Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'cept the dust bunnies attached to the plot bunnies as they crawl out from under my bed… now if that didn't sound isn't odd…

NOTE: Thank you so much for the continued reads and favs, alerts and reviews! I do take note of all of the above. Medically, my Land of Real is in suckage territory. Spent all last year being tested for Lupus, getting my diagnosis in Feb of this year. Only to find out a few months later my doc who left, put nothing in her notes about ANY of the tests. So I had to start over. Went to a specialist in KC who told me he does believe I have Lupus. So anyway, now they are testing my heart because of insane swelling… like all over. So, anyway… (if I've said all this before, sorry)

AGAIN, I am sorry for the inconsistent posting of this story.

Chapter 23

Sam was standing by a creek gazing into the water, thinking about Dean. Wondering where he was and if he was okay. But somehow he knew Dean was physically fine. He just knew it. If Dean was anything but fine he would be with him. Which meant…

"Sam." A deep voice spoke from behind him.

Sam jerked in response but remained staring at the creek. He didn't need to look to know it was his father. Which meant…

"Sammy." Another voice repeated his name only this time it was a woman. His mother.

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, before pivoting towards the voices. As he opened his eyes he came face to face with his dead parents.

"Dad… Ma… mother." He responded, crossing his arms shakily across his chest.

His mother smiled as his dad grasped him by the shoulder. His smile broadened as he told him proudly, "You boys did it."

"Why are you here? Why am I here? Is this it?" Sam rattled off his questions, one after another. Only stopping when his mother placed her hand on his chest. He looked at her hand and then followed her arm up to meet her sad eyes.

"So, I'm going to hell then." Sammy stated, nodding that he understood. Not really surprised. So seeing his parents… was a reward for re-caging the devil? Well, since it was only for 150 years it made sense that Hell would be still on the table. He'd done so many things… so much evil. Hurt his own brother. Not just hurt him, destroyed him. Chose a damn demon over the only person that had never given up on him. Well, until the day he watched as his big brother dropped the amulet into the motel trashcan… letting him know with that single gesture there would be no more "us" against the world. That had been the start of the end of Dean's undying faith in the "goodness" of his little brother.

"Son. No…"

Was there a place worse than Hell? Where they sent really supersonic evil things? Oh yeah, Purgatory. He felt like smacking himself in the forehead for his stupidity. For his stupid, stupid dream of redemption. It stood to reason. The vilest things were suppose to be housed there. Only a dick that would betray his brother, again and again would think he might actually deserve to get to go back to make things truly alright with his brother.

Mary thumped him on his chest to get his attention. When he looked down at her, really focused he saw tears brimming on the tips of her eyelashes, ready to fall. It made his heart and his breath shudder.

Seeing the utter sadness on her face was also fair… in the punishment department. His dad had said… he looked up and over to see his dad watching him and Mary with fondness… wait, that's not right. His addled brain popped in.

"Why aren't you pissed?" He demanded of his father. "I'm a total fuck up." He knew that. No more pretending. He blinked rapidly at his dad. Cause to top everything off, he WASN'T going to bawl like a kid.

"You're human. We all make mistakes. BUT you manned up and fixed the shit storm. That counts son."

He backed away. Shaking his head… he wanted this to be true… More than anything but… it just wasn't. AND if it wasn't real then that meant… this was his introduction to Hell. His gateway greeters to the land of the damned? Pretending to be loved ones only to snatch the rug out from under him when he let down his guard…

As he turned away his hand jumped up and rammed through his hair. He charged through the creek until he was on the other side before he slowed and turned to look at "his parents."

He sighed so deep it rattled deep into his bones. An ache started there and worked it's way into his entire body as he trembled in fear at the thought of never seeing Dean… or Bobby ever again. He bit his lip before he whispered, "Christo." as he stared at his dad.

John looked surprised and then chuckled as he ran his own hand through his hair, "I could see where you'd think that son." He smiled and looked at Mary, the love of his life.

"Sammy I am so sorry. All this is my fault… if I had just told John from the beginning." Mary started, stepping closer to the creeks edge.

"NO!" He shouted, covering his ears like a little kid, they were not going to trick him. Get his hopes up and crush them.

"SAMMY!" Dean's voice ran clear and loud and drowned out everything. His hands dropped away as he looked around. Or tried to. It wasn't possible with his face pressed into Dean's chest so hard he couldn't breathe. Dean's arms vice gripped around him as Dean's body shuddered between sobs.

Wait… sobs? Why was he crying? What was wrong with Dean? He brought his arms up, patting his brother's back.

Dean froze. His brother had pat him on the back. He pulled back to look at Sam.

Sam who was staying upright under his own power. Sam who gave him a ghost of a smile.

All Dean could think was Sammy had finally chosen him!

THE END

Or

IS IT?

NOTE: I loved this as an ending but I also loved the idea of playing out the way Sammy's mindset was before he came back to Dean. How would that play out? So, here's a new one for you. If you like this ending… do nothing. There ya go. BUT, if you want a different ending… read the next chapter or chapters posted. (It will move forward from this chapter, a few hours time will have elapsed) It's totally up to you. If you choose to read on, awesome! If you decide your done I want to thank you now for your saintly patience in the forever-ness of this story in the posting department. ~iamtryN