A/N HI GUYS! This is the final chapter of this story, and I would like to thank all of the readers of this story, especially those who took the time to fave or leave a review on the story. You guys are amazing.

Sam awakes to rhythmic beeping, hushed voices, and the clean smell of bleach.

Hospital.

Sam listens to the voices of his father, brother and someone else - a doctor maybe? He hears words like "broken ribs" and "severe contusions" and he realizes they're talking about him. He waits until the doctor leaves, before he shifts and stabs of pain lance up his side.

Sam groans, causing the voices to go silent and then brief flashbacks of the previous night's events come back to him. He feels eyes on him and he doesn't have to look to know that his family is hovering over him, is staring at him. Sam keeps his eyes shut, not ready to face his brother, and especially not his father. An unpleasant mixture of guilt, shame, and residual anger at his father makes his insides churn.

"C'mon Sammy, come back to the world of the living." Dean tries to joke, but Sam can hear the worry and concern spilling into his voice. It makes Sam feel worse because he put that worry there. Dean is the last person to deserve this shit. Sam had blatantly broken Dean's promise, and it was Sam's fault that they were in this situation to begin with. Tears slide down Sam's face and his eyes remain closed and oh shit he's crying again and Dean's there and Dad too and-

"Sam, open your eyes." It's Dad's voice this time that interrupts his self-loathing session. But what strikes him is how not angry his father sounds. The only thing Sam hears in his voice is outright tenderness and then he feels his father's hand cup his cheek, using his thumb to wipe away Sam's tears.

Sam forces himself to calm down and slowly opens his eyes to stares into John's. All he sees is concern, worry and a twinge of guilt and Sam's face crumples.

"D-dad I-" Sam chokes on a sob but John understands anyway. He hears the I'm sorry and the I didn't mean it and the forgive me and he envelopes his son in a tight but careful hug, mindful of Sam's injuries. John hates himself because Sam shouldn't be the one apologizing.

"I'm so sorry Sam, I'm so fucking sorry." John whispers in his ear, over and over again.

"I'll give you two some time alone." Dean says quietly, and moves to leave but John stops him.

"Stay." John orders gently, pulling away from Sam. Sam hiccups quietly as his sobs subside, silently wondering what John was going to do next. Dean stands awkwardly beside the hospital bed, unsure of what to do. This was a side of John neither Sam nor Dean have seen before, and they were both stumped.

"I have a few things I want to say, and I'm only saying this once, so listen up." John says, and Sam shares a look with Dean, wary of what was to come.

"I guess I want to apologize for the way I've raised you boys. I know this life isn't easy, and I know I'm hard on you boys, especially you, Sam." John admits. Sam gapes at John, not quite believing what he just heard.

"I don't say this enough but I'm proud of you, son. I've been an ass lately and I'm sorry about that. But I am proud of you Sam, you and Dean both."

Sam tries not to laugh at his brother's attempt to not look too flustered at his father's words.

"Where's all this coming from dad?" Dean asks, and Sam looks back at John, suddenly curious.

"I talked to that kid, Jared." It was John's turn to be embarrassed. "He told me some things…"

"Hey." A voice from the doorway caused all heads to turn, and Sam beamed, seeing none other than his friend walking with a slight limp over to him. Sam didn't miss the challenging look he gave John, who couldn't quite seem to meet his eyes. Sam was impressed. He wondered what he could've said to John that the man couldn't even make eye contact. Even Bobby or Pastor Jim couldn't get through to John the way he did.

"You alright?" Jared asked Sam, who nodded shyly, sitting up.

"You?" Sam asked, taking in every one of his friend's wounds, feeling sorry that he wasn't able to protect his friend. Jared caught him looking, and waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about me. Plus, these scars totally make me look sexy, don't they?" Jared joked, causing Sam to roll his eyes in fond exasperation.

"We'll give you guys some space while we sign you out." John piped up, leaving the room with Dean only a step behind. Sam turned back to Jared as soon as they were gone.

"Can't believe you're leaving." Jared pouted, taking a seat on the edge of Sam's bed.

"Yeah, me too. I'm going to miss you though." Sam says, and he's not lying. He knows Jared will be the kind of friend he wouldn't forget that easily. They sit in silence, processing everything that has happened.

"What are you gonna do now?" Sam asked.

"I'm giving up the drugs, that's for sure." Jared smiles at Sam, who smiles back. "And I'm gonna focus on school, go to college, try to live a good life, I guess." Jared sighs, hope filling his voice. Sam can't help the slight envy he feels. He knows he could never do that, not while he's a hunter, but he shoves the thought away for later, focusing on his friend for now.

"You're going to be a great person, I know it." Sam says and Jared blushes. He stares at Sam for a while, as if contemplating something. Finally, he leans in and presses his lips to Sam's cheek, smirking as he pulled back.

"Uh…" Sam says eloquently, not knowing what to do.

"Thanks for everything, Winchester. I'll miss you too." Jared says before he hops off the bed and heads out of the room, passing by his brother and father on the way. Sam wonders when they returned, and how much they saw. Judging from the way Dean wore a shit-eating grin and how Dad was staring awkwardly at his boots, they'd seen enough.

"I-uh-he…uh…"

"Looks like Sammy's popular with the boys, huh?" Dean teased and Sam can't help but laugh because Dad's chuckling too and for once, everyone's smiling.

This was Sam's life.

They've gone through shit, and they always came out on top.

They were Winchesters.

They were a family.

And Sam thinks, this isn't so bad after all.

FIN

A/N sooo that's that! I suck t endings but i REALLY hope i did a good job, especially with John, because I find it hard to get into his head. I hope i did him justice because he's a really complicated character for me to write.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who reviewed, I read them all, and i took your advice and I hope i did good. Your reviews really inspire me and i hope just cuz the story's over, you don't stop reviewing or fav-ing

xoxo,

idekwthimdoin