Swap Meat
Dean, Michelle, and Sam were sitting in the living room across from an older woman, Donna, and her daughter, Katie. Sam had gotten a call from Donna about a possible ghost haunting her house, attacking her daughter. They'd immediately headed over to meet with the woman, Michelle learned, had been the boys' babysitter when they were younger. She was very excited to meet the woman and learn more about the boys.
"So, how long has it been?" Donna asked as they sat around.
"The summer before 6th grade," Sam answered after a moment.
"Mhmm," the woman nodded in thought, "I remember. You assigned yourself your own reading list."
Dean laughed, "THAT'S RIGHT. I forgot about that."
"Your mom happens to be the best babysitter we ever had," Sam told Katie, who was sitting beside her mother, a blanket on her lap.
Michelle smiled at that.
"Well, when I was a maid at the Mayflower, out on the interstate, long before you were even an idea," Donna told her daughter, "Their daddy used to pass through town and leave the boys with me...work. One time, he was gone for two weeks."
"Two weeks?" Katie's eyes widened.
"Mhmm," Donna nodded, "Oh, he'd always come limping back. He loved you boys."
Michelle took Sam's hand in her own, smiling at him at the mention of his father. Even she could tell, despite the stories she'd heard of John Winchester, and Sam and Dean's own recounts of their lives with him, he did love them, so much.
"Did you know what he did all that time?" Katie asked her mother.
"Little Sammy kept trying to tell me," Donna sighed, "Of course, I didn't believe him. Not at first, anyway."
Sam inhaled sharply before looking at Katie, trying to figure out a way to explain what their dad did without scaring her but enough so that she'd feel safe.
"Their dad happened to be an expert at getting rid of ghosts," Michelle told the girl, "And now, so are they," she nodded at Sam and Dean.
"Mickey here isn't too bad at handling the odd ghost either," Dean smirked.
Michelle just rolled her eyes at him and punched him in the shoulder, perhaps a bit harder than she intended, he winced and rubbed his now-sore arm.
Donna smiled at the action, she could just tell when the boys showed up with the girl that she was capable of handling, not only the creatures, but the both of them as well, "That's why I called them, sweetie. They can help us."
"Sounds like you guys got yourself a poltergeist," Michelle commented as Donna's husband came into the room.
"Started a month or two after we moved in," the man sighed.
"Yeah, first it was, uh, just bumps and knocks and, uh, scratches on the walls," Donna added, "And then it started breaking things."
"And then it attacked Katie?" Sam frowned.
"That was two nights ago," the man nodded.
"Can you show them, honey?" Donna turned to her daughter. Katie hesitated a moment before standing up and lifting her shirt to reveal words carved into her stomach.
"'Murdered Chylde'" Sam read, staring at the words.
Michelle stood up and moved to Katie's side, resting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it in support as the girl lowered her shirt.
"Katie," Dean said, drawing the girl's attention, "Everything's gonna be fine. I promise."
"And since this is Dean we're talking about," Michelle smirked, "I promise everything's gonna be fine," she squeezed Katie's shoulder once more and gave the girl a wink, "I have a much better track record of keeping promises."
Katie smiled.
"Why don't you guys take yourselves a little vacation, and, uh, we'll take care of it," Dean added, rolling his eyes at Michelle but smiling nonetheless.
Donna nodded, "Thank you."
~8~
Dean was standing at the counter of a fast food joint, waiting to get the food, while Sam sat at the table doing research, Michelle having made a quick stop to the little girls' room.
"Uh, bacon burger turbo, large chili-cheese fry, hamburger with extra pickles," the boy at the counter recited, sliding the tray full of food to Dean, "And a...health quake salad shake?" he raised an eyebrow at that last order.
Dean rolled his eyes, "I know. I know. It's, uh," he cleared his throat, "It's not mine."
He turned and headed back to the table, Sam reaching out and taking the salad in a shake container and adding a bit of dressing to it before shaking it. Dean just watched him, shaking his salad, till Sam looked up at him.
"Oh, you shake it up baby," Dean deadpanned. Sam rolled his eyes and popped the top off the shake and began to eat his salad. Dean cleared his throat a moment, "You know, poltergeist aside, Donna looked pretty good, don't you think?"
"Dude, don't tell me you've still got the hots for our babysitter," Sam shook his head at his brother.
"What?" Dean scoffed, "No. That's weird," he tried to laugh it off, "I'm just saying that she, you know, she…she's…she's doing good. You know, with her husband, her kid. This whole Amityville thing being thrown at them, and they're hanging tough."
"Yeah."
"You ever think that you'd want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?"
Sam looked up at his brother, about to answer, when a soft smile came onto his face.
Dean glanced over his shoulder at what had taken his brother's attention to see Michelle step out of the bathroom and look over at them, smiling before heading over. Dean turned back around, "I'll take that as a yes then?"
"What's a yes?" Michelle asked, sitting down next to Sam and snatching a fry off Dean's tray along with her burger.
"Sam's..." Dean began.
"Found some things about the ghost," Sam cut in.
Michelle eyed them both curiously a moment before shaking her head and turning to Sam, "What do you got?"
"Well, that house of theirs, it's old…really old," Sam began, thankful Michelle hadn't pressed the issue, "Hundreds of years. And I found a legend."
"Saying?" Dean asked.
"Supposedly, in the 1720s, house was owned by a guy named Isaiah Pickett," Sam replied, turning his laptop around for Dean to see a webpage with some information up, "Legend has it he hung a woman in his backyard for witchcraft…a woman named Maggie Briggs."
"Ok, so an angry ghost-witch?"
"If it's true."
"That still doesn't explain what 'Murdered Chylde' means," Michelle sighed.
"No, or where the bitch is buried," Dean added.
"You know, I mean, it's a long way back, but I can see if I can find something in the town records," Sam offered.
"It's worth a shot," Dean agreed, biting into his food.
~8~
Sam was walking through town that night, on his phone with Dean. He'd spent the last six hours looking through the town records. Michelle had helped him sift through the information at first but then Dean had called, asking for her help with asking the locals. Turns out, he still had yet to implement her suggestions to be nice to people, and was on the verge of being arrested for harassment. She'd offered to stay with Sam, but he'd just waved her off, it was research, he wasn't going to get arrested for doing that and they couldn't afford Dean in jail...again...
"So, any luck?" Dean asked.
"Bubkus," Sam replied, rubbing his eyes, "Can't even find proof a woman named Maggie Briggs existed, much less where she was planted."
Dean sighed, "Ok. Well, we've got a minute to breathe here. Let's pick it up first thing."
"You bet," Sam agreed, "See you in a few," he pulled his cell away and closed it, only for it to ring a moment later. He quickly answered again, "Hey."
"Hey Sam," Michelle replied.
"Michelle?" he frowned, "I thought you were with Dean?"
"I was. It's my turn to pick up dinner, just wondering what you wanted to eat."
Sam smirked, about to answer, when he heard a piece of wood snap, "Hey...can I call you back?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No," he said quickly, "No, I just...thought I heard something. I'm gonna check it out."
"Sam..."
"I'll call you right back," he smiled at her concern.
"Fine," she huffed.
"I'll be fine," he smiled wider, "I promise."
"Why don't I believe you," she replied softly.
He just laughed and hung up, taking a breath before looking around the grounds, "Hello?!" he called, trying to find what had made the snap. He turned around, only for something to stab him in the neck. He reached for it, feeling a dart there, before the world started to spin and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
~8~
Dean walked into the motel room to see Sam spin around and face him, startled, "Yeah...he's here," he said into his phone before snapping it shut, "Sam!" he shut the door behind him and stepped forward, "Where the hell you been, man? I've been trying to call you for hours. Michelle has been calling me every ten minutes for an update wondering where the hell you are."
"Michelle?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah," Dean nodded, pulling off his jacket, "You said you'd call her back after you went to check something out and you didn't. She was freaking a little."
"Michelle was freaking?"
"She is your girlfriend," Dean rolled his eyes, "And despite many things to the contrary, Michelle IS a girl. That's what they do."
"I picked up some food," Sam said quickly, holding up a bag from the fast food joint they'd gone to before, "Bacon burger turbo, large chili-cheese fry, right?"
Dean eyed him and took the bag to look in it.
"Sorry, man. Really," Sam frowned, "I…I just…I lost track of time. I didn't mean to freak you or Michelle out."
"Thanks. Probably good you picked up the food, I don't think Michelle remembered. Don't know why it took you two hours, but thanks."
Dean moved to sit down and pulled out his burger when Sam spoke again, "Oh, you're gonna want to eat that on the road."
"Why?" he frowned.
"The maid came in, saw that," he nodded at the guns lying on the bed, "And now they're all kind of freaking out."
"Why'd you let the maid in?"
"It just happened."
Dean sighed, "Whatever..." he got up, stuffing the burger back in the bag and walking towards the back of the room, "I gotta hit the head, and then we'll take off."
"Alright," Sam nodded, "I…I'll be outside."
~8~
Sam was sitting in the passenger's seat of the Impala, fidgeting, growing impatient waiting to get out of there. He nearly jumped when someone appeared in his window.
"Hey," Michelle smiled at him, frowning as he turned to smile at her, "You ok?"
"Fine," he nodded, smiling at her. He could barely breathe, that girl was HOT! Holy shit. He had a friggin' hot girlfriend.
"Ok..." she trailed a moment before getting in the backseat as Dean got in the driver's side.
"Hey," Dean greeted, shutting the door, "You ready?"
"Absolutely," Sam smiled. Dean reached forward to start the engine when he couldn't resist any longer, "Hey, can I drive?"
Dean eyed him a moment before glancing back at Michelle, who could only shrug, wasn't her car. He sighed and got out of the car, walking towards Sam's side as Sam happily nearly ran to the driver's side.
"Oh, this is so sweet!" Sam commented, starting the Impala up and listening to it purr, revving the engine.
"You want to get the lead out, Andretti?" Dean rolled his eyes, "Come on," Sam nodded and went to shift gears, "Reverse," Sam released the emergency break, "Reverse!" Sam put his foot on the gas and the Impala squealed...reversing straight into a pair of garbage cans behind them, "It's in reverse!"
Sam froze, foot on the brake, as he turned to face Dean, eyes wide, "I am really, really sorry."
"Shut up," was all Dean said, getting out of the car and switching seats with his brother once more.
~8~
Poor Gary's day was not going well. First he'd nearly been arrested, had his parents think he was drunk, and been grounded to his room. Unfortunately for Gary, his body was currently inhabited by one Sam Winchester. He'd done everything he could think of to get in touch with Dean or Michelle. He'd called their cell phones but gotten only voicemail. He'd called the motel to find that, apparently, the guy with the leather jacket, the girl, and the Sasquatch had checked out. Which could only mean one thing, someone else was in his body. And if he had to guess, it was the gluten-allergic, smart, MIT-going, Latin-reading, witchcraft-practicing, frustrated virgin who worked in the fast food joint from earlier, whose body he was stuck in...great.
~8~
Dean, Michelle, and Sam were walking down the road near a pier the next morning. They'd been driving around the whole night, not wanting to leave the town but unable to find another motel to stay at. They'd ended up crashing at Donna's house, thankfully the poltergeist hadn't attacked them that night. Michelle had stayed up, scouting around the house for any more signs of Maggie Briggs.
"So, uh, where we going, anyway?" Sam asked as they walked to the car after getting breakfast.
"To work," Dean replied.
"The case?" Michelle added, seeing Sam looking confused.
"Oh, right!" he exclaimed, "Yeah…the case. Of course..." he draped his arm around Michelle's shoulders and looked over at Dean, "Where, uh, do you want to start?"
"Well, since you couldn't find where Maggie Briggs was buried..." Dean trailed, frowning a moment as Michelle subtly slipped out from under Sam's arm and went to open the car door, about to get in, but making no move to do so, "Now we have to do an all-day tombstone roll to see if we can dig her up."
"Wait," Sam cut in, "Maggie Briggs? You mean, like…like, the witch Maggie Briggs?"
"Yeah, Sherlock," Dean shook his head, not sure where his brother was going with this.
"Yeah, she's in the basement."
"Come again? What basement?"
"Isaiah Pickett's house. Ok, there's this legend that he hung her, but he didn't. The real truth is, is that she was carrying his illegitimate child, and he killed her and then buried her in the basement."
"That would explain the scratches," Michelle nodded slowly to herself, thinking about Katie's cuts, "How do you know all this?" she turned to look at Sam.
"Oh, I've done all kinds of research on it," he told them, before blinking and clearing his throat, "Last night."
"Yeah," Dean nodded slowly, "Nice work...I guess."
They slipped into the car as Bob Seger's 'Rock n' Roll Never Forgets' played softly through the speakers.
"Aw, man, turn it up!" Sam smiled, bobbing his head with the song.
"Seriously?" Michelle and Dean looked at him oddly, since when did Sam like that song?
"Hell yeah!" he smirked.
Dean just shrugged and turned the music up as they drove off.
~8~
Gary's day had been getting better. He still hadn't managed to contact Dean or Michelle, which, honestly, was starting to worry him. He'd left them what must have been twenty voicemails so far but nothing. He'd also found that two kids, Trevor and Nora, were supposedly his good friends. Through them he'd managed to find 'his' locker and break into it, finding an old leather-bound book on witchcraft stashed in there, which went with the athame he'd found in a box in 'his' room before. Now he just had to figure out which spell had been used and reverse it...wonderful...
~8~
Dean had taken the lead in heading to the basement of Donna's house, followed by Sam, with Michelle in the rear. Dean had the shovel, while Michelle had the supplies to burn the bones, Sam with the shotgun.
"Boo-yah!" Sam shouted, aiming his gun and attempting to stealthily walk through the basement, aiming every which way, "Master chief is in the house, bizatches!"
"Are you alright?" Michelle asked for what must have been the hundredth time since last night. She eyed him curiously as he lowered his gun.
"Yeah," he said quickly, "Fine."
Michelle frowned.
"Well, I'll be damned," Dean called over to them. They looked over to see a soft green material growing over the soil of the floor.
"Willow moss," Michelle commented, stepping up and kneeling beside the substance.
"Yeah, right," Sam nodded, "It's, uh, supposed to grow over witches' graves, right?"
Michelle paused in standing up as she and Dean looked over at him.
"Yeah," Dean replied. He shook his head at his brother before turning and starting to dig. Michelle knelt next to the hole, the supplies out and ready for when Dean finished. Dean made quick work of it, starting to unearth some bones.
Michelle frowned, tensing as she sensed something behind her. She thought back to the last time she'd felt it...when she'd first met Sam and Dean at Bobby's...and Sam had been aiming a gun at her head.
"Hey, man, I'm really sorry about this," Sam said from behind them.
"Sorry about what?" Dean asked.
Michelle turned around just as Sam was thrown into the wall by the stairs by the ghost.
"Sam!" Dean shouted, hearing the crash. He scrambled out of the hole and ran to his brother's side to check on him. Michelle turned back to the hole and poured the salt in it, "You ok?" she heard Dean ask.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Sam shouted.
"Wait, wait, wait we still gotta burn the body, you idiot."
"On it!" Michelle yelled, squeezing the lighter fluid into the hole.
"Come on," Dean grunted, pulling Sam to his feet.
There was another crash. She looked back to see Dean had been thrown back as well, but this time there was an apparition in the room. She quickly threw the match into the hole and the ghost burst into flames.
"Dude, that was sweet!" Sam shouted.
She looked over to see Sam laughing as he looked at the flaming grave, like he hadn't seen hundreds of them before. She just shook her head and went to help Dean up.
~8~
Gary's day was not going well anymore. He'd left school, cutting class as it were, with the witchcraft book, when he'd been cornered by Trevor and Nora...again...only to be shot in the neck by Trevor with the same tranquilizer that had gotten him when he'd been in his own body. Well at least that answered one question, he thought, as the world spun once more.
~8~
Dean had gone back to the motel room that night, just shaking his head at his brother. They'd gone to a small bar after dealing with the witch-ghost, just him and Sam. Michelle had opted for going back to the motel room for some reason. They'd been drinking when he'd ordered a cheeseburger with extra bacon with an egg on top...and then Sam had ordered the same thing...and eaten it. He'd also gotten drunk off two shots, been happy inexplicably, and thought the generic hunt had been amazing…and then proceeded to get a banana daiquiri…and then left the bar with a cougar who just exuded dominatrix...was he really THAT drunk?
He stepped into the motel, stopping short at the sight before him. Michelle was making up the couch to sleep on, "You and Sam have a fight or something?"
Michelle looked up to see Dean watching her, concern she never normally saw in his eyes, now there.
She sighed and shook her head, "I...don't know..."
"You don't know if you had a fight?" Dean frowned, confused.
"We didn't fight, but..." she sighed, "I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. That...that's not Sam," Dean eyed her a moment, "I've done everything I can think of, silver, holy water, research into the town, no missing bodies. There's nothing that's possessing him or took his shape. It's Sam but...it's not. He...it makes me feel really uncomfortable."
Dean nodded, he'd seen it all day. She'd sit or stand on his side, putting him in the middle of Sam and her. She'd shy away from every touch Sam tried to give her. She'd barely made eye contact with him unless it was to watch him suspiciously.
He had to admit...he was starting to have doubts about Sam as well. Everything just now sort of cemented it for him that something was either seriously wrong with his brother or it wasn't his brother. He knew Sam, if he even suspected something was upsetting Michelle he wouldn't stop till he made things right with her, he wouldn't walk off with some cougar.
And when he thought about that, he couldn't help but think about the distance between his brother and Michelle the last day. Recently, ever since the mental institute, Sam and Michelle had been closer than before. It was almost sickening how lovey-dovey they could be. And it was almost scary how they'd go from sweet, to seriously hunting, to sweet again.
This Sam wasn't that Sam.
It wasn't Sam period.
"So what do we do?" Dean asked her.
~8~
Gary was not a happy camper. He'd woken up in Trevor's basement, tied to a chair, with Trevor and Nora standing there. Trevor had gotten in contact with the real Gary and he'd found out that their plan was to have the kid parading around as Sam Winchester kill Dean and Michelle. Trevor and Nora had doubted it would actually happen. He'd played on Nora's compassion, making her realize that Dean and Michelle were real people that their friend was about to kill in cold blood. He'd found out that there was a bounty out on Dean's head and the kids had been messing around with witchcraft when they'd learned this. He'd tried to scare the girl, telling her that Michelle was sharp, she'd figure it out, and when she realized someone had taken over Sam's body, she would kill Gary for it. He knew she really wouldn't, but he could tell Nora cared about Gary, it was enough to spook her into doubting the plan. But it didn't do much for Trevor, who had then decided to summon a demon...
~8~
Sam walked into the motel room quietly, it was dark. He could see a lump on the bed, Dean. He walked towards him, picking up a gun lying on a chair in the process and aiming it at the lump. He hesitated a moment before glancing over his shoulder, hearing a noise, only to be punched straight in the face by Dean.
He fell to the floor and looked up to see Michelle aiming a gun at him, "You're not Sam."
"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded, glaring down at him.
"Ow!" was all Sam could muster.
That was all the confirmation they needed.
~8~
As Gary had predicted...it had not gone well. The demon Trevor had summoned took over Nora...and killed Trevor...before zapping out to confront Dean and Michelle. He could only hope they would be ok...
~8~
Michelle tied up 'Sam' to a chair, he didn't even try to get out of it...proving once more it was not Sam. Dean looked over at her as he listened to the messages on their voicemails.
"You have 38 messages," the voicemail informed him.
Dean listened intently as someone spoke, "This is gonna sound crazy…really crazy…but, um, I think I'm in the wrong body."
"Dean, the guy right next to you is not me!"
"Dean, check your friggin' voicemail. Damn it."
He nodded at Michelle and strode over to 'Sam,' leaning down to glare at him, "Alright, pal. Either you start talking...or I let Michelle do her worst."
'Sam' looked over at Michelle, eyeing her skeptically.
"I've been to Hell," she told him, "Picked up more than a few tricks."
"Oh my God," 'Sam's' eyes widened, "Please, don't hurt me. Please! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
Dean and Michelle exchanged a look before Dean sighed and turned back to 'Sam,' "Hey, pull it together, champ."
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die!"
"We won't kill you," Michelle cut in, "If you tell us what we want to know."
"Where's Sam?" Dean demanded.
"In my…my friend's basement," 'Sam' answered, "His parents are out of town."
"Parents?" Dean frowned.
"How old are you?" Michelle looked at him. Based on his language...couldn't be older than late teens.
"17," 'Sam' answered.
"17?" Dean's eyes widened. Whether it was from shock or disbelief, Michelle didn't know.
Before Dean could even say another word, he and Michelle were sent flying through the air and crashed into the wall.
"Nora?" 'Sam' shouted.
They looked up to see a 17-year-old girl with short brown hair standing in the room, her eyes black.
"Not at the moment," the possessed girl replied.
~8~
'Gary' struggled against the ropes...though he wasn't strong enough to break through them. 'Gary,' unfortunately, had few muscles, if any.
"Damn it!"
~8~
"Boy, you earned your dessert tonight, kiddo," Nora said, freeing 'Sam' from his restraints, "Tell me…what is it you want? Anything."
"Anything?" 'Sam' breathed.
"Lay it on me," Nora smirked.
"I want to be a witch. For real. And really powerful."
"Mmm. Good choice. I get it. No daddy, no M.I.T.. No plan. You get to be big and strong, and no one can tell you what to do anymore. There's just one small formality first. You got to meet the boss."
Dean and Michelle exchanged a look, Michelle holding her hand out as Dean quietly pulled Ruby's demon-killing knife out of his pocket and slid it over to her. He'd hit the wall on his shoulder, hard, and was pretty sure he'd dislocated it, he'd be no use in a fight right now.
"The boss?" 'Sam' frowned.
"You know…your satanic majesty, or whatever the kids are calling it these days," Nora shrugged.
"The devil?"
"Mhmm."
"Uh..." 'Sam' debated before shaking his head, "No. Ok. It's ok. I...don't really want to bother him."
"Oh, but he's gonna want to meet you. Relax. It'll be easy. He's just gonna ask you one little question, and all you gotta do is say 'yes.' You get your reward."
Nora turned around, grabbing Michelle's wrist as she tried to stab the girl with Ruby's knife. She glared at the woman before shoving her away. Michelle managed to keep her balance as she hit the wall. She lunged at the girl once more, slashing at her. Nora avoided the swipes, trying to hit Michelle, but she blocked the attacks well. Michelle ducked under one hit, grabbed Nora's arm and twisted it behind her, kicking out the back of the girl's legs, forcing her to kneel. She put the knife against Nora's throat and quickly started an exorcism.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus," she recited, grabbing Nora's hair to hold her down, "Omnis satanica potestas. Omnis incursio infernalis adversii. Omnis congregatio. Et secta diabolica. Ergo, draco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire. Te rogamus. Adinos!"
'Sam' watched in horror a swarm of black smoke flew out of Nora, the girl screaming as well. Michelle let go, allowing the girl to collapse to the ground, unconscious, breathing heavily as she turned to Sam.
"You take us to Sam," she told him, pointing the knife at him, no longer willing to play games, "Now."
'Sam' nodded quickly, swallowing hard.
~8~
They were standing in Trevor's basement. Nora sitting on a small couch, wrapped in a blanket, alive, not something that could always be said for the host after a demonic exorsism. Dean and Michelle were standing with their arms crossed, eyes on 'Gary' and 'Sam,' sitting before a small altar with the ingredients for the transfer spell.
"Animae domum redeant," 'Sam' recited, reaching out to grab a fist full of powder, "Fas atque nefas instauretur," he sprinkled it in the bowl before him, "Potestate et auctoritate, sic fiat!" he threw the last bit in and there was a flash of light.
Suddenly 'Sam' and 'Gary' had switched places.
Sam got to his feet and looked over at the mirror, sighing in relief.
"So, we good?" Dean asked, eyeing who he hoped was his brother.
Michelle smiled as Sam nodded, "Yeah. We're good."
"I'll be the judge of that," Michelle stepped forward and pulled Sam into a kiss as Dean rolled his eyes. Moments later she pulled back, grinning broadly at seeing Sam dazed.
"Oh, man, it's nice to be back," he breathed, smiling at her before putting his arm around her.
"Yeah. Awesome," Gary rolled his eyes.
~8~
They drove Gary and Nora back to Gary's house, it was raining. Gary got out, starting to follow Nora to the house, when Dean stopped him.
"I know," he sighed, "My bad."
"'My bad?'" Dean scoffed, "Kid, 'my bad' ain't gonna cut it. See, if you were of voting age...you'd be dead. Because we would kill you. So either you straighten up and fly right or we will either kill you...or set Michelle on you. And trust me," he leaned forward, "Us killing you would be us being nice."
Gary looked over at Michelle, who had fixed him with a hard, warning look. He swallowed hard.
"Are we clear?" Dean's voice drew his attention back.
"Crystal," Gary nodded before leaning in to whisper, "She scares me."
"Good," Dean stepped aside and walked around the car to the driver's side.
Gary looked up at his house before sighing, "Crap."
"Gary, look," Sam turned to face him, "Take it from someone who knows…chin up, man. Your life ain't that bad."
"Uh, you met my parents," Gary gave him a pointed look as though it should explain everything.
"Yeah? So what? It's your life. You don't like their plan for you, tell them to cram it. Rebel a little bit."
"In a healthy, non-satanic way, of course," Michelle called over.
"By the way," Sam leaned in, speaking quieter as Nora was watching them from the front walkway, "You know why Nora's into witchcraft?"
"What do you mean?" Gary frowned.
"She doesn't like Satan, you moron. She likes you."
"Really?" his eyes widened as he glanced from Nora back to Sam, "You…you think?"
"Ah, yeah. I know. I'm telling you, kid…I wish I had your life."
"You do?" Gary blinked, Sam nodded, "Thanks."
"Get out of here," Sam clapped him on the back, sending Gary on his way.
Dean sighed as they turned and got into the Impala, "That was a nice thing to say."
"I totally lied," Sam admitted, closing his door, "That kid's life sucked ass," he sighed, laughing slightly, "All that apple-pie, family crap? It's stressful. Trust me…we didn't miss a damn thing."
"Or we don't know what we're missing," Dean countered.
Sam shook his head, "No...it...it's like…that's the sort of life I dreamed about when I was younger, a normal family, actual friends, attending school...but...now...the whole time I was there I just kept thinking about how much I missed the life I had now. How much I wanted to get back."
Dean smiled. He'd been a born Hunter, he was sure of it. There really wasn't anything else he could imagine wanting to do with his life. But Sam, he'd fought it tooth and nail against it...to hear him admit that he actually liked hunting...that this was becoming his normal. Dean really couldn't think of anything better.
He looked up into the rearview mirror to see Michelle smiling softly at his brother's declaration. He knew she was aware of the whole 'wanting to be normal' situation with Sam. He couldn't help but feel like most of Sam's new found acceptance of hunting had to do with the girl in the backseat. He smiled, shaking his head at his thoughts and turned the car on.
'Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets' blasted through the speakers.
"Hey, come on, man," Sam grumbled, "Turn it down."
"Welcome back, Kotter," Dean laughed, turning the volume down as they headed back to the motel for a bit of sleep before heading out once again.
~8~
Sam and Dean were sitting quietly on the couch, drinking a beer, as Michelle slept on the second bed. Dean had been recounting what Gary had been doing in his body while he'd been stuck in Gary's to Sam.
Sam glanced over at the bed before turning to Dean, "Did…did she and Gary…"
"Not a thing," Dean told him, knowing what his brother was worrying about. Even though it had been his body, the fact that it was someone else who might be doing something with his girlfriend was worrying him. Dean laughed, "It was actually weird."
"What was?" Sam took a swig.
"It was almost like she knew from the get go that something was wrong with you."
"And you didn't?" Sam asked, amused and more than a little relieved.
"You brought me food," Dean shrugged, "But with her…" he nodded at the bed, "Moment she saw you again she actually asked if you were ok. Whenever Gary would try to touch her or hold her hand she shied away from him. She was even getting the couch ready for the night when I came back to the motel. I thought you two had a fight or something. Hell if I knew what was going on."
Sam smiled, "I wonder what tipped her off," he knew from Dean it had been him walking off with a cougar.
"Everything," came Michelle's voice. They turned around to see her pushing herself up to sit on the bed, "Everything was wrong."
"How'd you know though?" Dean asked. At first he'd just thought Sam was partially drunk for some reason.
Michelle rolled her eyes at them, "I've lived with you two long enough to know all your little idiosyncrasies and quirks."
"Like what?" Sam tilted his head. He wasn't aware he did anything specific to himself.
"Like…" Michelle trailed a moment, trying to think of some. It was like, she knew it when she saw it, but trying to think of it was escaping her, "Like how Dean takes the biggest bite and then chews slowest his first bite of whatever he's eating. How he twists his ring when he has to do some sort of touchy feely talk. Or how he always checks that his gun is in his belt whenever he enters a building or leaves the Impala…"
Dean looked shocked at that, he knew about the gun thing…he hadn't really been aware of the other things.
"And Sammy?" Dean asked, curious to know what his brother did.
"Well…Sam always tosses his bag on the bed when we enter a motel room," she began, "He always debates between two items on the menu wherever we go somewhere new. When he holds my hand and gets distracted, he starts playing with my fingers…" she smiled and looked at Sam, "Gary didn't do any of that. It was just all wrong. I can't really describe it, it was like…the way you were talking, walking, carrying yourself…the way you reacted and acted…it was just…not you. You weren't the Sam I knew…" she gave him a soft look, "You weren't the Sam I loved."
Sam smiled and got off the couch to go sit beside her, giving her a loving kiss at her words.
"And the lovey-dovey crap is back…" Dean groaned, rolling his eyes at them.
Michelle just laughed and threw a pillow at his head.
A/N: Idk why, but for some reason this wasn't my favorite episode of the season. Oh well, next chapter...Michael. Dun dun duh! A few of you have posted theories about who Michelle's father is. I suppose we'll get a better idea next chapter if the theories are close won't we, when they all come face-to-face :)