Prompt: Totally snatched this from tumblr, but I think you can handle it :D :D Jo arguing with Sam about his treatment of Dean, and everything falling apart when Sam calls Jo out on her feelings for Dean. TYSM!

AN: I have this taking place in Season 9 smack in the middle of the whole "We're not brothers anymore" debacle. I am totally NOT against Sam whatsoever, but this incident may have made me the teeny tiniest bit mad, and I think it came out a little here… ah well. Also, please be patient. Not my best. It's been a while since I've seen this season!

Broken Brotherhood

"Samuel Winchester, you open this door now, or I swear to all things holy I will put so many bullets in you, you will be crapping lead for a decade!"

Her voice bounced off the motel's exterior concrete walls and out into the surrounding darkness. There was a click and a squeak as the next door over creaked open. Jo glared at the disgruntled inhabitant and shoved her FBI badge in the man's unshaved face.

"Police business," she snarled. "Stay in your room."

The man was smart. Jo barely had time to see all blood drain from his face before he slammed the door shut and locked it for good measure.

She whirled back on the door in question and banged on it again. "Now, Sam! I know you're in there."

She was reaching for her gun to shoot the damn lock off when it swung open to reveal the stupid, stupid son of a bitch she'd driven fifteen hours to hunt down. His hair was matted on one side, sticking up on the other. He had dark circles under his eyes, and judging by the obvious wincing at the dim street lights illuminating the motel parking lot, he was hungover. Good.

"Jo, wha-"

She shoved him aside and marched in, flipping the light switch as she passed. Sam closed the door and faced her, rubbing at his eyes.

"What are you doing here? Are you ok?"

"Am I ok?" she scoffed. "No, Sam, I'm not ok. See, I had just taken out a vamp nest in Denver and was thinking about maybe heading to the Carolinas for a well-deserved and, frankly, much needed break at the beach when I get a phone call. You want to take a wild guess as to who called me?"

Suddenly, he was awake. He stood taller, fists clenched at his sides. All signs of sleep were wiped from his expression. His face was carefully blank.

"If Dean sent you here-"

"Please," she spat. "We both know Dean's too proud. Besides, he was so drunk I doubt he'll even remember he called me. What the hell, Sam?"

The hunter chuckled darkly and turned away, grabbing a water bottle from the counter. "Right. I should've guessed. You hear his side of the story, and you automatically assume I'm the villain."

"You said he wasn't your brother anymore. What other side of the story could there possibly be?"

"You don't know what he did, Jo!" he yelled. "We had a chance to board up hell, board it up for good, and he guilt-tripped me into choosing him instead. And then he went behind my back and tricked me into-"

"Into being possessed by an angel. Yeah, I know." Dean had told her everything. He'd told her what he'd done to Sam – for Sam, as he put it – and what Sam had said and that Sam had decided to take off for a couple days just to give each other some space. It'd taken a while to understand his drunken ramblings, but she'd figured out the gist of it before he'd fallen asleep mid-sentence. "Look, I'm not saying you should just forgive him and walk off into the sunset like nothing happened. You have every right to be pissed. Hell, I'm pissed, and it wasn't even me who was possessed! But he did it all for you, Sam. How do you not see that?"

He scoffed. "He didn't do it for me; he did it for himself. He can't stand the idea of being alone, and he's willing to put himself above everything else just to keep that from-"

She punched him so hard he was thrown back against the fridge.

Silence enveloped the room. Neither moved, staring at one another in shock. She'd hit him. It hadn't been the plan, but what he'd said had just made her so mad

"You of all people should know that's not true," she said finally, swallowing back the tremors of pure fury that threatened to overcome her.

Sam said nothing, just watched her for a moment before slowly shuffling into one of the dining chairs pushed up against the wall. He brought the water bottle to his mouth, took a few sips. His eyes never left her.

"I used to be like you," he finally said in a tone that was much too soft, too understanding. Jo didn't like it.

"What do you mean?"

"Dean was my idol. He could do no wrong." He smiled sadly, looked down at his hands. "He was my big brother, you know? He took care of me the way Dad should've. He was there for me the way Mom couldn't be. He made sure I had food and clothes and did my homework. He told me about girls even when I begged him not to, and he taught me how to kick a soccer ball when I told him I wanted to try out for the school team, even when he knew we wouldn't be there long enough for me to actually play in a game. He let me drive before I had a license and told Dad he was the one who hit the hydrant even though it was me. I wanted to be just like him. He was my hero."

"Because that's what family is. You take care of each other. You sacrifice for one another."

"That's my point, Jo! Him sacrificing for me would've been letting me save the world from hell. Him sacrificing for me would've been letting me die with my free will intact. But he didn't! He put what he wanted first, not what I wanted." He chuckled darkly. "But like I said, I used to be like you, so I know you don't see it. You probably never will."

She shook her head. "First of all, you don't know me, Sam. Maybe you think you do, and I certainly thought I knew you, but now… this conversation right here has proven we are complete strangers to one another. Second of all, every single thing Dean has ever done has been for you, his baby brother. Damn it, Sam, he went to hell for you! Or did you forget that little detail?"

"He went to hell because the only other option was to be alone!" Sam countered. "He left me alone instead."

"If he thought being alone was so damn horrible, why did he put you through it? Huh? I'll tell you why. Because it wasn't about being alone. Because he thought that you deserved more than what fate had given you. Because he would give you the whole damn world if you asked for it, and he wouldn't hesitate to throw his life away to do it."

"You can't see it, Jo," Sam said sadly. "A part of me hopes you never do. But he isn't the saint you think he is."

"I never said he was. Trust me, I know how far from holy your brother is."

He rubbed at his eyes, grimacing as if the whole conversation was giving him a blistering headache. Good. That was the least he deserved.

"I know we're family, Jo. And I know you're worried about me and Dean, even if the only way you know how to show it is to yell at us." He chuckled at that, and the sound was so broken Jo felt the ire in her begin to soften. She knew Sam was hurting. Despite his apparent claims otherwise, he loved Dean with all his heart, and this separation – no matter how temporary, no matter how self-inflicted – was draining him. "But you have to understand where I'm coming from. I can't forgive him this. I can't… I just… I can't. And I'm not leaving for forever; I just need a few days to myself, to wrap my head around who we are now."

She sighed, her anger momentarily receding and leaving her exhausted. She took the seat opposite him and took his hand in both of hers. "You're brothers, Sam. Maybe you don't see it now, maybe you won't be ready to accept it again for a really long time, but that's what you are, and that's what you'll always be to each other, no matter how much you deny it."

He shook his head. "Not anymore. I can't get passed what he did. I can't wrap my head around why he did it."

She swallowed back the words to defend Dean's actions, but she knew it would do no good. Sam wasn't in a place to hear it, and any attempt to make him listen would just cause more damage. Besides, the Winchesters were stubborn; she knew they would reconcile – she hoped they would reconcile – but it had to be when they chose to do it, not a second sooner.

"You're going to go back to him? To Dean?" she asked gently.

"Yeah," he said. "I just needed time away, but I'm going back. We hunt best when we're together."

She nodded. "No more lectures from me, I promise. I'm done channeling my inner Ellen." Her heart ached a little as it always did when she thought of her mother, but she kept her focus on Sam. "But maybe you'd be open to a friendly warning?"

He chuckled. "Open or not, you're going to hit me with it anyway, so go ahead and lay it on me."

She smiled a little. Maybe he did know her after all.

"Dean's broken right now," she said. "Everything he's ever done, he's done it for you. No. Stop. Don't. Just let me finish. He's thought he's done it for you. Whether you agree or not, that's what has always driven him. That being said, I know what he's going to do next. He's going to sulk, and he's going to passive aggressively pretend he's fine. And then he's going to try to prove to you that you two are still on the same page. You said you wanted to put hunting above your relationship as brothers, then he's going pretend to do the same. He's going to do something stupidly selfless and suicidal because he wants to close the distance between you two. He may not even realize that's why he's doing it, but it will be all for you. Again. I guess… what I'm trying to say is that… don't wait too long to reconcile. Don't give me that face. It's going to happen, whether you see it now or not. Just don't wait too long. Forgive him before it's too late."

Sam didn't understand. She could see it in that wide eyed, pitying look he gave her, that he thought she was naïve, that she didn't know what she was talking about.

"You know," he said suddenly, "this whole thing might be a good thing for you."

"You two fighting is good for me? How, exactly?"

"Dean and me might be done, but one good thing's come out of it – he called you."

"Yeah, which made me take a detour from my therapeutic trip to the beach. Thanks for the reminder."

He waved her comment aside. "Jo, he called you."

She stared at him, not understanding his point. "And?"

"And… maybe it's the right time for you and him to… you know."

Ah.

Now she got it.

"Right." She shook her head and pushed up from the table. "Listen, I'm gonna still try to hit the Carolinas for a couple days before my vacation is predictably cut short by some monster-related disaster."

"I know you still love him."

She sighed, turned to face him. "Sam, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I never-"

"Cut the crap, Jo," he said, not unkindly. "I know. In fact, I've known for years. And I also know that he loves you, too. I don't know what's held you two back for so long, but maybe now with the way things are changing… maybe you can finally end this will-they-won't-they rut you guys have been in for the last five years."

Now it was Jo's turn to feel the pressure of a headache building in the back of her head. What could she say? That Dean didn't love her? No, she was fairly certain that he did, or that he at least felt something for her, something that could potentially turn into more. But she'd never pushed, and he'd never acted. Because the fact of the matter was…

"He loves you more, Sam."

That was it. That was what had held them back. Dean's whole world was his baby brother Sam. It would always be Sam. And nothing would ever keep Dean from watching over him. Was it the fact that they'd lost their mother so young? Or that Dean had practically raised Sam on his own? Or that they lived such dangerous lives? Or that they'd watched each other die over and over again throughout the years? Maybe it was a combination of it all. Whatever it was, Jo knew nothing would change the fact that Sam came first, and no healthy, lasting, loving relationship could survive that.

Sam shook his head. "But I won't be-"

"He may not be your brother right now, Sam," Jo said, forcing a smile, "but you will always be his, come hell or high water. And I will never even try to come between that. I'll be there for him for now because he needs me to be, but when the time comes – and it will – you two will be inseparable again, and I'll go back to being that annoying little sister who comes and lectures the both of you at 2 AM about how stupid you two are being."

"You're wrong," he said. "This time, it's different."

"Of course it is." She paused at the door, hand on the knob. "Take care of yourself, Sam. And remember what I said – remember how much he loves you, and don't hold that grudge of yours for too much longer. You might come to regret it."

"He really does love you, Jo."

"Yeah. And I love you guys, too. Always will."

After all, they were her family. And maybe that was why she was so understanding of what Dean had done. Family always came first, even if it meant hurting yourself in the process.