Here is the conclusion…

"Dad can we leave tonight?" Sam asked.

John nearly fell over. "You want to leave before I do? That is a first. Well first we have to wait for Dean to come home, but maybe that would be a good idea," John said reaching out and ruffling Sam's hair. "You are way overdue for a haircut boy."

"I know I keep forgetting."

"How do you forget, I don't know how you can even see where you're going," John said smiling.

Sam who was worried that his dad would be a bit harsher relaxed somewhat and shrugged. Dean and his antics being the focal point of John's world right now was helpful for certain things. "Do you think it's a curse?" he asked.

John surprised his youngest made this leap took a deep breath. "I'm afraid so son; curses are very difficult to deal with."

"So what do you do?"

"Generally the best thing you can do is get out its way."

Sam looked worried. "But he didn't get away, will he be okay?"

John pulled the boy close and looked him in the eye, "there is always hope, counter curses abound and I will never let either one of you boys slip away from me."

Sam smiled glad that John would have their back, but also found himself unsure of what he exactly meant by that statement. He had done his own research on curses and counter curses and wanted to share his findings with John but found that he could only think about John not letting him or Dean get away.

Dean finally walked in the door his math book in hand the key to the garage now safely in his pocket. John was relieved to see the boy home but puzzled as to why he had a school book. "We're leaving remember I told you that we are leaving in the morning; you were supposed to turn all your books in," John said.

"I didn't think you were serious, come on Dad give me a break. I've kept my end of the bargain and got help in my other courses and laid off the car so why do we need to leave?"

"Because I don't think that is what has really happened. Let me tell you my take on the matter. I think you got a friend to call me and you have been working on that car after school instead of getting math help. And I think it is time for us to leave."

Dean wanted to explode, he couldn't believe this he finally got Betsy running and now he was going to be taken away from her. He opened his mouth to yell but then came up with a better plan. "Fine whatever, I just figured you would want to keep Sammy here longer. I'm nowhere near finishing the car anyway," he said trying to act casual. "I'm going to pack and head to bed since I imagine we'll be leaving early."

John wasn't sure what to think but let Dean head off to his room without a word. Sam just shrugged his shoulders and began to shuffle through some papers.

"You might want to get your stuff together as well," John suggested.

"I already have," Sam confirmed as he folded a piece of paper and put it in his pocket.

Sam and John watched TV until Sam began to slump against John as he fell asleep. John intended to get up and check on Dean but his eyes began to get heavy and he just pulled Sam closer and fell asleep himself.

Dean had climbed out the window and into the cool night air making a mad dash to the school. The key worked as it should and before long he and his beloved were together. Dean opened the bay door of the garage and ran back taking his time opening the car door savoring the moment. He slid into the driver's seat and took a deep breath. He had already taken the car key off the rack that had held the spare key to the garage. He held his breath and turned over the engine. She sprang to life just as if she had been waiting for him. The smooth rumble was comforting and Dean's smile couldn't be contained as he shifted into first and eased her out of the garage.

John woke up with a start. Sam was still curled up against him and John hated to leave him but he needed to check on Dean. He gently slid Sam's top half down to the couch and quietly made his way to the back bedroom. He opened the door to the darkened room to find it completely empty. His heart began to pound, but he told himself to relax that Dean was probably out working on the car one last time. He shook Sammy awake and told him to get ready to go out ignoring his son's mumbled questions as he began to fumble through a stack of papers. He found the one he needed and quickly shoved it in his pocket.

"Get in the car," he barked to Sam who was still trying to wake up.

John grabbed the boy's jacket and tossed it to him as they headed out to the car. First he was going to find Dean then he was going to kill him.

"I need you to think Sammy," John said as he wheeled out of the driveway. "Has Dean said anything to you lately about a plan or that car or where he might go?"

"No sir, he hasn't said much of anything to me in the last few weeks," not since that car came along Sam thought to himself.

"Hopefully he is just at the school," John said trying in vain to hide the panic that was beginning to take hold.

Sam nodded eagerly wanting the very same thing. By the time they pulled up to the school the worry was blinding especially as it became quite apparent that Dean and the car were both missing. "Where would he go?" John yelled to no one in particular but the volume alone caused Sam to jump.

"I don't know, he stopped talking to me," Sam said tearfully.

"Son, I'm sorry I really wasn't asking you it was more of a rhetorical question. Have you heard about any place that kids like to drive?" he asked as calmly as he could muster.

"A few years ago there was an accident out at the bluffs so it's been banned by the cops," Sam offered already understanding the teenage psyche and what drove them to avoid compliance as eagerly as they did early mornings and homework.

John simply nodded but his eyes began to turn feral as he pushed the accelerator into submission. Sam was right on the mark as that is exactly where Dean would take his newfound love. The night descended like an ebony blanket enveloping them quickly. This sudden impediment only caused John to go faster as Sam watched the reflectors on the guard rails fly by.

Dean was euphoric as he and the car made their way down the deserted road to the bluffs. It was as if the car was taking him there herself. Her engine purred and the steering was smooth, he couldn't believe she had chosen him to revive her. His world had been a blur from the time he bent over her engine until this glorious moment, now clarity reigned and his mission would be complete.

John was trying to calculate how long it would take for him to get to the edge of town. He pushed the thought that Dean might not even be there as far from his mind as he could. He had failed and now he had to find his son and find him quickly.

Dean did donuts around the open space enjoying the freedom Betsy allowed him. He spun around letting the wheel slip through his fingers. He drove her frontwards and backwards, stomped on the brakes and revved her up. He was going to drive her as far as she would go before taking her back but as he turned to leave the area the steering seemed uncooperative. He turned the wheel hard to the left but found little response. He furrowed his brow and tried again only to be met with more resistance. He felt the car begin to roll the opposite direction despite the fact that he had his boot firmly placed on the brake. He knew the cliff was ahead in the distance but didn't think there was any type of steep grade that would cause him to roll that way.

The Impala took the curve a bit too quickly but John's experience behind the wheel allowed him complete control as the panic was now beginning to hit him in waves. He looked over as Sam began fishing in his pocket for some unseen item. His focus returning to the road and at the turn off John hit the brakes and fishtailed towards the bluff. Sam pulled the small penlight he knew was in the glovebox out and watched the light bounce all over his page of notes. He began to mumble and then his efforts began in earnest as they saw taillights ahead. John looked over and realized his young son was miles ahead of him. He stretched his legs out as far as the confines of the car would allow and pulled his own note out of his pocket. With familiarity that only someone who spent far too much time behind the wheel John was able to read the counter curse under the soft light of the dome fixture while he drove in complete darkness with only his headlights to open the obscurity; Dean's taillights winking at him mercilessly.

Sam's words became clearer with more purpose and ahead Dean began to feel their effects. It was as if he awoke from the kind of nightmare one suffered from the delirium of a fever. Nothing was familiar and he was completely helpless. The cliff was coming up fast the beams of light led the car towards a path of certain death. Dean knew his only opportunity at life was to heave his body from the car before it became his metal coffin. He tugged at the door handle but was met with resistance yielding nothing for his efforts. Panic now took a deep hold within the boy and would only leave upon impact.

John's words were said with intonation and force that Sam feared for the curse that John was attempting to banish. Up ahead Dean continued his efforts on the door but again the reward for his labor went unmet.

John knew they were nearly out of room and just out of reach of his high beams the beautifully restored 1969 Camaro lurched and then regained its strength and disappeared from view.

The screams were instantaneous and primal the car was gone and with it their beloved family member. Both Sam and John headfirst in trauma searched the sinister backdrop in hopes of seeing the form of the one so dear to them. John knew if unsuccessful he would be more than willing to follow his son over the precipice and tumble into the abyss right beside him. If not for Sam life would be too empty too devastating to endure. The only thing that kept John going at that moment was a trace amount of hope that Dean was alive and his youngest son whose eyes betrayed the suffering that was just beginning to settle into his soul.

John heaved a huge sigh broken up by sobs that were being held in check for the moment. John turned his bright lights on and began a slow drive, the moisture on his cheeks undeniable – he had yet to forgive himself for Mary's death but to allow Dean to slip through his fingers was cause for more self-flagellation than a lifetime would allow. As John had already deposited himself in a dark mental vacuum he hadn't felt Sam's attempt at gaining his attention.

Dean finally was able to sit up. His whole body hurt and he could taste dirt in his mouth. He was unsure as to what had brought him here until small snippets of the past weeks began to flash through his mind. He couldn't believe what he had done, what he had been responsible for. His mind reeling from his recent memories he realized he was mere feet from the edge of the cliff unsure of how he didn't accompany the metal monster to his death. Breathing hard he looked up to see a set of headlights he had been unaware of until that moment. As he heard the familiar engine roar his way the fear he had been feeling just tripled.

Doors slammed and before he knew it his family was upon him. Dean looked up with eyes full of alarm as John reached out to him. The teen immediately recoiled but found himself wrapped up in the strong arms of his father whose grasp was unrelenting. He soon realized the motion coming from John was the heaving caused by the deepest of sobs. The insurmountable anguish had been released; his son was alive. Recollections continued to flood the unfocused haze that was his current mindset. He felt Sam's hand on his shoulder and felt the boy's tears fall into his hair. At that moment the world only consisted of what John held in his arms.

Dean woke up resigned to the punishment he was certain would come. He had put his father through hell and more. He knew he had been insolent and disrespectful breaking more rules than he care to admit to and then allowed him to think even if only for the briefest of time that he was dead. None of this added up to a favorable column for the teen who knew now that John was over his shock would realize and act upon his misdeeds.

He wiped the sleep from his eyes patted down his hair the best he could and slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower before the retribution was to come. He toweled off and saw that Sam had tossed some clean clothes in the room for him. After taking a very long time to run the gel through his hair and smooth his t-shirt from its wrinkles, something he normally didn't even notice much less care about.

John was busy in the kitchen as it was becoming more than evident that Dean was stalling. The father of two sighed knowing his eldest must be filled with trepidation. The guilt that John so often felt roiling around in his gut had grown exponentially. It was bad enough he left the boys to their own devices far too often but when he came home it only felt as if he was disciplining them on a nearly continuous basis leaving not much room for happy father son times. He had only come close to feeling what he had last night one other time and he still carried the weight of that to this very day. The relief he felt at finding Dean alive gave his soul the liberation that it had to have. Suffering another loss was beyond incomprehensible and the thought of it nearly made tears retrace last night's path down his face. Sensing that somebody was looking at him he turned to see his eldest standing there as if he was waiting for the apocalypse.

"Where's Sammy?" he asked his voice raspy.

"Next door with a friend, one he made while you out fixing up what almost killed you."

"Oh," was that Dean had to offer.

In just a few strides John had made his way over to his son as if his body had taken on a life of its own he grabbed the boys shoulders and shook him hard Dean's face became frozen. Despite his own best efforts the tears sprang from their moorings and wound their way wildly down his face knowing no reprieve. John once again held his son tightly for dear life ever so grateful that he had the opportunity to do so. Dean's shoulders began to heave but he still couldn't seem to cry and relieve his own agony so with the love of a father John made a move to relieve his son from the bottleneck that he was suffering from. He reached down his long arms still able to find the spot on his ever growing son and delivered several blows each landing quite loudly and it was then and only then that the floodgates gave way and Dean began to heal.

John steered him to the couch and sat him down taking the spot next to him. Even though that had gone nowhere near his plan it seemed as if it had been for the best. The sobs were big and continuous and tears had taken control. Dean cried until he could cry no more and then and only then did John who had been alternately holding his son and rubbing his back clear his throat to talk.

"Can you tell me what happened son?"

A simple question yet nothing in their lives was simple. Dean drew in a deep breath and began his tale of the car and John recalled his son's insistence at having to have that car and mentally kicked himself for not seeing the warning signs. Of course he hadn't been there to see them and rewarded himself with another mental boot. Nothing could absolve him from his responsibility in this matter; when his son needed him the most the time the hunt was right in his very own backyard he was nowhere to be found.

When Dean finished explaining that he only realized much of this last night apparently once the curse had been broken. He was only now understanding what had happened and what he had done. John leaned over causing Dean to flinch and John feel that his presence often only meant discomfort for his son. "It's okay Dean the physical stuff is over."

"Really?" Dean asked genuinely surprised.

"For this time anyway. Look I owe you a big apology, I dropped the ball and I'm sorry."

Dean's smile was as close to smug as he dared as he listened to his dad's apology. "So am I okay then?" Dean asked hopefully at the end of the discussion.

"It was a curse Dean and I think the only punishment I'm going to instill is that you do some serious research on them."

"How did you stop it? I mean I didn't even know or care that I was in danger and then I suddenly began to understand that the car was somehow evil and wanted to kill me. But I couldn't get out no matter how hard I tried Dad it wouldn't let me out," Dean said his voice beginning to quiver.

John softened his eyes as much as he could. "All I can think of is that your brother who by the way came upon this all on his own in his efforts to help you had found a counter curse that broke you from the curse but not the car. So you began to understand what was happening and didn't want any part of it as you weren't under its hold any more. But unfortunately the curse on the car still held and she wasn't about to let you go regardless of your mental status."

"Well then how did I get out?"

"That was my counter-curse, it broke the cars hold on you and she could no longer hold you in. And thank God you got out in time."

"Just in time," Dean said with a dramatic sigh.

"Without both who knows what would have happened. Sammy was a big hero last night and you owe him some serious big brother time for his efforts."

Dean nodded in compliance. "I'm grateful to you both. So how do you avoid a curse then?"

John smiled at his boy, his beautiful, beautiful boy and said, "son you do just that, you get the hell out if its way!"

The End

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