Chapter 10
"Man, I'm glad to be home," Dean sighed as he turned the Impala onto the driveway and drove through the gates. He followed the driveway around to the house and parked in front of it. Another car was sitting at the house and guessed it was Missouri's.
"Me too," Sam mumbled absently rubbing his arm where he had been bitten. It still burned and itched but didn't look infected when he checked it before leaving the motel.
"Let's get our things and go see Missouri," Dean told him as he parked and got out, going to the trunk so they could get their things.
They headed up the steps and Dean let them into the house. After dropping their bags at the stairs, the brothers went in search of Bobby and Missouri, finding them in Bobby's office.
"Boys, good to have you back," Bobby greeted them.
"Hey Bobby," Dean replied. "Missouri, thanks for coming," he greeted her.
Missouri got up and turned to look at the brothers for a moment, assessing them.
"My goodness, you boys have really messed things up this time," she sighed taking each of their hands in her own.
"Can you help us?" Sam asked earnestly as he looked at her from Dean's green eyes.
"I am going to try Sam," she replied squeezing his hand. "I am going to do everything I can to get you two back in your own bodies."
"Anything we can do?" Dean inquired.
"Not right now. We're going through the spell book and trying to decipher the spells to see if there is one to reverse the one that was cast," Bobby explained.
"Great, we'll get out of your hair then," Dean said. "Why don't Sammy and me see what we can fix for dinner tonight?"
"Okay son."
"Dean, I brought a couple of pies with me since I know how much you love pie."
"Be still my beating heart," Dean hummed in delight. "I get the first slice," he told Sam as they headed for the kitchen.
"I see some things haven't changed," Missouri laughed softly. "No matter which body they are in."
"I've gotta say they have finally adjusted to it better than I expected. I just hope we can reverse this spell."
"Have faith Bobby, I've got calls in to some of my contacts and should be hearing from them soon. We'll figure this out."
"If anyone can, you can old girl."
"Who are you calling old, you old coot," she laughed back in merriment. They went back to the books and continue making notes on anything that looked promising.
spn
"You don't need another piece of pie, Dean," Sam fussed at him trying to take the pie tin from him. "You don't need to eat so many sweets and fatty foods. I'll have to go on a diet and work out twice as hard to get rid of the weight you're putting on my body."
"Please!" Dean scoffed getting a grip on the pie tin and started a tug of war with Sam.
"Boys, act like you've got some couth," Bobby chastised them as Missouri, and he walked into the kitchen amid their squabbles.
"Sorry Bobby," the brothers said at the same time.
Dean gave them tin one final jerk and smiled when he got it free from Sam's grip. He smirked his triumph and looked excitedly at the pie.
"Dean, honey, why don't you wait until after we have dinner for another piece of pie?" Missouri asked in her lyrical voice.
"But…" Dean pouted looking sadly at the pie and up at Missouri before surrendering the pie tin to her.
Sam smirked at Dean and got the finger from him and a bitch face that wasn't half bad. They gave each other the evil eye until Bobby cleared his throat and gave them the look.
"Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes," Dean informed them, turning to open the oven door and glance inside. He raised up and stirred a pot on the stove before slapping at Sam's arm. "Set the table Sammy," he ordered him.
"I was just going to do that," Sam insisted going to the cabinet for the plates and glasses. He pulled out a drawer for silverware and took it all to the table to set it. "Missouri, Bobby, what would you like to drink?"
"Tea is fine," Bobby answered.
"Same for me dear," Missouri replied.
"Dean? you want tea or beer?"
"Tea is okay."
"Alright, tea all around," Sam nodded. He finished with the table and got ice trays from the freezer to fill the glasses before pour tea into each of them.
"Go ahead and sit down guys, Sammy and I will get the food on the table," Dean told them.
"Alright son," Bobby replied.
Dean pulled two pans from the oven with an oven mitt and took a platter to transfer the food to it. He passed it to Sam who sat it in the middle of the table and turned to take the bowls that Dean handed to him. Once all the food was on the table, the brothers took seats at the table so they could begin eating.
"Looks good boys," Bobby offered.
"You two did good," Missouri added her praise too.
"Thanks, let's dig in while it's hot," Dean replied. He picked the platter up and held it for Missouri to serve herself and then held it for Bobby. He put food onto his plate and handed the platter to Sam. The rest was passed around and they began to eat.
"How's the research coming?" Dean asked halfway through the meal.
"We're pretty sure we've found the spell to put your souls back in the right body," Bobby told them.
"That's great," Sam said. "Right?"
"It is. We've been translating it and I've sent a copy to a contact in New Orleans for help," Missouri explained. "He's going to verify our findings and if we need odd ingredients, he can overnight them to us."
"So, we're close to ending this nightmare?" Dean asked hopefully.
"Yes, maybe a couple more days and we'll be able to do the spell," Missouri answered. "But we've got to be extremely careful with it. One small mistake could prove disastrous for you boys."
"What do you mean Missouri?" Sam questioned. "Can't we just try again?"
"I'm afraid that's not how it works. We only get one chance to do this and if it's wrong, well, it disrupts the spell that was previously cast and makes it permanent."
"Damn!" Dean growled. "Sorry Missouri."
"That's okay Dean, I've heard worse."
"So, we only get one chance at doing this spell," Sam surmised.
"Afraid so, son," Bobby nodded.
"That's why I contacted my friend in New Orleans who knows more about this dark ancient magic for help. I think between the three of us, we'll get it right."
"I hope so," Dean huffed as he stared randomly around the room deep in thought. He forked a bite of meat into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
Sam looked down at his plate and began to push the remaining food around and mulled over this latest information. Only having one shot at doing the reversal spell threw a wrench into things. If it didn't work, then they would be stuck this way. It had to work, it just had to, he thought to himself.
"Finish up Sammy so we can clean up," Dean spoke to him, kicking him lightly in the shin.
"What…Yeah…" Sam replied clearing his throat as he blinked rapidly a few times and came back to the present. He wiped his mouth and gathered his dirty dishes to take to the sink.
"Why don't you two go relax while we clean up?" Dean suggested. "You could go sit on the deck and enjoy the evening. You've been working awfully hard."
"Shall we?" Bobby asked Missouri getting up to help her up.
"Why thank you," Missouri smiled sweetly as she got up letting Bobby lead her out onto the deck where they sat down in lounge chairs to relax.
"You want to wash or dry?" Dean asked Sam as he cleared the table.
"I'll wash, you can put the leftovers away and dry," said Sam running water into the sink. He added dish detergent and sat some dishes into the hot, sudsy water. He washed and rinsed the dishes, placing them in the strainer to drain.
Dean found plastic containers for the leftovers and stored them in the fridge before grabbing a towel to begin to dry the draining dishes. He stacked them and put them away in the cabinet. Sam wiped down the table, counters, and stove top before letting the water out and rinsing out the dish rag.
"Okay," Dean sighed. "Shall we join the old folks on the deck?"
"I wouldn't let them hear you say that," Sam cautioned Dean as he dried his hands before following Dean onto the deck.
"Have a seat, boys; the night is starting to wake up," Bobby told the brothers.
Dean and Sam moved to sit in a swing at the end of the deck, jostling each other for who was sitting where. After a couple of shoves and punches in the side, they finally settled on the seat and got comfortable. They looked out into the yard and listened to all the sounds coming from the forest and salvage yard. Sam looked up and pointed out the first stars starting to come out on the ebony sky.
The four sat in silence enjoying the peacefulness of the night as Mother Nature started her light show in the sky. An array of stars began to pop out across the vastness of the sky like a hand full of diamonds had been randomly tossed up there.
"This is my favorite time of day," Missouri noted a while later in a soft voice as she studied the night sky.
"It is peaceful," Bobby replied.
"Seems like the boys agree," Missouri laughed quietly when she looked to the swing to see the brothers slumped sideways almost asleep. Dean was taking advantage of having such long legs to gently rock it as he fought to keep his eyes open. Sam was slumped against the chain of the swing, with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open.
"Guess since we're getting close to solving this, some of the tension and stress they are under has lightened up."
"Those boys, they do seem to be a magnet for trouble."
"Yeah, those idjits are the best hunters out there and can get into the worse possible situations."
"Shall we wake them and send them to bed?"
"I'll do it," Bobby grunted pushing up from the chair and going over to the swing. "Boys, why don't you head on to bed?"
"I'm up," Dean slurred stopping the motion of the swing and straightening up. "S'mmy, wake up," he called to his brother slapping his arm to wake him.
"Ummm….Yeah…" Sam yawned as he stretched and looked around.
"You boys head on to bed," Bobby repeated himself.
"Okay," Sam grunted getting up and grabbing the chain to get his balance. "Nite."
"Nite Bobby, Missouri," Dean told them as he pushed Sam toward the backdoor to head upstairs.
"Good night boys," Missouri replied. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Shall we retire too?" Bobby asked her after the brothers disappeared inside.
"I think I will. My mind needs a little rest." Missouri got up and went inside and headed upstairs to the spare bedroom below the brother's room. She hoped to hear from her contact in New Orleans in the morning to confirm their translation and the ingredients needed. She had asked him to put a rush on it knowing how anxious the brothers were to get their own bodies back.
A/N: Only one more chapter to go in this short story. I hope you have enjoyed the read. The tension is running high since they know they only have one chance at getting it right. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC
