Wanted to say sorry for taking so long. I'm not going to go all "woe is me" about what happened all last week and stuff, but it wasn't all sunshine and flowers. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait. I just had to deal with some stuff first. I lost my muse for a while. I'm in the process of finding it again.

Ch. 8

Four months, one week ago. The next morning after starting looking for a spell.

"I'm telling you, you won't like it. Might as well not even consider it."

"Just tell me, Sam! Right now, I've got nothing either! I'll take anything!"

Sam pauses, closing the book. He keeps a finger in the pages, looking up at him in part confusion, part annoyance. "You'll take anything?"

Dean throws the book in his hands down on the bed and raises his hands up in exasperation as he stands from where he was sitting next to Sam's feet. "Yes! Is it that horrible that I want you to be able to sleep at night? That I want you to be okay?" He stands next to the window, looking outside at the rising sun. They've been reading all night.

Sam's face falls before it softens into that look he knows he always gets whenever Dean lets him inadvertently know he cares about him. "Dean." He sighs when his brother doesn't turn around. "Dean." He waits until Dean heaves a sigh and turns around. He locks eyes with his brother. "I'm sorry."

Dean shakes his head. "I did say that wrong. Made it sound like it was about me. And it's not. You're the one suffering here. I just don't want you to suffer anymore."

Sam nods. "I should've known that. You never make anything about yourself. I shouldn't have gotten annoyed even if you were."

Dean waves it off.

Sam opens the book in his lap, biting his lip as he thinks for a minute. "You won't like it," he says one more time.

Dean sighs, walking back over to sit by Sam's feet on the bed like he was before. He sets a hand on Sam's leg. "Just tell me."

His brother looks at him, face serious. "It'd have to be done on my skin. Like our tattoos. A sigil. With an incantation with it to make it work."

Dean tilts his head. "We don't have anything for tattoos."

Sam nods, not looking up from the book. "Doesn't have to be in ink. Just on the skin…"

It only takes a second for Dean to understand. He lets out a list of expletives as he stands and turns away again, hand wiping over his mouth.

"I told you, you wouldn't like it."

"Shut up, Sam."

Sam frowns, almost flinching. This is the first time Dean has shown any type of anger at him since before all of this. He huffs, throwing the book to the floor before curling up on his side. "Don't blame me," he mutters. "Only thing I've found."

Dean sighs, hands going to his hips as he turns around, head hanging. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, Sam. I just… I don't…" He reaches for the single chair they have in their bedroom.

Sam's voice makes him freeze. "Don't pull away."

It's so soft, he barely hears it, but he looks to Sam's prone figure, knowing exactly what he means. His hand drops from the back of the chair. Instead, he goes to sit on the bed beside his brother. "Not pulling away, Sammy," he murmurs. He hesitates just a second before laying his arm on his brothers as if it were an armrest. A second later, he leans over to rest his chin on his arm to look over Sam's shoulder at his face. "Remember when you were… six I think. Right outside Abilene in Texas?"

"Dad was gone for the weekend after a…"

"He never told me," Dean muses. "That was before he started telling me about his hunts. Right before, really. But he was after something."

Sam chuckles.

"Anyway, you were worried. Because the next school year, I was going to be in the middle school building if it was separated from the grade school building in whatever town we stopped at."

"I didn't want you so far away."

Dean nods. "And I told you that I wouldn't ever be too far away."

"You'd come get me if I needed you."

"Exactly." Dean smiles when Sam turns his head a little to meet his eyes. "I won't pull away, Sam. I know you need me close by. I might have to separate myself from you so I don't get mad at you for no reason, but I'll never be too far away."

Sam nods. "Okay."

Dean grins. "Chick-flick for the day over?"

Sam grins back, eyes suspiciously shiny. "Yeah."

Dean pats his arm, but doesn't move from where he's leaning over his brother. Physical comfort has become a big thing to him, too. He used to not like it, but now… now he knows it's not a sign of weakness if it makes you stronger. And keeping in touch with Sam? Keeps them both stronger.

"I'm hungry."

Dean snorts, looking down at Sam in amusement at the quiet admission. "That's usually my line."

Sam only smiles up at him.

"Anything you hungry for in particular?"

Sam wrinkles his nose.

"Then I'll just go see what we have."

Sam gives him a look.

Dean sighs. "Keep looking. But mark this page. I'll keep it in mind, okay?"

Sam nods.

"Alright. I guess it's breakfast time."

They don't find anything else. Dean eventually gives in after a particularly bad night of nightmares. He hates the entire process. Taking a blade to Sam? Worst. Thing. Ever.

Three months, two weeks ago.

"Sam?"

Sam looks to him, his stupid hair flopping with the quick movement. It almost makes Dean smile. "It's almost time to take another trip for food."

Sam wrinkles his nose.

"Yeah, I know. But we have to. Your freakish eating habits don't help."

Sam sticks his tongue out at him.

Dean rolls his eyes. He's actually glad Sam has taken to eating more. It's helping him recover mass he lost during their first weeks here. And it will ensure muscle mass when they start training again. Which will be soon.

When Sam finally gets up, Dean puts a hand to his shoulder and turns him around. He lifts the back of his shirt, looking over the healing marks on his back. "They feeling alright?"

Sam nods. "Doesn't hurt."

Dean lets out a breath. "That's good." Sam has told him it stopped hurting before, but the redness is finally going away. It looks so much better now. A little less like Dean had just decided to use his brother to practice his torture skills. "You gonna do okay lifting things?"

Sam nods. Now put a little more at ease, Dean pats him on the shoulder before dropping the back of his shirt before they head out to the SUV they use to transport their food. They go down the mountain and start stocking up on food in cans and frozen that aren't past their expiration date. Well... not too far past anyway.

Ever since the first time, Dean stays within hearing distance, though he can now go around the corner without his brother freaking out. He still doesn't go far.

As they're loading the SUV with more water bottles, Sam freezes.

Dean looks to him. "What is it?"

He lifts a finger to his mouth, eyes unblinking as he doesn't move. His whole body is tense. He's shaking.

Dean puts a hand to his shoulder to steady him, knowing the shaking is from nervousness. It's the first time something that could be a threat has gotten close to them since before the city fire. "Easy, Sam," he breathes. He taps three fingers to the inside of Sam's wrist.

Sam finally moves, motioning in answer to Dean's questioning tap. Person. Around the corner. Headed this way.

Dean leads Sam silently around the SUV to crouch behind it as he hears the footsteps too. He signals Sam. I'll check it out. Stay.

Sam grabs his wrist.

Dean shakes his head, hand going to fist in Sam's shirt over his chest. I'll be back.

Sam takes in a sharp breath, his own hand moving up to grip Dean's shirt. Promise.

Dean flattens his hand on Sam's chest, keeping it there for just a second before pushing him back against the car. I promise. Now stay.

Puppy eyes turn into a glare.

Dean ignores him, hand going back to pull his gun from the back of his jeans. He slowly stands, going quickly and silently around the car to check things out. If it looks human, there's no guarantee it is. He stay's crouched behind things as he makes it to a building and looks around the corner.

It does look human. More human than a leviathan ever has. He has a bag slung over his shoulder and a gun at his side. Leviathans don't really need guns. It's when the man gets closer that Dean actually recognizes him. He huffs out a breath in surprise, stepping out from behind the building. "Hey, Mark." He has his gun aimed at him. Even though if he were a leviathan, it probably wouldn't help much.

Mark freezes, gun coming up quickly in response to the surprise. He lowers it a little though when he sees who it is. "Dean?"

Dean nods, gun still trained on him. "It's been a while."

Mark relaxes a little, letting lose a small grin. "It has." The grin falls. "Where's…?"

Dean is about to answer when he feels his brother right behind him. He glares over his shoulder. "I thought I told you to stay put."

Sam's eyes move from where they're locked on Mark for only a second. He spares a second of a glare down at him, defiantly pushing his chest more into Dean's shoulder. His steely gazes is on Mark.

"I swear, you're like a cat. I set you down but you keep following me home."

Sam deflates a little, eyes looking to him as he sort of ducks his head and starts to take a step away.

Dean sighs, gripping Sam's arm to keep him where he is. "Relax. I was kidding."

Mark watches the scene with a look uncannily like Bobby's. "I see some things never change. Though it all seems to be in a bit more of an extreme."

Dean and Sam both look back to him. Then at each other. Dean does the honors of saying what they're both thinking. "Before we get into any more talk, would you mind showing us you aren't a leviathan?"

Mark chuckles. "No problem." He takes a knife from his pocket, flipping it open before sliding a thin line on his arm. Red blood.

Dean nods. He does the same to himself. "I know Sam isn't." He doesn't want to have to put another mark on his brother's body for a while.

Mark shrugs, finally putting his gun away as he walks closer. "I imagine that's definitely something you would be able to tell."

Dean nods, holding out his hand. "So what brings you all the way out here?" he asks as Mark clasps his palm in a tight grip.

"That's a long story. And I have an idea you guys have one too?"

Dean looks at Sam.

Sam nods.

"We do, and it is long too. Why don't you come back up to the cabin with us?"

Mark follows and gets into their SUV to ride up to their cabin with them, staying out of the silent Sam's way when they unload. Later, he's sitting on a chair as they lounge on the couch and tell their story. And what a story it is. "So you had to carve it into his back?"

Dean grimaces and nods. "I hated every second of it. But it works." He looks to Sam, giving him a small smile. "Right, Sammy?"

For the first time since Mark walked up to the pair, Sam shows emotion. He cracks a smile in answer to Dean's. It's obvious who Sam really cares about. "You boys haven't changed. Still stubborn and still resourceful." He leans forward, elbows going on his knees. "I know you still have some work to do before you take me up on my offer, but I want to put it out there anyway."

Dean tilts his head. "What offer?"

Mark grins. "We're setting up a camp. A big camp. Where we can train people to help us stop what's going on with the leviathans. The world knows about them now. But they don't know what to do about it. Basically, almost the whole North American continent is moving under their control. Other countries are trying to figure out what will kill them. No luck yet."

Dean snorts. "No surprise there."

Mark nods. "So we're going to train people. Send them out to smaller camps across the continent to be ready when the time comes to take care of this. We don't know what we'll be doing yet, but we're training hand to hand combat, weaponry, shooting, and basically everything your dad put you guys through like is Marine drills."

Dean blinks.

Mark shrugs sheepishly. "He and Bobby had shared some of your training stories with me. Anyway, it's a bunch of hunters that are leading this. Some former military members too. So it will be professional. But you guys would be a huge help. After all you guys have been through and done, you'd be very resourceful."

Dean nods. "Thanks. But…" he looks to Sam, "we'll have to see how things go out here for a while first. We haven't done any training for a while."

Mark nods in understanding. "I know. You don't need to take me up on my offer right now, but we can set a date to meet? In a few months maybe. And a place. But we can have that set, and if you don't meet up with me, I'll be back there on the same day two months after that. If you don't show up then, you're on your own coming to our camp."

Dean looks to Sam.

Sam looks to Dean.

Mark watches the following exchange with almost a sense of awe.

A raised eyebrow from Dean.

A frown from Sam.

Dean rolls his eyes, shaking his head before leaning towards him. "No bringing up past crap. Remember?"

Sam huffs.

Dean puts a hand to his arm.

Sam looks down at his own hands. Then over to Dean, meeting his gaze through the hair hanging over his eyes.

Dean smiles, nodding. "You'll be fine."

Sam bites his lip.

"You will. Promise. Good as new."

Sam rolls his eyes, aiming a smirk at Dean.

Dean sighs. "Fine. Maybe not new, but you'll be good. You'll see." He looks to Mark. "When and where?"

Mark doesn't bring up the seemingly one-sided conversation he just witnessed. But he knows that having two people who can speak almost wordlessly to each other will be a lethal pair in combat. Of course, Winchesters have always been lethal. "Well… how about four months from now?"