What doesn't kill me (SPN)

"Deanna, come look at your younger brother."

"She's gonna be a great big sister."

It took several years, but in the end they found out neither of these statements were true.

The first time either of the children told anyone about how they felt was in January 1990. John, their father, had been gone for a week and there were no signs of him returning anytime soon.

The siblings were both sitting in the living room of their current apartment, doing their homework, when Sam suddenly spoke. "I wish I was you"

Deanna looked up from her (his?) homework. "Why would you want to?"

"Because you're a girl."

Deanna winced, but she (he?) managed to restrain it so much that is was not obvious. After looking out of the window to make sure their father was not coming back she (he?) answered her (his?) little brother. "Being a girl isn't all that cracked up as it may sound."

"Still," Sam mumbled.

"The thing is, I'm not." The words were out before Deanna could stop them.

"Not what?" Sammy tucked his head to the side.

"Nothing, forget it," Deanna tried to dismiss it.

"Not what?" Sam repeated, more instant this time.

Deanna figured that since he had already started confessing, he might as well tell his little brother everything. "A girl. I'm a boy, like you."

Sam shook his head. For a second Deanna was worried he might not believe him or tell their father, but then his sibling whispered, "I'm not a boy. I'm a girl."

Deanna snorted. "Well, seems like I am right when I call you princess, ain't I?"

Sam - or Samantha he guessed - beamed like she normally did when she told Deanna that a teacher praised her (so it wasn't exactly a rare thing).

The siblings smiled, both happy to have someone who understood them, who knew how they felt.

Dean laughed drily. "Typical Winchester luck, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"All this shit could've been avoided if we were able to swap bodies. Or if our souls had been born the other way round."

Roughly three weeks later Dean happened to glance out of the window while the siblings were eating dinner.

"Shit! Samantha! Dad's coming back! He's drunk!"

Samantha hurried to get to the bathroom to get of her older brothers old dress. Neither sibling had an idea why they still had it (seeing Dean grew out of it a while ago and stopped wearing dresses shortly thereafter), but it made Samantha happy, so she was wearing it as long as it still fit her.

But John (both of the siblings had stopped to call him father during his weeklong absence) would not be as accepting, going by the slurs they heard him use.

Unfortunately, John caught Samantha before she could get out of the dress.

Both of the children gained new scars that night.

After that they just slowly made small changes, those they could find a hunting related excuse for, like Dean cutting his hair.

Samantha woke up at her usual time, intending to go for a morning run. Truly, it was only out of habit she stuck with her training. While she didn't like the broad shoulders working out would give her, she had figured it would be better than the alternative.

Something was odd today. Something weird. It was almost like…

Samantha shot up and jumped out of her bed, looking for a mirror, barely noticing she was not in her dorm in Stanford.

When she finally found a mirror, she gasped in surprise.

The mirror didn't show her the masculine body she detested (and her brother adored), but her brothers female body.

Granted, it was not precisely obvious given that her brother always wore wide, baggy shirts and pants in attempt to make him look more male (Samantha didn't want to check whether or not he had started wearing binders quite yet).

She flinched when a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Deanna?"

Oh. Right. Her big brother was still with John, their biological father (mostly because he lacked a good hideout and was to proud ask for help).

"Deanna, are you alright?"

Great. He was either drunk or hungover. Just what she needed.

"Go back to bed, Dad. It's just," Samantha struggled to find an excuse that would explain her being locked up in the bathroom, "I have cramps."

"Alright," there was some shuffling, clearly indicating that John went back to bed.

Samantha let out the breath she was holding. At least this she had been able to avoid.

Luckily, she had remembered to grab her brother's cellphone, so she was able to call him.

Provided he was in her body that was.

He answered when she called a second time. "'Ello? Sam? You know not to call me this early."

Jesus was that how her voice sounded? Even more masculine than she had feared.

"I know, but look down or in the mirror, listen to your voice, something! Even if it's just the reflection in the phone!"

"What are yo-," then he apparently noticed what she was talking about, "Ho- holy shit! That's your face!"

"I know. I'm in your body, you're in mine. We switched."

There was a minute of silence while Dean processed what this meant.

"I'm in a male body. I'm finally in a male body."

She copied the joy in her brother's voice perfectly, "You are. And I am in a female one. Don't leave my apartment, play sick or something and I will drive to you."

"Do that, but take care of my baby."

"Dont worry, I will."

"Samantha?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"How about we never change back?"

"I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm more than fine with that."

Requirements if adopted:

Nothing supernatural notices that they changed until it is too late.

Gabe is the one who swapped them.