Disclaimer: They're not my, but oh boy if they were…! ;-)

A/N: Sam is being tormented by the woman he loves… is it enough to drive him over the edge or can Dean figure it out in time to save his life? No season two spoilers, coz we live in Australia and we don't have season two yet. 

Chapter Ten: Farewells & Just Desserts

Dean and Sam were laying exhausted on their perspective beds back in their motel room. It was well past midnight and John was sealing an envelope and leaving it on the desk for them to find in the morning. He was reluctant to leave them after the ordeal they had been through over the week, but he knew he had to go. They weren't safe with him around, they didn't know what he was up to in his own hunt and he knew they would be concerned, but also become targets themselves.

He approached Sam, the baby in the family, and checked his back. He was laying on his stomach because his back hurt too much, so John lifted his shirt and checked the wound from when he had landed on the rock. The forming bruise was darker than it had been several hours ago and was going to hurt a hell of a lot more in the morning. But otherwise he was healthy and would survive to hunt yet again – although John wondered if that were even a good idea. He had nearly lost both his sons tonight and wandered if he would be able to convince them to give up the hunt… or if he would be able to convince himself to ask them.

He turned to Dean, who was lying on his left side facing Sam's bed, favouring his right shoulder. He checked his injury and realised that he would be very stiff in the morning, but would still survive to fight another day. John couldn't believe how lucky they had gotten today, and after the briefing from Sam and Dean about everything that had happened that John himself had been unable to see, he knew that there had been a lot more working for them than he had ever been aware of.

Sighing deeply, grateful of having spent the last several hours with his injured, yet healthy, sons but knowing that now it had come time to leave. He wished he could stay longer, so they could laugh together and joke and talk about normal things. This week had been so emotional for them, for all of them, that he was certain they would need a break, but knowing the both of them as he did he knew they would just jump right back in and keep up the hunt.

John left, finally resigned to the fact that he must continue. A child prodigy needed his help before he was overcome by a demon who wanted the knowledge he had stored in his mind.

The door closed quietly with a click behind him

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The next morning, Dean awoke moments before Sam, but with their injuries they surfaced around the same time. They were stiff and sore and realised that they were going to be moving a little slower for the next few days.

"Do you think we need a holiday?" Sam asked. When he didn't get a response, he turned to see his brother standing over the table holding an envelop in his hands. It was blank, but Sam knew it was for them.

"You open it," Dean told him, handing the letter to Sam. "I've read enough notes from Dad to last me a lifetime."

Sam opened the letter and scanned it quickly before reading it aloud.

"Dearest boys,

I wish I could have stayed longer but as fellow hunters I know you understand that out there is someone who needs my help, and I cannot let them down. What am I saying? I've spent a lifetime of letting you both down, and it's the greatest regret I could ever hold in my heart.

I wanted to wake you before I left, but I knew you needed your rest. I hope you're not too sore this morning, and I hope you are feeling refreshed enough to hear the things that I wish I could have said in person.

Sam, you've always been so strong, so kind and so warm to everyone. You've made an amazing difference in this world, even when you weren't hunting. You're such an important part of this family, that when I thought I lost you today I didn't think I could continue. I know Dean thinks I was willing to sacrifice you for the greater good, and I'm sure that my actions after you… died… didn't help my case with him any, but I was suddenly faced with losing my entire family and I knew in my gut that you would want me to do nothing in that moment but protect your brother… so I did. I dug out the grave and did the best I could to save Dean from the same thing that had taken your life. Every move I made was agony knowing that I had failed my youngest son, who had depended on me, and trusted me with his secret… When it was all over, my world was collapsing around me and yet I was thanking God for the fact that He had spared Dean, that he hadn't taken my only other family from me. I couldn't bare to have lost the both of you. Now, honestly, I can put all of that into words, but what I felt when I saw you breathing, when you returned to us from beyond the grave, I couldn't even begin to explain what that felt like or what it meant to me.

Dean… my son, my constant ally, the one who never left my side even before our worlds were turned upside by your mothers death… I know you're probably still mad at me, you think I was offering Sammy up to you as a sacrifice to ensure we could get the job done, but I hope you understand now that I believed it was the only way we could save his life. I wont begin to understand how it was that he was returned to us, but I will tell you this right now: You have become a leader in your own right, and I promise that I will always listen to what you have to say from now on, and I will never ever lie to you, under any circumstances. I hope you can forgive me, and I hope that next time we meet, there'll be a hug and no bitterness. You've had more than your fair share of responsibility dumped on your shoulders from such a young age, and for that I'm so sorry. I didn't handle it very well, and I should have figured out a better way. But after everything you've been through, I'm so proud of who you have turned into, and I know that you will be destined to make changes to this world for the better. Both of you.

I'll miss you both more than I'll ever be able to explain.

Take care of each other above everything else, and I'll hope to see you really soon.

Love, Dad."

Sam folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.

"That wasn't quite what I expected," Dean admitted, taking the letter from his brother and tucking into the laptop bag. He cleared his throat, knowing there was nothing much else they could talk about regarding the letter or their father. They would run into each other again soon, he was sure, and hopefully one day they would have a normally family conversation. Maybe dinner. "So, Sammy, you hungry?"

Sam groaned as he tried to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Hungry?" he hesitated. "Actually, I am hungry…"

"Okay, well lets go get some breakfast and I was thinking, do you want to hang around for another day or two to rest and recuperate?" Dean offered, knowing that they both needed some time before the next hunt.

Sam shook his head.

"Hell no," he stated, as if it were the worst idea in the world. "Rest and recuperate for sure, but here? Get me outta here, man, seriously!"

Dean laughed, knowing that Sam was probably sick to… well, just sick of the place that by now would hold some of the worst memories of his life. He resolved to try and find somewhere peaceful for them to spend the next few days. Somewhere safe and peaceful, for that matter, he decided.

"Food?" Dean reiterated his original plan. They collected their bags and loaded them into the Impala, and after handing their keys in at the reception desk, headed into the centre of town in search of breakfast. "So, do you want to give that bacon and eggs another shot?"

"Nope," Sam shook his head, turned to face the opposite side of the road and pointing at the Ice Cream Place. "I wanna give that Sammy's Banana Split Ala Dean another shot!"

Dean laughed and sighed, following Sam across the road. He couldn't believe how relieved he felt, and in spite of feeling every aching muscle in his body, and the stiffness in his shoulder, seeing the spark in his brothers eye again after what seemed like forever lifted his spirits more than he realised was possible.

An hour later, after working their through their massive breakfast, they were back in the car. Sam was hunting through the road map, trying to find somewhere they could go to relax for a few days, while Dean hunted through his box of cassettes for a particular one. He slipped it in the tape player as Sam folded the map and told Dean their destination.

"No problemo," Dean agreed, thinking the name Silver Waters couldn't be too bad for a town that promised safety and comfort. He turned the key, pumped the gas and sped out of town.

By the time they got to the end of the street, The Yellow Submarine was blaring out of the speakers, causing Sam to give Dean a strange look. He couldn't for the life of him understand what would inspire him to play that particular tape. He was specifically a Metallica type of fan, the Beatles was never on his list. Ever.

"What?" Dean smiled. "My little brother bought it for me…"

Sam laughed and lay back in his seat, realising that in spite of all the pain in their lives – from losing their mother, Jessica and almost each other – they were lucky to have everything they had. And Sam remembered something else, too. There was a special type of passion in his heart that he'd misplaced for so many years, that Dean had always seemed to have. Not just a passion for family, they always shared that, rather a passion for making a difference, for helping people.

A passion for the hunt.

The End.