AN: Ah, it is almost Christmas, everybody! Allow this final chapter to be an early gift for y'all! This chapter is kind of a treat for those that already read On My Own, but honestly it just kind of explains what went down, so you won't be lost or anything... I don't think so anyway. If there's any questions feel free to ask! Really, I do love chatting with you all!

"Son of a bitch!" Dean snapped.

"Quit squirming." Sam replied flatly.

"I will when you quit hurting me!"

"I wouldn't even have to be doing this if you hadn't robbed a bank last year. Maybe then we'd get to go to a hospital."

"Hey, not my fault the shapeshifter knew a good face when it saw one." Dean huffed, and then let out a little yelp when a particularly painful stitch went through his back. "Ow! That was on purpose!"

"Was not. Stop moving."

"'Stop moving...'" Dean mimicked under his breath.

"Hey, you want to not piss of the guy who's got a needle at your back?"

"I clearly already have since he's hurting me so damn much."

Sam groaned. "Wuss."

After what felt like far too long to Dean, Sam had finished patching him up. "There, done. You happy?"

"Freaking over the moon, Sammy."

"We'll get your toe and fingers checked out once we get further away from here, and to Bobby's, alright?"

"Sounds good. How's the head?"

"Fi-"

"Don't you dare." Dean cut him off. "I did not just sit through twenty minutes of Mr. Hot-Dog-Finger's patch up session for you to say you're fine. C'mon, how's the head?"

Sam huffed. "Still kinda hurts, but not more than the times I had a vision or anything."

"And your chest?"

"It was all superficial, Dean. The pain was nothing more than some weird-ass pressure Raef pulled out of thin air."

"We're still getting you an x-ray to make sure everything's in place. Don't argue, just accept it and we can move on with our lives."

With an eye roll, Sam concurred. "Fine."

Approvingly, Dean nodded. They were both going to need a while to recover from this one, but that was okay. The end of the world wasn't coming any faster if they took a few days to breathe.

But- something was still bothering Dean about this. Even with Raef trying to rub it in and everything, Dean still didn't know the whole story about what happened between him and Sam, and as a big brother, he needed to know.

"Hey, Sam?"

Oh no. Dean had said 'Sam.' That was never a good sign. "Yeah?"

"What did Raef even want? Not this time, he was pretty clear about that, but back at Stanford. Why'd he ever go after you in the first place?"

Dean watched the lightheartedness fall from Sam's face. "It was years ago, Dean. It doesn't matter any-"

"Yes it does, Sam." Dean interrupted. "It matters to me. C'mon, you're always complaining that I never talk about my feelings or whatever it is you girls do. Don't be a hypocrite."

Huffing again, Sam took a few seconds to prepare himself to tell the tale. "It started off a lot like this time. Trail of bodies, not a lot in common with one another, and no one was stepping in. I just- I had to do something, yknow?"

Oh, Dean definitely knew.

"I convinced myself I was just checking out the crime scene, nothing more. But- I saw the sulfur on the windows, and he'd spelled my name out in it."

"Sounds like he's always been a dramatic dick then, huh?" Dean made an attempt at humour.

It worked, at least a little, earning him a small smile from Sam. "Looks like it. Anyway, he was there waiting for me. Tossed me around til I passed out, and the next time I woke up, I'd realised I'd been captured by a demonic clown."

Yikes. "That sounds like it kinda sucked."

Sam scoffed. "You know what he's capable of, so that's the understatement of the year. But- yeah. Before he started torturing me, he'd asked what made me special. Had no clue what he was talking about back then, so that made it a lot harder to cope when he brought out all the pointy stuff."

Dean now wished he'd taken longer to kill the bastard.

"I tried to tell him that I didn't know what he meant, but he wouldn't listen. Lotta torture happened in between, a lot of what you got. But, eventually I managed to get free and trap and exorcise him."

"Heard about that. Your own blood for a devil's trap?"

Sam nodded.

"Good thinking, Sammy." Damn, Dean had one hell of a smart brother.

It was quiet for a bit, but then Sam just had to open his damn mouth. "What really sucked was when I found out he was right..."

Hold. The hell. Up. "Come again?"

"He was right." Sam deadpanned, eyes forward, far from the undoubtedly judgmental stare his brother was giving him. "I was special, Dean. I did have powers."

"So what, you saying you deserved to get tortured by that son of a bitch?"

"No, I'm not saying that, I just mean-" Sam huffed again. "I got away from hunting for a reason, Dean. I never- I never felt- safe around you and Dad. It wasn't yours or his fault, I just- I think I knew. Some part of me knew that I was dangerous, and I wanted to run away to try and keep that part of me from ever showing up. For the longest time I was willing to believe that the entire thing with Raef was just some freak coincidence, but turned out that I couldn't escape. It was always just a matter of time before I turned into a freak."

As calmly as he could, Dean took a breath. "Shut up, Sam."

Taken back, Sam gave Dean a shocked look. "What?"

"I said shut up. You're not dangerous, and you're not a freak. You never have been."

"But-"

"No 'buts,' Sam, nothing that happened to you was ever your choice. You didn't ask for any of that. It just got thrown in your face, and it's anything but fair. So don't you think for a second that that son of a bitch had any reason for everything he did to you. He was wrong, and if you ever start thinking otherwise then you're an idiot."

Sam went silent for a moment, and then he let out a little laugh.

"What's so funny?" Dean asked, his tone still maintaining a bit of an edge to it.

"Nothing, I just- I- I needed to hear that... Thank you, Dean."

Oh, God, this was exactly why Dean avoided talking about his feelings. It always ended up turning into- this.

Nonetheless, Sam was right. He did need to hear that. "You're welcome."

Alright, Sam had told his side, and now it was Dean's turn. If he thought about it too much, he knew he'd talk himself out of admitting it, so he just forced it out. "I saw you at Stanford."

Sam's eyebrows knitted together, "I-I know, Dean. I was usually there when you visited me."

"No, Sam, I mean- during all that. Well- after it."

The eyebrows scrunched further. "What are you talking about?"

Dean took a deep breath. "The reason no one was showing up on that case... Dad was calling every hunter he knew. Telling 'em he had it taken care of. Thought maybe that'd get you to call in some backup. I swear, I didn't know at first, but the second I found out, I left to go see you."

"You-..." Sam looked like he couldn't even believe it. "Was dad mad?"

"Not until I got back, but that was when I suggested that he and I started taking separate jobs. I was pretty pissed at him for that."

"I-I didn't know that."

Dean let out a little chuckle. "Course you didn't, that's why I just told you, dumbass."

Sam rolled his eyes, giving a small laugh. "Shut up. Just keep going."

"Anyway, I left to go check on you, and I ran into some kid named Brain or Brandy-"

"Brady." Sam corrected.

"Brady, that's it. Ran into Brady, and he told me about how you didn't want to see anybody after the accident. Naturally, I was both pissed and worried as hell, so I went to the library to find you. I saw you coming out with crutches, and I was about to run over there and ask what the hell happened to you, but..." Dean paused.

"But what?"

Dean could only hope that what he said next wouldn't upset Sam too greatly. "I saw Jess. She came over to you and- you two just looked so happy."

Jess' name would always hurt to hear, but that wasn't what troubled Sam the most. "Why didn't you come over?"

"Why didn't you call me or dad?" Dean retorted.

Touché. "That-that was the last time you ever came to Stanford, wasn't it?"

Dean nodded. "I missed you, Sammy, but... I figured you needed- no, you deserved that life you'd always wanted. And that life didn't include me, but I was okay with that. You'd built that life all on your own, and even though I might not have been there for you, I was proud of you. And I always will be."

Sam smiled again, a barely noticeable but genuinely grateful one. "Hey." He said. "I'm proud of you too, Dean."

Kid was crazy for thinking that, but Dean couldn't help but smile too. "Alright, no need to be a girl about it."

With a little breathy laugh, Sam couldn't help but fall into the classic banter trap. "Jerk."

Clichéd much, Sam? Still, Dean replied with his signature grin, "Bitch."

AN: Yes, I am a piece of garbage, but whatever, I'm okay with that. Alright, I do already have another story in the works. A request was sent in, and I have already begun, therefore, y'all know what's coming...

Sneak Peek: "Stubborn as dad. Of course. Dean knew that at this point, there was no reason to stick around. Sam had guessed wrong, he wasn't allowed to come on the hunt."

If you ain't figured it out yet, it is indeed a weechesters fic! Not always the easiest thing for me to write, but I am willing to expand my horizons for requests! See how easy it is to a get a story written for you? All ya gotta do is ask :D ! Okay, lemme know what you thought of this story, but also, have a very Merry Christmas everyone! Until next time, carry on my wayward sons!