The sun reached other parts of the cemetery, passersby might notice, but no matter where it was in the sky, it never seemed to hit the two graves under the pines.

Samuel Fay Winchester
July 19, 1982 – February 4, 2023
John 15:13

Dean Benjamin Winchester
March 1, 1978 – August 18, 2023
"There was no him
Without his brother"

Ben sat and stared, as he did every year, waiting for a hand to break the surface. Dean and Sam always came back. It was written in the laws of the universe.

"Ben!" Kaitlin rushed up to her boyfriend and snagged him by the shoulder. "I found us a job."

Ben glanced back at the headstones and nodded. "I'll be there in a moment. Just need to say good-bye."

Kaitlin sighed, but nodded, running back to the near-antique '67 Chevy Impala that Ben insisted they keep in good condition.

The young man turned back to the hunter's graves. "I don't know if you can hear me, guys, but… Hunting's hard!" He laughed breathlessly. "I didn't want to drag anyone into it, but Kaitlin's got no-one, and she knows plenty about things that go bump in the night, believe me. I just…. I wish you guys were here to see. And you know, to help. Half the time, I've got no idea what to do. I could really use some advice." He took a deep breath. "Why haven't you come back? It's been four years. That's four hundred down there, I thought. Can you come back? Do you even want to come back?!" He kicked the grave, sending dirt flying, then falling to his knees. "I don't understand…."

There was no answer from the graves.

Ben stood and squared his shoulders, wiping a few stray tears away from his face. "I'm taking good care of Baby. I thought you might want to know it. I've gotta get back on the road now. I'll see you guys again next year."

He turned and got into the car, driving away on the narrow dirt road.

Only seconds after the roar of the motor faded, two pale hands reached out, trembling for want of oxygen.

…oOo…

A/N: That happened. Okay. Still haven't seen any more of Supernatural than last time, so sorry for any OOC-ness on Ben's part, and may I just say: Jensen and Jared shipping their kids together is the most adorkable thing ever.

Anywho, middle names. Canonically, Sam and Dean don't have them, but hey – it's fanfiction! I chose Fay for Sam, because my dad is Samuel Fay, so it's something I know flows well. It depends on what culture you're from, but it can mean anything from "faithful" to "fairy-like". Dean's was harder, originally I was considering Patrick, but that just seemed stilted to me. Finally, I consulted the god of names – no, not Rumplestiltskin – the internet. It took me a while to find one I liked, but eventually I settled on Benjamin, which means "Son of my right hand". In modern terms, that basically translates to "Daddy's favorite boy". *shrugs*

Hope you enjoyed Dean and Sam coming back from the dead for the millionth time! Leave a review if you found something I did wrong (that doesn't have to do with my choice in names) or if you really, really liked it. Or if you just really liked it, I'll take either. The number of reallys doesn't matter all that much.

See you around!

Namarië!
~River