Author's Note: Lots of thanks to snseriesfan, jokergirl94, Eliza Ghost, Meggin Lane, Guest, elf, KnightJellyofCamelot, vampgirl1902, Heartless BytchhakaHelenBach1, and Julefor for their awesome reviews. I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this so far.

Chapter Three: Second Childhood Starts Now

Dean felt the darkness evaporating as his brother's voice invaded his unconscious state. He felt tired and groggy and his body felt… wrong. That was the only word to describe it. He wasn't in pain except for a slight burning sensation on his face but something felt very off. Dean let out a groan as he shifted and tried to open his eyes. His body seemed to resist his efforts, wanting nothing more than to pull him back under the gentle lull of sleep but Dean needed to wake up. He needed to know what was wrong with him. He remembered Eddy spitting in his face, then an awful lot of pain, and then nothing. He hoped that half his face wasn't melted off or something gross like that. That would just suck.

"I have to go. I think he's waking up." Sam must've been talking on the phone to someone because Dean heard no response but then Sam said "I will." He heard footsteps as his brother walked over to the bed Dean was lying on. Bed? How did he get back to the motel? There was no way Sam could've carried him all the way back to the car but he was certain that this was the first time he'd woken since the spider-creature puked on him.

Dean forced his eyes open and saw Sam standing over him with a really concerned expression on his face. Oh, crap. This wasn't going to be good.

"Dean? Hey, are you okay?" His voice was just a tad too gentle.

Dean licked his dry lips in preparation to talk and realized that his teeth felt strange. Ignoring it since he had no idea what it could mean, Dean answered his brother. "Yeah." And that was all he said because something was very wrong with his voice. It wasn't the rough, gravelly tone he was used to hearing but a soft, childish one. What the hell?

"Do you know who I am?" Sam asked.

The bizarre question interrupted his thoughts and made him temporarily forget the whole voice issue. "Dude, what the hell kind of question is that? 'Course I know who you are! I'm not brain dead or anything…" And there was that childlike voice saying his words for him. "And what the hell is wrong with me?"

He saw relief pass over Sam's features. "Look man, don't freak out but the spider-creature's venom did something to you."

A truly horrible thought crossed Dean's mind. "I'm not turning into one of those fuglies am I?"

"No. No, it's nothing like that."

Dean didn't feel like wasting any more time asking questions. He sat up in bed and started to push the covers off of himself. But then he got a look at his hands. His tiny little hands with tiny little fingers that were much too small for a thirty year old man. And they were attached to equally small, thin arms that were dwarfed by the black t-shirt he was wearing. Heart racing, Dean ripped the blanket off of himself and stared down at the rest of his tiny body. The t-shirt covered him to his knees but he was sure that it would almost touch his feet if he were to stand up. As he gazed at the child sized body that could not possibly be his, he felt shock begin to set in. He started to tremble and felt tears prickle behind his eyes. Dean forced himself not to cry though.

"Sam, what the hell is wrong with me?" He repeated his question from earlier.

"I'm not sure, Dean. You appear to be four years old again, except now it seems that the change is only physical since you obviously remember everything from your life."

"How do we fix this?" Dean questioned, not even wanting to consider the possibility that the change was permanent.

"I don't know. Yet. But Bobby's working on it and we're going to head out there to see him. It's a fourteen hour drive so there's a good chance he'll have answers by the time we get there."

Dean nodded, still working hard to repress the panic that was bubbling inside of him. "Yeah, okay."

"How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"No. I feel kinda weird and my face feels sunburned but that's it."

"Good. That's good."

There was an awkward silence as the brothers searched for something to say. Finally Dean spoke.

"So, what happened after it sprayed me with that crap and I blacked out?"

"I thought it was going to eat you and the only weapon I could reach was my gun. I shot the thing in the back of its head and its eyes and it ran off. Then I got free and carried you out of there."

"So it got away?"

"Yeah. Bobby says we'll have to track it to a new hiding spot after we get you fixed up."

"But shouldn't we start tracking it now?"

"You're not going on any hunts looking like that."

Dean wanted to argue but he knew that Sam was right. He'd be nothing but a liability on a hunt right now. He just hated the thought of someone else getting attacked by Eddy because he'd screwed up the job. With a sigh he swung his legs off the side of the bed and dropped to the floor. Dean stumbled and almost fell, not expecting his legs to be so short. This tiny body was going to take some getting used to.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"Bathroom, dude. I gotta take a pee. The plumbing might be smaller but it still needs to be drained."

"Do you need any help?"

"Not funny." Dean shot back before realizing that Sam was being serious. "Hey, I've been potty trained a long time now."

"That's not what I meant. It's just… you might not be able to reach the toilet."

"I'll manage." Dean made his way across the room and to the small bathroom. His earlier guess was correct. The t-shirt hung to just above his ankles. One of his boney shoulders poked out the shirt collar. Dean knew that he must look ridiculous. Once inside the bathroom, he shut the door and leaned against it. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, fighting to keep his emotions under control. It was much harder than usual.

After a moment he walked over to the toilet. Looking at it he felt almost like crying. Sam had been right. The toilet was too big. But the idea of asking his younger brother (you're the younger brother now a voice in his head mocked him) for help to pee was just way too humiliating. Dean felt his face heat up with just the thought of it. So instead he opened the small closet and pulled out the bath towels one at a time. Then he carried them over and placed them one on top of the other in front of the toilet. After that was done, Dean struggled out of the t-shirt so he wouldn't trip over it. Besides, he wasn't sure how to hold it up while peeing and didn't want to accidentally get it wet. Sam would never let him live that down. Now completely naked, Dean carefully climbed up on the pile of towels, opened the lid, and relieved himself. When he was done he closed the lid, flushed, then climbed onto the toilet to reach the sink next to him so he could wash his hands. Once the water was turned off and he was back on the ground, Dean eyed the shower stall. But one glance told him that he'd need help reaching the knobs and it wasn't like he could bring the towels into the shower with him.

Dean was about to put his t-shirt back on when he caught sight of the full length mirror on the bathroom door. As if in a trance, he walked slowly towards it, staring at his reflection. But no, that tiny little boy could not be him. Because that tiny little boy could not save people or hunt things. And that tiny little boy certainly couldn't keep Sammy safe. That tiny little boy was useless. He was useless. And then there were tears streaming down the child's face. Dean looked away, not wanting to see himself cry. He wanted to stop the waterworks but he couldn't. What was wrong with him? Dean didn't just look like a four year old, he felt like one. Now he understood why small children threw temper tantrums all the time. The emotions he felt just seemed too big for his small body to handle. And even Dean Winchester, who'd learned to suppress his feelings while still in grade school, couldn't deal with the rollercoaster going on inside of himself.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Dean, you okay in there?"

Dean wiped away any trace of the tears. "Yeah, I'm fine. Uh, could you please come turn on the shower?" He grabbed the shirt from the floor and wrapped it around his waist. He knew that Sam had already seen him naked like this, but it was still damned embarrassing.

The door opened and Sam came in. Dean watched the much taller man go over to the shower, take the shampoo bottle and soap from the high shelf and put them on the floor where Dean could reach them, turn the water on, and even check the temperature. Then his brother turned to him and smiled.

"All set."

The boy walked over to the stall and waited for Sam to leave. He didn't.

"Dude, I'm not showering in front of you."

"I can't leave you in the shower alone."

"I'm not a kid!" Dean all but yelled.

Sam looked like he was going to argue that point but instead replied "You're still getting used to being this size. If you slip and fall you could get seriously hurt. I'll turn around and I won't look unless you ask for help. Okay?"

"Fine." Dean mumbled, sure that that was the best offer he'd get.

When the shower was over (and boy did it feel good to get clean), Dean dried himself off and put the over-sized t-shirt back on.

"Okay, Sam. I'm decent."

"There's a first time for everything." Sam responded as he turned back around to face his brother.

"Ha ha. You're a riot."

"I've packed up all our things. We can head out as soon as I grab a shower." Sam informed him.

"We're going to Bobby's, right?"

"First we're going to Wal-Mart to get you some clothes."

"I'm not going into a store dressed like this!"

"Well, I'm not leaving you here alone. It's not safe for you to be on your own in a dump like this while you're four years old. Also, the closest store is an hour or so away and it would be a huge waste of time to drive there and then have to drive all the way back to pick you up."

"Can't you just go straight to Bobby's and leave me there while you shop?"

"We'll have to stop for food on the way and I doubt you want to go into a restaurant dressed in just a shirt. Besides, do you really trust me to pick out clothes for you in the children's section?"

"No way, dude. You're so gay that I'd probably end up with Hello Kitty and Tinkerbell."

Sam laughed. "Then you're coming with me to Wal-Mart."

"Alright." Dean finally agreed. "I'll wait for you out there." Dean nodded towards the door. He was just about to walk out when Sam called after him.

"Don't leave the motel room."

"Yeah, I know. The world is a dangerous place for little Deanie. I got it, okay."

Dean made sure to slam the bathroom door shut behind him. He'd only been awake at this age for an hour or so and already it was severely frustrating. Being a kid sucked and something was telling him that things would get worse before they got better.

Author's Note Part Two: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please take a moment to leave a review and let me know what you think. Thank you all so much.