(starts after "The Dark Side of the Moon" up to "Don't Call me Shurly." Ever since Dean threw away the amulet I knew Sam couldn't just leave it behind in that motel room. Here's what happened to it. I've had this as part of my head canon for years, so glad to see it finally happen for real! My ending wasn't part of the episode, we'll have to wait and see how Dean reacts next week.)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
The amulet fell into the trash can with a metal clink that echoed through the empty space that stretched between them like a giant chasm. Dean left the room without glancing back.
Sam swallowed hard, because he knew this was one of those moments where he knew he shouldn't cry. It was against the unspoken code of being a grown-up Winchester. You don't cry for sentimental reasons.
You can cry when you wreck the world.
You can cry when your brother dies.
You can cry when you girlfriend burns.
But you can't cry when all your brother does is toss away a bit of jewelry that was useless anyway.
So Sam didn't cry. He took two steps forward, lifted the necklace out of the trash can and tucked it in his pocket. Dean didn't even notice the pause. Sam exited the motel and tossed his bag in the trunk as if nothing had happened.
But the space between them was palpable. If heaven and hell wanted them to fight, they were one step closer to victory. The drive was silent as both brothers remembered what had happened in heaven.
Dean stared at the road, refusing to look at his brother for hours.
Sam sat with his hand in his pocket, the amulet warm in his palm.
He had lost Dean's trust, he knew that.
He might never be able to get it back.
But he did know, now, that he could trust himself. He would never be a demon's pawn again.
Maybe, someday Dean would learn to see it. Maybe, someday, he would wish he hadn't thrown the amulet away.
Maybe, someday, they would stop fighting, stop hunting, have a home, be at peace.
Sam kept the amulet in his pocket, a bit of hope made of metal and string.
He held it tight in the pit, when Lucifer made him hurt a thousand different ways.
He kept it close when the Leviathan threatened to turn the world into a human cattle ranch.
He took it out in the privacy of his own room while the trials wrecked his body.
He didn't let Gadreel throw it out when the angel destroyed everything else.
He knew where it was every moment he spent looking for his un-dead brother and a cure for the Mark.
For eight years it stayed in his pocket, a bit of hope made of metal and string.
Until the day Dean found it there, glowing bright.
"Hey!" Dean glowered at his bother. "This is mine!"
Sam quirked his eyebrows. "I thought you didn't want it."
Dean didn't answer, just put the necklace around his neck again. "Don't take my stuff."
Sam's pocket was empty again, but that was okay.
Whatever happened next, the chasm between the brothers that had existed that day when the amulet landed in the trash can was gone for good. Not even the Darkness could take that away.
