A/N: Okay, I get that the last chapter was kind of brutal… And this one might not be much better… I'm sorry, I really am, but at the same time I'm not. Anyway, have fun :) R&R please :)
Hope woke up around eight thirty the next morning, alone in the bed. She wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or relieved that Dean wasn't there. She got up silently, padding to her room in search of some clean clothes and a shower. It was almost a half hour later when she walked downstairs, her hair still damp, dressed in her black jeans and a plain black t-shirt under her leather jacket.
She walked into the kitchen, looking at Dean warily when he turned to her and smiled, pouring her a cup of coffee and then going back to flipping some pancakes and cooking bacon. "Happy Birthday." He said, smiling at her.
She smiled hesitantly, sitting at the table. He walked by a minute later, his arms full of food. It smelled great. Hope's stomach grumbled, but she didn't eat, even when Dean sat down and looked at her expectantly. "Oh come on, Hope, my cooking isn't that bad."
"No, Dean-" She picked at the table cloth- "Today… I was wondering if, because, you know…"
"Yeah." He said softly, "I will. I'll come. We can stay as long as you want."
She smiled a little. Real, this time. Dean met her gaze, looking into her eyes. "Good. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He said, grinning. "Now, eat, 'cause I got a long day planned."
-666-
After they'd eaten, Dean had insisted that he wash the dishes because it was her birthday. "Just chill, okay? I'll get ready, and then we can go."
"Okay." She said, going upstairs slowly. She knew exactly what she was going to do.
She headed upstairs, walking past Dean's room and into her own. She sighed as she turned the light on and sat at her desk. She hadn't been here in almost two weeks. She got out a piece of paper and an old stack of envelopes that she'd taken from Darry's room before she left.
She grabbed a black pen, just like she had so many years before, but unlike before, this time she knew exactly what she was going to write.
-666-
A half hour later, both of them stood in the middle of a field, littered with trees, gravestones everywhere. Hope walked mechanically, clutching a white, unmarked, sealed letter in her hand. Her eyes looked glazed, and she was taking short, shallow breaths.
Dean, on impulse, reacher between them and grabbed her free hand in his. It was freezing cold.
Hope stopped under a huge, winding oak tree that looked older than time. She swallowed, clenching her jaw, and dropped to her knees in front of the grave stone underneath it. "Hey, Mom." She croaked, tears falling from her eyes.
Dean kneeled next to her, still holding her hand. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. He felt the cold dew from the morning seeping through his jeans and soaking his knees, but he didn't care. All he cared about was Hope, and holding her close.
"I'm- I'm so sorry, mom. I am." Hope said, her voice cracking. "You know… I used to imagine you. What you'd be like… What you'd say to me, what my life would be like with you in it. How much better it would be." She clutched the envelope tighter, "I never knew you, and you never knew me, but I love you. I love you and I miss you, and I hope you're somewhere, watching me. And I hope you love me. That's all I ever wanted." Hope croaked, wrapping her arms around her stomach as her grief hit her full-force. "And Darry…" She gasped, sobbing, "He loved you so, so, much, mom. So much…"
Dean hugged her tighter, pulled her closer, as if he could keep her grief from shattering her entirely.
Hope put the envelope on the ground with a shaky hand, "Goodbye, mom."
Dean sat there, holding her. Letting her cry on him for as long as she needed. And she did; she cried for herself, because she had lost everyone she had ever loved. She cried for her mother, who had died for her. She cried for Darry, her brother who had sacrificed everything for her, until he had nothing left to give. She cried for her father, the man he used to be. She cried until there were no tears left. And then she sat there, shaking in his arms, wrapping herself in his warmth until she forgot the world entirely.
A/N: Okay… this was pathetically short, but I literally have no time on my hands. November break is coming up, and I'll write a shit ton then, I promise! R&R pleassssseeeeeeee :)
-Also, I actually really love reading your reviews. They make me sooo happy :) I hope you guys are enjoying the story