Hey guys! Sorry for being sooo late, but I hope this chapter will make up for my long absence. I want to thank you all for you reviews and for reading my story!

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 4

When John and Sam reached Dean, everything that happened after was a chaos. The two hunters launched themselves towards the two monsters. Sam was surprised that anger – the anger caused by seeing his brother unconscious or dead – was making him stronger. He was able to take down the werewolf so quickly that he didn't even realize.

Sam tuned towards his father to see if he had taken care of the shapeshifter. But instead of that creature, he saw a perfect copy of his brother facing John. John's gun was pointed at the creature's head, but he hesitated, hands trembling. It was so weird to see John hesitate that Sam didn't believe his eyes at first.

"Dad, kill him! He's not Dean!" Sam shouted, wanting to take his brother to a hospital.

John still hesitated, his finger placed on the trigger. He knew that creature wasn't his Dean, but it was hard to look in the eye your son and shot him – even though that isn't your son. The shape shifter smirked, guessing that it was hard for John to complete the job.

"Dad, please, don't. I'm your son, can't you see that?" The creature said in Dean's voice.

The sound of Dean's voice paralyzed both Sam and John. John cursed under his breath. He hated the fact that he didn't kill the son of a bitch earlier because he didn't want to hear his son's voice coming from that thing.

"You're not my son, you son of a bitch!" John screamed, still hesitating. That was the worst part when you confronted a shapeshifter – it often turn into a person you love. John couldn't count the times when the shifter he had fought took the shape of Sam, Dean or Bobby. It was a hard thing to do, but it was his job. But it was getting harder and harder.

"Maybe I'm not," the creature smirked, "but your son isn't in there either." The shapeshifter pointed to the limp body tied to a tree. "I broke him. I'm sorry you can't see how much he suffered, how much he screamed for you to come and nobody came for him. Even though he may survive, he's broken."

Sam looked at his brother – his real one – and was terrified. Dean's whole body was a mess. He had countless bruises and cuts and some big and bad looking gashes. He looked like he was whipped. Sam saw the three knifes that were stuck in his brother's body and he knew instantly that he was in a very bad condition.

John also glanced at his two sons. He was starting to realize that Sam was getting paler and paler. He tried to keep it together for the sake of his two sons, but he knew that he was going to lose it soon.

"Dad, Sammy," the creature said again and Sam, filled with anger, raised his own gun and shot the shapeshifter.

While the creature fell to the ground with a 'thud', Sam briefly saw his father's face. John was amazed by how professional his son worked. He was proud of Sam and knew that Dean was the one who motivated Sam. Sam would do anything for his brother and John knew that very well.

The two hunters approached Dean, who was extremely pale and Sam placed two fingers on his neck, trying to find a pulse. He was relieved when he found one, even though it was weak. He thanked all the Gods he knew for this. Dean was alive. Hurt, but alive. Sam was still worried, but he tried to stay professional.

"He's alive," he breathed, looking at his dad.

"That's a good thing. Before we take him down, we must see what we're against."

Sam knew what John wanted to say. They must analyze a bit Dean's injuries to be careful with them and not make matters worse.

"He's been whipped so he's lost a lot of blood. There might be some broken or bruised ribs and I think that his left shoulder is dislocated. There are also those three knives in his thighs and shoulder, but they couldn't have caused internal bleeding. They're deep though. And his hair is wet, his body freezing, so we might be against an advanced phase of hypothermia," Sam said, surprised by how calm he had been.

"Let's take those knifes out," John said and put his hand on one handle.

Sam nodded. They took out the three knifes as fast as they could and they were grateful that Dean was unconscious. It was a relief. When the job was done, Sam started to untie the ropes.

"We can't get back to the car. He's too cold and the fact that he's not shivering is bad. Let's settle in the cave," John decided and helped Sam carry the hunter.

John was grateful that he took some other things aside weapons with them. He had a set of Dean's clothes, the first-aid-kit, an old kettle, a blanket and water.

They entered the cave, which was close to their previous location, carrying Dean's dead weight. Even through the layers of clothes, they could both feel the coldness coming from Dean.

"Let's put him there," Sam pointed to a place in the right side of the exit, where he saw an improvised fireplace.

They eased Dean on the floor into a sitting position and John took out the first-aid-kit instantly. They had to tend the wounds and get the boy warm fast. John couldn't decide which was more important so he told Sam to ten the wounds while he went out to take some wood. He knew that Sam was better than him at stitches and they couldn't lose more time.

John prayed that his son would wake up soon. He didn't want to admit that he was frightened by the shapeshifter's words. Dean couldn't be damaged; he was too strong. John saw Dean get over many things that could affect anyone, but his son made it all seem so easy. He sometimes thought that his son was invincible, but in those rare moments when Dean was vulnerable John was blocked. He was used to Dean being strong.

Meanwhile, Sam took the blanket from John's duffle bag and placed it on the floor and then he eased Dean on it. He needed to take a better look at his brother's injuries. Aside from the ones made by the knife, the other ones weren't bad. Sam opened the first-aid-kit and took the disinfectant and poured it on Dean's front and back. Then he started stitching the worst wounds, while he heard his dad coming back and making a fire. When he finished stitching and bandaging all the wounds, he turned to face John. Their dad made a big fire near them and placed the kettle filled with water in it.

"We need to get him warm, he's still freezing," Sam said after he placed a hand on Dean's cheek. If you looked at Dean from far away, he seemed dead due to his pallor.

"Let's bring him closer to the fire, but before we must change his clothes," John said.

They lifted Dean and struggled to change his clothes. After they did that, John and Sam moved Dean closer to the fire.

"Body contact will warm him up, Sam."

Sam took a sit behind Dean and his brother was leaning against his chest. John put the blanket around his boys and sighed. Sam could feel the coldness of Dean's skin and tightened his grip around his brother. Moments later, he was grateful when he began to feel the hunter shivering. It was a good thing; it meant that he was starting to get warmer.

"He's beginning to warm. Dad, do you think we can take him back to the car anytime soon?" Sam wanted to take Dean to a hospital as soon as possible.

"I don't think so. He's too weak. I'm afraid that if we try to move him now, he might not…" John didn't finish his sentence, but Sam knew what he meant. Dean might not survive. "We must stay here for the night, Sammy."

"I'm scared," Sam admitted. He was so close to losing his brother and he didn't believe that he was capable of leaving without him.

"I know you're scared, Sammy. I am too. But your brother is strong and we'll get over this. I promise. No shapeshifter or werewolf are capable to end a Winchester." John tried to reassure Sam, even though he was also scared. He was scared of what the shapeshifter had told them. What if Dean reached his breaking point? He was scared of what followed after Dean woke up.

Sam was surprised when he heard John admit that he was scared. The big and fearless John Winchester said that he was afraid of something. Sam knew that John wasn't the type of person who would tell everything he felt deep down. But Sam believed that it was a normal thing for a parent, to be scared for his son. It was an absolutely normal reaction.

Dean began to shift. He was leaning against something warm and familiar and his whole body was numb. He was afraid, terrified of what was happening around him. Dean wondered when he would feel the pain again. It felt weird, not being in pain. He didn't want to open his eyes; he didn't want to see where he was. In fact, he wanted to be asleep again. Instead, he said the only thing he could think of, the only thing that mattered.

"Sammy?"

TBC

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