A/N Hi, people! It's Saturday so as promised - here is the new chapter. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Makes waiting for the next Supernatural episode much easier. :D

I felt a huge responsibility writing this chapter, trying to make it awesome, so I hope you like!

Again...big, big thank you to my beta-reader ArtistKurai.

Happy reading!

Chapter 4 – Time-traveling bullets

Sam was literally trembling in excitement, and he knew so was Dean, no matter how his brother tried to hide it. Only John seemed more grumpy and sullen than usual. He had spent the whole morning listing reasons why they shouldn't go. Most of them had to do with his reluctance to socialize with other hunters or his pride being damaged by asking for help, but even he knew – they needed aid and no one could help them get out of the mess more than they themselves…well, their future selves.

"You follow my lead, got it?" John grumbled, eying the abandoned house in front of them. It was far enough from the town and any neighboring houses and generally secluded from prying eyes. The uncut grass was reaching the lower windows, and the forest around the house had slowly started to swallow the building. In earlier days, the house definitely could have been viewed as beautiful, but what Sam laid his eyes upon now was a mere shadow of it. The porch railing had pieces missing from it and there were two ropes hanging from the low roof, where once probably a hammock had been hanging.

In front of the house, four cars were parked and Sam recognized one of them as Sheriff Jody Mills's truck. The other cars were typical hunter cars – simple and inconspicuous. Their own new, stolen car was parked two miles back and they had walked the rest of the way.

"Let's see what you boys been up to." John sighed, clearly unhappy with the plan, and started to approach the house.

They didn't try to be stealthy. If they did, hunters inside could get the wrong idea about their intentions and bullets would start flying even before they stepped foot on the declining, fragile-looking porch.

And they were right. No sooner had they passed the car parked furthest from the house than the muzzle of a gun appeared between the wooden boards of the nailed-down window.

"Who's coming?" a rough male voice shouted out, and all three of them stopped.

Before John could figure out an answer, the gun disappeared and a shuffling sound reached their ears. Moments later the front door opened with a loud creak and Jody Mills's head appeared.

"I was waiting for you," she announced and opened the doors wider to welcome them in.

John shot both him and Dean a warning look and they nodded. Dean pulled the safety off his gun and Sam unclipped the strap holding his newly stolen knife in place.

"Sheriff Mills." John seemingly casually shook her hand and stepped inside the house.

Sam was the last to step inside and immediately assessed the situation. Seven people had gathered. Three women and four men in total and they were, without a doubt, all hunters. Aside from Jody, there was another blond woman in police uniform, and a woman who looked more like a housewife than a hunter was grasping a scrawny guy's hand. Definitely a couple, Sam thought. The rest of the men could only be categorized as typical hunters. Tall, well built with the same grim expression on their faces. And they were all staring at them.

"Who are you?" a man in a dark brown leather jacket asked sharply.

"They are looking for the Winchesters," Jody explained.

"My name is John," their dad added and then nodded at him and Dean. "These are my sons Alex and Cody."

The man in the leather jacket squinted at them but didn't say a word, so Jody introduced them instead.

"This is Brian," she rolled her eyes and then pointed at two bulky guys staying at another door. "Those two are Cesar and Jesse."

They both nodded in acknowledgment and Jody continued.

"That twig there is Garth and his wife Bess." She ignored the offended grumble from the man and pointed to the blonde police officer, "this is Donna, Sheriff from Stillwater."

"Hi, nice to meet you!" The blonde Sheriff smiled at them brightly and Sam awkwardly nodded back.

It was definitely a weird bunch of people, and Sam felt both disappointment and relief at discovering that their future counterparts were not yet there. Though he was impatient, he still didn't feel prepared to meet them.

"So…you know Sam and Dean, huh?" Brian inquired, and Sam understood that they were being interrogated. The guy's voice was low and he didn't even bother hiding his snarky tone.

"Yes, they are family friends," John answered curtly, his eyes flashing in a challenge.

"Are you sure about them?" Brian faced Jody, completely ignoring the eldest Winchester.

"Yes," Jody answered the dark haired man though Sam noticed the short pause. Even she had her doubts about them. "They are friends of Bobby."

"They are your responsibility," he growled and Sam saw the man's brown eyes study them for a while before he turned away.

It was clear to Sam that these people didn't know each other very well. They seemed to stick to the groups of two and keep to themselves. Except the blond Sheriff. She was the first to approach them.

"I hear from Jody that you need help." She smiled cheerfully. Maybe even a bit too cheerfully. "What got you in trouble?"

"I don't think you can help us, no offense," John grumbled and maneuvered himself around the Sheriff and towards the men at the door.

"So...Cody, right?" The woman didn't lose her spirit and Sam exchanged worried looks with Dean. It would be hard to shake her.

"Yeah." He forced a smile. She wasn't a bad person, just…maybe not what he needed at the moment.

"Don't tell me you're already slicing off monsters' heads at such a young age," she shook her head disapprovingly.

"Don't worry, Sheriff," Dean grabbed Sam around the shoulders. "Me and my father take good care of little Cody."

Dean made an extra effort to drag out the fake name and say it overly sweetly. Sam wanted to snarl at him but made do with a well-aimed stomp of his foot and grinned when he heard Dean swallow a curse. The nails that dug into his arm were worth it.

"Excuse us," Dean gave her one of his charming smiles and evaded her, "our father needs us."

They left the woman looking confused and taken back and Sam wasn't really sure if that was all because of Dean's flirting.

John, in the meantime, had apparently gotten nowhere because he approached them with a frown and gritted teeth.

"Looks like we'll have to wait for your future selves to show up," John grumbled quietly under his breath, continuing to throw suspicious glances at everybody else.

"Looks like it." Dean sighed and eyed the room. Sam had no idea what he was looking for, but Dean seemed to have found it anyway. He walked to the corner of the room and dropped down on the floor like he was in their motel, not in a room full of strangers. "Might as well get comfortable," he shrugged and patted the dusty floor boards next to him.

Sam eyed the place for mold or any bugs and sat down next to him. He steeled himself for a long wait.

It didn't surprise him that no more than five minutes had passed before Dean started fidgeting. His brother was in the process of trying to pull out a rusty nail from the floor boards when an unmistakable sound reached their ears. The sound of an engine. A specific engine.

The way Dean's head snapped up and his gleeful eyes met his almost made Sam laugh. Everybody else in the room raised their heads and Brian looked through the gap in the window.

"They're here," he announced and Sam unconsciously grabbed the edge of Dean's jacket. His brother gave him a comforting look, but Sam could see he was just as nervous.

They both got up but didn't leave their corner. John stepped in front of them and took a wide stance, crossing his arms over his chest. Sam wasn't stupid, he knew it would only take a fraction of a second for John Winchester to have his gun out and aimed.

This was it. They were about to see them.

And for some reason, Sam started to feel terrified.

The engine outside stopped and they could hear doors getting shut. He could hear deep voices but couldn't understand a word they were saying. They were still a bit too far. Then he heard steady steps on the old, creaking porch and by the time the door started to move Sam had forgotten how to breathe.

"We miss anything?" The door was in the way and Sam couldn't see the speaker, but he could hear how confident and, at the same time, cheeky the voice sounded.

Dean.

Sam was sure of it. That had to his brother's voice. It was deeper and rougher around the edges but unmistakably Dean's.

"Good to see you, boys!" Jody stepped forward and enveloped a large man in a hug. Sam still couldn't see the face, but he saw short, dirty blond, spiky hair and looked at his brother. Dean was openly staring at the newcomer with his mouth slightly open.

"Good to see you too, Jody!" another voice spoke, and Sam's breath got stuck in his throat. That had to be him. That was him. Him sixteen years later. Another man finally stepped inside and Sam couldn't believe what he saw.

"Jeez, you're huge, Sammy!" Dean next to him gasped, but Sam was too overwhelmed to make a suitable retort. He needed a moment. It felt like he was drowning in the information. There was too much to take it in.

Maybe that was the reason he couldn't react as fast as he should.

Sam didn't even notice them scanning the room, but they did notice them. One moment, their future counterparts were greeting the scrawny hunter, the next he was looking at two pale faces.

He saw their eyes widen, their lips part in shock and a mere moment later he was staring at two barrels, pointed right at them. If he didn't fear for his life he would admire how fluent and synchronized the movement was.

"WHO ARE YOU?" future Dean bellowed, and Sam unconsciously shrunk back. At the same time, another half a dozen guns were pointed at them.

It was all spinning out of control and Sam knew - if something was not done soon, people would end up with new holes in their bodies.

"WHO ARE YOU?" future Dean demanded in raised voice again.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" Sam forced his way through the wall dad and Dean had created in front of him. Again.

Bad idea.

Apparently, Brian was a trigger-happy bastard, and no sooner he had stepped out of the cover Dean and dad had provided, he heard the characteristic sound of a gun being fired.

The next thing he understood was the pain. Lots and lots of pain.

"SAMMY!" Dean behind him shouted. He didn't even hit the floor before an arm wrapped around his shoulders and all surroundings were suddenly blocked by Dean.

He was on the floor, kneeling and holding him with one hand and pointing the gun at Brian with the other.

"Move and you die!" Dean growled in a deadly tone. He even managed to cover most of Sam's body with his own, while doing that.

Grasping his bleeding shoulder and gasping in pain, he heard another sound over the otherwise deadly silence in the room.

Someone took a sharp intake of breath which was followed by a surprised and worried voice.

"Sam?"

Sam glanced over his brother's shoulder to find that future Dean was leaning back to see a red spot forming on future Sam's right shoulder.

"What the Hell?" he exclaimed and looked back at them. "What's happening here?" future Dean shouted.

"We are you," Sam got out through gritted teeth and when everyone in the room adopted the same confused face, he sighed. "Something happened…in the year 2000…we came here."

"Time travel," future Sam addressed his brother.

"I freaking hate time travel," future Dean grumbled and motioned for everyone to lower their guns, though he didn't lower his. They reluctantly did what he asked.

"Thanks!" Sam sighed and fell back with a moan. "Dean."

His brother was immediately all over him, stripping him from his jacket and t-shirt till he was satisfied with the access he had to the wound.

"I need the first aid kit," he ordered to no one particular, but Sam heard doors shut and open after a short while. Suddenly Jody was at his other side, trying to pry open the red bag.

John still stood above them, pointing his gun at future Dean, who stared back at him.

"Sammy," future Dean leaned back towards Sam. "You need to take care of that."

"I'll be fine." Sam gritted out and looked straight into the eyes of his past self. "Fix him and it should fix me as well."

Future Dean didn't look convinced, but he turned his attention back to John, though he stepped closer to his brother, trying to block him. If Sam didn't have a hole in his shoulder he would have laughed at how little his brother seemed to have changed.

Jody touched the tender spot and Sam involuntary let out a shout. Dean immediately growled at the woman and Sam felt his grip tighten around his back.

"Maybe we should take him to the hospital," Sam heard the blond Sheriff – Donna - speak. "He doesn't look so good."

Sam wondered how she knew that, since he had his face pressed into his brother's shoulder, trying to block out the pain of Jody feeling out his arm. She tried to be gentle, her fingers ghosting above the wound, but the bleeding had to be stopped and Sam didn't even want to think about how much it would hurt.

"Okay, Jody," he heard the low voice, which despite being sixteen years older, still made him feel safe. Dean, though, still growled at his counterpart. "Calm down, cowboy. Sammy's still Sammy. You're me, and I know I would rather stitch him up myself than make someone else do it." It was barely louder than a whisper and clearly spoken only for both Deans to hear. And Sam, because now he was sandwiched between them.

Again. If he wasn't in so much pain, he would laugh at the whole situation. One Dean was annoying enough, and somehow Sam really doubted Dean's mothering habits had changed over the years.

"Do you have something for the pain?" Sam felt Dean's chest tremble with speech. He was too tired to raise his head. The pain was continuously sucking the energy out of him and he felt that the only thing he could do was stay awake.

"Only partially," the Dean with the lower voice answered, and before Sam could figure out what it meant, there was a stinging pain on the wound. Sam groaned in Dean's shoulder, and he might have bitten his brother's jacket.

"You're good. You're good Sammy," Dean was speaking above him and though Sam was thankful for the calming words, he was more glad that the older Dean had stopped whatever he had been doing. "Got your first bullet wound," Dean laughed in faked humor.

"Shut up," Sam growled at him.

He would have said another smart remark, but in that moment he felt something sharp pierce his skin and whimpered. Dean's grip immediately tightened. His breaths were ragged and forced as he tried not to focus on the feeling of a needle pressing into his flesh or the drag of the thread through his sensitive skin. He didn't cry but he hoped that Dean's shoulder muffled his whimpers and strangled groans, which escaped his lips on a particularly painful stitch.

Sam had done stitches and had them done to him before, but he still refused to look at his wound. By the time future Dean had finished stitching up both entry and exit wounds, his skin felt clammy, and he felt lightheaded. His thoughts were foggy and they didn't quite form right in his mind. All he understood was that he was in pain and he wanted to sleep. The hand stroking his head didn't help him to stay awake either.

"Perhaps we should let him rest," a voice spoke from somewhere outside of his safe cocoon.

"No," Sam forced his lips to part and the tongue to form words. "Ne…need answers."

"Not the best time, Sammy!" Dean grumbled, forcing both of them up. Sam's world tilted for a moment but he got his bearings and finally took a closer look at his counterpart.

He was huge. The future him was well-built and Sam secretly celebrated the fact that he had turned out quite handsome. However, the moment his future counterpart locked eyes with him the whole admiration fell apart. Sam knew himself, he knew the face which would look back at him in the mirror if he was scared, sad or outright broken.

However, Sam Winchester's eyes shocked him. What horror, sadness, and heartbreak had he lived through to gain that look in his eyes? So dark and secluded, filled with secrets and pain he must have had to bear.

"You good, kiddo?" Jody asked the older Sam and he showed her his shoulder.

"Looks like time healed me." The place which just minutes ago had oozed blood was now scabbed over and only a scar remained. Future Sam gave his brother a questioning look. "I'd say this proves their story."

Future Dean stared at the three of them carefully. Sam knew he was identifying threats and calculating his next course of actions. He also knew that if he started to question them his muddled mind wouldn't keep up. He already felt dazed.

"I'm not trusting them without the tests," he finally grumbled and Sam sighed.

Great. More pain.