A/N: Just a short little piece I had scrambling around in my brain for a while. Hope you enjoy!

Hey Brother (Dean's POV)

The first time Benny calls him "brother", Dean forgets how to breathe.

"W...what?" he stutters, wiping at the blood that splatters his chin, the blood that may or may not be his own. "What'd you...what?"

Benny rolls his eyes. Smiles. "You got blood in your ear? I said, we best get a move on before more vamps catch our scent. You're bleedin' awful good on your arm there."

Dean frowns, absently inspects the thick red cut that runs from the back of his elbow to his wrist, dripping steadily onto the dead ground. After a moment, his gaze returns to Benny.

"No, no, after that. What did you...call me?" The words are almost accusatory, but Benny reads past the cutting tone and hears the hesitancy behind it, a trait he's never seen within Dean before this moment. He licks his lips, answers slow and soft.

"Brother. I called you brother."

Dean's jaw jumps and he shuts his eyes tight against the tidal wave that word brings with it. He huffs out a breath, blinks fast to hide the moisture, convinces himself it's not there. Nothing to hide, nothing to think about. Come on now Dean, just let this one go, let it slide off your shoulders and mingle with all the death around you. Let it stay there. Instead, the question bursts forth, small and broken and sadder than he'd expected it to be.

"Why?"

"Why what, Dean?" Benny returns, eyebrows scrunched in genuine confusion. He doesn't understand the reaction, can't wrap his head around this new, vulnerable side of the fearless hunter he's come to know in these past few sunless days.

Dean sighs, exasperated. Thinks about dropping it. Can't.

"Don't call me that again," he seethes, anger suddenly becoming the most prominent of his warring emotions. "I'm your ticket out of here. I'm your free ride. Nothing more, you understand?"

Benny blinks, nods his head. "Yeah okay Dean. Can we get a move on now? Gotta get you patched up, gotta keep moving."

Dean nods, stalks back towards the river they'd been following before the vamps had sidetracked them. The river that will hopefully lead to Cas.

The pair continue on in silence for a long time, made uneasy not only by the fleeting shadows that dance across the trees but by the way Dean's shoulders seem to collapse in on themselves, creating a barricade against everything, against his only ally in this dark, dead world. Benny observes, curious but mostly concerned. He doesn't break the quiet however, doesn't risk another outburst from this somewhat terrifying hunter who seems to carry the world on his back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So they walk, and Dean burrows further and further into himself, letting his mind go where he hasn't yet allowed it to since being trapped in this Hell of a different kind.

Brother. Sam. Sammy.

He lets the words fill him, lets the loss seep slowly into his soul and tear at the heart he's kept safely locked away since being thrown into Purgatory.

Eyes burning, he blinks back the memories, the things he can't afford to remember. Deep breaths now Dean, or they might be your last. Focus on what's here in front of you now. Don't waste your time on the impossible. Don't waste your time on the things that are already gone.

Gone.

In the blink of an eye, in the span of a moment.

Dean shakes his head, turns away from his brother's face in his mind, instead catches the eye of his newest companion, the one who doesn't even compare. But if he wants to survive, if he wants a way out, then Benny is his best bet.

"We should stop for a second," he says gruffly, "I gotta patch up my arm."

Benny nods, resting against the nearest tree while Dean takes off his jacket and treats his wound, cleaning it in the stream.

"So Dean," Benny starts, trying to keep his mind off the steady flow of blood cascading from his new comrade's arm. "What's waitin' for you when we get topside? You got a girl to get back to?"

Dean tilts his head towards the vampire, narrows his eyes. "Sorry, not really the sharing and caring kinda guy. Just gimme another minute here." He tears off a piece of his shirt sleeve and wraps it around the thickest part of the cut, wiping at the slowly congealing blood.

"Yeah alright," Benny replies easily, rests his head against his tree. A pause. "You know I had me a girl once. Years ago now. Hard to let something like that go, you know? Even after all these years I still think about her. She was a hell of a gal."

Dean nods. "I'm ready to move."

Silence becomes a third companion once more as the sky turns from gray to a deep charcoal. There is no sun in Purgatory, only dimness and darkness- and not always in the same order.

Dean doesn't miss the sun as much as he misses the stars. The ones he and Sammy used to lie beneath on warm summer nights, stretched out on the hood of the Impala, beers in hand.

And the longer Dean goes without seeing those familiar blinking lights, the farther away he feels from his brother. From Sam. It scares him, makes him restless.

Makes him careless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It seems like a week later, but it's impossible to tell from the colorless sky above them. Dean and Benny walk side by side, blades gripped casually in their hands, eyes sweeping their surroundings.

"So Sammy's as stubborn as you are then?" Benny laughs as Dean recounts yet another story about his brother.

"It's Sam," Dean replies automatically." He pauses mid-stride, scuffing the dust from his boots absently. "Yeah he's...he's a hell of a kid," he says after a while.

"Sounds like it," Benny replies, but his easy smile quickly becomes a shout of warning as he turns to see the vampire directly behind Dean. There's no time for Dean to react before the vamp brings him down, teeth already buried in the soft skin at his neck, sucking down greedy mouthfuls of blood.

Dean lets out a gurgled scream, thrashing violently, his blade having been thrown from his hand at the vampire's onslaught and just out of reach Blood coats his skin, streaming from an open wound, and the vamp is far from finished. Dean feels his strength start to ebb, recognizes the effects of blood-loss as his eyes slip closed. He is only distantly aware of the sudden absence of weight, the screaming in his ear. And then all he knows is darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dean, open your eyes. Come on now, time to wake up."

"Sam?" Deep down Dean knows the voice doesn't belong to Sam. The slow southern drawl, the docile inflection- it's all wrong. But his little brother's name is still the first thing that spills from his lips as he makes his way back to the surface.

He lets his eyelids flutter, not ready to open them yet. Not ready to return to where he knows he is. He can smell the putrid odor of death, can taste the blood mingled with already contaminated air. Purgatory, his exhausted mind provides. I'm in Purgatory.

Shit.

Dean flies awake, hands clawing desperately for a weapon of some kind, surprised he isn't dead already. His search is halted by a rough hand that pushes him back down. Dean panics for a second twisting violently, but then he registers the gentleness of the gesture, the soothing voice sliding its way through his jumbled mind.

"Easy now Dean, nice and easy," Benny says, keeping a firm hand on Dean's chest, preventing him from getting up.

"Killed the vamps?" Dean asks, practically coughing out the words.

"Yeah I got 'em," Benny smiles. "Let's get you vertical, eh? You gonna waste the whole day nappin' or what?"

"Shut up," Dean grunts, but allows Benny to help him slowly to his feet. Vision swimming slightly, he feels for the still pulsating wound at his neck, pausing as his fingers glaze over a makeshift bandage.

"You patched me up with a bunch of goddamned leaves?" Dean smirks, shaking his head.

"It was either that or finish you off myself," Benny jokes.

Dean frowns. Nods.

"Yeah, guess I owe you one, huh?" He mutters, expression thoughtful.

"Tell you what, you get me outta this place and we'll call it even," Benny replies, patting the hunter lightly on the back.

Dean stiffens slightly but then nods again, moving to pick up the blade he had abandoned earlier.

"Hey uh...thanks Benny."

"Anytime, brother."

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