The smell of alcohol rolled off Dean as he stumbled back into the motel at a ridiculous time in the morning. Sam could hear him but refused to turn around to face the drunk man. It was becoming a regular occurrence so Sam had given up waiting for his brother a few weeks back.

The elder hunter seemed oblivious to Sam, who pretending to sleep, only a few meters from where he was walking into obstacles that blocked his way to his bed. The noise would have woken Sam up if he had actually been sleeping but he still refused to turn and look at the other man.

Dean collapsed onto the bed and the springs released a loud groan. The taller man turned slightly to stare. His action was noticed by his brother who gazed back lazily with a weird look on his face. Silence fell over the room as the drunk and the sober peer at each other.

"Great." Sam mutters, knowing that he'll have to deal with Dean's hangover tomorrow.

"Wha'?" Dean questioned, confused.

"You're always coming home drunk, Dean." He flopped down and threw his hands over his weary eyes.

Dean made a sound in the back of his throat, "Right, Sammy-boy. At least I know how to let go and relax."

"What are you trying to say?"

Dean just shrugged.

"No, Dean. If you have something to say just say it." Sam pulled himself into a sitting position to face his elder brother.

"You're always wound up. You never let go and just relax for the night." His words were strong and defiant; obviously meant to hurt.

"Dean, you know that not true." He tried to hide how much the words had stung.

"No, Sam, it is. You know it is. You're no fun. I can see why you were gunna become a lawyer. It suits your personality!" It was the drink speaking but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"... I just try my best." Sam had almost reverted to the little child that Dean had raised.

"Yep but somehow you always manage to mess it up!" He was almost laughing as the biting words left his lips.

Sam wanted to respond but didn't as he knew it was the truth. He glanced down at his fingers entwined together on his lap.

"Not to mention everything that happened with Ruby... I mean, way to go. Even after I warned you? Even after I specifically told you not to? Where did that lead us, hm?" He paused for a reply that he didn't receive,"That's right, it left us drifting further apart and you addicted to freaking demon blood!"

Sam couldn't even raise his head to look the other man in the eyes. I'm a wimp and a coward, he thought to himself.

"And you yourself!" The elder brother carried on,"You must be cursed or something because everyone you loved had just dropped dead. First mom, then Jess and that's not even mentioning dad or Madison. I won't be surprised if it's me next... Oh wait, I already have died because of you." Dean sat up straighter which gave the illusion of him being far less drunk than he actually was.

Sam stood and began to gather his clothes in silence. He didn't even glance at the elder man as he thought himself unworthy. He had disappointed Dean so much. He quickly changed into his clothes as his brother continued to bombard him with his faults and flaws. It was difficult as Dean was now just confirming the thoughts that Sam had on a regular basis. Dean confirming them just made him feel like nothing and utterly useless.

Only certain words broke through Sam's bubble of shock that surrounded him but they still forced tears to breach his eyes and cascade down his cheeks.

"Abomination... Useless... Waste of time... Tainted... Unwanted... Killer... Not my brother."

Silent sobs ripped through Sam as he plucked his jacket from the back of the chair and slipped it on. The youngest Winchester stepped into the cold night air and glanced around the quiet street. In his quick departure he failed to notice the hex bag that was poking out from under Dean's pillow. There weren't any other motels to be seen or anything similar where he could stay. He resolved to sleep in the Impala once he realized that the keys were still in his jacket pocket from the food run he went on earlier. Tears dripped off his jaw and onto his jacket.

He slipped into the car and wrapped himself in his own long limbs. Sleep made his eyelids heavy despite what had just happened. He slowly drifted off to sleep with tears streaming down his face and neck bent at an uncomfortable angle. He'd leave for good once morning hit and he could grab his stuff and go.

Dean had gotten appallingly drunk. Not that he remembered but the hangover gave a more than clear indication of his level of intoxication the night before. His phone alarm was blaring on the side table beside his head. He flung the phone off in a fit of annoyance making the device fly across the room and land on the dirty green carpet.

He groaned as the sound continued so he pulled himself out of bed and stumbled towards the source of the noise. His head swam and stomach gurgled so all in all he felt terrible. His joints ached and throat felt like sandpaper. He silenced the phone before making it just in time to the toilet. Spilling up everything he drank and ate last night made him feel marginally better.

He decided to look for some aspirin so slumped his way over to his duffle. It was then that he noticed that the youngest Winchester was not in bed nor was he at the small table. Popping in the tablets, he began to search for some kind of note from his baby brother. There wasn't one.

"Sam?" He called out uselessly, ignoring the pain it caused his head.

He knew that Sam was an early bird but he'd never left without a note. His bed was unmade and his duffle lay on the floor with usually neatly folded clothes falling out and onto the carpet.

His gut twisted and a feeling of dread over came him; Sam could have been kidnapped. He could be in a ditch somewhere broken and bloody and it'd be all his fault. It was his job to care for the younger Winchester but he'd failed in a night of drunkeness.

After confirming that the motel room was empty one last time, Dean decided that he'd search the town for his baby brother. His eyes flicked over towards where he usually left the keys to the Impala to find them gone. Confusion momentarily had him frozen to the spot.

He dashed over the the door and wrenched the door open, not caring that it hit against the wall. Relief relaxed his heart slightly when he saw that his shining black baby was still stood in the parking lot where he'd left her.

The hunter took as step closer to the car when he noticed a figure in the passenger seat. Realisation suddenly stuck him making the man run over to the door of the car and bang noisily against the metal. His hangover was all but forgotten had he pounded against the window.

Sam jumped back into consciousness as the noise startled him awake. He span around defensively taking in the unexpected surroundings of the Impala. He frowned until he remembered why he was there.

Dean peered at his brother through the glass. The younger man's hair was a mess, sticking up at bizarre angles. His eyes were red and swollen as though he'd spent the night rubbing his eyes and crying. Dean wished that he knew what had happened and cursed alcohol for making him get in a state where he couldn't remember the night before.

Dried tear tracks were on his cheeks and he sniffed as hauled himself from the car. Without a single word to his brother, Sam paced into the motel room where he began to gather his measly possessions. Stuffing them into his duffle bag, he wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"Sam?" Dean continued, "Sam? What are you doing?"

The younger Winchester continued piling clothes into the bag, stuffing them in carelessly. It was almost as though he couldn't hear Dean at all.

"Sammy!" Authority filled his tone.

"Don't worry. I'm leaving now." His voice was quiet and broken.

Dean moved forward and caught his brother's wrists in his hands, effectively stopping any movement. Sam begrudgingly peered into Dean's green eyes even though he wanted to avoid all contact with the man.

"Sammy, what did I do to you?" The older hunter could feel guilt knotting in his stomach as he watched Sam's defeated expression.

The tall man opened his mouth to speak but the words died on his tongue. He didn't know what to say. To him, everything Dean had said last night was the truth so there was no need to explain anything. He pulled his arms away from his brother and turned to leave when he froze mid step, staring at Dean's bed.

From the rumbled sheets and tossed about pillows lay a small brown sack that sam knew belonged to a witch. His eyes widened at the sight, It wasn't Dean saying those things last night? Sam pondered.

"Sammy?" His voice croaked from his hangover, "What happened Sam?"

"You... I... There's a hex bag..."

"What? Where?!" Dean rushed forward to where sam was staring and plucked the witch's tool from the bed.

Without even looking at Sam, Dean marched over to the sink and pulled out his lighter. He lit the bag and dropped it into the empty sink for it to burn. As it turned to ashes everything seemed to almost be back to normal. Although, Dean was still hungover from a night he couldn't remember and Sam was still slightly hurt from what had been said. Despite this, it comforted Sam to know that his brother was on his side even if nobody else was.

"There," Dean grinned, "Now, what about breakfast?"

Sam smiled and agreed. After all, food really does solve everything.