Sam should NEVER have touched that damned statue…

It had seemed innocent enough at the time. He and Dean had stopped into a small shop to try and get some intel about any possible cases in the area. While Dean worked his charm on the lady behind the counter, Sam had looked around the shop a little, just curious. It was one of those old-timey stores, selling everything from postcards of the town, to canned and boxed food and a small section with little figurines and such for the tourists.

While looking around, Sam paused as he saw a statue. It was carved from wood and honestly was a bit rough, but he gave it a second look, grinning as he realized it was supposed to be a beanstalk and that a person was climbing it. He chuckled a little, reaching for the statue. 'Jack and the Bean Stalk'… What a classic little story. He had enjoyed it as a child, when his dad would rarely read to them. He recalled how his dad would deepen his voice to do the giant's lines, and when their dad became obsessed with hunting, Dean had taken over the role, trying his best to deepen his voice when they had been younge-

Sam jumped as when his fingers touched the sculpture, he got a jolt, like a static shock from a doorknob and he suddenly felt a terrible wave of uneasiness and dark feelings.

The feeling passed as suddenly as it came and he stood there a moment, eyeing the statue in confusion, his hand withdrawn to his chest distrustingly. That… had been weird. He looked the statue over, not touching it this time, checking to see if there was a wire or something he had brushed by accident, but even that wouldn't explain the horrible feeling he had gotten…

He perked up as his name was called, coming over to the front of the store again. Dean smiled as he explained that Clara didn't have anything interesting about the area to note, but she DID have a younger sister…

Sighing and rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Sam thanked the lady for her time and dragged his brother from the store.

That night, Dean was still upset with Sam, grumbling as they pulled into a drive-through, "Come ON, Sam! We've done REALLY good recently. We deserve a little reward, don't you think?"

Chuckling, Sam checked the map, saying, "Dean, I'm fine with beer and junk food, and you are too." He blinked as his stomach growled loudly, shifting a little in his seat in embarrassment, trying to focus on the map. Thankfully, Dean didn't seem to notice, only grumbling, "Spoilsport." Relieved that Dean hadn't heard, Sam tried to focus on the map, trying to find them a place to sleep, but his mind was very scattered. He was so hungry he could barely focus on the name of the town they were in! It was like there was a black hole inside his belly and it demanded appeasement no matter what, making the younger Winchester distracted. He waited impatiently until their turn came, very eager as Dean started rolling down his window as they got to the drive-through speaker.

There was the normal spiel of some teenager with a crippling student loan tiredly reciting the name of the restaurant, but to his credit, this one sounded like he was trying his best to sound interested and polite as he asked for their order. Dean leaned out through the impala's window, saying, "Yeah, hi. I'll take a number 3, no onions, a large fry, a side of those cheesy stick thingies and a large coke." He leaned back in the car. "You, Sam?"

Sam smiled as he leaned forwards, all but in Dean's lap to speak out the window, but Dean just leaned back, well used to this by now. Sam eyed the menu quickly, saying, "Hi there! I'll have the combo of that bacon burger and the chicken sandwich, a large fry, one of those boxes of 20 nuggets, one large box of those cheesy stick things and a large coke, no ice, please!"

As the kid relayed back their order to check it, Sam withdrew, grinning happily, but then paused as Dean gave him a look. He frowned, asking, "What?"

Dean chuckled a little, saying as he pulled forwards, "Nothing, just… Jesus, Sam, you don't have hollow legs. You'll never eat all that!"

Sam felt a weird feeling suddenly, and could only compare it to… possessiveness. Was Dean trying to deny him food? Would he take his food?! He'd never allow that! Blinking, Sam dismissed the very odd thought, saying as he slouched back in the seat, "I'm hungry! Is that a crime now?"

"God no." Dean laughed louder as they waited in line. "Otherwise we'd have both been incarcerated at 15!" He then gave Sam a 'serious' look, chiding, "Just don't come crying when you've got a tummy ache, Sammy. I ain't buying you pepto."

"It's SAM." his brother stated, punching him in the arm. Dean only laughed, ducking from the blow, but made no real attempt to protect himself and Sam soon stopped, slouching in the seat and trying to focus as his stomach growled and cried out for food.

They got to the window, received their food, paid for it courtesy of a Mr. Murphy, and then zoomed off for a hotel. Though Sam groaned and clamored, Dean refused to let them eat yet, not wanting his car to get dirty. They soon found a nice, quiet little hotel on the edge of town and while Dean went to pay for the room, Sam got out of the car, taking with him his box of nuggets. Seeing Dean watching him through the window as the card was run, Sam just smiled and waved, showing he was outside the car as he ate. Dean nodded and went back to the desk.

Chuckling, Sam opened the box and quickly started to devour them. They tasted delicious and salty and fatty and he just felt like he couldn't get enough! He finished the box in record time, all but gasping for air as he came back up from his snack, feeling an immediate urge to eat more, his belly suddenly feeling somehow more empty and barren than before! He needed more! He turned back to the car, eagerly digging in his bag for something else.

Unfortunately, Dean came back out of the office and Sam had to wait while they got to their room and unloaded into it. It took a modest 15 minutes or so, the two brothers well-versed in the routine of how to get settled for the night, but to Sam it felt like HOURS before Dean went into the shower, sternly telling Sam not to eat his food.

Nodding, Sam all but dove for the bags and quickly separated them, putting Dean's stuff on his bed and taking his own food back to his bed and quickly tucked in. Both burgers, the fries and the cheese sticks stood no chance against the hungry Winchester and by the time Dean had finished his shower, Sam was sipping on the last of his drink, feeling much better for his little 'feast'. He was still a little hungry, but he could deal with it now.

Dean eyed the empty boxes and wrappers, chuckling as he went to his bed, grabbing for some of his cool fries, "Damn, Sam, you've been holding out on me! We could take you to food-eating competitions or something! We'd make a killing." When Sam only stuck his tongue out at Dean childishly, Dean laughed but started on his own dinner. Sam finished his drink and relaxed, the annoying itching craving for food almost fully stated as he relaxed. Sure, he felt like he could still eat four more burgers, but overall, right now he felt pretty good. He squirmed and got his boots off, undressing down to his boxers before crawling into bed, sighing heavily. He felt so tired now, really ready for a good night's sleep, and he hoped that tonight would be one of the nights he only had darkness behind his eyes instead of visions or nightmares…

Dean looked up as he watched Sam pass out, a little surprised. It was only 9p! How was Sam already so tired?! They had only been driving today, looking around for cases. But he shrugged. Sam didn't appear to be hurting and he knew Sam deserved a good sleep, considering that for the past week, he'd had a lot of sleepless and restless nights.

Turning the TV on, Dean was considerate enough to put the volume down to 'normal' instead of 'ear-splitting', but somehow Sam stayed asleep anyways. Grinning, Dean settled and watched bad B-movies for a while.

At one point, when the rubbery spider the size of a dog was attacking some blond cheerleader, Dean heard Sam muttering and he sharply looked over. Fortunately, Sam's face was visible as his brother curled up under the blankets and for once, Dean saw Sam was smiling and reading his lips, Dean saw the word 'chicken' a few times. Chuckling softly, Dean made a note to mock his brother in the morning, but for now, he shut the TV off and went to bed, letting Sam dream about his chicken.

Sam had a surprisingly calm night. No visions, no nightmares… but he did dream. He had odd dreams about being very high up, seeing so very far, and looking down, he could see that all the people below him were so tiny and small. It was like being in an airplane or something! There was a feeling of vertigo, but at the same time, Sam felt an odd excitement, a fun feeling of power of being up so much higher than everyone else! He smiled as he realized that in the dream, he wasn't just high up… he was TALL! He looked himself over and found that he was now giant-sized, with the people being tiny, tiny little things now, barely an inch or so tall. Sam took this all in stride in the dreamland and when his dream started to have him grab at the little people crowding his feet, he went right with it, enjoying the rush of power.

And when his dream had him starting to pop them in his mouth and gulp them down like gummy bears, Sam just giggled in his sleep, enjoying the bizarre situation…

When he woke up, however, Sam knew things were not right.

His feet were cold… Very cold.

Grimacing, Sam tried to tuck up his legs under the blanket, wanting them to get warmed up. He didn't want to leave the bed yet and he groaned a little as his feet were still cold despite his action. He grumbled a little, waking up more fully. If Dean was playing a prank on him, he had timed it REALLY poorly. Sam was in no mood to deal with any crap at the moment. He hadn't even had his coffee yet!

But now as he squirmed, Sam felt his feet slide off the side of the bed. Grumbling again, he opened his eyes. The room was barely starting to brighten and Sam shifted in place, wanting a few more hours of sleep, trying to squirm back into the middle of the bed. But then to his shock, as he squirmed backwards to pull his feet back on the bed, he suddenly felt horrifically unbalanced as he felt his bum hanging off over the edge of the bed! Quickly, he scooted back into the bed to avoid falling off, but his feet were off it again! Sam lifted his head now, blinking sleep from his eyes. Had he moved into a corner of the bed or something? But as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he stared, feeling more than a little confused. The bed looked… smaller… Much smaller.

Numbly, Sam lay down on the bed properly and he gasped as while his head, chest and hips stayed on the bed just fine, his knees and below hung off over the edge of the bed! What the hell!? These beds were six feet long! If the top of his head was touching the headboard and his knees were hanging off, that put him about 8 feet tall… But that wasn't possible! He had heard of growth-spurts before, but randomly growing an additional 2 feet overnight as a grown man was just insane!

Shaking a little, Sam glanced over at Dean. He had to wake him… He had to reach over and grab hold of his arm and shake him awake and… not let him go?

There was suddenly a cracking and crashing noise as the bed gave way under Sam's weight, the cheap frame splintering under him and sending him thudding to the ground with a yelp. Instantly, Sam was glad that they had taken a room on the end of a row, and on the bottom floor.

The crash woke Dean with a start, the older brother grabbing his knife and brandishing it sleepily as he looked over at Sam… and kind of stared as he saw Sam sit up much taller than usual. The brothers stared at each other silently for a moment and then Dean sighed, rubbing his eyes as he flumped back into the bed, moaning, "Ugh, no more spider monster movies after a burger binge…"

Sam's eyes grew wide as Dean thought he was dreaming and reached over, touching Dean's arm as he said, "No, Dean! Wake up! This is REAL!"

Dean opened his eyes, giving Sam a look as he said dryly, "Real? No, Sam, this is a dream."

"Dean, look at me!" Sam snapped, sitting up and spreading his arms, showing off his now VERY impressive size.

"I am." his brother replied, again speaking mildly. He gestured to him, saying, "You're 8 feet tall now. Clearly, I'm dreaming… and probably having a nightmare." he added, looking thoughtful.

Realizing that Dean wasn't going to help him out himself, Sam took things into his own hands, literally, and reaching over, grabbed Dean under the armpits and lifted him right out of his bed, holding him like a child as he snapped, "Could a nightmare do THIS?"

Dean kicked and struggled in shock, giving a surprised noise as he was lifted out of the bed, the sheets falling off of him. "Holy shit!" He squirmed a bit and then looked at how Sam was holding him. He hung quietly, and there was a moment of silence between the brothers as Dean looked Sam up and down before asking bluntly, "Uh… So this is real?"

"This is real." Sam affirmed.

His brother looked him over again, adding, "You're eight feet tall?"

Sam nodded, saying, "I think so…" He glanced down at the ruined bed he was sitting on, adding, "Compared to the bed, anyways…"

"Uh-huh…" Dean muttered.

"Yeah." Sam added.

There was silence again before Dean spoke up. "Sam?"

Sam turned and looked at his brother, stunned at how small he seemed. "Yeah?"

His older brother pointed to the floor. "How about putting me down?"

Blushing badly, Sam hurriedly put Dean down on his bed, saying, "Oh, right sorry…" The timing could not have been better because the instant he released his brother, Sam suddenly felt the world go dizzy and without warning, his head crashed into the ceiling just enough to leave a noticeable dent. "OW!" Sam rubbed his head in shock, but then realized quickly that he was even bigger now!

Dean had jumped at the shock, but now stared, asking in a horrified awe, "Are you SURE I'm not dreaming?!"

"DEAN!" Sam glared at his brother, feeling both frightened and unnerved by this change of events.

Nodding, Dean then snapped, "Okay, okay! Get your clothes on and get into the car! QUICK!"

Sam grabbed for his clothes, stunned to see that they were also larger now, somehow able to fit him, but he didn't comment on this and just pulled them on and then sprinted for the impala. At 9 feet he BARELY got out through the hotel door and he had to crunch himself up REALLY tight to fit into the roomy car.

Fortunately, by the time he had crammed himself inside, Dean had paid their room off [conveniently not mentioning the broken bed], and then after he threw their stuff into the back, he hopped in and they drove off. They headed for the edge of town, Dean talking to Sam the whole time, but Sam couldn't concentrate on his words. His head felt fuzzy and blurry and he couldn't really talk much, but kept grunting out now and then that he was okay and that his head hurt.

When Sam started to push 10 feet, Dean could hear the car creaking from the strain of the increasing weight. Quickly, he started to look for a place and then laughed as he saw an old warehouse in the distance. From the faded lettering on the side, it was something long abandoned and he rushed over there, reassuring Sam over and over that things would be okay.

It took a small while and by the time they pulled into the warehouse, Sam was almost falling out of the car, having scrabbled at the door handle to alleviate the pressure of being crammed inside. Thankfully, Dean was able to put the car into park before Sam fell out of the car with a thud, lying on the ground panting heavily. Dean rushed out and over to him, staring at how HUGE Sam seemed now. How big was he now?! 11 feet? 12?! Sam's head seemed to be the size of Dean's whole chest, and the rest of him, even though he was curled up, just looked so intimidatingly HUGE.

As he watched Sam's chest heave with air, Dean felt a sudden rush of fear. Was this going to kill Sam? Could his body handle these weird changes?! Was he going to outgrow his vital organs? Would his heart explode as it tried to keep up!?

"D-Dean?"

The quiet, confused question snapped him out of his thoughts and Dean knelt down, seeing a brown eye open a little and looking at him. "Sam! Thank god!" He smiled thankfully as Sam's breathing evened out a little bit and then said, "Hey, you're kinda exposed out here…" He grabbed for Sam's arms, intending to drag him into the building, but then jolted in surprise as he barely moved his younger brother! Trying again, Dean managed a few inches before he stopped, panting. He then coughed, saying, "Yeah, that's not going to happen…" Kneeling by Sam's head, he called out, "Sam?" His brother looked up at him blearily, almost like he was drunk. The brown eyes were unfocused and blank. "Can you get inside?" Dean gestured to the large warehouse behind them, seeing Sam's eyes struggling to focus as he looked up at the huge building.

After a moment, Sam murmured a "…mmmhmm…" and got to all fours, looking dizzy and disoriented. But he managed to crawl into the large building via the truck door, Dean hurrying in after him and shutting it to avoid any sightseers.

As Sam crumpled to the floor and panted, Dean looked around, scanning the area quickly. Luck was on their side. The place looked like it had housed building materials and some of them were still strewn around in various piles around the various pillars in the building, but most of it was gone. And from the piles of debris around them, Dean knew the only people to frequent this place was just people looking for a fix. Well, they'd be easy enough to scare off, so he didn't think on it and just turned back to Sam, gaping to see he was already a bit taller again!

He rushed forwards, asking, "Sam? You okay!?"

"I… I'm so tired…" Sam wheezed out and then suddenly, he collapsed, flumping on the floor.

Dean felt his heart jump into his throat and he rushed forwards, struggling to wake Sam, but nothing worked! Moving to Sam's chest, Dean gave a listen to the heart and was surprised to find it was… normal. If anything, it was kind of slow, like when Sam slept! Withdrawing, Dean bit his lip. Maybe… Sam DID just need to sleep? In either case, there was no way he was going to be able to wake Sam and calling any doctors was completely out of the question. Resigning himself, Dean went to one of the piles of junk, moved a coil of rope to act as an impromptu seat and sat down to wait, watching Sam nervously.


The long day passed surprisingly smoothly. Sam slept calmly all day long and continued to grow at a slow but steady pace and by the time evening rolled around, Dean just stared at seeing his brother now looked like a giant as he lay on the floor. Sam looked completely normal, even his clothes, the big plaid shirt ruffled up around him as usual, and even his boots and jeans were undamaged! He was just huge now. Dean was reassured that Sam was calm and didn't appear to be in any pain, but he had no idea what to do about their situation.

Around 6p, when the sun was starting to set, Sam's brown eyes finally started to flutter and his breathing changed key. Dean's heart leapt and he rushed forwards. "Sam?"

To his surprise, Sam smiled sleepily at him and rubbed his face, saying, "Mmmm, that was great… I haven't slept that well in years."

Smiling in delighted shock, Dean asked, "Feel better?"

Nodding, Sam suddenly froze as he realized that his surroundings were not normal. His gaze snapped to Dean, but as he saw Dean seemed relaxed, Sam frowned, realizing he was missing something. "What happened?" he asked finally, frowning as looked around.

"How much do you remember?" Dean asked tentatively, eyeing his huge brother.

Sam frowned as he turned to face Dean and then froze as he realized there was a VERY significant size-difference now. "Uh…" Sam sat up, now very aware of how large he was. Sitting down, he towered over his brother! "Wait, I…" Sam looked around, as if trying to find a way to dismiss the weird height, even going so far as pinching himself. When that yielded no results other than a sore arm, he sighed heavily. "Well, shit."

Dean nodded and sat back down, agreeing, "Yeah, shit." But after a moment, his curiosity got the better of him and he spoke up. "Hey… lie out flat for me?" Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then Dean added, "I want to see how tall you finally got." Dean pointed. "Lie out over there. I need to bring the impala around anyways. Get her into hiding."

Sam sighed, but nodded, watching as Dean got up and walked to the normal door that was set next to the truck door. Idly, Sam felt a rush of warmth as he realized that Dean had abandoned the impala to watch over him all day. That certainly said a lot, but he knew that if he tried to bring it up, Dean would just swear and curse at him. But Sam grinned as he sighed, shifting in place.

As he sat up fully now and looked himself over, Sam just… felt SO utterly confused. He was gigantic now! Sitting down, his head seemed to be over 20 feet off the ground, but he couldn't be exactly sure of the numbers! All he knew was that he was now very, VERY large and that it wasn't normal. What had caused this? Was he cursed by something? Was it a dream? Or an elaborate prank?

There was the rumble of an engine and Sam's head turned to follow the sound as Dean drove around the building, parking the car where it would not be easily noticed. Sighing, Sam went over to do as told, musing as he lay down on his back, feeling the cool concrete under him. He had woken up at 8 feet and had kept growing! But WHY? Clearly something had happened to him, but what?!

There was the sound of the impala's trunk opening and then closing and Sam looked up as Dean came in, a tape measure in hand. Sam's eyebrow raised, saying, "I don't think it's big enough, Dean."

Dean gave him a look. "Duh. I plan to measure out some of the rope they've got in here and use that."

Sam blinked, not having considered this, muttering, "Sorry…"

Seeing he had been a little too harsh, Dean shrugged, saying as he came over, "Oh, no sweat, college boy. You've got book-smarts, but your Big Bro's got street smarts! I can think outside the box!" The rumbling chuckles made Dean grin as Sam enjoyed his gentle retort. Going over to the piles of junk, Dean selected a rope and measured it out to be 20 feet. He approached Sam, saying, "Okay, lie down! And don't move."

It took about half an hour for Dean to figure out how tall Sam had become, moving the rope and tape around to make sure his numbers were correct. Sam lay quietly, nervous as he felt the tiny fluttering touches of Dean here and there along his body. It felt… odd to feel Dean when he was so small compared to him. Sam would guess that in comparison, Dean was only about 7 inches tall. It was cute, almost action-figure sized, but he didn't dare to say it, worried his brother might disembowel him somehow.

After a while, Dean withdrew, wiping his brow as he announced, "Well… According to the tape measure… Congratulations, it's a Sam Winchester at 64 feet tall and god knows how many pounds."

Grumbling, Sam sat up, glaring at Dean. "Thanks, 'Mom'."

There was a moment of silence between them while Dean awkwardly put the rope back and then slid the tape measure into his pocket. Finally, he sighed, asking, "Sam… What the fuck, dude?"

Wincing, Sam shrugged. "I have no idea…"

"Christo."

Sam gave his brother a deadpan expression and then in Latin, clearly and perfectly recited the Lord's Prayer.

Pursing his lips, Dean shrugged as he held up his hands submissively. "Just checking." He came and sat down on the floor nearer to Sam, looking up at his now huge little brother. He then sighed, adding, "But, thank god for that."

"Literally." Sam agreed, watching as Dean shifted on the floor uncomfortably. He had the sudden urge to pick Dean up and place him on his lap. It would be a better seat, first of all, and secondly, Sam had the weird mental thought that it would make Dean easier to handle. Blinking at this odd thought, he kept his hands to himself, dropping them into his lap as he asked, "So… What now?"

Dean looked up with a crooked smile. "Well, we figure out what did this to you, and after we find it, we make it turn you back. Easy."

Sam scoffed a little, chuckling bitterly. "Easy… Yeah."

His brother saw this and stood up, saying, "Okay, one step at a time. When did you start feeling weird? Think back."

As Dean crossed his arms and waited, Sam put a hand to his forehead, running through the last few days, trying to see if anything had felt off, knowing this wasn't the time to dismiss anything small. He frowned, saying awkwardly, "Uh… I was REALLY hungry at the drive through…"

Waving it off, Dean said, "Yeah, well, so was I. And I'm shorter than ever!"

But Sam shook his head, clarifying, "No, like… I had… just this weird craving that I had to eat and eat and eat… Like my stomach was a black hole or something."

This got Dean to be silent for a moment before saying, "Huh… okay. And before?"

"Uh…" Sam thought back. Where had they been before dinner? There had been no case, and they had been looking around and… His eyes snapped open. "OH! The shop!"

"Shop?" Dean asked.

"With the girl and her sister." Sam clarified, knowing that this detail would spark his brother's memory.

A look of recognition passed over Dean's face and he nodded, saying, "Okay, so tiny shop with hot girl. What about it?"

Thinking back, Sam explained, "There was a statue in there. Based from 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. I touched it and got a zap and just felt… BAD. Really bad."

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Vision-bad?"

Sam shook his head. "Not vision-bad, but more like… not good-bad."

"Okay, that's a start." Dean stated thoughtfully. "What did it look like?"

"Uh… made of wood, dark brown, it was a beanstalk with a little person climbing up and it was like… 7, 8 inches tall?" It seemed so odd to Sam that such an innocent little statue could have caused all this trouble, but things were never as simple and innocent as they seemed, especially in their line of work!

Dean started to move, causing Sam to watch him curiously. "Okay. I'll run to town and grab it and take it to the church I noticed on the way out." As he neared the doorway leading to the car, Dean paused, looking back at his huge brother. Sam looked almost forlorn as he realized he would be left behind, giving Dean the sad eyes that the older Winchester had grown to hate so much because of how guilty they made him feel sometimes. But both of them knew that this time, there was no arguing the issue. Sam HAD to stay here while Dean went. After a moment, Dean asked hesitantly, "You… going to be okay here?"

Sighing, Sam lied, "Yeah, I think so." He slumped a bit, adding, "I just… I feel so tired." It was weird, considering he had slept all day, but Sam felt so tired.

Hearing the lie, Dean knew it was all he would get and he focused on the latter part of the sentence, saying, "Then take a nap, Sammy. I'll be back in a little while, okay?"

Sam was already moving himself to be lying on his back again, muttering, "Yeah, all right, Dean…"

Dean bit his lip, not happy about this, but he closed the door behind him as he left, rushing off into town.

Sam felt his heart sink as the car started without him, but he knew that it was stupid of him to pout. He couldn't fit in the car now, and lord knew he couldn't be seen like this! He had to wait and see how things went. Hating himself for feeling so helpless, Sam curled up on his side and forced himself to give in to the tiring sensation that had suddenly washed over him, falling asleep.


The sound of the familiar engine made Sam jerk awake, blinking in confusion as he stared at the darkening warehouse. He heard the door open and then suddenly there was a click and the place flooded with light, making Sam cover his eyes and wince as he heard a whistle and then a cheerful comment of, "Thank god! I did not want to have to walk around in the dark."

"Dean?" Sam called out a little sleepily, hoping it was actually his brother and not someone who was just wandering in.

Fortunately, it was Dean's voice that rang out. "Hey! I got the thing."

Sam blinked the sleep from his eyes and saw Dean come forwards, holding up the statue. "Yeah, that's it." he affirmed, but then his eyes grew huge as he saw Dean was holding it in his bare hand… and yet he wasn't scared. Frowning, Sam questioned, "Wait… You okay?"

Nodding Dean went over to one of the piles of junk, walking around it as he said, "Yeah, I used a glove to get it originally." He made an 'aha' noise as he found an old folding chair and brought it forwards to sit by Sam as he then explained, "But you were right… I put a drop of holy water when I took it from the shop and the thing hissed like a snake having a bad day."

Sighing, Sam asked, "Any luck at the church?"

Dean leaned back in the chair, turning the statue over and over in his hands. "Yeah, the priest looked it over and said that while it's empty now, it WAS a curse booby-trap. He cleansed it just in case, so it's nothing but a hunk of innocent wood now." He then added with a bitter smile, "Oh, and for added flavor, that curse I mentioned? It's based off a sin."

"Great…" Sam groaned. "What sin?"

Dean paused a moment here before saying, "Well, the priest wasn't sure, but when I told him how much you ate that first night, he thinks it's based off gluttony."

Sam thought this over, but then eventually shrugged a little. "Okay, makes sense…" He HAD been feeling so hungry that first night, and even now he could feel his belly pinching and aching for food. But then again, he hadn't eaten today, so was it such a surprise? He looked around and then shuffled over a little to lean back gingerly against one of the columns in the warehouse. It creaked slightly under his weight, but held firm. Reassured, Sam then asked, "How do we fix it?"

"On that he wasn't as helpful." Dean muttered.

Silence filled the warehouse until Sam asked quietly, "So what now?"

Dean tossed the statue into the air, catching it as he said, "I was gonna salt and burn this just in case, and then we do your favorite thing ever: research."

"Sounds fair." Sam nodded. "But… how do I help? I… I'm a little big to use the laptop."

But Dean was standing up now, saying as he walked to the door, "I'll use the laptop. You can throw ideas at me and I'll research them for you. Fair?"

Knowing that that was indeed as fair as it could be, Sam nodded. "Well, it's all we can do, so sure."

After popping out to the car to get his stuff, Dean discovered an old folding table in a corner of the warehouse, along with a makeshift cot. He set up the chair, table and cot in the corner of the warehouse nearest the car and then took the time to go outside and in a circle of rocks, salted and burned the statue. Once that was done, he came back inside and while Sam lay quietly nearby, the two brothers began their research.

Hours passed and by about 9p, both felt exhausted. They hadn't found out too much, unfortunately, and as he stretched, Dean sighed, summarizing, "Okay… So, to sum up: You got cursed by a statue in an old shop and for some reason, you're cursed with the sin of gluttony, which explains why you're eating so much."

"Doesn't explain why it made me huge, though…" Sam mused.

They were silent a moment until Dean's face lit up. "Oh wait… The Blob!"

Sam glared at his tiny brother, all but growling, "If that's a comment on my current weight, I swear to god I'll sit on you."

Glaring right back, Dean snapped, "No, you idiot. Like the movie monster!"

"What, the pink jello?" Sam remembered that movie… It had been one hell of a gore-fest, but fun to watch! Just not after a night of beers…

"Yeah!" Dean interrupted Sam's thoughts. "It started off teeny tiny, but then it ate a hobo, and then more and more, and it got bigger each time!"

A realization began to dawn on the younger Winchester and he gulped hard, saying, "So… You think the more I eat, the bigger I'll get?"

"Well, kinda." Dean said, looking pensive. "I mean, the night after you touched the thing, you ate a LOT and now you're up to 64 feet! You haven't grown anymore today though, so maybe you've topped off?" The brothers were silent until Dean frowned. "But wait… What if this is the curse? Making you huge like this, and then it makes you want to eat more and more, just like the blob? Until you eat up the whole town and you're left all fat and happy, but ready for more?"

The horror of this showed clearly on his huge-little brother's face as Sam grimaced. "Ugh, Dean, that's terrible…"

"Newsflash; curses are called CURSES for a reason, Sam." Dean returned evenly.

Sighing, Sam once again asked, "So… How do we fix it?"

Dean looked serious for a moment before offering, "Well, I don't think freezing you into a block of ice will work… You're not pink enough or fat enough yet."

"Thanks." Sam rolled his eyes.

Suddenly both brothers froze as there was a low, loud rumbling noise like distant thunder. It echoed in the warehouse before it petered off and as Sam instantly blushed bright red, Dean stared. "God DAMN, Sammy! I think you just broke a Richter Scale somewhere upstate!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "You're THAT hungry?"

Still blushing, Sam wrapped his arms around his middle, as if hoping to muffle any further embarrassing noises, looking to the side as he said quietly, "Y-Yeah… It's been a whole day, after all."

Dean nodded. "Well, that's true." He then got up, heading for the door.

Looking up, Sam had a sudden fear. Was Dean… going to leave him? He knew the fear was irrational and stupid, but Sam just had a weird niggling feeling. He didn't WANT Dean to leave. He wanted Dean to stay! But not just staying in the warehouse with him. He wanted Dean to stay in… another way? Shaking the confused, vague thoughts from his mind, he asked, "Dean?"

But Dean just waved cheerfully, saying, "Relax, Mr. Blob, I'm heading into town to get you some food." He paused, muttering about 'renting a truck' and then turned back. "But if you grow after dinner, then you're on the starvation diet. Got it?"

Sam had to admit he was glad as Dean tried to keep the situation light and he nodded, saying with a small smile, "Sure, Dean. Whatever you say."

"Good boy." Dean said, sounding condescending, but Sam knew how to read his tone by now. "Now you sit tight. I'll be back in a few hours." He then paused, adding, "Make yourself useful and think of a bunch of stuff for me to research for you when I come back."

"Got it." Sam replied, sighing quietly.

Again, Dean left the warehouse, leaving Sam alone.

Sam lay quietly when his brother left, letting his thoughts wander. He was surprised that he didn't feel cold at all. He just felt comfortable, which he had to admit was a blessing. It would be next to impossible for him to get a blanket or something. All he had was his jeans, boots, socks, shirt and then his plaid jacket. Nothing extravagant, but thankfully it was enough to keep him nice and cozy.

He lay on his back in the warehouse, sighing heavily. His stomach growled again suddenly, making Sam wince and blush at how damn noisy it was. He had felt mortified when it had happened around Dean, unable to believe his body could be so loud, but there had been another reason. When he had realized he was hungry… a brief, weird thought had come into his head. He had realized in a split second that he was now large enough to eat Dean.

The thought had unsettled and terrified Sam and he had been quick to bury it, glad as Dean had left a little bit later.

He rubbed his face as he lay there, trying to think through this. Why the HELL would such a morbid thought cross his mind?! Why the hell would he want to eat his brother? Just because he was smaller than he was and because he was hungry? As archaic as the word was, that was barbaric!

It was like something out of old fairy tales, and suddenly the giant's rhyme from 'Jack and the Beanstalk' came back to Sam, making him scowl and wince. That part of the story had always unnerved him. Imagine how terrifying that had to be to know this giant was stalking you and planned to eat you. That was nightmare fuel right there!

He froze as there was the sound of a truck approaching, one he wasn't familiar with. He lay there quietly, hoping to god it was Dean, straining his ears to listen as the strange vehicle approached and parked by the building. With a start of horror, Sam realized they had left the lights on and that if this was just some random person, he'd be seen!

The car door opened and then closed and then the warehouse door opened with an aggravated, "Oh god…"

A rush of relief nearly floored the younger Winchester as he recognized his brother's voice, but then he noticed Dean's tone, asking hesitantly, "Dean? You okay?"

Dean turned on him, glaring, "You would not BELIEVE how expensive it is to get a truck rented after 9p! I mean, for god's sake, just because they're running a monopoly doesn't give them a right to commit highway robbery!"

Chuckling a little at Dean's overreaction, Sam moved to be sitting up against a column again, pointing out , "Well, it's not like it came out of your pocket."

Dean huffed. "No, but Mister…" He paused and took out the card and eyed it a moment. "Pool… Es… Ski is going to be SO upset at having over a thousand dollars taken from his account suddenly." He grinned suddenly, winking.

Groaning playfully, Sam rubbed his head. "You ass."

Dean smirked as he put the card away, snapping, "Shut it, Sam. Anyway, look!" He walked over to the truck door and opening it, Dean revealed the back of a moving van, already open and waiting. "I brought dinner!" he exclaimed cheerfully "Ta-dah!"

Sam's mouth dropped as he peered into the back of the moving truck. It was one of those little self-moving trucks you could rent and every inch of the back of the truck was stuffed with boxes and bags of food. He felt his mouth start to salivate and his stomach growled again, but this time Sam was too busy gazing at the food to notice, asking in shock, "Oh holy shit! All this for me?!"

Dean laughed, shrugging. "Well, you're a big boy now, Sammy, and need lots of grub, so I figured I'd play it safe."

Safe…

That word stuck in Dean's mind though he didn't know why. As he watched Sam approaching the truck eagerly, he stepped back a little bit. He told himself it was to give Sam room, but at the same time, he felt a weird fear at seeing something so large approaching him. But WHY? He shrugged it off, assuming that it was just because humans were naturally scared of larger things and Sam was pretty damn large now!

He watched as Sam tore into the bags of bread rolls, pouring the whole bag of 36 into his mouth before starting to chew and then swallow noisily. Dean felt his stomach clench at the noise, a little unsettled, but he said nothing, grinning as Sam got a second bag into his mouth before turning to him, asking muffedly, "You wan' any?"

Waving it off, Dean moved over to the cot from before, saying, "I already had mine. Stopped at the burger place in town. Enjoy, you pig." He laughed as Sam flipped him off and continued his assault on the food inside the truck. Sam soon found the large 5-gallon jugs of water and quickly opened one up, sucking it dry in seconds before moving on to the next box of food.

While his brother enjoyed his dinner, Dean settled on the cot, getting his knife out and just idly smoothing it on his jean, wanting something to keep his hands busy. It was a little unnerving to watch as Sam decimated the truck, hurriedly tearing packages open to get at the goodies inside. Dean had traveled around the town and had taken only a little from each place, not wanting to cause any questions or draw any attention. Thankfully, no one cared to look too deep into things thanks to the money, so he knew they were safe for now.

He had also been careful to get large containers of food, knowing this would make things easier for Sam and as he watched his brother rip open a party-sized bag of chips and pour the whole content into his mouth, he was glad he had done so. There was no way he could have opened up the food fast enough to keep up with Sam's ravenous appetite!

As Sam continued to eat, Dean yawned and checked his watch. Yeah, it was half past 12. Definitely time for bed. Settling on the cot, Dean took off his jacket and rolled it up to serve as a pillow, calling out, "You enjoy. I'm going to catch some sleep…" There was a muffled noise of agreement and then the sound of some poor box being torn open. Smiling, Dean rolled to his back and he was soon out like a light.

The silence woke him up a few hours later.

Dean blinked in the darkness, curious. The lights were off now and he noted that things were… quiet. Sam must have used a fingernail to shut off the light after he had finally finished eating. Dean turned to look, but then went very, very still as he saw that Sam was… just watching him.

His brother was still over by the truck, lying down next to it, a multitude of ripped bags and boxes scattered around him, but the brown eyes were fixed on him. The moonlight streaming in through the windows gave Sam's eyes a very weird tint and shine, one that made Dean's hair stand on end. He tried to tell himself it was nothing, that Sam was just checking he was safe before bed, but something felt very, very wrong. Dean frowned as he shut his eyes, trying to get back to sleep, somehow glad that Sam hadn't noticed him watching.

Things were quiet and still for about half an hour, allowing Dean to go back into a doze when he heard it: a slow, shuffling noise, like something moving on concrete. He frowned, muttering as he tried to ignore it, knowing it was probably just Sam moving around, but now he swore he could feel hot air blowing over his face as well… that smelled like chips…

Dean snapped awake and jolted upright, his knife instantly bared and stared as Sam was RIGHT OVER HIS COT, staring down at him, his eyes wide and barely a foot away from his face.

Confronted with his brother's giant face, the uneasy feeling from before rushed back, and Dean let out a shout of, "SAM!" Sam quickly withdrew, giving Dean the room he needed to pant hard, gasping out, "What the… What the fuck, man! You scared the shit outta me!" Sam looked ashamed as he backed up, but even as he did so, Dean caught Sam eyeing him oddly again. It was like… like…

"S-Sorry, Dean. I… I saw a rat and didn't want it to bite you or anything."

Dean shook his head as Sam spoke and he nodded, saying, "Okay, thanks, but Jesus… Knock next time or something, okay? Fuck…"

"Sorry…" Sam said again, moving to lie down, putting his back to his brother.

Dean lay there quietly, giving his pounding heart time to relax and calm. That had terrified him! Sam's expression had been so unnerving, like he had been eyeing Dean as a meal or something! What the fuck? Dean glanced over at Sam, who was lying still and quiet.

Subtly, Dean put the knife under his jacket-pillow instead of back in its sheath…

Just in case…

About twenty feet away, Sam stared straight ahead at the wall, horrified at what he had almost done, his stomach growling quietly in protest about being denied.

[To Be Continued...]