***Author's Note*** For those who requested a more full story to my drabble...enjoy!

Dark, Dank, and Dreary

The room was dark and moist. A steady drip, drip filled the air, making the situation even more menacing to Dean. He had his gun out in front of him, ready for anything but still cautious. He didn't know where Sammy was and he wasn't going to take any risks. The shapeshifter had gotten the drop on them.

Damn shifters! Dean thought, You'd think by now we'd be ready for the bastards, but they just keep on finding a way to sneak into our lives. Dean heard a sound and as he came around the corner he flinched at what he saw, a rotting pile of skin and teeth. Then relief came. There was Sam, tied up and unconscious, but otherwise unhurt. He rushed over to help him, knowing that they'd hunt the shapeshifter down together.

"Hey Sammy, I thought I'd lost you. Now why did you decide to go and play with that little old shapeshifter without me?" Dean smacked his brother's face, waking him up. He made quick work of the bonds that held Sam in place, skillfully welding the knife he had to snap them and free his brother. However, the last thing Dean removed was the gag in Sam's mouth. Sam scowled as he ripped it off of his mouth.

"It took you long enough to find me. What were you doing? Making out with the Impala?" Sam glared at Dean and rubbed his wrists where the rope had dug into his skin.

"Nah, I would never do that, Sammy."

"I'm not too sure," Sam winningly said to Dean.

"You wanna run that by me again? I could tied you up again and leave you as a snack for Mr. Mighty Morphing Monster."

"Never mind Dean, let's just get this thing before it changes again."

"Too late. While you were taking a nap and doing your best Rip van Wrinkle impersonation, glow-in-the-dark eyes left you a present. Can't you smell that? It's like a combination of rancid meat and up-chuck." Dean involuntarily shuddered at his own words, "You know, I take what I said before back."

"About what?" questioned Sam, getting to his feet and scanning his bearings for signs of anything out of the ordinary.

"Witches," Dean grabbed his gun out of the back of his pants and started advancing forward. "You know, they are only slightly less worse then shapeshifters with the whole bodily fluids thing. Just a small amount, mind you Sammy, but still…" Dean let his words trail off as he went further down the hallway-like cavern. Sam was behind him and had his own weapon of choice pulled out, a .22 pistol.

Suddenly, Dean's hair stood on end at the sight of the gun. "Didn't the, uh, shifter take your weapon away?" he asked Sam, sounding as nonchalant as he could.

"Grabbed before we left that chamber Dean, you're losing it," Sam chuckled at Dean's concern.

Still, Dean wasn't satisfied. He could feel that something wasn't quite right with Sam in his gut and decided to test his suspicions. He grabbed his flashlight and quickly shined it at Sam's eyes, tossing it and shouting, "Think fast, Sammy!"

As the flashlight grazed over Sam's eyes, the telltale sign of a shapeshifter appeared…Sam's eyes flared in the glare of the light. Immediately he caught it and the shifter that appeared to be Sam knew his game was up. The shapeshifter raised the pistol and pointed it at Dean, while Dean did the same with his colt.

"What did you do with my brother, you piece of shit?" Dean hollered as he made a dive for cover, bullets narrowly missing his arm as he settled behind a boulder in the cavern's natural hallway.

"Piece of shit, am I?" the shifter spat at Dean, "You all think you're so great, waltzing around in the open with your own face, being loved by others and knowing your normal. I hate you and your kind, so ungrateful for the gifts you have."

"Us? Normal? Have you MET our family?" Dean joked, leveling his gun from behind the rock into position. He didn't know where Sammy was, but he could search, he could get help. If he couldn't work the position out of this bastard, he was going to take him out.

"You better let me know where Sam is now or I'm dropping your ass so fast, you'll be dead and not know it yet!" Dean quickly surveyed the area to see if there was any location that would be likely for the shapeshifter to stash Sam while he was impersonating him. He noticed some drag marks in the dirt that led to another cave-like section in this underground tunnel system. Dean decided to make a run for it, hoping to find Sam first and then take out the shifter quickly. He moved quickly toward the opening, but Dean wasn't quite fast enough, the shifter pulled the trigger and hit Dean in the right leg. Dean lost his balance for a moment, and then quickly corrected himself. Lucky for him, the shapeshifter wasn't as good a shot as Sam was. Dean quickly squeezed two rounds out of the chamber of the gun while still in midair. He landed with a thud and peered toward the body of the shifter. Struggling, Dean got to his feet and dragged his one bad leg behind him. The shapeshifter lay where he'd been shot, two silver bullets embedded deep in his chest, red mouth-like openings spewing out blood.

"That was for pretending to be my little brother. You are NOT going to mess with his life." Dean spit on the dead form before him. "And THAT was for shooting me in the freakin' leg, you bastard."

Dean then turned and limped down the corridor, making his own drag marks in the dirt. When he entered the cavern, there was Sam, tied to a chair and unconscious, gag in his mouth.

"Damn, this is freakin' déjà vu!" Dean muttered. He hobbled up to Sam and shook his shoulders. "Rise and shine, Sammy." Sam stirred and looked up at Dean. Immediately Dean grabbed his flashlight and shined it in his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing that for Dean? Tryin' to blind me?" Sam turned his head as much as he could away from the bright light. But there was no flare, so Dean was satisfied. "Just making sure you're you, bro." Dean once again cut the ropes from around Sam, but this time was unable to help him as he started to fall.

"God, Dean you're a mess, what happened?"

"You shot me, Sammy, some brother you are."

"What? What do you mean I shot you? You mean the shapeshifter…?" Sam looked at Dean incredulously. "You couldn't freakin' tell that wasn't me? Some brother you are!" Sam roared at Dean. Dean just shrugged with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Figured it out in the end, didn't I? Look at you, Sammy, you let the shifter get the drop on you again too, you know. If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead.

Bickering back and forth, the brother's slowly made it out of the cave. They passed the shifter as they left the cave and Sam gave his doppelganger a solid kick. "Should we take care of him?" he questioned. "Nah, let him rot down here, it's not a frequented spot." They finally made it out into the cool night air. Dean gingerly enter the Impala on the passenger side and tossed Sam the keys. "You gotta drive, Sammy. My leg isn't good for nothin'. And I'm gonna need your help pulling out the bullet when we get to our motel."

Sam just nodded. It was all a familiar story to him and his brother. Hunting wasn't an easy job, but somebody had to do it. He turned the key and the engine roared to life, shattering the stillness of the evening. Red taillights disappeared into the night on the gravel road, headed back to the place the Winchester's called home. For now anyway.