A/N Short little story written purely to try and get my muse to wake up after a long bout of writer's block. Unbetated and rushed and probably complete crap but I need to write something or I'll go crazy. Hope you enjoy.

Temptation and Trust

It happened so fast. One minute Dean and Benny are both locked in the heat of battle, fighting off a harpy, the next Dean's flat on his back, blood pouring from his side. His vision wavers a moment as he grasps at the wound, he distantly hears Benny call his name and the screech of the harpy followed by the thud of her body hitting the ground. He struggles to sit up but a hand holds him down.

"Easy," Benny says, his face grim. "Lie still. Harpy's claws got you good. Let's see the damage…" He kneels down and pulls Dean's hand away to inspect the wound.

Dean looks at the blood pooling in the dirt and then looks at Benny and inwardly curses. He can see it in Benny's eyes. The thirst, the bloodlust. It has to have been at least fifty years since the vamp tasted human blood, and Dean knows from experience how hard it is to resist the temptation. Dean might be Benny's only way out of this cursed place, but the look in his eyes and the way his fangs extract from his gums, makes Dean pretty sure that he's currently on the menu.

But then Benny shakes his head, the bloodthirsty look in his eyes disappears and he frowns, vamp teeth vanishing as he draws a few deep breaths, "Looks bad, might have to cauterize it but you'll live."

Dean gapes at him incredulously and Benny frowns, "Put pressure on that, I'll start a fire." Dean does so, wincing at the pain, dreading what's to come. Of course in Purgatory it's not like there are a lot of options for tending to a wound. He watches Benny walk to the river they've been following in hopes of finding Cas and kneel down to wash his hands. He sees Benny hesitate first, and Dean knows that he's tempted to take a taste. He's a vampire after all, and his hands are currently coated in human blood. Benny shakes his head and washes his hands then moves to start the fire.

Despite feeling lightheaded and ready to pass out Dean stays awake and alert. Purgatory offers no refuge for rest, and Dean's worried about what would happen if he let his guard down for too long. Benny might be able to control his cravings, for now at least, but he's not the only vamp in Purgatory. As the only human in Purgatory Dean's a desirable target for vamps and other bloodthirsty creatures, and the smell of the blood pooling at his side is a beacon, welcoming those nearby to take a taste. And Dean knows from experience the hunger, the cravings and how much longer would Benny be able to control it, especially with his blood gushing out his side like a fountain? Sure Benny needs him alive, but one person could feed a nest for days, what's to stop Benny from giving in and taking enough to satisfy his cravings without killing him as soon as Dean let's his guard down?

By the time Benny gets the fire going, Dean's tense and dizzy, worried about passing out from bloodloss, or from the pain that's coming. He puts Dean's knife in the flames, allowing it to heat. Dean's breath hitches when he pulls it out, red hot.

"Sorry Dean," Benny says regretfully, "This is going to hurt, but it'll stop the bleeding. Sorry I can't give you something for the pain."

"N-needle and th-thread and I'd have it stitched by now," Dean muttered, suddenly missing not for the first time, the little things on earth that made things so much easier.

Benny smirks slightly and sadly, "Sorry, fresh out of needles and thread. This'll have to do." Dean sees a sympathetic wince on Benny's face as he grasps Dean's hand, pulling it away from the wound with one hand and lowers the fiery hot blade with the other.

Everything after that is a blurr. Dean remembers screaming as the white hot pain burns through him, remembers Benny's surprisingly soothing voice talking him through the ordeal, and a hand gently patting him on the shoulder once it's done. "Rest now Dean, I'll keep watch," he remembers hearing Benny say, his words thick with concern before darkness claimed him despite his efforts to stay awake and alert.

When Dean opens his eyes again he's surprised to see Benny sitting on the ground beside him. Benny looks a little more worse for wear than earlier but that mystery is solved as soon as Dean glances beyond him and sees three headless bodies and three detatched heads of vampires about ten feet away. "You OK?" Benny asks, "Had me worried for a little while there."

Dean winces, "Yeah, I...I think so."

"You'll probably have to take it easy for a while," Benny says.

Dean nods, gingerly placing his hand on the wound, frowning at the sting and the heat.

"We gotta get a move on though," Benny adds, "your scent's been attracting all sorts of vermin wanting a taste." He tilts his head towards the bodies. "Think you can stand?"

Dean nods, though he's not sure. But in Purgatory, no matter how exhausted or hurt you are, staying in one spot for too long is dangerous. Can't afford to let an injury keep you on your ass for too long. Dean tries to stand but struggles until Benny slides his arm under Dean's shoulders and helps him up. "H-how long was I...son of a bitch!" he curses as a sharp pain threatens to knock him off his feet again, "How long was I out?"

"Too long but not long enough," Benny replies, holding most of Dean's weight once he's on his feet.

Dean falters, nearly falling back on his ass but Benny holds on to him, keeping him vertical, "Maybe I need a minute before we go."

"No can do," Benny says, "We need to keep moving. There are more vamps where those three came from," Benny said, motioning to the dead vamps with hs chin, "If you can't walk, I'll carry you."

"No," Dean shakes his head determinedly, but regrets it when the motion makes everything suddenly spin, "I can walk."

"OK," Benny nods and slowly they start moving. "We'll move far enough to get away from this place and then you can rest some more. We just need to get away from this blood."

Dean glances at the bloodstained ground and understands, "Yeah. Hey th-thanks," Dean winces as he stumbles slightly, jarring his wound, "thanks for looking after me. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

The corner of Benny's mouth curls into a smirk, "Hey, you're my ticket out of here. Need to protect my investment."

"That all I am to you?" Dean asks. "How do I know you're not going to drain me dry the moment we leave this place?"

Benny's face goes blank and his eyes harden, "Dean, I get why you don't trust me, but I can promise you that's not going to happen. Like I said before, I value human life, and I value your life, and not simply because you can help me escape Purgatory either. Besides, how do I know you're not going to cut my head off the moment I help you get us out of here?"

Dean doesn't answer, he doesn't need to. Benny had made his point. They formed an alliance because they needed each other to escape Purgatory, but it's more than that. In the short time they've known each other, they had fought side by side and saved each other too many times to count already. And Benny might be a vampire, but he had proven to be one of the good ones, like Lenore. And like Lenore he had proven that he's not interested in indulging on human blood, even just a taste despite how badly he was tempted when Dean was lying there vulnerable and bleeding. This alliance could've turned into something bitter and ugly, where either party could turn on the other at the drop of a hat, but instead it was more than a shaky alliance formed out of need. In a short amount of time, the human and the vampire formed a bond Dean didn't expect, but he's grateful for it now. Benny proved that Dean could count on him, and Dean knows that if need be, Benny could count on Dean to look out for him. They had each other's backs.

"Come on, brother," Benny says, and Dean startles at that word, "Let's find some place relatively safer for you to heal up so we can find your angel friend and get outta Dodge."

"Sounds like a plan," Dean agrees,"brother."

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!

Also, by the way, I know some fans have taken issue to Benny's use of the word 'brother' in the show, as though he's there to replace Sam. I see it as more of a term of endearment as in 'brother's in arms', not brother, brother. After all, Dean and Benny spent a year in the trenches together, along with Cas, fighting a neverending war. Just felt the need to put in my two cents.