Chapter 43

Susan screamed the moment she opened the door. Before her stood three boys. Two small ones and a big one. The best thing was that one of the small ones was her own son! She would never admit it to anyone, but she was beginning to give up hope that he was even alive. She had already prepared herself to write him off as dead and grieve.

She hugged her son so tightly he literally cried out in pain. She drew back, a smile bigger than the Joker's spread across her tired face. "I'm so relieved to see you, sweetie!" She hugged him again. "I'm so happy you're back! Are you okay?"

"I am now." He said, just as happy to see his mom as she was to see him.

After hugging for what seemed to be eternity, and ignoring the other two boys standing on their porch, Susan stood up, tears in her eyes, and looked at the boys like they were God Himself. "I can't thank you enough." Her voice was shaky and oozing sincerity. Dean and Sammy could honestly tell that they just changed this woman's life for the better. It made them feel good. It gave Dean some sort of feeling of purpose, like maybe hunting was his calling. Since Hell, he just hadn't felt the fire for hunting that he once had, but somehow this felt like it was the beginning of a change.

"It's no problem ma'am." Dean started. "We're just happy to help."

"I just don't know how to thank you." She said. "There's no price I could put on what you've done. You saved my son."

"Sincerely, we're just happy to help." Dean assured her, trying to smile through the bruises and cuts that were too fresh to ignore, their pain too new to fade into the background. This was a fact that Susan didn't miss.

"You look beat up!" She exclaimed, sounding like she had just adopted Dean as her own son. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean lied as Susan scanned him up and down.

"Just what did you endure..." Her voice faded. "I don't know what you went through to save my son, but thank you. Really. Thank you." Her words had a certain healing effect on Dean. It made each wound worth it, beyond the purpose of saving Sammy. He wasn't just protecting Sammy and himself. He was saving other family's loved ones too. It felt good.

"I seriously don't know how to thank you and your little brother." She said apologetically. "If there's anything I can offer or do for you..."

"Seriously, we're just happy to help." Dean said, trying to ignore her words that were scratching at his brain. 'Little brother'. It was true Sammy would always be his little brother in one sense: he would always be younger. However, in many other ways he was the bigger brother. He looked down at his five-year-old Sammy. But now he wasn't. They had killed the Tink but he was still a kid.

After talking a bit more and enduring a few more hugs, Dean drove Sammy back to the motel. He may still be a kid. They may still have some problems to solve, but it was getting late. Dean was sore. He was hungry. He was dirty. He was tired. He looked at his brother. It looked like he was in the exact same condition.