I'm sorry to say, oh dear readers, that this story has finally wound its course. Ok, so that's just fancy talk for saying that this will be the second last chapter. I know that some of you may not agree with this choice, but I feel that it is time to end it, and as you should have noticed by now the chapters are setting themselves up for an ending. There is a chance of a sequel, but if so it wont be for a while. I will be working hard on my other stories, which are taking up my valuable time right now.

As the story is ending, I would like to give you guys a chance to give your final input before the story comes to a close. What would you like to see happen in the last chapter, keeping in mind that there may or may not be a sequel? This is your last chance to tell me what you want, so I would love to read lots of reviews soon. Thanks!

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John walked out of the hospital with an odd sense of anticlimax. How did they get out of that one? So Sam was alive… and Jess was too. John knew that he didn't make the deal right, because he was never one to loose his head and go into a situation unprepared. That meant he had done every search of every rule from every source about everything that could happen when making a deal with a demon. And the crossroads demon had not sealed the deal with him, so that meant that he hadn't sold his soul for Sam.

That was a good thing, John knew. It wasn't that he wouldn't make the deal for Sam – of course, his son's lives were more precious to him than his own – but he was thrilled to see that Sam had somehow dodged a bullet on his own.

The thing was though… Who had made the deal? Dean?

John remembered the look of shear confusion and bliss on his son's face when Dean saw his brother and Jess alive and happy, and he looked the way that John felt. But the way he was acting, and the way he asked almost immediately if John had made a deal, while still looking guilty all the same… No, something wasn't right. But John didn't really think that it was Dean who made the deal, although his better instincts told him that that was the only situation that made any sense. He was still wondering…

Because of Sam. The way Sam seemed so at ease, that he never even questioned how he was alive, how Jess was alive. It wasn't sane. There was only one way that he could be so sure of himself, despite all the questions around them…. Maybe it was because he already knew that answers. Maybe, somehow, Sam knew what was going on. And he was keeping John and Dean out of the loop for some reason.

Taking a mental step back, John tried to assess the situation like the professional that he was. He gave his son a quick look, noticing his protective arm around Jessica, and respectfully noted that Sam had a new person he was trying to protect. His girlfriend.

The realization suddenly caught John off guard, and he staggered a few steps. No… not girlfriend. His wife. Not Jessica Moore, Jessica Winchester. John had a daughter in-law. His son was married!

"Sam…"John couldn't help the tug of a little smile on the corners of his mouth, but he wiped them away, dawning instead the look of a military commander. " Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Turning to meet his father's gaze, Sam seemed to recognize the tone of voice and dropped his arm from around Jess's shoulders as if afraid of getting her in trouble. To be honest, John found it kind of funny to see. "Yeah, sure dad." He gave Jess and Dean knowing looks. "Hey guys, can you give us a minute?"

Jess looked to Dean, who nodded. "Yeah, sure…"Dean tossed them a worried glance, probably worried that John was going to pick a fight with Sam. This made John a little annoyed to see, but he couldn't deny that he had done it before.

"No, no." John gestured for Dean and Jess to come back. "This involves them too."

Sam gave a little nervous twitch, his eyes moving to quickly to Jess, then back to John. Even without Sam talking, John knew what message he was trying to convey. Jess was part of their secret now, but it was still Sam's job to protect her. And now he was worried about her knowing too much too fast.

Jessica looked up to Sam curiously, wondering what was going on. Sam and Dean had patient waiting looks, probably convinced that they knew exactly what John was going to say. But unlike them, Jess didn't know how their family did things quite yet.

"So…"John looked sternly at his youngest son. " Guess what I found out recently?"

There was a pause. Sam raised his eyebrows. "You… uh… got a promotion?"

"Very funny, smart-ass. I was talking about that little ceremony that you neglected to invite your old man to." John tilted his head knowingly in Jessica's direction, and she blushed.

It was almost comical the way Dean's face lit up at that knowledge, finally remembering something juicy that he was free to bug his little brother about. "Oh yeah…"Dean's smirk was almost too pronounced as he pulled a faded picture from the inside of his coat pocket, handing it to the couple. " You guys might want this."

Sam looked eagerly to the wedding picture in Dean's hand and then back at his dad, as if not understanding. "I, uh…"He cleared his throat uncomfortably. " Yeah about that… sorry we didn't invite you, it was kind of a sudden decision and" –

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," John interrupted sternly, but when Sam saw that he was smiling, he sighed.

"Yes sir." Sam took it the picture quickly from Dean's outstretched hand, and Jess immediately crowded closer to see it. They both smiled like it was Christmas. "Wow… I never thought I'd see this thing again."

"And Jess?"
Looking up so fast that her hair bounced a little, Jess had the facial expression of a little kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She probably figured it was her turn to get yelled at now.

"Welcome to the family."

Too confused to realize how he got there, suddenly Jessica was hugging him. John hesitated for a minute, stumped, and patted her on the back awkwardly. Hopefully she took that to be enough – John hadn't really been a "hugger" since Mary died – and he heard her laugh a little, her curly hair tickling his nose and making him want to sneeze. God, how much she reminded him of Mary! John smiled. If this girl was anything like Mary, than Sam was pretty well off. And if not, she made him happy anyways and that was all that mattered. As they pulled out of the hug, John saw Dean thumping Sam on the back triumphantly, grinning.

"Congrats man!" Dean was lifting his other hand, and John heard the jingling of car keys being thrown Sam's way.

Sam caught them with a look of amazement. "No way!"

Dean raised a warning finger, making John smile. "One drive. And dude… If you hurt my baby I will end you."

"Yeah Dean," Sam was moving towards the Impala, laughing. "Sure."

"Oh and by the way," John put a hand on Sam's shoulder, pulling him close enough to at least pretend they were whispering. " At least give me some warning next time something like this happens, okay? I don't care if you are my son or not, I swear I will kick your ass!"

Dean, who was within earshot at the time, snorted with laughter under his breath.

In too good of a mood right now to even pretend to be serious, Sam laughed again. "Yeah dad," he pulled away from an attempted noogie. "If you can lift your cane off the ground."

By now, Dean was laughing as hard as he could without falling over, and Jess was stifling giggles behind her hand.

"Hey now," John managed to cuff Sam on the back of the head hard enough to smart, "A little respect please." And noticing Dean's laughter, John cuffed him too.

"Oww…"Dean rubbed the back of his head with an exaggerated frown as he climbed into the passenger's side door and they all took their respected seats. " As if you had to make it public how messed up this family is?"

"Aww common," Sam revved up the engine with a smirk. "Don't diss… I actually liked the Adam's Family."

This got another laugh out of both of John's sons, and he rolled his eyes in the backseat as he and Jess buckled their seatbelts.

"I don't know…"Jess's fair voice was a lot smoother and higher than everyone else's, and it was drowned out by the roaring of laughter in the front. " I think this is a pretty nice family."

I like this girl… John tossed her a respective glance, and she smiled in reply. Welcome to the club, kid.

The rest of John's thoughts drifted away as the car sped loudly out of the parking lot, Metallica filtering through the speakers and already threatening to deafen them as the new and improved Winchester family took off. For once in their lives, things were looking up.