"No, Dean."

"Sammy …"

"I said no. Just freaking no."

"Sam … it's me, or the world goes down in darkness."

"Does it? Fine. Let it go."

"You don't mean that."

"No? Is this why we've spent our whole lives saving people, Dean? People who don't even know … know who we are or … or what we've lost? Is this why I lost Jessica? Is it why you lost Mom? Is it why we lost Dad and Bobby and Jo and Ellen and Charlie? Is this why, Dean? So Chuck can just wave you somewhere, and you can get the drop on The Darkness and die a fiery death?" Sam's tears rolled down his face unchecked, the muscles in his mouth trying desperately to keep him from screaming out his anguish. "I mean, is this our reward? Is it? Is it our payback for a lifetime of saving people and hunting things? Because if it is, that's a pretty sucky reward, Dean!"

Dean stood still, meeting his brother's eyes. Out of everyone gathered, he knew this would be hardest on his brother.

"Sammy, listen to me." He cradled Sam's face in both hands. "You think I'm doing this for them? Hunh? Think I'm doing it for all those people we don't know? You think I'm doing it for Dad? Hunh? For Cas? Cause I'm not, Sam." Dean stared into his brother's eyes and willed him to get it. "It's not over for you, okay? You get to go on … to wake up tomorrow and see the sun shining again. You get another do-over, another birthday. You get to go … go get drunk or sing karaoke or … or freaking stretch out naked on the hood of the Impala and watch the stars all night."

Sam sob-snorted then - a messy, snotty laugh that lacked many things, mirth most of all.

Dean held his face fast. "Cause I'm not, Sammy. Okay? I don't give a rat's ass about any of this … this shitstorm we got sucked into, you hear me? It ain't out of no sense of duty or out of some … some misguided belief that I'm destined to save the world, okay? The world wants to burn? I'd say let it freakin' burn … except for one thing."

"Dean …"

"Just … just let me say this, okay? You see … when I was four, this responsibility got handed to me, Sam. It got placed right in my arms, and I ain't ever looked back since. And I never will. I need you to get this, Sammy. I. Will. Never. Stop. Looking. Out. for. You."

Sam tried to speak but couldn't. It couldn't end like this. Not here. Not now. Not like this. He shook his head, face destroyed.

Dean smiled back - that cocky smirk pasted firmly into place. "It's gonna be okay, Sammy." He whispered where only his little brother could hear. "I promise. Now hug me Sasquatch, and then get the hell out of my way." Dean pulled him close, eyes closing.

And Sam hung on, eyes shut tight, body wracked with smothered sobs. He gripped his brother in an embrace that overrode every argument they'd ever had - it transcended Stanford and Ruby and all the gates of hell. It was a hug that dispelled every hard feeling, every fleeting moment of betrayal. It was an embrace that spoke of two small boys huddled together on a couch during an epic thunderstorm. It echoed small, cold hands tucked into bigger pockets to warm on a cold, winter night. It held all the comfort of two shared cups of hot coffee after a heart-bruising fight and of half a warm, glazed donut on a damp motel morning.

And Sam couldn't let it go. He couldn't.

"I'm coming with you." He whispered.

Dean stiffened, shaking his head. "No way."

Sam pulled back, taking his turn to make his brother listen. "Nothing's ever gonna be right again, Dean. You can't ask me to go on alone. It's not fair. We've always been a team, right?" He snorted, swiping at his eyes. "It doesn't end here, not now, not like this. You go. I go. That's the deal."

"Sam …"

"No. You want to look out for me? Make sure I'm okay? This is how you do it. 'Cause if you do this - if you sacrifice yourself like this - I won't be okay. It will never be okay, Dean. Do you understand?" Sam confessed, his heart shattered and falling in pieces at his brother's feet. "You can call me a girl or say this is a chick moment, but I don't care. You're all I've ever had in this whole, miserable life, and I'm not letting you leave me behind now. You wanna do this? Fine. You're taking me with you. I'm your kid brother. Your responsibility. You can't leave me all alone. Dad said so." Sam joked as he finished, the corners of his mouth wet with tears.

Dean choked on that - those last words.

Sam was right.

Dad would've kicked his ass for this.

He stood before Sam, wanting more than anything to just walk away right now, to turn around and just let Chuck flick him off to wherever The Darkness was hanging out these days.

Sam would be safe then.

The kid he'd pulled from the fire, the boy he'd raised to adulthood through all the fights, the squabbles, the angst of sibling rivalry - he'd be safe if Dean just walked away right now. He'd live to fight another day.

But Dean never could walk away from Sam.

Not ever.

He stared intensely at his brother, tilting his head - offering a slow blink and a smile in acquiescence. "Come on, then, Sasquatch. Let's go blow The Darkness back to hell."

Sam snorted in relief, a sudden smile breaking like the freaking dawn over hurricane seas. And Dean laughed in spite of himself.

God, that face.

The two turned to face Chuck, a united wall of Winchester courage - mortared together with a brotherly bond that God himself was reluctant to rend.

Chuck nodded, smiling sadly in proud approval, and waved his hand …

-THE END-