Vrskaandrea: I always did like when the brothers sat down and had their bonding moments. I think you will be a bit surprised what Dean does over the next month, but they have to survive the first few days. It seems not everything had been settled between them. Just added a few minor squirmishes this chapter.

Blondie 20000: Baby steps all the way but they'll get past it.

Vallygirl: Well, thats a path no-one else has gone down! x

Summer: Don't worry Dean will pop up again, and yes, concussion is a terrible, terrible bitch!

CHAPTER 53

Bobby handed both Sam and Dean a copy of the spell.

"I figured both of you would want to see it." He said with a shrug.

While Sam began an in-depth examination of the text Dean simply scanned through.

"Ashes of..." she mumbled to herself. "Feather, bone... essence of cloves, okay...blood of my...hey Bobby, what's this?"

"What's what?" The older hunter asked.

"This, 'blood of my blood'." She read.

"Ah, well, that would be Sams blood." Bobby said.

Sam looked at Dean.

"Oh hell no! Sam is not bleeding for me!" Dean stated.

"Dean, relax. It's just a little bit." Sam said, trying to calm his brother.

"I don't care if it's a drop! No one bleeds for me!"

"Dean. We just went through this. I'm doing it." Sam said trying to remain calm.

"No you're not Sammy." Dean said back.

"What happened to letting me help you Dean?" Sam shouted finally losing his cool. "What happened to letting me have your back?"

"Why does that always mean you losing blood?"

"Because it's the only way to get you back!"

Bobby watched the brothers arguing. He knew things were tense when they walked in earlier and it seems that six drops of Sams blood had triggered their life long argument all over again. He decided to step in when both Winchester's were on their feet screaming at each other.

"Alright! Enough!" Bobby yelled. "Sit down both of you, before I put you down!"

"Yes sir."

"Sorry sir."

Bobby was surprised how quickly they both reverted to the obedient state John had liked to keep them in, at his commanding tone. Once they had both taken their seats again he took a deep breath and addressed Sam first.

"Sam back off and give your brother some space."

Sam looked back surprised, mouth falling open in shock.

"Dean has been through a lot these last six months and is under enough stress without you adding to it. Protecting you is as ingrained in him as breathing so pipe down and accept the fact that taking six drops of your blood is equivalent to asking him to slit your throat."

"Yeah, okay Bobby. I'm sorry." Sam hung his head while Dean looked back at him smugly.

"And you can wipe that smirk off your face Dean!" Bobby said rounding on the older Winchester.

"What? What'd I do?" Dean asked.

"You need to back off, Sam has been through a lot these past six months." Bobby began using the exact same speech. "He's under enough stress watchin' you go through this without you adding more to it. I get that you've been raised to protect your brother since the day he drew first breath but it's six drops of blood. I'm not askin' you to slit his damn throat. He's willing and he's doing it so deal with it!"

"Yes sir." Dean said, hanging her head. "I'm sorry."

Bobby nodded once.

"I don't know what's going on between you but stow it. We have just under a month until the next New Moon and monsters aren't just going to go quiet because you two are off the road."

"What do you mean 'off the road'?" Dean asked.

"I mean, neither of you at hunting until we have you fixed to rights, but there's still phones to man and research to do so as from this moment consider yourselves benched."

Sam looked slightly disgruntled at Bobby's announcement.

"Both of us? Really?" He asked. It's true that hunting was never his first life choice but being forced to the sidelines rubbed him the wrong way, much as every decision ever made for him did. It was just ingrained in him to go against authority.

"Yes, both of you. I need you both for this spell and I'm not risking either of you until it's done." Bobby said, glaring at Sam who wilted under the fierce gaze.

Dean, however, took the order with silent acceptance. She nodded once then stood.

"Well now that's sorted, I'm going for a run." She said as she began to walk out the door.

"Not with those stitches you're not!" Sam said.

Dean stopped and tilted her face toward the ceiling in a 'here we go again' manner. She turned back to face her brother and surrogate father.

"Come on Sammy! I've been holed up in a hotel room for three days then cooped up Baby for another two. I gotta stretch my legs, besides I'm almost healed!"

"I only stitched you up three days ago and even the great Dean Winchester doesn't heal that fast!"

"Fine, I'll jog."

"No!"

"Power walk?"

"No."

"A light stroll around the junk yard?" She suggested.

Sam crossed his arms across his chest and favoured Dean with his best bitch face.

"Fine." She sighed and turned to leave the room. "I'll just go have a nap. It's your fault if I start getting fat." She mumbled.

Sam and Bobby watched Dean leave the room.

"Is everything okay with him?" Bobby asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam looked at Bobby questioningly.

"Well I thought he'd be a bit more excited about the reversal and he didn't even argue about being told no hunting."

"I dunno. I think he's worried something will go wrong. I'm mean, look at our track record. Something always goes wrong!" Sam answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, that could be it." Bobby sat down at his desk and started going over the 'game plan' with Sam.

After another massive argument erupted when Sam walked in on Dean the next day about to remove her stitches, Bobby declared himself to be the only person allowed to make any decision regarding the healing of their wounds. And after he found Dean looking at lace curtains and throw pillows online he decided it would be okay for her to resume working on the old vehicle in his workshop as long as she didn't do any strenuous lifting.

"Sucker!" She said to herself as she practically skipped down the steps and across to the yard.

Things ran reasonably smoothly after that.

Sam awoke in the early morning darkness and could immediately tell Dean was not in her bed. Swinging his feet to the floor he stumbled down stairs to find her. The house was dark except for a light coming from the bottom of Bobby's study.

"What're you doing?" Sam asked.

Dean looked up from the computer screen she was studying closely.

"Oh, hi Sam. Nothing really, just couldn't sleep." She said clicking the mouse a few times then leaning back in her chair.

"You're not watching porn on Bobby's computer are you?" Sam said as he sat opposite Dean.

"No...well not really." She said as she took a sip from her cup.

"Is that tea?" Sam said peering into the mug.

"As far as you know."

"Is there anything you won't add whiskey to?"

"Uum, ice cream."

"Ice cream?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you put rum in that." Dean smiled widely at her brother.

"You're an idiot." Sam smiled back, happy at the easy banter that had reestablished its self between them over the last couple of days. "What are you doing up?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't, but why are you awake?"

"Couldn't sleep. Just thought I'd come down and do some research and stuff." Dean said.

"Since when do you willing do any research?"

"I research all the time!" Dean said offended.

"Yeah, you research where the closest bar is, what time the strip club closes and which diner does the best burger."

"Shut up!" Dean threw a pencil at Sam. "It's just I want to really understand this ritual Bobby's going to perform. I'll admit I'm a little bit...worried."

"You think Bobby's going to do something wrong? Maybe turn you into a dog or a wombat or something?"

"A wombat?" Dean asked, Sam just shrugged. "No I don't think he's going to turn me into a wombat, dead will be enough."

"I've been over the spell two dozen times and nothing can go wrong. I swear."

"Well if I die, I will be the one swearing when I haunt your gargantuan arse." Dean said finishing her tea.

"I'll be sure to buy headphones."

Dean was about to head out the door and go to the workshop when Caleb bounded in.

"Brother! Finally we're gonna get the great Dean Winchester back!" He said wrapping an arm around Deans shoulder and slapping her on the stomach, inadvertently hitting her wound. Dean winced and groaned as she doubled over. "Oh shit! Are you okay?"

"Yep. Aces." She said standing up straight. She exhaled deeply then lifted her shirt slightly to check the wound. Fortunately Bobby had removed the stitches the night before but it was still angry and red.

"Ooo, that looks painful." Caleb said looking at the scar.

Dean quickly pulled her shirts back down.

"I'll be fine. Anyway, how are you?" She wrapped her arms around her friend and gave him a quick hug.

"I'm good."

"Great, now why are you here?" Dean asked.

"Bobby called me in. Said he might need me here for the transformation." Caleb explained. Caleb noticed Deans coat. "Goin' somewhere?"

"Yeah, just out to the workshop to work on that old junker."

"Awesome. Let me stow my crap and grab a coffee then I'll meet you there." Caleb said, picking up his bag.

"Well I didn't exactly invite you but okay." Dean said walking out the door.

Sam was sitting shirtless in a kitchen chair under the heavy scrutiny of Bobby's keen eye.

"Well?" Dean asked.

"Yep, they all look good to go." Bobby said straightening up and handing Dean a pair of small surgical scissors.

"Snip, snip, snip, Sammy." She teased, opening and closing the scissors.

"Ugh! I hate having stitches removed, why can't we get the dissolvable kind?" Sam asked, flinching as the first stitched was pulled.

"Because we get what we can steal and the dissolvable ones weren't on 'sale' the day I got these." Dean said, concentrating on removing the thread from her brothers skin. "Do you want a shot of whisky or something?"

"Nope, I'm good. Just keep going." Sam said gritting his teeth.

Dean worked quickly and efficiently and in a matter of minutes all Sams stitches were removed. Sam looked down at the scars on his chest.

"Not too bad." He said.

"You do the best needle work I've seen." Caleb said, also leaning in to examine her work.

"Well thank you." She said pushing her way back in close to Sam and rubbing some Vitamin E cream over the scars. "Here you go Sammy, put this on to reduce the scarring, and now if you all will excuse me, I'm finally going for my run."

Almost three hours later Dean re-entered Bobby's house panting and sweaty.

"You've been gone for a while. I was starting to get worried." Sam said.

"I know. I'm sorry." Dean said, pouring a large glass of water. "I broke through the wall and finally achieved the much coveted runners high. Felt like I could have run all day."

Truth of it was she'd run, missing the solitude running provided, the way it quietened her mind, and she pressed her body as far as possible, lengthening her stride and pushing as hard as she could for the first forty minutes then spent the next ten minutes throwing up before jogging back. Pushing herself to the edge was the only way she knew to settle all the nerves, questions and doubt raging in her mind, without something supernatural to kill this was the second best option she had.

"So I'm going to clean up and go back out to work on the car." She said placing her glass in the basin.

"Caleb's out there already. Maybe I'll come out and join you too?" Sam said.

"That sounds good Sammy. See you out there."

As time passed and the night of the New Moon drew closer Deans behaviour began to become somewhat concerning. With no outlet for her frustrations, having been grounded by Bobby, she spent her time either running, working on the car or could be found late at night or in the pre-dawn hours sitting in Bobby's study, trawling through the internet or reading some random book. Sam, Bobby and Caleb just put this down to the fact that she was about to under go a supernatural gender reassignment.