Across the Universe - Spawn Fic: AU for the Immortal!Uncle Dean Universe
Divas_Lament and I had this very cracky conversation about what it would be like if our spawn met. After numerous emails and watching the plot bunnies multiply, she very generously lent me her spawn - Holly Winchester, the daughter of Dean Winchester and Chloe Sullivan from her spawn series.
Title: Across the Universe or When Holly met JD
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: Much gratitude to Divas_Lament for the beta, the handholding, brainstorming and of course for Holly
Rated: G
Fandom: Supernatural, Smallville & Highlander
Characters: From The Immortal!Dean Universe: Dean Winchester, Richie Ryan & JD Winchester. From Divas_Lament’s Universe: Holly Winchester, Dean and Sam Winchester
Written for: The Holiday Spawn ficathon at Spawnfic_Tues
Prompt: #55 spirit for crossovers100 my table is here
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. JD is mine and Holly is Divas_Lament’s.
Summary JD meets Holly, his cousin from an alternate reality
A/N: The following slightly cracky story is completely outside the normal series for both of our universes. It is an AU for the Immortal!Dean Universe.
A/N2: Other spawn adventures in the regular Immortal!Dean Universe can be found here.
Across the Universe
JD followed his uncles, Dean and Richie, into the storage space. At first glance, it looked like someone’s neglected garage. Junk was piled in every corner. But this wasn’t just anyone’s garage; this space had belonged to Grandpa John, the man he’d been named after. Who knew what interesting objects from his dad’s childhood might be stacked in a neglected corner.
“Your dad was a bit of a paranoid pack rat,” Richie said as he eyed the set of antlers attached to the shotgun booby trap that Dean had disarmed as they’d entered.
“Some dangerous shit in this place. Dad never took any chances.”
“The place seems pretty well fortified, why clean it out now?” Richie asked.
“Always meant to,” Dean shrugged. “Just never got around to it. Thought JD might find some of this stuff interesting.”
JD wandered over to the far wall where several odd figurines sat on what looked like an old television. As he reached out to pick one up, Dean grabbed his hand. “Don’t touch anything until I clear it. Understand?”
“Maybe I should just sit in the corner until you need me,” JD snarked and pointed to a folding chair leaning against the wall.
“Good idea,” Dean said as he grabbed the chair placing it in the middle of the room. “Sit. Let me and Richie check the rest of this place out.”
“But UD -”
“Sit!” Dean commanded and added with a grin, “Once I give the all clear you can go find those embarrassing childhood things of your dad’s.”
JD slumped into the chair and waited.
Richie looked over at his nephew as JD grumbled to himself. “Think he’ll stay put?”
Dean laughed. “Not for long. Let’s get started.”
*****************************************************
Another reality but the same time and place…
“But Dad, why’d I come if I’m just going to sit in the corner?” Holly groused.
Dean placed the chair in the center of the room. “It’s not the corner. Now sit. Once Sammy and I have checked the place out, I will release you from captivity.”
Holly slumped into the chair. “You know, I could be doing something a lot more constructive than this!”
Sam looked over at his niece as Holly grumbled to herself. “Think she’ll stay put?”
Dean laughed. “Not for long. Let’s get started.”
******************************************
JD’s Reality
JD studied the room around him. The shelves were packed with all manner of junk. He could see old furniture and stacks of books. Metal racks lined the wall to his left and in front of him.
There was an odd looking sundial object sitting on the shelf next to him. JD thought it might be an old video game as he reached for it. Uncle Dean couldn’t get mad if he needed some entertainment while he waited for them to finish their search and disarm things.
Looking for a power switch, JD found a dial on the bottom, or maybe that was the top. As he turned the dial, a flash of light caught his eye from between the racks.
Unable to get a good look at it from his current location, he decided he'd been sitting long enough. Glancing back to confirm that his uncles had disappeared out of his line of sight, JD cautiously approached the corner where he’d seen the flash.
Sighing, he realized it was just a painting hanging on the wall, nothing exciting. He stared at the figure in the picture. She was very pretty and he wondered who she was. He stepped closer and stilled as he could have sworn that the figure in the painting did the same.
JD stared at the image trying to decide if he’d actually seen her move and then the girl waved. It was like those pictures in the Harry Potter movies. This is so cool, he thought and waved back.
“Uncle Dean,” JD called over his shoulder. “You gotta see this.”
“Not now JD. Just stay put,” Dean yelled back, “And don’t touch anything!”
“Too late,” he mumbled and turned his attention back to the object. The girl was talking at him but he couldn’t hear what she was saying.
***********************************
Holly’s Reality
Holly realized that the teenager she saw in the mirror - painting - whatever - couldn’t hear her. She wondered if he was trapped, but he didn’t look distressed.
She quickly retrieved her backpack from where she’d left it by the now abandoned chair. Digging through the bag, she found a pen, ripped a piece of cardboard off a nearby box and wrote: “Are you trapped?”
Holly turned the sign around and held it against the mirror. The minute she touched the surface the world tilted around her.
Stumbling forward she found herself tangled in the boy's arms as he’d reacted too late to stop them both from falling to the ground.
***************************
JD’s Reality
JD barely had time to register that the girl was falling before he moved to try and catch her. The device he’d been holding went flying as he found himself with an armful of blond tumbling into a stack of boxes which toppled over with a resounding crash.
He winced as he hit the floor with her on top of him. His first thought, after how nice she felt pressed against him, was that there was no way Uncle Dean hadn’t heard that.
“It’s okay. I got you,” he said as she looked up to meet his eyes. “Name’s JD and you are?” He tried to sound causal the way he’d seen Dean with woman but inside his heart was pounding. He wondered how he was going to explain the strange girl in his arms without admitting that he’d been touching stuff in the storage locker he shouldn’t have been. “You’re not dangerous or anything?”
The girl rolled off of him and got to her feet. “Holly,” she said. “And I’m only dangerous to my brother.” She laughed as she offered him a hand up. “You?”
JD chuckled. “My brothers have learned to fear me, too.” He took her hand, allowing her to help him to his feet.
“What happened?” She had focused her attention back on the mirror which had gone dark.
JD stood beside her. “I think you came through that, but it seems to be off now.”
She walked toward it. “Are you sure you didn’t come through? This is our storage locker.”
“Pretty sure.” JD tired to reconstruct the moment that she’d appeared in his mind’s eye. If it was some kind of a portal, then he was positive she was on his side of the gateway now. “Listen my Uncle is gonna kill me when he finds you here.”
“Yeah my dad won’t be too happy either. He told me not to touch anything but- ” She shrugged and gestured toward the dark mirror.
JD laughed. “Seems we both had the same bad idea.”
“What the hell was that noise!” Dean yelled as he strode toward JD; Richie only two steps behind. Dean stopped when he saw the girl and frowned.
Crap JD thought as he moved, putting himself between Dean and Holly. “Let me handle this,” he whispered over his shoulder.
She pushed JD aside to stand next to him. “I fight my own battles,” she said.
Dean waited, arms crossed; his eyes taking in the two teens in front of him. “Where’d your friend come from?” He demanded.
“I can explain, Uncle Dean.”
“I can explain, Dad,” she said at the same time.
Three sets of eyes turned to stare at the blond.
**********************************
Why was her dad looking at her like that?
“Sweetheart, I’m not sure where you came from but I know I’m not your daddy,” Dean said.
“I think I’d know my own dad,” she quipped. Then, her eyes went wide as she really looked at the man for the first time. He was so young. She didn’t remember when her dad had ever looked that young.
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?” His hand strayed to the place where Holly knew he kept his gun.
She held up her hands in surrender to stall him from drawing on her. “I’m not dangerous, I swear.”
He didn’t pull the weapon, but he didn’t relax either. “Answer the question.”
Holly knew that some supernatural beings, like tricksters, had the ability to control time. Could this be her Dad before she knew him? And, if it was, how much should she tell him and, even more importantly, how did she get back to her own time? She knew her Dad had never traveled with anyone but Uncle Sam, so who were these other guys? For once, Holly found herself at a loss for words. Wouldn’t Andrew be surprised at that.
“Her name is Holly,” JD offered when she didn’t respond. “I think - “ JD paused reluctant to admit how she’d arrived.
“Spill, JD! What did you touch?”
JD smirked at Dean and tilted his head toward her.
“Not funny, JD.” Dean snapped.
Holly scowled at her partner in crime before noticing a hint of a smile on the man’s face who was standing beside her dad.
“Sorry, Uncle Dean.” He hung his head appropriately chastised and pointed to the dark mirror on the wall. “She came through that.”
“Stay here,” Dean commanded as he and the other man walked toward the object
Holly stood rooted to her spot. “Uncle Dean?” she parroted, finally registering how JD was addressing her father.
JD looked confused. “Yeah, why?”
“Then is that other guy your dad?”
“Naw, that’s Uncle Richie. Well, he’s not really my uncle, but he’s Dean’s best friend and I’ve known him all my life.”
She searched her memory. Holly knew her Dad had never had a friend named Richie. Something wasn’t right. It was like a bad Twilight Zone episode and she’d stepped into a world just a little left of her own; an alternate reality. That had to be the answer.
“Hey, you okay?” JD asked. “Don’t worry about Uncle Dean. He’s really a soft touch if you know how to handle him.”
“Yep, figured that out a long time ago.” Holly chuckled. “I have the same power over my ‘Dean’.”
“Your Dean?”
“I think I failed to mention that my full name is Holly Winchester.” She emphasized the last name.
Now it was JD’s turn to be surprised. “Winchester?”
Holly nodded.
“Holy crap!” JD stared at her. “And Dean’s your dad on the other side of that mirror.”
She nodded again, as she watched him come to the same conclusion she’d reached moments ago.
“Holy crap.”
“You already said that,” she quipped. “And your dad is - “
“Sam,” JD supplied.
Holly breathed a sigh of relief, surprised that she’d been worried that Uncle Sam might not exist in this reality.
JD frowned at her. “Does that make us cousins?”
“I suppose in some weird way, it does?” She laughed. “So I’m guessing there’s no version of me here. Does your Dean have any kids?”
“Immortals can’t have kids in my world. Is it different there?”
Holly heard what he said but it didn’t process. She looked over to where Dean and Richie were still trying to understand the mirror. “Immortal?”
“Yeah, Immortal.” JD’s face lost all expression. “Uh oh, can you just forget I mentioned that part.”
“Don’t think I can,” she said sympathetically. “I want the whole story.”
*****************************************************************
JD wanted to bang his head against the wall; he’d spilled the big Immortal secret. What Uncle Dean might do to him for that was nothing compared to what he was doing to himself for having had inappropriate thoughts about his ‘cousin’.
Before he could explain further, Dean and Richie returned. “How about you tell us how she came through that thing and you,” he pointed at Holly, “You still haven’t told me who you really are.”
“UD, we figured out what happened,” JD said. “It’s a portal to another reality.”
Holly leaned over and whispered, “UD?”
“Uncle Dean,” JD explained.
She nodded and smiled at her dad’s double. “Yep, I’ve wandered into an alternate reality. It’s the only explanation.”
“Oh, really? That’s the best you got?” Dean continued to stare at them, unconvinced.
“In that reality, Holly is your daughter. She’s a Winchester. One of us,” JD said brightly, trying to force Dean to see the good side of this and not remember the fact that he’d broken the ‘no touching stuff’ rule.
Dean was dumbstruck, but Richie burst out laughing. “Hate to remind you JD but Dean can’t have kids”
“My dad’s not Immortal. In fact, I’ve never heard of Immortals until JD mentioned it.” Holly said.
Richie’s humor drained away. “You told her about us?”
JD cringed. “I just assumed she knew about you guys if she was a Winchester.”
“You didn’t even know if she could be trusted,” Richie admonished.
“You’re one, too?” Holly asked. “Guess that’s why you’re not in my world.”
“You don’t know a Richie Ryan in your reality?” Richie seemed thrown by that idea.
Holly shook her head.
“See you believe me,” JD said smacking Richie in the shoulder. “Oh hey man, sorry you don’t exist there.”
Richie just glared at him.
“Who’s you’re mother?” Dean asked. JD wondered at the tone of his voice, almost like his uncle was scared to hear the answer.
“You probably don’t know her. This world is so different,” Holly said. She seemed to pick up on it too and was reluctant to share.
“Who is she?” He demanded.
“Chloe Winchester. I mean, Sullivan.”
JD watched the color drain from his uncle’s face; Dean knew her or at least this world’s version of her.
“Shit!” Richie said. Before anyone could pose a follow-up question, he pulled Dean aside.
JD couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Uncle Dean did not look happy.
Holly was watching the exchange. “Something tells me I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Uncle Dean’s never even had a steady girlfriend…that I know of.” JD tried to shake off the sorrowful mood that seemed to have descended. He was dying to ask more about the mysterious Chloe, but knew that they had a more pressing problem and it seemed the Immortals were a little preoccupied at the moment. “I think it’s going to be up to us to get you back.”
Holly nodded as she tore her eyes away from her father’s doppelganger. “JD, promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Find my mom. I mean if she’s still - “ Holly hesitated before plunging ahead. “That is if she’s still around.”
JD was taken aback by the emotion he saw in her eyes. “Are they that good together?”
Holly smiled and he could sense she was thinking about her parents. “Disgustingly so. Seriously, old people shouldn’t - never mind,” she said chuckling.
JD laughed with her. “I have four brothers. I know exactly what you mean.”
“Four brothers! Wow! Uncle Sam barely survived Aunt Sarah’s first pregnancy . I can’t believe she did it five times here.”
“Your Sam married Sarah Blake?”
“Yeah.” She noticed his frown, “I take it she’s not your mom.”
“No, my mom is Katie.” It bothered JD a lot that his dad was married to someone else in her world.
“Katie Collins, her old roommate?” Holly looked as stunned by the idea as he did when he nodded.
JD didn’t want to keep talking about this. “Listen, I think we need to get focused on getting you back. I’m guessing your dad is going crazy about now.”
“Oh no!” A hand flew to Holly’s mouth as the reality of what might be happening on the other side of the portal hit her. “He’s gonna kill me.” She rushed to the mirror and pressed her hand to the dark surface.
Nothing happened.
“JD, what am I going to do?”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out,” he turned her around. “We’re Winchesters.”
*****************************
“You gonna be ok?” Richie asked as he dragged Dean away from the two teens. Richie was sure the identity of Holly’s parents would not be an easy one for his friend to handle.
Dean shrugged off Richie’s grasp. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s Chloe, Dude. She’s the one that got away.” He tilted his head toward Holly. “It’s the life you could have had.”
Dean glared at his friend. “Immortal remember; no kids. That,” he pointed at the teen, “was never going to be my life.”
“It might have been something similar if you hadn’t been so stubborn and just called Chloe.”
“She left: Not me,” Dean snapped.
Richie ignored the anger he saw in his friends eyes. Holly was all the proof he needed that Chloe and Dean should be together. He just wasn’t sure how to make Dean see that without breaking a promise to Chloe to keep her meta abilities a secret.
“You should have tried. You two were meant for each other.”
“Why? Because some chick from another world says Chloe’s her mom. “That doesn’t mean we were “meant to be” in this reality,” Dean snorted. “Didn’t realize my best friend was such a mushy girl.”
“Be serious Dean. You should find her,” Richie insisted
“We are not talking about this now,” Dean growled. “In fact we are not gonna talk about this ever again.”
“Dean - “
“Drop it Rich, we’ve got work to do.”
Richie looked over at JD and Holly; Dean was right this wasn’t really the time to have this conversation. But whether his friend liked it or not they were going to have this conversation eventually. But first they had to figure out how to get Holly back to her life.
“Ok, you win.” Richie threw up his hands in surrender and sent Dean a mischievous smile. “Let’s get your daughter home.”
“Not funny, Dude,” Dean groused as he stalked back over to see what the two teens were plotting.
***********************
Back in Holly’s Reality.
“Where the hell is she, Sam?” Dean shouted as he prowled around the storage room. They’d been searching for over an hour and there was no sign of his daughter.
“I don’t know, but she has to be here somewhere.” Sam was following Dean around trying to get him to stop pacing. “We would have heard the door open if she’d left.”
“If she just went to get coffee without telling us, I’m gonna kill her,” Dean said as he shoved boxes aside, wondering if he was going to find his daughter’s unconscious body lying on the floor.
Sam wondered between two racks. “Dean, over here.” Dean approached to see Sam holding Holly’s back pack.
Dean grabbed it out of his hand. He pawed through it until he found her wallet. “She wouldn’t have left without this.” He was fighting to control his emotions. Holly was missing and it was all he could do to not tear the storage space apart.
The two stood silently contemplating the implications of the bag Dean held. Behind them a light came on. The brothers whirled around to see Holly standing with three other people, only one of whom looked familiar.
“Dean, is that - “
“It’s me.” He stalked to the mirror intent on grabbing his daughter from what ever shape shifting bastard had gotten a hold of her.
She smiled at him as he got closer and held up both hands as a signal that he should wait. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted his daughter now.
He watched as she hugged each of the three and then stepped toward him. Suddenly, she was on his side of the mirror. Holly turned and waved as the mirror went dark.
Dean couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled her into a fierce hug and hoped she didn’t hear him snuffing back tears of relief that she was okay.
He looked down at her and put on his angry dad face. “Where the hell were you? You were gone for hours.”
He was pleased to see she was appropriately chagrined. “Sorry dad. But it was an amazing opportunity. I was in a parallel world. And Dad,” she leaned back into his hug, “You didn’t have mom.”
Dean smoothed down her hair. He was glad she couldn’t see the shocked look on his face. “You want to tell me about what happened.”
“Later. Can we go home now? I really need to see her.”
“Sure, honey.” A world without Chloe; he couldn’t even imagine such a place.
She finally broke his embrace and moved to hug Sam.
“I can’t wait to hear about Dean in that world,” Sam laughed. “I always thought one was enough.”
Holly laughed with him.
“Okay enough of the sentimental reunion. As happy as I am to have you back and unharmed, don’t think that this gets you off the hook.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I thought JD was in trouble,” she said innocently.
“Who’s JD?”
“My cousin in that world.” She looked pointedly at Sam.
“My son? That teenager?” Sam asked and looked back at the darkened mirror. “What about the blond guy, who was that?”
“Yep, that’s JD. And wait until you hear about his family! The blond guy was Richie Ryan; which reminds me--” She handed Sam a piece of paper with an address on it. “There are some people we need to go see in Seacover, Washington. I think they can be of some help, especially if there’s ever another apocalypse.”
************************************************************
Back in JD’s Reality
“I looked old,” Dean said as he flipped the switch on the dial device causing the mirror to go dark.
Richie laughed. “You are old.”
He watched as Richie and Dean teased each other but underneath it he could tell Uncle Dean was unsettled about the encounter with his daughter from another life. JD wished he’d had more time to talk to Holly, but at least she’d given him a quick bio on her mother so he might know where to begin his search. Chloe might be closing in on fifty, but it didn’t matter because it was obvious that Dean still cared about her. JD figured his Uncle would be too stubborn to do something about it. He’d promised Holly that he’d get them together and he planned on keeping that promise, after all she was family.
Title: Across the Universe or When Holly met JD
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: Much gratitude to Divas_Lament for the beta, the handholding, brainstorming and of course for Holly
Rated: G
Fandom: Supernatural, Smallville & Highlander
Characters: From The Immortal!Dean Universe: Dean Winchester, Richie Ryan & JD Winchester. From Divas_Lament’s Universe: Holly Winchester, Dean and Sam Winchester
Written for: The Holiday Spawn ficathon at Spawnfic_Tues
Prompt: #55 spirit for crossovers100 my table is here
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. JD is mine and Holly is Divas_Lament’s.
Summary JD meets Holly, his cousin from an alternate reality
A/N: The following slightly cracky story is completely outside the normal series for both of our universes. It is an AU for the Immortal!Dean Universe.
A/N2: Other spawn adventures in the regular Immortal!Dean Universe can be found here.
Across the Universe
JD followed his uncles, Dean and Richie, into the storage space. At first glance, it looked like someone’s neglected garage. Junk was piled in every corner. But this wasn’t just anyone’s garage; this space had belonged to Grandpa John, the man he’d been named after. Who knew what interesting objects from his dad’s childhood might be stacked in a neglected corner.
“Your dad was a bit of a paranoid pack rat,” Richie said as he eyed the set of antlers attached to the shotgun booby trap that Dean had disarmed as they’d entered.
“Some dangerous shit in this place. Dad never took any chances.”
“The place seems pretty well fortified, why clean it out now?” Richie asked.
“Always meant to,” Dean shrugged. “Just never got around to it. Thought JD might find some of this stuff interesting.”
JD wandered over to the far wall where several odd figurines sat on what looked like an old television. As he reached out to pick one up, Dean grabbed his hand. “Don’t touch anything until I clear it. Understand?”
“Maybe I should just sit in the corner until you need me,” JD snarked and pointed to a folding chair leaning against the wall.
“Good idea,” Dean said as he grabbed the chair placing it in the middle of the room. “Sit. Let me and Richie check the rest of this place out.”
“But UD -”
“Sit!” Dean commanded and added with a grin, “Once I give the all clear you can go find those embarrassing childhood things of your dad’s.”
JD slumped into the chair and waited.
Richie looked over at his nephew as JD grumbled to himself. “Think he’ll stay put?”
Dean laughed. “Not for long. Let’s get started.”
*****************************************************
Another reality but the same time and place…
“But Dad, why’d I come if I’m just going to sit in the corner?” Holly groused.
Dean placed the chair in the center of the room. “It’s not the corner. Now sit. Once Sammy and I have checked the place out, I will release you from captivity.”
Holly slumped into the chair. “You know, I could be doing something a lot more constructive than this!”
Sam looked over at his niece as Holly grumbled to herself. “Think she’ll stay put?”
Dean laughed. “Not for long. Let’s get started.”
******************************************
JD’s Reality
JD studied the room around him. The shelves were packed with all manner of junk. He could see old furniture and stacks of books. Metal racks lined the wall to his left and in front of him.
There was an odd looking sundial object sitting on the shelf next to him. JD thought it might be an old video game as he reached for it. Uncle Dean couldn’t get mad if he needed some entertainment while he waited for them to finish their search and disarm things.
Looking for a power switch, JD found a dial on the bottom, or maybe that was the top. As he turned the dial, a flash of light caught his eye from between the racks.
Unable to get a good look at it from his current location, he decided he'd been sitting long enough. Glancing back to confirm that his uncles had disappeared out of his line of sight, JD cautiously approached the corner where he’d seen the flash.
Sighing, he realized it was just a painting hanging on the wall, nothing exciting. He stared at the figure in the picture. She was very pretty and he wondered who she was. He stepped closer and stilled as he could have sworn that the figure in the painting did the same.
JD stared at the image trying to decide if he’d actually seen her move and then the girl waved. It was like those pictures in the Harry Potter movies. This is so cool, he thought and waved back.
“Uncle Dean,” JD called over his shoulder. “You gotta see this.”
“Not now JD. Just stay put,” Dean yelled back, “And don’t touch anything!”
“Too late,” he mumbled and turned his attention back to the object. The girl was talking at him but he couldn’t hear what she was saying.
***********************************
Holly’s Reality
Holly realized that the teenager she saw in the mirror - painting - whatever - couldn’t hear her. She wondered if he was trapped, but he didn’t look distressed.
She quickly retrieved her backpack from where she’d left it by the now abandoned chair. Digging through the bag, she found a pen, ripped a piece of cardboard off a nearby box and wrote: “Are you trapped?”
Holly turned the sign around and held it against the mirror. The minute she touched the surface the world tilted around her.
Stumbling forward she found herself tangled in the boy's arms as he’d reacted too late to stop them both from falling to the ground.
***************************
JD’s Reality
JD barely had time to register that the girl was falling before he moved to try and catch her. The device he’d been holding went flying as he found himself with an armful of blond tumbling into a stack of boxes which toppled over with a resounding crash.
He winced as he hit the floor with her on top of him. His first thought, after how nice she felt pressed against him, was that there was no way Uncle Dean hadn’t heard that.
“It’s okay. I got you,” he said as she looked up to meet his eyes. “Name’s JD and you are?” He tried to sound causal the way he’d seen Dean with woman but inside his heart was pounding. He wondered how he was going to explain the strange girl in his arms without admitting that he’d been touching stuff in the storage locker he shouldn’t have been. “You’re not dangerous or anything?”
The girl rolled off of him and got to her feet. “Holly,” she said. “And I’m only dangerous to my brother.” She laughed as she offered him a hand up. “You?”
JD chuckled. “My brothers have learned to fear me, too.” He took her hand, allowing her to help him to his feet.
“What happened?” She had focused her attention back on the mirror which had gone dark.
JD stood beside her. “I think you came through that, but it seems to be off now.”
She walked toward it. “Are you sure you didn’t come through? This is our storage locker.”
“Pretty sure.” JD tired to reconstruct the moment that she’d appeared in his mind’s eye. If it was some kind of a portal, then he was positive she was on his side of the gateway now. “Listen my Uncle is gonna kill me when he finds you here.”
“Yeah my dad won’t be too happy either. He told me not to touch anything but- ” She shrugged and gestured toward the dark mirror.
JD laughed. “Seems we both had the same bad idea.”
“What the hell was that noise!” Dean yelled as he strode toward JD; Richie only two steps behind. Dean stopped when he saw the girl and frowned.
Crap JD thought as he moved, putting himself between Dean and Holly. “Let me handle this,” he whispered over his shoulder.
She pushed JD aside to stand next to him. “I fight my own battles,” she said.
Dean waited, arms crossed; his eyes taking in the two teens in front of him. “Where’d your friend come from?” He demanded.
“I can explain, Uncle Dean.”
“I can explain, Dad,” she said at the same time.
Three sets of eyes turned to stare at the blond.
**********************************
Why was her dad looking at her like that?
“Sweetheart, I’m not sure where you came from but I know I’m not your daddy,” Dean said.
“I think I’d know my own dad,” she quipped. Then, her eyes went wide as she really looked at the man for the first time. He was so young. She didn’t remember when her dad had ever looked that young.
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?” His hand strayed to the place where Holly knew he kept his gun.
She held up her hands in surrender to stall him from drawing on her. “I’m not dangerous, I swear.”
He didn’t pull the weapon, but he didn’t relax either. “Answer the question.”
Holly knew that some supernatural beings, like tricksters, had the ability to control time. Could this be her Dad before she knew him? And, if it was, how much should she tell him and, even more importantly, how did she get back to her own time? She knew her Dad had never traveled with anyone but Uncle Sam, so who were these other guys? For once, Holly found herself at a loss for words. Wouldn’t Andrew be surprised at that.
“Her name is Holly,” JD offered when she didn’t respond. “I think - “ JD paused reluctant to admit how she’d arrived.
“Spill, JD! What did you touch?”
JD smirked at Dean and tilted his head toward her.
“Not funny, JD.” Dean snapped.
Holly scowled at her partner in crime before noticing a hint of a smile on the man’s face who was standing beside her dad.
“Sorry, Uncle Dean.” He hung his head appropriately chastised and pointed to the dark mirror on the wall. “She came through that.”
“Stay here,” Dean commanded as he and the other man walked toward the object
Holly stood rooted to her spot. “Uncle Dean?” she parroted, finally registering how JD was addressing her father.
JD looked confused. “Yeah, why?”
“Then is that other guy your dad?”
“Naw, that’s Uncle Richie. Well, he’s not really my uncle, but he’s Dean’s best friend and I’ve known him all my life.”
She searched her memory. Holly knew her Dad had never had a friend named Richie. Something wasn’t right. It was like a bad Twilight Zone episode and she’d stepped into a world just a little left of her own; an alternate reality. That had to be the answer.
“Hey, you okay?” JD asked. “Don’t worry about Uncle Dean. He’s really a soft touch if you know how to handle him.”
“Yep, figured that out a long time ago.” Holly chuckled. “I have the same power over my ‘Dean’.”
“Your Dean?”
“I think I failed to mention that my full name is Holly Winchester.” She emphasized the last name.
Now it was JD’s turn to be surprised. “Winchester?”
Holly nodded.
“Holy crap!” JD stared at her. “And Dean’s your dad on the other side of that mirror.”
She nodded again, as she watched him come to the same conclusion she’d reached moments ago.
“Holy crap.”
“You already said that,” she quipped. “And your dad is - “
“Sam,” JD supplied.
Holly breathed a sigh of relief, surprised that she’d been worried that Uncle Sam might not exist in this reality.
JD frowned at her. “Does that make us cousins?”
“I suppose in some weird way, it does?” She laughed. “So I’m guessing there’s no version of me here. Does your Dean have any kids?”
“Immortals can’t have kids in my world. Is it different there?”
Holly heard what he said but it didn’t process. She looked over to where Dean and Richie were still trying to understand the mirror. “Immortal?”
“Yeah, Immortal.” JD’s face lost all expression. “Uh oh, can you just forget I mentioned that part.”
“Don’t think I can,” she said sympathetically. “I want the whole story.”
*****************************************************************
JD wanted to bang his head against the wall; he’d spilled the big Immortal secret. What Uncle Dean might do to him for that was nothing compared to what he was doing to himself for having had inappropriate thoughts about his ‘cousin’.
Before he could explain further, Dean and Richie returned. “How about you tell us how she came through that thing and you,” he pointed at Holly, “You still haven’t told me who you really are.”
“UD, we figured out what happened,” JD said. “It’s a portal to another reality.”
Holly leaned over and whispered, “UD?”
“Uncle Dean,” JD explained.
She nodded and smiled at her dad’s double. “Yep, I’ve wandered into an alternate reality. It’s the only explanation.”
“Oh, really? That’s the best you got?” Dean continued to stare at them, unconvinced.
“In that reality, Holly is your daughter. She’s a Winchester. One of us,” JD said brightly, trying to force Dean to see the good side of this and not remember the fact that he’d broken the ‘no touching stuff’ rule.
Dean was dumbstruck, but Richie burst out laughing. “Hate to remind you JD but Dean can’t have kids”
“My dad’s not Immortal. In fact, I’ve never heard of Immortals until JD mentioned it.” Holly said.
Richie’s humor drained away. “You told her about us?”
JD cringed. “I just assumed she knew about you guys if she was a Winchester.”
“You didn’t even know if she could be trusted,” Richie admonished.
“You’re one, too?” Holly asked. “Guess that’s why you’re not in my world.”
“You don’t know a Richie Ryan in your reality?” Richie seemed thrown by that idea.
Holly shook her head.
“See you believe me,” JD said smacking Richie in the shoulder. “Oh hey man, sorry you don’t exist there.”
Richie just glared at him.
“Who’s you’re mother?” Dean asked. JD wondered at the tone of his voice, almost like his uncle was scared to hear the answer.
“You probably don’t know her. This world is so different,” Holly said. She seemed to pick up on it too and was reluctant to share.
“Who is she?” He demanded.
“Chloe Winchester. I mean, Sullivan.”
JD watched the color drain from his uncle’s face; Dean knew her or at least this world’s version of her.
“Shit!” Richie said. Before anyone could pose a follow-up question, he pulled Dean aside.
JD couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Uncle Dean did not look happy.
Holly was watching the exchange. “Something tells me I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Uncle Dean’s never even had a steady girlfriend…that I know of.” JD tried to shake off the sorrowful mood that seemed to have descended. He was dying to ask more about the mysterious Chloe, but knew that they had a more pressing problem and it seemed the Immortals were a little preoccupied at the moment. “I think it’s going to be up to us to get you back.”
Holly nodded as she tore her eyes away from her father’s doppelganger. “JD, promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Find my mom. I mean if she’s still - “ Holly hesitated before plunging ahead. “That is if she’s still around.”
JD was taken aback by the emotion he saw in her eyes. “Are they that good together?”
Holly smiled and he could sense she was thinking about her parents. “Disgustingly so. Seriously, old people shouldn’t - never mind,” she said chuckling.
JD laughed with her. “I have four brothers. I know exactly what you mean.”
“Four brothers! Wow! Uncle Sam barely survived Aunt Sarah’s first pregnancy . I can’t believe she did it five times here.”
“Your Sam married Sarah Blake?”
“Yeah.” She noticed his frown, “I take it she’s not your mom.”
“No, my mom is Katie.” It bothered JD a lot that his dad was married to someone else in her world.
“Katie Collins, her old roommate?” Holly looked as stunned by the idea as he did when he nodded.
JD didn’t want to keep talking about this. “Listen, I think we need to get focused on getting you back. I’m guessing your dad is going crazy about now.”
“Oh no!” A hand flew to Holly’s mouth as the reality of what might be happening on the other side of the portal hit her. “He’s gonna kill me.” She rushed to the mirror and pressed her hand to the dark surface.
Nothing happened.
“JD, what am I going to do?”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out,” he turned her around. “We’re Winchesters.”
*****************************
“You gonna be ok?” Richie asked as he dragged Dean away from the two teens. Richie was sure the identity of Holly’s parents would not be an easy one for his friend to handle.
Dean shrugged off Richie’s grasp. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s Chloe, Dude. She’s the one that got away.” He tilted his head toward Holly. “It’s the life you could have had.”
Dean glared at his friend. “Immortal remember; no kids. That,” he pointed at the teen, “was never going to be my life.”
“It might have been something similar if you hadn’t been so stubborn and just called Chloe.”
“She left: Not me,” Dean snapped.
Richie ignored the anger he saw in his friends eyes. Holly was all the proof he needed that Chloe and Dean should be together. He just wasn’t sure how to make Dean see that without breaking a promise to Chloe to keep her meta abilities a secret.
“You should have tried. You two were meant for each other.”
“Why? Because some chick from another world says Chloe’s her mom. “That doesn’t mean we were “meant to be” in this reality,” Dean snorted. “Didn’t realize my best friend was such a mushy girl.”
“Be serious Dean. You should find her,” Richie insisted
“We are not talking about this now,” Dean growled. “In fact we are not gonna talk about this ever again.”
“Dean - “
“Drop it Rich, we’ve got work to do.”
Richie looked over at JD and Holly; Dean was right this wasn’t really the time to have this conversation. But whether his friend liked it or not they were going to have this conversation eventually. But first they had to figure out how to get Holly back to her life.
“Ok, you win.” Richie threw up his hands in surrender and sent Dean a mischievous smile. “Let’s get your daughter home.”
“Not funny, Dude,” Dean groused as he stalked back over to see what the two teens were plotting.
***********************
Back in Holly’s Reality.
“Where the hell is she, Sam?” Dean shouted as he prowled around the storage room. They’d been searching for over an hour and there was no sign of his daughter.
“I don’t know, but she has to be here somewhere.” Sam was following Dean around trying to get him to stop pacing. “We would have heard the door open if she’d left.”
“If she just went to get coffee without telling us, I’m gonna kill her,” Dean said as he shoved boxes aside, wondering if he was going to find his daughter’s unconscious body lying on the floor.
Sam wondered between two racks. “Dean, over here.” Dean approached to see Sam holding Holly’s back pack.
Dean grabbed it out of his hand. He pawed through it until he found her wallet. “She wouldn’t have left without this.” He was fighting to control his emotions. Holly was missing and it was all he could do to not tear the storage space apart.
The two stood silently contemplating the implications of the bag Dean held. Behind them a light came on. The brothers whirled around to see Holly standing with three other people, only one of whom looked familiar.
“Dean, is that - “
“It’s me.” He stalked to the mirror intent on grabbing his daughter from what ever shape shifting bastard had gotten a hold of her.
She smiled at him as he got closer and held up both hands as a signal that he should wait. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted his daughter now.
He watched as she hugged each of the three and then stepped toward him. Suddenly, she was on his side of the mirror. Holly turned and waved as the mirror went dark.
Dean couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled her into a fierce hug and hoped she didn’t hear him snuffing back tears of relief that she was okay.
He looked down at her and put on his angry dad face. “Where the hell were you? You were gone for hours.”
He was pleased to see she was appropriately chagrined. “Sorry dad. But it was an amazing opportunity. I was in a parallel world. And Dad,” she leaned back into his hug, “You didn’t have mom.”
Dean smoothed down her hair. He was glad she couldn’t see the shocked look on his face. “You want to tell me about what happened.”
“Later. Can we go home now? I really need to see her.”
“Sure, honey.” A world without Chloe; he couldn’t even imagine such a place.
She finally broke his embrace and moved to hug Sam.
“I can’t wait to hear about Dean in that world,” Sam laughed. “I always thought one was enough.”
Holly laughed with him.
“Okay enough of the sentimental reunion. As happy as I am to have you back and unharmed, don’t think that this gets you off the hook.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I thought JD was in trouble,” she said innocently.
“Who’s JD?”
“My cousin in that world.” She looked pointedly at Sam.
“My son? That teenager?” Sam asked and looked back at the darkened mirror. “What about the blond guy, who was that?”
“Yep, that’s JD. And wait until you hear about his family! The blond guy was Richie Ryan; which reminds me--” She handed Sam a piece of paper with an address on it. “There are some people we need to go see in Seacover, Washington. I think they can be of some help, especially if there’s ever another apocalypse.”
************************************************************
Back in JD’s Reality
“I looked old,” Dean said as he flipped the switch on the dial device causing the mirror to go dark.
Richie laughed. “You are old.”
He watched as Richie and Dean teased each other but underneath it he could tell Uncle Dean was unsettled about the encounter with his daughter from another life. JD wished he’d had more time to talk to Holly, but at least she’d given him a quick bio on her mother so he might know where to begin his search. Chloe might be closing in on fifty, but it didn’t matter because it was obvious that Dean still cared about her. JD figured his Uncle would be too stubborn to do something about it. He’d promised Holly that he’d get them together and he planned on keeping that promise, after all she was family.