Some Nights

Red Sky At Morning

contains: the spanking of Sam Winchester. This takes place during the beginning of the episode. Dean notices a bullet is missing from the Colt, and when he confronts Sam, he finds out that his little brother had not only done exactly what Dean had ordered him NOT to do, but now the Crossroad Demon was dead as well.

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"NO, it's NOT! It was stupid risk, you shouldn't have done it!"

"I shouldn't have done it? You're my brother, Dean. No matter what, I'm gonna try and save you! And I'm sure as hell not gonna apologize for it, alright?"

 -Red Sky At Morning 3.06

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Sam's early words had filled the car with tension. Dean gripped the wheel tightly, trying not to think of all that could've gone wrong. He saw where his brother was coming from, of course he did. And if the situation was reversed, well, that's actually what got Dean into this whole thing in the first place. Sam hadn't asked Dean to save him, but Dean went ahead and made a deal with the Crossroad Demon. A world without his little brother wasn't a world at all.

It had been a major risk making that deal, and his father figure, Bobby Singer, had made that clear on his ass as soon as they got a moment alone. Bobby's signature implement was the belt, and damn, he was good at it. Dean had trouble sitting for some time after that little "chat", but the message had been readily received.

No more risks.

Dean now glanced at Sam, who was currently glaring out the window. His brother didn't see how idiotic it had been to not only go, but to shoot the crossroads demon as well? There was no way that was ending pretty. It would come back to haunt them, Dean was sure of it. He looked at Sam again. His brother was tapping his fingers on his jeans, the way he did when he was upset, but unwilling to yield. And that was it.

Sam glanced up as Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Dean? What's-"

"Out of the car."

"What?"

"Get out of the car." 

Dean opened car door, miming for Sam to do the same. Sam gave him a weird look, but opened up the door, following Dean's lead. The night was quiet, the sky clear. Dean stared up at the stars for a moment, trying to gain a moment of clarity for what he was about to do. When he finally met his brother's gaze, Sam was giving him an odd look.

"You good, dude?"

"No." Dean answered simply. "I'm not. You almost got killed!"

Sam let out a world weary sigh. "For the last time, I said I was fine, Dean!"

"Were you even going to tell me?" Dean stared at him. It was dark, yes, but he could see the emotion in Sam's eyes. "If I hadn't noticed the bullet, would you have said a word?"

"No." Sam glared at Dean. "And don't think you came come off like you are better than me! You hid what you did from me too."

"I was wrong." Dean said, his voice quiet.

"W-what?" Sam stammered. They both stared at each for a long moment. "What do you mean?" Sam felt like his heart was breaking. Was Dean saying that he had been wrong in saving Sam all along? Or that he was wrong in making a deal that got himself dead?

"It was wrong to hide it from you. I...I didn't know how you would react, and I needed us to both be clear headed."

Silence stretched between the brothers now. Dean seemed so far away even though Sam was in arms length of him. It had been a crazy few months, going from one case after the other, all along knowing that Dean would lose his life at the end of the year. The anniversary of Sam's death.