ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: "They ain't Barbara Eden in harem pants."
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DEAN AND SAM MANAGED TO GET THEMSELVES LOCKED UP to solve a case.

Venus' only job? Stay low and stay out of sight so she wasn't snatched up too.

Oh and to be their getaway driver when Deacon called.

It took almost three days for her to get that call, and she was more anxious than ever when she did.

Baby's engine purred to a stop by the back corner of the Green River County Detention Center, Venus behind the wheel, nervously checking Dean's watch that rested on her wrist. He had given it to her before going in, jokingly saying it was 'something for her to remember him by while he was stuck in the clink.'

She had no idea if they had finished solving the case, but once she got the instructions from Deacon, she didn't waste a second.

Venus slipped out of the Impala and quietly closed the driver's door, brown eyes immediately darting around her surroundings to see if she had drawn any attention. Deacon claimed that specific corner of the prison would be deserted by that time of night, but you could never be too safe.

She moved to lean against Baby's hood, folding her arms into her chest as the Arkansas wind nipped at her nose. It was mid-April yet nowhere close to spring weather. She snuggled further into her leather jacket at the thought.

A few minutes passed before two familiar figures peeked out of one of the facility's vents, further down the side of the building, climbing over a short white fence.

"Finally," she sighed, standing to her full height.

Dean and Sam were clad in bright orange prison attire, covered with heavy blue utility jackets, smiling at the sight of the brunette.

"Oh, man, are you a sight for sore eyes," Dean grinned, walking towards her.

Venus raised a brow. "Me or the car?" she took small steps to him

"Why not both?"

Venus giggled, her steps picking up into a small sprint. God, she missed him. 

Dean caught her with ease, her legs wrapping around his hips as his hands came up to clutch her back. His face dipped into the crook of her neck for a moment, the older hunter inhaling her familiar scent. But then he wasted no time in pressing his lips against hers, showing her just how much he missed her with an urgent kiss.

It went on for only a few seconds before Sam harshly cleared his throat from behind them. "Hello?"

Venus pulled away from Dean and settled back on her feet, sending Sam a grin. "Hey, 'mano, I missed you too, don't worry," she said, pulling him in for a hug that he returned.

"Okay, that's cool and all," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder and turning their bodies to face Dean, "But does no one else hear those alarms ringing?"

Venus' eyes widened. She didn't even register it till then. "Shit," she muttered, fishing out the Impala's keys from her pocket and throwing them to Dean.

The three hunters barreled towards the vehicle, the brothers hurriedly taking off their prison-issued jackets and replacing them with their own that Venus had waiting on the front seat.

"We're not really out of the woods yet, y'know?" Sam reminded them.

Venus nodded, pulling open the passenger door and lowering herself into the car.

She finally noticed the deep red and purple bruises on Dean's face. "What's with the shiner? Last I check, spirits don't leave those."

Dean turned the key in the ignition, chuckling in approval once his baby roared to life. He hadn't even heard Venus' question.

Sam leaned forward from the backseat. "He got into it with two huge dudes 'cause he couldn't shut the fuck up."

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's explanation, taking the car out of park and speeding away from the prison. Their next stop was Green Valley Cemetery to end this haunting once and for all. "By the way, I won both fights," his lips curved into a smirk.

Venus reached over and gave his shoulder two encouraging pats. "Sure you did, baby."

-ˋˏ | ˎˊ-

"There's a cop car outside."

Sam was standing behind Venus in a motel in Illinois, both nervously peeking out the white curtains covering their room window. The youngest held his phone in his palm, Dean's voice echoing through the speaker for the both of them to hear.

"You think it's for us?" he questioned, a hand gripping the steering wheel while his eyes surveyed the passing landscape.

"I don't know."

"I don't see how. We ditched the plates, the credit cards—"

Venus' relieved sigh cut him off. "They're leaving, false alarm," she told him.

"See? Nothing to worry about," the eldest replied.

Venus and Sam backed away from the window, fixing the curtains. The brunette reclaimed her seat by the small table hosting all their lore books containing info about djinns—the subject of their latest hunt that Dean insisted they take after only five days of laying low.

"Yeah, being fugitives is a freaking dance party," Sam bitterly joked.

"Hey, man, chicks dig the danger vibe. Don't you baby?"

Venus rolled her eyes, picking up the half-empty can of soda she was sipping earlier. 

"She totally just rolled her eyes didn't she?" Dean said after a few seconds of silence. 

Venus could hear the smirk in his voice. "Shut up."

Dean's chuckles echoed through the small device where Sam rested it on the table.

"So, you got anything yet?" Sam asked.

Dean scoffed. "Are you kiddin' me? How could I? You two got me sifting through like fifty square miles of real estate here."

"That's where all the victims disappeared," Venus reminded him.

"Yeah, well I got diddly squat, what about you guys?"

Venus pulled one of the books closer to her. "Just one thing. We're pretty sure about it, we're hunting a djinn."

"A freaking genie?" Dean almost laughed, "You think that these suckers can really grant wishes?"

"I don't know," Venus shrugged though he couldn't see it, "The lore says some of 'em are powerful enough, it kinda varies. One thing's for sure, they ain't Barbara Eden in harem pants. Djinns have been feeding off people for centuries. They're all over the Quran."

"My God...Barbara Eden was hot, wasn't she? I mean way hotter than that 'Bewitched' chick."

Venus scoffed. "As far as blondes from the '60s go...she wouldn't be my top choice."

"Oh yeah? Then who would?"

"Marilyn Monroe, Sharon Tate, Sandra Dee—OOH! Jane Fonda!"

"Thanks for reminding me how much of a dork you are—"

"Anyways," Sam chimed in, getting them back on track, "Djinns usually shack up in ruins. The bigger the better—more places to hide."

"I think I saw this abandoned chemical plant a couple of miles back," Dean recalled, "I'm gonna check it out."

"Wait, no, no," Venus protested, "Come pick us up first."

"No, I'm sure it's nothing. I just want to take a look around."

Dean ended the call before either of them could convince him otherwise.

-ˋˏ | ˎˊ-

Dean is forced awake at a sharp crack of thunder.

He's naked except for a pair of boxers and some pretty nice sheets covering his lower half. He notices another noise and turns to spot a small TV mounted on a nearby wall, playing some movie from the '60s.

Their motel room didn't look anything like this...

Feeling a presence in the bed beside him, Dean slowly twists to find a familiar figure fast asleep beside him. He sighed, somewhat at ease, but not fully.

It was Venus. He's guessing from her bare back facing him and her thigh poking out from the brown sheets that she's naked too. But her hair is...longer? 

Dean didn't know much about how women's bodies worked—well, except for the special ways—but he was sure that their hair wasn't supposed to grow that much overnight.

He leaned closer to her sleeping form and soon realized that the slowly healing bullet wound that was on her upper right arm was nowhere to be found. What the fuck...

He brushed the thought away and ran his palms over his face in exasperation. He doesn't even remember getting back to the motel last night. He couldn't have drunk that much could he?

Dean quietly slipped out of the bed and pulled on the first thing he found among the clothes scattered on the ground—jeans and a grey henley—making sure to not wake Venus. He'd at least try to figure out what the hell was going on before bothering her.

A few steps out of the room and down a short hallway told him that this was definitely a house. An unfamiliar one, at that. He was suddenly missing his gun.

Dean comes to a stop in the living room and flips the light on, revealing a nicely decorated interior, brown and orange hues to match the bedroom he had just woken up in. There's a small work desk in one corner, next to a stacked bookshelf. A Master's Degree plaque with Venus' name hangs on the wall above it. In the other corner was an acoustic guitar with a way smaller pink guitar beside it, if he didn't know better he'd say it was made for a kid.

Panic seemed to unfurl in his gut with every step he took. Nothing about this felt familiar. Maybe he was dreaming. Still, he pulled out his phone and called Sam.

It rang for a few seconds before his younger brother's voice met his ear. "Dean?"

"Sam?" Dean keeps his voice low, eyes darting around the room.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. I don't know where I am."

Sam immediately grew worried. "What? What happened?"

"Well, the djinn—it attacked me."

"The gin?" Sam pressed, "You're drinking gin?"

"No, ass-hat, the djinn!" Dean harshly whispers, "The scary creature, remember? It put its hand on me and then I woke up in this weird ass house next to Venus...I think."

"Dean, you're drunk," Sam sighs, a disappointed one, Dean notices, "You're drunk-dialing me."

"I am not drunk. Quit screwing around!"

Another sigh left Sam's lips, his tone softening. "Look, it's late. Just get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Wait, Sam! Sam!" Dean attempts to keep him on the phone. But the line went dead anyway.

Dean pockets his phone just as his eyes catch on something on the kitchen table. A stack of mail. He reads the printed letters on the first one, seeing his name, and then— "Lawrence? What the fuck am I doing in Kansas?" he mutters to himself. Dean moves to the next letter and his eyes grow wide. "Venus Castillo-Winchester," he reads aloud, the white envelope shaking in his palm. Then, he finally noticed the gold band on his left hand...on that finger.

"Yes?" her voice came from behind him, impeccably timed.

Dean spins to see her walking towards him, her previously bare body now covered in a black silk robe, waist-length curls bouncing with each step. "H-Hey, baby," he answers with a nervous grin.

"What are you doing up?" she asks, warm hands snaking around his waist as she looks up at him, brown eyes lit in concern.

She looks...beautiful—which wasn't surprising by any means. But there's something different about her. She looked a lot less stressed, a new glow to her that he hadn't seen since they were younger. Her face even had more smile lines.

"I just uh..." he trails off, fumbling for an excuse.

Another crack of thunder sounded from outside. "Couldn't sleep, huh?" she asks.

"Yeah, sure," he chuckles.

A smirk he was more than acquainted with spread across her face. "Well, I know one way I can help but you uh," her hands were now trailing up his arms, coming to rest around his neck, "you gotta come back to bed first," she ended in a whisper.

"Oh yeah?" Dean's voice drops a few octaves.

Venus sends him a toothy grin before leaning up and connecting their lips in a soft kiss. Dean returns it almost instinctively, his hands wrapping around her waist. She tasted like Venus, smelled like Venus...okay so it was Venus.

Maybe he should ask her if she remembered what happened with the djinn...when he's done—

"¿Mamá? " a tiny voice interrupts them.

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to see a small girl in pink pajamas standing in the living room entrance, rubbing the remnants of sleep out of her eyes. She had dark brown curly hair framing her face like Venus, though not as long.

Venus detaches from Dean and turns to face the little girl. "Mija, what are you doing up?" she gently questions, picking up the girl once she comes close enough.

"I heard noises," she answers, a slight lisp attaching itself to her words.

"In your closet?" Dean follows up immediately, "Like scratching?"

Venus and her daughter made almost identical expressions, both furrowing their brows at him in shared confusion.

She couldn't have been older than five, Dean guessed. She had Venus' brown eyes but he could see his freckles faintly dusting her nose and cheeks—a nose that also looked like his, he noted. When she eventually smiled at him, he noticed the two teeth missing from the bottom row of her mouth.

She was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. And, judging from the next word that leaves her lips, she's his.

"No, papá, it was you, talking loud," the kid replied. A yawn echoes from her throat seconds later. She then reaches out for him, attempting to loosen herself from Venus' hold.

Every ounce of dread inside him disappears as he looks at her. He smiles and accepts her invitation, pulling her from her mother's arms and into his own. "Oh, I'm sorry darlin'," she quickly snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and fiddling with the silver chain hanging around his neck. He spends a few seconds just looking at her before he speaks again. "God, you look just like your mom, you know that?" he says, almost in disbelief.

Venus smiles at them both but soon folds her arms into her chest, her tone taking a slightly more maternal edge. "Mara, it's late you need to go back to bed."

"Mara," Dean lowly repeats the name, eyes meeting Venus', "That sounds like it's short for something."

Venus' brows wrinkle at his words, but he doesn't catch it.

Dean tightens his hold on...his daughter—yeah this had to be a goddamn dream—beginning to slowly rock her body against his shoulder, aiming to get her back to sleep. "What's it short for?" he mutters to himself, unaware that Venus heard him.

"Xiomara," she reminds him, trying to keep her anger out of her voice in the presence of their daughter.

Dean's eyes soften. "Like your mom," he smiled fondly.

"Yeah," Venus spat. She looked Dean over from head to toe for a moment then hummed. "Mara, come on, it's time for you to go back to bed," she firmed, gesturing for Dean to put her down. He did so, reluctantly.

"Ugh. ¿Por qué? " she whined with a roll of her eyes.

Venus scoffed loudly but Dean could tell that she was trying not to smile. "¿Por qué?" she repeated her daughter's words, a hand on her hip, "Porque I say so, young lady," she then pointed between Dean and herself, "Necesitamos hablar...en privado."

Xiomara folded her small hands across her chest, looking up at her parents. "Fine. But can papá tuck me in after?"

Dean was beaming. She was a daddy's girl.

Venus bent down to her height and tucked one of her curls behind her ears. "Yes, he will," she kissed her forehead sweetly, "Go to bed, mi amor."

Xiomara leaned forward and kissed the tip of her mother's nose, watching it wrinkle at the action, and then giggling in response. "Buenas noches," she called out as she left the room.

Dean waved at her retreating figure, a toothy grin on his lips. "Buenas noches," he cheerily responded. But when he turned to look at Venus, he noticed a less-than-pleased expression on her face. "What's up?"

Venus' jaw clenched. "You forgot...our daughter's name?"

Dean winced inwardly. He could see things looked pretty bad from her end.

"Are you drunk?" she suddenly asked, trying to keep her voice low.

"Huh? No," Dean recoiled, "Look it's gonna sound crazy but I can explain."

Venus remained silent, a brow raised.

"You remember when I went out looking for the djinn?"

 Venus' jaw dropped. "Gin? So you are drinking again."

"No, listen to me—"

"Three years, Dean," Venus ran a hand through her hair in distress, "You've been sober for three years. What the hell happened—"

"Woah, woah, woah—Hey," he reached out and gently took her arm, pulling her into his chest, "Breathe, Venus. I wasn't drinking, I swear," he reassured her, a palm stroking the back of her head.

"Then what's going on?" she questioned, voice breaking.

Dean released her and held the sides of her face in his hands, using his thumb to wipe a tear that fell. She looked up at him with so much worry, that it made his chest clench, the panic he felt earlier slowly returning. 

Well, shit. Now this was his worst nightmare.

"Listen, I'm just really tired, okay?" he did his damnedest to calm her, "I had a long day at...work yesterday, that's it," he added.

Venus' lips quivered before the bottom one tucked itself between her teeth, her typical nervous tick. She eventually nodded in understanding. "Just...come to bed," she sighs, leaning back into his hold.

Dean kisses the crown of her head before letting go. "I'll be there in a minute."

Venus sends him one more look, this one less worried but not fully relieved, and then takes off to their room.

Once her steps fade in the distance, Dean is back to scanning the room. He heads to the bookshelf where a few framed pictures are propped up. The first one is of him, Venus, and Xiomara, all gathered around a birthday cake and smiling brightly for the camera. Several more capture similar moments of the three of them together. Another shows him and Venus, on a dance floor, in a tux and wedding gown, though the visible bump in Venus' stomach indicates that Xiomara was somewhat present too. They hadn't even noticed the camera, too busy smiling at each other. It was their first dance.

But it's the next photo that really gets his attention. He picks it up, finding it harder to breathe within seconds. Xiomara is in the picture, looking no younger than she did five minutes ago. But someone else is in it too, gripping the grinning toddler with a fond smile.

It's his mother—alive, and properly aged.

The photo slips from his hand before he can stop it. The next thing Dean knows, he's grabbing a familiar bunch of keys and heading out the front door.

His hand grips the steering wheel of the Impala as he drives, knuckles pale. He's breathing so fast he's scared his heart might give out. But he doesn't care, he has to see for himself—has to know if she's real or if that picture is just another cruel reminder of something he'll never have.

The feeling only intensifies when he pulls up to the curb of his old home, a less than five-minute drive from the home he shares with Venus and their kid. He marches up the old patio and knocks his fist against the door five times, barely flinching when the small light hanging over the porch comes on.

Within seconds, the door swings open to reveal Mary Winchester, a pink cotton robe covering her white nightgown. "Dean?" she says, voice just as soft as he remembers. She sounds confused.

"Mom?" he mutters, unable to stop his voice from shaking. He doesn't dare blink, scared that if he does, she will disappear.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, gently reaching for his arm. Dean flinches at her touch, his body almost refusing to believe it was real. "Are you alright?"

He swallows the lump forming in his throat. "I don't know," he croaks.

Mary takes his hand and slowly pulls him inside. "Well, come inside," she urges. Dean stares at her as she closes the door and walks into the living room. "Venus called and said you just took off all of a sudden. She had a feeling you were coming here, guess she was right," Mary explains, turning to face him.

"Right," Dean says. He's trying to fight through the fog clouding his brain—making it hard to breathe, to move, to form a thought other than 'She's alive'. It's not going so well. "Let me ask you a question. When I was a kid, what did you always tell me before you put me to bed?"

Mary shakes her head, her long blonde hair swaying with the movement. Her blue eyes narrow in concern. "I don't understand—"

"Just answer the question."

Mary's aged features soften, that smile he remembered all too well taking up residence there. "I told you angels were watching over you."

Dean blinks, chuckling lowly. "I don't believe it," he really doesn't. Not even as he walks over and pulls her into his chest for a bone-crushing hug. But he decides that he'll take it, indulge however he can until the rug gets inevitably pulled out from beneath him.

"Honey, you're scaring me," Mary says, her warm hands rubbing his back. "Now just tell me what's going on."

Dean lets her go, sniffling. "You don't think wishes can—can really..."

"What?"

Dean smiles at his mother. "Forget it," he pulls her in for another hug, "I'm just...I'm happy to see you, that's all," he chokes back a sob. He then stands up to look at her again. "You're beautiful," he can't help but tell her.

Mary laughs with him. "What?" she grins.

Dean finally turns to look at the house. Some things were familiar,  some things weren't. He smiles at everything. He walks over to the bookshelf, seeing it lined with photos as well as books. "Hey, when I was young, was there ever a fire here?" he clears his throat and asks Mary.

"No, never."

"I thought there was," he replies, eyes darting over every framed picture. There's one with him and a red-haired girl, prom attire, and the pose to match. Another of just Sam, at his high school graduation. Even one of the four of them—Dean, Sam, Mary, and John—all smiles. "I guess I was wrong." He picks up one of John, decked out in a softball uniform and holding a bat with a smile for the camera. "Dad's on a softball team," he turns to see Mary looking at him strangely, "Dad's softball team—that's funny to me," he takes the surprise out of his voice, attempting to play his established role in this...dream...universe...whatever the djinn shoved him in.

"He loved that stupid team."

Loved. "Dad's dead? And the thing that killed him was a..."

Mary's head tilts to the right. "A stroke. He died in his sleep, you know that."

Dean looks down at the photo, smiling. "That's great."

"Excuse me?"

The smile fades as he realizes the implications of his reaction. "That's great...that he went peacefully. I mean, that sure beats the alternative." Selling his soul to a yellow-eyed demon. He carefully returns the picture to the bookshelf.

Mary sighs deeply. "You've been drinking."

"No, I haven't, Mom." Damnit, everyone keeps asking him that...

"I'm gonna call Venus and have her come pick you up, okay?" Mary reaches for the landline. 

But Dean surges forward and presses it back on the receiver. "Wait! No, no, don't do that. I want to stay here."

Mary folds her arms into her chest. "Why?"

"Because I-I miss the place," he answers truthfully, "It's okay, you go to bed, okay?"

Mary nods and watches him move to the couch, pure awe in his eyes as he looks around the house once more. She walks over and presses a hand to the side of his face, her fingers caressing the skin gently. Dean leans into her touch, staring up at her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I think so."

Mary kisses his forehead and the action is so gentle, that Dean feels like crying again. He watches as she heads for the stairs, stopping by the light switch behind the sofa. "Get some rest. I love you."

He's out of breath for a moment then he nods. "Me too."

Mary sends him one last smile before leaving the room.

Dean slips out of his jacket and settles into the couch. He takes a deep breath, still not accepting that the last twenty minutes actually happened. He falls asleep relatively easily, but before he does, some miserable part of him reminds himself that the next time he wakes up it'll all be gone, a distant memory. He'll open his eyes again and he'll be back in that stuffy motel room with Venus and Sam, packing his duffel and preparing to move to the next town. This fantasy will cease to exist.

But it never does. He wakes up the next morning to hear birds chirping, and locks eyes with a framed photo of him and Sam with their parents in Christmas sweaters. Dean springs upright with an alarmed gasp, eyes darting around the living room of his childhood home. It was still here. The same photos he looked at the night before were still on the bookshelf. The wedding ring was still on his finger.

Oh shit. Venus...and Xiomara. Were they still real too? Was he really a father? A husband?

It takes everything in him to not drive back to the house he woke up in, to go grab Venus and Xiomara and hug them like his life depended on it. Instead, he decides he needs more information, needs to know if and when this was gonna bite him in the ass.

So he goes researching. 

After a quick stop at the public library, he finds the nearest mythology professor. His search for answers takes him to the University of Kansas.

"I don't think I've seen you in my class before," the dark-skinned man says in response to Dean's cover story.

"Are you kiddin' me? I love your lectures. You make learning fun," Dean claims with an enthusiastic point of his index finger.

The professor chuckles. "So, what can I do for you?"

"What can you tell me about djinns?"

-ˋˏ | ˎˊ-

"How long's it been?"

Sam flipped his wrist to glance at his watch. "Not that long."

Venus' leg bounced at an immeasurable pace where she sat on the edge of one of the motel beds. She felt it in her gut, something wasn't right. They hadn't heard back from Dean since he hung up on them, mentioning something about checking out a potential hideout for the djinn that he drove past.

That was forty minutes ago. If he found nothing, he would've called them back already. But even if he did find the djinn, it shouldn't take this long to kill it.

Venus suddenly sprung to her feet and grabbed her jacket from the back of Sam's chair. "We're leaving."

"Listen, I'm sure he's fine," Sam began. 

Venus raised a brow. "Tell that to your face, mano. You don't even believe that."

Sam's jaw clenched. "Okay, yes the thought had occurred to me but..."

"That's enough for me," Venus said, grabbing a jar of lamb's blood, "Grab the map and my keys."

Sam hurriedly threw on his jacket and grabbed what she asked for. He closed the room door and secured the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, stomping out to the parking lot behind the brunette. "What if we're worrying for nothing?" he harshly whispers once he gets close enough.

Venus slips on her nighttime glasses and mounts her bike. "What if we're not and Dean's dying right now?" she disputed.

Sam sighed but ultimately hopped on behind her. He trusted her instincts more than anything— especially since they'd been heightened for some unexplained reason. Some part of him knew that if she thought something was wrong, something most likely was.

"Wait," he called out, right as Venus put her key in the ignition, "What about helmets?"

Venus rolled her eyes though he couldn't see it. "There's barely any cops on duty at this time of night, we won't get caught."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

Sam's palms gripped Venus' waist for dear life as Freddy's engine roared along the deserted streets of Joliet, Illinois.

Within an hour they pulled into G & R Jacoe Chemical Co, the only chemical plant in the area where the victims disappeared. 

The sight of the parked Impala confirmed that they were in the right place. But it also presented the possibility of the worst—that they were too late.

Venus pulled out a silver dagger dipped in lamb's blood from her jacket while Sam switched on his flashlight. The brunette entered first, eyes immediately darting around the eery space.

They took slow and quiet steps, first through a small hallway that led to an office, and then around a corner. That's when the sounds of faint whimpering met their ears.

Venus tightened her grip on her blade and kept moving towards the sound, Sam behind her. They walked until turning another corner which led to a larger space. Two rotting bodies strung up by their wrists with empty blood bags beside them were the first things the hunters spotted.

A pale-skinned Dean bound from the ceiling by his wrists was the next.

"Dean!" they shouted in unison before running over to the man. Venus reached up and pressed two fingers to his neck, slightly relieved to feel a slow pulse drumming through his skin. But his eyes were still closed.

"He's breathing," she muttered to Sam who was busy tugging on the collar of Dean's jacket.

"Hey, wake up," Sam pleaded, shaking Dean.

Venus stood on the other side of him, using a hand to lightly tap Dean's cheek a few times. "Come on, Dean. Look at me."

Dean's eyes fluttered open seconds later, a pained grunt leaving his colorless lips. 

Venus sighed, a relieved smile finding its way onto her face. Her thumb rubbed soothing circles along Dean's face as he fully came to. "There you go."

"Auntie Em. There's no place like home," he managed to say, his voice low and raspy.

"Thank God," Sam harshly exhaled, eyes falling to the needle embedded in his brother's neck.

Venus finally spotted it as well. It was connected to a half-full blood bag. "Thought we lost you for a second," she said, carefully removing it from his skin.

Dean winced, his eyes closing at the discomfort. "You almost did."

Venus handed Sam her dagger, gesturing for him to cut Dean's rope. She kept her hand on Dean's face the whole time, attempting to warm his skin. She inwardly thanked her instincts for not leading them astray, but she still couldn't believe how close they came to losing him.

Dean managed a small smile at her, nestling into her palm as much as he could. But then familiar blue eyes glistened to his right and panic engulfed his entire being. "Sam!" he shouted.

Sam didn't waste a second, swinging Venus' dagger in the djinn's direction.

Venus stood in front of Dean, using her body to shield him while the djinn tussled with Sam.

Eventually, the creature got the upper hand, knocking the blood-tipped dagger from Sam's grip and forcing him against the closest wall in a chokehold.

"Hey!"

Before the djinn could fully turn at the sound of Venus' voice, the brunette was close enough to deliver a punch to his face, knocking him away from a half-conscious Sam. The most important thing in her mind was to draw it away from Dean, so she began running up a nearby flight of stairs.

But the djinn was right on her tail. It reached out and yanked her ankle, causing Venus to fall and slam her forehead against the wooden steps with a yelp. She had no time to fight the disorientation before the djinn was above her, one hand squeezing her neck while the other tried to graze her forehead.

Venus gripped the djinn's palm before it could touch her, using all her remaining air and strength to hold it away from her for as long as possible. Her eyes widened at the sight of blue mist appearing around its fingers.

In a last-ditch effort, Venus flailed her right leg and kicked the djinn. She pushed it right off her body just in time for Dean to shove her dagger in its back. Within seconds, its blue eyes dimmed and the djinn's limp body hit the floor with a thud.

Venus scrambled to her feet, her heart rate slowly returning to normal as she locked eyes with Dean and an upright Sam.

They soon located a girl in the other corner of the room, deathly pale, strung up, and unconscious like Dean was. The hunters stood before her with sad expressions, watching a single tear fall from her eye. Dean lifted two weak fingers to check her pulse, brows furrowing once he felt something there. "She's still alive," he gruffed, "Sam?" he hurriedly handed his younger brother the knife to cut her rope while he removed the needle lodged in her neck.

Venus moved to help him hold her frail body once she was free, surprised when the young girl's eyes opened. She smiled watching relief flare through Dean.

"We're gonna get you out of here, okay?" he told her.

-ˋˏ | ˎˊ-

Sam hung up his phone with a soft sigh the next afternoon, turning to where Dean sat at the edge of his motel bed, face pensive. "That was the hospital. The girl's been stabilized. Good chance she's gonna pull through."

Dean barely acknowledged him, eyes still locked on the frayed carpet beneath his shoes. "That's good," he mumbled.

Sam looked him over for a moment. He looked so...broken, empty. Maybe I should've gone on the food run instead of Venus, he starts thinking, she'd be able to cheer Dean up way better than he could.

But he'd be damned if he didn't try.

"How about you? You alright?" he asked.

Dean cleared his throat harshly. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Sam let a moment of silence pass, thinking of what to say next.

But Dean continued. "You should've seen it, Sam, our lives," he paused and chuckled to himself, "You were such a wussy."

Sam laughed.

"Venus was..."

At that moment, Venus entered the room carrying two large bags of takeout, using her foot to close the door.

Dean cleared his throat. "...a therapist."

Sam's brows furrowed at Dean's change in body language.

Venus placed the bags of food on the table by the door and took her jacket off. "What about a therapist?" she asked, sending Dean a curious smile.

"You were a therapist," Dean repeated loud enough for her to hear, "In my uh...djinn world."

Venus raised a brow but nodded in understanding. She walked further into the room and sat beside Sam on the edge of his bed, facing Dean. His eyes darted in her direction briefly before returning to the ground. He fiddled with his rings nervously.

"So, we didn't get along then, huh?" Sam chimed in.

"No," Dean answered, "Hell, not even you and Venus got along."

The brunette scoffed. "God forbid."

Sam smiled at her and then looked back at Dean. "I thought it was supposed to be this perfect fantasy."

"It wasn't," Dean replied without hesitation, "It was just a wish. I wished for Mom to live. Mom never died, we never went hunting, and you and me just never uh—y'know..."

"Well, I'm glad we do," Sam assured him, "And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean."

Venus sent Dean an encouraging smile. "Most people wouldn't have the strength, they would've stayed."

"Lucky me," Dean held her stare for a moment, regret prominent in his eyes, "I gotta tell you though," he stood and crossed the room to lean against a dresser, "You were happy, Venus. Sam had Jess, Mom had a grandkid."

Venus frowned. Even without the full picture of what Dean saw, she could tell it left him really shaken up.

"Yeah, but, Dean, it wasn't real," Sam gently reminded him.

"I know, but I wanted to stay," he locked eyes with Venus, "I wanted to stay so bad."

Venus' lips parted, no words leaving them as she took in the pure torment on his face.

"I mean, ever since Dad, all I can think about is how much this job's cost us," Dean admitted, stopping to take a shaky breath, "We've lost so much. All of us. And we...we've sacrificed so much."

"But people are alive because of you," Sam told him.

Dean scoffed lowly, shaking his head as a tear fell along his face.

"It's not fair," Venus started, standing up and walking towards him, "And it hurts like hell. But it's worth it, Dean." Once she came close enough, Dean reached out and pulled her into his chest, hands wrapped around her in a tight hug.

Venus rested her head on his chest, right above his heart. "You're okay," she muttered only for him to hear.

Dean sniffled then pressed a featherlight kiss to her forehead. He couldn't help but think about what he left behind.

The three ate dinner and then dipped into their beds, aiming to get a few hours before hitting the road that night.

But when Venus woke up, curled into Dean's side she found him already awake—eyes locked onto the ceiling. Even in the darkness of the night, she could see the brooding expression on his face. "You didn't sleep, did you?" she said, voice slurred with sleep.

Dean flinched a bit, not expecting the sudden intrusion of her voice. He looked down at her for a moment but didn't answer. They both knew the answer anyway. "I'll be fine."

Venus sighed. She glanced over at the second bed to see Sam sprawled out on his stomach, still deep in sleep. She then reached over to the night table on Dean's side, grabbed the Impala's keys, slid off the bed, and grabbed a blanket. Dean's brows furrowed in confusion, but she spoke before he could question her. "C'mere."

He stood to his feet and took her awaiting hand, still slightly confused.

"We need to talk but," she carefully opened the door with minimal noise, "I don't wanna wake Sam."

Dean nodded and followed her out of the room, walking the short distance across the empty corridor to where the car was parked. "We haven't done this in a while," he mused, the tiniest smile on his face.

Venus smiled as she opened the backdoor, gesturing for him to go in first, like usual. Once he stretched out on the bench, she followed and laid down in the small space he left, spreading the blanket she brought over them. Dean shifted to wrap an arm around her torso, holding her so that she was basically on top of him.

For the first few minutes, neither of them spoke. It was obviously less comfortable than a bed but they were content. Venus knew he'd talk eventually, so she just lay there quietly, fiddling with the strings of Dean's bracelet.

"I woke up in this house in Kansas," he began eventually, "I was in bed with you. Come to find out, we were married...with a kid. A girl. Her name was Xiomara."

Venus looked up at him, eyes soft. "Like my mom," she muttered.

"Like your mom," Dean nodded, "You should've seen her. It's like my genetics didn't even try," he quietly chuckled, "She was basically you with my nose and freckles. She was funny too, probably got that from me."

"Sure," Venus nodded, hiding a grin.

"Y'know, it's crazy," Dean continued after a few seconds, "We ended up together even though I never went hunting."

Venus smiled at the thought. "Yeah, how did that happen?" she asked.

"You're not gonna believe this shit," Dean prefaced with a laugh, "So you met Sam first at Stanford. Then he brought you home for Thanksgiving one year and...found us making out in my mom's closet."

Venus sat up in his hold, eyes wide. "You stole me from Sam?"

"See, technically you guys were just friends but he kinda hated me for it. My guess is he had a crush on you."

"Ugh," Venus groaned over Dean's chuckles, "That's so messy."

Dean's laughter eventually died down, a faraway look creeping into his eyes. "Right before I pulled myself out, Xiomara ran into my arms and said 'I love you, Daddy'...I swear to God, Venus, I almost gave in right then and there."

"But you didn't," Venus frowned, laying her head back on his chest. "And it hurts like hell, doesn't it?"

Dean sniffled, bringing a hand up to wipe a tear from his cheek. "It hurts more to know that it didn't have to be a fantasy. You could be just as happy here as you were in there. Motherhood, marriage, working a real job—it looked so good on you. You want that, I know you do."

Venus sighed. She already knew where this was going. "Dean—"

"Say what you want but I saw the way your eyes lit up when I mentioned it."

Venus bit her lip, her breath hitching in her throat.

"But that's the job, right? Our happiness or everyone else's lives. I'll tell you right now, it's a shit deal," he sneered.

Venus twisted to look at him, gently using a thumb to wipe his tears.

"I'm sorry," Dean closed his eyes, unable to stop the shakiness in his voice.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she told him, "I mean, of course, I think about it too—what it would be like to settle down somewhere, have babies running around."

"I want it too. You have no idea how much I do."

Venus nodded. "So if it's meant to be then it'll happen."

"How—"

"I'm not worried about how or when. And if it never happens I'll be fine with that too, you know why?"

Dean shook his head, his lips turned down in a small frown.

"Because I love you."

"What if that stops being enough?"

Venus used a finger to turn his chin in her direction and pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss. "It'll never stop being enough."

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A/N: Loving somebody but constantly thinking you're not good enough for them? Yeah Dean I get you babes...

In case anyone was struggling with the pronunciation of Xiomara it's (Zee-oh-mah-rah).

I kinda gave up while editing this cause well...it's 7 thousand words!
But I wanted to post something for you guys, regardless. 

Happy reading pookies 🫶🏽

Translations:
¿Por qué? - Why?
Porque - Because
Necesitamos hablar...en privado - We need to talk...in private
Mi amor - My love
Buenas noches - Good night

Lovely GIF banner up above made by the incredibly talented prodigybitxhhh

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