Don't Go Eating My Heart

Broken Brothers

This chapter takes place during Season 4 Episode 21 & 22. I am not responsible for spoilers in the comments.

Bobby had called Dean a few hours ago with an update that Sam was most likely in Cold Spring, Minnesota, and that was the town they were driving through now.

"Do you know where he's staying?" Marley spoke up quietly.

There hadn't been much spoken between the two on the ride and Dean didn't even have music playing. Marley could tell there was a lot going through his mind, so she just let him think in silence.

"There's only two places in town; he'll go for the more expensive one. Stay in the honeymoon suite."

Marley tilted her head. Every time she had been with them they were always in some crappy motel room.

"He's doing the opposite of everything he normally does." Realization slowly dawned on her. "Because you know all his habits and he's trying to throw you off his scent."

Dean offered a nod and nothing more. He pulled into the parking lot of a nice looking hotel and turned off the engine. The silence spread across them now that the engine had fallen silent.

Dean breathed a heavy sigh. "Alright. I'm going in. Stay here."

"Are you kidding me? I just rode 4 hours with you in a car and you're telling me to stay put? Heck no."

Her hand reached for the door handle and was about to yank it open.

"Marley."

His voice was unusually quiet and Marley's gaze moved over to look at him. His hands were still grasped on the steering wheel and he didn't look at her.

"Please."

When he spoke, there was almost a slight shake to his voice, his nerves coming through. Marley felt the fight drain out of her and her hand slowly dropped from the handle onto her lap. This was something he needed to do by himself. Sam was his brother and he felt responsible for him- Marley had to respect that.

"Okay."

Dean's gaze moved to meet hers and she could see the thanks in them. But she also saw the weight of the pressure he was feeling. He was the last hope they had of getting Sam back. The door squeaked open and closed as Dean exited the car and headed towards the hotel. She noticed how his steps seemed slow, as if he wanted to do anything but confront his brother- and who could blame him?

In that moment she decided. 6 minutes. She would give him 6 minutes, and then she was going in after him.

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Marley got out of the car and headed towards the building. She had no idea what had gone down with the boys or whether things were still going down. The goal was to get Sam back, not push him even further away. That was the thought racing through her head as she rode the elevator to the top floor. The doors opened and she took a deep inhale, trying to locate the boys. She was overwhelmed by the smell of rotten eggs- but that was all she smelled before the sound of glass shattering grabbed her attention. Her feet carried her to the door and she threw it open before she even realized what she was doing. This was gonna be real awkward if it wasn't Sam's room.

She almost gasped in surprise at the sight in front of her. Dean was laying on the floor with Sam straddled on top of him. There was a gash on Dean's forehead, a bloody lip, and blood coming out of his nose. Sam didn't seem to be much worse for the wear besides a split lip. But the thing that shocked her was Sam choking Dean. Marley could see he was almost out of air and she didn't hesitate as she ran over and body slammed Sam off of him.