CHAPTER 5 - Once bitten twice shy

"Dean and I met up yesterday after he'd finished the job in Wyoming." John explained without missing a beat.

"Dad that's not him it's one of them." Sam was quick to reply, his heart beginning to race as he went over all the details in his head. "Dean said that one of them had gotten away from him, that must be..."

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't notice the difference between a damn Shapeshifter and my own son?" John barked, his eyes glancing over towards the small cabin in the woods where Dean was still asleep. "He came on the hunt with me Sam, just like he always does. You're the one who's got a Shifter taking you for a ride."

"No Dad, you do." Sam growled, his eyes glancing up as the kitchen door slid open, his tone of voice enough to draw Bobby back into the room. "I called while the cops where chasing him down, he ditched the Impala outside of Scythe, Bobby & I picked him up this morning. He's here with us."

"Sam, the Impala's at a shop here in town. Your brother bent a rim on his way over and the one they found for it is at a wrecking yard two days away." John continued. "We spent yesterday hunting down a Wendigo while we wait for the part to come in."

"Dad I'm telling you that thing isn't Dean. I know we don't get along but you've got to believe me, trust me for once." Sam pleaded, catching Bobby's eyes for only a moment.

"Son, you've been away from this for two years now. I think you're loosing your instinct, you're..."

"He used a silver blade to cauterize his wound." Sam cut in, trying to think of something he could say that would convince the other man.

"Shifter's lie, Sam. Listen..."

"NO, YOU LISTEN!" Sam shouted, once again cutting his father short. "I'm telling you that he's here at Bobby's with me."

"And I'm telling you that he's here in Colorado with me!" John hissed.

Bobby could almost feel the mix of anger and panic radiating off Sam as he argued with his father over the phone. Both were just as bullheaded as the other an he knew the conversation would go nowhere, despite the fact that one of them was right and the other one was dead wrong. "Give me the phone." He demanded, reaching out towards the younger man infront of him.

Frustrated that their own father couldn't tell the difference between a Shifter and his son, Sam didn't hesitate passing his cell phone over to Bobby.

"John..." Bobby started, pausing as he listened to the static hiss on the other end of the line. "John?" He asked, waiting for a response but getting nothing but white noise. "The call must have dropped." He announced as he passed the phone back to Sam.

"Now what the hell are we supposed to do?" Sam asked as he started to pace, passing a nervous hand through his hair. "Dad's pretty sure that we're the ones with a damn shifter on our hands."

"Well Dean might have said he used a silver blade on his wound but it could have easily been lying if it wasn't him."

"You can't be serious." Sam spat, turning on the spot to face the veteran hunter.

"I ain't saying your daddy's right, Sam. I'm just saying that we don't know for sure."

"Don't know for sure about what?" Dean asked as he came down the stairs, casually toweling his hair dry.

John looked down at his cell phone for a moment before flipping it shut with frustration, reception once again getting away from him out in the middle of nowhere. He passed a hand over his face, Sam's words circling in his head as his gaze drifted back towards the small seasonal cabin he and Dean were squatting in. Though he could almost hear the certainty in his youngest son's voice, it wasn't enough to convince him that the man sleeping off a night at the bar wasn't his oldest son. No one knew Dean better than he did, hell that kid had hung onto his every word since he was old enough to hold his own shotgun. Needless to say if anyone could spot the difference between a Shapeshifter and Dean, it was him.

John swore to himself as he started to pace. If Dean was there with him, that meant that the Shifter they'd been trailing was at Bobby's with Sam. He paused in his steps, feeling his heart begin to race as he went over the conversation he'd just had with Sam. If the damn thing had managed to trick them both, there was no telling what it was capable of. He had to get to Bobby's place, before the unthinkable happened.

Turning on his heels he made his way back towards the small cabin, climbing the few steps in a leap and letting himself in. Dean was still asleep in his bed, the sound of boots on the hard floor not enough to wake him as John approached. "Dean get up." He barked, reaching over to slap his oldest son's legs with one hand as he grabbed his duffle bag with the other. Shoving his clothes into his duffle he took a quick look over his shoulder as the younger man let out a groan. "Get up Dean." He repeated, his voice echoing in the room.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Dean starred at him for a moment before letting out a yawn. "Why are you packing, the car's still in the shop and..."

"We've got to go." John started, cutting the other man short as he gathered his things from the small dingy room. "Bobby and your brother might be in trouble." He explained, without looking over as Dean finally sat up.

"Sammy's in trouble?" Dean asked as he crawled out of bed. "What kind of trouble?" He asked watching as his father hurried to pack what little possessions he had.

"That group of Shifter's we took out, the one's you stayed behind to finish off." John said, his tone of voice almost dry. "Well looks like you missed one and now it's turned up at Bobby's place. Whatever the reason, the damn thing called Sam."

"Why would Bobby let a Shapeshifter into..."

"Because they think it's you." John cut in, pausing just long enough to catch his son's eyes. "The damn thing is walking around as you." There was a moment of silence and as John went back to packing, Dean grabbed his clothes. "You obviously let one of 'em slip through your fingers again." He growled without missing a beat. "If you want to do this job, then you're going to have to do it right." He continued. "You can't walk away from a hunt till you're sure that the job is done."

"I wouldn't have left if I knew there was still one out there, it's not my fault those things shed fast." Dean defended as he slipped his shirt on.

"Doesn't matter Dean, you should have been faster." John replied, grabbing his gun and tossing it onto the bed. "I'll start loading the truck, you start loading clips with silver rounds." He announced, throwing his duffle bag over one shoulder as he dropped a small case filled with silver bullets onto the bed. "I want to get out to Bobby's as soon as possible." He said as he headed out the door.

"Not sure about what?" Dean repeated, the obvious limp in his step hard to miss as he joined Sam and Bobby in the living room.

Bobby caught Sam's eyes for only a moment as he palmed a silver blade from the desk behind him. "Dad called." Sam started, watching as his brother tossed his towel aside and made his way towards a chair. "He's still in Colorado on that case but according to him, you're over there too."

There was a moment of silence as Dean's gaze drifted from Sam to Bobby before settling on the silver blade tucked in the veteran hunter's grip. "And you think I'm the Shifter?" He started, watching as Bobby took a step forward. "Why the hell do you think I'm a damn Shapeshifter?" He asked, well aware that both men were now analyzing his every move.

"We don't." Sam calmly replied, thinking about how his older brother had reacted when they found him on the floor of an abandoned shack in the woods. The tone of his voice, the anger seeping through his words and the attempt to hide how he truly felt... all these weren't out of character for Dean but then again it wouldn't be hard for a Shapeshifter that had been studying him, to imitate him. The more he thought about it the more doubts he was starting to have but deep down inside, he just knew that the man standing there in front of him was indeed his brother. Their dad was the one who was wrong because not even a clever Shifter could fake the moment Dean had pleaded with Bobby to not call their father.

"We just want to be sure." Bobby started, his voice pulling Dean's eyes away from Sam. "Cause your old man sounded pretty convinced that you were there with him."

"WELL HE'S WRONG!" Dean growled, his words doing little to change the mind of the pair that were starring him down and sizing him up. "This is bullshit!" He spat as he once again turned towards his brother, his eyes instantly narrowing as Bobby held out his silver blade. "As if I don't already have enough crap on my plate to deal with, now you two think I'm a damn Shifter?" There was another moment of silence and though he was angry that the pair would even consider the fact that he might be a Shapeshifter, he knew they could never be too cautious when everything they hunted wanted them dead. He reached out towards Bobby but the older man instinctively pulled away, the weapon still in his tight grip ready to strike. "Give me the damn knife." He demanded, his low tone of voice echoing in the room. "Give me the knife, I'll do it myself!"

Sam watched in silence as Bobby reluctantly handed the silver blade over and then cringed as Dean cut a slice into the palm of his hand, his eyes never leaving Bobby's and his expression never changing. It was something their father would have done and just like their father, Dean didn't hesitate or flinch.
"There, are you both satisfied or should I make another pass?" He asked wiping the blood from the blade onto his towel, before stabbing the knife into the corner of the desk in front of him.

"Works for me." Bobby answered reaching over to grab his blade as Dean wrapped the towel around his bloody hand.

"Good, can we start trying to figure out where Dad is now?" Dean asked drily as he caught his younger brother's eyes.

"I've already tried calling him back but he mentioned that reception was bad, so I don't think we'll be able to reach him." Sam answered, unable to hold his brother's piercing stare.

"Then use the GPS from his phone to track him down." Dean continued, walking over to one of the many maps that were hanging on the wall of Bobby's living room. "I know he's in Colorado, we were supposed to meet up at a gas station, The Crossroads I think it was called, and the Wendigo he was hunting was somewhere in the foothills of..."

"Dean I know you want to track him down." Bobby cut in. "But your old man sounded pretty convinced that you were already with him, so if that's the case he's probably on his way over here with his gun loaded, thinking we're the ones who need help dealing with this Shifter."

"So what the hell do you suggest we do?" Dean growled, turning to face the veteran hunter. "Sit on our hands and hope he shows up in one piece, if he even shows up at all? There's a reason that Shapeshifter tracked him to Colorado and I don't think it was to join him on the hunt for a Wendigo or to spend some quality time with the guy that killed off half its gang."

"If it wanted Dad dead it would have killed him already." Sam quietly replied, knowing all too well that his words would only fuel a fire in Dean that neither him nor Bobby could seem to control. His older brother had been pushed to the very edge and the more his ordeal dragged on, the closer he seemed to be getting to his breaking point.

"Then what the hell does it want?" Dean continued, his anger and frustration fusing together. He started to pace as his mind started to wander. Still struggling to find a way out of the mess he'd created with the cops, now he was left trying to figure out what the one that'd gotten away wanted with his father. "If it's not after Dad what does it want?"

"You." Sam answered, the simple reply bringing his brother to a sudden stop. "It wants you."

"They all do." Dean shrugged without giving it a second thought.

"No, I mean it's not after Dad it's after you." The younger man was quick to explain. "It knows Dad would eventually get a call from you, so it's waiting for that call to figure out where you are."

"Sam that makes no sense." Dean muttered, unwrapping the towel from around his hand to take a look at the fresh wound. "Besides it's a fifty-fifty chance Dad figures out that I'm not the one actually there with him."

"Is it really?" Sam asked, ignoring the smirk he got as a response. "If those things were as fast and smart as you said they were, then maybe the thing knew how easily it could slip by Dad."

There was a moment of silence and Bobby couldn't help but take it to his advantage as he watched Dean try to make sense of his little brother's sudden revelation. Though relatively calm all things considered, even a blind man could have seen that the fact John hadn't realized he wasn't there at his side, was eating Dean alive. "I think we should wait a few hours to see if your Dad shows up." He started, trying to clear the explosive mix of emotions that was hanging in the air. "If that Shapeshifter is just using your Dad to narrow down its search for you, then it's going to tag along till he gets here. If John does show up, we ambush it, if he doesn't, then we'll go to him."

There was another moment of silence and Dean let out a sigh. "Alright fine." He grumbled under his breath, his gaze drifting down to the cut in his hand. "What are we supposed to do all day?"

"I'm going to go down to the washout and see if they've given up on you yet. The two of you are going to stay here and track down your dad using the GPS from his phone, in case we do need to go find him and get the guns ready with silver bullets in case we don't." Bobby replied, grabbing a badge from the top of a bookcase nearby. "Oh and Sam, there's a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon in the fridge, make sure he eats something." He said as pointed towards Dean on his way out of the living room.

The pair glanced at each other for only a moment before Sam pushed off from the cluttered desk he'd been leaning against. "Well you heard the man, what kind of eggs do you want?" He asked, watching as his older brother fished through the open first aid kit for a bandage.

"I really don't care." Dean quietly replied, his mind still otherwise occupied as he reluctantly followed the other man into the kitchen and took a seat at the small table.

"Over-Easy it is then." Sam said, pulling the fridge door open to grab what he needed. Dean had always been the one who did the cooking growing up, because their father was barely there and he'd always been told he was too young to work the stove. Even though most meals consisted of some sort of canned goods heated in a pot with little preparation needed, it was often better than the fast food their Dad always showed up with. Sam couldn't help but let the smile creep up from the corner of his lips as he turned the burner on and placed a pan on the stovetop, letting it heat up a little before starting on the bacon. The only time he ever cooked for Dean was when his older brother wasn't feeling well or the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders.

Dean sucked in a breath, resting his head in his hand as he watched his younger brother prepare a meal. He'd been so busy with the hunt that he hadn't eaten in days. It'd been two years since they spent any time together and Dean couldn't help but notice just how much his little brother had grown and matured since then. Perhaps leaving the life had been a step in the right direction, after all Sam did seem quite at home in Bobby's kitchen as much as he did while working a case. "What's it like, Sammy?" He asked, watching as Sam turned slightly to catch his eyes. "Having your own place, going to school?"

"It's great Dean." Sam replied, caught off guard by his brother's question. "I do what I want when I want, hang out with the friends I made at school. I even got a job so I can save up and move out of the student residence. If things go well, I think Jessica and I are going to get our own apartment near the campus." He paused for only a moment as the thought of the life he was living, and the one his brother was currently being dragged through. Though no one was forcing him to stay, Sam knew Dean would never be able to just pick up and leave like he had done. Loyalty ran much too deep for that and their father's respect meant far too much. "You know, you could still go back to school if you wanted to." He quietly started, turning his attention back to the bacon sizzling in the pan as Dean straightened out in his chair, his eyes surely rolling at the mention of school. "We could get you enrolled in something you enjoy doing, maybe even get you started on earning your mechanic's license, or maybe even a welder's..."

"Dude I dropped out of high school remember?" Dean cut in, instantly silencing his brother. "I don't even have enough credits to get the damn diploma, what college is going to want some twenty-four year old high school drop out?"

"It's never too late to finish high school, Dean." Sam calmly replied, forking the bacon out of the pan and onto a plate. "You can do anything you want, any job that you want." Sam continued as he started with the eggs.

"I've already got a job." Dean replied, the gruffness in his voice returning as the reality of his situation rolled in like a storm. "Might not be the easiest thing to do or one of the most honest but it saves lives so that better people, normal people, can keep their happy, apple-pie boring way of life. Besides, Dad needs me."

Sam bit his tongue as his brother's words echoed in his head. The only thing their dad really needed Dean for, was to have someone to lean on and take the emotional punches of a life filled with anger and regret.

"Do you even miss it?" Dean asked as Sam grabbed a plate.

"Parts of it." Sam replied simply. "I miss seeing the country, meeting so many different people and spending time with you. Can't say I miss walking around waist deep in blood, monsters and bodies. I mean if you really think about it, we only see folks in some of their darkest hours." He answered, sliding the eggs onto the plate and reaching out to place it on the table in front of his brother. "Here, eat this and then after we're done we'll try tracking Dad's phone to see where he was staying."

Dean glanced down at his plate as Sam placed the bowl of bacon down in front of him. Extra crispy, just the way he liked it. Though leaving the job like Sam had done had crossed his mind before, he knew deep down inside that it was something that would never happen. It was practically a pipe dream because he was so well anchored into the life, it would be next to impossible for him to go out and live a normal life. At twenty-four, having been raised the way that he was, Dean knew he was far from being normal. It may have been too late for him but watching as his younger brother flipped his eggs in the pan, he couldn't help but smile, happy that it hadn't been too late for Sam.

"Ready to go?" John asked, stepping back into the cabin and pausing as he eyed the empty room. "Dean?" He called out, his eyes falling on the case of silver bullets that sat right where he had dropped it on the bed. Though the lid was open, not a single bullet was missing and the gun he'd placed on bed beside it was no longer there. "Dean?" He called out again, his gaze drifting over towards the bathroom area. Though he waited and listened for a reply, it was the creaking sound of the door shutting behind him that caught his attention. John turned on the spot, his eyes catching those of the young man standing there behind him. "Dean what the hell are you doing, we need to hit the road."

"Guess again old man." The Shapeshifter replied with a grin as it loaded the gun in its hand. "You're not going anywhere."