Chapter 3

Dean was woken from a sound sleep by something falling and swearing and rolled over quickly gripping the knife he had under his pillow prepared for a fight.

"S'my?" Dean slurred as he tried to see by the dim light from the partly opened bathroom door. "What's wrong?" he questioned leaning to turn on the lamp between their beds so he could see.

"Crap! Damit!" Sam muttered as he tried to get his balance and get the crutches positioned right so he wasn't putting any weight on his leg. "Arg!" he cried out as he fell toward Dean's bed and almost wacked him in the groin with a crutch.

"Whoa Sammy! You need a license to use those things," Dean told him as he rolled away. "Let me help. What are you trying to do anyway? It's too early to get up."

"Bathroom," Sam grunted as Dean got him balanced. He carefully and slowly made his way to the bathroom and got inside without injuring himself more.

Dean yawned widely and wiped a hand down his face as he looked at the clock to check the time. He huffed loudly and was trying to decide whether to go back to bed or stay up once he got Sam back in bed and settled.

"You okay in there Crip?" he called to his brother.

"I'm fine," Sam snapped back. It wasn't long before he hobbled from the bathroom and made his way back to the bed. He sat down and propped the crutches by the bed.

"Let's get your leg elevated and you need more pain meds," Dean determined seeing how pinched Sam's face was and the glistening drops of sweat on his forehead. He carefully lifted Sam's leg and moved the pillows under it, making sure it was comfortable. He got a bottle of water and the pain meds, shaking two out for Sam. "Hell, I'm awake, might as well go find us some breakfast and I saw a laundry room by the ice machine. I can do a load of clothes too. I won't have to wait on anyone else since it's early."

"Okay," Sam sighed as he tried to get comfortable. He didn't like being laid up like this. He watched his brother look around until he found clothes to wear and headed for the bathroom. Sam let his eyes droop closed for a moment before opening them again. He yawned widely and shifted slightly wishing he could change positions but knew his knee wouldn't allow it.

"I'll go get some ice for your knee before I go," Dean told his brother when he came out of the bathroom. He picked up the ice bucket and headed out the door and around the corner. He wasn't gone long and when he came back in, he was fussing and yelling. "That damn bird! Where's my gun? I'm going to fill his black ass body with lead!"

"What's wrong?" Sam questioned looking confused at his brother as he tried to understand what he was talking about.

"This!" Dean complained turning so Sam could see the bird poop in his hair, running down his cheek, and on his shoulder. "I know it's the same one from yesterday. He's got it out for me."

"Really Dean? A bird is after you? It was a fluke; you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"No, there's something going on." Dean got the ice bag, filled it, and then laid it on Sam's knee. "After I wash off, I'll go get breakfast."

"Could you get me some fruit and oatmeal? I don't feel like anything greasy today."

"Sure, no problem." Dean disappeared into the bathroom and washed the bird poop from his hair and face and tried to get it off his shirt. He fussed and swore before deciding to change shirts since he was going to do laundry. He was mumbling about taking a shotgun, hunting the bird down and ending him.

"You can't shoot a bird Dean. Besides, how would you know if you got the right one. They all do look alike. And the local cops might not take kindly to you discharging a firearm in the middle of town."

"I'm not stupid Sam," Dean answered rolling his eyes at Sam.

"Never said you were, but I know how you think."

"Screw you."

"Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean closed the door behind him before Sam could reply.

"Asshole," Sam muttered to himself as he wiggled around and winced when he moved his leg wrong. He closed his eyes as the meds began to kick in making him drowsy. He thought a short nap before Dean got back wouldn't be a bad thing.

spn

Dean went back to the diner since the food he got for dinner the night before was good. He put in his takeout order and sipped on a coffee while he waited for the food. After paying, he headed outside to the car and stumbled to a stop when he saw the Impala. His mouth fell open and he stared in disbelief at the windshield that had huge, runny, plops of bird poop splattered across it.

"Sonova…" he growled as he walked closer and saw the back windshield was the same way. He jerked his head upward when a loud, raucous, crawling and squawking sounded from the power lines above him. "Why you freakin'…" he started seeing a large, black bird sitting up there, fluffing his feathers and almost laughing at him. Dean was steaming but he couldn't do anything as people got out of their cars to go inside. They looked at Dean strangely and gave him a wide berth.

Dean unlocked the driver's door and sat the food in the car before glaring up at the bird again. He was breathing hard and wanted to shoot the feathers off the bastard. He got in the Impala and headed back to the motel, stopping along the way at a car wash to clean his Baby. He got out and fed quarters into the machine starting the strong spray. Dean used the wand to spray the windshields and remove the disgusting poop. When he was done, he headed on the motel.

"That's it!" Dean snarled stepping into the motel room and startling Sam from a light doze. "This means war."

"What? What's going on?" Sam asked as he shook himself awake. He looked at his brother's angry face as he slammed the bag on the table and almost spilled the coffees.

"Do you know what that psycho bird did to my Baby?" Dean yelled. "My Baby!"

"Calm down bro. It can't be that bad."

"Really? That bastard shit all over the front and back windshields of her. She was covered in bird shit Sammy. I swear he must have gotten some pals to help. I don't know how one bird could hold that much crap. I had to take it by the carwash to clean it."

"Both…" Sam started as a chuckle began to build in his chest and he couldn't help himself when laughter burst from his lips. "You…You must have…pissed off…the bird god…" Sam said between his laughing.

"It's not funny dude. Hope you like cold oatmeal." He got his brother's food ready, reheating it in the microwave, and helped him sit up in bed so he could eat. "Damn stupid bird. Let me have five minutes with him, I'll pluck every feather off his scrawny body."

"Let it go bro. You're making too big a deal out of it."

"Eat your oatmeal," Dean snapped as he took another bite of his biscuit, egg, and bacon sandwich. He grimaced when he took a sip of his cold coffee. That damn bird even ruined his breakfast.

When he was done, Dean gathered their dirty clothes and used one duffle to stuff them in. He opened the door and paused, looking around for the black bird that was causing him trouble. He checked the roof tops, powerlines, trees, but didn't see that type of bird. Cautiously, he headed down the walkway, keeping his head on a swivel before ducking into the laundry room. When he had them going, he hurried back to their room and slipped quickly inside.

"Did you find anything to watch on the tube?" Dean asked as he threw himself on his bed and adjusted the pillows.

"Yeah, an old horror movie, 'The Birds'," Sam cackled when he saw the horrific look on Dean's face. It was priceless and there weren't many times he could get one over on his big brother.

"You think you're so funny," Dean snarled.

"Seriously, what type of bird was it?" Sam asked sobering and getting serious.

"I don't know. It was big and black."

"Like a crow?"

"Maybe, but a little bigger."

"Probably a raven then," Sam surmised. "Bring me my laptop."

"Why?"

"I want to do a little research."

"You should be resting."

"Please…" Sam begged giving his best puppy dog, pitiful look. He was bored and wanted something to do.

"Fine!" Dean mumbled getting up to find Sam's computer bag and dropped it by his side.

Sam got his laptop out and booted it up. He went online and looked up ravens to see what their characteristics were and to learn more about them. He started reading articles and pulled up several photos.

"Does this look like the bird?" Sam asked turning the screen so Dean could see.

"That's it. That's the one," Dean accused pointing to the photo. "What does it say about the asshole?"

"Well, they are larger than a crow, but in the same family. The brain of a raven is the largest in the bird species. They can problem solve, can be imitating, great flying abilities, and get this, they can imitate human speech. European cultures thought ravens as evil in disguise. Ravens appear in many of the world's mythologies," Sam spouted off. He waved his hand at Dean as he continued, "Here you go Dean, ravens like to play. They often play with other animals and sometimes they just taunt and mock other creatures because it's funny. Maybe that's what this one is doing to you. You're a pushover and the bird knows it."

"Well, he picked the wrong person to harass," Dean sneered in anger. "I will get me a bird."

"You're really letting that bird get under your skin, Dean. Are you sure you're not reading too much into what happened?"

"Nope, that prankster is out to get me, but I'm going to get him first," Dean noted in a determined voice. He finished his food and washed his hands before heading back down to the laundry room to see if their clothes were done washing so he could toss them in the dryer. Dean kept a wary eye out for the raven and unconsciously ducked every time a bird flew by.

"Any more poop bombs targeting you?" Sam snickered as he watched Dean quickly step inside and look around in the parking lot.

"Keep it up, crip. We'll see how you like hopping to the bathroom without your crutches."

"Oh…I'm so scared," Sam replied in a shaky voice before snickering.

"Don't temp me bro," Dean cautioned him. He settled back on his bed and focused on the television screen to see what was on and frowned to see a documentary on some true crime story. He huffed in irritation and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Sam and his quirks, he thought.


A/N: Dean vs a raven...Who will come out on top? I hope you are enjoying the ride. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC