The Winchesters took in the British Men of Letters safe house, surprised at just how small things were. They had read that English homes were much smaller, and they supposed it was much bigger than the motel rooms they used to live out of. But since being in the bunker, they grew fond of the space.
The house was clearly decorated by an elderly woman, soft pastel pinks, frilly table cloths, framed photographs of the sea, the town they must be in when it was originally built and a small china cupboard at the back of the front room. Which apparently was the front room and the dining room, with a small white circular table with four matching chairs. Dean loved the carpet the most, not because of how it looked but because of how it felt under his boots, soft and spongy and he imagines how nice it will feel in his dead mans slippers.
"Righto, i'll need some time to mix all the ingredients together. I hate to add to the stereotype and all, you know with being an independent mega witch, but perhaps I can use the stove and a pot to cook up my recipe." Rowena almost winced at the thought of being the stereotypical witch with a couldren and a wand. But she really did need to mix ingredients for Dean to drink for the spell.
While Rowena got the spell and the ingredients ready, Sam and Dean went upstairs to check out the bedrooms. As they climbed the stairs, Sam smacked his head with a loud thump on the roof and winced at the pain.
"Ooooh, Sammy... I felt that, I really did." Dean also winced at the pain, much to Sam's annoyance and looked around to take in the small hall way.
Straight in front of the stairs is a single toilet, Dean peers in the room and is confused when he doesn't see a sink. Thinking to himself, where the hell does he wash his hands? His question is asked when he follows Sam, who is still scratching his head, into the next room that had a green bath and shower combo with more pastel pink with a frilly shower curtain, and a small green coloured sink. Green... Such an odd colour to have these. Next is a bedroom, not too big but not too small. Large enough to hold a white framed double bed, an old oak desk and a matching wardrobe. Dean opens the wardrobe and looks inside.
"Was hoping Mr. Tumnus was gonna be in there." Dean shuts the wardrobe and is almost disappointed.
"Really Dean, You've read The Chronicles of Narnia?" Sam scopes the room and takes in the decor, and wonders if anyone still comes here. Its not modern in the slightest, but its well kept and he notices the layer of dust isn't that thick.
"What? Oh no, Movie dude. I may have watched the movie." Dean quickly changes the subject, clearly having the same thought as Sam. "This place is way too clean for an abandoned safe house." Sam nods in agreement then checks the next room, which is the same size and almost identical in decor. The third room that was directly opposite from the bathroom, has a lock. Removing his lock picking kit, Sam bends down and opens the room and inside is astonishing. A mini library with old books on lore, original prints and limited editions of classic books, what looks like herbs, spices and rare ingredients for spells. There was a glass cupboard at the back tucked away in the corner that housed different knives, angel blades, a couple of shot guns and plenty of ammunition. Sam again worked on the lock and opened the cupboard and examined all the bullets. Each one had a carving of the Men of Letters Logo and on the bottom of the bullet, was a devils trap. The Winchesters think instantly of their grandfather Henry, they remembered that he carved the same into the bullet to stop Abbadon and they figure it's a standard lesson they are taught early on.
They quickly decide which room they will be having, and run down stairs and put their bags and suitcases in the appropriate room. Dean had the one closest the the bathrooms and Sam had the one next to the mini bunker, mostly for quick access to the books. The boys did feel guilty there wasn't enough room for Castiel and Jack to have their own space. They discussed maybe finding somewhere else to stash all the old British Men of Letters stuff and make the small bedroom somewhere Jack can use to get away and have his own space. Even if he didn't sleep much he still needed space.
Castiel checks on Rowena in the kitchen and is hit with an instant coppery smell, even he winces his nose at.
"Rowena, what is that smell?"
"Trust me boy, you don't want to know. Just know that its almost ready and get Dean so we can start." She grabs a glass from the cupboard next to the sink and pours the black steaming liquid in. By the time Dean is prepared with the markings of the spell, it should be cool enough to drink... So she hopes anyway.
"Oh. My. God. What is that smell?!" Dean winces as the smell of copper hits him.
"You don't want to know." Castiel and Rowena say in unison.
"Okay that's good enough for me. Right, so what now?"
"So, this spell is from the codex. I'll need to draw several symbols on your chest and arms. Jack wee lad, will ye get a towel for me, I don't want to ruin this lovely carpet." Without question, Jack goes in search for a towel and comes back with a pristine white one, protesting with the others at the fact all of the towels are whiter than white.
Dean takes his shirts of as the towel is laid down for him. Rowena takes a small paintbrush and mason jar out of her Witchy, Mary Poppins bag and undoes the lid. Dean is experienced enough and knows damn well that is some kind of blood. He would even go as far as saying it was fresh.
"Where the hell did you get that?" He points to the jar just as the bloody paintbrush touches his skin. Wincing as its still luke warm.
"Oh, It's just the blood of a new born lamb. Nothing you've never dealt with before, Darlin' She concentrates on the pattern as Dean winces. Shes right Dean has dealt with the blood of a lamb before, but never has he worn said blood as body paint. The thought sent a chill through his spine and the reality of the spell hit him, causing him to sweat slightly despite the cool temperature.
Suddenly Rowena is gone and Dean goes to sit up.
"No! Sam keep him down will ya, if that blood drips to much I worry the spell won't work." She comes out the kitchen with the glass, everyone wincing at the smell and the colour knowing Dean has to drink it.
"Now Sam dear, I want you to slowly pour this into Deans mouth while I say the incantation. Dean please try to swallow as much as you can. I wont lie to ye, it will taste sour and rotten but you need to drink in order for this to work. Do you understand." She hold his hand and he squeezes, showing his nervous but nodding that he understands.
Rowena starts the incantation and suddenly everyone is aware that candles have been placed all over the front room, and as she starts shouting in an unknown, dead language. The candles instantly light and burn bright purple. Sam starts pouring the drink into Dean's mouth when Rowena gestures. His natural instinct takes over and he tries to move and struggles to swallow the concoction. To help, Jack holds Deans legs and Castiel has his head, subtly rubbing his thumbs clockwise on Deans temple to aid in his comfort.
The chanting gets louder and Dean struggles more. The boys hope Rowena is done soon, they hate seeing this man that they all look up to, struggle against an ancient spell. Worry starts to set in for Sam, he remembers that there are consequences to the book of the Damned and worried that Deans life could be on the line. As quickly as that thought creeped into his mind, the chanting stopped along with the purple fire, and Dean goes still.
"DEAN!" They all shout and shake Dean to try to get him awake. No response and Sams worries come flooding back again. They all glare at Rowena.
"Don't say anything. This is normal, it will be his brain rewiring its self to forget about Michael. It's not a case of 'ere laddy drink this and ye pain goes away' No! This is a serious and complex spell. Give. It. Time!" Rowena already has a clean wash cloth ready to wipe away the lambs blood from Dean.
Five minutes go by... Nothing.
Ten minutes...
Twenty minutes...
After half an hour Sam couldn't wait any longer. He scooped Dean off the floor and ran outside looking for a car. Castiel on the day they arrived had bought an old fashioned Mini, Sam cursing at how low it was, struggled to shove Dean into the back seat. The next thing he knew Castiel and Jack were behind his heels and Cas got into the drivers seat and quickly drove off. It was a bumpy drive as Castiel still hadn't gotten used to the gears in British cars, but they made it to the nearest hospital about 25 minutes away. At this point Dean had been unconscious for almost an hour and the boys were incredibly worried about him.
Scooping Dean up again, Sam ran into the hospital with Jack shouting for a doctor. A doctor came and assisted straight away.
"Can you tell me what happened?" The Doctor asks as he helps Sam put Dean gently on a hospital bed. Thinking on the spot like they always do when they are in trouble, Sam lies and tells him he just found him on the floor near the bathroom. The Doctor doesn't hesitate and lifts Deans eyes to see his pupils, to the surprise of the doctor and to Sam, the middle of his eyes were almost glowing red. The Doctor clearly has no idea what to say, so lets go of the lid and asks for his name, once he knows his name he starts repeating 'Dean' over and over again to see if he can get any response. When he doesn't show any signs, he wheels Dean though some double doors and tells them to wait in the family room for a nurse while they run some test.
"Sam, we know how this plays out. They wont find anything wrong with him." Castiel says sympathetically.
"It doesn't matter, least here they can keep him alive until we figure something out." Sam paces the family room, unable to sit down. "We should go back and find out what the hell Rowena did to him. And I swear if he never wakes up, I will kill her dead."
"I'll go." Cas doesn't even wait for a confirmation as he leaves the room and the hospital.
They wait for hours and hours, sipping scorching hot, rancid vending machine coffee and soggy sandwiches from the hospital cafe. After several hours, Castiel came back with a face so hard and angry. They didn't even need to ask what had happened, they knew that Rowena had fled and who knows where she is know. What matters at this moment, is that they are all there when Dean wakes up.
They watch the clock tick by, finally at 9:00pm a nurse comes into the moderately busy family room, asking for relatives of 'Dean'. They all jump out of there seats, nervous and happy to finally be getting some news. He leads them into a smaller room and gestures them to sit down.
"We just need a few more details from you about the patient." the nurse grabs a clip board from the table along with a pen. Sam is furious, couldn't they have asked that before, what if this man is stopping them from being Dean while he's awake.
"What's happened to my brother?!" Sam demands as the nurse raises an eyebrow.
"Oh American, do you or your brother have your Green card holder information." Sam is dumb founded and annoyed that he didn't think to get fake green cards for situations like this, luckily though, Jack reached into his pocket and handed the nurse the correct fake papers. Once the nurse wrote down Deans fake information, he put the pen and clipboard down and softened his gaze and handed the papers back.
"Okay, so your brother, Dean must have had some kind of fall and hit his head really hard and it has caused damage to his brain. It's the part of the brain that typically causes memory loss, now as he's still unconscious we don't know the extent of the damage. But just know we will keep him comfortable while he is here with us, he will be able to receive any treatment he needs in case he has to learn how to do things again." The nurse stands up and walks to a wall display with different leaflets on. He grabs a leaflet and hands it to Sam. The leaflet advertises counselling and finical help for people affected by brain injuries. He leaves them with that and leads them through to the room Dean's in. Hooked up to IV's, wires and tubes to help him breathe and in a hospital gown looking pale.
Sam is beyond worried about Dean, but on the plus side if the evidence shows his memory has been affected, is that just the effects of Michael, or is it more than that.
For three days, the boys take it in turns to watch over Dean. Jack brings a batman comic to read to him. Castiel plays out loud the music tape Dean gifted him and Sam just stairs into the ceiling, talking to Dean, hoping he can hear and see him.
At noon on the third day, while Castiel was playing Led Zeppelin, Immigrant Song - Dean bolts up right choking and struggling with the breathing tubes. As Castiel shouts for help, he can't watch his friend suffer so to ease his pain, he puts his hand on his forehead and wills him to remain calm, while a nurse removes the breathing tube and Dean instantly relaxes.
Jack and Sam quickly rush in from the waiting room at all the commotion and seeing Dean off the machine warms makes them sigh in relief.
"Heya, Sammy!" Dean beams a genuine smile when he sees Sam, a smile no one has seen from him in many years.