Would You Say I'm Worth It

Something Wrong In The Village

Sam drives the Impala to the nearest motel, his blood boiling in anger at his brother. Dean could feel the tension, he even felt a little guilty. He traces his fingers across his bruised knuckles, focusing on that to distract him from the agonizing silence.

"So that's it. You've got nothing to say about what just happened back there?" Sam barks finally.

Dean shakes his head. "What's there to say? What do you wanna know?"

"How do you know Benny, for starters. You know, the vampire that for some fucking reason we just let walk away!"

Sam is seething with anger. Anytime Sam had suggested letting a monster walk, Dean had thrown a fit about it. Not to mention, that kind of decision always seems to go sideways on them.

"Fucking Christ..." Dean closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Benny was with me in Purgatory."

Sam's automatic reaction was to slam on the breaks, sending Dean forward almost into the dash.

"What the fuck, Sam!" Dean yells.

"You mean to tell me that you brought a fucking monster back through the gate with you, Dean? He was dead, and you brought him back?" He rips the gear stick back into neutral as he unbuckles, turning in his seat to face Dean front on. "What is wrong with you?" His tone was accusatory and condescending.

"Look, Benny helped me in there. We had each other's back, all the time. I probably wouldn't have made it if not for him. After we got back, we split up! But he had an emergency, and I owed it to him to be there, Sammy."

"Was he the one who left all those scars on you?"

"What? Sam, the Hell are you talking about?"

"In Purgatory. Was he feeding off of you, Dean?" Sam's tone was cold, and his confidence in what he was asking didn't waver.

"Sam. It wasn't like that, not like how you're thinking."

"So he did! You were his food bank." Sam nods, shifting his gaze out the windshield.

"Sammy, it wasn't like that. Benny didn't attack me, or forc-"

"Then what was it like, Dean? Because I'm having a lot of trouble understanding how you, of all people, would let something like that happen just for the Hell of it! Did he threaten you? Like, what-"

"For fucks sake Sam! Stop!" In a burst of anger, Dean punches the windshield, the glass cracking out in a spiderweb shape around where his fist connects. He yelps just as fast, cradling his bloodied fist to his chest.

"Dean-"

"Can't you just drive, Sam? I don't want to do this right now..." Dean pleads as he fights his hardest to hold back tears. Sam's face holds a mix of shock, and disappointment. "You want me to talk, I'll fucking talk. Just not now, just please drive, okay?" He asks softly, wincing as he tries to bend his fingers on his busted up hand.

Sam numbly nods, pushing Baby back into gear as she seems to drive herself to their next destination.
- - - - - - - - - -
Benny sits and stares at his phone in the middle of the night. He's pulled off the road, parking to rest for the night on his way back to his place in Louisiana. It's been eating at him, seeing Dean broken with bruised up arms. They hadn't talked about it since the hunter showed him, it hadn't felt like the right time. But now, Benny has this sick feeling in his stomach just thinking about it. Suddenly, his screen lights up with a notification. He smiles - Dean was thinking about him too.

2:15 am DEAN: Hey. How are you holding up?

Benny takes a moment to conjure up a response, then he taps across his keyboard.