AUTHORS NOTE: This is just a silly little bit of nothing based on a long night (meaning no sleep, again) where I decided that I was going to curl up and watch The Green Mile. My pair shifted, as you can tell from the last story, so there might be more of this pair to come!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters. They belong to Stephen King/Frank Darabont.

[Brutal's Fear]

Brutal had never felt terrified at work before today which was quite a statement to say when you worked on the Green Mile but usually their residents were calm and placid, embracing the silence as they accepted their fate because they knew that they needed to be punished for the sins that they'd committed. Today... Well today had been different. Today he'd feared that he would lose Dean.

Brutal had been away doing a job for the Warden because he knew that Paul would be okay introducing the new inmate, despite his ailment, because it was his job and he'd never let one of his men know that he wasn't feeling up to the job. He'd been taking his time back to E Block, talking to guards as he passed them about their days when he heard gossip that something was going down in E Block as well as cat calling from the inmates that were out in the break yard. Deciding to investigate, he walked out into the break yard.

Hearing the commotion, Brutal had took off for E Block like a man who had the devils on his heels but nothing could have prepared him for what he'd seen when he finally got there.

He could see the book trolley turned over on it's side, Harry crouched beside it with blood running down his nose as he stared at the sight in front of him which was the new inmate, Billy Wharton, strangling Dean with his chains. Paul was shouting, gun raised, as he tried to control the situation but screaming at Percy to hit him because there was no way in hell Paul would be able to make that shot without hitting Dean first. Percy, however, was completely paralysed by fear and he couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of him. He knew eventually, that if nothing was done, Paul would have to shoot but there was no way a bullet was going through Dean.

Despite them all being his friends, minus Percy, it was only seeing Dean's face red due to the loss of oxygen that caused Brutal to reach for Percy's baton and smack Billy the Kid hard so that he fell to the floor. Even on the floor, he kept his grip tight around Dean's neck and it took another hit from Percy's baton before the man was out conscious, he tossed back the baton to his owner before quickly removing the chains away from Dean's neck before sitting the man in the vee of his legs so that he could loosen the top button to his shirt, allowing air easier access back into his lungs.

Seeing Dean lying there on the floor like that, his voice crackling as the air struggled to get to his lungs and his skin a shade of red that Brutal had never seen on a man had caused his stomach to sink. Never one to show his emotions on the Mile, especially not the feelings he felt towards his young married colleague, Brutal had acted nothing more than professional. He'd unbuttoned the top button of the man's shirt, had massaged the skin that would most definitely turn red to help with the breathing and had told the young man that everything would be okay when what he really wanted to do was knock Billy the Kid into next week for hurting his Dean. He could feel the man's shivers against his chest, hear how hard it was for the man to breathe as he hungrily gasped at the air and coughed through the choking.

Another thing that Brutal wanted to was stand up and punch the terrified look of Percy's face. He knew that the guy was man wasn't much of a team player but how could he just stand there and allow for a man to assault his colleague like that? Brutal had known that the young man was a coward but even this scene pushing the line a little and he hoped that Paul would talk to him about it or at least get the bastard fired for being so incompetent. The latter was highly unlikely because of his connections but he couldn't help but wish.

Brutal was well aware that Dean would never return his feelings, the pretty wife and children were enough evidence for this, but it had never stopped his feelings from forming. The older man had long since been able to tamper his flirting down to light hearted teasing such as the joke of Dean being the mouse man when he'd stated that the mouse was rabid. It was harmless and Brutal was aware that the one that was going to get hurt in the end was him but he was okay with that. Seeing Dean like that, lying on the floor and nearly close to not breathing, had made him want to break down and tell the man all his feelings but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't necessary and it wouldn't help.

Massaging the neck, he waited until he heard Dean breathing normally before he helped the man to his feet and allowed for Harry to move him over to the steps by the door so he could get fresh air. Throwing Billy the Kid into his cell, Brutal just sighed as he looked back over his shoulder and looked at Dean before making a silent vow that, for as long as he was on the Mile, nothing was going to hurt the young man ever again.