Ok gang, the finish line is now in sight ! This is the penultimate chapter of Lying in Wait. If you've enjoyed this story, I look forward to seeing you again in the new story 'Catch 22', the last in this trilogy. I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far. Thank you all so much for the reviews, they are the inspiration to a girl who is buried down with so many assignments; they keep me going !

Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks again for reading. So without further ado, here is 'Letters to a Loved One'…

Chapter 22- Letters to a Loved one

Alex Vetorio's hazel eyes narrowed as he lent against his kitchen counter, a sceptical look on his face.

John Winchester kept his gaze steady, his face relaxed and his voice as calm as humanly possible.

The older hunter simply prayed that the twenty two year old that was standing across the kitchen from him, wouldn't pick up on exactly how nervous he actually was.

He was beyond grateful that sitting in the chair beside him was Ben Vetorio; Alex's father.

" You've got to be kidding me..." Alex said looking from his father to John, his handsome face slipped from a smile to one of surprise, " You're not kidding me are you...?"

" No.." Ben said getting out of his chair and walking towards his eldest son, " So do you think you can find them...?"

" Yeah of course I can..." Alex said unable to shake off the funny feeling that was floating around his stomach, " You know I can..."

" Good, tell me what you need and I'll go get it..." John said simply as he stood up from the kitchen table.

" What I need is an explanation..." Alex said simply as he ignored the angry look his father was shooting him. " How about the truth this time..."

" Look, we've told you, his sons are missing and we need to find them.." Ben said answering quickly as he watched as John vacated the kitchen.

" Sons huh..? As in more than one..?" Alex said with a pointed look, " These sons that he hasn't even mentioned for three weeks.."

" Alex, now don't start..." Ben said with a groan as he put a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and then ruffled his son's ebony black hair, " Just trust me on this baby..."

" You, I trust..!" Alex said unable to keep his temper subdued anymore, " Johnny boy, I'm not so sure about..."

Ben promptly walked away, his back to his son.

" Dad, I know he's an old friend of yours, and that is literally the only reason I've been putting up with this sergeant major crap of his..." Alex muttered as he walked towards his father, " But there is something not right about this guy, something I don't trust.."

" Sweetheart, listen to me..." Ben said in a gentle tone, " I know you don't like him.."

" I didn't say that, I mean he knows his stuff, demons, spirits, rituals, I mean the guy's good.." Alex said with a shrug, " It'll be useful to know someone like that, we could do with having his knowledge on our side..."

" But...?" Ben said as he turned to face his eldest son,

" But, why..? Why does he know this stuff, how does he know this stuff..?" Alex asked curiously, " And dad, I asked him about his family, he told me didn't have one..!"

" Look, John can be a little odd at times, but he's a good person with a good heart.." Ben said simply,

" Just a liar..?" Alex said with a shrug, " Why would you lie about having children..?"

" I don't know.." Ben said shaking his head, " He's very protective over his boys..."

Alex grinned with at his father, " Bit like someone else I know.."

" So you'll help him..?" Ben said with a hopeful tone, " Come on, Alex.."

" Yeah, I'll help.." Alex said with a grin, as he headed towards the kitchen swing door as his father followed him into the hall just as John was coming down the steps.

John stood staring at the young man in front of him.

" You got a photo or something...?" Alex asked as he studied the older man's face; something just wasn't right.

" Erm, actually no..." John said in a awkward tone, " I don't carry photos.."

Alex shot his father a look, and was surprised to see his father standing there with his mouth wide open.

" You don't have any pictures of your kids..? The age doesn't matter.." Alex said in a hopefully tone.

" No.." John said simply, " But I got this.."

John held out a small pocket knife to Alex and pressed it lightly into his palm.

" You can find them through their energies right..? Well they should be together, so if you can find one, the other won't be far behind.." John said simply as he moved off the step and gestured for Alex to go up.

" I'll see what I can come up with, but you know it'll work a hell of a lot faster is I just called Nic..-" Alex said.

" No..!" John snapped suddenly, " No, don't do that, you just do it yourself.."

Alex's eyes narrowed as he studied the older man in front of him, his hazel brown eyes then drifted over to his father, who stood their, his eyes pleading desperately for his older boy's cooperation.

" Ok..." Alex said with narrow look, " You know what, whatever.."

Ben watched as Alex jogged up the stairs and once out of sight turned furiously towards his friend.

" Are you for real...?!" Ben demanded, " What were you thinking..?"

" Oh relax will you, he's helping me find my boys, that's all that matters..." John said simply as he turned to head towards the kitchen, " Beer..?"

" You don't have any pictures of your children..?" Ben asked in disbelief, " None whatsoever..?"

" Nope.." John said simply as he opened the fridge and then realised that Ben was silent. " Look, the job I do, the life I lead, the things I face; giving the enemy the faces of the ones I love, don't seem like the smartest plan to have.."

" John, even I don't know what your sons look like. They could walk through my front door right now and I wouldn't know them.." Ben said in a plain tone, " Why don't you just ring Dean..?"

" I can't.." John said simply as he snapped the lid off the bottle of beer and took a swig, " It's complicated.."

" And so is lying to my sons.." Ben muttered, " Look I don't know what kind of messed up relationship you have with your kids, but I don't like lying to mine..."

" Don't even start lecturing me..." John muttered.

" Like you'd even listen to me.." Ben muttered as he yanked open his fridge, pulled out a beer, wrenched the top off and took a long swig on it. " You know what, every time you wonder back into my life, I end up drinking more.."

John laughed out loud as Ben's eyes narrowed at his old friend.

" Seriously John, you want my boys to help you find this demon of yours, then lying to them isn't the best bet.." Ben said in a pointed tone. " And don't think I haven't figured out why you didn't want Nic involved in this.."

" Don't know what you mean.." John said with an innocent smile as he took another swig.

" You know exactly what I..-" Ben started to say when the kitchen door swung open and Alex wondered into the kitchen.

" Where did you leave you kids exactly..?" Alex asked in a curious tone.

" Why..?" John asked coming over to the kitchen table where Alex had spread the map, a crystal on a silver linked chain dangled from it, tied to the top of the chain was the pocket knife.

" Well the good news is, your sons are still alive, well at least the one who owned this pocket knife..." Alex said as he watched as the crystal pulled his hand over to the end of map and stuck to a specific location.

" They are...?" John whispered his voice almost breathless.

" Yup..." Alex said as he eyed his father's bottle of beer.

" Don't even think about it boy, you're working tonight...!" Ben said swatting his son's hand away.

" Boring..!" Alex said with a grin, as he caught the look John was sending him. "Something wrong..?"

" Where are they..?!" John snapped which made Alex's eyes widened.

" Oh right.." Alex said as he glanced down at the crystal tip, " Ermm, according to this, they're in Clearwater, Clearwater Florida..."

John nodded, slowly digesting the information...

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Delicate sun light streamed through the Winchester beach house as dawn broke over Clearwater.

Dean rubbed at his tried eyes and gently wound the lily white bandages around Sam's now stitched wounds. The older hunter tucked the bandage in with a safety pin and just for a second allowed Sam's cold, limp hand to rest in his lap.

He was so tired of everything.

Tired of having to stitch Sam up, tired of hunting, tired of being hurt, tired of being confused, tired of having no answers, tired of being abandoned, tired of being a liability.

Dean was just tired.

He sighed quietly and looked over at Sam who was deep in a drug induced sleep.

His baby brother had saved the day.

A small smile baited to his lips as wondered what on earth Sam had loaded into his pearl handled gun.

Sam was so pale, the bandages looking darker than his skin, his brown hair looking shades darker than their natural colour, his lips very pale.

What was he expecting, a miracle..? Only time would tell if Sam would be ok. Dean had followed Bobby's instructions to a tee. Sam had been so weak he hadn't even been able to drink the concoction that Dean had knocked up. There had been angry shouting from Dean as he lost his temper time and time again as Sam seemed ready to disappear from existence.

Sam's small voice pleading for Dean to simply let him go.

Dean was having none of it.

He had forced that potion down his brother's throat and clamped his mouth shut as Sam cried from the pain his body was in; Dean own eyes tear filled, but refusing to cry as he held Sam down and watched his younger brother lose consciousness.

That's when he'd started stitching Sam up, the slice in his stomach would be sore but hadn't required stitches, but both the arm wounds had.

He thought about the scars that would be left in their place. He wondered if Sam would ever be able to look at the scars and not hate him.

Dean wondered if Sam would ever be able to look at him again.

Dean wondered if Sam would ever be able to trust him again.

Dean wondered if Sam would ever forgive him.

Lord knows he didn't deserve it.

Picking the blanket off the floor, he opened it and covered Sam with it, his own body wanting nothing more than to crawl into the bed beside him and sleep for a month.

" Sleep..." Came Sam's sleepy voice as his hazel eyes cracked open for a moment and looked tiredly at Dean, " Sleep..."

" Sounds like a plan Sammy..." Dean said with a smile, " You get some sleep..." Dean said as he eased himself off the bed and edged towards the door.

" No, you..." Sam said as he looked helplessly at Dean, as the elder brother finally understood what Sam was saying.

" Don't worry about me little man, I'll get some sleep soon.." Dean said standing at the doorway, " It's time you stopped taking care of me, and took care of yourself..."

There was no answer from Sam as Dean listened as his brother's breathing fell into a delicate pattern. Dean finally drifted away from the door and sighed as he walked into the living room which resembled a bomb sight, thanks to his panicked creation of an antidote.

Thank god for Bobby.

He'd have to send Bobby a thank you gift. Maybe a crate of beer, or perhaps a ham, Bobby seemed to really like ham.

A grin appeared on Dean's face as he thought about Bobby and his fondness of ham. The elder Winchester decided against the desperately needed clean up of the kitchen and headed towards the couches. Nothing like mindless TV to put you into lullaby mode for sleep.

Flopping down on the three seater, his hands automatically reached for the remote, his eyes settling on the TV set. When did the screen get smashed in, and why was it only now he was noticing? Dean's eyes slowly scanned the living room and his mouth dropped open when he spotted the pipe that lay not far from the veranda door.

His hazel green eyes stared at the air conditioning unit and suddenly it started to make sense to why the living room was as cold as it was. The air conditioning unit was broken, and from Dean's quick deduction, judging from the pipe that lay on the floor, it went without saying that that pipe had something to do with the air conditioning.

Glancing at the busted TV set, Dean stifled a yawn and lay down on the sofa, tucking his knees up against his chest. Facing the TV set, his eyes slowly closing off, Dean's sleepy eyes noticed an envelope lying on the floor.

Curiously, Dean sat up, reached under the coffee table and pulled the cream coloured envelope. Turning it around Dean was surprised to see his name scribbled across the front.

His eye brows knotted, Dean opened the envelope. He already knew the handwriting was Sam's, his little brother had distinctive penmanship; or as their father would put it, a challenge for the sanest person to read.

Dean opened the lined paper and slowly begun to read the letter...

Dean,

If you're reading this now, well, I guess I never made it back.

It's weird writing this, strange not knowing what is going to happen, but even stranger knowing what the outcome will be.

Don't be angry. Don't be upset, but most importantly, don't you dare blame yourself or so help me god I will find a way to come back and haunt the shit out of you.

I understand what you did, hell a small part of me is actually really happy to know that you loved me, but deep down I always knew you did. I don't blame you, I never will. You thought you were saving me, you believed, truly believed that doing what you did would save me; and let's face it big brother, all you've ever done is save me.

Got to be the most boring job on the entire planet.

This isn't exactly coming out the way I wanted it to, but I don't have time to restart this letter, I've already written it three times, and you'll be back any time soon.

You know I love you right..? You know I'm proud of you, admire you and wish I was alive to tell you this instead of being a coward and writing it on paper; however knowing you, you'd dismiss it as another chick like moment.

I'm gonna miss you so much. I wish there was more time. There is so much more I want to tell you, so much I want to hear you say. I always wanted to see you happy, to see you safe, to know that for once the person that would come first in Dean's life, would be Dean. I want you to read this line, over and over and over again Dean, I mean it.

READ IT.

You deserve to be happy.

If anyone in this world deserved that right, it's you.

I'm gonna end up balling my eyes out over this paper and that's only gonnna blind me and render me even more useless.

I better go. I don't know what else to say. I could write the words I love you over and over on this paper but they just read hollow. I can't believe we missed all those chances to say it.

I wish I could hug you one last time.

I wish I could see you just one more time and tell you that I love you and am so proud of you.

I wish I could tell you that you are my hero.

I wish this whole mess hadn't started.

If you ever catch up with dad, tell him I'm sorry. Tell him I'm sorry I screwed up everything and let the demon go. Then tell him to find the son of a bitch and blow its friggin brains out.

You'll never be alone Dean, you'll never be by yourself. I'll always be there for you, always willing to listen, always by your side. I was born to watch your back; even in death I'll do it. I think it's the one order of dad's that I actually followed through with.

Do me a favour and think of me every once in a while, because I'll never stop thinking of you.

This is your chance for freedom Dean, take it with both hands and be happy.

Now I really do have to go.

Take care my brother.

I'll never stray too far from you. I'm sorry for all the fights we had, I'm sorry I never took the chances to hug you, but god, I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss you more than you will ever be able to imagine. I'm balling my eyes out right now, actually glad you can't see me. You always were more than just my big brother, a bit more than my animated super hero; you were my closest and best friend.

Please look after yourself Dean. Remember, and always remember that I understand what happened, and I do not blame you for any of this.

Be free my brother.

I love you.

Sammy xxx

Ps- Please tell dad that I love him also.

Dean hadn't even been aware of the tears that were trickling on his face until they hit the single sheet of paper he was holding.

How dare he ?

How dare Sam do this ?

How dare his stupid little brother openly walk into a situation he knew he would die in.

What was he thinking..? How dare he think that his life was worth less than Dean's ?

How dare he ?

Dean rubbed his tired face and angrily wiped the tears from it.

He hopped to his feet and stormed into the silent bedroom his younger brother lay sleeping in.

" Sam..!" Dean shouted over the sleeping figure, his voice shaking his hands bunched in tight fists, the precious letter being scrunched and damaged.

" Wake up…" Dean said angrily as his hands reached down to shake the boy awake.

But he couldn't.

As angry and as mad as he was, his heart broke slowly as he sunk onto the bed beside Sam. Tears slowly filtered down his face, the realisation of what had happened to them both in the last four weeks slowly dawning on the elder of the Winchester brothers.

Sam had known, Sam had known all along that Dean was taking him out to those cliffs to kill him, and yet he'd gone.

" Sam…?" Dean said lying beside and gently shaking Sam's arm until the boy groggily opened his hazel eyes.

" Humm…" Sam said his eyes blinking as he tried to focus on Dean's face.

" Why..?" Dean whispered to him, propped up on his elbows staring at Sam's pale face and raccoon eyes. " Why did you go with me to the cliffs, I need to know, I need to understand why..?"

Sam's eyes flickered shut, his limp hand gently shifting onto Dean's back. Dean sighed deeply, realising that talking to Sam while he was out completely out of it on Bobby's antidote, probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.

The letter still lay in his hands and he gently folded the fragile piece of paper and placed it under the pillow he rested his head on. He stared at the profile of Sam and could feel his hazel green eyes finally giving into the sleep he so desperately craved.

" To save you…." Sam whispered in a faint voice.

Dean raised his head back up, his eyes staring at his brother's still sleeping face, his eyes still closed.

" You did a very stupid thing Sammy…" Dean said trying to keep the anger out of his voice. " You, shou..-"

" You're my brother…" Sam said in a fluffy and sleepy tone, " I'd die for you…"

Dean waited a couple of minutes for Sam to continue the conversation, but the younger Winchester never did, it looked like sleep had claimed another victim.

The elder Winchester brother placed his head back on the pillow, his finger gently touching the letter that remained under the pillow.

Dean knew that Sam would die for him.

His little brother had already done so…..

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Final chapter the next one ! Thanks so much for all you reviews and most of all thanks for reading. If you get a chance drop me a little review, you know I appreciate them !LOL