Catching Up
Chapter 6 – Skin

Dean reached for the DVD cover, "Mom? Want to do a couple more before getting some sleep?"

"Sure, I don't feel tired at all," Mary tucked her legs under her. "Pass me a blanket though, its getting chilly in here."

"Mom you can take mine, I want to stretch out actually," Sam slid to the floor, taking a pillow with him. He leant back on the couch and Dean joined him a moment later. Cas stayed where he was but he did shift slightly.

"Everyone comfortable?" Dean asked and the room murmured in assent. "So, this episode is called 'Skin'. Sam and Dean help Sam's old college buddy after he is accused of a murder he swears he didn't commit. Lovely."

"One of our messier cases," Sam said to Mary by way of explanation.

"How messy?"

"Try 'put me on an FBI watch list' messy," Dean grimaced at started the show. They made through the customary flashback but the show began with shots of a tactical team swarming a house while a girl is tied to a chair, clearly being tortured. "What the hell is this? Oh wait.."

The suspect turned to face the camera and Mary's eyes widened, "Dean?!"

"Damn skinwalker," Dean shook his head and Mary relaxed. "You didn't think I'd actually do that to someone did you mom?"

"No," Mary denied. "But your grandfather had some…less than savoury techniques when it came to digging for information from creatures."

The 'we know' was on the brothers' tongues but they held it for now with only significant looks exchanged. "I remember that old phone," Sam changed the subject. "I forgot about it."

"Do you still talk to your college friends?" Dean asked.

"Leviathan Dean, leviathan," Sam deadpanned.

"Yeah but if anyone would believe you it's Becky," Dean chuckled. "Sorry Rebecca¸ although I'm sure Becky would believe you too."

"Shut up dude," Sam threw him a bitchface. "

"And by the way, MY lies are awful? 'Dean's a cop' college boy?"

Cas tilted his head, "I might be tempted to say that was more outrageous than Dean attempting to be of Japanese descent previously."

"At least, since Beck didn't know Dean, it actually made sense and didn't require us to fling money around."

"Only because your friend trusted us," Dean argued. "And for the record, stealing from lawyers, this is my kind of chick -" AHEM! Came a motherly voice from above their heads "- girl." He amended quickly.

"Yeah Dean show some respect," Sam chided smugly.

"Well forgive me if I call this thing a sick bastard," Dean referring to the second attack happening onscreen.

"That's relatively mild considering what I'd call it," Mary swallowed back some bile. The TV!Winchesters entered the sewers and Mary had to ask, "And no one noticed you just climbing into a manhole in broad daylight and getting back out again?"

"We were in the alley," Sam shrugged. In the show, Becca called to yell at Sam for lying to her. "Not like we didn't get caught in other things."

"We? Dude that was all you, I was the one advocating for honestly for a change," Dean challenged.

"For the first and last time in your existence. Thanks for having my back brother," Sam griped.

"Anytime brother," Dean returned. "Damn those sewers were eerie enough with this music."

"Scared Dean?"

"Pffft no. I know what happens – AH! CHRIST!" Dean jumped as the shifter suddenly appeared and the room cracked up. Mary leaned down to kiss the top of his head and Dean rubbed it off childishly, "Laugh it up."

"Why would you split up with a shifter on the loose?" Mary scolded them. "That is the epitome of a bad idea." ShifterDean showed up, "Case in point."

"Yeah not one of our more brilliant moments," Dean admitted. "But hey Sammy was quick on the uptake unfortunately not on the draw."

"I couldn't just shoot it on a hunch, what if I was wrong!?" Sam exclaimed

"Could've shot it in the leg," Dean said with a loaded stare.

"Where do you think I got the idea?" Sam said quietly but he knew Dean heard him.

"Dean you really feel like that?" Cas queried with concern. "All those hateful thoughts."

"I used to," Dean acknowledged. "It was different time back then Cas."

The shifter went after Rebecca leaving TV!Sam and TV!Dean to make their escape. "It's crazy how it could know so much about us and yet not know us at all," Sam wondered. Still he said as the shifter talked about its life, "This is still some good insight into the life of a shifter."

"It's not even magic, it's just regular evolution, weird," Dean made a face. "Makes you rethink your definition of supernatural."

"After everything we've seen, you're only rethinking it now?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I basically just threw it out the window once we started in on world-ending scenarios." Dean rattled off the list as they went back to initial scene of ShifterDean being taken down by the police. "You know, making friends with angels and demons, handling tricksters turned archangels turned pagan gods, deals with the actual devil, the king of Hell, and Death himself and that was only the first apocalypse."

"You left out some parts too," Sam said dismally.

"You know I think this is the only footage of shifter shedding," Mary watched with interest.

"No comment on what I was saying mom?" Dean tilted his head back to look at her.

"Not touching it with a ten-foot pole."

"See if I had listened to you, I never would have found Rebecca," Dean pointed out and Sam held back a derisive remark. "But seriously you didn't think to check her before going in?"

"Seems obvious now, at the time I wasn't thinking," Sam shrugged.

"Sam, Dean, I know it doesn't mean much now but if you ever run into a shifter again, try wearing silver rings," Mary told them. "It irritates their skin."

"Huh," Sam nodded slowly.

"Mom we are so taking you on a hunt," Dean declared.

"Does no one else find it troubling that this shifter seems to really consider itself to be Dean?" Cas watched it's attack on Sam avidly.

"He's sharing all of Dean's memories and emotions, it must be hard to separate them," Sam speculated.

"So weird to shoot myself and see my own dead body," Dean winced.

"You missed the funeral," Sam said mildly.

"Yeah and that's the part I wanted to see," Dean bemoaned.

"All's well that ends well," Cas pronounced. "Shall I queue the next one?"

"Knock yourself out Cas," Dean tossed him the remote and case. Cas caught them questioningly, Dean sighed, "It's an expression, it means go ahead."

A/N: Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far. I have a lot planned as we go through the series so don't worry the plot will deepen with time. Until next time, ENJOY! R&R PLZ!