My sister and I were very close in age (16 months), so we fought - hair pulling, hitting and kicking. I'm just guessing we two toddlers didn't have much sympathy for each other. But I do believe a few years between us might have seen a different, more caretaker dynamic on my part as the older sibling. It certainly was that way when I was nearly nine and my brother came along.

Oh, ditto - nine years between me and WeeSisterJay, and there was no physical fighting. Maybe some psychological torture (like lying in wait under her bed and then grabbing and biting her ankle when she woke up and got out of bed, so she screamed and screamed and screamed and grew up having to launch herself off the bed and across the room for fear of The Monster Under The Bed...) but no beating up type stuff.

I just can't buy Dean *abusing* Sam. Getting frustrated with him, maybe resentful of his caretaker role sometimes, sure. But everything I know about Dean goes against some kind of actual physical abuse.

My little brother was totally a scratcher, which was a BITCH.

I just can't buy Dean *abusing* Sam. Getting frustrated with him, maybe resentful of his caretaker role sometimes, sure. But everything I know about Dean goes against some kind of actual physical abuse.

...but I can't remember how old he was supposed to be, if we ever found out. 14, maybe?

The fact that they were both attending the same high school is interesting. They are more than four years apart in age, and one would assume Sam would be in the 8th grade (middle school) if Dean was in the 12th grade (a senior). But because they are both attending high school, this leads me to believe Sam might have skipped a grade and was high school freshman at age 13. He certainly had the smarts, so it's in the realm of possibility. Then in May, Sam would turn 14, while Dean would have turned 18 the January prior.

At least, that's how I'm reconciling canon for their schooling as shown in After School Special.

Maybe some psychological torture...

Oh, indeed! Both were fair game for the psychological torture.

I'm an only child, but I certainly abetted my friends in the torment of their younger siblings.

I honestly try and avoid getting my brother who is two years younger in a conversation about sibling rivalry. He comes up with these outrageous stories about lawn darts and firecrackers being thrown at him. I can usually counter with the hole in a door that kindly took the blow from a baseball bat instead of me. He completely denies that part.

Yeah, siblings are not a safe group.

Am I the only one who really really does not want a season six? It is not that I fear that season six would be bad. (If it was we would still have 1-5, and could pretend it never happened.) But what scares me is the possibility beign slowed down and stretch with filler to cover two seasons, and being ruined. If they have season six, I still want them to finish season five, the apocalpyse happens or not, the world is saved or destroyed, or the battle turns out to be really long run so we have thousands of year yet, or whatever. And the season six does something else good or bad that is fine. But I want the main points of season five resolved in season five. In the (apparently extremely unlikely event) of a season six do freakin something else. Invent a new twist, take a chance, it works or not. But don't ruin freakin season five! Probably an unnecesary rant cause from the clarification a season six does not seem in the work. But I just don't want the slim chance of an extra season wrecking what we have.

I just can't buy Dean *abusing* Sam.

Just to clarify, in my original post I brought it up as a "what if" scenario. I'm not saying that I think Dean has been beating on Sam all his life. I DO think that I personally would be a bit happier if he would talk and listen once in a while before resorting to physically expressing his anger, frustration, depression, worry, whatever.

And my other point remains: other than after the point where Sam leaves Bobby's demon/panic room and starts swinging when Dean confronts him, I'm drawing a blank trying to remember any time that Sam fights back. Dean pushes Sam, Sam probably pushes back, although I'm not remembering him doing so. Dean punches Sam, Sam just absorbs it and doesn't hit back. This implies an inequality to me; it's not two equally matched men (which they would be) fighting one another, it's one hurting the other one without any retaliation.

I know it's not as dramatically interesting, but I do prefer them as a united force against all the evil sons of bitches and deemonic forces out there.