'If you die again, I swear I'll kill you myself!' Dean paced the floor like an enraged bear while Sam remained silent.

There was no point in antagonizing his sibling further by telling him how illogical the threat he'd just issued was.

But then, Sam understood Dean's anger. He'd experienced the same despair and anguish each of the innumerable times he'd watched him die. Not that the deaths were exactly innumerable! Sam had them all catalogued, even the myriad of ways in which Dean had been killed in Broward County by the Trickster.

:

Like a balloon pricked by a pin, Dean's bluster crumpled to nothing and he turned weary, green eyes on Sam.

'You know how many times you've died recently, Sammy? And each time it fucking hurts like it was the first. I… just….. can't take it anymore.'

'Dean. I…'

The older man held up a hand. 'I'm sorry, man. Maybe it's because I'm getting older but I used to be able to roll with the punches, now it's as if my nerve endings burn hellfire each time you're in danger.'

:

Sam sought out his brother's eyes. 'There's no sure way of keeping either of us safe, Dean,' he said gently. 'Even if we isolate ourselves on a mountain-top, there's always gonna be some son-of-a-bitch who'll want to gain fame by taking us out.'

Dean recognised the truth of Sam's words. He didn't have a come-back, only the certainty that if Sam were permanently killed, then he'd follow him into whatever after-life awaited them.