Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, or anything Supernatural related...ooh, I have the DVD's though[yay!
Dean could feel something. It was as if an insect, like a mosquito, had bitten him on the chest. It didn't actually hurt...but he couldn't leave it alone. Rather, it wouldn't leave him alone.
"To hell with it," Dean muttered, sitting up, rubbing his itching wound. He could distinctly see Sam in the corner of the room, but he had his back to Dean.
Dean sighed and got to his feet, wondering why his brother hadn't gone after that damned shape shifter yet.
"Sammy!" he snapped, his hand on the door handle. "Get your scrawny ass over here; we gotta go after that handsome devil!"
When Sam didn't move Dean rolled his eyes and tugged the door open, then found himself stopped by what seemed like...an invisible barrier. Dean looked around, confused, then groaned as he saw his body, lying on the ground.
"Aw, not again!" he complained, squatting beside his body. "C'mon, as if I haven't had enough of this already!"
Dean punched the ground, barely noticing the flare of pain. Dean turned to Sam, who was crouched by the fairy's body.
"Hey, Sammy!" When Sam didn't respond Dean walked over and flicked him on the ear, his hand going right through Sam's head. Dean sighed and sat down, cross legged, wondering what he was supposed to do now.
---
"Dammit, what am I supposed to do now?" Sam whispered angrily, staring at the fairy's body. She blinked up at him, her eyes clouded over. He watched as her lips moved, but no sound came out.
"I can't hear you," Sam said, stating the obvious. The fairy rolled her eyes and weakly lifted a hand, beckoning him to come closer. He did so, putting his head right next to her mouth. She grabbed hold of his arm in an iron-like grip that belied her suffering appearance.
"Find...the...shape shifter," she rasped, her lips dry and chapped. Sam shook her arm off, his eyes disbelieving.
"Are you kidding me? That's how Dean ended up on death's doorstep!" Sam groaned as her eyes fluttered shut. "Damn...c'mon, what would Dean do if he were here? Probably go 'round shooting everything in sight, asking questions later."
'Dude, just because I'm a freakin' spirit, doesn't mean I can't hear you! You could try being more considerate! You know, more like your usual pansy-ass self,' Dean muttered, then realised with a shock that a tear was running down Sam's face.
The fairy's eyes flew back open, and Sam saw she didn't have much time left.
"Sam, you can...fix this!" she gasped, her grip finally slackening. "You just...need...to kill it..."
Sam looked first at Dean's body, then the fairy.
"No, I-I can't...I have to make sure Dean's okay." Sam's face was determined. He faced the fairy, all his thoughts focused on Dean. "You have to make him better. I can wish it!"
The fairy shook her head, her eyes angry.
"No! I'm...too weak. It's too late...for your brother..."
"Fine!" Sam stood up, pacing the room, massaging his temples with his knuckles. "I'll...okay. I'll go after the shape shifter. I'll find it. Kill it. And then...you!" Sam swung round and pointed at the fairy. "We have to get you help. And then you can make Dean better!" Sam grinned triumphantly, then his smile faltered. "But...how do we get you better?"
Dean followed Sam around the room, trying to grab hold of his younger brother every few seconds, bellowing in frustration as his hands went straight through Sam's body. 'Dammit, Sammy, she's the bad guy here! You can't go making deals with her, even for me...just go after the freakin' shape shifter already!'
"I can...heal myself. Over time." The fairy frowned, then shook her head. "No...there's a presence here. It's stopping me. It's the shape shifter."
Sam stared at her suspiciously, then backed away towards the door.
"I still don't get this," he said slowly. "But if it means Dean will get better...I have to try." Sam took one last look at his brother's body, then ran out of the room. Unseen by him, the fairy settled back on the ground, a sly smile on her face.
---
'Well you'll be glad to know, there's no supernatural hoodoo stuff going on around here,' Dean stated as he poked his head into a room, not bothering to open the door first. He was following Sam down a corridor, keeping an eye out on his little brother as Sam kept an eye out for the shape shifter. 'That means no trouble for me, at least. You, on the other hand...you're gonna have a hell of a time, trying to lay a hand on that body-thieving bastard.'
Sam smiled innocently as a doctor and a team of nurses passed, then broke into a run as they disappeared around the corner.
"Okay, first things first. Find the shape shifter. Kill it." Sam panted, slowing down as he reached the end of the hallway. "Okay, left or right?"
'Oh, you go left, I'll go right,' Dean suggested eagerly, eyeing a pretty nurse wandering down the right-hand side corridor.
"Right it is," Sam mumbled to himself, tossing up between the two sides and going with the closest.
'Aw, now c'mon dude, that's not fair, I called dibs already!' Dean scowled before stomping down the left corridor.
Sam trudged along, wondering what the hell he was supposed to be looking for, when he accidentally walked right into it.
Literally.
"Ew, gross!" he cried as he kicked his left foot wildly, trying to dislodge the piece of shape shifter residue that was clinging to it. Bending down, Sam studied the pile of goo intently, but it gave him no clues as to where the shape shifter had gone now.
"So...back to square one," he muttered, when suddenly someone grabbed the collar of his jacket and yanked him backwards into a deserted room.
"Keep quiet or I'll cut you open like a Christmas pig," a voice snarled in his ear. Sam's eyes widened as he was thrown onto the ground, a person whose face was cast in shadow standing over him.
"Uh...don't you have turkey at Christmas?"
A sharp kick was delivered to Sam's side. He grunted, clutching the already half-formed bruise, glaring at his attacker.
"What do you want?"
"I'm gonna ask the questions here," the person said, then knelt down so their eyes were level with Sam's. Sam gasped as he saw Dean looking back at him.
"But...the skin! You...you're Dean again?!"
The Fake Dean shrugged offhandedly, a motion that made Sam strangely uncomfortable.
"Yeah, well...I changed into a doctor, but...he had a wife." The thing sneered, disgust written on its face. "A horrible, gossipy, weepy little woman. I took care of her though," Fake Dean said with a snide laugh.
"Anyway, I figured reliable 'ole Dean would be better than nothing. A lot better, actually," Fake Dean continued, an element of warmth creeping into its tone. "Because I have a proposition to make you."
Fake Dean waited for a reaction, but Sam just stared at him levelly.
"Well? What do you want me to say? You're obviously gonna tell me, whatever I do."
Fake Dean laughed, while Sam tried to control the inner anger that was boiling up inside him, at this creature for using his brother's body as a, a puppet.
"I like you, Sammy. You're clever, aren't you?" It was a rhetorical question, which Sam ignored.
"My name's Sam, and could you just get on with the deal already? The less time I spend with you, the better."
The shape shifter shook its head mockingly, then quickly back-handed Sam on the face, who flinched but didn't retaliate.
"See what I mean?" he said. "Hanging around you isn't exactly good for my health."
"Well, that's too bad, isn't it? 'Cause as your brother, we're gonna be spending an awful lot of time together."
"What?" Sam choked, not believing his ears. "Wait...you're not my brother, you're a monster! Just because you look like him doesn't mean you are him!"
Fake Dean chuckled at Sam's anger, waving it away carelessly.
"Ah, but that's what this little deal is all about! You see, while we dither about all these technicalities; I am your brother, I'm not your brother, should I kill you, should I not," Fake Dean's eyes glinted dangerously. "As we talk about it, your brother is slowly drifting closer to death. So, we do this now. You despise me. I don't really see why; after all, I can't help the way I was brought up."
Sam shuddered at the thought of the shape shifter having a family, breeding and raising their 'children'.
"But I can change my future," Fake Dean whispered, grabbing Sam's shoulders in a superhuman grip. "All I have ever wanted, all my life, is to fit in. To be loved. All I have known is hate and suspicion. Your brother will be gone soon. You never needed or wanted him anyway. So, why not replace him? I look like him. I have all his memories, I know how he acts. All I ask is that you, well, don' t try to kill me." The Fake Dean grinned lop-sidedly, so much like Dean that Sam almost said yes.
"It's not true though," he said distractedly. "Why is everyone saying that? Did I ever actually tell anyone that I didn't need Dean? Man, it's starting to piss me off!" Sam folded his arms across his chest crossly as the Fake Dean watched in confusion. "I mean, Dean and I grew up together. He was more like my father than Dad ever was, and he was also my best friend. After I left...well, it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. When he came to get me, I didn't know what to feel." Sam frowned angrily, balling his fists in frustration. "But that was a year ago! We've been through so much, and now...he's the only one in this freakin' messed up world that I actually trust! Why does no one understand that?!"
---
Dean froze in the doorway of the room. He had scoured the halls of the hospital, but didn't find anything. Suddenly, he'd heard raised voices, and tore through walls to get to Sammy. But...he couldn't help but stop and listen as Sam vented all his anger and frustration on Dean's double. Dean stopped, staring at his little brother bewilderedly.
'Christ, Sammy...you couldn't have just told me that? If you had, none of this would've happened! Who would've known acting like a moody teenager would cause so much trouble?" Dean said to no one in particular. He sighed, then disappeared, heading towards the basement. He knew what he had to do.
---
"That's sweet, really Sammy. It's also a bunch of crap. Now, do we have a deal or not?"
Sam glared at the Fake Dean, about to make a witty retort that would no doubt earn him another nasty looking bruise, when the door was kicked open.
"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!" a voice yelled, and then policemen were swarming into the room.
"What do we do first, freeze or put our hands in the air?" the shape shifter mocked, but was then unable to talk, as his feet were knocked out from beneath him, and a policeman knelt on his back, a gun shoved inches away from his nose.
"Dean Winchester? You're under arrest for three counts of known murder, charges of breaking and entering, theft..."
As the charges were read out and the Fake Dean was led from the room, Sam stepped out from the shadows.
"You wanna be my brother? You can do a good job impersonating him in jail," Sam whispered, before running down a corridor before someone spotted him.
---
"Dean. I thought I'd see you again."
'What, how can you see...? Never mind,' Dean said tiredly as he flopped onto the ground next to the fairy, who lifted herself up so she was leaning against the wall. That little movement caused a sweat to break out on her fore head, and she clutched at her wound painfully. Dean watched with detached interest.
'I can't believe I'm actually consorting with the enemy,' Dean said disbelievingly as he studied her. She grinned wryly, her face pale.
"You and me both, pal. Although, I guess it's not that much of a surprise. You are, after all, related to Sam Winchester."
Dean stared at her suspiciously, but her face didn't give anything away.
'What's that supposed to mean?'
The fairy shrugged, her eyes innocent.
"Nothing. It's just, you know...word gets round, even in the supernatural world. He's kinda, known for his...leniency. Or mercy. Or-"
'Foolishness?' Dean suggested sarcastically, laughing for no reason I particular. The fairy frowned, looking slightly aggrieved.
"It's not a bad thing, you know. Maybe you should try be a bit more compassionate yourself."
Dean glared at her, jumping to his feet.
'Look, I don't need advice from you. Exactly how many people have you killed in your life, Little Miss Compassion? Yeah, that's what I thought,' Dean said aggressively as she said nothing. 'You know, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this position at all. I wouldn't be minutes away from death!'
The fairy watched him as he paced the room restlessly, his silent footsteps slightly unnerving Dean.
"You don't think that, if I had wanted to kill you, I would've done so already?"
'Huh?' Dean stopped in his tracks, looking at her suspiciously, and wondering what she was trying to con her way out of this time. She sighed, rolling her eyes, in a gesture that reminded Dean oddly of Sam.
"Think about it Dean!" She argued, a bit of colour returning to her face. "I mean, you said it yourself. I've killed numbers of men...although they deserved," she added as an afterthought.
'No one deserves to be murdered,' Dean said darkly. The fairy looked at him, amused, then laughed a little excessively.
"You really didn't do your homework this time, did you Dean? Although, seeing as Sam as a kid, I guess you lost the brain part of the duo." When Dean still looked at her blankly, the fairy sighed and got shakily to her feet.
"I'm not evil, Dean. All those men who died? Yeah, they got what was coming to them. They were all nasty little buggers." Dean realised with a smirk that the fairy developed an English side when she was angry, but hid it before she could see. "They cheated, lied, thieved and murdered their way through life. They wished for something greedy, purely selfish, and," she shrugged causally, as if it had nothing to do with her. "I dealt out what they had coming. Simple as that."
'Okay,' Dean said slowly. 'So, if you killed them, after you had granted their wishes, what about me? You said you weren't planning to kill me!' Dean accused. She laughed again, and Dean glared at her. 'That wasn't meant to be funny.'
"Dean, I wasn't out to get you! I'm not," she corrected herself hastily. "It was an experiment. To help you, actually." She continued before Dean could interrupt...again. "To be honest, I really just wanted to check out the infamous Winchester brothers were really like. Then I saw you, and I knew something was wrong. You and I both know how Sam feels about you, but you wouldn't let yourself believe it. I mean, you have some serious issues up here," the fairy said, tapping her head, and Dean stepped back in shock.
'Wait, you were in my mind?!' he cried. She ignored him, and kept on talking.
"I just hope that being shot is worth you two sorting things out," the fairy said tiredly, and Dean suddenly remembered his cold body on the ground. He whirled around, and a lump appeared in his throat.
'I...look so peaceful,' he said softly, and suddenly the air seemed to shimmer. The fairy looked up at him in alarm.
"No! Dean, you have to get back into your body! Now!" she cried, reeling back as Dean looked at her, no recognition in his eyes at all. "Dean, I'm telling you to get back in your body!" she said sternly, her voice calmer.
'Can you do that? I mean, bring me back to life?' Dean asked dazedly. He could feel someone calling him...was it his dad? His Mum? No, they were dead. But...he could've sworn he heard their voices...
"Yes, I can," the fairy said forcefully, hoping like hell nobody called her bluff. Dean frowned, then walked towards his body. He sat down, so his lower body was submerged, joined with his real body.
'What will happen to me?' Dean whispered, his voice devoid of emotion. The fairy shook her head impatiently, then stopped.
"Trust in yourself. In Sammy," she said softly. "Your love will save you."
Dean nodded, as if in satisfaction, then lay down, joining spirit and body together once again.
---
"Your love will save you? What kind of crappy line is that? I mean, I'm three hundred and twenty-nine years old, I've seen cities fall, killed god only knows how many people...and that's the best I could come up with?"
Sam burst into the boiler room just as the fairy was in the middle of shaking her head in self loathing.
"It's taken care of," Sam said breathlessly, then his eyes bulged as he caught sight of Dean, whose chest was heaving up and down erratically, but moving nonetheless.
"Dean!" he yelled, tearing over to his brother's side. "He's...he's breathing!" Sam cried ecstatically. The fairy nodded, but her eyes were sad.
"Yes, but Sam...he's weak. Too weak. He's lost a lot of blood."
Sam glared at her, then saw that she too was bleeding; her clothes were stained a rusty pink colour, her blood shades lighter than any humans'.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked softly, moving to her side, but not before picking Dean's body up and taking it with him. He staggered under the weight of his older brother's limp body, but he wouldn't leave Dean alone.
He couldn't.
"I'm...well, no actually," the fairy said, deciding not to lie as she stared into Sam's trusting eyes.
"But...no. That's not right!" Sam's breathing quickened as his eyes raced around the room, looking for something to help. "Is there...you really can't do anything?"
"I...it's not up to me anymore, Sam," the fairy said. Sam stared at her, his frustration mounting at all her cryptic clues.
"I...I wish Dean...and you were completely healthy again," Sam whispered. The fairy's eyes widened in shock as she tried to stop him, but it was too late. A wind struck up from nowhere (as wind tends to do in situations like this) blowing so hard Sam had to close his eyes. She reached out desperately for Dean's body, or even the fairy's, but he couldn't feel anything. Suddenly the ground fell out from beneath his body, and he was free falling, his stomach lurching, his sense of direction completely obliterated. He couldn't talk, or think, or even breath...
And then he crashed into the ground, only it wasn't the same place that they had been in before...
---
Dean's eyes flew open the minute he made contact with the ground. He jumped to his feet. The first thing he noticed was that he was feeling fantastic; his bullet wound didn't hurt, because...it was no longer there. The ache in his bones, the bruises on his body...they were all gone too.
The second thing he noticed was Sam lying on the ground, not far from his feet.
He tore over to his little brother, concern fuelling his steps.
"Sam! Sammy! Wake up!"
Dean slapped his brother lightly. Sam was motionless for a second, then a hand shot out and punched Dean in the chin, sending him reeling. Sam sat up slowly, blinking rapidly.
"Huh? What? Oh, freakin' hell, my hand!" Sam stuck his sore hand in his mouth, glancing around for the cause, and saw Dean staring at him with murder in his eyes.
"Dean, I, uh-hey, you're alive! Dean, you're alive!" Dean suddenly found him smothered by Sam's never-ending arms, as his brother hugged him tightly. Sam sat back just as suddenly as he had attacked Dean, causing Dean to fall over.
"Yeah, well I'd like to stay that way for now, so take it easy, okay?" Dean grumbled, picking grass off his jacket. "No wonder we never hug. Have your arms always had the tendency of noodles?"
Before Sam could retort there was a quiet cough from behind him, and they both turned to see the fairy leaning against a tree. For the first time, they took in their surroundings.
They were in a garden of some sort, with a high back fence that, from the sounds of it, led to a road. In the other direction was a large white two-storey house, that looked oddly familiar.
"Nice to see you two getting along," the fairy said, brining their attention back to her. The brothers grinned at each other, until Sam punched Dean playfully in the arm. The ever-competitive Dean growled and punched Sam right back, until they were rolling around on the ground, fighting.
"Guys!" the fairy yelled, and Sam and Dean suddenly found themselves suspended a foot above the air by an invisible force.
"Glad to see you're okay too," Dean said, his eyes light as he recalled what had happened before he went back into his body. Things were a bit blurred, but he was pretty sure the fairy was now one of the good guys.
"Yeah, thanks to your brother," the fairy said, beaming at Sam, who blushed . Dean rolled his eyes, wondering why Sam was always thanked and not him.
"It's because he's easier to get along with," the fairy said sternly, and Dean flushed. "Anyway, I just wanted to say goodbye. Thankyou both. I won't forget what you've done for me."
"Yeah, you owe us one!" Dean crowed. The fairy glared at him.
"Well, I seem to recall a certain someone shooting me," she said, annoyed, and he cleared his throat nervously.
"Uh, don't mention it, we'll call it even," he said hastily, as Sam turned a laugh into a cough.
"Anyway. I'll see you again, maybe sometime soon. Stay out of trouble, okay?"
The fairy stopped whatever they were doing and the brothers fell to the ground, Sam more gently than Dean, something that did not go unnoticed by him.
"Sam," the fairy said softly, taking his arm and pulling him to the side. "When you wished, I, uh, wasn't at my best, as you know. So, there might be some setbacks. You'll probably know before I do, but...just be careful, okay?" Before Sam could ask her anything, the fairy disappeared.
Sam turned around, taking exhaling heavily, a giant grin appearing on his face as he saw Dean hopping around on one foot, trying to take something out of his boot.
"Wanna give me a hand with this Sammy?" Dean bellowed. Sam laughed and charged at him, knocking him over, then leaping to his feet and hurrying out of arm's reach.
"You've gotten soft, Dean," he mocked. "All that mothering...didn't do you much good!"
"You wish!" Dean retorted, chucking his boot at Sam's head, and missing narrowly. Sam stared at it in disbelief.
"You could've killed me!"
"Pity."
"...right, you're not getting your boot back!"
"Wait, what? Give it, sasquatch!"
"Jerk!"
"Bitch!"
A/N: Well, that's it, guys! The end. Finito. I, uh, don't really know 'the end' in any other language...kind of an anticlimax, huh? Sorry 'bout the cliche ending, but cliches are cliched for a reason, right? 'Cause they work, that's why[beaming So, what'dya think? Thankyou to everyone who reviewed, it's great to hear people like the story...well, look out for another Winchester advneture soon : ) xxsurexx