before. Unless you want me to show you my drumming skills by playing on your head." He lifted one arm like he just might do it, and laughed. "Okay. You lay your little head down." Clearing his throat, he sang, "Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you. Shall I stay? Would it be a sin, if I can't help falling in love with you? Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling, so it goes... Some things are meant to be. Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you. For I can't help falling in love with you..."

Dylan kissed him next to his ear. "Elvis has some really good love songs, huh?"

Even if he was a little worried for Val, Sacha didn’t want to talk about Steven either, so he didn’t continue on the topic, happy to hear Dylan didn’t want to think about him.

“One hour? That’s a good nap, and anyway, even when we wake up, we don’t have to get out of bed right away,” Sacha said.

“Okay, let’s forget about your drumming skills for now,” he chuckled. Sacha lay down more comfortably, his head tilted to the side to watch Dylan, who was cuddled up next to him.

He wasn’t just flattering Dylan when he told him he liked his voice. He really did. Besides, he couldn’t remember any boyfriend or lover had ever sung to him this way. Of course, Dylan was being playful, but he was also sincere, and he knew that Dylan really meant the song lyrics he was singing to him.

Sacha ran his fingers in Dylan’s hair as he was singing to him. The man by his side was quite a character. He had so many facets, he thought, maybe some he didn’t know yet.

When he was done, Sacha closed his eyes for a few seconds. He didn’t want to sleep yet, but the reality of how serious things were getting with Dylan hit him. He opened his eyes when Dylan spoke again.

“Yes, he does... My mother had a couple of albums of Elvis. She would listen to them at home. I remember she would sing to me when I was a small kid, songs in Russian, not Elvis. I remember she was singing to me and Val in the car, when she was driving us to the border to leave Russia.”

There was a hint of melancholy in Sacha’s voice and his blue eyes looked sad for a brief moment.

"Nah, I need at least two more hours. If you wake up after one, I'm sure you can find something fun to do with yourself while I sleep." Dylan winked.

He raised an eyebrow to Sacha's comment that they didn't have to get out of bed right away once the nap was over. "Really? What exactly did you have in mind?"

Dylan caught the sad look in his lover's eyes at the memory of his mother singing to him in the car while they left Russia. "What's the matter, babe? You looked sad for a moment." He ran his fingers along Sacha's jaw, hoping it was soothing.

Sacha chuckled when Dylan said he needed at least two hours of nap time. He would certainly not complain about sleeping more. ‘’Oh, I’m sure I’ll sleep more than one hour too. I just didn’t want you to think I was lazy. But I guess cats like to sleep, so I’ll be making my inner feline happy with a longer nap. Go ahead.’’

‘’I meant we can chill and relax, talk some more. Maybe make out... Whatever we feel like doing. If we’re alone here anyway, it’s not like the others will say we’re antisocial.’’

Sacha snapped out of his quick trip down nostalgia lane. He took Dylan’s hand, the one that was caressing his face, and brought it to his mouth. He kissed the back of his hand a few times. ‘’It’s okay. It’s nothing. Usually thinking back about my mother and how tough her life was… I always feel like her life was even harder and more difficult because of me. She said she fled because she wanted a better life for me, for my cousin, and our lives were better for sure, but at the same time, it was hard and she gave up a lot by leaving. If she hadn’t had me…’’ Sacha didn’t finish his sentence. He knew it was pointless to try to imagine what if, but he still did it once in a while. And he never spoke about it with his mother anymore because she would always tell him not to think like that and she would do it all over again if she had to.

Sacha was still holding Dylan’s hand. He didn’t let it go. He moved it down and placed it on his chest, to the left. ‘’Zaichik, sing me another song, please.’’

"I wouldn't think you were lazy if you slept longer. We had a really... active... morning." Dylan giggled, running a finger over Sacha's moustache, playing with the hairs there. "If you need sleep, you need sleep."

Once Sacha had named off all the things they could do with their free afternoon, Dylan chuckled. "All those things sound good. Let's do all of it."

The things Sacha said after that were troubling and sad. "Sacha... please don't think like that. The lives of everyone who knows and loves you are better for it. If I hadn't met you, I would still be celibate, and a mess, having panic attacks every time I got close to someone. Only you could help me break through my block. And just think where Kerry would still be if you hadn't come up with the idea that dreamwalking could help her. You didn't ruin your mother's life. From what we hear over here in America, life in Russia is not easy. I think your mother is better off in Europe. Everything she sacrificed was worth it for her to start a new life, too."

Dylan nodded to Sacha's request. "There's another song by Elvis that I really like because it has some lovely imagery, but it's supposed to be a breakup song, so I hope you won't mind me changing a few of the lyrics." He patted Sacha's chest where his hand had been placed. "Don't look so sad, the past is over, life goes on and this old world will keep on turning. I'm so glad we have some time to spend together. There's no need to watch the bridges that we're burning." Dylan laid his head on Sacha's shoulder. "Lay your head upon my pillow. Hold your warm and tender body close to mine." The hand on Sacha's chest made slow circles. "Hear the whisper of the raindrops fallin' soft against the window, and make believe we have a window in this room." Chuckling, his voice shook as he sang, "For the good times."

Still chuckling, Dylan asked, "How do you like my song so far?"

Sacha smiled when he heard Dylan trying to reassure him. Deep down, he knew that of course what his mother had done was for the best and that she didn't regret it, but these moments of insecurities were still creeping up on him sometimes.

"I know, you're right. Sometimes I just... Nevermind."

Now was not the moment to ramble further. Sacha pushed away any sad memories and any doubt. He wanted to get lost in Dylan's warm and loving gaze and stop worrying.

"Go ahead," he said when Dylan told him he had another song by Elvis in mind. He didn't know the song, so he couldn't guess which words or part of the lyrics Dylan was changing, but it sounded beautiful all the same. Sacha moved one arm around Dylan and pulled him closer as he lay his head on his shoulder and continued to sing.

"It's a beautiful song. You're a really good singer."

Sacha closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sing me to sleep..."

"Everybody feels insecure and doubts their importance in the world from time to time. It's just a part of being human." Dylan ran his fingers through the hair near Sacha's temple. "If you ever feel sad and unimportant, or like the world would be better without you in it, you come to me. I'll remind you how much you mean to me and hold you and do whatever you need."

"Thank you," he replied to Sacha's comment about his singing voice. "Sing you to sleep? Okay." Dylan smirked and began with, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, if one of those bottles should happen to fall, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall. Nine... no? Okay, let me think... " Pretending he didn't know which song would be appropriate for such a task, Dylan looked at his boyfriend a moment and then laughed. "I was just kidding. I know what to sing."

"My mom, my adoptive mom, was a big fan of Elvis. She used to play his records all the time when I was a child. Whenever I see my dad, I think of her and I singing along with those records. So that's why I'm so Elvis-centered right now." Stroking Sacha's chest and neck, Dylan spoke soothingly, "Relax, lay your head back, and close your eyes. You'll probably recognize this one." He began to sing again.

"Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go. You have made my life complete, and I love you so. Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfill, for my darling, I love you, and I always will. Love me tender, love me long, take me to your heart, for it's there that I belong and will never part. Love me... " Dylan yawned. He closed his eyes, head still lying on Sacha's shoulder. "...tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfill, for my... " His second yawn was even longer. "...darling, I love you, and... " Trailing off, Dylan started to drift. His eyes suddenly but weakly opened again and he said, "I always will. ....... What was the next part?"

Sacha was slowly drifting off to sleep to the soothing sound of Dylan’s voice.

Dylan yawned once, and then twice. Sacha smiled at the fact that he was lulling himself to sleep as well. When his boyfriend asked him for the lyrics of the next part, Sacha tried to think, but nothing came up. “I know the song, but I never really paid attention to the lyrics,” he told him. “Sorry.”

He kept his eyes closed and placed a few kisses on the side of Dylan head. “I love you,” he whispered.

"I know there's a part that says 'Love me tender' in there somewhere..." Dylan muttered. "Love you too, babe." Within seconds, he had drifted off to sleep.

next chapter

supernatural, original characters

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