A/N: To LexieLou-yes, I've been working retail for a little over a decade now. I started a couple weeks after my eighteenth birthday and I'll be thirty in a few months. It's crazy at times how tiring it is, especially at the end of the year in general (not just around the holidays). If you've worked in it for thirty-five years, major kudos to you.

I saw your note and I gave it thought. Unfortunately, I've had the major parts of this story planned out for a while now, and it's too late to turn back. Without giving too much away, I can promise that things will start to level out for Kayla and Sam. They'll never be perfectly happy, because life just doesn't work that way. There will be other things that happen to them, but after this and the next chapter, the worst is over for a while.

I hope everybody's doing well. It might be a couple days at least until my next update-I've caught a nasty stomach bug and am sleeping when I'm not throwing up and trying to convince my job that it's not a good idea for me to come in. Everybody stay safe and have a happy new year!

Dean had never regretted not having children.

He'd raised Sam, and that was enough for him. He'd helped raise Kayla, and to a lesser extent, Mary. He'd watched both of them grow up, and now Kayla's children felt like his grandchildren. Sam himself had commented more than once how he had to be the 'mean grandpa', setting down rules and occasionally scolding both kids, and Dean got to be the 'fun' one. Dean knew Sam meant it as a joke, but he found it fun to be the good guy now rather than having to be the one taking care of everything and everyone.

Dean was sick. He knew it, Kayla knew it, Sam knew it. Hell, even the kids knew it. Jesse, whose fourth birthday was approaching, stuck to Dean like glue. Jesse reminded Dean of a baby Sam so much that there were days he could barely tell the two apart. Jesse could most often be found sitting in Dean's lap, curling up with a book, talking, or just sitting and 'being wif you, unca Deanie'.

Kayla and Todd had moved into a rental house owned by Todd's parents that was only a few miles away from Sam and Dean. While Sam was doing better, with Dean's declining health, Kayla wanted to be as close to them as possible. Todd's work schedule, now that his residency was over, was much more stable. He still worked overnight shifts as a pediatric ER doctor on the weekends, but he worked in an office with another pediatrician in town on alternating days during the week. So Dean's days were nearly always filled with at least Sam, Kayla and Jesse, if not Todd and first grader Samantha too.

Dean was grateful. Being surrounded by his family on a constant basis kept him distracted. His cancer had come back for a third time. The doctor had warned him that if it came back again, his time was short. Even with chemo and other treatments, he likely wouldn't live three months.

The diagnosis, of course, had devastated Dean. But not for himself. Kayla would be crushed. Her life had become about taking care of him, Sam, her husband, and kids. She poured every bit of energy into caring for him. Because of this, when Dean had been told the cancer was back again, he asked the doctor not to tell Kayla how serious his condition was. The doctor was against it, but ultimately agreed, since Dean was the patient and his condition was confidential.

It was four in the morning, and Dean was seriously considering not going to the hospital that day for his chemo. His doctor had made it clear to him that the chemo was only prolonging his life by a few weeks at this point. It was a few weeks of nausea, throwing up, no appetite, weight, and hair loss. But Dean knew that Kayla would just drag him along if he refused to go, so he drank what little of the coffee in his cup that he could stomach and headed to the bathroom.

Dean took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror. He barely recognized himself anymore. His hair was in patches, he'd lost a lot of weight, his skin was pale. Sam left for work. He got himself dressed and was sitting on the couch when Kayla arrived to take him to his nine in the morning appointment. Jesse was holding his mother's hand. Before Kayla had even gotten all the way in the door, Jesse had let go and flown onto the couch with beloved 'uncle Denny'.

"Hey, uncle Denny!"

"Hey, bud." Dean said. "What are you up to today?"

"I'm going to Daddy's work with him."

"You are?" Dean asked. "You're not going with me and Mommy?"

"I want to go shopping for his b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y while you're getting your treatment."

"Oh. Got it." Dean said. "You going to play?"

"They making stuff today." Jesse explained. There was a daycare directly adjacent to Todd's pediatrician's office.

"It's craft day, uncle Dean. They make things to bring home to their parents." Kayla elaborated.

"I be back, uncle Denny."

"Where you going?"

"Potty. Mommy, you help me?" Jesse asked.

Dean watched as Kayla headed down the hall with Jesse, and a few minutes later they were on their way. After dropping Jesse off, Kayla got back in the car and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Dean asked.

"Jesse didn't really have to go to the bathroom this morning. He just wanted to ask me if it was okay to give you all his crafts when he got home this afternoon."

"That's all that was about?" Dean asked. "Why didn't he just spell like you do?"

Kayla sighed. "Yeah. I guess that's not gonna work too much longer is it?"

"Both those kids are too smart for it. Just like their mom."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go."

Once Dean was set up at the hospital, a realization came to him. He would never see his family again. This was it. Kayla seemed to sense something too. She kept looking at the door and back to Dean.

"Hey, kid. Go on. Get Jesse's birthday together."

"Are you sure?" Kayla asked. "I can stay and we can do it together on the way home."

"Go on. I'll be fine."

Kayla still seemed doubtful, but she really did have a lot to do. She said goodbye to Dean, then left to go shopping. Dean's treatment took ninety minutes, and Dean knew she'd be back five minutes early.

"You ready, honey?"

One of the older nurses, Delia, was there. Delia was a sweet lady, always kind and compassionate, and Dean looked forward to seeing her. He smiled and answered,

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"You look really tired, honey. Why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep? I'll wake you five minutes before your niece comes back."

"That sounds like a plan. Thank you, De."

Delia had been an oncology nurse for close to forty years. She recognized the look when a patient was ready to give up. She'd been with Dean through his first two rounds of chemo. The first time, he was ready and willing to fight. The second time, Dean had been worn down, but was ready to fight again. Now, she could see it clearly. Dean was only fighting this time for his niece. Delia wondered what Kayla would do without her uncle, but she had other patients to attend to, so she got back to them instead of dwelling on it.

Seventy-five minutes later, Delia went back to Dean. She called his name to try and wake him, but he didn't stir. Delia walked up and gently grabbed Dean's wrist, intending to gently shake him awake.

She never got the chance.

Dean's hand went limp in hers when she picked it up. When she checked Dean's pulse, she frowned. There was a blessing in it, though, Delia decided. Dean had simply gone to sleep and never woken up. He hadn't died in pain, an all too common occurrence with the type of cancer he had. Delia unhooked Dean from his chemo treatment and took a deep breath. She could see through the window out into the parking lot.

Kayla was coming back from her shopping.