Several hours later Sam and Dean sat side by side at the back of the bus heading home. The sun was setting into the ocean and the first stars of the night were starting to appear. As the bus sped over the bridge into North Vancouver Sam felt his eyelids starting to droop and he yawned.
"Buck up there Cowboy. It not that late," Dean said, nudging him.
"Long day," Sam replied, yawning again but he widened his eyes and stared out over the water. Dean smiled to himself as the sky turned from orange to pink.
Two buses later Dean glanced down at his brother's head resting on his shoulder. Sam had long since given up trying to pretend that he wasn't tired. With his eyes closed and his expression peaceful Sam looked younger than Dean had ever seen him. It reminded him of how fast they'd both been forced to grow up. Of course Dean had barely had a childhood to begin with; it having been taken from him the moment he saw that nursery on fire, flames spilling out of it. Flames that he knew surrounded his mother as she burned -his father had told him- on the ceiling, stuck there by the monster they had spent all their time since hunting.
Dean cursed that monster. He was sure that if his mother hadn't died this never would have happened. They never would have found out about the nightmares plaguing the world and he certainly would never have had to hunt them. Without that monster he was sure he would have had a childhood to grow out of; an innocence to lose the day he first fired a gun.
Shaking his head to clear the painful thoughts and memories he looked down again at Sam who was starting to snore slightly. "Because of me," Dean thought suddenly, "Sam did have a childhood. Because of me he was a kid. Because of me he can still have a life." This thought stunned Dean and he only just noticed it was their stop in time.
"Up you get Sleepyhead," he said to Sam; nudging him up and off his shoulder. "Its our stop." Slowly the brothers got to their feet and made their way to the door. This was the third and final bus and from here it was only a five minute walk to the motel.
"How long was I out?" Sam asked as they got off.
"Pretty much since we transferred. You sat down and were gone."
"Big day," was Sam's only response.
"Come on Sammy," Dean ruffled his hair, "let's go home."
That's all folks! Thanks so much for reading this, it means a lot. And sorry for such slow updates. It would be amazing if you could review. Thanks!
