Author's Note: Okay...so I'm sorry I left you guys with the evil cliffie in the last chapter. But the good news is that none of you managed to hunt me down and hurt me so I got the last chapter finished!

I saw that I scared a lot of you, so I figured I should get this chapter finished as soon as I could.

Well, I thank everyone who has taken the time to read and reviews. Your words have meant so much to me and I treasure each and every review. This is the last chapter, so let me know what you think of it and the story as a whole.

I want to thank Bayre for her constant guidance during my little trip into the fic. Thanks so much, Bayre!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"DEAN!" Sam jerked up in his bed, the tubes in his arms pulling against his body.

Dean jumped up from his chair, pulling his gun out in the same instant, heart pounding a mile a minute at the sudden outburst. His eyes darted frantically around the small room and he was afraid his mind was playing tricks on him until his eyes came to rest on Sam. Sam sitting up in bed, Sam awake!

"Sammy?" He put the gun away and grabbed his brother's face in his hands, not sure if what he was seeing was real. "Are you okay?"

Sam batted his hands away angrily. "You bastard."

Dean looked at Sam, his eyebrows raised. "Dude, what the hell did I do?"

Sam kept his blazing hazel eyes on Dean. "What the hell were you thinking, Dean?"

"About what?"

"Jumping off the roof."

"What roof?"

"The hospital roof."

"I'm confused."

Sam let out an irritated sigh. "You jumped off the hospital roof, you jackass."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Dude, how the hell did I jump off the roof if I'm standing right here in front of you?"

Sam was about to argue, but he clamped his mouth shut, scarlet coloring his cheeks. Dean smiled in spite of his brother's embarrassment. "What's going on in that freaky head of yours?"

"Nothing," Sam said quietly.

"Then why the hell were you bitching at me about jumping off the roof?"

Sam shrugged. "Must have been a dream."

Dean chuckled. "Yeah, whatever." God, it felt good to have him back, even if he was being a complete bitch.

Sam leaned back against his pillows, his embarrassment quickly turning to exhaustion. "You okay?" Dean asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, just a little tired."

"You're not going to sleep on me again, little brother." Dean patted his shoulder. "I'm going to see if I can find Doctor Stewart. Don't go back to sleep or I swear to God I'll put itching powder in your pants again."

Sam chuckled and Dean hurried out of the room. As he closed the door, the older hunter let out a huge sigh of relief and let a smile play on his lips.

Sammy was awake, he was okay. That made Dean happier than he ever thought possible. He never knew how much he missed the kid until he wasn't around. And even though Sam had only been unconscious for twenty-four hours, it caused Dean greater fear than he'd ever experienced before. Those twenty-four hours of not knowing if Sam was going to be okay or not had been unbearable for him. It made him feel completely helpless and it just wasn't a feeling Dean was used to or would ever comprehend. He hoped to hell he'd never have to experience again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam watched Dean exit the room as his heart finally found its way to a steady, regular rhythm. Watching Dean jump off the roof sent the younger hunter over the edge, pushed him to his decision. Sam just couldn't believe his brother would ever commit suicide, it was the coward's way out, and Dean wasn't a coward. But then again, Sam didn't know what his brother was capable of, especially when it came to him.

He was still trying to wrap his head around what he'd experienced in the past twenty-four hours, what he'd been witness to. How in the world was he going to explain to Dean what he'd been doing while his brother was holding vigil by his bedside, not sure if he was going to wake up or not? It wasn't everyday a person got to meet not one, not two, but three people he thought he'd never see again. How do you explain that to someone, to Dean, without convincing them at the same time you weren't certifiably crazy?

But Sam had to admit, it had been an eye-opening experience, one he would never forget. Never in his twenty-three years did he realize how important he was to Dean, how important they were to each other. The fact they had this incredible bond amazed the young hunter to such a degree, he was still perplexed by it. He knew he and Dean had always been close, had been for all of his life. But to actually see what the two of them have accomplished and were going to accomplish made him smile.

But the bond they shared, it also scared the young psychic to an extent. To realize they were what each other depended on to live, to survive in this world, was something that rocked him to his very core. He got to see how Dean would be if he didn't have him to look after and he didn't like it, didn't like the person his brother had become. And how could he? Dean was a loose cannon capable of so many things, not mindful of the consequences in the end.

Sam wanted his brother to realize how important he was to him, to the world. He wanted Dean to see just what he did for him everyday, the courage he gave him. Sam never told him, but when he was growing up he wanted to be Dean—still wanted to be to this day. Dean was so much to Sam and the younger hunter was afraid his brother would never realize just what it was Dean provided him with everyday—love, courage, strength, and wisdom.

"I see you made your choice."

Sam tore himself away from his thoughts to see Layla was standing beside his bed, smiling at him. She appeared differently to him now than she did during the journey—she was surrounded by a soft yellow glow, almost angelic.

"You sort of gave me a push in the right direction."

"That was never my intention, Sam, but I needed you to see for yourself. I'm sorry it had to be so brutal."

Sam shrugged.

"It was a decision you had to make on your own, that was always our intention on bringing you on this journey."

"You have a funny way of showing that."

Layla smiled. "Maybe you just needed a little nudge."

"A little?" Sam shook his head. "Dean threw himself off a roof. I don't think you can get much bigger than that."

Layla shrugged. "It wasn't time for you to give up, Sam. You and Dean, you have a lot of work that still needs to be done. We all know that and we weren't about to let you give up that easily."

Sam didn't like what she was saying. Layla was making it sound as if everything was staged, that no matter what his decision would have been, they would have made it into what they wanted it to be. "So, everything I saw, that was fake…just a ruse to show me how much Dean needed me?"

"No, Sam, it was very real. Everything from your past and present, you know that happened. Everything else, Dean's life without you and the future, they are very real possibilities, still are as a matter of fact."

"You're saying in some other bizarre alternate universe, Dean could have turned out that badly. I was really witnessing what happened to him."

"Yes."

Sam frowned in confusion.

"You see, Sam, life isn't just one big hooplah. Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides of life. There is the life you know, the one you are living, then there's the one you are never to experience, the one filled with the what-ifs you ask yourself everyday."

"That's…bizarre."

"Is it?" Layla grinned. "It's how it's been from day one of our Creation. Only a select few get to see that other side of life. The life you are living right now, it's the one you're supposed to be living, Sam, the one that's been mapped out for you. I know you've had many hits in your life, but you've persevered, kept going."

"Because of Dean."

"The same goes for your brother as well. The reason you two are still together is because of the balance you create with each other. There will never be one without the other, no matter what. Somehow, the two of you will always find your way back to each other, no matter what happens. Just remember that, Sam, and things will fall into place like they're supposed to."

"I don't really buy into that whole future reading crap, but me and Dean—are we going to be okay?"

Layla smiled softly. "Sorry, Sam. That's a journey you and Dean are going to have to make on your own."

Sam nodded, almost relieved she didn't tell him the answer. While a tiny part of him wanted to know what the future had in store for him and Dean, a bigger part was content with it remaining a mystery. After all, that's what life was all about.

"Thanks, Layla."

"You're welcome, Sam." Layla kissed him on the cheek. "Tell Dean I said hi, and good luck with everything."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Doctor Stewart smiled at the Winchester brothers as he lowered his stethoscope from Sam's chest. "Everything seems to be great. You're still going to have to watch that head injury and be careful with your foot. You can't be moving around a lot for at least the next week."

"But he's going to be okay?" Dean asked, his hand resting on his brother's arm.

Doctor Stewart nodded. "He's going to be back to normal in no time."

"Sammy, normal?" Dean shook his head. "You hear that, Sammy? The doc thinks you're going to be normal."

"Bite me."

"We still want to keep you for one more day for observation, Sam. After that, I don't see any reason why you can get out of here."

"Thanks, Doc," Sam said.

Doctor Stewart shook their hands and left the brothers to themselves. Sam let out a tired sigh and glanced at his brother. Dean was watching him, his brows furrowed and Sam could see he had something on his mind.

"How are you feeling there, Sasquatch?"

"I'm good, Dean."

"Good…good."

Silence enveloped the brothers as they both decided on what to say to each other.

"Dean, look…I'm sorry about what happened back at the Potter Plantation. It was my fault you weren't able to get rid of Matilda the first time."

Dean waved him away. "No, Sammy. I should be the one apologizing. I just…with all the stress from Dad's death and trying to figure out what this damn demon wants with you, I snapped. I didn't mean what I said to you back at the motel."

Sam nodded. Deep in his heart he knew Dean never meant the words he said to him at the motel. Dean was telling the truth about his stress level. Sam had seen it weighing down on his brother ever since John died and it didn't seem to be getting any better. He knew it was bound to come to a boiling point sooner or later.

"Look, Sam, I know I'm not a big fan of this chick-flick crap, but I figure I owe this to you. Consider it part of your Christmas present or something."

"Dean, you don't have to…"

"Yeah, Sammy, I do. So, just sit there and let me do this."

Sam held up his hands in mock surrender. He tried not to smile as Dean took a deep breath, trying to psych himself up to talk.

"When I saw you lying in that street, it scared the shit out of me. After everything that I've done, that I've hunted, I realized I've never been so scared, because for the first time, I saw I could actually lose you."

"Dean…"

"No, Sam." He shook his head. "I didn't know what to do. For the first time, I didn't know how to fix it, there wasn't anything I could fight. I've never had that problem before when it came to you. All I could do was sit here and wait. I gotta tell you, little brother, it's not something I'm terribly good at."

"Yeah, I know." Sam smiled.

Dean nodded, then hesitated and Sam was sure his brother wanted to say more but just didn't know how. "Sam…while you were sleeping, I spoke to Mom."

"What do you mean?"

Dean got up from his chair and began to pace the small room. "I don't know if it was the stress or what, but Mom was in here and she spoke to me."

"What did she say?"

"She told me she was proud of everything I've done. She told me you were going to be okay, Sammy. She was telling me not to worry because she was taking care of you."

"She spoke to me, too, Dean. So did Jess and Layla."

"Layla?" Dean's green eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, Dean."

"But…when?"

Sam knew what his brother was asking him. "She died a few months ago."

Dean fell down in his chair and rubbed his face. "How is she? I mean, is she okay?"

"She's good, Dean, she's happy. She said to tell you hi, by the way."

Dean grinned and nodded.

"Look, Dean, some pretty weird things happened to me while I was out of it."

"What kind of things?"

The corner of Sam's lips turned up into a smile. "I got to see things, things I either forgot about or never thought possible."

"Like what?"

Sam sighed. He didn't want to say too much to his brother. He rarely kept anything from Dean, but the visions he'd seen he wanted to keep to himself, didn't want Dean to know the person he could have become if things were different. They would just weigh Dean down and Sam wasn't about to do that to him. So he would lie.

Sam shrugged. "It's all a big blur, but one thing kept screaming out at me."

"What's that?"

"You and me, we're a team. We may have our fights, but no matter what, we have to stick together."

"Oh, God…you're not going to get all sappy on me, are you?"

"Just shut up for once, Dean. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me until the very end."

Dean smiled. "That could be for a while because I don't know about you, but I plan on sticking around for a very long time."

"As long as it takes."

Dean reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, hastily wrapped gift. "I know I haven't done this in a few years, but I got you something."

"Dean, you didn't have to do that."

"We have this damn argument every time, Sammy." He thrust the gift at his brother. "Just take the present already."

Sam grinned and took the gift from his older sibling's outstretched hand. He saw Dean wrapped it up with a section of the Sunday morning comics. Eagerly tearing it open as if he were a small child, he smiled when the contents revealed a small Swiss Army knife.

Sam held it up and looked at the small token appreciatively. "Dean, this is great."

Dean shook his head, almost embarrassed. "I remember you always wanting one when you were a kid."

"Yeah, and you and Dad would never get it for me."

"That's because we were afraid you would be stupid enough to slice your hand open. But now, I think you've reached the big boy age."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, thanks."

"Seriously, Sam…I know we have our problems, but we always manage to work it out. I just want you to always know I'm going to be here for you, no matter what."

"I know you will, Dean."

Dean raised himself from his chair and stretched. "I don't know about you, but I could use a little caffeine. You want anything?"

"A coffee would be great."

Dean nodded and walked out of the room. Sam looked down at the small knife in his hand and smiled. He knew right then everything was going to be okay. Sure, he and Dean would have their fights, but in the end things were going to always work out. He and Dean only had each other and the young hunter was determined not to let anything ever change that.

After all, they were Winchesters…they were brothers.