Uhhh, all I have to say is please don't hate me. I've been out living my life and haven't had time (and yes, sometimes I forgot) to update. But I'm here now so hopefully everyone can come back and continue the story!

The car pulled up outside the motel and Dean was out of the car before it was turned off. Bobby grabbed him before he made it into the hotel room though.

"You idjit, what if there is a shapeshifter in there? You're going to walk right into it unprepared." He pushed his gun into Dean's hands. He had loaded it with silver on their way back. Dean didn't pause to thank him, just took the gun and ran to the hotel room. "We better back him up. He's not thinking straight."

John already knew that—he had a duffle bag out, full of an assortment of silver weapons. "Let's go."

Dean cracked the door open, his gun at the ready. His eyes took in the room quickly, seeing if there was anything out of place. Everything was exactly where he had left it, including Sam who was lying in bed. But then the light came through the doorway, momentarily lighting Sam's face. What little skin Dean could see was bruised. Now that he was really looking, he could see a blood stain on the bed. He looked over the room again. A piece of glass reflected the light coming in through the bathroom window. No one else was in the room though. Dean pushed open the door the rest of the way and hurried to Sam's bed.

"Sam? Sammy, come on, open your eyes." Dean said, pulling the sheets away from Sam's face. He regretted it instantly. Sam's face was a collection of bruises and scraps. One along his hairline was still leaking blood, though blood was barely coming out anymore. Sam stirred and very slowly woke up. Both of his eyes were black and swollen partially shut. His eyes darted around, fearfully, before they caught sight of Dean.

"Sam, where is he?" Dean asked quietly. He was unprepared for Sam's next action.

Sam, upon seeing Dean standing above him, had started awake the rest of the way all at once. He scrabbled back, pushing himself away from Dean.

"No…no…get away from me." He whispered. He pushed on a broken wrist and cried out, coming to a completely stop in his race to put as much distance between him and Dean.

Dean's heart stopped. Maybe it shattered, he wasn't sure. Sam was scared…of him. Sam had been scared plenty of times, even if he didn't admit it to their dad, but never of Dean. Never. Dean backed up a little, hoping to calm Sam down. Maybe it was just a dream Sam was having and any minute he would realize Dean was here to help him. He held up his hands peacefully.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Dean was begging. He never begged. Sam took in gasps of air, studying Dean through his half opened eyes. They seemed to catch on something, and some of the fear vanished from his eyes. Throughout the whole time the shapeshifter had tormented him, he had never shown sadness or love, even when he was trying to be Dean. Sam closed his eyes in relief and leaned back against the wall. His family was here. He was safe.

"Not him. Real Dean." He muttered to himself.

"How can you be so sure Sammy?" it was Dean's voice, but it wasn't coming from the real Dean's direction. Sam's eyes flew open and he saw the shapeshifter walk out of the bathroom where he had been hiding. Dean could see now that the door had been broken down. It would be impossible to see from the entry way, but from this angle, he could see glass littering the floor as well. Then his eyes moved up to the figure in the doorway-

And he saw his own reflection.

Well, not his reflection. Reflections didn't move on their own. That was why Sam had been so scared of him. The shapeshifter had taken Dean's form.

"You know, I thought about taking Sam's form and waiting for you to come in, but I think the look on your face was worth it when you realized that Sam was scared of you. Your own brother, scrambling to get away from you."

"You're going to pay for what you did to him," Dean said, his voice deadpan. Inside though, his emotions were raging. The shifted between anger, fear, and a sudden need to kill something. Specifically the creature standing across the bed from him. His hand went down for the gun he had set on the table by the bed but the shapeshifter lifted Sam's gun, ready to shoot, and pointed it at Sam. Dean let his hand drop uselessly to his side. The shapeshifter smiled.

"I knew you would do that," he said tauntingly. It took everything Dean had not to launch himself at it. The door burst open, revealing Bobby and John. Dean reached for the gun, but the shapeshifter was quick, closing the distance between the two of them and knocking the gun across the room with one hand while grabbing Sam with the other. Sam cried out in pain. The shapeshifter had one arm across his chest, holding his arms down while the other hand held the gun to Sam's head. Everyone froze.

"Guns down," the shapeshifter demanded. Both John and Bobby hesitated to put their weapons down, so the shapeshifter tightened his grip. Sam managed not to make a noise, but they could all see the pain in his eyes. Bobby and John slowly put their guns on the ground, holding their hands up in defeat.

"Let him go," John said. He didn't bother to keep the anger from his voice.

"How do you even know I'm not the real Dean?" the shapeshifter asked innocently. John was not amused.

"Last I check, my son wouldn't hold a gun to his brother's head."

The shapeshifter looked back at Dean with a grin. "He certainly feels like it sometimes." He tapped his head with the gun lightly. "Believe me, I know."

John snorted. "They're brothers. I wouldn't expect anything less from then. Sometimes I feel like putting a gun to their heads." The smile dropped off the shapeshifter's face. Obviously this was not what he was aiming for. "What do you want?"

"What any of my kind wants with you. Revenge. You killed some pretty important people to our race."

"So you hide behind my son instead of coming at me."

"The last thing anyone wants is for your sons to follow in your footsteps. I'm just taking care of the problem before it becomes one."

Dean watched Sam carefully, looking for a sign that he was okay. Sam's eyes flickered up to meet his and a small smile tried to make an appearance but just then the shapeshifter shifted and pain masked his face. Once it cleared up, Dean could see the Sam was looking past Dean, at something else. Dean followed his eye line. It landed on Sam's pillow.

It took a couple seconds before comprehension came to Dean. Before he had left, Sam had tried to reassure him by putting a silver knife under his pillow. But the shapeshifter would have known the knife's location. Would he really have left it there? Notably, Sam wasn't really in any condition to fight back.

Luckily the shapeshifter had left Dean behind him. If he moved too quickly, the shapeshifter might notice him from the corner of his eyes, but he was hoping his dad would keep the shifter's attention. Slowly, Dean leaned down, letting his hand slide underneath the pillow. His heart stopped when it connected with cold metal. He gripped the hilt and slowly stood back up. Sam was still watching him. Obviously he had a plan in mind to get out of the way. He needed a signal though, to tell him when he was ready.

Just as he thought about it, Sam winked at him. Several things happened at once.

Sam shifted his weight, letting his body become dead weight. The shapeshifter stumbled, trying to keep a grip on Sam while still keeping his balance. He caught Sam when his head was level with the shapeshifter's stomach. Before he could pull Sam back up though, Dean jumped over the bed, bringing the knife down and through the shapeshifter's heart. The shapeshifter's eyes widened briefly in surprise before he collapsed, dead.