Title: Watch Out For You

Summary: "You just upset your brother so much he had to leave the room." Episode tag for 13x04 "The Big Empty". Hurt/Comfort. Brotherly!Love. BigBro!Dean. Hurt!Sam.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the boys.

Warnings: Rated T for bad language, graphic descriptions of violence, spoilers up to 13x04.

There was something about the very obvious waver in Sam's voice when he poured out his heart in front of that grief counselor that got to Dean in a way things rarely ever did. And given their situation, given how numb he'd felt after their most recent losses, that was really saying something.

The shimmer of tears in his brother's eyes, the sparkle of soul-deep pain in Sam's gaze as he talked about their mom, about how Dean at least got a taste of what it was like to have mother while Sam never got that same chance at a real relationship with Mary, made him feel two inches tall. The shrink's accusatory glare certainly wasn't helping, either.

The truth was, that Dean was so goddamn angry. He was pissed about the unfairness of it all, getting their long-lost mom back, only to have her ripped from life the next second. Losing Cas on top of it all had been the last straw to break the camel's back. One more friend who paid the price for their friendship, one more notch in the belt. After everything they'd done for this world, after all the lives they had saved, they still had to give up everyone and everything they'd ever cared about.

And here Dean was, driving away the only family he had left on the planet. His gaze slid away under the shrink's judgmental stare, heart thudding heavily in his chest. He thought about going after Sam, but he wasn't quite ready to have that conversation with his brother. So he went for the flask instead, feeding his broken heart with more poison.

The psychiatrist stared at him in disgust.

"Problem?" Dean provoked, casting her a glance.

She huffed out a breath, looking at him as if he was the last scum on earth, someone to be pitied. "You just upset your brother so much he had to leave the room."

And yeah, thanks a lot. It wasn't like Dean needed a fucking reminder. He was good at memorizing all the ways in which he had fucked up throughout his life, including the latest escalation.

It wasn't like Dean didn't notice that Sam was hurting. For as long as he lived, he had done nothing but read the kid's words and expressions, his posture, his breathing pattern, the tiniest change in his attitude. If there was anyone who could see right through Sam's 'bastion-of-calm' bullshit and know it for the grief it really was, it was Dean.

He had realized that Sam had been left out during the year their mom had been back. And he had felt guilty for not including his brother more, but just for once in his life Dean had wanted this for himself, had needed so badly to reestablish that root-deep connection he'd lost when he was four years old. He'd ignored Sam's puppy-dog look whenever he'd played stupid games on the phone with Mary or read her text messages and didn't let Sam in on what was happening. He'd ignored it because he'd wanted her for himself. After all, it was only fair, right? After everything that Dean had done for Sam, everything Dean had sacrificed for him, it seemed only fair that he got first dibs at getting some bonding time with their mom.

But it wasn't fair. It hadn't been. And that hurt had festered deeply in Sam's heart.

So when that shifter got the drop on him and Dean found himself cuffed to the , all his concussed brain could progress, all he could think about, was that hurt look in Sam's face and the way he had stormed out of the room. The way Dean had treated him lately. The bitter sarcasm in his tone every time Dean had spoken to his little brother in the past couple of days and how they had spent the time fighting.

The shifter had taken one moment to recognize Sam's face on the security cam before his lips had curled into a malicious grin.

"Look," the guy exclaimed, smirking gleefully at Dean. "Baby brother!"

It took Dean's mind a second to catch up with what the guy was saying, how he knew that they were brothers until it hit him. The guy had taken on Dean's skin, had read all his thoughts and taken a stroll down Dean's memory lane. He knew that Sam was Dean's brother and more dangerously, the shifter knew what Sam meant to Dean, knew the kind of damage he could do by taking away the one thing Dean had left in the world.

Dean's fingers curled up into fists as his mind started to race and his heart kicked up in his chest. He wouldn't be able to get out of the cuffs in time and Mia wasn't going to overpower the shifter by herself.

Unbidden, Mia's earlier words came back to him. 'Buddy didn't just kill people. He ruined their lives. He said he liked to see the look on their faces when they realized they had nothing left.'

That was exactly what the shifter was going for. Why he was taking so much joy from this instead of just killing Jack and Dean right away. He wanted Dean to watch, wanted to see the devastation on Dean's face when he shot his little brother.

"SAM, NO!" It was a gut-reaction. Dean didn't care whether it would be his last words or not, he was gladly going to risk his own life and even Jack's if it gave Sam a chance to survive.

The shifter stomped toward Dean with a growl and the last thing Dean thought about before the guy knocked him unconscious was 'not like this'. Then the world around him went black.

When Dean came to again, it was with a start and with his green eyes ripped wide open like a drowning man coming up for air. He blinked and the initial moment of panic, of remembering what had happened when his vision cleared and the blur of colors towering over him suddenly took on the shape and form of his brother. His very-much-alive little brother.

"—ean? Dean, talk to me," Sam urged and Dean could tell that his brother was starting to get nervous. He must have tried to get Dean to wake up for a while. "Hey, you okay? Think you can stand?"

Dean glanced over Sam's shoulder at the shifter's dead body and a wave of relief hit him with enough force to make him dizzy. He rubbed his now-freed wrists and gave Sam a shaky nod before he let himself be pulled to his feet.

"You alright?" Sam asked again, a worried frown on his face. His fingers were clammy against Dean's skin. Dean could only guess how close Sam had come to getting shot when he looked at the sickening pallor of his little brother's skin. It made him want to throw up. To think that Sam could have died while he was knocked out and helpless to protect him was pretty much Dean's worst nightmare coming to life. Dean looked at Jack. "You did this?" he asked. "You saved him?"

Jack glanced at Sam first, then hesitantly met Dean's gaze. "I... I did."

Dean couldn't really describe the feeling that washed through him at the words. Before he knew what he was doing he pulled Sam's jacket aside to scan his brother's chest for any hidden injuries, any sign that he was injured, that the bullet had nicked him. When he didn't find any blood on his brother's shirt, Dean's shaky hands wandered up to cup Sam's face, turning it from side to side to make sure he didn't miss anything. No dilated pupils, no bruises, no broken bones or bullet wounds. Dean went through the mental checklist, one by one, mentally ticking them all off.

"I'm fine, Dean," Sam said so softly that only Dean could hear it. He caught Dean's searching hand with his own to stop him. They passed a wordless glance between them, reassuring each other, basking in the knowledge that they had both survived another close encounter, that they were both still alive and together. "It's okay."

It wasn't okay.

Because Dean had been a dick and Sam almost died and Dean had been so caught up in his grief that he almost forgot the most important thing: that he had still had his brother. That he hadn't hit rock bottom, not by a long shot because as long as Sam was alive and with him, everything else was just an added bonus. As long as he still had his brother by his side, things would eventually be alright.

"Let's get out of here," Dean croaked out, hand falling away from where it had cupped the back of Sam's head for a second. The moment was broken as soon as it had come, but the message was well received among them, forgiveness was asked for and granted right then and there before Dean had even properly apologized. At the end of the day, words had never been needed between them. Not where it really mattered.

Still, Dean thought as he sent a look at Jack first, then at Sam, he owed an apology to more than just his brother.

If it hadn't been for the kid, Dean would have lost everything tonight. And while he still had his doubts about Jack, saving Sam's life had to count for something, right?

Maybe it was time to give the kid the benefit of the doubt.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this! Reviews are love :)