Partners or Brothers

Summary: 1-shot. Dean's brooding over Sam's words when they reunited debating on the choice of being partners or brothers when being in the wrong place at the wrong time endangers Sam as well as shows Dean that perhaps there's still a chance to heal when only the trust between brothers can save Sam. *Brooding/angry/worried!Dean & Hurt/limp/thoughtful!Sam* Spoilers for 09x12 Sharp Teeth.

Warnings: Language as always.

Spoilers: Yes, minor but they are there for 09x12 Sharp Teeth.

Tags/Coda: 09x12 Sharp Teeth.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is written for the enjoyment and sanity of the fans.

Author Note: This is written as a semi-fix for all those who weren't happy with how the episode left the boys. I have complete confidence in the show to fix things but in the meantime…I need brotherly schmoop and bonding. I hope you enjoy it and look me up on Facebook under morgana07.

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"'If you want to work, we'll work. If you want to be brothers…'"

Those words were still ringing in Dean Winchester's head as he sat in behind the wheel while waiting for his brother…for Sam…no, there was no other way that his brain could translate the tall, floppy long haired man with him as anything but his younger brother no matter if Sam wasn't as sure.

"And karma bites you in the ass again, Winchester," he muttered sourly.

The words hurt even if it didn't show but he wasn't shocked by them. He knew Sam was still pissed off about the whole tricking him to live thing and a half a dozen other issues that they'd faced in the past nine years.

"'I can't trust you…not like I should be able to.'"

Words that were a little too close to home since Dean recalled saying something similar to his brother a night in a hospital parking lot after Lucifer was set free, when he and Sam were really on the outs with one another.

So it seems like everything Dean had ever said to his brother, his partner, was coming back to bite him where it hurt and he had no argument against it because he accepted that he'd lied to Sam when he'd promised he wouldn't. He tricked him into saying yes so that stupid psycho Angel could heal him and Kevin ended up dead. He'd tried to protect his brother by leaving him alone and so far that didn't work out so well but Dean hadn't told Sam the other reason he wanted to ride with him again.

After leaving Wisconsin they'd driven until both were tired and hungry. The plan was to grab some takeout and then hit a motel.

Sam had gone in to get the food while Dean searched the GPS for a motel. Now Dean was outside waiting and brooding.

He'd once made the mistake of booking them two rooms without knowing his brother had been sick and he'd spent the next few days battling that. Of course those were his choices…he wasn't sure what Sam would want now and honestly Dean thought the two room thing in a motel would be what told him that his brother had written their bond as siblings off for good.

Partners or brothers was what it seemed like Sam was saying. Sam would hunt with him but the whole brother thing was a little less clear at the moment but then there'd been several times when Dean had said and felt the same way.

Now he knew what Sam felt like when he'd tossed that line at him.

"Damn," he groaned at the sudden burning on his arm, jerking the sleeve up to see the brand, the so-called Mark of Cain, was as red as it had been the night Cain transferred it to his arm. "Not the right time for one of those side effects that I didn't bother to listen to."

The mark worried him…now that he had time to think about it. He supposed he should have gotten the drawbacks to it, the curse that came with it but he'd been too one track minded on killing Abbadon to listen to Cain…just like he'd been too one-tracked minded about saving his brother months ago.

"Jump first, look later, just like usual," he could hear Bobby Singer's gruff voice in his head since the junkman turned hunter was always yelling at him about not thinking stuff through.

Did Dean regret letting Gadreel into Sam? Yes, on the one hand since it got Kevin killed but on the side where it saved his brother's life, his reason for going on, then no, he didn't regret it.

Did Dean regret getting this damn mark that was burning like fire on his arm? If it can help him kill Abaddon? Then no, he wouldn't regret it. If it turned out to be a really bad idea that could hurt Sam? Then he'd regret it but again it would be a choice too late to regret or change.

Right now he had to decide if you could just be partners. He knew he could work with Sam as partners since they'd been that for the last nine years or so. The issue was Dean's core personality, the thing that made his heart beat, what made him fight to save this damn world, was that he was and would always be an older brother.

He was Sam's brother and no matter how old he got that wouldn't change…unless the only way to keep Sam would be to…stop and God help him but he wasn't sure he could do that.

Of course Sam had stuck it out with him at times when he treated him like dirt so he supposed he owed the kid some time and while that was going on he'd work his ass off to rebuild what he'd allowed to be torn down.

"Sonuvabitch!" he gasped as the burn got more intense, grabbing it on instinct and just like that his head shot to the restaurant to blink, blink again and then looked closer before a snarl came to his lips. "Oh, hell no. I haven't let werewolves, ghosts, shapeshifters and whatever the hell else hurt him so no way in hell will some goddamn robber in a hood."

Slipping out of the Impala to go dig through the trunk for a few things, Dean kept his eyes on the front window when he caught sight of a silhouette that could only be his 6'4" giant little brother.

Kneeling down beside the car he watched closely to see the robbers, two of the assholes, seemed to be herding the small Mom & Pop diner's customers into a back room and that was never good.

"Sammy, don't be stupid," he muttered while moving to the side of the building to see his brother standing in front a young waitress and glaring at one of the robbers when the other one came from the side to strike Sam in the head with the butt of his pistol. "Wrong move asshole."

Threatening people, threatening Sam would just piss Dean off but hitting him and then once he was down kicking the crap out of him when it was plain Sam's hands were bound behind him was quite another, especially when Dean swore with every kick the damn brand on his arm hurt.

Shoving that off to figure out later, he made it to the back door which was clearly how the two stupid morons broke in if he went by the busted lock on the cheap door.

Pulling his pistol he went in low in case there were more but after a quick look decided there was only the two. He could hear a man's voice, the owner maybe, shouting at them to leave the boy alone which told him his brother had made himself the prime target but it seemed to have distracted the robbers from the idea of herding everyone into the freezer or storeroom to either leave them there or kill them one at a time.

Easing to the swinging kitchen door, the hunter looked out through a slit in the door to see that only one robber was still concentrating on Sam, who was now limp on the floor, laying away from the kitchen and didn't appear to be moving.

"Kill the asshole so we can get outta here before the cops come," the other man was stuffing money and whatever he'd taken from the few customers into a bag.

"He's a damn Fed! We kill him we're screwed for life," the other one, the one who was kicking Sam in the ribs and stomach snapped back. "We weren't supposed to kill anyone and sure not no damn Fed!"

"Well, he's seen you so kill him or we're screwed anyway!" his partner waved the gun in the air as the owner tried to object. "Old man, shut the hell up or we'll kill you with the Fed!"

Dean leaned out a bit more to try to gauge how to play this. The one masked moron was right where he could shoot, hit and roll out but the risk to Sam was huge if he did that. He needed to get the one away from his brother or else distract him while the first one was dealt with.

He was debating on making himself a target if only to make focus the losers on him so he could make a move when the distraction came but not in a way that Dean was expecting.

"You…you can kill me…but anyway you…you guys are so screwed," Sam Winchester's voice was strained from the pain he was in and from the ribs he was sure were broke but while his busted head wanted to be unconscious he fought that to shift more to stare up at the robber kicking him with glassy eyes but still kept the shit eating smirk he'd learned from the best on his face. "Not…a Fed."

The main robber was losing his temper as he came back to grab the smartass by the hair to jerk him up. "Sure, you're not," he sneered, not believing that line for a second when he suddenly thought of something. "Where's your partner?"

'Shit' Dean cursed silently, hoping he could roll and shoot fast enough to get both robbers before either Sam or an innocent could be hurt when Sam surprised him again.

"I…I don't have a partner," Sam spit out, pain making it hard to talk but he forced a smirk while letting his eyes move back toward the kitchen. "Got a brother though and I bet you guys just pissed him off. Dean! 5 and 5!" he shouted before using his body weight to throw himself into the legs on the man who's been kicking him while closing his eyes as a banging was heard a second before two gunshots rang out.

The other robber had been trying to regain his footing when the man he'd been kicking took his legs out from under him. He saw his buddy fall with a shot to the shoulder and leg and was trying to bring his gun up to fire at the smartass only to have a heavy boot step down hard on his wrist and he found himself staring into the muzzle of a pistol while hard green eyes glared down at him.

"Try to move, try to squeeze the trigger and I put a damn bullet in your face for kicking the crap out him," Dean growled, his eyes roaming to be certain the situation was under control when he looked to see Sam was on his side still facing him but seemingly out cold. "Sam?" he called, fighting back panic. "Sammy!"

"What…what the hell are you?" the robber asked, dropping his gun to try to dislodge the boot on his wrist when he gagged as the angry scruffy looking man in a wrinkled suit shoved his gun into his throat.

"His brother, asshole," Dean snarled, considering using the gun as the mark burned again but finally just used it to knock the guy unconscious before hurrying to where Sam was trying to come around. "Hey, stay still while I get your hands loose," he urged, reaching for his blade when the little old man who owned the place came up with a phone in his hand.

"They were roughing Molly up when he stepped in," he told Dean as he helped him get Sam to a sitting position after his hands were loose. "Boy has guts but not much in the way of brains it seems. They could've killed him."

Sam's head rolled to the side as one eye eased opened. "No, knew they wouldn't," he mumbled, groaning as he was pulled to his feet but supported by a strong arm around him. "I…I just had to buy time."

"Buy time for what? Them to kick your ribs in?" Dean scoffed, deciding they'd grab dinner somewhere else because he wanted them gone before the cops showed up.

"You to come," Sam muttered before going limp and then Dean had to work fast to both cover his expression from the civilians and to grab his brother before he hit the floor.

Dean, after all that Sam had said about not trusting him or just being partners, had put his life in the belief that Dean would realize something was wrong and come. That left Dean a little unsure to where they were as he managed to get Sam into the Impala and well aware of the diner.

He drove until they were in the next county before stopping at the first motel to just grab a single room with two queen beds as always because he'd rather Sam be mad at him while still having him close to keep an eye on the wounds he'd gained from that beating.

Sam came around enough to try to argue that he could take his own shirt off as Dean tried to see how many ribs were cracked or broken only to fall face first onto the bed farthest from the door and just let out little grumbles while the blood and cuts were dressed.

Dean had called for take-out which he was just playing with pretending to eat as the smell of food made Sam wake up and as always when he went out after a beating like that Sam's head and stomach didn't agree with food so he made it to the toilet to throw up.

"So can we agree that from now on I either go in for the food or we do drive thru?" Dean asked from where he leaned in the door, fighting his basic urge to help or support but stayed still.

"Yeah," Sam groaned from where he leaned more forward to take the pressure off his ribs.

The silence in the bathroom was tense and Sam used the time to try to reply the night. He'd been kicking himself for what he'd said to Dean because he knew it was over the line even when he'd said it but couldn't take it back.

He hadn't meant to imply they couldn't be brothers because he knew they'd always be that. Blood made them brothers but there was more to it than just blood and that was how he'd known it would be alright to do what he did when those two jackass robbers stormed the diner while he was waiting for their food.

Sam got that Dean walked away because he was trying to protect him from what he believed was his own bad luck or karma or something. He got that he'd been upset over Kevin and almost losing him again but he also got that it would take a little time before he'd accept what his brother said to him at face value again.

Lying to get done what needed to be done was something Dean learned from their Dad so Sam didn't put all the blame on him for that or his need to shield Sam. He also really couldn't blame Dean for jumping at the first chance that came to save him because Sam supposed he would have done the same thing no matter how much he might say otherwise.

He loved his brother. He really did even when Dean didn't make it easy but he didn't always like him, especially after times like this when it was all so confusing.

Sam hated not hunting with his brother. He missed that. He missed knowing Dean was there because no one else would ever have his back like Dean.

He'd known in that barn with those werewolves that his brother would come because that was what Dean did so that was how he'd known what to do in the diner.

As he gave in to the dry heaves, he watched Dean in the doorway from under his lashes to see the strain there and knew it was killing him not to move in closer to help him if it was only to put a hand on his neck to show he was there.

Between Dean's own guilt and how he'd probably taken Sam's words earlier the younger Winchester knew he wouldn't make that more familiar move out of a fear of it being refused.

The last time Sam had opened his mouth like this was when Dean had admitted that maybe he didn't need him as much and Sam, like an idiot, said that Dean would have time to focus on caring for himself. He'd kicked himself that time because that was when Dean booked them into separate rooms.

This might have been slightly worse but Sam was halfway certain this room had two beds in it. Did he want them to work as partners? Yes. Did he want to stop being brothers? No, but he also knew that bond needed some work done on it and while they might never be as close as they were years ago before Dean went to Hell and it all went wrong for them Sam knew they would find that closeness again.

He just needed to forget he was ticked off over the whole nutty angel and Dean needed to get over the whole thinking he's poison to those around him thing.

Neither will be easy since as Sam knew they're Winchesters and bullheaded at that but he'd stopped the trials for his brother and as he watched the way Dean was rubbing that mark, the Mark of Cain, a piece of Sam feared before the end of whatever was coming it might be him pulling his brother back from the brink this time.

Though first he'd have to get him to talk to him and since Dean was shutting down because of his words Sam knew he'd have to make the first move.

"Dean?" he coughed, his mouth tasting like crap and he was in serious pain.

"Yeah?" Dean took a step into the bathroom to run water in a glass and wet a rag, kneeling down finally to lay the rag on the back of Sam's neck but having to keep his hand on it in order to stop it from falling off when Sam lifted his head to sip the water before spitting it into the toilet to clear his mouth. "You done losing whatever was on your stomach so you can take a few pills? If you sleep, I'll have to wake you up every few hours to make sure those yo-yos didn't give you too much of a concussion."

"I think they mainly kicked my ribs in," Sam muttered, reaching out only to feel his brother's arm catch his to help him stand shakily. "My head hurts through."

Dean rolled his eyes while easing Sam onto his bed, grabbing a pack of crackers and a bottle of pills. "Eat a few of these so you don't get sick when you…" he suddenly realized what he was doing and began to ease away only to look when a hand grabbed his wrist. "Sam?"

"I knew I wasn't in danger tonight," Sam told him quietly as his own voice made his head hurt more but felt two pills be put in his hand. "I knew you were there."

"I was outside in the car. You had no damn clue I'd see what was happening or that I'd come in like I did," though in a way Dean thought maybe from what Sam had said to the robbers he did know.

Laying down slowly as his head ached more, Sam worked to keep his eyes open until the rewetted rag was laid over his forehead with a comforting if a little tense hand laid on his shoulder. "I knew you would be there, Dean," he repeated.

Wanting to believe that, Dean closed his eyes while noticing the brand wasn't as red as it had been during Sam's beating and wondering what the hell that could mean. "How?" he asked in a voice that he knew was deeper than normal but he was fighting emotions that still weren't level.

"You're my big brother."

The reply was simple, honest, and said with Sam's suddenly clear but filled with deep unspoken emotion that cut right through all the crap they'd said to one another or been through lately.

In the end, regardless of what happened or what was said that would be how Sam looked at Dean. They'd be partners always because it didn't feel right to hunt alone or with someone else. They'd be friends because they'd grown up with one another and knew one another like no one else.

They'd be brothers because blood made them that but to the last possible breath he'd ever take, regardless of the fights, the problems, the lies or the mistrust that came with their screwed up lives in his heart Sam would always know Dean would have his back because he was his big brother.

"I thought you said…" Dean knew he should keep his mouth shut and accept what Sam was offering but the hardheaded side of him didn't know when to stop.

"I never said I didn't want to be brothers, De'n," Sam yawned, sleepy as he realized the pills had been the good kind and that he'd be going out soon. "We'll…always be brothers like you said but I'd only trust my big brother to have my back like I did tonight. Knew you'd be pissed off."

Sitting on the edge of Sam's bed to watch as he began to fall to sleep, Dean offered a snort. "Yeah, they kind of did that when the asshole hit you in the head," he muttered, laying a blanket over Sam after checking a bruise on his side to see if it needed ice right then. "You took a chance, Sammy."

"Nope," Sam forced his eyes open to smile that soft dopey smile he got when drugged up with the good stuff. "You're still calling me 'Sammy' so I knew we were good and that you'd be there. Right…height?"

The question would seem odd to anyone but Dean who chuckled while covering the sudden burning tears he'd wiped away at those words since Sam was right. He was still using his brother's nickname which was something he didn't always do if the fights got too bad.

"Yeah, I nailed the bastard so I didn't kill him," Dean replied, impressed that Sam would still be able to tell him how to shoot to nail the target even after the beating he took. "You did, Sammy. Thanks for trusting me."

"Thanks for not getting two rooms," Sam mumbled, carefully turning to his side so he was facing Dean's bed with his arm outstretched like he would do as a kid. "Okay now?"

Rubbing his hand over a bruised shoulder Dean considered that as he sat back down to just stay where he was until he knew Sam would sleep. "Yeah, we will be soon, little brother. Partners?"

"Brothers," Sam mumbled, feeling the hand on his neck and smiling in his sleep when one other thing bothered him. "De'n? How did you know something was wrong?"

"Yeah, about that," Dean looked at the now normal looking brand. "I think when you get a chance you might want to start looking up lore on this Mark of Cain cause it was burning like hell tonight."

Sam groaned as the drugs took him under because he just knew that wasn't a good thing but he'd find out because if Dean was willing to fight so hard to save him than Sam would be prepared to do the same.

The End