Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me. In fact, it doesn't belong to anyone! (Sssh...it's a conspiracy!) ...kidding!

Sam stumbled in the murkiness of the hospital basement, skimming his knees on the rough surface of the unclean floor.

"God," he groaned as he pushed himself upright. "I really need a torch."

He jumped in fright, his heart in his mouth, as he heard something scramble somewhere in the darkness.

"Or a gun," he muttered, although he couldn't really picture himself with a rifle right now. Then again...he was only a few years older when he had first used a gun. Which, it now occurred to him, was kinda sad.

He slowly crept forward, eye locked on the door in front of him. The only way he could see it was from the light that seeped out from the cracks around the door. When Sam closed his eyes, the picture was burned into his mind.

Although keeping his eyes open was definitely preferable, seeing as he managed to trip over something every second step when his eyes were shut.

Sam finally stood in front of the door and paused, taking a deep breath. For some reason he felt nervous, although he couldn't say why. He was about to enter when he heard raised voices, and he paused, frowning.

If Dean was in there, he wasn't alone.

Sam was torn between running in and helping, in case Dean was in trouble, or staying on this side of the door and get a gist of what was happening before anything happened.

He decided to stay outside, pressing his eye against the keyhole to get a better view of the room, like he used to do when he was little, when he was learning how to pick locks.

Crossing his fingers, Sam hoped he'd be able to come to Dean's aid in time if he was needed.

---

Dean clenched his teeth as the fairy took a step closer, raising a hand gun to point directly at her head. She pulled up short, but the smile didn't disappear from her face.

"Sorry, can't say I feel the same," he replied to her greeting. She laughed, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Aw, don't be like that Dean!" she cried playfully. "You know, I've always had a soft spot for men like you. You know, the bad-ass with a heart of gold type."

Dean rolled his eyes, the gun still pinned on the fairy.

"You know, the thought of me and you actually sickens me. You, you have demon in you. You're not human." Dean spat.

"Well, neither is he," she said, staring directly at Sam. Dean did a double take and she laughed in astonishment.

"Wait, don't tell me you didn't know!" she clapped her hands joyously, throwing her head back as she laughed. "Oh god, this is too precious! Dean Winchester doesn't even recognise his own brother," she taunted. Dean took a step back, lowering the gun.

"What are you talking about? Of course that's Sammy! Wait, let me guess...fairy's get amnesia now, right? Or do you turn so many people into kids a day that you just can't keep up?"

"Right, and you spend so much time bonding with Sammy that you know absolutely everything about him, don't you?" she threw back. "C'mon, Dean, use your head! It doesn't even smell like Sam...it's quite revolting, really," she said, wrinkling her nose in Sam's direction.

"That's enough!" Dean said forcefully, and the fairy once more found herself staring down the wrong end of the gun's barrel. She stopped moving, staring at the gun so hard she practically went cross-eyed.

"Whoa, watch where you're pointing that thing Dean!" she said nervously. "You wouldn't want to accidentally shoot someone, you know?"

Dean laughed through his teeth, nodding at Sam to move forward.

"Oh, don't worry. Know now that when I shoot you, it'll be because I wanted to, with all my heart."

The fairy swallowed, looking distinctly ill. She glanced at Sam, who was smirking at her.

"C'mon Dean, and whatever...you are," she said, waving a hand at Sam. "How 'bout we compromise? I'll turn Sam back if you let me go. That's a promise."

Dean groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes at Sam.

"What, are you crazy or something? Get it through your demonic little head that Sammy is back. We didn't need your help. He turned back by..." Dean hesitated. Sam stepped forward, so he was directly next to Dean.

"Dean, I think we should kill her now, before she does anymore damage," he whispered. Dean shook his head slowly, eyes narrowed.

"No...I don't think so. First, I want you to tell me how you turned back," Dean said.

The fairy watched the exchange intently, watching for an opportunity to escape.

"Well, it was quite simple Dean," Sam said languidly, as if they were discussing the weather. "I broke it."

"No, Sam didn't," the fairy emphasised. "If he had, I would've known."

"How do we know you're not saying that to make us fight?" Sam accused, eyes flaring.

"Sam, just answer the question," Dean said sharply. Sam stared at him incredulously, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"You don't actually believe her, do you?" he asked quietly. Dean hesitated, unsure of how to settle this.

"Look," he started, then stopped. "I mean...I just need to make sure, okay? I mean, if you were the shape shifter, and I didn't kill you, well...that would kinda suck. I mean, I have a reputation to live up to, you know? Dean Winchester, killer of all things evil. Supernaturally evil, I mean. I still haven't found a way to permanently destroy all musicals...anyway, if you're innocent, it shouldn't be so hard to just...explain, would it?"

The fairy rolled her eyes at Dean's self-absorbed speech, then frowned as she heard a voice, whispering in her mind, steadily getting louder. She shook her head, trying to get rid of them, then realised the thoughts were not her own.

"Maybe it's not the explaining I'm having trouble with, Dean, it's you not trusting me!" Sam said hotly.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't give me a reason not to trust you!" Dean yelled back.

The fairy stared at them as they squabbled, but her vision was starting to blur, and her head ached like nothing else.

What's going on? she thought through the pain. The only reason why this would happen is if my wish came und-oh, no...

---

Sam paced the area outside the boiler room impatiently, stopping every now and then to tug viciously at the handle. After a few minutes of waiting he had tried to get in, but then found his little arms just didn't have the strength to push the heavy door open.

"I need Dean," he muttered aloud, then stopped. "But then again, I've always needed him."

Memories of the past year flitted through Sam's head, vivid images that sent shocks of pain through his skull. He slid to the ground, groaning, as they kept on coming.

Dean, pulling Sam out of Jessica's burning room.

Dean coming after Sam when he got kidnapped.

Dean protecting Sam, even if it meant he got hurt instead.

And it wasn't just that, Sam realised. Dean provided comfort, and humour, and helped him move on in life...in Dean's own special, non-personal way.

"If I needed Dean all along, then this spell, this wish, means nothing," Sam said determinedly. "Dean just didn't realise it...or me. But I know now, that no matter what age I am, I'll need my brother." Sam glared into the darkness. "You hear me? So your stupid spell won't work anymore!" Sam yelled. There was silence, and then his eyes closed and he fell, unconscious, onto the floor, his mind in a place so dark, it was more like an absence of light than blackness.

It was absolute.

---

Sam's mind knew who it was immediately, but didn't want to acknowledge that.

"You wanted to go back to normal? You can go back!" the angel hissed, and light exploded in Sam's head.

He struggled against it, but the pull of life was too strong.

Reluctantly, the essence of Sam returned to his body.

Suddenly the fairy fell over, gasping. Sam and Dean turned to look at her.

"You better finish her off, before she pulls a disappearing act," Sam mocked. Dean glared at him, then turned to the fairy, but by then she was back on her feet, if not a little shaky.

"The spell is undone," she said, her eyes dark against her suddenly pale face. "The spell is undone!"

"Yeah, kinda what I've been trying to tell you for the past ten minutes," Dean snapped at her, aiming the gun at her chest. "Okay, this is where we end it. I just wanted to let you know that while you're burning in hell, we're gonna be up here, living our lives. Maybe while you're tending to the fires or whatever, you can cling to that thought and have hope. Or not," Dean added sarcastically. Then he shot her.

---

The first thing Sam felt when he regained consciousness was the chill of the murky floor against his bare skin. He sat up, his head throbbing, as he gazed around.

Suddenly everything came flooding back to him. The wish, the events that followed and...him changing back to himself again.

Sam jumped up in glee as he ran his hands over his normal, twenty-three year old body, then paused.

Clothes. Now there was a problem.

His gaze swept around the room, and he spied another door. He ran over to it, praying that there wasn't a nurse who regularly came down to the basement to have a cup of coffee or something, who might discover him.

Because that would just be embarrassing.

Aha! Sam thought victoriously as he opened the door, revealing piles and piles of freshly cleaned scrubs. He snatched one up, checking to see if it was stain-free, then pulled it over his head. He turned and walked out the door, towards the boiler room, then froze as the sound of a gunshot rang out.

His blood went cold as he turned the handle and flung the door open, just in time to see the fairy's body thud into the opposite wall, as a result of the impact of the bullet slamming into her delicate body. Her mouth widened into a surprised 'oh' as she looked down at her stomach, where a blossom of blood had appeared, growing bigger every second.

Sam ran over to Dean, who had his back to Sam. He was facing another person, someone Sam couldn't quite see in the shadows of the room...

And then the person stepped forward, and Sam found himself staring at...himself.

"Wh-what the hell is going on, Dean?!" he cried, staring in horror at his mirror image..who, annoyingly, looked quite calm.

"I knew it!" Dean cried, raising his gun to point at the shape shifter. "I knew you couldn't be Sammy!"

"Actually, you didn't," the thing replied casually. "Even the dumb fairy figured it out before you. I must say, I'm quite disappointed."

"Dean, we have to get you out of here," Sam warned, but Dean was too focussed on the shape shifter to listen.

"I mean it Dean, it's really important, we have to get out now!" Sam cried, glancing at the fairy's body with an unwelcome sense of déjà vu.

"Right, Sammy. Just let me kill this sorry sucker, then we'll get the hell out of here."

Dean advanced on the shape shifter then hesitated. The thing saw the movement and smirked.

"Can't do it, can ya? Can't kill your own brother."

Dean glared at it, but still didn't move closer.

Sam rolled his eyes and stalked forward, hissing a warning into Dean's ear.

"Dean, remember the reason why I first came in here? It's 'cause I had a vision. A vision where you died, okay? Now, is that enough reason for us to get out of here?"

Dean shrugged Sam's attempts to move him off.

"Listen, Sammy, you've had visions of our deaths before, haven't you? And so far, they haven't come true."

"There's a first time for everything," Sam muttered.

Dean turned around and poked him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I get the last word round here, k? I'm still your older brother!"

Sam was about to roll his eyes again when he spotted something behind Dean's back, and his eyes widened.

"Seems like you aren't the only one."

"What?"

Dean spun around, his face confused, then halted when he saw a pile of bubbling vomit-like substance on the ground, and an identical image of him. He paused, then smirked.

"Yeah, I'd tap that."

"Dean, get out of the way!" Sam yelled as the shape shifter raised his fist. Dean jumped and rolled out of the way, losing the gun in the process. Sam ducked to, but the shape shifter was ready; it grabbed Sam and, lifting him with an inhuman strength, threw him at a wall. Dean watched as Sam slid to the floor, eyes closed.

"Man, you did not just hit my brother!" Dean yelled, jumping on the shape shifter's back and pummelling its head. The thing roared angrily, spinning around, before finally tossing Dean onto the ground.

"It's okay, I was going to get off anyway. There's just something so wrong about giving yourself a piggyback," Dean said causally, before dodging a punch. He dodged another punch and ran forward, ramming the shape shifter into a wall then punching him repetitively.

"Seems like such a pity to ruin such a gorgeous face," Dean said as he stepped back, regarding his handiwork. The shape shifter fell to the ground, sporting multiple broken bones in it's face.

Dean looked around the room, pretty proud to be the only one left standing. Suddenly he saw Sam stir, just as the shape shifter got to its feet.

---

Sam felt something trickle down his face. He groaned as he wiped at it, only to have his hand come away, stained with blood. He was surprised he could still think straight, considering how many knocks to the head he'd had in his lifetime.

He looked up and froze as he saw the two Dean's fighting again. He squinted, but he couldn't tell which one was which. Suddenly one was knocked to the ground, helpless as the other Dean stood above it, breathing heavily. Sam felt as if someone had punched him in the gut; if the Dean on the ground was his brother, he should help him. if it wasn't, and Sam did help, he would be aiding the enemy.

"Sammy, quick, the gun!" the Dean on the ground grunted. Sam stared first at him, then standing Dean, torn between the two.

"Don't do it, Sam!" the other Dean yelled, and Sam glared at him.

"Let me think, just let me think!" Sam yelled his head in his hands. "God Dean, do you always have to be such a jerk?"

"Well sorry, Sammy, for trying to save both our asses!" the Dean standing up stated, at the same time as the other Dean said; "Right, okay. Can i have the gun now please?"

Then, realising its mistake, (which was that Dean would never, ever let Sam act superior to him) the shape shifter shoved Dean off him. Dean gestured for the gun, which Sam threw at him, but the shape shifter darted forward instead, grabbing it and shooting Dean before either Winchester realised what had happened.

Sam had secretly expected that, if he ever saw Dean die, it would be in slow motion. If anything, it was the opposite. The bullet tore through Dean's skin, and he didn't feel the fiery touch of pain until a second later. He gritted his teeth as he fell to the floor, the shape shifter bounding over him and out the door.

Sam rushed to Dean's side, not letting himself think about what had just happened.

"What are you doing, idiot, go after it!" Dean growled, but Sam just pushed him so he was lying down.

"We have to put pressure on the wound," Sam said, as he tried to speak through the lump that had appeared in his throat.

"You don't have to tell me, I've only seen about a million gunshot wounds," Dean retorted, his voice raspy.

"Dean, Dean there's too much blood. It's, it's not stopping, I need more pressure, it's...you have to fight harder Dean, c'mon!"

Dean felt his head get heavy and allowed it to thud against the floor, not feeling any pain at all.

"I can't Sammy," he said slowly, the words seeming to trip on his tongue. He was seeing spots everywhere, and Sam had started to blur. "Fighting is too hard. I think I'll just...rest for a little while. Why are there two of you? Look Sammy, it's...raining..."

Sam wiped the tears from his cheeks so they wouldn't continue to fall onto Dean, his face wet as he lifted Dean into a sitting position, trying not to look at the blood seeping out of the hole in Dean's side.

"No, Dean, it wasn't supposed to happen this way! I saw it, and you weren't meant to...if I had known I wouldn't have let you touch the gun, I would've..." Sam sniffed angrily as the tears kept on coming, tasting the saltiness as they entered his mouth, tickling his face and blurring his vision.

"C'mon Dean, I won't let you go. I mean, you died and then came back before, why not this time? You can't leave me, I just realised how much I needed you! Help, somebody help us!" Sam yelled, remembering they were in a hospital. But by the time anyone heard him, if they even did, it would be too late.

"No, no no no Dean, you can't...you can't leave me alone. I promised myself I wouldn't let you die! We're gonna make you better," Sam whispered into Dean's hair, holding his brother to his body. But then he pushed Dean away again; the feel of Dean's cold skin against wasn't right. It wasn't meant to be like this.

Sam put his head in his hands as his body shuddered, the tears flowing through the gaps in his fingers.

"No!" he yelled, grabbing at his hair viciously, basking in the physical pain. Anything was better than what he was feeling inside.
He lay down, pressing his head against Dean's chest, pushing the sounds of his shallow breathing and sobs out of his head. He listened for a heart beat, but his own pulse, which was ringing loudly in his ears, as if taunting him, saying 'nyah nyah, you're alive and Dean's not', was in the way.

Sam sat up, wiping his tears away, then staring dumbly at his hand. It was soaked from his tears, yet...what was the point? It wasn't bringing Dean back.

Suddenly he heard a small noise coming from the corner, and turned to see the fairy struggling upright.

Suddenly hope blossomed inside of him.

His tears may not be able to help Dean...

But he knew something that could.

A/N: Wow, that sure did get confusing for a minute...or two...I wonder what will happen next? Seriously, I have no idea. Will Dean die? And then Sam feels so bad he wants to forget his past, so he starts a new life, leaving him free...to marry me? Wait, you guys are meant to be speculating, not the writer. Still, who agrees with that as an ending?! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and if you liked this style of writing, keep your eyes out for some more stories (I've got a few ideas...) xxsurexx