Crazy Circles

Chapter 1

January 24th, 1979

I can't take this waiting much longer, John thought to himself as he sat in the waiting room of the hospital silently. His legs were bouncing up and down in anticipation as he scrubbed his hand over his face to clear the sweat that was about to drip into his eyeballs.

His wife Mary was in the delivery room giving birth to their first child. She had insisted John sit and wait in the waiting room - she had assumed he wouldn't be able to handle the 'supporting role' he would have to play if he were to go in. And she was right for the most part, he wouldn't be able to offer support with his nerves running so high.

When John discovered Mary was pregnant, his first feelings were unimaginable excitement and joy. After all, he wanted to be a father – and he knew Mary wanted to be a mother. But his joy soon drained away when he thought long and hard about what this would mean.

Would their child be cursed as John's father was? Would John have to tell Mary about his family's past? It wasn't anything he particularly had done, but he was the one who would pass the curse along and he knew it.

It skipped generations, which was why John was an only child – like his father before him had been. No one knew how exactly the curse would affect siblings, so no one dared try it.

Now John knew his son or daughter would be like his father.

John and Mary decided they didn't want to know the sex of the baby until it was born. They wanted to be surprised upon his or her arrival.

But maybe it was in his head, John thought to himself tiredly. Maybe their child would come out completely normal like him and Mary. Maybe there was nothing at all to worry about, and he was just ruining this beautiful moment with his worry.

So John decided he wouldn't say anything to Mary just yet. He wouldn't bring it up unless their child started acting…weird.

John was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by a thin tanned woman with dark hair wearing light blue scrubs walking through the double doors to the waiting room.

"John Winchester?" She called sweetly.

Instantly John was up, and standing in front of the woman practically shaking. She took in his tall frame with a quick glance and smiled up at him.

"Your wife is resting – she's in her room with the baby now. Congratulations sir, you're a father."

"Thank you." John replied with a sigh of relief as a smile warmed his face, "Can I go see them?"

"Of course." The nurse said softly, "Just follow me – I'll take you to them."

John's smile turned into an excited toothy grin as it became harder and harder to hide just how happy he was that he was finally a father. He just hoped their child was normal.

xXx

January 24th, 1981

Mary and John Winchester's son Dean was as normal as little boys were on their second birthday. So far there was nothing weird or unexplainable about this kid, other than his impeccable lung capacity. Dean doesn't cry, he wails - and once he gets started…good luck getting him to stop.

This morning had been a usual morning for John and Mary. Mary woke up to the sounds of Dean's unsettled little whines of discomfort, so she got out of bed and changed his diaper before the kid got going with the tears. While John on the other hand, cooked the breakfast for mommy and the birthday boy.

When Mary came downstairs with a clean and happy two year old in her arms, John was more than thrilled. He had taken off work today at the Garage to spend his sons' birthday with him, and didn't want to waste a second of it.

So far, Dean's life has been a completely normal one. He's shown no signs of being under the curse, which was a blessing. Maybe God had heard John's prayers for a normal son, and has delivered. Either way, John decided it best not to look this in the mouth.

Instead, he would live out the rest of his life with his beautiful wife, raising their son the best they could – completely normal, completely safe.

xXx

January 24th, 1983

John walked in the front door with a handful of groceries in each hand, and a little bouncy four year old boy at his heel.

Dean helpfully closed the door behind his father when John failed to do so with his hands full. He whispered thanks to Dean before they both trailed into the kitchen to find his very pregnant wife cooking lunch over the gas stove.

The moment Dean ran into the kitchen, Mary's face lit up into the most vibrant smile John's seen in a long while.

"Hey Dean, you ready for lunch, baby?" She asked her son sweetly.

"Whatcha makin'?" The four year old tested with a toothy grin.

"Your favorite, silly - grilled cheese and tomato soup." Mary responded with a gentle chuckle.

"Yes!" Dean exclaimed as he took his usual seat at the dining room table.

As John entered the kitchen, he placed the bags of groceries on the kitchen table in front of his son and began to unload each bag, maneuvering around Mary and Dean to put things in their proper places.

Mary turned her attention back to the pot full of tomato soup, and stirred it slowly as she placed her free hand on her sore lower back.

"Did you get the cake?" Mary asked John with an intent look in her eyes as she spared him a sideways glance.

"Of course." John replied with a smile, "It's in the refrigerator in the garage."

"Good." Mary said with a relieved nod.

They had to hide the cake in the garage, they've had to since Dean's third birthday when he learned the fridge was where the goodies where. So they bought another refrigerator and stuck it in the garage where Dean couldn't get to.

John offered his gorgeous wife a pride-filled gaze as he placed the new loaf of bread in its proper pantry. She didn't seem to notice as she continued to stir her soup with a gentle smile on her face.

He then turned his attention to Dean who was seated at the table patiently, picking at his little fingernails with a bored haze in his green eyes.

So far so good, John thought to himself with relief. They've made it four years so far, and Dean hasn't done anything too out of the ordinary. He was just a normal four year old little boy, and things were perfect.

John hadn't been too happy though when Mary announced to him that she was pregnant with their second child. He figured he got lucky with Dean; could he dodge another bullet with their second child?

Only time would tell, John guessed as he walked over to the dining room table and withdrew the fresh carton of milk from the plastic bag.

But for now, he would have to thank his lucky stars that everything was normal for the time being.

xXx

May 2nd, 1983

Dean wasn't feeling so great today, and neither were John or Mary. Their son had woken them up that morning by crawling into bed with them with tears in his eyes, which was pretty unusual. Mary struggled to get up quickly with her large pregnant belly getting in the way. But John sat up in a hurry, staring after Dean with drawn together eyebrows out of concern.

"What's-a-matter, champ?" John asked Dean as he pulled their son closer to his chest.

Dean sniffled for a moment before replying. "I don't feel very good."

"Why, honey? What's wrong?" Mary chimed in soothingly, wincing in pain when she sat up all the way. She leaned back a little to relieve the pressure building in her spine.

"My head hurts." Dean admitted as he hid his face in his fathers' chest.

"John, go downstairs and get Dean some of that Children's Tylenol - that should help him." Mary instructed with a drawn out sigh as she made her legs slowly off the side of the bed to start her day.

"You need any help?" John offered as he stood from the bed, cradling their son in his arms.

"You can help me by helping Dean." Mary huffed, sounding slightly annoyed.

John only nodded as he kicked his slippers on and headed out of the bedroom with Dean.

Mary had been slightly more irritable during the last few weeks. John prayed that was a good sign. Their new child should be coming any day now the doctors were saying.

Dean was excited to be a big brother. John and Mary had talked to him countless times about how they would need his help once the baby was born. They would need him to help them with the new baby, and to just lend a hand around the house when asked. Dean seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, which couldn't make Mary or John any prouder.

So far, Dean had been brought up so perfectly. They only hoped their new child would be as wonderful.

John took Dean down the stairs, and into the kitchen where he sat Dean down at the dining room table. The child groaned in pain once he was pulled from his fathers' chest.

"You'll be alright soon, son." John promised as he turned his back on Dean to head toward the cabinet over the stove where the medicines were stored.

John opened the cabinet, and pulled out the large bottle of Children's Tylenol. He untwisted the cap, and popped two of the chewable pills into his hands before recapping the bottle and placing it back into the cabinet.

But what met John's eyes when he turned around made his heart freeze in his chest and a feeling of dread and fear wash over his entire being.

The white pajamas Dean had just not two seconds ago been wearing were now in a pile on the chair John had just sat him. But standing on the pile of vacant clothes stood a shaken red fox pup.

Its fur was pretty short because the animal was clearly pretty young. Its head and back down to its tail were a brilliant shade of orange-red, while its legs down to its paws were black along with the back of its ears. But the fox's underbelly was white; from its chin to what John assumed was its navel.

Looking at the animal, John knew instantly that it was Dean. It's rounded confused brown eyes looking up at his father begging for an explanation as his shaking legs barely kept him standing.

It was the curse. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, as he walked over to the timid pup careful not to frighten him more.

"It's alright, Dean." John whispered, "God, I had hoped this curse would skip you."

The pups' ears perked at his fathers' words wondering what on earth his daddy was talking about. Dean didn't know what was wrong. One minute he was sitting at the table in a world of pain – and then the next it stopped and he was standing on four legs.

The pup let out a pitiful whine, causing John to rush to his child's side as tears sprung from his face. He knelt down so that he was eyelevel with the little critter, and examined it carefully.

"Are you still hurting, son?" John prodded with a sniffle, trying to keep a strong front for his child.

The animal yipped, and shook its pelt almost excitedly which John decided to take as a no. It seemed that Dean was in pain because it was just his time to fall victim to this curse.

Oh God, John thought desperately to himself – he had to tell Mary. She wouldn't understand, there was no way in hell she'd understand. What would she do if she learned their son was cursed, and this it was all John's fault?

Oh, even worse – John thought hysterically, they now had another child on the way. John was the first one in his long family line in such a long time to produce two offspring – he had no idea how this curse would affect the new baby.

"Can you uh…change back now, Dean?" John asked the little critter with sincerity as he eyed the little animal curiously.

Dean yipped, followed by a pathetic sounding whine – and John knew instantly that, that meant Dean wasn't sure how to change back.

"I don't really know how either, kiddo." John admitted as more tears stung his eyes, threatening to spill over, "I guess it'll just come to you."

The fox let out a small bark, which sounded more like a howl – John wasn't really sure what the hell that noise was for, but he picked up the little red fox and got back up to his feet.

He had to tell Mary, it was either now or never.

John could only hope though, that Mary wouldn't hate him forever for not telling her sooner.

xXx

Mary stood in her bedroom, with her fuzzy white bathrobe over her silky white nightgown which draped down to her knees. She sighed contently when she looked down at her large pregnant belly as she thought to herself, "Come on out, kiddo. We're ready for you."

But as the child had for the last week, it ignored her silent plea.

Mary heard footsteps working their way up the stairs and knew it was John coming in to check up on her. She felt bad for snapping on him all the time, lately – but she was becoming frustrated because the baby was due two days ago.

She was just ready to not be pregnant anymore!

There was a soft wrap on the door, as John announced himself wordlessly before entering their bedroom. Without waiting for a reply, he slowly opened the door looking up at his wife with a sort of panicked expression in his eyes.

Instantly, she thought it was something wrong with Dean – but she then noticed the small red animal cradled in John's hand, and her curiosity kicked up notch.

"What's that?" Mary wondered aloud, eyeing the tiny fox warily.

John ignored the question and took in a deep breath. "Mary…there's something really important I gotta talk to you about."

"Alright…does it have to do with that animal?" Mary asked sounding a little annoyed.

The fox whined sadly in John's arms and burrowed its head into John's chest, hiding its face from her line of sight.

"That animal" his mom had just called him. Those words really hurt him. Why didn't his mom recognize him? Daddy had! What was wrong, here?

John sighed before replying. "It does, as a matter of fact. Um…you may wanna sit down for this."

"No John, what's going on?" Mary demanded stubbornly.

John took in another deep breath before diving right into his family secret. "Do you uh…do you believe in curses?"

Mary had to admit, she was taken aback by the question. Of course she believed in curses – she came from a family of hunters for God's sake, she's dabbled in curses once in a while over the course of her lifetime.

But that was all in the past, nothing weird or out of the normal in her life anymore. She, her children, and her husband were safe.

"Well, to be honest John – I've never really given it much thought." Mary lied, "Why, what's this about?"

"Well…" John started hesitantly, "my family is cursed."

"What are you talking about, John?" Mary asked as a cold dread seeped through her. Was he serious? What kind of curse?

"It um…it only goes back six or seven or so generations ago…see, it skips every other generation. My father had it…and now I think it's passed along to our son." John confessed as more tears made their way down his face.

"What do you mean, John?" Her voice taking on a higher octave as cold panic replaced the seeping dread. What had he passed on to their children?

Damnit, she thought to herself sadly, she thought she had escaped this life! But no, here it was living in her home with her. All she wanted was a normal life, with her normal husband, and their two normal children.

She so desperately wanted her old life to be behind her.

"I um…I don't really know much of the story. But one of the men in my family line went and mixed himself up in some stupid Indian magic. He went ahead and got himself cursed by some friggin Shaman or whatever…and now it's affecting in his family line."

Mary didn't say anything, she just kept a wary eye on her husband and the tiny animal in his hand as it raised its head as if listening to his words.

"My father had this curse," John continued sadly, "and even though I don't…I sure had to learn to live with it."

"What does this curse do, John?" Mary asked in a whispered voice as she choked back the hysteria in her voice.

John eyed his wife curiously for a moment. Why wasn't she freaking out on him? Why wasn't she calling him a liar? Why did she seem to believe him?

"What my dad told me, he said the curse gives the victim the ability to change into its animal spirit. But I'm not sure if I believe that tale…the way he put it made it almost seem like a gift instead of a curse."

"Animal Spirit?" Mary wondered aloud, yep – that definitely sounded like Native American magic.

John nodded, and gave a dry chuckle as another tear streamed down his face, "But in reality, it's almost like the person goes crazy from it."

"How so?" Mary asked trying to sound calm. She eyed the red fox in John's arm, and pieced together what John was telling her, with what exactly this animal had to do with his tale.

"My uh…my father could change into a uh bear. A big friggin' black bear too, it was freaky watching him do that." John admitted as he shook his head slightly trying to get rid of the image of his father in that form, "But sometimes when he…even when he wasn't in that form…sometimes he would still act like an animal. It was like he sometimes he had trouble telling the difference between what he could be…and what he was supposed to be."

"John," Mary began intently, "did he ever hurt you?"

Taken aback by the question, John turned his eyes to his wife curiously. This wasn't right, why was she buying this? No normal person would.

"Why are you believing me, Mary?" John asked in a whispered voice.

Mary shrugged her shoulders as she made her way over to her husbands' side, "I believe you because I see that look in your eye. You didn't tell me because you didn't know how. You didn't do it to hurt me and I know it."

John nodded as another tear escaped his guard. He was so grateful to have someone so wonderful as her.

"Did your father ever hurt you, John?" Mary repeated.

Instantly, without even really thinking about it – John shook his head. In neither form had his father ever even attempted to hurt him. It was the scariest thing, because no matter what his dad looked like, or how he acted – it was like he could still tell who was important in his life. He could tell who his son was, and his wife before she left them.

Honestly, this could be much worse – Mary thought to herself, trying to calm her racing nerves. At first she thought John was talking about a curse that could mean their children's' lives. But this seemed to be manageable. She knew it wouldn't be easy…but it would be alright if her children were raised right.

Mary took a deep breath, and held her arms out expectantly. "Lemmie see Dean."

John looked down at the critter in his arms, as the tiny fox looked up curiously.

Instantly, John handed over the furry bundle over to Mary and watched as she cradled him as she had done with Dean so many times before.

It was almost like, Dean wasn't an animal right then.

"How many times should we expect this to happen, John? Is it frequent? Like with a full moons cycle or what?" Mary asked sounding completely serious as she looked up at her husband.

John shrugged. "They don't change with the full moon. I think it's just…whenever they want to or something."

Mary nodded as she looked back down at the happy little fox in her arms. It gave her an excited yip as he reached upward, and licked her cheek.

Dean looked so happy, despite what he was going through. It was so obvious he could still understand them; he knew he was with his parents, and that he was safe. He was aware of his surroundings.

And in that moment, Mary couldn't really explain it as a tear she hadn't felt coming on ran down her face – she knew that everything was going to be alright. Her children were in no danger.

"Its okay, John." Mary whispered happily, keeping her eyes down on her son.

Another tear escaped John's guard as relief swept over him. She didn't hate him. Mary wasn't going to pack the kids up and leave. And right then, John believed her words. Everything would be fine.

Suddenly, a gentle pain began to make itself known in Mary's lower belly. It wasn't an overwhelming pain, but it was present all the same.

She handed Dean back off to his father, and held her stomach. "I think it's almost time, John. We should get moving."

"Right now?" John asked sounding completely surprised as Mary inhaled deeply through the gentle nudging in her stomach and lower back.

"Right now." Mary confirmed with a jerky nod.

John looked downward at Dean who was wagging his little red tail back and forth excitedly. He wasn't sure if Dean knew what they were talking about, or if he was still just jazzed that he had been recognized.

"Come on, Dean." John said excitedly, "It's time to get your little brother or sister."

Dean's face lit up excitedly as he squirmed in his fathers' arms excitedly making happy yipping noises. He reached up, and licked his fathers' cheek in his moment of overwhelming happiness.

He was definitely ready to be a big brother, now.

Just a quick note - I'm so sorry I haven't been around much this summer. But it's just been crazy around here.

I WILL be finishing my other stories, but I just got this idea, and I had to go for it.

Reviews are very much appreciated, good and bad. Just tell me where to go from here. :)