Disclaimer: This letter contains spoilers for the seaosn 8 finale (8X23 "Sacrifice")! Do not read if you haven't seen that yet! Also, I don't own Supernatural.

Author's Note: This letter is for mb64, who requested a letter from Dean to Sam responding to Sam's confession in the season eight finale. I want to thank ClassyMuse, mb64, shirleypositive72, jojospn, a guest named GuestJ, Leia 96, kjdw, and a guest named WomanOfLetters for their awesome reviews. And a big thank you to all of you who read these!

Sammy,

First I want to apologize, because I've been too hard on you and I'm only just now seeing that. I've been too busy bitching and moaning about things you've done wrong, or things you haven't done, or even things you just could have done better… And what I haven't been doing enough of is telling you how proud of you I am. You say your biggest sin is letting me down? Well I think you're free of sin then pal, because you haven't let me down Sammy. Not really. You've always been the one to pull through and save the day. Yeah, we've had our rough patches, and I'm not saying you've never done anything wrong. But you've never dropped the ball and let it sit there either. You fix your mistakes, and you always come through in the end.

Sure, you teamed up with Ruby. But you held her in place when I ganked her too… And after you broke the last seal, I remember you chose to bow out of hunting for a while. Even when I was making it all about 'trust', you chose to be honest with me and let me know you weren't up for it. I might've been pissy with you at the time, but that doesn't mean I didn't respect your decision. I was impressed that you were man enough to admit your weakness, and do your best to overcome it.

And I know you feel bad about me getting turned into a vampire while your soul was gone. Sammy, I don't blame you for that. You had no soul! The only reason that hurt me back then was because I didn't know your soul was gone at the time. I just thought that Hell had changed you. And you know what? I didn't get mad at you for that. It hurt because it was my fault. Because I freaking helped you jump into that pit, so anything you did afterward was on me.

And I am proud of you for how well you handled Hell once your soul was back. Yeah, you had Lucifer hallucinations coming out your ears for a while, but you never once did anything evil because of it. Sam, I was an irritable, frustrated, dangerous wreck after my time in Hell. But you stayed good, and just kept fighting to save people, even when your hallucinations were driving you insane… I admired that. I really did.

Then there's Purgatory. Now I know I said you should ask God's forgiveness for that…but to be honest Sam, I don't think you not searching for me was sinful. I wasn't being fair when I got mad at you for that, and I know it. Yeah, it hurt me to hear that you didn't try and find me. But that doesn't mean you were evil for not torturing yourself trying to get me back. You didn't have a clue where I was and had no way of knowing I was even still alive. And I did make you swear you'd move on if something like that happened... I guess it just hurt because in Purgatory, getting back to you was what kept me going. I kept imagining the kid I practically raised, lost and scared without me there. And that image gave me the strength to fight my way out of that wasteland…

But the reality is that you aren't a little kid anymore Sammy. You aren't even lost or scared. And if I was to be entirely honest about how that makes me feel, then I would say it makes me proud. Because you've grown into such an incredible guy. You've overcome all of your mistakes and chosen to risk everything to save the world, again. You were right to be the one to take on the Hell trials, even if you did end up having to let them go…

Because you're the one with the strength to admit your mistakes, humbly apologize for them, and try again. That's the kind of man who would deserve to save the world from Hell. That's the man I'm proud to know. You're a good man, and your conscience deserves to be clear even without some stupid confession. And I want you to know I believe that firmly. Because if there's anyone in the world I trust Sammy…anyone I know I can turn to…it's you. Always.

Dean

Secondary Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! Reviews and requests are always welcome. I have a growing list of requests, and I'm loving it! :D