When Shapeshifters Attack

Dean parked the Impala in front of the small abandon house and looked out the window at it skeptically. "Are you sure this is the right place, Sammy?"

Sam rolled his eyes and opened his door. "Yes, I'm sure, Dean. I double-checked it then checked again." He got out of the car and looked over at the house and had to admit it didn't really look like the lair of a creepy monster, but he was sure this was the right place.

Dean shrugged and got out of the car and went around to the trunk and opened it. "Okay, if you're sure, then I trust ya." He started getting his gear out. Sam nodded as he followed Dean and got his gear as well.

The two of them approached the small white house with blue shutters and trim work. Nothing about the house screamed monster, but they both knew looks could be deceiving. They quietly made their way up the porch and to the front door. Dean tried the lock and was mildly surprised to find it open. He glanced back at Sam, telling him with a look to be on alert, then he slowly entered the house, switching on his flashlight while holding his gun at the ready. Sam followed Dean closely, his gun and flashlight out as well.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Dean was about to ask Sam again if he was sure they had the right house when they heard a thump in one of the other rooms. The brothers glanced at each other, knowing there was someone or something in there with them. Dean motioned for Sam to go to the left while Dean went to the right. Sam took one door while Dean took the other.

Dean entered the kitchen and saw someone crouched down low. He aimed his gun and spoke in a low voice. "Stand up slowly."

The person did as she was told with a gun of her own out and aimed at Dean. When the beam of his flashlight hit her face, Dean was shocked to be standing there face to face with his mother, and he lowered his gun. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

Mary was momentarily blinded by the flashlight so she couldn't see his face, but she recognized his voice and was equally as shocked by her son's presence, and she blinked in confusion at him. "Dean?"

Sam had gone around through the opposite door, and he entered the kitchen from the side, and he saw Mary as well and started to raise his gun when he heard her say 'Dean,' and he realized who she was and stopped.

Mary sensed movement to her left and lifted her gun as she turned to see Sam. She wasn't surprised he was with Dean, she just didn't expect to see either of her boys here. "What are you boys doing here?" She asked as she lowered her gun back down.

"Uh, we're working a case. You?" Dean had a feeling he already knew the answer.

Mary nodded, "Same as you. I've been hunting a shifter, and I tracked him back to this house." Mary put her gun away and stepped closer to her boys.

Sam did the same and was glad they ran into her because he thought it would be nice to work a job with her. "Yeah, us too. Well, I tracked him here." He gave Dean a look since he didn't really help much with the research and tracking part of the hunt.

Mary nodded and had a sneaky suspicion that Sam did most of the tracking and had to smile a little. "Well, he doesn't seem to be home now. I say we give the place a once over, then stake it out and wait for him to come back."

Dean agreed with this plan and automatically took the lead. "Okay. Sam, you check upstairs. Mom, you check around in here, and I'll go look around outside."

Sam glanced at Mary with a raised eyebrow when Dean started barking out orders, but Mary just chuckled slightly and nodded, so Sam shrugged and did what Dean said. Mary took out her gun and said, "Okay, I'll finish looking around in here, Dean. You go ahead out there." Dean nodded and headed back out of the kitchen.

Unbeknownst to the three of them, the shifter had been watching them from a hidden area behind the wall in the kitchen, and he was not pleased they were in his house. Once the big one and his brother left the room, the shifter made his move. He slid open the door to his hiding place and tackled Mary to the ground and started choking her.

Mary was surprised, but her training kicked in, and she fought back by hitting her attacker in the head with her gun and shoving him off of her and rolling to her feet, putting distance between them. This action pissed the shifter off, and he lunged at Mary knocking the weapon from her hand, causing it to skitter across the floor and under the refrigerator. Mary didn't let that slow her down, and she punched the monster in the face. He reeled back and growled, then swept her feet out from under her and was about to attack her again when she headbutted him. The shifter was surprised by that move, and fell back and shook his head. Mary used the distraction to try crawling away to search for her gun, but he recovered a bit quicker than she expected, and he grabbed her ankle and started pulling her back across the floor toward him. Always a fighter, Mary kicked him in the face with her other foot, and he let go of her and stumbled backward. Mary slid a silver knife out of a sheath she had hidden in her boot as she got to her feet. "Come on." She taunted.

At this point, the shifter had had enough and growled and lunged at Mary again, intending to kill her. Mary was ready for him, and she sliced his arm with the silver blade, and he yelped as the cut burned. "You're gonna pay for that, bitch!" He was about to lunge again when a noise from the other room caught his attention, and he viciously backhanded Mary, knocking her to the ground, and she dropped her knife.

Dean looked around the property, but he didn't really see anything useful, so he headed back into the house. Once inside, he heard the commotion and ran back into the kitchen to see what was going on. The shifter was now standing by the door and was ready for Dean when he burst into the room. As soon as Dean crossed the threshold, the shifter grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, banging his head hard against the edge of the door facing, knocking him out instantly.

Mary, who was just now regaining her bearings, saw what happened to Dean and scrambled for her knife while the monster was distracted, but she couldn't reach it in time. The shifter saw her going for the blade, and he grabbed both her feet this time and pulled her back toward him. "Nope, I don't think so. You hunters are gonna regret coming into my home!" He put his hands around her throat and lifted her head up, then slammed it hard onto the floor. He grinned as Mary went unconscious, then he started to choke her.

Sam hadn't found anything in the rest of the house, and he was heading back to the kitchen to see if his mom and brother had any better luck. Sam entered the kitchen through the same side door as before, and what he saw made his blood boil. Dean was across the room by the other door out cold, and his mother was pinned down and being strangled by a monster. Sam drew his gun and yelled, "Hey!" Sam wasted no time, as soon as the creature looked up, he fired twice, hitting the shifter once in the heart and once in the head.

The shifter had all but forgotten about the third hunter, and he looked up surprised when he heard the shout. He was just in time to see the flash from the muzzle of the gun, and when the bullets hit home, he fell over next to Mary, dead.

Sam quickly ran over to check on his mom. He checked her pulse and made sure she was breathing then tried to wake her. "Mom? Mom! Hey, can you hear me?" Mary showed no sign of waking up, but Sam did see a small pool of blood under her head. Across the room, Dean groaned, so Sam went to check on him. "Dean, hey, you with me?"

Dean groaned again and blinked up at Sam. "Yeah, I'll live." He rubbed the back of his head, and his hand came away bloody, but he quickly hid that from Sam, who had glanced back over at Mary.

Sam started to help Dean get up. "You sure you're okay, dude?"

Dean stood up with Sam's help. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got my bell rung a little." He looked over at their mother and got worried. "What about Mom?"

"Mom's hurt pretty bad, Dean." Sam sighed. "I think we need to get her to the hospital." Sam knew they usually avoided hospitals, but he also knew Mary was seriously injured.

Dean didn't like that idea either, but he'd take her if she were hurt bad enough. He walked over to Mary and noticed the dead shifter, and he kicked it away, then slowly knelt down beside his mother and checked her as well. He got the same result as Sam and agreed with his little brother. "Yeah, I hate to say it, Sammy, but I think you're right. Okay, come on." He tried to lift Mary up, but he was very shaky, and of course, Sam noticed.

"Whoa, Dean, take it easy. I'll carry Mom. You're hurt too." He bent down and picked Mary up much to Dean's annoyance.

"I could have done that!" Sam just gave Dean a look, and Dean just sighed and followed Sam out to the Impala and opened the back door for him.

Sam laid Mary in the back seat then looked at Dean with a stern expression. "I'm driving."

"What? No way, Sam!"

"Yes, Dean. You're hurt and might have a concussion. I'm driving don't argue just get in!" Sam wasn't going to let Dean win this one, and he got in the driver's seat.

Dean saw the determination on Sam's face and caved. "Fine." He got in the car, but he wasn't happy about it. Sam was glad Dean didn't argue with him, and he quickly started driving to the nearest hospital.

It didn't take Sam long to get to the hospital, and once there, he parked right near the emergency room doors. He killed the engine, got out, and hurriedly opened the back door and carefully got Mary out and started to carry her inside. Dean got out as quickly as he could and followed Sam.

Sam went right up to the front desk and asked for help. The nurse quickly jumped up and grabbed a gurney, and told Sam to put Mary on it.

What happened?" The nurse started checking Mary over as a doctor rushed over as well.

Sam thought up a cover story on the fly. "Uh, someone attacked her. He knocked her out and was choking her."

The nurse nodded and began rapidly firing off questions at Sam. "What's her name, how long has she been unconscious, is she allergic to anything?"

Sam gave the nurse a blank look for a moment then finally answered. "Uh, her name is Mary. She's been out for about 10 minutes..." He realized he had no idea if she was allergic to anything, and he almost panicked. "Uh, I-I don't know if she has any allergies or not..."

The nurse cut him off. "It's okay. Wait here. We're going to take her back and get her checked out."

Sam started to protest, but the nurse didn't let him. "But she's..."

"She's in good hands, just wait here!" With that, she walked through the doors into the back part of the ER with Mary.

Dean finally caught up with Sam just as the nurse disappeared. "What'd they say? Mom gonna be alright?"

Sam sighed. "She didn't really say much. But Mom's gotta be okay."

"Of course, she's gonna be okay. She's tough." Dean wanted to get Sam's mind off of worrying about their mom, and he knew that they needed to take care of the shifter's body before the cops found it. "Hey, Sammy, we need to clean up that house before someone finds that body."

Sam nodded. He knew Dean was right, and he also knew Dean was hurt, but he was worried about Mary. "What about Mom?"

"I'll stay here with Mom, and you can come pick us up later."

"Okay, fine." Sam sighed again. "Dean, you were knocked unconscious. You're already at the hospital, so I think you should see a doctor about that while you're here and make sure it's nothing more serious than just a minor concussion."

Dean rolled his eyes but regretted it. "My head is fine, Sam. I'm not gonna see a doctor 'cause I don't have a concussion! So drop it!" He was getting annoyed.

Sam knew he was fighting a losing battle. "Fine. But if your head starts hurting or anything, do you promise you'll see a doctor about it?"

"If I promise, will you shut up about it?" Dean knew Sam was just worried, but sometimes that got on his nerves.

Sam was like a dog with a bone. "Yes, but I am serious, Dean, see a doctor if anything happens."

Dean sighed but otherwise ignored his brother's nagging. "I'll call you as soon as I talk to the doctor about Mom. Oh and Sam, you mess up my car, I'll mess up your face!" Sam rolled his eyes and headed out to the car. "I mean it, Sam, don't wreck my car!" Sam casually flipped Dean the bird as he exited the hospital. Dean chuckled to himself, then went to find out about his mom.


~*~


Sam arrived back at the house, and he wanted to get this taken care of quickly so he could get back to the hospital to check on his mom. Sam got out and walked to the back of the Impala, opened the trunk, and started looking for the things he would need.

Unbeknownst to Sam, the son of the shifter he killed had gotten home just in time to watch Sam shoot his father. He started taking care of his father's body, and since he saw Sam kill his dad, he vowed to get revenge on all of them. Shifty was planning to go find them once he was done here since he knew the make, model, and license plate of the car. He heard the rumble of an engine outside, and he peeked out the window and grinned when he saw Sam arriving at the house all alone. The shifter grabbed a steel bat from his dad's hiding place, quietly exited the house, and watched Sam get out of the car and go to the back of it. Being as quick and stealthy as possible, he ran up behind Sam and whacked him on the back of his head with the bat and grinned as Sam slumped forward and landed partly in the open car trunk.

Shifty quickly took off Sam's jacket and outer shirt, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans. He then swiftly grabbed the coil of rope that was in the trunk and roughly tied Sam's hands securely behind his back, he then dumped Sam the rest of the way into the trunk. He took the other end of the rope and used it to tie Sam's feet together, then looped it back around the rope tying Sam's hands and pulled it tight, effectively hogtying him. He then picked up a bandanna that was sticking out of one of the duffel bags and stuffed it deep into Sam's mouth, securing it with duck-tape from the roll he found in the trunk. Then after thinking about it for a moment, he used more of the duck-tape and wrapped it around the rope and Sam's hands for added assurance that Sam wouldn't be getting loose and ruining his plan.

Sam was completely knocked out and didn't realize anything that was going on.

Shifty shifted into Sam and glared at him while he put on Sam's shirt and jacket. "Not so tough now, are you? I'll make you pay for killing my father!" He closed his eyes and started downloading some of Sam's memories and chuckled to himself. "Okay, I'm gonna go have some fun with your mom and brother. You stay here and behave!" He noticed there was still a piece of rope leftover, so he took it and looped it around Sam's neck and tied it off to his hands. "I wouldn't struggle too much if I were you!" He smirked, then threw a blanket over Sam then slammed the trunk shut. He walked back to the house to finish cleaning up, then came back out, and calmly walked to the driver's door of the Impala, got behind the wheel and started to drive to the hospital.


~*~


Dean, not being one to wait around, went over to the nurse's desk to ask about Mary. "Hi, um, I was wondering if you could tell me how my mom is. She was just brought back with a head injury. Mary Campbell." Dean gave the head nurse his most charming smile, and it worked.

The nurse smiled back and answered Dean. "Yeah, she's been stabilized now, and the doctor should be out to talk with you any minute."

"Great. There any chance I could go back and see her?" He continued to pour on the charm.

"Oh yeah, of course. Follow me." The nurse led Dean back to the ER bay, where Mary was. "Here you are. I'll leave you alone." She went back to the front desk.

Mary was still asleep. Dean was glad they let him back to see her. He ran his hand through her hair a few times, then sat down in the chair beside the bed and leaned his head back against the wall because despite what he told Sam, his head did hurt a little. He was wishing he had a couple Tylenol but wasn't going to say anything to anyone. He wondered if the doctor was ever going to come in and check on Mary, then jumped when someone entered the room and startled him. He was mad at himself for letting his guard down but was relieved when he saw it was a doctor.

The doctor walked into the room and saw Dean jump a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Dr. Higgins, and you are?" Dr. Higgins walked over to Mary and started checking on her vitals and listening to her heart and lungs.

"It's okay, Uh, I'm Dean." He saw the doctor start checking Mary and asked, "So is my mom gonna be okay now?"

Dr. Higgins continued checking Mary and looking at the monitors. "Well, she has a mild concussion, and whoever attacked her, tried strangling her, and her throat is swollen; that's what's causing her breathing issues. I'm going to keep her overnight for observation, and I'll keep her on the oxygen until she stops wheezing and is breathing better. She should be fine. Do you have any questions?"

Dean shook his head no and was just relieved his mom was going to be alright.

"Okay, if you have any other questions or concerns, you can have a nurse let me know."

"Okay, thanks Doc."

He left the room, and Dean actually thought this doctor wasn't a total douche bag like most, and he sat back down. Dean decided to call Sam and let him know what the doctor said about their mom, so he took out his phone and dialed Sam's number.

Shifty heard Sam's phone ring just as he was driving away from the house, so he pulled it out and answered it. "Hey, Dean."

"Hey, Sammy, everything going okay there? I just talked to the doctor, and he said Mom's got a concussion, and some difficulty breathing 'cause that bastard tried to strangle her, but she's gonna be okay."

"Yeah, everything is fine. I just finished up, and I'm heading back to the hospital now." He listened to what Dean said about Mary, and he tried to sound relieved even though he wished she would die since they killed his dad; it only seemed fair. "Mom's gonna be okay? Oh, thank God!" He hoped he sounded convincing.

"Yeah, thankfully, she's gonna be fine. Man, am I glad you killed that damn shifter! I only wish I could have killed him myself!" Dean sighed and glanced at Mary.

Shifty tightened his grip on Sam's phone but tried to remain calm even though Dean's remark really pissed him off. "Yeah, I'm glad too." He was quite the opposite of glad, but he knew he had to pretend to be happy, so he didn't blow his cover just yet. "So when do you think they'll let Mom go home?"

"The doc said he wanted to keep her overnight, so depending on how she feels, I'll spring her in the morning. She's sleeping now, so I'm gonna just let her rest."

Shifty sighed to himself. He really wanted to kill Dean and Mary, but he figured it would be better to wait until they were alone and not in the hospital. He didn't want to draw a lot of attention, so he would have to wait. "Okay, well, since Mom's sleeping, I'll just head to the bunker, and you can call me when you guys are ready to come home." Shifty knew if he went to the hospital and spent more time around Dean, the more likely it was that Dean would realize he wasn't really Sam.

Dean actually agreed that was a good idea because he didn't want Sam to nag him about getting his head checked out. "Okay, Sammy, sounds like a plan. I'll call you in the morning." Dean hung up just as Mary started to wake up. "Hey, Mom, how you feeling?"

"Tired." Mary coughed then blinked at Dean a few times.

"Yeah, that shifter dinged you up pretty good, but you're okay now. Get some more rest." Dean patted Mary on the shoulder and gave her his charming smile.

"The shifter..." Mary started to remember what had happened. "You and Sam are okay?" She was worried about her boys.

"Yeah, Mom, we're fine. Don't worry," Dean replied. "We just want you to get better."

Mary nodded and closed her eyes. She was still pretty out of it, and she took Dean at his word that he and Sam were fine.


~*~


Sam slowly started to wake up inside the trunk, but he wasn't sure exactly where he was. All he did know was that he had a killer headache. Sam tried to move and almost choked himself, and that was when he realized he was really screwed. He tried to yell for help, but he wasn't able to make much noise due to the gag shoved in his mouth.

Sam tried to remember what happened and figure out where he was without moving. He tested out his bonds and quickly realized any amount of struggling caused the rope around his neck to pull and choke him, and he couldn't try untying them because of all the duck-tape around his fingers and the rope. Sam realized whoever did this to him knew what they were doing. Then a thought occurred to him, and he almost started to panic because he had no idea if who or whatever it was had hurt Mary and Dean. Sam was trying to stay as still as possible, so he didn't strangle himself. Sam noticed that where ever he was, it wasn't very roomy, and he realized that he was in the trunk of the Impala. Sam tried working the gag out of his mouth, but the tape was making that very difficult as well. He was trying not to panic, but he couldn't get loose, and he was super worried about Mary and Dean.


~*~


It was quiet in the ER area. Mary was sleeping peacefully, but she had turned her head in her sleep and was lying on one side of the oxygen tubing and was only getting half the amount of oxygen that she should be.

Dean was sitting in a plastic chair beside Mary's bed, and he didn't realize she wasn't getting the full effect of the oxygen, and he started to doze off even though he wasn't very comfortable in the chair.

Mary continued to sleep as her oxygen levels were going down. Dean was almost asleep until all of a sudden, an alarm went off and scared the crap out of him. "What the hell??" The nurse came in to see why Mary's oxygen level dropped so low.

Dean saw the nurse run in and stood up. "What's going on? Why is that alarm going off? Is she okay?!" He was quite worried, to say the least.

"Her oxygen level is dropping... Oh, I see what's wrong." She saw that Mary was lying on the tubing and cutting off half the oxygen supply, so she gently turned Mary's head to free it. "There... that should help. Now, let's see if her oxygen goes back up." She made sure the flow was steady and that the cannula was in Mary's nose correctly.

"Is she going to be okay?? I didn't know her oxygen levels were dropping!" Dean was terrified of losing his mom after just getting her back.

The nurse nodded. "She should be, but she was lying on the tubing, and that was cutting off half the oxygen supply. If her oxygen doesn't go back up here in a few minutes, she'll need the oxygen mask." She smiled, reassuringly at Dean. "It's okay, that is why we have the alarm. But look, see this number here?" She pointed to a number on the machine that was monitoring Mary's pulse/ox. "If you see it dropping, that means her oxygen level is dropping. Normal is 97-100. And as long as it's over 90, it's fine. Once it gets below 80, that's when it starts to be really bad. She was at 85 when I came in, but she's up to 92 now." She hoped that by explaining things to Dean, he would be better informed, and it would help him relax and feel better. She was going to stay and make sure Mary's oxygen went back up over 90, which it had.

"Oh. I didn't realize that she was lying on it, or I would have turned her sooner. He listened to the nurse and looked at the numbers she pointed at and would be paying attention from now on. "But she'll be okay? That lack of oxygen won't be harmful to her?" Dean was watching the number and hoping that it went back up quickly.

"It's okay, Hon, that's why we have the alarms set up. Don't worry, she should be fine as long as it goes back up, which it looks like it is. If her oxygen level stays really low for a long time, then it wouldn't be good for her. But she should be just fine."

"Well, I'm going to be watching the levels now to make sure it doesn't go down again. Everything else looks okay, though?" He can't help but worry, and if Sam hadn't ganked that shifter, he certainly would hunt it down and kill it, and he kind of wished he could kill it again.

"Well, I think it went down just then because she was lying on the tubing." She checked the rest of Mary's vitals, and they were all normal. "Yes, she is doing fine otherwise. You look exhausted, though. Can I bring you anything?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Dean lied. He still had a headache from when he was knocked out by the shifter, but he wasn't going to bring that up to the nurse.

She looked at him, concerned for a moment. "You sure, hon?" She could tell something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, and she was worried about him too.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired as well, I guess." Dean shrugged, hoping the nurse would just let it go.

She took another look at him and thought he looked drained. "Well, you certainly do look tired."

Dean had been standing since the alarms went off but thought he really should sit back down. "I am. It's been a long day..." He sat back down in the chair next to the bed.

The nurse noticed how unsteady Dean seemed and was concerned and stepped closer to get a better look at him. "You sure you're okay?" She looked at his eyes and noticed they didn't seem right. "Hey, look up at me... Have you hit your head recently?"

Dean looked up at the nurse when she told him to and then realized she must have seen something in his eyes when she asked him if he hit his head recently. "It's nothing. Just a small bump..."

"I think it's more than a little bump." She took a penlight out of her pocket and shone it in his eyes. "I think you have a mild concussion. What happened?"

"It's nothing. I swear it's just a little bump..." He winced and then closed his eyes after she shined the light in them. "The guy who hurt Mary whacked me on the head before he hurt her." Dean knew he couldn't say he was fighting a shapeshifter, so he hoped she believed his story.

"It seems like more than a little bump you really should have that checked. Or at the very least take some Tylenol. It looks like your pupils are uneven, just a bit. At least you are here at the hospital." She planned to keep an eye on him as well as Mary if he refused to see a doctor. "Oh! Did you talk to the police?"

Dean sighed. "I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore." He was lying and actually had a pretty bad headache right then. "No, I haven't talked to them. I've been here with my mom." He didn't plan on talking to the police either.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you have a concussion." She saw the look on his face and gave him a concerned look. "And it looks like you have a headache. Did you want us to call the cops for you?"

"I'm fine." He really wasn't, but he was sure a nap would make him feel better. "No, you don't need to call the cops. My brother was going to be doing that. He's back at the house, probably talking with them right now.

Mary made a noise in her sleep because she started dreaming, and Dean got up to try and comfort her, but when he stood up, the room began to spin, and before he knew what was happening, he passed out and began to collapse.

"Ah, okay, if your brother is talking to the cops, we won't need to call them." She was about to go and check on her other patients when she saw Dean get up and then start to go down. "Oh, My God!" She reacted quickly and caught Dean and lowered him gently to the floor. "Whoa! I knew you weren't okay!" She knew she'd need help dealing with Dean and pushed the nurse call button, and when someone responded, she quickly asked for help. "I need some help in here. We have another patient!"


~*~


Sam was still in the same predicament in the Impala's trunk and was going out of his mind with worry. He kinda wished he was unconscious again because he was having a hard time not struggling to free himself even though every movement threatened to choke him. Sam had no way of getting himself untied, and he was terrified about what might be happening to Dean and Mary. The more he struggled, the tighter the ropes seemed to become, and they were starting to dig into his skin and leave marks. He was thankful it wasn't the middle of summer.

Shifty was proud of himself for what he had done to Sam, and when he arrived back at the bunker, he began to explore and see what fascinating facts he could learn about the Winchesters. He wanted to make sure his portrayal of Sam was authentic enough to fool Dean right up until the moment he slit his throat. He only wished Sam could watch, but he didn't want to risk taking him out of the trunk. He thought his plan was otherwise perfect. Shifty was going to kill Sam's entire family, then kill Sam. He was livid that Sam had so callously murdered his father. His dad had never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, so Shifty felt justified in killing the Winchesters for what they had done.


~*~


Dean remained unconscious for a few moments before coming around, and he immediately tried to get up even though he was confused and wasn't even sure what happened to him. A nurse rushed in with a wheelchair to take Dean to another ER bay. "I've notified Dr. Higgins, and he'll be waiting in the room. What happened to him?"

The nurse, Betty, steadied Dean and kept him from getting up. "Whoa! Stay still!" She turned to the other nurse. "I'm not sure, Jenna, but I think he was hit on the head. I was talking to him and noticed he seemed a bit tired, and his pupils were uneven. He said he was fine, but he stood up and passed out." She checked Dean's pulse then the two of them lifted him into the wheelchair.

Any idea what part of his head he hit?" Jenna asked and began feeling around on Dean's head once he was in the wheelchair.

"'M fine..." Dean weakly protested, but he clearly wasn't, and he didn't really fight them as they put him in the wheelchair since he felt weak and dizzy right then. "Mom?" He didn't like that they were taking him out of her room and wanted to stop them.

"I'm not really sure," Betty replied. "He wasn't very forthcoming with the fact he was hurt." She heard Dean ask about Mary, and she wanted to reassure him. "It's okay, Dean. She's fine. We need to get you checked out now... Okay?" Jenna wheeled him out of the room and toward another exam room.

"I can feel that there is a bump on the back of his head," Jenna informed Betty. "How long ago did you hit your head?"

"'M fine... Need ta get back ta m'mom." He tried to stand up while Jenna was pushing the wheelchair, and she quickly stopped.

"It's okay. Mary is fine." Betty told him. "She's sleeping, and I'm sure she'd want us to make sure that you're okay too, right? So we need to take care of you now! Oh, whoa! Stay seated, so you don't get hurt more!" She put her hands on his shoulders to hold him in the chair.

Dean sighed, "Yeah, she would..." He stayed in the wheelchair when Betty pushed him down because he had started to feel dizzy again.

Betty lightly patted him on the shoulder once he stopped trying to stand. "Okay, Dean, let's get you checked out." Jenna continued to wheel him into another exam bay just across the hall from Mary's. Once in the exam room, Betty and Jenna proceeded to try to get Dean onto the bed.

Dean wanted to go back to Mary but was feeling extremely dizzy and didn't quite understand why he felt worse now than he did earlier, and he let the nurses help him onto the bed. "I'll go get the doctor," Jenna announced then left the room.

"You can get back to your mom as soon as the doctor checks you out and makes sure you are okay." She checked Dean's vitals while she waited for Jenna and the doctor to come back.

"It's just a little head injury... No big deal."


~*~


Mary woke up, but no one was in the room with her. She opened her eyes and looked around the room but didn't see Dean anywhere. "Dean?" She wondered if maybe he went to the bathroom. She listened but didn't hear Dean respond, so she figured he must have gone to the bathroom.


~*~


A few minutes later, Jenna came back into Dean's room with the doctor. Betty saw Jenna and the doctor and greeted them. "Hi Dr. Higgins, this is Dean. He has a bump on his head, and he passed out on me a few minutes ago while I was talking to him."

"Hello again, Dean, Can you tell me how you hit your head and how long ago it happened?" He pulled out a penlight to look into Dean's eyes.

"Uh, I got attacked and hit over the head. It was a little while ago... Look, I'm fine. I want to get back to my mom before she wakes up and wonders where I am!" Dean flinched away from the penlight, closed his eyes, and groaned.

Dr. Higgins nodded. "Do you know what you were hit in the head with?" He felt Dean's head and found the bump. "Did you lose consciousness when you were hit on the head as well?" The doctor thought Dean had a minor concussion.

"It's alright, Dean," Betty reassured him. "Mary is sleeping and doesn't even realize that you aren't in the room with her right now."

Dean rolled his eyes and immediately regretted it. "Uh, I'm not sure what I got hit with, but yeah, I was knocked out for a few minutes. But I'm fine now. Ow! Hey, watch it!" He didn't like it when the doctor touched the bump on his head.

"Sorry." Dr. Higgins shook his head. "You're not fine. You've got at least a minor concussion, and if you're passing out again now, I want to get you on some IV fluids and watch you for a few hours so that we can see what happens, and you can get some rest."

Dean frowned at the doctor. "All that isn't really necessary, is it?" He wanted to stay there with Mary, but he didn't want to be a patient also.

"I really think it is. You've passed out twice now from this head injury, and I think you're slightly dehydrated. Getting you some fluids is the best thing for you right now.

Betty smiled at Dean. "Dean, it's okay. Let's get you taken care of, and then you can go back to check on your mom."

"Look, just give me some aspirin and a glass of water, and I'll be fine. I want to go check on my mom." Dean argued.

The doctor shook his head again. "Aspirin and a glass of water aren't going to stop you from passing out again." He gently pressed on Dean's shoulder to try and get him to lie back down.

"I'm sure she's fine right now, Dean," Betty said, trying to calm Dean down. "She was in a pretty deep sleep just a little while ago, and she'll understand that you're hurt too."

"I won't pass out again. I just got up too fast." He involuntarily laid back when the doctor pressed on his shoulder and looked over at Betty. "She doesn't know I'm hurt..."

"I really think getting some fluids into you and resting will be what's best for you right now. Would you feel more comfortable if we moved you back into your mom's room?" He really wanted Dean to get some fluids and rest but could see that he wasn't going to stay in the room they had him in.

Dean nods slightly. "Yes, I would feel a lot more comfortable with that arrangement." Dean wasn't happy about having to get the IV, but he did realize something wasn't quite right since he did pass out, even if he didn't admit it to anyone, so he figured if he got them to put him in the same room as Mary then everyone would be happy. He had no idea Mary was already awake and will not be pleased when he finds out.

"Alright, well, let's get that IV started, and we'll get you back to your mom." The doctor was glad he was able to convince Dean to get fluids and rest because he was sure Dean would just end up passing out again if he didn't.

"Fine, just hurry up before I change my mind!" He sighed but still refused to give up his tough-guy act.

Dr. Higgins wasted no time because he wasn't entirely sure Dean wouldn't actually change his mind. "Get the IV started and move him to his mom's room, and I'll be back in to check on him once he's settled." He then left the room.

"Okay, Doctor," Betty replied, then turned back to Dean. "I promise I'll get you hooked up and back to your mom in no time." She smiled at him as she got to work starting his IV. "I bet she's still asleep." She got the IV ready, then cleaned the back of Dean's hand, and inserted the needle into his vein.

Dean sighed and hated the feeling of the IV going in, and as soon as Betty finished putting it in, he tried to stand up so he could go back to Mary's room. "She better be."

"Don't worry, Dean, Jenna went to check on her," Betty said. She taped the IV in place on his hand when he started to get up. "Whoa hold on a sec Dean. Let me finish, then I'll take you back!" She tried to get him to lay back down. She got the IV taped down the said, "Okay, come on, let's get you back to your mom!" Betty made sure Dean was settled in safely then started wheeling his bed back to Mary's room.


~*~


Jenna headed to Mary's room to check on her and get it ready to bring in Dean's bed. When Jenna entered, she saw that Mary was awake and looked confused. "Mary? Are you okay?"

"I-I thought my son was here. Did he leave?" She didn't remember that the shifter that attacked her knocked Dean out.

"Oh no, Dean didn't leave. Uh, he's across the hall in a treatment room. Apparently, Dean has a head injury and passed out while your nurse was in here checking on you. Once Betty gets an IV started for him, he'll be back in here with you. So don't worry." Jenna explained.

"He h-hurt his head? How? Is he okay?!" She was now worried about Dean, and her oxygen level started to go down again.

"I'm not really sure when or how he hurt his head." Jenna shrugged apologetically. "I think it happened before he brought you in. Maybe he got hurt when you did, and he just didn't say anything?" She saw that Mary's oxygen level was going down, so she tried to calm her. "You need to try and relax and breathe, hon. I promise Dean will be back in just a few minutes."

"Why wouldn't he have said that he was hurt?" Mary knew Dean was stubborn, but she thought he would at least mention a head injury.

"I'm not really sure. Maybe he was just worried about you or didn't think it was as bad as it was. You can ask him when Betty brings him back."

"Oh, believe me, I intend to!" She was still worried but trying to calm down because she was starting to feel a bit lightheaded.

Jenna nodded and rechecked Mary's vitals as they waited for Dean.


~*~


The shifter went outside and opened up the trunk of the car and couldn't wait to tell Sam about how he's taken over his life, and no one suspected a thing.

Sam was conscious, and his mind was racing with all sorts of horrible scenarios as to what happened, and he was trying to very slowly pick at the tape around his fingers and trying not to move, so he didn't strangle himself, but he got real still when he heard the trunk start to open and he really hoped it was Dean opening it to rescue him.

Shifty got the trunk open and moved the blanket so that he could see if Sam had woken up yet. "Ah, you are awake! It looks like you haven't had much luck getting out of those ropes. It was quite genius of me to wrap that rope around your neck so that you'd choke yourself every time you tried, wasn't it?" He laughed and reached for Sam and started