Sam looked down at a bag in Jenny's lap, noticing how carefully she was holding it. "What's in the bag?" He asked, both Jenny and Dean glancing to him, then the bag.

"Nothin'." They answered in unison, turning back to face the road.

"Nothin'?" Sam repeated, scoffing.

"Yeah, nothin'." Dean reassured. Sam eyed the bag suspiciously, noticing that Jenny's grip on it tightened a little bit.

"Fine." Sam suddenly yanked on the bag, him and Jenny tussling for a moment until he managed to pull it out of her grasp, opening it.

"You don't wanna do that." Dean snapped, but didn't stop him.

"Oh really?" Sam pulled out a mason jar, eyes widening in horror. "What the hell is this?"

Jenny and Dean were quiet for a moment. "Blood."

"Yeah, I can see that it's blood, guys! What the hell is it doing in here?!" Sam yelled, looking at Jenny.

"You don't really wanna know." Dean told his brother with a harsh tone.

"No I-I do really wanna know. I really, really, do."

"Yeah, well you're gonna find out sooner or later. I needed a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood." Sam's eyes bulged out of their sockets, babbling as he tried to form words.

"You needed a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood, why?!"

"Because there's this creature. A Djinn. And he has to hunt it." Jenny explained, Sam gulped loudly.

"Okay, um... stop the car."

"I know how it sounds—"

"Great. Just... stop the car."

"It's the truth, Sam. All right, there are things out there in the dark. There – there – there are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved and if we don't save them, then nobody will." Dean gestured with his free hand as the other gripped the wheel tightly, and Sam looked at Jenny.

"You're doing this! You're putting this idea into his head!" Sam yelled as Jenny's mouth dropped open.

"How dare you think that I would put some kind of idea like this into Dean's head!"

"How else would you explain the reason he's having psychological breakdown?!" Dean rubbed his eyes in annoyance.

"I wish I was now." As Sam and Jenny continued arguing, Dean honked the horn. "Shut up!"

Jenny turned to Dean, giving him an apologetic look. "Jenny isn't putting any kinds of ideas into my head, alright? This is all my doing, Sam. God, I knew I shouldn't have brought him with." He grumbled as Sam pulled out his phone, starting to dial a number. Dean reached over Jenny, rolling Sam's window down and chucked his phone.

"What the hell was that, Dean?! That was my phone!"

"None of us are going to a rubber room, Sammy. And we got work to do." Dean snapped, turning back to the road.

"What? I was just trying to help you out, Dean. I don't, I don't want you to get yourself hurt." Sam argued, a harsh look on his face. Dean scoffed.

"What? You protect me?"

"Yeah!" Dean let out a loud laugh, Jenny frowning at him.

"Oh, that's hilarious. Why don't you just sit tight and try not to get us all killed." Dean's face turned cold, changing the radio station.

———

Jenny had an annoyed expression on her face, still holding the mason jar of blood whilst Sam was asleep on her shoulder. "Four hours of this." She slowly turned to Dean, who smiled at her sheepishly. "When you kill this thing, Sam rides in the back."

Dean paused, staring at Jenny and smiled softly. "Yeah. He gets back seat." He suddenly flicked his flashlight on, shining it in Sam's face, who then woke with a start.

"Where are we?" Sam asked in a groggy voice, sitting up.

"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore." Jenny giggled at the joke, but Sam had no reaction. "Illinois."

"And you think something's in there?" Sam pointed to the large factory, to which Dean nodded in confirmation.

"I know it is."

———

To Jenny's right was a large glass wall as they all entered the factory. She looked around, aiming her gun straight ahead of her. Dean waved his flashlight ahead, holding the silver knife in the other.

"See? There's nothing here, Dean." Sam whispered, clearly bothered. But they kept walking, entering a hallway. Sam followed closely behind Dean and Jenny, who looked more than confident.

"Look, Carmen's gotta be worried sick about you—"

"Carmen and I broke up." Dean spoke bluntly, Sam stopping in confusion.

"What?" Before Dean could answer, a noise startled Sam, and he looked around frantically.

"Shh!" More sounds echoed throughout the factory as Sam suddenly had a more serious face, still cloudy with nervousness.

"What the hell is that?" Sam whispered, Jenny inching forward.

"Stay behind us and keep your mouth shut." Dean, Sam and Jenny entered a large room, all of their eyes landing on bodies hanging from the ceiling. There was a drained blood bag hanging next to one of the bodies.

"What the hell?" Sam whispered, Dean looking around, seeing even more bodies. Dean walked forward to one of the women being drained of her blood. Even with her eyes open she closed close to dead.

Jenny pressed her fingers to the girls throat, eyes widening. "She's barely breathing."

"It's her."

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked a little loudly, his brother grabbing him.

"Shh!" Dean gestured ahead, grabbing Jenny and the three rushed to hide. Jenny caught a glimpse of a blue, tattooed thing, her eyes widening in horrorZ

"Where's my dad?" One of the women wept. "I won't tell ... Don't. Where's my dad.." Jenny peeked a little out of her hiding place to watch as the Djinn touched the woman's face.

"Sleep." A blue flare coursed through the woman's cheek and she passed out. He put. a straw in her blood bag, drinking it slowly and Jenny grimaced silently.

Sam had also witnessed it and gagged in disgust. Jenny snapped her attention to him, just as the Djinn heard as well. But, when he got to the trios hiding spot, they were gone.

The Djinn walked up a set of creaky steps that Sam, Dean and Jenny hid under, looking up, following his steps. When a door closed, Sam sucked in a deep breath.

"This is real? You guys aren't crazy?" Sam asked, watching as Dean thought aloud.

"She didn't know where she was. She thought she was with her father."

The three reached the woman again as Dean kept talking z

"What if that's what the Djinn does? It doesn't grant you a wish, it just makes you think it has." Jenny frowned in confusion, thinking quietly.

"Look man. That thing could come back, all right?" Sam spoke in a worried tone, looking around. Dean walked past his brother in the opposite direction of the woman. He looked up at a light bulb, which started to flicker in brighter light. Dean started to gag, looking as if he was suddenly struggling to breath.

"Dean, please." Sam spoke, Dean looking at him and Jenny.

"What if I'm like her? What if I'm tied up in here some place? What if all this is in my head?" Sam and Jenny shared a look, watching Dean circle the woman. "I mean it could, you know, maybe it gives us some kind of supernatural acid, and then just feeds on us slow."

"No. Dean, that doesn't make sense. Okay?" Sam stated as Jenny started to nod in agreement, realizing that maybe Dean was starting to lose his sanity.

"What if that's why she keeps appearing to me? She's not a spirit. It's - it's like more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere, and I'm - I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I, but I can't snap out of it."

"Yeah, okay, look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. I was wrong. You're not crazy but we – we – we need to get out of here. Fast." Sam took his brother's arm, pulling him along, but Dean pulled back out of his grasp.

"I don't think you're real. Either of you." Dean glanced to Jenny, who had a hurt expression on her face. She grabbed Dean by the arm, shaking him.

"Does that feel real?" She asked, agitated. "C'mon, Dean! I didn't follow you all this way for you to tell me I'm a figment of your imagination! That this is going to come back and—"

"There's one way to be sure." Dean pulled out the silver knife, Jenny quickly backing up as Sam wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?"

"It's an old wives' tale. If you're about to die in a dream, you wake up."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's crazy. All right?" Sam whisper yelled as Jenny's worried expression turned to terror. Dean shrugged, giving the two a determined look.

"Maybe." Sam slowly let go of Jenny, walking towards his brother.

"You're gonna kill yourself—" Dean aimed the knife at Sam, who raised his hands up in surrender.

"Or I'm gonna wake up. One or the other."

"Okay. This isn't a dream, all right. We're here, with you, now. And you're about to kill yourself, Dean!" Jenny spoke, tears starting to fill her eyes as Dean turned the knife on himself, ready to slam it into his chest.

"No, I'm pretty sure. Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough."

"WAIT!" Sam yelled, and suddenly, Mary was walking up next to Jenny, in the exact nightgown she had died in all those years ago.

"Why'd you have to keep digging?" Jessica appeared next to Sam as Dean looked at his mother, then to Jenny.

"We could have been happy here, Dean." She spoke softly, almost defeated. "I could have been happy here. You were happy."

Mary slowly walked up to Dean, tears forming in his eyes. "Put the knife down, honey."

"You're not real. None of it is

"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had." Dean gave his mother a confused look.

"What?"

"It's everything you want. We're a family again. Let's go home." Mary smiled, but Dean shook his head.

"I'll die. The Djinn'll... drain the life out of me in a couple of days." Jenny walked up to Dean, smiling.

"But in here, with us, it'll feel like years. Like a lifetime." She cupped Dean's face, shaking her head. "You and I can start a family here. I promise." Dean stared down at Jenny, a tear slipping down his face. "You'll never have to hunt again. We can live normal lives. Together." Dean looked over to Sam, who gave him a lopsided smile, and nodded. Jenny stroked his cheek lovingly, and he leaned into her touch, trying to fight.

"You don't have to worry about Sam anymore." Dean looked over to Jessica, who took Sam's hand. "You get to watch him live a full life."

As Jenny backed away to stand next to Mary, Sam walked towards his brother.

"Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough?" Sam echoed the words of his brother, slowly outstretching his hand. "I'm begging you. Give me the knife."

Dean looked at Sam, then to Mary, and Jenny with glistening tears. Slowly, he backed away looking at the floor. He raised his head, looking at Sam, whispering.

"I'm sorry." Dean thrusted the knife into himself, blood immediately pouring out of his mouth.

———

"Dean!" There was a loud clang, presumably from the silver knife Jenny ditched when she spotted Dean amongst the bodies. She looked at him, fear in her eyes at the sight of him dangling from the ceiling. "God, you idiot."

"Dean?!" Sam grabbed his brother, shaking him.
"Hey. Wake up. Wake up, damn it!l

Dean grunted a little. His eyes slowly opening, glancing between Jenny and Sam. "Hey. Hey

"Ahh... Auntie Em. There's no place like home." Dean joked, Jenny trying her best not to laugh at the worst time.

"Thank God. I thought I lost you for a second." Sam said as Jenny grabbed the tube that was lodged in Dean's throat, carefully pulling it out.

"You almost did." Dean mumbled, and once the tube was out, he turned to Jenny. "Jenny..."

"Let's get you to safety, yeah?" Sam reached up and cut through the ropes while Jenny held him up. Dean winced and groaned in pain as Jenny looked around, eyes wide as she spotted the Djinn.

"SAM!" Sam tossed his knife to Jenny as she finished cutting Dean down while Sam fought against the Djinn.

Jenny caught Dean as he nearly crumbled to the ground, slowly setting him down as she grabbed the knife she had abandoned earlier. She rushed at the Djinn, thrusting the knife into its back at twisted. When she yanked it out, the Djinn fell down, clearly dead.

Sam breathed heavily, holding g his neck before Jenny dropped the knife again, running back to Dean.

"Jenny! This girl is still alive!" Sam yelled as he had checked another persons pulse. Jenny was practically cradling Dean, quickly helping him up as Dam cut the woman down from her restraints.

———

Jenny had an arm splayed over Dean as he looked through a magazine, quickly skipping over a model on the beach. Sam was on the phone at the kitchen table, mumbling.

Sam hung up the phone. "That was the hospital. Girl's been stabilized. Good chance she's gonna pull through."

"That's good." Dean replied, Jenny looking up at jinx

"What 'about you? How are you feeling?" Jenny asked. Dean looked down at her, then away, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I'm all right." Dean paused, smirking as he turned to Sam. "You should have seen it, Sam. Our lives. You were such a wussy." Dean laughed, then looked down at Jenny. "God, you should have seen yourself, too. You were a cop-turned-CSI that lived in Montana."

"Montana? That's weird." Dean nodded in agreement, Jenny smirking at the idea of herself in a police uniform.

"So... I assume we didn't get along then, huh?" Sam asked Dean, who shook his head. "Yeah... I thought it was supposed to, to be this perfect fantasy."

"It wasn't. It was just a wish. I wished for Mom to live. That Mom never died, we never went hunting and you and me just never uh... you know. But, I guess wishing Mom never died meant your parents didn't die, either." Jenny paused, slowly sitting up.

"My parents were alive in your fantasy world?" She asked quietly, and Dean nodded.

"Yeah. We didn't know each other because of it. Instead... You were just babysat by Bobby rather than being adopted." Jenny hummed, nodding.

"Well, I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean. Most people wouldn't've had the strength, would have just stayed." Sam spoke up. Dean was quiet for a moment, nodding slowly.

"Yeah... Lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. Mom was gonna have grandkids..."

"Yeah, but... Dean... it wasn't real." Jenny reminded him, and he nodded.

"I know. But I kind of wanted to stay." Dean almost looked lost as he remembered the short time he spent in the fake reality. "I wanted to stay so bad. I mean, ever since Dad... all I c– all I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've... sacrificed so much." Jenny held Dean's hand, pressing her lips together.

"But people are alive because of you." Sam told him, and Dean scoffed. "It's worth it, Dean. It is. It's not fair, and... you know, it hurts like hell, but... it's worth it."

"And look, the three of us are still here together. That says something right?" Jenny smiled in an attempt to uplift the mood, and Dean couldn't help but smile back, staring up at her.

y'all. yall. i'm almost done with this book.
should i say fuck it and finish it right now? no. why, you may be asking?
because the last time i was asleep was 2:30 pm YESTERDAY. ITS 9:42 RIGHT NOW.