Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters

A/N: This is the last chapter; I hope you enjoyed the story and I would just like to thank everyone who took the time to read and review.

I would like to say a big THANK YOU again to my Beta buttercupgalaxy who has been a great support.

SN

It had been two weeks since he had finally gotten his brother to open up and really let him know what was going on in his head. Two weeks since Sam had broke down and admitted his fears and the true extent of his guilt. Dean was no fool, he knew that one talk wouldn't make everything ok; he knew that his brother was too far in the depths of depression for it to be that easy. He had spent a lot of his time on the net looking for articles on depression and survivor guilt, and came to realise that the road to recovery was still some way off. But for the moment Dean couldn't help but feel that if they stuck together on it they would get through it – just as they always had.

The two weeks had been full of highs and lows, beginning with Sam finally having a full nights sleep, the first one in weeks, with the nightmares that had plagued him since Jess's death seeming to have finally abated. But Dean should have known better, when had Sam ever been that lucky? The nights that followed had the nightmares return with such veracity, that no matter what Sam had tried to do he would be unable to go back to sleep, instead spending the remainder of his night tossing and turning.

Dean was beginning to feel desperate, wondering if his talk with Sam had actually done any good, fearing that if the answer to his question was no then what was he going to do? He was all out of ideas. On the third night however they finally reached a turning point.

Dean had wakened instantly when he heard his brother sit up in bed with a gasp. Pretending to be asleep, he listened as Sam got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. He could feel a lump in his throat and his stomach begin to feel sick at the thoughts of what Sam could be doing.

Deciding that he couldn't wait for Sam to come to him any longer, he was about to get out of bed when he heard the bathroom door open. Listening, as Sam's footsteps padded across the floor and got closer to his bed, Dean continued his pretence of being asleep. The footsteps halted for a moment, and then suddenly started again until they reached their final destination and Sam reached out, put his hand on Dean's shoulder and was calling to him in an effort to wake him.

Sitting up in bed, Dean watched as Sam held out his hand to him, it was then that he noticed the knife that he was holding, a single tear falling down his cheek. At that moment Dean felt like he was ready to take on the world. He smiled at Sam, as he accepted the knife and put it in the drawer beside his bed. Realising that this meant more than Sam just handing over the knife, it was Sam was telling him that he was trusting in Dean to get him through this and even more importantly, that Sam himself wanted to get through it.

He had asked Sam if he wanted to talk about it, but Sam just shook his head. He had told Dean that he wanted to move on, that dwelling on it wasn't going to help him but he also didn't think that he was going to be able to get back to sleep. Dean had grabbed the blanket from the bed, and motioned for Sam to follow him. They ended up spending the night watching the Rocky marathon that was showing, and he had woken to Bobby cooking breakfast with Sam still sleeping on the couch.

So that was there lives were at the moment – full of ups and downs. But finally Dean felt that there was a glimmer of light beginning to make it's way through what seemed to be a very long tunnel, he just hoped that Sam had begun seeing it too.

They had made headway on the eating front – who knew Bobby was such a good cook? Sam still wasn't eating as much as Dean would like but he was eating and the trips to the bathroom after had been becoming less frequent.

Sam had begun to ask Dean about when they would be moving on, and Dean had taken one look at his little brother and knew the real reason that he was asking. Dean had been expecting the question, knew that Sam would think that he was holding things up, keeping Dean from the hunt. He had made it quiet clear to Sam that they were staying put until Sam was back up to a hundred percent and that he alone would be the judge of when that was.

And so here he was sitting with Bobby on the porch, drinking beer, watching his six foot four inch brother playing like a kid with Bobby's "guard dog" Rumsfield.

"So it looks like Sammy finally got that dog he was looking for?" Dean grinned as he turned to look at Bobby, knowing that the older hunter was calculating the amount of damage that Sam's playing was doing to the months of training Bobby had put in to make the dog a force to be reckoned with.

"Yeah, but did he have to pick Rumsfield, couldn't you have got him a retriever? I see Sam as a retriever kinda guy." Bobby said, wincing as he turned Rumsfield over and started to tickle his tummy.

"Yeah, I could have but where would the fun have been in that?" Bobby's head turned to look at Dean.

"Seriously though Bobby, we can't have a dog now for the same reason we couldn't get one when he was six and I don't want him to have something that he would only have to give up when it is time to hit the road." Dean turned his head and smiled as he heard Sam laugh, it really was good to hear that again.

"Least this way he knows heading into it Rumsfield will be staying here, cause there is no way we'd get him in the Impala."

"It'll be alright you know Dean, he'll be alright. You just have to give him time to recover and be there for him when he needs you. Don't expect miracles Dean and you wont be disappointed." Bobby said as he took another swig of beer.

"So you watch Oprah too, huh?" Dean asked as Bobby almost choked on his beer.

"Hey Bobby, have you got a hose anywhere?" Both men turned their attention to Sam.

"Why on earth do you want a hose Sam?" Bobby asked.

"I think Rumsfield needs a bath." Sam replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The look on Bobby's face was priceless, if only he had his camera on him. Bobby turned his head to look at him, unable to hold it in any longer Dean burst out laughing.

"What, what's so funny?" Sam asked innocently as he looked between Bobby and Dean.

Yeah, Dean could definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel and as long as he could see it, he would make sure that he brought Sammy out with him.

THE END

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