Okay, so this isn't a "real" chapter but I like it. This is a little snapshot that actually fits nicely in the timeline here. There's been a good bit of Dean and Britt, so here's some Sam and Cara.

I'm working on the next couple of chapters, but I'm not speeding through it. Sorry to leave you hanging!

SCARS

Sam lay on his back, sleeping peacefully with his good arm around Cara. She had woken up to the feel of the baby kicking a few minutes earlier and she had been enjoying the quiet and feeling their baby moving inside her. She fixed the strap of Sam's sling where it had gotten twisted before trailing her fingers across to a small round scar on his shoulder. It was a bullet wound and it appeared to be a few years old.

"Flesh wound," Sam verified quietly. She didn't realize he had woken up. "We were in a standoff with a suspect and she shot me to distract Dean."

"Did it work?" Cara asked as she pressed a kiss to the scar.

"Temporarily," Sam answered. "She got away from us but her past caught up with her a few months later."

Her fingers moved down to a long, faded scar on Sam's abdomen.

"Grazed by a knife," Sam said as Cara kissed that scar, too.

She quirked up an eyebrow as she pointed to his anti-possession tattoo.

"Drunk," he said in explanation. "Dean has one too. It was alcohol-related brotherly bonding."

Cara laughed. "That's attractive."

Sam grinned.

Cara's smile fell when she traced her fingers over a thin pink scar the inside of his forearm. It was more recent and she had seen one like it on his broken arm when she set it. "You have one of these on each arm," she noted quietly.

Sam nodded. "I was captured on a job. Before Dean got to me, they had sliced my arms and gouged a place in my side. The nutjobs wanted my blood," he said grimly.

Cara shuddered. "You've been hurt too much," she said as she touched his face. "I'm glad you're not going back to that life."

"Me too," Sam said honestly. "There have been too many close calls."

"No one should have this many scars," she said quietly as she snuggled close to him. "Are there more? I don't want to be surprised later."

Sam mentally inspected his body, cataloging a lifetime of minor cuts, scratches, and wounds in addition to several more major ones.

"Just one," he said. He pressed a kiss to Cara's forehead before he moved his arm from underneath her to sit up.

He was quiet as Cara examined his back. He heard the sharp intake of breath as her fingers brushed the faded knot of scar tissue at the base of his spine.

"Sam," she whispered and he turned to pull her into his arms as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I'm okay," he said softly as he held her tightly. "It was bad, really bad, but I'm okay now."

She nodded against his chest as the sobs ripped through her. Sam just held her, knowing the hormones were intensifying her emotions, and letting her process it all. He had had several years to get used to the idea that his scar would be a constant reminder of the day that Dean saved Sam's life by literally giving his own, that his brother had resigned himself to an eternity in hell to save Sam. He and Dean had made peace with the situation and now he would give Cara time to make peace with it, too.

After a few moments, Cara pulled back and wiped her face. "As a doctor, I look at that scar and all I see is paralysis or death. I don't know what happened, but I am so grateful that you're here with me right now, whole and healthy."

Sam relaxed against the headboard and pulled Cara to his side. He wouldn't give her all the details, obviously, but she deserved an explanation. "About 4 years ago I was working an undercover investigation. I had… infiltrated a crime organization and the boss had chosen me and four others in the group for an elite position. Little did we know that we would be expected to fight for it. Literally. He whisked us away to a secluded location and told us that he was looking for the "best and brightest" to lead his new division. He called it a competition and said that only one of us could make it out alive."

He paused a moment before continuing. "At first, everyone agreed to work together, that we'd fight this and find a way out – all of us. It didn't take long before it was every man for himself though. It got down to me and a guy named Jake. He was a soldier, a man of honor it seemed, and he had saved me when one of the others got the jump on me. We made a truce and I made the mistake of trusting him. We were walking toward the road when Dean got there. He called my name and I was so glad to see him that I turned my back on the enemy."

"I remember seeing Dean and feeling such a huge sense of relief, and then pain. The last thing I remember is Dean running toward me as I collapsed."

He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the fire in his spine and hearing Dean plead with him, sobbing and clutching at Sam's shirt.

After a shaky breath, he went on. "When I woke up Dean was there. He had obviously been crying and I could see the worry melt from his eyes when he saw that I was awake. I finally convinced him to tell me what had happened. Jake had stabbed me, intending to sever my spine. Dean interceded before he had a chance to finish the job. He and Jake struggled before Jake got away. By the time he got back to me, my heart had stopped."

"He saved me. Dean literally saved my life but it almost cost him his. He felt like it was his fault and made some bad decisions. I healed physically, but Dean went through hell and I was afraid I had lost him. It was well over a year before we were both okay again."

Remembering the months spent without his brother made his stomach churn. Despite all the tragedy and horror of their lives, that was definitely the hardest year the brothers had experienced. Sam had glossed over the worst part, but Cara couldn't know about that part of their life. It was better this way.

Cara wiped her face again, removing the evidence of her silent tears. She didn't know how to respond to this. Sam had died - his heart had actually stopped - and even all these years later it scared her to think that she could have lost him before she had even met him.

"I love you so much," she said as she looked into his pain-filled eyes. "I'm so glad you weren't taken away before I had the chance to find you."

"I love you, too" he said as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "It still catches up with me every now and then and the pain – both physical and emotional – becomes real again. Dean doesn't like to talk about that time. In a lot of ways it was harder on him and it took years for him to get past the nightmares. I just hope that I never take him for granted. I would definitely have died that day if it weren't for him."

"You are lucky to have him," Cara said, "and he is lucky to have you."

"We're all we've got," he said. "Well, at least until recently," he added with a smile.

"Now you have us," Cara said as she placed his hand on her belly. "Dean has Britt and Caylee and we all have a family."

"The Winchester family," Sam said with a chuckle. "I never thought I'd see that happen."

Cara smiled, too, and kissed him. "Does it still hurt?"

Sam nodded. "Sometimes, especially if the weather is bad or if I've overdone it. It's something I've learned to live with."

"Well now you don't have to live with it alone," Cara promised as she curled into him.