A/N

Thanks for the reviews, guest, Christine, sammygirl1963, mckydstarlight and beckini!

For anyone that's commented about chapter length or pacing, this story was completed in full before we started posting, and we have the length of each chapter chosen for specific reasons. We understand that they're shorter than my original chapters used to be, but with 3 chapters a week, you're getting an average of 6k words each week, adding up to around 24k words a month, more most months, so expecting more than that is a little unfair to your writers, who both have full-time jobs and aren't paid to be full time writers. The short chapters take away some of that tension and also help our readers who can't sit down and read a full 6-10k chapter in one go! We appreciate you all and want you to appreciate the amount of work that went into this!

It would be hard to miss the glances that came his way, but Jacob did his best to ignore Dean. He was basically on display; stuck under the glass like that, anyone could look in and gawk at him. At least there was only one human to deal with. It made it slightly easier.

Only slightly, since that one human was also a hunter, but Jacob would take what he could get at this point.

He ate his pizza slowly, savoring every bit of it. When the distantly familiar feeling of being full settled in his stomach, he set what remained back on the napkin and wiped off his hands. There was so much food after he was finished. Sam, Walt, and Mallory could all eat just as well off that portion, and there still might be leftovers.

Even though Jacob had no idea if he'd ever see them again, he kept that in mind when he reached out and lifted the edges of the napkin piece, nudging his capful of water onto the surface of the table. He carefully tucked the paper around the remaining pizza, Mallory's familiar mantra of waste not echoing in his head.

Jacob didn't even know if he'd be able to keep the leftover food, but he wasn't about to just push it aside. He couldn't waste something that was so hard to come by that sometimes he and his adopted family simply went without it some days. He tucked in the last corner of the napkin as tightly as he could and pretended for a moment that he wasn't trapped and that he'd be on his way home to show off his find in just a few minutes.

Dean's confusion steadily grew as he watched Jacob almost reverentially wrap up the tiny bite of pizza. The way he handled it, Dean would think the kid hadn't seen that much food before. It was almost like it was what he thought he'd have to eat for some time, and nothing else.

Dean wasn't a stranger to scarcity. Growing up, left in motel rooms for what might turn into months at a time… he'd had more than one week where he didn't know where the next meal would come from. More than one time he'd slipped a protein bar into his pocket at a store, just because it was all that he and Sam would have to eat that day. It wasn't an easy life, and even now he avoided waste whenever he could.

He recognized that same look in Jacob. If Jacob had been a human, Dean would think of him as a kindred spirit. Here was someone who knew in much sharper relief what it felt like to go without. Someone who had very little in life, even when it came to food.

Dean stood up without warning, causing Jacob to flinch back in surprise. He needed to clear his head, get some space from the situation. He hadn't slept in over a day, and he was in the middle of a case with more grey area to muddle through than he'd ever encountered before, and he needed to make sure he was at the top of his game. Not exhausted, sitting hunched over a table for hours on end before coming to the wrong conclusion. Jacob hadn't done anything that warranted Dean rushing just to wrap up the case.

The rest of the pizza was packed away in the mini fridge, and he stuffed a few waters in as well so he'd have something cold to drink later on. Jacob was left alone on the table, looking forlorn and out of place, and that made Dean question again what exactly he was doing here. Why he was trapping some small kid that didn't seem able to hurt anything. All he'd displayed so far was the snark that got shot at Dean.

Determined to get his mind off things for a bit, Dean snapped on the TV, flipping channels until an episode of Dr. Sexy, MD came up. His mind wasn't on the convoluted romance as he sat there. It merely provided a distant background noise to the dilemma he'd found himself in.

Jacob stared across the room at Dean, shock still written all over his face. He turned his head to watch the TV that blared to life, filling the room with the sound of some medical drama TV show. Jacob wasn't sure what he'd expected to happen after they had their food, but this wasn't it.

A glance upwards reminded him. He was completely trapped. Dean could take his time. He'd probably simply gotten bored. Maybe he was thinking up new questions, or simply letting his meal settle before getting back to it. Either way, all Jacob could do was wait. He didn't get any decisions here.

He sighed and took a drink from the cap of water before pushing himself back to lean against the wall of his glass prison. His arms rested on his knees and he stared upwards without seeing.

He was captured. Trapped by a human who, despite being halfway decent to him at points, still had no intention of letting him go. All Jacob could imagine were scenarios that ended with Dean either wringing his neck with barely a flick of the wrist, or stuffing him in a pocket and leaving.

Why would he just let Jacob go? Even without Dean's hunter experiences, Jacob was a strange, nonhuman thing over which Dean had all control at the moment.

Sam ... Walt ... Mallory ... Jacob would lose all of them. He'd found a family after his own mom abandoned him, left him behind because she had no way of knowing he was smaller than her hand now. This time it'd be Jacob leaving, one way or the other. Overwhelmed by the worst-case scenarios that flooded his brain, Jacob crossed his arms on his knees and buried his face.

As time slipped by with Dean buried in conflicted thoughts of the hunt and what it meant to be a hunter, and Jacob seeing his entire life slip away from him no matter what Dean decided to do with him, a third figure slipped out of the vent and snuck under the bed Dean was lying on.

After thirteen years spent trapped in a motel, patience was a specialty of Sam's.

So he waited.

Eventually, the heavier breathing of the human above slipped into the steady rhythm of sleep. Sam wasn't about to question his luck. For whatever reason, the human was asleep in the early hours of the afternoon, and he had his one chance. He came up to the foot of the bed, staring out at the room. He'd be in the open, but for Jacob, it would be worth it. There was no way he was going to leave his adopted brother there to the whims of a human.

Sam had no idea what had happened during his mad dash from the ceiling vents to the room, but he couldn't bring himself to care too much. Jacob was alive and unhurt, and for that he was thankful. He'd been terrified of coming back to the human disposing of the lifeless body of his brother.

He could make out the top of the vase from where he was standing down on the ground, but that was all. Sam took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do. It was monumentally stupid, and if Walt found out any of it, the lectures would never end.

He'd gotten Jacob caught. Sam wouldn't even try to deny it. Jacob had only been out to the actual rooms a few times, and usually with both Sam and Walt. Sam had been overconfident, and he'd gotten Jacob in trouble.

Darting out into the open, Sam tensed as he ran, ready at any moment to feel the touch of eyes on his back. Jacob had his strength, but Sam had his own ability. He was the only one who could tell if someone was glancing in their direction. It was a tangible sense, a prickling up the back of the neck that had alerted him to humans that were out of sight more than once. It helped him slip away from danger time and time again.

No prickling came, and Sam reached the table without incident. His hook was out in seconds, and he stared up. He needed to get this on the first try. Time was no luxury, and even the clink of the metal hook on the top of the table might wake up the human.

He was in luck, and it caught. Sam tugged on the line, making sure it was secure for the trip, and hauled himself up. He was the fastest climber in the motel, and he made it up in record time. Even earlier, climbing with Jacob, he'd taken his time compared to how skilled he actually was.

Reaching the top, Sam almost bounced to his feet. "Jacob!" he hissed. He ran past a huge set of keys and a phone, reaching the glass vase. He put a hand on the side. "Hey, you okay?"

Jacob looked up in shock, hearing a voice he was certain he'd never hear again. He scrambled to his feet at the sight of Sam and rushed to the side of the vase where his brother stood. His hands pressed against the inside of the glass just as Sam had a hand on the outside.

It was relieving to see someone his scale. After a few hours trapped with a human, and a huge one at that, Jacob felt smaller than ever. But here was Sam, someone else in the same world as him. A part of Jacob's frightening new "normal." Sam was standing there looking calm and collected despite the gigantic belongings of the human scattered over the table nearby. Jacob smiled faintly, but it quickly turned into a look of concern.

Jacob looked past Sam, finding Dean where his huge body lay stretched out on the bed. Though the TV droned on, the human was actually asleep. His afternoon nap couldn't have had better timing, but this was still too dangerous.

"What the hell are you doing here?! You could get caught too!"

Sam rolled his eyes, stepping back to size up the vase. "Dude, I am saving your ass," he replied with a confident grin. "Just hang on. I'll find a way out of this for both of us."

With a quick glance towards the bed, Sam saw the human was still fast asleep. Now, he just had to stay that way long enough for them to get out of there and vanish back into the walls.

The vase was tall, almost three times the height of either cursed brother. Thick glass formed Jacob's prison, widening in the middle then growing thinner at the bottom. The bible that sat on top would be the hard part for them to deal with. Jacob had enough difficulty dealing with the vase on its own, and the bible made that altogether impossible. If Sam could get the bible down, they might have a chance.

If the human didn't wake up.

"Okay, I have an idea," Sam told Jacob. He jogged back over to his hook at the edge of the table and tugged it out of the wood. "I'll get you out of this, I promise."

With a careful eye, he judged the distance to the bible and tossed his hook, ready to catch it if he missed.

Jacob watched the fishhook sail upwards, practically holding his breath as if he might affect its trajectory. If that book was gone, he already knew he could try to lift the vase high enough. He was primed to duck down and grab the edge of the glass in case it worked. Jacob's hands twitched, and...

The hook glanced off the side of the bible and fell back down. He watched it land in Sam's ready hand and released a breath. At least it hadn't clattered against the table. Jacob looked past at Dean again, making sure the human was still asleep.

Sam was out in the middle of the table, same as Jacob. He wasn't as trapped, but getting away could be just as tricky, since his hook wasn't in place for a quick getaway. Even if Sam managed to get the book down without it making a noise, there would be two of them on the table with only one climbing rope. Jacob's was still locked away in the human's pocket across the room.

"S-Sam, look, I appreciate this, but don't get yourself caught because of me, okay? I'm sorry I didn't run fast enough. You still have a shot here, and who knows? Maybe he'll let me go?" He tried to offer a casual smile like he actually believed the suggestion. He tried.

Sam ignored the suggestion as he aimed again. "I'm not leaving you," he insisted. "Aside from the fact Walt's already going to kill me, I'm not losing another brother." He fell silent for a moment while memories of his older brother rushed to mind, then launched the hook in the air. This time it landed on the top. Cautious, Sam carefully drew it towards himself, praying it would catch on the book.

The shot was no good. It slipped off, tumbling towards Sam. With a fast grab, he snatched it out of the air. "Son of a bitch," Sam hissed, using one of his brother's favorite curses from a lifetime ago.

He stepped back for the next shot, preparing himself.

If he'd been less focused on the top of the vase, and paying attention to his surroundings, Sam might have heard a shifting come from the bed, signaling the human's journey towards wakefulness. Pulled out of a quiet slumber by a familiar curse that was just on the edge of hearing.

Sam went to toss his hook, then felt ice run through every vein in his body. He froze as the tingle of eyes hit the back of his neck and spidered up and down his spine.

Jacob saw the freeze and his eyes widened. He looked past Sam at the human as he stirred. Those green eyes were open and they were looking right at them. Dean was awake, and once again Jacob couldn't read his expression.

He couldn't imagine anything good coming of this. All Jacob could see was Sam eventually joining him under that vase, or both of them being killed by an irate giant whom they had no hope of fighting off.

"No, no, no!" Jacob hissed, his hands pressed on the glass again. He wanted to reach right through it and shove Sam away, get him running for the edge of the table. Get him out of there before Dean stood to his horrifying height and stomped across the room and captured him. All because of Jacob. He didn't run fast enough and now Sam was going to pay for it too.

Sam caught Jacob's eyes and knew what his adopted brother was seeing. The human's awake, he thought, a surge of adrenaline rushing through every vein. He whipped around, yanking out his knife and letting his hook fall to the tabletop with a clatter.

The human was already sitting up in the bed, staring at them both with surprised green eyes. Sam took a few steps back towards the vase, bracing the knife with a hand and adopting a defensive posture. He stiffened as the human stood, towering even from a distance. Sam grit his teeth.

There was nowhere for him to run even if he wanted to.

For Dean's part, the last thing he'd expected was waking up to find a second guy standing on his table. This one was taller, with fluffy brown hair that almost flew straight out as he twisted in a fast circle to see where Dean was.

"So there are more of you," Dean breathed. As he stood, he saw the new one actually had a knife out, the blade almost the length of the small guy's forearm. He was clearly prepared for a fight, unlike Jacob. Despite his size, he stood his ground.

Dean took the few steps that covered the distance to the table, staring down in shock at the new intruder.

The small guy flinched back, stepping closer to the vase. "Not another step!" he snapped out in a steady voice, belying the fear that was in his eyes as he stared up at the hunter. Trying to take control of a situation that they all knew was already lost.

Every step Dean took closer to the table, Jacob felt like his heart beat a little harder. He was frozen to the spot, his hands planted against the glass and his eyes staring straight upwards. He shook at the sight of how imposing Dean was, looming over the table like he did. Jacob almost couldn't see him past the edge of the bible. It was like Dean was directly above, casting his enormous, oppressive shadow on purpose.

Jacob was useless to do anything. Sam was vulnerable out there. His knife wouldn't really stop Dean. It might slow him down a little bit, but that was all. At best, they'd have an annoyed giant on their case, and who knew how he'd react to that? Jacob suspected the only reason he was still alive was because he hadn't done anything to make the hunter think he was hurting anyone.

What would happen if Sam managed to score a good cut with that knife? How quickly might Dean's mind change? Jacob's hands shook and he punched once at the glass again, furious and terrified that he'd gotten Sam into this situation.

Trapped, unable to defend himself, while a giant stared down at him.

"You have to run! Y-you gotta at least try! Sam, get out of here before he grabs you!" Jacob insisted, staring at the back of his brother's head. Willing him to leave, to try to save himself.

Dean's mind checked out halfway through the desperate, shouted words. Sam.

Sam.

He couldn't stop his eyes from locking on to that knife held out against him in a shaking arm. An arm that was thinner and frailer than even Jacob's. The second guy was taller but leaner than his trapped companion.

Dean recognized that knife.

The knife he'd made his brother over a decade ago.

The hard look in his eyes vanished as though it had never existed. A wave of emotion hit Dean as he stared at the tiny, brown haired, hazel eyed man that was standing down on the table, desperately trying to protect someone just like him.

Trails West Motel. Where Sam died all those years ago…

Sam hadn't died.

All those years, and Sam hadn't died.

"Son of a bitch," Dean said, unconsciously echoing Sam's same curse from minutes before. He took that last, fateful step forward, staring almost straight down at the intruder.

At Sam.

Sam backed away again, almost running into the vase when he did so. His small arms continued to shake as he held the knife out, his only defense in a world that he was too small for. Standing bravely against a giant to protect someone else. Dean saw all of it, and felt remorse hit him as he realized what he'd done. What he was doing. He licked dry lips, trying to get back his voice.

"Sammy?! "

A/N

Enter Sam.

Be sure to visit the tumblr page tomorrow for the chapter artwork! (4pm est on the 14th) And there's a short story for Brothers Apart posting throughout the week!

Next: Coming September 15th, 2016 at 9pm est.

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