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A/N: I've a bad feeling people are thinking this is going to be crackier than I am capable of. Unfortunately I'm not very good at writing funny. So if something does make you laugh a) it will thrill me because it b) will be completely unplanned.

Chapter 2:

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Sam slid into the driver's seat and was greeted with a guttural growl. He knuckled one of his tired eyes and sighed.

Sam was almost afraid to turn his head and look at the angry pit bull. Looking into those green eyes, though, he knew Dean was in there.

"Dean?" The dog responded with a grumbling rumble. "I found most of the others. I think it's a spell, but - " he hesitated, knowing Dean would freak when he said it. Sam braced himself and blurted it out, "They killed the junkyard owner."

Dean yelped and Sam could almost hear his brother's horrified What the hell? in his head.

"I know, but he had changed himself, too, so it has to be some kind of spell. I'm going to go up and check out his shack, see if I can find a spell-book or something." Dean rumbled at him again. "You are staying in the car."

Dean growled, low and dangerous, and Sam's primal instincts kicked in. Eyes wide, he pressed his back against the door, shying away from The Thing With Teeth. Dean whined and nuzzled Sam's hand in apology.

"Damn, man, not even half an hour as a mutt and you could already pass for a real one. I don't care how scary you want to play, you are staying here. You were just out cold and your head is still bleeding. I don't think you have a concussion, but I can't tell for sure and if you get in there and pass out I am not carrying your heavy ass again."

Dean flopped heavily onto the seat, turning sad green eyes up at Sam.

"Now I get why you're always bitching about my puppy dog eyes," Sam groaned, his resolve wavering, "but you're still staying in the car."

Dean grumbled and turned his face away from his brother. Sam felt a stab of guilt, but he knew he was right.

Dean would be safer in the car.

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An hour and a half later, Sam and his new canine companion crept into their motel room unnoticed. Sam had turned the shack inside out and had found nothing helpful.

Dean bee-lined for his bed. Jumping up, he turned three times and flopped down with a sigh. Sam watched from the doorway, smiling. He made a mental note to ask his brother why dogs did that once Dean was human again.

Because he was going to make that happen somehow.

He waited until he was sure Dean had fallen asleep and picked up his phone. If anyone could help, Bobby could.

Bobby took the "Dean is now a dog" news better than Sam anticipated, but was obviously not quite sure what to say for a minute.

"There's more," Sam broke the awkward silence.

"More?" Bobby grated. "Don't tell me he's a girl dog?"

"No, no!" Sam tried not to yell. "I mean there are more dogs who used to be people. And they sort of...killed the guy who changed them all after he turned himself into a dog too."

"Balls. I'll call ya back." -click-

Sam looked over at the bed and saw his brother's four paws start to twitch. A minute later, Dean's legs started to move and then his nose joined the jerky motions. Sam grinned like the Cheshire Cat, years of teasing unfolding in his mind in vivid detail.

Oh Dean was never going to live this one down.

It all vanished like a puff of smoke when Sam heard a whimper and saw the full-body jerk that followed.

Deandog was having a nightmare.

Sam crossed the distance to the bed in two strides. Sitting close, he spoke softly, hoping to comfort his furry brother without startling him. Closer now, he could see Dean was trembling. Sam did the only thing he could think to do: he reached out to pet Dean's head. Dean jerked and let a pained yelp. Sam cringed, realizing he must have touched the wound on Dean's head.

Unsure what else to do, Sam carefully slid the trembling sleeper onto his lap. He was worried that Dean had not woken with all the jostling and accidental wound bumping. The more he thought about it, though, it made sense.

Dean had just been through a hell of an ordeal. The whack on the head was bad enough but then his body had been forced through a fundamental change in...everything. Sam was pretty confident in supposing the initial loss of consciousness at the junkyard was a reaction to the spell.

Now, though - well, now he could easily understand if Dean was just exhausted from the whole thing.

A little over four hours later when Bobby called back, Sam was still sitting on Dean's bed doing research on his phone. Dean was finally sleeping peacefully on his lap so he hadn't wanted to move.

"Hey Bobby," Sam spoke quietly.

"Why you whisperin'?"

"Dean's asleep."

"He dreamin' of chasin' cars? Rumsfeld used to do that. Ended up sliding off the hood of that old truck a time or two," Bobby chuckled.

"Yeah, something like that," Sam answered, not really wanting to go into detail. "Look, I know it's a long shot without the original spell, but did you find anything?"

"I found a few, but there was one that showed up as a reversal for more than one spell. It's as close to a "universal spell undoer" as I could find."

"That's great Bobby! What do I need?"

"He needs to drink the blood of someone he loves - "

"LOVES? Dean hasn't had time to even hook up lately, much less date or fall in love!"

"YOU ya idjit! Dean loves you!"

"Oh...uh...I thought you meant - "

"Never mind. Are you gonna let me finish?"

Sam managed a meek sure. Grabbing the motel stationery he'd been using for research notes, Sam jotted down the short spell and list of things that needed to be added to each sample.

"So," Bobby asked when he'd finished, "any thoughts on how to get samples for the others?"

"I was thinking of using the FBI cover and telling them we need DNA in case we find their loved ones."

"Not bad, boy. Not bad. Just remember they all need to drink at the same time."

Fear burned through Sam as a thought occurred to him. "But they're not all there! Two of them are gone! What if we need them all to reverse it?"

Could Dean really be trapped as a dog forever? How would he react to that? How would Sam react to that?

"All you can do is try, Sam. If this doesn't work, we'll keep looking until we find something that does."

Sam took a deep breath. He knew the momentary doubt was just the fear talking - he would never give up until this was fixed. He knew Bobby was in for the long haul too.

Sam said goodbye and hung up, that thought comforting him. He ran his fingers through Dean's shiny fur and worked on putting together a plan while his brother slept.