Dean felt like shit when he woke up. His stomach was aching with pain. To alleviate some of the pain, Dean curled himself into a ball underneath the blankets. He could easily say that he hurt worse now than that time the angel Zachariah had given him stage four stomach cancer. As Dean moved, he became aware that his clothes felt sticky at wet. Even the sheets beneath him were unnaturally warm and sticky.
In confusion, Dean sat up and pulled back the blankets to look at his legs. Dean was shocked and more than a little horrified to find himself lying in a puddle of red. His pants and everything else was covered in hot, dark blood.
"What the hell," Dean grunted in a hushed sleep think tone. Beside him, Dean could feel Cas shift and turn to look at him with a look of befuddlement.
"Dean, what's wrong?" Cas asked in concern.
Dean pointedly ignored Castiel's question and leaped up from the bed. He rushed into the bathroom as fast as he could and shut the door securely behind him. His heart was hammering in his chest as panic welled up inside him. What the hell was happening to him? Dean's hands fluttered uselessly across his stomach as he groaned in pain. Then, he dropped his hands even lower as he stripped off his clothing and looked for any signs of injuries. Obviously, all this blood was coming from somewhere.
As he looked himself over, Dean felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he started to piece together the puzzle. There were absolutely no signs of physical injury on his body. Dean's eyes honed in on the pants and underwear he had shed. Dean really didn't want to think about this, but judging by the amount of blood on them, he had to assume he was on his period. Periods weren't something that crosses his mind on a regular basis. They never effective him, so he really had no reason to care. The thought weirded him out just a bit. He sure as hell didn't expect this outcome with the whole gender swap thing. The hair thing had been annoying, but this was just bullshit.
Dean felt gross, and he cringed internally as he became aware the blood trickling down between his legs. A shudder of revolution shot down his spine as he lifted his hand up to run his fingers through his long hair.
Under his breath, Dean hissed, "Fuck!" None of this was supposed to happen. Dean honestly had no idea what he was had to do now.
"Dean? Are you okay in there?" Castiel asked him through the door. He sounded worried.
'Shit... what the fuck am I gonna do about this?' Dean thought to himself in frustration.
"Dean?" Castiel's called to him again, speaking a little louder now.
"I uh... I'm fine Cas," Dean eventually replied. He put his hand against the door and held it there, hoping to shove Cas out if he tried to come in. "I'm just gonna to take a shower real quick..."
"Are you sure you're alright Dean? You don't sound okay," Cas mused as he juggled the handle of the locked door.
"Cas, privacy please," Dean snapped. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he tried to keep the panic out of his tone.
Dean really didn't want Cas or Sam to find out about this. Not only would it be embarrassing as hell, but Sam would never let him forget about this.
There was a long silence before Dean heard Castiel huffed dejectedly walked away.
Dean let out a sigh of relief and moved away from the door to turn on the shower. Thankfully the water warmed quickly, so it wasn't long before he was stepping under the soothing spray. Much to his surprise, Dean realized that the heat of the water helped to ease the ache in his back and the cramping in his stomach.
As he scrubbed himself clean, Dean made the mistake of looking down at the shower floor. "Ugh, gross," Dean balked, his expression morphing into a look of disgust.
The water that slipped down his legs and was circling the drain was stained red with blood. Typically blood didn't bother him, but there was just something about where this blood came that made his stomach churn.
Dean forced himself to take a deep, steadying breath as he cast his eyes up towards the ceiling. He couldn't look at the mess of blood anymore.
'No wonder girls are such asshole on their on their periods,' Dean snorted bitterly to himself 'This shit is fucking disgusting and is uncomfortable as hell!'
As Dean resumed washing his body, he was startled as someone ripped back the curtain.
He jumped in shock and really surprised that he didn't slip and die in the shower right then and there. Dean quickly regained his bearings and was ready to full on assault whatever was coming after him. He paused only for a minute when he realized Cas was standing in front of him, a look of terror filling his big blue eyes.
"You fucker," Dean snarled in anger. On instinct, he tried to punch Cas in the face while attempting to cover himself with the shower curtain. However, instead of hitting Cas, his swing went wide, and he missed which caused him to lose his balance again.
This time, Dean did fall onto his ass, landing hard on the wet plastic base of the shower floor. Pain radiated up his body, and he gasped loudly in pain.
From his place on the ground, Dean glared up and Cas and snarled, "God Damn it Cas you can't do that shit-"
Before he could finish cussing Cas out, he was interrupted as Cas reached down and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.
Cas shook him hard, oblivious of his own strength, as he practically wailed, "Dean where are you hurt?"
"What the- Cas! Get off of me," Dean roared as he tried to fight free of Castiel's bruising grasp. "I'm not hurt; I'm taking a damn shower! Can't a guy shower in peace?"
Cas looked like he was going to faint when he looked down and saw the red stained water. "Dean, what did you do to yourself? Where are you bleeding? Let me heal you," Cas pleaded as tears formed in his eyes.
"Cas- Cas! Hey, buddy! Calm down a second," Dean answered, reaching up and clasped both of his soaking wet hands on either side of Castiel's face.
Dean knew exactly how bad this must look to Cas right now.
At Dean's words, Cas managed to get calm his emotions, staring worriedly into Dean's bright green eyes.
"Okay, listen, as weird as sounds, I promise you that what's happening is normal," Dean paused before adding. "Well, normal for women anyway."
"What's happening to you, Dean?" Cas asked, furrowing his brow. "You're bleeding everywhere. The beds soaked with your blood. You must be hurt," Cas insisted
'Shit... well, that's how he knew,' Dean thought. He sighed to himself and repeated his statement, "It's okay Cas. All of this is normal." Dean pulled the angel in for a wet hug and kissed the side of his head. "Every month chicks have uh... menstrual cycles or periods- whatever you want to call them, and well... uh, they bleed and stuff."
Dean saw Castiel's nose scrunch up in disgust as he asked, "Why?"
Dean flushed when realized that he would need to have to explain the whole awkward mess to Cas. How was possible that Cas didn't know about this? "Uhh... shit, well umm..." Dean fumbled for the words he needed to explain periods. Eventually, he just said, "Ask Sam about it! He knows a lot more about it than I do."
"A-and you said this is normal?" Cas asked as he looked down at the water. Most of the blood-tinted water had already cycled down the drain by now.
"Unfortunately," Dean grumbled in frustration.
Much to his surprise, Cas suddenly broke out into tears.
"Woah, Cas? What's wrong? Calm down man," Dean exclaimed in shock and confusion. He watched as Castiel's knees buckled and Cas lowered himself to the floor in front of him. The water was getting cold now and the side of the motel's shower tub made Dean shiver as he leaned against it.
"I-I thought you were hurt," Cas wailed into Dean already damp shoulder. "I saw the blood on the bed and got scared that something might have attacked you! There was so much blood out there, and you were acting so strange."
"Shhh Cas, calm down man. It's okay. I'm okay," Dean said moving his hand in a circular motion across Castiel's back to try and soothe him.
'So I'm the one who gets his period for the first time, and Cas is crying about it? Seems logical,' Dean thought to himself with bitter humor.
Dean was starting to shiver as the chilly water hit his skin, but it was clear that Cas wasn't ready to move yet. After a few minutes, Dean heard Sam enter the room and call out to them. "Cas, Dean, where are you guys? I heard shouting and- holy shit is that blood?"
Dean felt panic well up in his chest as Sam's voice got closer and closer to the bathroom. "Sam! Sammy! Hey! Man, you don't wanna come in here," Dean warned his brother.
"Dean," Sam paused just outside the door, wary of Dean's warning, but still greatly concerned for his well-being.
"Dude, I'm not dressed," Dean pleaded desperately.
"Why is there blood out here?" Sam questioned.
Dean stayed quiet for a minute. He wasn't sure how to tell Sam that he had gotten his period. Dean hadn't been planning on telling his brother at all. It would have just been easier like that, but clearly, that wasn't possible.
Apparently, Dean had paused for a beat too long because Cas spoke up and said, "It's normal Sam. Dean says he has his period. He had informed me it is normal for girls and has also instructed me to ask you more about it."
There was an awkward silence in the room as Dean's cheeks heated in embarrassment. Sam obviously didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that.
"I-uh... Dean are you- is Cas telling the truth?" Sam finally asked.
"Y-yeah Sam, he is," Dean huffed loud enough for his brother to hear.
There was an even longer silence now. When Sam finally replied, his tone was softer and more sympathetic.
"Do you- uh... should I go pick you up like pads or something?" Sam asked softly.
Dean knew his brother was blushing just as hard as he was now. This was more awkward than the time Dean had to give his brother the sex talk.
Sam had been fourteen years old and just gotten his first girlfriend. Their father was out on a hunt, and Dean was left to explain the every last awkward and uncomfortable detail about the birds and the bees to Sam. The whole conversation had consisted of Sam burying face in a pillow facing away from Dean, while Dean was left stuttering and mumbling over his words. He had ended the conversation by chucking a box of new condoms at his brother and telling him to
"Just wrap it up and be safe"before rushing from the room.
Dean wished he was giving Sam the 'sex talk' again because that would be way easier than talking about this.
"P-pads?" Dean stammered as his mind slowly began connecting the dots. "Uh... y-yeah, sure that would be great Sam..."
"Um okay... I'll be back in ten," Sam replied before clumsily stumbling away from the door.
A minute later Dean heard the Impala's familiar purring engine roar to life and peeled out of the parking lot.
"Oh my God," Dean groaned in embarrassment. He let his face fall face fall into his hands as he thought about sinking into the floor.
"What's wrong," Cas asked as he placed a gentle hand on Dean's shoulder.
"Shoot me now Cas..." Dean said between the fingers pressed tightly to his face.
"Why would I shoot you, Dean?" Cas asked in surprise. "I would never want to hurt you."
Dean laughed to himself as he thought, 'How can Cas have such an innocent mind?'
"Dude, it's just an expression," Dean told him.
Cas still looked a little confused, but he still nodded in acknowledgment.
After a second, Dean snorted and said, "that was worse than the sex talk."
"What's the sex talk," Cas questioned as he tilted his head slightly to one side.
"Oh son of a bitch, never mind Cas. There is no way in hell I am explaining that again," Dean scoffed in exasperation. "How is it that a damn angel, who rocks in bed, doesn't even know what the sex talk is?"
Castiel squinted at Dean and asked, "Why would talking about sex be embarrassing? It's a natural act that all mammals' perform in order to-"
"Okay, new topic Cas," Dean interrupted before Cas had a chance to go any further.
Dean's face contorted in pain as his stomach began to ache again. 'That can't be normal,' Dean thought to himself.
"Are you okay Dean," Cas inquired, placing a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder.
"No Cas, not really," Dean replied through gritted teeth. "You mind bringing me the pain meds from my bag?"
"Sure Dean. I'll be right back."
When Cas left the bathroom, Dean leaned against the shower wall, letting the stream of cold water wash over him. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hoped that this pain wouldn't last too long. The pain wasn't quite as intense as it had been earlier, but there was still a dull throbbing sensation that was highly unpleasant. Fortunately, Cas returned quickly, the bottle of pills in one hand and an unopened water bottle in the other.
"Thanks, Cas," Dean said gratefully reaching for the medicine bottle.
"You're welcome Dean," Cas said with a comforting smile. He opened the water for Dean and handed it to him.
Dean watched Cas open the bottle with a small smile on his lips. He was usually the one to open things for Sammy, but it wasn't often when someone opened up something for him. Even though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself, Dean could help the warm bubbly feeling in his chest over the innocent, yet meaningful action.
"What," Cas asked as he caught sight of the look on his face.
Dean answered with a chuckle, "It's nothing Cas."
As Dean took the bottle, he scolded himself and thought, 'I need to stop acting like such a damn girl. No chick flick moments! I can't let myself forget who I really am.'
"Hey, Dean," Cas started, watching him carefully.
"Hmm," Dean hummed as he put the lid back on and handed it back to Cas.
"Why do you have so many pornographic magazines in your duffle bag?"
Dean stiffened as replied, "Cas, those were buried at the very bottom of my bag. Why the hell were you digging around in there?"
"Well, because it was there. Also, I couldn't find the medicine at first," Cas stated as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
"But... why didn't you ask me to find it if you couldn't find it?" Dean asked.
"I didn't want to bother you."
"Dude, I'm literally just sitting here right now! I'm like ten steps away! Hell, you could have just asked me from out there," Dean huffed with a dark look at Cas. He really didn't appreciate other digging through his personal belongings without asking.
"I'm sorry Dean, Cas apologized as he cast his eyes downward.
Dean immediately felt sorry for hurting Castiel's feeling, so he said, "Cas, it's alright. I just- don't look through my bag, okay? That's the one place that is all mine. Same goes for Sam's bag. We don't touch each other's stuff unless it's an emergency."
"Okay, Dean. I understand, my apologies," Cas replied with a nod of understanding.
Dean shivered in spite of himself. He wanted to turn off the frigid shower water, but at the same time, he didn't want to wind up in another puddle of blood. Fortunately, it wasn't long before the air filled with the familiar purr of the Impala returning to the motel.
"Guess Sam's back, Dean stated gratefully.
The next thing Dean knew, the motel door was opened, and the sound of rustling bags reached his ears.
"Are you dressed, Dean?" Sam called awkwardly from the doorway.
"No," Dean called back as he looked down at himself again. "I need to finish my shower. I still feel disgusting." It was the truth. Dean felt like his skin needed to be deep cleaned before he could get the unpleasant feeling to go away. Cold water or not, Dean wanted to be clean.
"Oh, okay, uh well here's the... the pads Dean," Sam muttered, setting a plastic bag just inside the door. "I also, brought you a change of clothes for when you get out of the shower."
"Thanks, Sammy," Dean said gratefully. "You're the best."
"Yeah, no problem Dean," Sam replied awkwardly before shuffling off again.
"Cas, could you get that for me," Dean asked.
"Of course Dean," Cas answered, standing up quickly.
When Cas retrieved the plastic grocery bag along with a pair of his comfy looking pajamas he set them on the bathroom counter and told him, "I'll be out here when you're done."
With that Cas walked out the bathroom as the door magically shut behind him.
Carefully, Dean forced his stiff body to stand up and pull the curtain closed again. He was surprised to feel the chilly water slowly heating up again. Dean wondered if Cas was using his freaky angle mojo to affect the water temperature. He smiled to himself and mentally thanked Castiel for fixing the water.
Although the water was now warm again, Dean took his shower in record time. His body just felt physically drained, and he just wanted to snuggle up in Castiel's strong, protective arms. Dean knew it was such a girly thing to want, but at this point, he figured that he needed a break. Living as a chick was stressful as hell.
Once he finished his shower, Dean grabbed the rough motel town and wrapped the scratchy material around his chest. He dried himself quickly and began to get dressed.
Reluctantly, he picked up the bag that contained the pads. He made a face as he pulled out the rectangular bag that contained about thirty green individually wrapped packages.
Bitterly, he tore open the plastic and pulled out one of the little green squares. Dean had never actually used or even opened a pad before, nor had he ever wanted to. He didn't even know how to use the damn things. Guess there had to be a first for everything.
At the top of the green square, Dean saw a small white tab that looked promising. He sighed and took a deep breath before grabbing the tab and pulling.
Dean found out the hard way that pads don't open quietly. As he pulled the plastic apart, the package made a loud tearing sound that seemed as loud as a gunshot blast.
"God damn it... Dean growled to himself.
Once he finished opening it, Dean looked at the little white pad in his hands in confusion. 'What the hell do I do now,' Dean wondered.
In defeat, Dean took a deep breath and walked over to the door. "Sam? Hey, Sammy, you out there?"
Dean heard the creaking of bedsprings as Sam stood. That was followed by the shuffling of feet on the other side of the door. "What's wrong, Dean? Did I buy the wrong ones?" Sam asked in concern.
"No I- Wait there can be wrong ones," Dean asked as he looked at the scary object in his hand.
"Uh... yeah, they can be too small or too big. There are some that's for a light flow or a heavy-"
"Oh God Sam stop! Abort Mission. I repeat, abort mission," Dean interrupted his brother as he tried not to gag. He didn't want to know about the different flows.
"Oh grow up Dean," Sam snickered.
"Shut up bitch; you try being the standing in enough blood to perform a summoning ritual," Dean exclaimed in annoyance.
Dean heard his brother groan through the thin wooden door. "What did you even call me over here for, jerk?"
"I- oh... right," Dean felt himself blush. He knew he sounded like an idiot as said, "I have no fucking clue how to put one of these damn things on Sam."
Dean swore that he heard his brother stifle a snort of laughter. "I'm serious, Sam! If you don't hurry the hell up I'm making you clean up the damn mess," Dean threatened.
That sobered Sam up, and he quickly began explaining the process to Dean. It was a lot easier than Dean had expected, and Dean was relieved that he wouldn't be destroying any more of his clothing.
Once he had gotten situated and completely dressed, Dean turned to the mess he made in the bathroom. He sighed in frustration but got to work. As he cleaned, Dean was grateful for the pain medication. The pain had finally started to ebb away, but unfortunately, it hadn't fixed the bloated feeling.
When he had finished, his stomach growled ravenously. He was starving, but at the same time, he wasn't sure he wanted to eat anything at all. As he joined Cas and Sam in the motel room, he was surprised to see that Sam and Cas had set up an array of snacks and had the sofas loaded up with the blankets and pillows from their bed. The sheets on the bed were suspiciously clean now, no longer stained with his blood, so Cas must have used his mojo to clean them.
"What is all this," Dean asked, pausing behind the sofa.
"We figured you'd probably just want to stay inside today. We'll work on the curse thing once you're feeling better," Sam explained as he beckoned Dean closer.
Castiel beamed and patted the empty spot beside him on the sofa. As soon as Dean sat down, Cas draped an arm over Dean's shoulder and pulled him close. Cas felt soft and warm, his touch comforting and familiar.
"Here's some chocolate if you want it, Dean," Cas whispered, offering him a giant bag of peanut m&ms, Dean's favorite.
Dean was about to turn down the offer, but to his surprise, the chocolate actually sounded good. "Oh my God yes," Dean said, his mouth watering as he stared at the yellow bag of candy.
"Sam told me you would like this. He said it would make you feel better," Cas explained as he passed the bag to an excited Dean.
Dean turned to his brother with a look of awe and asked, "Dude, how in the hell do you know so much about all this?"
Sam's eyes grew a little sad, dropping his gaze for just a moment.
Dean hadn't missed the sorrowful expression on his face. "Sammy, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good, Dean," Sam replied with a weak smile at Dean.
"Come on Sam, what up? Spit it out," Dean prodded, trying to convince his brother to talk.
Sam just shook his head and reached up to run a hand through his hair. There was a wistful look on his face when he said, "Well, Jess used to get these intense cramps so she would take things easy for a few days. When it was real bad, I would sit with her and watch movies with her. I brought her chocolate and stuff too cause it seemed to help. I even gave her massages from time to time."
"Geez Sam, you were so domestic," Dean teased as he tried to lighten the mood.
Sam gave a small appreciative smile, but he still looked sad. Dean felt a little guilty as he watched Sam try to blink away the tears that filled his eyes. He had suspected that Sam was still in love with Jessica, or at least missed the life they had shared at Stanford. Even now, nine years later Sam felt guilty for his girlfriend's death. Dean hated seeing how much that weighed on his brother's consciousness.
"Shut up," Sam shot back, no heat behind his words.
Dean reached out and placed a comforting hand on his brother's knee and said, "Hey Sammy, thanks for helping me through this shit."
Sam smiled at Dean in thanks but didn't say anything. Dean knew his brother was always there for him, regardless of what weird and ridiculous shit went on in their fucked up lives.
"Jessica is happy, Sam," Cas told them quietly. "Her heaven is calm and peaceful, filled with memories of you."
Sam's eyes widened in surprise at Castiel's words. "She-I'm in her heaven," Sam asked in a hushed whisper.
"Of course you are Sam. She loved you," Cas replied with a gentle smile.
Sam smiled at Cas and tried to quickly wipe away the single tear that had escaped and rolled down his cheek. Then, rather abruptly, Sam changed the topic and said, "So uh, let's watch a movie. What movie do you wanna watch Dean? I picked up some horror movies for you cause I- well I figured you didn't want any chick flicks."
Dean laughs and rolls his eyes at Sam. "You know me too well. How about you pick the movie, Sammy."
"It's Sam," Sam scoffs but moves to retrieve a movie anyway.
Once Sam had started up a movie, he came to settle back down on the sofa. Dean was content, his head resting against Castiel's broad shoulder. Eventually, Sam reached over and pulled Dean's legs into his lap. Dean smiled at his brother; this position was a lot more comfortable, and Sam knew it.
Sometimes Dean forgot just how much his little brother tried to do for him. Dean was usually so busy trying to keep Sam safe, that he sometimes forgot Sam watched out for him just as much.
Dean sighed in content, watching the movie in silence as Castiel stroked his fingers through his soft hair. As shitty as this whole situation has been so far, there was actually some good to come out of it. He couldn't remember the last time he had been able just to have a lazy day of watching movies. It was a nice change, despite the reasons they were in this situation. Hunting consumed so much of his and Sam's lives that they never really had downtime. Though, too much down time was never a good thing for a hunter. Dean knew this wouldn't last long, but for now, this was enough.
They would worry about the curse later. Right now, the only thing that Dean cared about was spending time with his broken, screwed up, but amazing family.