When Sam and Dean left town, Brooke refused to let it get to her. She jumped right back into the life she had put aside while dealing with the brothers and the hurricane of destruction that followed them. But that didn't mean Dean was off her mind. She thought about him all the time, over the stupidest of things, and had to physically stop herself from calling him on more than one occasion. She knew he was busy, and he had promised to call when he could. Her best bet was to wait for him, than to try and get him while he was in the middle of a hunt. So instead, she waited for his calls and talked to him on his terms. The thought that things weren't her way, and that she wasn't in charge, didn't even cross her mind; she was just happy for the little chats she got to have with Dean when she got to have them.

Slowly, though, the calls stopped coming as frequently. They went from twice a week, to once a week. It wasn't her ideal plan, but she could live with it. Then, she didn't get a call for three weeks straight. When her phone finally lit up with a strange number, she practically jumped on the phone, hoping it was Dean and not just some telemarketer.

"Hello?" She asked, trying to sound calm despite the way her heart was racing in her chest, anticipating the sound of Dean's voice. Her eyes slid shut as she waited for a response, holding her breath as she waited.

"Hey, Brooke." Her heart leapt and the air left her heavily, but it wasn't Dean on the other end of the line. "It's Sam. Dean's brother." He sounded tired, and defeated, and it terrified her.

"I know who you are, Sam." She said, softly, pulling a pillow from her bed to her chest and holding it tightly. "What happened to him?" She asked. She knew something had to be wrong for Sam to be calling her after she hadn't heard from Dean in a month.

Sam was quiet for a while, before he finally sighed. "He's not doing too well." He whispered into the receiver, and Brooke's heart plummeted. She pressed her face into the pillow she was holding to muffle the sound she made at his words, before she composed herself to listen to what he was saying. "He asked to talk to you a few days ago, but I couldn't find his phone until just now. I just wanted to call and give you a heads up because he's going to call you tomorrow, but he's not going to tell you…"

"Tell me what, Sam?" Brooke asked, her voice soft and shaky. "What happened? Is he hurt? Is he sick? Where are you?" She was starting to ramble, and she heard Sam sigh audibly on the other end, which cut her off. She didn't want to stress him out any more than he already was, she was just worried about Dean.

"He was electrocuted on a hunt a few days ago. It triggered a massive heart attack, he just barely made it to the hospital. The doctors say all they can do is make him comfortable." He whispered, and Brooke could hear him biting back his own tears, while hers slid freely down her face.

"You never answered where you are." She insisted, before Sam sighed again and answered with the name of the town and the hospital Dean was in. Once she had that information, she let Sam go to make other calls, while she typed the name of the town into Google.

The next day, around the time Sam usually visited Dean, the door to his room opened. Dean groaned at first, not bothering to open his eyes, before he gave a little smile.

"Did you bring my phone today?" He asked, quietly. "I wanna call Brooke, talk to her before anything happens." He said, as though he hadn't told Sam the same thing the day before. Then, he cracked opened his eyes and took as deep of a breath as he could manage at that particular moment.

"Sorry, I didn't bring a phone." Brooke answered, looking down at him and crossing her arms over her chest before she walked over and sat down next to him. "Sam told me not to come. Your doctors didn't want me here, either, but I had to see you." She said, softly, and he swallowed hard and turned his head away from her, closing his eyes again.

"I told Sam not to tell you." Dean sighed, his voice raspy and quiet. She took in the sight before her; since they met, Dean had been her knight in shining armor whom no harm could come to because he'd eliminate it first. Yet, here he was, looking small and sick in the too-white-and-clean-smelling hospital room. He had dark circles around his eyes, which he could barely keep open. The rest of his skin was almost as white and pale as the sheets he was wrapped in. He appeared to be shivering slightly, despite the blankets he was under and the drops of sweat that graced his forehead. He looked nothing like the Dean she had come to know and love. Yet hearing him say that he hadn't wanted her to know he was sick, that he was trying to keep from hurting her despite how hurt he was? That was exactly the Dean she knew, and once he broke through the mask of this sick Dean before her, she knew she could do what they did best without upsetting him; fight back.

"So you just wanted me to think that everything was fine? That you didn't call me for a month because you forgot about me or something? Because that's what I was starting to think, Dean. And when Sam called, my heart dropped. I had to come see you. I needed to see you with my own eyes. Sue me for giving a shit about you, Dean Winchester." She whispered, biting at her lip.

"I'm fine, Broo." He whispered the pet name he had given her, though still didn't turn to face her. "I'll be fine. Sam's looking for something to make me better, damn kid won't listen no matter how many times I tell him I don't want help."

"You don't want help?" She asked, incredulously, and he squeezed his eyes closed tight, like he was bracing for what was coming. "Dean, I don't know if you know this, but there are people in the world who need you. And I don't just mean your dad, Sam, and me. All the people you help, all the people you save when you hunt. They all need you. And, if you don't care about them, then think about your dad and Sam, think about how they need your help." She said, before she swallowed hard and reached out for his hand. "Or think about me, Dean. Please, God, think about me before you let this happen to yourself." She said, lacing their fingers together and squeezing his, biting her lip as a few stray tears fell from her eyes.

Dean was quite for a long moment, before he sighed and finally turned to look at her. His free hand reached over to brush the tears that had fallen down her face away, then he squeezed her hand as tightly as he could manage. "I'm not going anywhere, Broo. I'll let Sam do what he wants to help me." He whispered, and she let out a heavy breath before she leaned forward and buried her face in his neck, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Thank God. I don't know what I'd do without you, Dean." She whispered, before she pulled back and kissed his cheek, then settled back into her seat by his side. He gave her a little smile, before he eventually closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

Later that day, Sam came in with two coffees and his laptop. He handed one coffee to Brooke wordlessly and took the seat by the foot of Dean's bed, sipping his coffee before typing away rapidly on his laptop. After a moment, he finally looked up at Brooke and gave her a little sideway grin.

"I've got this under control. Dean's going to be fine." He said, nodding in affirmation, and she smiled widely at him, turning to look at Dean's sleeping figure before her, toying with his fingers in his sleep.

And sure enough, less than a week later, Dean was back on his feet running. In a weird turn of events, helping Dean had turned into a hunt that Brooke had observed from their hotel, where she had moved the boys and gotten an adjoining room so they could all talk together. When it came down to it, she had never seen the two of them strategize for a hunt, let alone actually hunt before, and it was fascinating to watch them switch from banter to serious in a split second. But, they took care of everything, and once it was all over, Brooke had to go back to Tree Hill. After everything, though, the last thing she wanted to do was leave Dean.

"Hey, c'mere." Dean called to her, while Sam took their bags out to the Impala. The plan was for the boys to drive Brooke back to Tree Hill, spend the night there, and be back on the road before dawn. That left very little alone time, especially if the three of them were going to be staying at Brooke's house together, so Dean wanted to clear this up while they could steal a moment alone. He pulled her onto the balcony of her hotel room, closing the door behind him, before he leaned in and kissed her softly. She smiled when he pulled away, and ran her hand over his jawline.

"What was that for?" She asked, brushing her thumb over his lips and biting at her own, which made him laugh softly.

"Just… thanks, for coming out here." He said, softly. "I know it's not easy; this whole distance thing. And I know me hunting isn't easy on you, either. But just… know that this is a fluke thing. Ninety nine percent of the time, I know what I'm doing enough to the point where I won't be hurt in a life threatening way. I don't want you worrying all the time about me." He said, before Brooke smiled.

"I'm always going to worry, Dean. But I try not to worry as much as long as I hear from you. So, as long as you call me, I won't worry. If I don't hear from you in more than two weeks, even a day more, I'll be calling to check up on you." She said, poking her finger in his chest playfully, which made him laugh and roll his eyes.

"Shut up and come here." He mumbled, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into another kiss, before Sam knocked on the glass door of the balcony. They parted from the kiss with a laugh, and Sam rolled his eyes before pulling the door open.

"We've got to go, check out is in five minutes." He said, shaking his head and walking away from them, which made Brooke take Dean's hand and pull him back inside and out of the room, follow Sam's lead to the lobby. When he saw her following him, he gave her a little smile. "You ready to go home?" He asked, referring to Tree Hill.

Brooke smiled and turned to Dean, before looking back at Sam and shrugging. "I am home."