A/N: Phew! Aaaand, there you go! The epilogue.

Wow, I miss writing Holly. Although it's been almost three months since I finished writing this fic.

Thank you so much for all that wonderful support! I love you guys!

This part contains spoilers for episode 8.18, "Freaks and Geeks".

Epilogue

Two years later

Sam held his fist against his mouth as he coughed once, grimacing when he tasted blood. He reached out for the box of Kleenex on the Impala's bench seat between him and Dean. Sam spat into the tissue and put it into the plastic bag with the others from before. Dean stole a few glances at him, but continued to drive.

The roads were deserted and quiet. Sam had no idea where he and Dean were headed. He had tried asking Dean, but Dean hadn't given him any definite replies. So Sam had just kept quiet and let his brother drive.

They had entered Bloomington, Indiana, and it was late in the afternoon before Dean showed any signs of stopping. Sam was practically starving by the time they got to a diner. Once they had placed their orders, Dean stood up from his place and left under the pretext of using the toilet, but Sam saw him pull out his phone and wondered who Dean was calling.

When they had finished their late lunch, Dean got back behind the wheel and Sam sat in the passenger seat, feeling tired and hoping for a nap. He cleared his throat. "Is there a case?"

Dean licked his lip as he turned on the ignition. "No."

"Why are we here?"

"I thought there was a case," said Dean, "but another hunter took care of it by the time we got here."

It was a lie. Sam knew that. If there had been a case, Dean would have asked him to research. He'd have given out details. It wasn't like Dean to just drive them to some random city like this and do nothing in particular, however, Sam decided to let his brother think that he'd believed him. He didn't want to prod Dean; there was something weird around here that Dean was unwilling to talk about. Sam decided to let him speak about it when he was ready, and until then, just go with whatever his brother said.

They drove around aimlessly and Sam was getting more and more suspicious until they stopped outside of a children's playground. Dean parked the car and sat with his hands clenching the steering wheel for a moment, apparently bracing himself for something, before looking at Sam. "Come on." There was a hint of sadness and hope in Dean's voice.

"Where?" Sam asked him. The anticipation from Dean was odd. Was this really happening, or was Sam overanalysing this situation? Was this a side-effect from the trials — overanalyses?

Dean gestured towards the playground. Sam squinted at it, noticing various children playing, a few at the swings and a few others at the slide and merry-go-round, before turning to Dean again. "Um, aren't we a little old for that?" Sam asked him.

It was worrisome that Dean didn't reply with his own brand of sass. He scratched at his nose. "I just wanted to see…"

"Kids playing?" Sam asked him doubtfully.

"Yeah—" Dean cleared his throat. "No. Well, the case I found was about a kid being possessed. He'd come here every day and he killed a few parents, so…"

"You want to check if it's been taken care of," Sam deduced, slightly relieved at the normalcy that was returning because he had been seriously worried about Dean for a moment there. He remembered the children's rhyme cassette tape he had found in the Impala two years ago. And there was another thing. Last year, while Sam had been living with Amelia, he had been cleaning the car once, only to find two small shoes, wrapped up neatly in a small plastic cover and hidden under the backseat. They'd been those squeaky shoes — the ones that toddlers wore, and they were pink with flowers on them, so they couldn't be Sam's old ones either. Suspicious, Sam had put the shoes back where they were. He hadn't mentioned them to Dean. Now, as he began to connect the dots…

… Was it possible?

"You gonna come or not?" asked Dean, shaking Sam out of his thoughts. He blinked up at his brother who was standing outside impatiently, and nodded, before opening the door and getting out. He followed Dean to the playground, where they sat at the benches with the other parents, watching and observing.

Sam couldn't see anything sketchy that was going on, because the other hunter really seemed to have taken care of the problem. However, he was fascinated at the scene before him. His eyes followed the little, jumping, playing children, and he saw the smiles on their parents' faces, wondering what it was about their children that made them so happy. And that was when he noticed the smile on Dean's face — identical to those of the parents. It was a mixture of happiness and pride, but it also had a wistful, reminiscing quality to it. Sam followed Dean's line of vision.

His eyes fell on a small girl. She couldn't be more than four and she was playing at the sandbox with a few other children. She had dark, wavy hair reaching a little below her chin, and a curly fringe fell on her forehead. As she smiled, Sam could see dimples on each cheek. Then she looked up, directly at him, long, slanting eyes fixing their gaze on him. She turned to Dean and Sam could sense Dean looking away towards the swings, as though he didn't want the girl to notice him. And just like that, her smile vanished, to be replaced by a frown.

"Okay, come on," Dean's voice sounded beside Sam. "This place is clean." He stood up, still trying to hide his face from the girl as much as possible.

Sam followed Dean reluctantly, his gaze still fixed on the beautiful child, who was staring back at him. She smiled and waved. Sam raised his hand, grinning, and waved back at her.

"Sam," said Dean, and when Sam turned around, Dean looked sad. "We gotta go," he said.

Sam swallowed as he followed his brother to the car. "Dean, who is she?"

They halted beside the car, and Dean looked at Sam for a long moment, before shaking his head. "Who?"

Sam knew Dean was exactly aware of whom he was talking about, but the next moment he felt little arms wrap around his leg. He looked down to see the child from before, clutching on to his thigh as she grinned up at him with bright eyes.

"Hey!" Sam greeted her, bending over to lift her. She yielded, letting him carry her, and Sam was surprised at how comfortably she fit into his arms. "Where's your Mom?" he asked the little girl. Now that he looked at her closely, he could see a thin scar on her scalp, where hair hadn't grown. It wasn't very noticeable, but Sam wondered how she'd got it.

The little girl just wrapped her arms around Sam's neck in reply to his question, and Sam was surprised. Did little kids do this with strangers? He wasn't sure. He chuckled, and hugged the child, drawing a strange amount of comfort from the action. Dean was watching him with a small smile on his face and Sam expected some comment about how he was a woman, but Dean didn't say anything. He seemed to look away for a moment and when Sam met eyes with his brother again, Dean was blinking rapidly.

The child twisted her head around and saw Dean, withdrawing an arm from around Sam to wave at him. Dean grinned at her. "Hey, sweetheart," he replied, trying to sound light, but Sam could hear the tremor in his voice. The girl giggled and waved at Dean again.

Sam held on to her for a while more, wondering where her parents were, until he heard footsteps behind him. "Holly!" a strange voice called out. "What are you doing?"

"Daddy!" the little girl exclaimed, and Sam turned around to see a man approach them. He nodded at both Sam and Dean. Sam set the girl to the ground, expecting the man to freak out about his daughter hanging out with strangers, but Holly's father was calm.

"Come with me," he said, holding his hand out to Holly. "What has Daddy told you? You shouldn't trouble other people."

"Oh, she was no trouble," Sam said to the man when Holly reluctantly walked to her father, but kept looking at Sam, lovely, sunflower eyes peeking out from beneath long, dark lashes. She had to be the most beautiful child Sam had ever seen.

"I'm sorry anyway," Holly's father replied, smiling. "She's just really friendly." He bent over and ruffled Holly's hair, before holding his arms out to her. "Come on, munchkin."

Sam heard Dean draw in a sharp breath as Holly was lifted up. Her father smiled at Dean. "She loves the nickname."

Dean chuckled, a hearty, fond chuckle that Sam hadn't heard from in a long while. "Suits her," he said, and Holly's father waved to Sam and Dean, before carrying her away. Holly continued to wave goodbye to Sam and Dean from over her father's shoulder, though, and Sam couldn't help but wave back, while Dean did the same with a shaky smile. By the time he had settled himself in the car, Dean was already seated inside, his knuckles white at the wheel.

Sam had too many questions in his head. Why did it seem like Dean knew the girl? Why did it feel like he, Sam, had known Holly at some point, and vice-versa? Why was she so friendly with a complete stranger? And for that matter, why didn't her father mind her mingling with strange men? Why did it look like he knew who Sam and Dean were — particularly Dean?

Sam needed an answer. At least one. This was too weird to let go. He knew Dean wouldn't tell him but Sam turned to his brother anyway.

"Dean," Sam said softly, "who was she?"

Dean loosened his grip on the wheel. "The little girl?" he asked. He hesitated when Sam nodded. "I don't know."

Sam knew it was a lie, but he didn't push Dean. Maybe someday, he'd find out who Holly was, and what connection she had with Dean. Maybe he'd get to know why she acted like she thought she knew Sam, but couldn't exactly remember who he was anymore. Maybe he'd know why his heart broke a little when her father took her away — like he was losing something from his life.

He sighed, remembering the question that Victor Rogers had asked him a couple of weeks ago — if he'd like children. Sam hadn't known the answer and had said so. He had thought about it, later, rolling the question over and over in his head, and Sam had realised something.

"Dean," he said, as his brother pulled the car back on the road.

"Hmm?" Dean responded, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

"Have you ever thought of a family? Like — if you'd like one someday?"

Dean shrugged. "After Lisa and Ben? Nope. Our life doesn't allow it, so why think about it?" Sam saw a flash of pain in Dean's eyes. "Why do you ask?" he said. "You thinking of ditchin' me again?"

Sam pursed his lips for a moment, before speaking. "No, of course not, but I was just thinking — you know, after the whole thing with Victor and Krissy and the other kids — maybe after everything is over…" He bit the inside of his cheek. "I'd like to think I can have a family, complete with kids, someday. And even if I don't meet someone… maybe a kid. They sound kinda cool. Maybe I'll adopt someone—"

"Okay, Grandma, that's enough," Dean muttered, and Sam couldn't help but notice that his voice sounded odd — a little wobbly, maybe. The little girl seemed to have shaken Dean quite a bit. Sam kept quiet and turned to look at the scenery outside the window. He didn't know how Dean's heart had shattered at his admission. Sam only heard two words from Dean's mouth, said in a broken whisper, and so quiet, he could have missed it easily.

"My munchkin."

The End

A/N: And that's all, folks! Feedback would be loved and appreciated. Thank you for joining me in this ride. It's been quite something. :)

I am doing more big bangs, of course, the next would be a Team Free Will big bang, with submissions coming up in October and posting beginning late November. I'm writing with my friend, SPNxBookworm, who is a very, very talented author. The fic will be Destiel, of course, and the usual dollop of SamnDean - basically how we like Team Free Will with all our brotherly and Destiel-y and Sammy!girl feels. :)

About the sequel - a lot of people a pretty game to the idea. So if a sequel pops up in my head, and I find that the plot and idea is decent enough to write, I will do it. However, please don't have any high expectations, because if I feel that the plot isn't good enough, or that I can't find a good-enough way to fit it, I will not go ahead, as that would spoil this story too. Also, I want you guys to know that given the current situation Sam and Dean are in, on the show, and given how Holly is faring in my story right now, it is not necessary that the sequel will end with them keeping her. As I don't have a plot yet, I won't give you a full-on no, but I also cannot get your hopes up by saying yes. Like this fic, where I felt it was not plausible for Sam and Dean to keep Holly, it might happen in the sequel again. But Holly will be there, Sam will get to know she's his daughter. That is the gist. And another thing - I have a few WIPs right now, Stand Still and Breathe and When the Days Are Cold being my top priorities, and I'm working on the big bang too. So if the sequel happens, it will take a while.

I just thought I should make these things clear, since a lot of people have said that a sequel would be good. :)

A lot of people might wonder why I painstakingly wrote this whole fic and had them give away Holly in the end. I should say - I don't write stories for morals or stuff like that. Most of my SPN stories have one theme in common: what lengths Sam and Dean are ready to go to for each other, despite how hard it can get sometimes. I write what comes to my heart. Also, I found, that in the part where this fic is set, it was definitely not possible for them to keep her without some bad consequences. I found it hard to imagine Sam forgiving himself. So I went with this ending. If I had to rewrite this fic, I'd still choose this ending. :)

Thank you so much, once again, for sticking with me! All guests, and anyone with disabled PM can find responses to their reviews at the end of the chapters that they posted their reviews for. Thank you! :)

If anyone feels like checking out my other work - I don't have much gen out there since I tend to write quite some Destiel, but there's Tell Me Your Secrets, which is completely gen. I dabble in a lot of angst and hurt/comfort, and if you don't mind some Destiel, my WIPs right now are Stand Still and Breathe, which is almost complete, and When the Days Are Cold, my season 10 fic. I also have a submission for the Summergen which I cannot reveal, and will post on here once the authors are revealed back at LJ. As you can guess, it's gen, haha.

Thank you! Have a great day, guys!

Review responses:

Yui: Aww, thanks! No, Holly actually doesn't remember, only feels a vague familiarity. And yes, it's would have been easier to just get them to keep her but canon consequences and SAM didn't suit the situation. And technically, yes, it was a happy ending for all. Since Holly is happy and Dean's happy in Holly's happiness. :) Thank you! For your lovely response! :D

Cosmic Daeva: Awww, sorry, and thank youuuu! :) So happy that you liked the writing. :)

Sara.B: Aww, yay, thank you! Yes, the Winchesters get sadder endings than most of us, but I didn't find it right that they kept her given the situation. I am really glad you agree, and that you feel this is true to character. I am also so happy that you enjoyed the story! Thank you for all your reviews! :)

chillywinterbreeze: I replied to you via PM, but this is so everyone else knows that I didn't consider that hate at all. :) Thank you!

Guest: They did have to give her up, and I'm glad you agree. :) Thank youu, for reading! You'll know if there's a sequel. :D

7/10/14 replies-

Guest: Sorry! So glad you liked the story, though, and thanks!

Guest: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA. :DDDD I love being hated. :DDDD So glad you liked. *hides from you*