Like 'In the Company of Friends', this is a one shot that has nothing to do with 'Behind Closed Doors' or 'Kindred to the Devil'.

It is a Shadow tag - I just felt there was something Sam wasn't telling Dean Phoenix

Happily Ever After

The Story

"It can't happen," Sam said quietly, out of the blue as the black Impala sped down dark wet streets and into the night, away from shadow spirits, psychotic girls, and… and their father.

"What?" Dean didn't look at him, just continued to stare ahead, focusing on the thin yellow line in the center of the road. He sounded annoyed and the younger boy sighed, not blaming him in the least but still responding to it nevertheless.

"Being a family again… The three of us. It can't happen."

The older boy's jaw twitched and he growled, "Drop it Sam."

Sam winced and stared out the side window for a few more miles before he tried again.

"You don't understand-"he flinched this time at the undisguised anger in his brother's voice.

"I understand perfectly. You don't want to be part of this family. Fine. We'll be better off without you anyway."

"Dean, please-"Sam was determined but his brother wasn't having at it.

"Just shut up."

Defeated by the animosity in the tone, Sam nodded, not trusting his voice, and continued to look out the window. He didn't blame Dean at all. He just wanted him to understand.

…

Dean drove until dawn, stopping to rest only long enough to fuel the car before continuing on. The silence was strained and when they finally pulled up outside a small roadside motel and got a room, he didn't acknowledge Sam at all; merely went straight into the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Sam watched him go and never said anything. Not even when his brother came back out with the suture kit and sat on the bed beckoning for him to sit as well.

Dean stitched Sam; Sam stitched Dean and the silence was thick enough to stitch them both...

…

That night things were no better. The brothers had slept – or in Sam's case pretended to sleep – until nightfall. They were both stiff and sore; their bodies raw with the tension that hung between them. It was even worse now than it had been even after the Asylum incident; this time because Sam's words weren't spawned by a possession…

Sam tried to talk to his brother, but anytime he started to say something, Dean would just grunt or turn up the volume on the TV.

Finally, his nerves unable to take it any longer; the twenty-two year old grabbed his jacket and left the room. He didn't bother to tell his brother where he was going because, in all honesty, he had no idea. He just needed to get out…

He ended up not going very far; surprisingly hesitant about being away from Dean. Although not surprising really, all things considered…

So the young hunter paced the parking lot.

…

Dean wasn't oblivious to what was going on. He knew Sam wanted to tell him something, but he wasn't ready to listen yet. He didn't want to hear his brother try and justify why he was going to leave, in an attempt to alleviate his own guilt; to make himself feel better. Sam would want Dean to say he understood and that it was okay, but it wasn't. Not this time and not to Dean.

Sighing, the older boy stood up and moved towards the window to see where his brother was going. He couldn't help himself. Old habits died hard and just because he was angry and hurt, didn't mean he didn't care anymore, or that he could just shrug off a lifetime of habits… He was, after all, still the big brother.

Dean watched Sam pacing in the parking lot for a few more minutes before going back over to his bed and lying down. If the kid hadn't gone anywhere by now, he wasn't going to.

Sighing he thought about his father and then shook his head. 'My whole family is so fucked.' He closed his eyes and waited for his brother to come back inside.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

It was almost an hour later before Sam returned to the room. He saw Dean lying on the bed, watching him as he came in through the door. They made brief eye contact before the older boy shut his eyes again, blocking his brother out as effectively as any barrier.

Sam sat on the edge of his bed and stared at Dean. He knew this would garner some sort of response. His brother hated to be watched, unless, of course, you were of the female persuasion and then he considered it being 'appreciated' not 'watched.'

"Stop staring at me," Dean groused, not opening his eyes and Sam couldn't help but snort.

"I thought I was the psychic."

"No, you're the freak."

Sam decided sarcasm was a definite step up in the other boy's mood. Bolstered by this, he just blurted out before Dean could shut him out again; desperate to talk to his brother. "I'm going to die."

That worked.

Dean's eyes flew open and he glared at him. "Not funny Sam."

"I'm not trying to be funny," the younger Winchester admitted; his hazel eyes intense but sincere. "I'm being honest."

The older boy continued to glare at him, silently bidding him to explain. Sam sat back, feeling the exhaustion of the past couple of days folding in on him. His voice was quiet and strangely lacking any emotion when he spoke again. "Do you remember when we went home – back to Lawrence – and we saw Mom?"

"Of course I do," Dean's voice was more gruff than he intended.

"She told me she was sorry… and I didn't know what she meant at the time… but now I do." Sam paused and held his brother's gaze. His own, surprisingly apologetic. "It's coming for me, Dean - soon - that thing that killed Mom. And when it does, you and Dad will get your chance to kill it…finally."

Dean stared at his brother, momentarily speechless. He opened his mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come.

Sam smiled gently, "Now that's not something you see every day… Dean at a loss for words."

"Sammy-" the amount of anguish in that one word brought a lump to Sam's throat and the smile vanished.

"It's okay Dean. Really it is. I'm glad that I can finally end this for you guys, you know but- but… well-" he had no idea what he wanted to say. He sucked in a breath surprised when Dean sat up on his bed, swung his legs over the side and scrubbed his face tiredly. He looked at Sam.

"You've seen this?"

Sam nodded, forcing the words. They were a whisper that somehow managed to get past the lump, "Yeah…. and it's always the same"

Dean sighed heavily, "Shit."

"That's why-"the younger boy doggedly pressed on, trying to make his brother understand. "That's why, when you said you wanted us to be – to be a family again… I said it wasn't going to happen." He felt his eyes burning and hastily wiped at them. He was not going to cry. "It can't Dean. You and Dad can… but I- I can't!" Damn his resolve, he blinked harder and moved to get up but Dean reached out and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"Sammy, I'm sorry," Dean started but the younger boy stopped him.

"Please Dean, don't-"Sam pulled his arm away, "it's just the way it's got to be." He could pretend about a future with school and a normal life, but he knew better… it would never be for him. Maybe Dean. In the future. If he wanted it.

"Bullshit!" The older boy was on his feet and the amount of ferocity in the word startled his brother who moved back a step. "It's not the way it's got to be." He paused and then added; his eyes hard and determined. "It's just the way it might be… but I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen! That freak demon can't have you. I won't let it!"

"You can't stop it!" Sam protested, haunted by the reoccurring visions of his own death. He shuddered as he could still feel the demon feeding on him; its appetite distracting it from the real dangers. John and Dean. But his brother was nodding his vehemently:

"Yes I can."

"How?" the younger boy challenged, his eyes searching the others face.

"How?" Dean was incredulous. The answer seemed so obvious to him. "Because I'm Dean, kiddo, and I say so."

"Well then," Sam said after a moment, taken aback by the amount of conviction in his brother's voice, "okay.. I guess." He wasn't totally convinced that Dean could stop this vision from coming true, just because he was Dean, but it was enough for now to know his brother was willing to try.

"Good." Dean flashed him a cocky grin as he moved away from the beds; and then Sam actually laughed as he caught tail end of his brother's next comment just before Dean closed the bathroom door. "I'll get my happily ever after yet, God-damnit!"

And for some reason, Sam did not doubt it in the least.

-The End-