AN: How I imagined the scene went down...
Many many thanks to Val for betaing!
The minute the words left his mouth they sounded cold even to his own ears. Creepy even. He saw Dean look away and turned back to the wishing well. If Dean was holding things back then so could he.
Because truthfully there was only one thing he would wish for.
_-_-_
Sam watched Dean walk off the dock to where they parked the Impala, broad shoulders slumped. Eyes full of emotions he tried to hide.
Sam didn't follow.
He turned his gaze to the water, watching it ripple as it lapped against the pier. Dean had told him the truth and Sam was not about to disregard that. It was so much easier for the older Winchester to lock things away and bury them in flippancy and sarcasm. It had taken a lot to admit the truth and Sam could appreciate that. He wasn't even mad at Dean for not wanting to explain.
It wasn't like Dean was the only one holding things back. There were things about the past, things that happened during those four months apart that he would rather Dean never found out. But his secrets weren't eating him alive inside.
Really…they weren't.
Sam's mind traveled back to the wishing well; to the moment of sincerity between the two brothers. Dean had asked him a real question, and he realized that maybe he should have answered.
He wouldn't wish for his old life back, it really was too late. He wouldn't wish for Jess, Mom or even for Dad—though it still hurt like heck to be without them. Still, how could he tell Dean that there was honestly only one thing he wanted to wish for at that moment?
He wanted his big brother to forget, he wanted himself to forget, everything that had happened in those four months they were apart. He wanted to take a cosmic eraser and blotch out all of the pain from that separation. He didn't want to hear Dean tossing in the turmoil of his nightmares for one more night. Didn't want to see Urial's eyes in his head every time he closed his eyes.
Those things were more than one wish could handle.
He glanced toward the car and saw Dean watching him. No amount of pain Dean was feeling for himself would stop him from keeping an eye on his little brother. Because some things never changed.
"You coming Sammy?"
Sammy. The younger Winchester let a smile caress his lips. Their lives were hard, and they had to fight for everything they got. No wish could undo that, just like Dean told West. But miserable? Sam honestly wouldn't use that word to describe his life.
Because Dean was back and he was Sammy. Everything else they could figure out from there.