Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed my last story, "First Word". :)

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A Wrong Righted.

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Dean drew back his arm and with the full force of his considerable strength, separated the vamp's head from his body in one smooth stroke.

Even before the head dropped to the ground, he was by his brother's side, slaughtering his way through the little ring of undead that had surrounded Sam.

He sometimes teased Sam about being a monster magnet, but often he seemed to be just that, attracting them with some invisible neon light that said 'Monsters this way'.

Dean had come to the conclusion that they sensed the latent goodness in his brother, and were drawn to him for the pleasure it gave to try and snuff it out, while the darkness they sensed in Dean's soul made them wary; and Dean knew that his soul was black as hell, despite the fact that he was the designated vessel of the purest archangel himself. "Balls!" Bobby would have said, Dean thought, smiling to himself at the old man's memory.

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His younger sibling was an experienced, strong and capable hunter but Dean knew that Sam had his own reasons for continuing to hunt.

Unlike himself, his heart wasn't completely in it. Dean was the one who lived for hunting. Sam hunted to protect Dean's back, and Dean acknowledged wryly that Sammy had saved his ass hundreds of times.

x

"You okay, dude?" Dean gasped trying to get his breath back.

"I'm good," Sam nodded, his chest rising and falling with the effort he had put in to decapitate the vamps.

"Let's go get cleaned up," Dean said, clapping a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I need a couple of beers after this little killing orgy. I really hate these blood-sucking freaks!"

Unnoticed by the usually attentive Dean, Sam's face paled to white. The words Dean had just spoken were the same ones he had once used to describe him.

Sam remembered how it had hurt, how Dean's words had pierced his very soul; maybe he had deserved them, he didn't know any more, but at the time, when he was having doubts over what he was about to do with Ruby, the pain had made him abandon any hesitation and he'd gone ahead, unknowingly freeing Lucifer and starting the Apocalypse.

His big brother had told him in that voice-mail what he really thought of him, and Sam was aware that without his brother's love his own life was worth nothing anyway.

He still had that message saved in his phone. His finger had hovered over the cancel button many times but he had never pressed it. It was his private little piece of Hell; a reminder of what he really was.

X

X

Sam looked on amused as Dean tried out his charm on the curvaceous bar-maid, but she was well used to the propositions made to her by clients, and she gave him the cold shoulder, but Sam knew that Dean loved a challenge and his brother would no doubt be sleeping out tonight.

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"So, Sammy," Dean said turning his attention back to his brother. "One less nest of vamps in the world. Remember Lenore telling us they were dying out, well they must have gone on a binge or something, 'cos there seem to be a lot more than ever."

""Yeah, maybe the Alpha vamp set up a recruiting programme. "Uncle Alpha needs you!" Sam joked.

"Dude, that has to be the cheesiest thing you've said in a while!" Dean commented rolling his eyes.

x

"Well, maybe I should join up. I've got good references," Sam said unexpectedly, his mood changing completely.

Dean looked at him askance. "Don't you just love being enigmatic, College boy? Now what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, catching the bitter tone in Sam's voice.

"Nothing," Sam replied, trying to deflect what he had said, realising he had piqued Dean's curiosity. "I was just being stupid."

This time though, Dean had picked up on all of Sam's tells.

Something was bothering his brother and he would find out what!

"Oh no, Sammy! You've got something stewing in that freaky head of yours, so out with it! I'm so going down on your ass until you spill, so better sooner than later," Dean warned. "You gotta explain why you would be vamp material!"

x

"Just let it go, Dean. If you don't remember then there's no point." Sam sighed, sipping his beer.

"Whoa, there , Samantha! "If I don't remember!" ? Just what are you insinuating here?" Dean asked gripping his brother's arm, truly puzzled now by his words.

"Nothing, man. Just let it go... please!" Sam muttered, conscious of the bar-maid looking on curiously at them.

"No way. Spit it out, or I swear, I'll...!"

"You'll what," Sam answered, a sudden anger building up inside him. His brother's words had hurt so much back then, but for Dean not to remember uttering them, added insult to injury.

"You said those words to me, Dean! You called me a blood-sucking freak, a vampire, and now you're saying you don't even remember saying them."

Dean gaped at him as if he had gone crazy, a similar anger building up in him too.

"What the hell are you talking about, Sam? I would never have said that to you. Come on!" he said yanking Sam off the stool and pushing him towards the door. "No point in making a n exhibition of ourselves for all to see!"

x

Dean manhandled his brother to the Impala. "Now then. Just what is all this about?

Sam took a breath, trying to understand. He could see the confusion in his big brother's eyes, so he pulled out his phone. "Just before I went to the chapel to free Lucifer, you sent me a voice mail; this one," Sam explained as he let Dean hear it.

Dean's voice came forth clearly from the speaker as the message played.

"Listen to me, you bloodsucking freak. Dad always said I'd either have to save you or kill you. Well, I'm giving you fair warning. I'm done trying to save you. You're a monster, Sam - a vampire. You're not you any more. And there's no going back."

Dean stared stunned at the phone in Sam's hand as if it had morphed into Crowley himself.

He shook his head in disbelief.

"I never uttered those words Sammy. You gotta believe me, man!" He lifted his eyes to his brother's. "Look into my eyes Sam. You gotta see that I'm telling the truth."

Sam looked and he saw.

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"Then how?" he asked confused.

"Sammy," Dean said gently. " I did send you a voice-mail when I was in the green room, but it wasn't that!" he pointed disgustedly at the cell in Sam's hand.

" I can't remember it word for word but I said we were brothers, family...! Sammy... wait...I can prove it!" he added excitedly. "When that Apocalypse shit started, I began saving all my mails on my computer, I still do. Never know when some bit of info or a precise date might come in useful."

"Really?" Sam commented, raising an eye brow.

"Yeah, really! You surprised you're not the only computer geek in the family?" Dean smirked as he opened the trunk, pulled out his lap top and booted it up.

Before long, Dean's voice could be heard.

X

" Hey, it's me. Uh...
(clears throat)
Look, I'll just get right to it. I'm still pissed... and I owe you a serious beat down. But... I shouldn't have said what I said. You know, I'm not Dad. We're brothers. You know, we're family. And, uh... no matter how bad it gets, that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm sorry. "

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"That shit you've been saving on your phone is just that; shit!" Dean said as the message ended. " Some of those angel/demon douche-bags must have altered it to make sure you went through with Ruby's plan.

I would never have said those words to you. This is the message I sent, and God am I glad I saved it, for otherwise you'd always have doubted, 'cos you always think you're not deserving of anything Sammy, but you are, and I'm just gonna say this once, so you'd better remember it.

There's nothing past, present or future that I'd ever put before you, and even if you had been a blood-sucking freak, I still wouldn't have deserted my little brother!

I went to Hell for you, Sammy and though we've said that when our time comes we're not gonna make any deals to save each another, I'm telling you now man, so you'll know. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep to that. I'm not sure I can ever stop trying to save you, Sammy."

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Sam stood ecstatically shocked, unable to believe in this all-embracing avowal of Dean's love for him.

He took a step forward and folded himself into his big brother's arms.

Sam couldn't understand how Dean could love him despite all his flaws, yet he did, and Sam's tears slid unchecked down Dean's back as they held on to each other, a two-man island in a capricious uncertain world.

Dean let hs little brother hang on for as long as he needed, then pushing back, sentenced.. "Cancel that bull-shit from your phone, Sammy, and the next time any weird mails turn up, ask me about them. You hear me now, little brother!" he said giving him one last shake.

"Yeah, man. I hear you. And thanks Dean. You don't know how good it makes me feel that you didn't say...!"

"Oh, shut up and get in the car, Samantha!"

And Sam did.

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The enD.