Reviews:thanks goes out to Ghostwriter, Final Spirit, Adara-chan15, Mystery, CrazyDisaster, GuestTypePerson and supernaturalfan0718...I see many repeat reviewers, and I heart you!

Yeah, Final Spirit, I figured it was you, so here it is. Is it a were'wolf' story? It is, and it isn't. This is my twist. Hope you like it!

A/N: Anita Blake, Zane, Cherry, Nathaniel and Micah belong to Laurell K. Hamilton, not me. Oh yeah, changed the rating to 'M'...you'll see why.

That Time of the Month

Chapter Two: Finally, Family

Dean grabbed Sam as his body started to fall to the ground. Scooping his brother up into his arms, he staggered to the bed and placed Sam onto the covers. He stood up straight and took a good look at the young hunter. His face was pale grey, except where it was smeared with blood. There was blood soaking his t-shirt under his light jacket. Dean grabbed the first aid kit and started to strip the clothes off Sam's body. When he removed the t-shirt, he gasped in horror. From the look of the wounds on his right back and abdomen, four claws had entered his back and stabbed right through to the front, probably piercing his liver and/or kidney, and possibly breaking a few ribs, just for starters. All Dean could do was tightly wrap bandages around his brother's abdomen and prepare to take him to the hospital.

Sam started to stir as he wrapped the injuries.

"D...Dean...?"

"Hang on, Sammy, we're going to the hospital," he tried to reassure his brother.

"N...no...no, don't. It was...was the...creature," Sam slurred.

"I know that, bro, but you're hurt bad, I can't take care of this. We have to go to the hospital."

"Won't unnerstan..." Sam lapsed back into unconciousness just as a hard rapping sounded on the door.

"WHO THE HELL IS IT?" Dean raged.

"Please open the door," a female voice called.

Dean ran to the door, heedless of the blood soaking his shirt, arms and hands, and yanked it open. "I do NOT have time for this!" he yelled into the face of the petite woman standing in front of him.

"Anita Blake, Federal Marshal," she said calmly. "And I think I can help you."

Dean stared at the badge (he knew it was real, he had faked enough of them) blankly. At his look, the woman continued.

"Your friend was just attacked by a were. I can help him."

"My brother," Dean corrected her dazedly, then, "A what? A 'were'? 'Were' what?"

"Stop that. You're confusing yourself. And me," Anita said as she shouldered past him, heading for the king-sized bed on which Sam lay. Belatedly, Dean realized that she was moving too close to Sam. She could get close enough to hurt his brother!

He grabbed her by the arm and whirled her around. "Who are you, what are you doing here, and what do you want with my brother!" he demanded, finally gaining control of himself.

"Look, I told you, I'm Anita Blake, Federal Marshal, and I can help. Your brother was attacked by a rogue were-leopard that I've been tracking. This were is new to his beast, and not able to control it, and doesn't have a safehouse to change in when the moon changes, so his changes are erratic and dangerous. I've been hunting him for three months, and now you and your brother have complicated things."

"Like we tried?" Dean interrupted rudely.

"Let me finish. I know you probably don't want to go to the hospital, seeing your, uh, unusual baggage," she indicated the various shotguns and pistols strewn on the floor at the foot of Dean's bed. "I can help him, I have friends who can help heal him. Just let me bring them over here."

"No way, lady. I don't know who the hell you are or how you think you can help him, but he's got holes in his liver and kidney and broken bones and probably lots of other things wrong and those don't just go away without a hell of a lot of help, as well as major surgery!" Dean rambled. He was way past pissed now. They should have been halfway to the ER by now.

"He won't die from that. He can't. Not now, anyway."

"Talk or walk, but stop being so fucking cryptic!"

"He's a were-leopard now, those claw wounds have turned him, and he is too strong now to die from them."

Dean sat heavily on the edge of the bed. He had known somewhere deep inside that somehow Sam was going to pull through this one, and had known even deeper that the reason was because he had been attacked by the very thing they were hunting, and now changed into a monster himself. Part of him, a very infintesimal part, urged him to kill his brother now, to save them from the pain and anguish which would follow. The other part kicked the smaller part's ass and decided to accept this Blake's proposal if it meant saving his brother's life.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"Just get the rest of his clothes off and monitor him while I make a few phone calls."

Dean went back to Sam, who still lay pale as death on the bed. He started to slowly strip off his shoes, jeans and boxers and cover him with a light blanket as he heard Anita make a couple of calls to someone named Micah and Zane. Sam moaned softly and tears formed under his long dark lashes, spilling over his cheek. Dean gently brushed them away, his hand lingering on his brothers forehead.

"They'll be here soon. He'll be alright," she said softly, trying to comfort him. "And I need to tell you a few things."

Dean looked at her warily as she said that.

"The next few hours, or days, will be pretty wierd for you."

"Lady, you don't have a clue what's 'wierd' for me," Dean growled.

"That may be true, but have you ever been in the middle of a pack of were-leopards?" she challenged.

"You said you'd bring help! Not more of the fucking monsters to eat us!" Dean started to jump up, aiming for the shotgun.

He stopped in his tracks as a Browning .357 was pointed at his face.

"Stop being stupid and listen to me, you stubborn son of a bitch." Anita slowly lowered the gun, but didn't holster it.

"I said I'd bring help, and the were-leopards will help. What your brother..."

"Sam."

...what Sam needs now is his pack. He needs the comfort of others like him to be around him and near him. As wounded as he is, he needs them to be close. Very close." Anita looked Dean straight in the eye to make sure he understood. "The three that are coming are Zane, he's the big tall blonde, Cherry, who used to be a nurse, and Nathaniel. Are you OK with this?"

"You ask me that now?" Dean half-laughed. He knew he was bordering on hysterical, but he grabbed onto sanity with an iron fist. "Just promise me he'll be OK."

"He will. I promise."

Dean nodded and curled up at the head of the bed, gathering his unconsious brother into his arms. He had no choice. If Sam lived, it would be worth it. If he didn't, Dean would rip this woman and the rest of her 'friends' to shreds with his bare hands and his fury.

oooOOOooo

Another knock sounded at the door, and this time Anita answered it. She stepped back to let the newcomers in, and they flowed around her into the room with an uncommon grace. They were all beautiful to look at: Zane was tall and well-muscled, his broad chest filling the white t-shirt almost to popping, and the black leather pants looked sprayed on. Cherry stood beside him, her spiked red hair and shocking makeup marking her as goth-chic, her short skirt, hose, and high heels almost made Dean think 'stripper'. The last, who stood shyly behind the others, was a shorter man, though a little taller than Dean, with long straight auburn hair that flowed down his back, and when Nathanial looked at Dean, the beautiful lavender eyes shocked him.

"Guys, this is Dean. The one on the bed is Sam, he was attacked by Ian. He is pard."

Dean started to question the strange word, but before he could say anything, the three started to slide out of their clothes and approach Sam.

"Hey! Waitaminnit! What're you...!"

"Don't interrupt," Anita said as she pulled him away from the others. "I told you they have to get very close to Sam. That means 'very, very' close."

"They're not gonna..." he gulped.

"No, this isn't sexual. It may be sensual, but it's meant to just be closeness. Togetherness. The intimacy of the pard."

"There's that word again...'pard'?"

"It's their word for pack."

"Oh," Dean said almost breathlessly as he nervously watched what was happening.

The three were-leopards had stripped off all of their clothing, unashamed in the least to be completely nude in front of each other and a stranger. They slipped softly under the cover and gathered Sam into their arms. Zane lay by Sam's right side, Nathaniel on his left, and Cherry draped over the three of them. They softly caressed Sam's body, nuzzling their noses into his skin and inhaling his scent.

"Pine. He smells like pine," Zane whispered, his face buried in Sam's neck.

To Dean's shock (again), they started licking Sam with their raspy tounges. They licked the blood off of his arms and chest, then turned him gently onto his left side, snuggling him into Nathaniel's embrace. He held Sam tenderly as Zane cleaned the wounds on Sam's back. Sam whimpered a little as the scratchy tongue found the painful claw marks, but Nathaniel stroked the back of his head, and he settled again. Cherry slithered around to lick at the punctures on the front of his abdomen, sliding her hand into the small of Sam's back and pressing his skin coser to her lips.

Dean didn't know whether to be fascinated, or horrified by the intimate scene in front of him.

"Think of them as really big kitties. I do. They need the security of their group, their kind, especially if they're wounded. They are cleaning his wounds, even better than regular old water and antiseptic. For some reason, after the change, their bodies react better to their own saliva than man-made substances. This closeness will also help him through his healing, which, by the way, will be extremely fast."

Dean heard the words Anita said, but didn't really listen. He watched Sam's face, so tortured by pain before the others arrived, now so peaceful, and even content as he snuggled deeper into their embrace.

Dean's next thought frightened him even more than the thought of Sam's death.

'Am I going to loose him after all?'