Tension in a home.

His breakdown yesterday had been a step back but he guessed that it was only to be expected. He knew that he cried only for the lies that she had fed him, he cried for how fooled he had been by her.
It was a backlash, sure, but that was all it was. He was getting better and better at pushing the memories away. This was only the one step back that could make him take several steps forward. He could feel it in his entire being, he was moving forward and nothing was going to ruin that for him. Not even a picture.
"Did you get to talk to Derek?" his mother asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Derek? No." Instantly he grew nervous.
"Oh. He came here looking for you, I said you were in your room."
"No I... I went down to the beach." He lied to his mother and he felt horrible but his mother didn't have to know anything about this. "When was this?" He asked,trying to keep his voice from revealing his angst.
"After Carrie left yesterday."
"Oh." He had seen him. He knew it in his gut. He could only imagine what his brother must have thought about him and his breakdown. He didn't want anyone else to know, except Sam and his grandmother and especially not Derek. His brother wouldn't understand. He would never be able to understand why he was looking at a picture, sobbing while holding it.

He woke feeling up just as angry as he was when he went to bed the night before. After seeing his own brother crying when looking at an old picture of him and Penelope an anger had been consuming him completely. He knew that it wasn't Penelope's fault that his brother was still in love with her but he couldn't help it. She was there and she was the one that had to deal with his bad temper and surly ways. She had asked him why he was in such a bad mood but he knew that he couldn't tell her the truth. He was afraid that she still held more than friendly feelings for his brother. Even though she had said yes to his proposal he couldn't let go of that fear of her and Dean.
He had promised his mother that they would come by to talk about the wedding but right now he knew that if he would see Dean they would get in a huge fight and he would somehow have to explain to Penelope why he was fighting with Dean.

He didn't know what to do or what to say the next time he saw Derek. Somehow he had to try to explain what had happened yesterday. He knew that they were on there way to the Inn and a part of him told him to run but as he walked past the library he saw Penny sitting there alone reading a magazine. Somehow he couldn't resist talking to her instead of running in the opposite direction.
"Hey." He leaned against the door frame. She looked up and he couldn't help but feeling a little tremble in his gut.
"Hi." As she fired of a smile towards him he remembered how great it used to feel seeing that smiled. "Come on in," she said and put down the magazine. "I'm just waiting for Mary, we have to start planning." She said it in a hushed tone as to try to protect him from thinking about the fact that she was marrying his brother. As if he could ever really forget that. He sat down beside her and somehow they started talking like it was old times. They laughed alongside each other, talking about memories from there years together. Penny broke down laughing as she remembered Dean almost getting his ass kicked at the movies.
"That guy was huge!" Dean exclaimed and it felt just like old times he thought as they sat there laughing, with tears rolling from their eyes. Both stopped laughing as Derek appeared in the doorway.
"I'm gonna go help Mary in the kitchen." Penny instantly stood up and walked out the room but not before stopping for a moment next to Derek, taking a hold of his arm and giving him a look as if to tell him something.

"What the hell are you doing?" Derek exclaimed as soon as he knew that Penny was out of range.
"What are you talking about?" Denying everything would be the best defense he realized as he saw the blackness in his brothers eyes.
"Penelope."
"I don't know...."
"I want you to stay away from her!" And now the game plan changed in a second. In his gut he knew that it was childish and juvenile but somehow he could only think of the he had to keep the little bit of power he had left when it came to his brother.
"So you think that I'm gonna listen to you?" Dean got up from the sofa and walked towards his brother. He wasn't about to let his brother tell him what he was going to do. It felt as if he had been robbed by him, this wasn't something he could give him. He had given up enough in his life.
"I saw you yesterday. I saw you looking at the picture!" Just as he expected, Derek had seen him.
"So? It didn't mean anything... You're getting all worked up over a crappy photo?" He took another step towards his brother, clenching his fist together, ready for what to come. He was so sick of Dereks jealousy, he could see it everytime he looked at him. He knew that he still believed Dean would try and get her back. He was the one that was with her now so even if he didn't believe him then why did he care? "I'll burn the fucking picture if it makes you think that you won't loose her someday!" He said it only to get an reaction from his brother, when in a fight he needed to get physical, he wasn't any good at the verbal fighting. As soon as he said that he could see his brothers fist closing in on his face.

Penny walked in to the kitchen hoping that Derek wouldn't take his anger out on his brother, but she had seen in his eyes that he wanted to be alone with Dean and this wasn't a day that she wanted to get him even more agitated than he already was, so she left.
"Do you need any help?" She asked Mary as she placed herself next to her.
"No thanks." They could hear the front door slam shut and Carrie walked into the kitchen.
"Hi Mary," she said.
"Oh... hi..." Penny exclaimed, a little surprised at Carries presence.'
"Hey, have you seen Dean?" She still hadn't come to terms with Carrie being in Deans life but she knew that it was only the sense of ownership you always felt when it came to old boyfriends.
"Yeah... he's in the library."
"Thanks." For some reason she followed Carrie into the library but they both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was playing out before them.

"Derek?!" Penny screamed as she saw her fiancé throwing a punch at his brother. Deans head whipped around as Derek's fist met his cheekbone. Carrie rushed over to Dean as Penny placed herself between the two brothers facing Derek. "What the hell is going on?!" Derek didn't look at her, instead his angry gaze went over her head to Dean who returned his look with an even angrier stare. Penny grabbed a hold of Derek's shirt forcing him to look at her. "What's wrong with you? What the hell is your problem?" This time Derek's agitated posture became somehow weak as he looked at her.
"I... Nothing."
"Nothing? You just punched your own brother and all you have to say for yourself is 'nothing'?!" Derek looked so sad but she was tired of the bad moods he had been displaying lately. Derek turned his heel and walked out of the room.
"You okay?" She turned to Dean.
"I'm fine. He punches like a girl." He smiled but it was weak and she could see that it hurt. For some reason that she couldn't explain she wanted to take care of him, to make him feel better but Carrie was standing right there next to him. She wasn't the one he turned to anymore. She knew that she was the reason for that but she couldn't stand seeing him in pain. She knew that this wasn't the place for her anymore, her place was with Derek even if she couldn't stand to look at him right now.

"Does it hurt?" Carrie sat close to him on the sofa.
"No." Of course it hurt but he couldn't really admit that to her now could he?
"Really? 'Cause it looks as though it would hurt." He grinned at her.
"Well, what can I say? I'm a bad ass." She laughed but then her expression turned serious.
"Honestly Dean. What was that about?" Damn it! She wanted an explanation. He didn't want for her to know anything about his past with Penny. He didn't need the discussions that would most definitely follow.
"Just brotherly love you know. He just needed to work out some issues." The expression on her face turned from serious to disbelief. "Apparently he's still made about his superman sippycup I broke when I was two." Carrie started laughing and for the moment at least he had gotten her mind on a different track.

She heard the door open and slam shut in a way that she knew that it was Penny. She walked out from the storage room. As she saw Penny's expression she exclaimed;
"What's wrong?"
"Derek punched Dean! I know that he have been in a really bad mood these couple of weeks but last night he was worse than ever and today he punched Dean." She put her shoulder bag on the counter. "He didn't even have a good excuse for what he did. He just stood there." Rachel watched as Penny walked around the store, steaming mad. "I'm getting really tired of his crappy mood. I don't understand. I know that he is jealous but he has nothing to be jealous about!"
"Pen." She walked over to her friend, grabbing her by the shoulders to make her unable to run away. "He has everything to be jealous for. Don't you realize that?"
"Don't!" She shook her head not wanting to listen. "I don't want to hear your layman psychological evaluation of my relationship with Derek!" She grabbed her purse from the counter and stormed out. Rachel closed up the store, steaming mad at her friend. She needed something to calm her down.

"Dean!" As he heard his name called out he spun around to find Rachel running towards him. She was smiling but as she reached him her smile disappeared.
"Wow! What the hell happened to you?" He knew that the side of his face was turning more and more red after Derek punching him.
"Oh nothing. Just ran into some knuckles." He smiled and tried to deny the pain as the muscles over the bruised area reacted.
"Let me guess. It was Derek's knuckles?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"I know all." A secretive smile spread over her face and he realized that Penny had told her. He knew that Penny had left the inn just after she had bawled out Derek. He hadn't heard what she was screaming at him but he could hear that she wasn't happy with him.
"I guess I had it coming. I said something..."
"Oh come on Dean this wasn't your fault!" How little she knew he thought. Of course it was his fault. He had said something to hurt his brother."You have to know that he is jealous of you? She was your fiancé and now she's with him. Of course he feels like number second."
"I wanted to ask you something." He had bought Rachel a cup of coffee and they had been walking down the street in silence until he broke it. She turned her head ti look at him. "At the party you said something. You remember?"
"At the engagement party?"
"Yeah." He wondered if it was a good thing bringing this up. "You said that you had a feeling. What did you mean by that?" He looked at her but couldn't help but thinking that she seemed a little sad from the topic of this conversation. "We haven't really had a chance to talk since then and I've been wondering what you meant by that." No point in backing down now. She sighed and spoke.
"I had a feeling then and I still do. I've had it ever since you got back into town." He looked at her wondering what she might mean. "It doesn't feel like things will end up the way everyone thinks they will."
"What do you mean?" She seemed so sad.
"I feel like I'm betraying her."
"Rachel please." Begging wasn't something he liked but he needed to know. There were so many questions unanswered for him, with this at least he wanted an answer.
"She won't marry him." She threw a glance at her wristwatch. "I have to go."