Disclaimer: I own nothing; not Sam, Dean, Benny, Amelia, or anything else involving Supernatural; this is purely written for pro bono entertainment.

Kill off this thinking, it's starting to sink in...

Sam stared incredulously at his brother, his body thrumming with the mix of emotions flowing through him.

"Good to see you? That's what you have to say to me after what you and that vampire just did?"

If Sam wasn't mistaken, a flash of disappointment flickered over Dean's eyes as his brother observed him.

"Doesn't seem like you're all that happy to see me. After a year of me being gone."

Despite the circumstances, Sam couldn't deny how much that statement stung.

"What, you think I didn't miss you, Dean? That I didn't drive myself crazy constantly wondering what happened to you? I spent this last year thinking you were dead, but I didn't know how or why...God, Dean, I was a wreck when you and Cas just..." Sam sighed and faced the windshield, his face twisting with a painful sigh as he waved a hand through the air as though trying to push away the memory, "You were gone, and I had no idea where you were. Crowley sure as hell wasn't tellin' me," he looked at his brother once more. "So when I saw it was you who had broken into my house, I didn't even care why you had. I was happy it was you."

Sam took in a deep breath, just now realizing how fast he had been talking, the words spilling out in a near desperation, the need to make his brother understand and believe what he was saying to be true causing him to ramble. Dean allowed a sincere smile at the words, but his eyes were downcast.

"'Was' being the key word."

The fear was rapidly dissipating into frustration. "Out of everything I just said...You threatened to kill the woman I love, you let some vampire knock her out, hurt her, and kidnapped her just to force me to come with you! So, I'm sorry if I'm not as thrilled as I was before, Dean, but, I don't even know what you..." Sam trailed off, swallowing, finding it difficult to say the words, hell, not even knowing for sure how to address the elephant in the room, or the Impala, for that matter.

"You know what I am, Sammy," Dean's voice was low, watching as Sam closed his eyes at the nickname and turn his head away. Reaching a hand out, Dean laid a hand on Sam's shoulder, ignoring the way his brother flinched at the touch.

"Look at me."

Sam hesitated for only a moment before opening his eyes, turning his head slowly as though it took great effort on his part to face his brother.

"You know what I am."

Sam felt his chest constrict. He nodded.

"Say it."

He was quiet for a long time before practically whispering, "A vampire...you're a vampire, Dean."

The emotion that flew over Dean's eyes surprised Sam, who glanced down at Dean's hand as it squeezed his shoulder ever so slightly before meeting his brother's eyes again.

"I am your brother, Sam."

Sam couldn't prevent the sharp intake of breath as the words struck him, the pure honesty in Dean's voice overwhelming him. Blinking a couple times as his eyes started to water, Sam attempted to turn away from the intense look in Dean's eyes, but froze as the grip on his shoulder tightened; not to the point of pain, but enough to keep Sam from looking away.

"I am your brother," Dean repeated, voice raising slightly, firm with conviction, "Whatever other crap we gotta deal with, that will always come first, okay, Sammy?"

Sam found himself nodding, but couldn't seem to find the words Dean was waiting for. This was his brother, sounded liked him, looked like him, and obviously still cared about him. The familiarity of the situation, how much he had missed having these moments in the Impala, jaded Sam into relaxing a little under the now comforting pressure of Dean's hand, but his memories from earlier that night were conflicting.

"Dean..."

"You believe me, right?"

Sam looked him square in the eye. "Of course I do. It's just...I don't want to believe that just because you're..."

"A vampire," Dean finished, letting his hand slide off of Sam's shoulder as he settled both hands onto the wheel and peered forward at the windshield.

"R-right," Sam licked his lips, "Even though you're, uh, a vampire, I know that you are still my brother, and I truly believe now that you won't hurt me-"

"Never," Dean said assuredly in a low yet strong voice.

Sam watched his brother's eyes flicker from the windshield, staring at nothing, to the wheel in front of him, where his fingers still gripped tightly.

Sighing, Sam completely turned his body to face his brother, his back to the passenger side door, his left leg pulled up into a bent position on the bench seat.

"The look on your face when you were holding me down, the way you threatened Amelia...either you're having a hard time controlling your urges, or you have no problem hurting innocent people, and both scare the hell out of me."

He was rambling again, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He needed to know where his brother's head was at. Dean remained silent, his face unreadable. Sam hesitated before continuing in a quiet voice.

"Are you going to kill her, Dean?"

Dean stilled for a moment, contemplating, then finally gave a slight shake of his head. "I needed you to take me seriously." Dean dropped his hands from the wheel, letting them fall uselessly in his lap, his eyes wandering to the driver's side window as he spoke.

"So...you're going to let her go?"

"She's not for me, Sam." His voice was soft.

Sam's felt a jolt in his chest. "Dean, please don't let Benny-"

He stopped as Dean waved a hand in the air, silencing him.

"Benny won't touch her," Dean paused, then shifted his body to the right so he could rest his arm on the headrest of the bench seat and face his brother.

This next part would be difficult, and Dean could only hope Sam would hear him out before trying to take his head off. If the situations were reversed and Sam was putting him in this position...well, that hypothetical seemed to diminish what hope Dean had.

"Obviously, this girl means something to you, you said she is the woman you love. That's why I wouldn't hurt her, or let Benny, because I know you would never forgive me."

Sam was still as he listened, realizing that what Dean was asking for was for Sam to hear him. The focused gaze that was leveled on Sam, the tone in Dean's voice, the way his body moved, all of it told Sam that his brother was pleading for some level of understanding. Sam found himself growing nervous to listen, his mind racing with possibilities of what his brother, the vampire, had to say. But, Dean was his brother, first and foremost, so Sam would listen, he would try to understand.

"Ever since this happened," Dean gestured at himself, "I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out...when I realized you were living with this woman, I was angry at first, Sam. Frustrated, disappointed, confused..." Dean smirked, "I think you might have as much to explain as I do, Sammy. But, as I stood there outside your house, I started to realize that maybe this was happening for a reason that things are playing out how they should be."

Confusion marred Sam's face as he slowly shook his head, "Dean, what? I-I don't understand what you're talking about."

Dean leaned forward, "This has to be your choice, Sam, that's why I brought you here. Why I brought her here."

"Dean, what does Amelia-"

"She's not for me, or Benny, she's for you."

Sam tilted his head, eyes narrowed as something close to dread gripped him. "What do you mean, she's for me, Dean?" he asked.

Dean watched his brother's face carefully as he spoke. His voice was steady, laced with a soft pleading.

"She's here to help you transition...so you can be like me, Sammy."

Sam gasped in a shuttering breath as his whole world crumbled around him the way it had over a year ago when his brother disappeared, and suddenly, his chest constricting, air begging to reach his lungs, Sam began to suffocate.