Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Winchesters and Bobby, but I sure own Jack, Kyle and Matt.
Co-author cum beta: Bia1007

Chapter 16

Dean wrapped his fingers around the mug, taking in the aroma of fresh brewed coffee Sam had made for him. He took a sip, relinquishing the warmth of the drink and felt a bit of the weight on his shoulders being lifted away. He had just finished cleaning after the dinner that nobody was able to finish and now was watching Sam fill a basin with tap water and then rush out the kitchen to Kyle's and Matt's aid.

Sam had been running back and forth from the bedroom to the kitchen for the last two hours – hurrying to get clean washcloths, rummaging through the kitchen cabinet for nausea meds, preparing coffee to help release everyone's stress, patting Dean's shoulder once in a while to lessen his brother's worry before going back into the room to attend a newly-found and very sick cousin.

Less than 24 hours ago, it would have been Kyle waiting in the kitchen, offering Sam encouraging words and Matt would have been the nurse attending to the one in need of help that was Dean. But suddenly everybody's roles were reversed once Dean had entered the cabin with Kyle thrown over his shoulder like a rag doll. It sent shudders down his spine seeing the Callahans' faces went ashen white when he told them Kyle was wasted from drinking beer. Jack told him if he hadn't forced Kyle to vomit everything that he'd drunk, the situation might have been fatal.

Dean sighed deeply. Kyle was so close to dying and Dean felt responsible for it because of two reasons. First, he was the one who offered the kid the beer. And secondly, he had a hunch that it was him who caused Kyle's internal turmoil that driven him into doing the unthinkable – risking his life with such a suicidal act.

What the kid had said at the dock while he was drunk was enough to tell Dean everything. Kyle was deeply hurt by his father's act of secrecy and to make the matter worse his ego was scratched when his father first opened up to Dean rather than sharing with his own sons. Dean knew the pain too well for he had been in the same situation.

Dad, the person he trusted the most and was willing to die for, actually kept a lot of secrets from him. But what hurt the most was dad had never been there to tell him everything was going to be okay like most fathers will. Instead dad had told him to suck up the pain and carry on living without helping him to heal.

Damn! It hurt so much he thought he'd die.

"Dean?"

Dean was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't see Sam come into the kitchen and stand right beside him. He looked up to his sasquatch little brother and gave him a wry smile. "Hey!"

Sam stood there by Dean's side, unmoving and determined, taking in the slumped features of his big brother and drawing his own conclusions. With one quick glance he was able to read him thoroughly. "I'll be back in a minute…" he gave Dean a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, took a new washcloth and headed back to the bedroom. "Just don't move," was thrown at his brother over his shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere…" Dean whispered faintly and took another sip.

………………………………………..

Jack took the cap off another bottle of beer –his sixth bottle this night – as he flicked the remote, punching on the button irately searching for a decent show. But all he saw on the flickering screen was his beloved's face, screaming out his name, her face distorted with pain.

When the face didn't go away no matter how many times he changed the channel, Jack tossed the device away and took a big swig of his beer. He closed his eyes, letting the calming effect of the beer taking over him, trying to forget. But instead of forgetting, the face appeared in his head, torturing him even in his sleep.

"Daddy?"

A tiny demanding voice woke him from his unintended slumber. He looked to his side, to where his son stood looking at him with teary eyes. His five-year-old's hair was messy from sleep. He might have had that nightmare again.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked and cringed seeing his eldest flinch away from him, covering his nose, offended from his beer stinking breath. The kid nervously shook his head.

"I can't find Sammy and Deannie daddy," the boy sobbed, rubbing his eyes to wipe away thetears.

Jack took a deep breath. It hurt him so much hearing the two names and to have them mentioned by his heartbroken kid Jack's heart skipped a beat. Kyle must have been dreaming of Dean and Sam again and started looking for the two boys from room to room – like he'd done almost every night since Jenny's death. It had been almost a year now and the boy had not forgotten a bit.

As tears rolled down his face, Kyle whined sadly "I want Deannie…I wanna see Sammy…"

Feeling helpless and guilty as hell, Jack rubbed his aching head and hissed. Then he braced himself and carded his fingers through Kyle's hair. "Kyle…I've told you they're not real," Jack said feeling so much pain he wished he could die. Lying to his little son was already a torture and denying Dean's and Sam's existence was tormenting him, slicing him from the inside. God! He missed the kids, but he couldn't look at their faces, not now.

"Not real?" Kyle looked up, his face soggy with tears. "But daddy…"

"No Kyle, they only exist in your head," God knew how hard it was for him to keep saying that.

Kyle's shoulder sagged dejectedly and it broke Jack's heart to see his son so sad. "Okay daddy…" he picked up the empty beer bottle and studied it fervently. "Daddy, why you like this so much?" he looked up to his father, curious. He'd seen his daddy hogging to the bottles almost every night, even during the days since mommy was gone.

Jack grabbed the bottle away from Kyle's hand and tossed it to the couch, away from his son's curious eyes. "It makes me forget…now go to bed and look after your brother!" Jack didn't intend to be so harsh but he wasn't thinking. The beer had taken over his system, making him irrational.

The thundering of Jack's voice made his boy jump. He cowered away from his father and ran back upstairs – to his bed, to where his baby brother was sleeping. His heart was totally wrenched and he felt terribly alone. All he needed was his daddy telling him that everything was going to be okay but he caused his father's rage instead.

Kyle wished mommy or Deannie or Sammy were here.

……….

Jack cracked his eyes open at the sound of a glass crashing to the floor. He shot up to his feet with a jolt and staggered slightly when his head spun madly. Clutching his head with one hand, Jack scanned the room. The TV was on static and the room was half lit by the beam from the roadside lights.

He must have dozed off like an hour or two because it was not yet dawn. Moving towards the staircase, Jack cussed when he stumbled over something lying on the floor. He stepped backward and went wide eyed seeing the 'thing' he tripped onto.

"Kyle!!" Jack dropped to his knees next to his eldest curling on the floor – his arms clutching his middle and his face sweaty and contorted with pain. "Oh my God!" he brushed Kyle's curls off his forehead, flinching a little at the heat radiating from his body, and cupped his son's face.

"Kyle, wake up!" Jack shook Kyle's body slightly, careful not to manhandle him too roughly, fearing for unseen injuries. "Talk to me baby," his voice hoarse from worry, his eyes blurry from unshed tears. 'Please God, don't make me lose him too.'

Jack held his son close, cradling his baby. The five-year-old opened his eyes to slits, whimpered "Daddyyy…" and Jack knew immediately the cause of his son's pain. Kyle's breath smelled of beer and a puddle of sickness and the empty beer bottles scattered around him were the proof that his son decided to take his first liquor.

"Kyle, what have you done?" Jack ran his hand over Kyle's face, brushing away the sweat and the mess.

"I wanna…forget d'dy…" Kyle hiccupped and let out an exasperated moan that wrenched his old man's heart.

"Oh God! Kyle…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" Jack buried his face inKyle's hair and made a silent promise to himself – he was not going to drown his problems in alcohol again, not anymore.

"Daddee…?"

Jack lifted his face from Kyle's hair to find wide blue eyes staring at him questioningly. "Matt?" He was too engrossed in his worry over his eldest he didn't hear his little one coming. But at least now he didn't have to go upstairs and get the eighteen-month-old because he really couldn't waste anymore time. They needed to take Kyle to the hospital, and they had to do it fast. He was a doctor but Kyle needed the hospital to get well again. After all Jack was sure Kyle needed him being a dad rather than a doctor.

"Kyle sick?" Matt asked, his pouty lips trembling as his eyes brimmed with tears.

Unable to answer his youngest son, Jack carried Kyle to the couch as Matt followed closely behind him – his hand tugging his father's night robe while his eyes were fixed on his brother's limp form. Then he climbed up the couch and waited, looking up to Jack like he was telling him what to do.

Jack, understanding the look on Matt's face, settled his charge on the couch and carefully rested Kyle's head on the toddler's lap. "Watch your brother," was said over his shoulder as Jack grabbed the car key and headed outside to prepare the car.

The tot watched his father leave and looked down to his brother – his face was as white as sheet and he was trembling madly, shaking Matt's little body with him. Matt wrapped his arms around Kyle's head, rested his cheek on his brother's warm forehead and started humming soothingly.

"S'okay…I'mere."

………………………

Jack rubbed his face and sighed wearily. As if seeing Dean on the verge of death was not enough, now he was threatened with Kyle's crazy beer stunt. His first attempt to drink beer at five – thinking it would make him forget everything – brought him a three days hospital stay and ended for Kyle with a severe intolerance to beer for the rest of his life. And now his rage had driven him to repeat the same mistake and again almost had cost him his life.

The retching sounds coming from the room Dean had occupied before was disturbing, making Jack feel sick to his stomach. He didn't know what to do. He really wanted to go into the room and at least sit by Kyle's bedside, to show that he really cared.

But he couldn't look his son in the eye, not after the revelation, not after he'd told Kyle that all the things he said about Dean and Sam were lies. Jack was not strong enough to face Kyle's anger but most of all he couldn't watch the hurt and the disappointment in his son's eyes.

Somehow Jack wished the beer Kyle drank that night more than twenty years ago would have worked a miracle by making his son forget everything. But no, real life didn't work that way. He'd lost himself in the bottle months after Jenny died but he still remembered.

"You okay?"

Looking up, he smiled dryly at Bobby who towered over him, invading his personal space with a worried glance and a comforting smile.

"Yeah…it's just that too many things happened," Jack fidgeted with his hands, studying them with an empty gaze. He almost shot up to his feet when another heaving sound resonated down the room's way. But then he sagged down into the couch and sighed for the umpteenth times.

Bobby took a seat in front of Jack and followed his gaze. Seeing the worry in Jack's eyes as he stared at the room longingly, Bobby knew for sure. "Why don't you just go in?" he asked, tilting his head towards the room.

Jack turned towards Bobby, glared at him disbelievingly and shook his head "No, he's still mad at me."

Bobby took a deep breath, shaking his head exasperatedly. He knew too much about the Winchesters – Jack was John's half brother, but he pretty much inherited the Winchesters' stupidity making him a true Winchester – he could tell the answer even before Jack had said anything.

"What would it take for you to admit your mistakes to him?" Bobby huffed.

He didn't remember Jack asking for Kyle's forgiveness after he revealed the big secret during dinner. In fact he was sure Jack was avoiding Kyle's eyes all the time he was talking. And when Kyle left the dining table, Jack didn't even bother to follow him and try engaging him into a father and son talk. A lot could have been changed if Jack went after Kyle then. Damn! A lot would have been changed if John and Jack were not such hardheaded fools.

"He should have understood." Jack retorted, uncaring to bring the current conversation into a more serious heart-to-heart talk.

"What, are you kidding? How could he possibly understand?" Bobby shook his head in disbelief. "Dean never understood, why did you think Kyle would?"

"He'd have to," Jack didn't have time for this. The pain he'd been trying to forget for the past twenty years was coming back to haunt him. Everywhere he looked, he saw John. Whenever he tried to listen he would hear John's voice ringing in his ears. His guilt over John's death was swallowing him, punishing him. As much as he rejoiced the family reunion, he was devastated by the fact that John was not there to share the joy – or to even share the blame and the guilt.

"Jack…the kid was terribly hurt," Bobby tried to make it clear for Jack. Though Jack's last name was not Winchester, he was one of them. And the Winchesters would never see what they were missing unless someone pointed it out to them. "If you could talk to Dean…why can't you talk to Kyle?"

"It's different."

"How is it different…he's your son, dammit!" Bobby was losing his temper. Jack and John could really get to his nerves. The last time he met the brothers he almost blasted a bullet through their skull and he couldn't even remember why.

"Please Bobby, not now." Jack had so much to deal with, he really couldn't think straight. Whatever Bobby was saying didn't get through to him. He burrowed himself deeper into the couch and closed his eyes, shutting himself off from the world.

Bobby sighed. When it came to stubbornness, Jack was as hardheaded as John. He thought he knew a lot about the brothers but he was wrong. There were a lot of things that he would never understand but the most was why John and Jack had kept distant to their sons.

There were countless of times Bobby had watched John did the same – being an absent father - to Dean and Sam, but especially to Dean. Sam he could understand, that kid was rebellious and it never bothered him that his father couldn't care less. But Dean, Dean was a different case. That boy, since he was only a child, had always tried to gain his father's approval, a devoted son who didn't deserve the way his father had treated him.

If only John and Jack knew how lucky they were to have a family then all these wouldn't have happened. Bobby wished they knew how it felt – the pain never to have a son.

"Idjits!" Bobby muttered under his breath.

…………………………….

It had been two hours and Kyle was still punished for his foolishness. He'd been having a severe episode of retching and it gave him crappy abdominal muscle cramps. His body was doing its work of diminishing the poison – the beer – from his system, he knew, but Kyle wished it was over already. He was completely exhausted but it was obvious that his suffering wasn't going to end soon.

This had been his fifth time puking into the waste basket over the last hour and he felt like crap. He was listing on his side and a comforting hand was rubbing circles on his back, soothing him. The familiar gesture was not offered by his brother or father, but of Sam, which reminded him of his days at Stanford – when he was not feeling so hot and Sam was looking after him. Poor guy having to look after somebody else's big brother when he'd only saved his own hours before. Guess little brothers were made to be good healers.

His own little brother however was brooding at the end of the bed, his face expressing his frustration. Kyle gave Matt a quick glance during a brief moment of relief and backed away when his eyes met Matt's. The slight movement made him nauseous and he got back into series of violent retches.

After he finished spewing whatever was left in him, Kyle rolled onto his back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. From the corner of his eyes he watched Sam taking the waste basket and looking down at him.

"What?" Kyle rasped, sliding one arm across his face, avoiding the stare.

Sam tilted his head at Matt and shrugged. "You're on your own now dude," he sighed and took the waste basket with him as he walked out the room, leaving Kyle with his broody little brother. "I'll be back with that green tea that you love so much," Sam grinned as he stood by the door. Payback was always sweet.

Kyle flipped Sam the bird and the lanky guy went out the room, laughing.

Sensing the dark aura radiating from the other end of the bed, Kyle peeked at Matt from under his arm and hissed seeing the grim look at his brother's face. "Okay! That's scary," he mumbled, knowing he would only garner the look – the most dreaded look – by doing something stupid. And he sure had screwed up big time.

Closing his eyes, Kyle realized Matt was still staring at him. He could feel his brother's eyes stinging his face, making him blush. "Come on Matt…I already feel like crap here," Kyle whined, almost pleading.

Matt held up the stare for a couple of seconds, taking a deep breath. He sighed resignedly, "I have a moron for a brother."

Kyle rolled his eyes. 'Here we go again.'

"What were you thinking dude?!" Matt's voice was a little bit too loud for Kyle's ears, causing the headache to increase tenfold. "What were you thinking drinking that beer?"

"I'm fine man," Kyle groaned defensively.

"Fine?" Matt chided. "I can't believe this!" Matt threw his arms in the air. "Man, your lung almost collapsed and you said you're fine?!" chastising, he didn't let the pained expression on his brother's face stop him – his tone was filled with anger and annoyance that it made Kyle grit his teeth to hold back the pain, not daring to fish for sympathy.

"Well…I'm not dead right?" was said out of reflex and Kyle regretted that he ever said that as soon as he saw how much it hurt Matt. The anger disappeared from his little brother's face and was replaced by a horrifying look of dejection. That was when Kyle decided to shut up. He'd crossed the limit.

Matt sighed sadly and bent forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his shoulders slumped forward in a way that made him look older than he was. Staring emptily ahead, Matt smiled dryly. "Now I will lose you too?"

Out of the many questions he'd been expecting from Matt, the one his little brother had just asked he wasn't prepared for. "What?"

"Dude, is it not enough dad is already living in a world of his own, now you will start too?" Matt was still looking at the wall with an empty gaze. "I only have you and dad but it looks like I'm really on my own."

"Matt…" Kyle was suffering enough, he couldn't take more. "Man…I'm…"

"I might not understand how much you were hurt from all this," Matt turned to look at Kyle - his eyes were red rimmed, close to shedding tears. "But at least I can try to listen…dude, God knows how hard I'd tried but you never let me in."

Kyle was at loss for words. Most of the time, he would flee from Matt's pansy talk with witty remarks but this was one talk he knew he shouldn't avoid even if he could. It hurt so damn much knowing his father had lied to him and had chosen Dean over him, but the pain of seeing his brother so distraught was tormenting him that he didn't have the heart to ignore Matt and his heart-to-heart talk.

"What is it with you and dad?" Matt couldn't understand the distance that existed between Kyle and their old man. It was too obvious. Even before the revelation, Kyle had never been able to reach out to their father and neither would Jack. But from their resistance, it was clear to Matt that they both needed each other more than anyone else in the world.

When they were hunting, his old man and his big brother made the greatest team – almost invincible. They worked together so well on hunts that they seemed to be able to read each other's mind. But when it came to small talks that didn't involve hunting, Kyle and Jack never left the conversation without cussing to each other's face. Damn! They even fought over coffee brands they should buy from the mart.

"You will never understand Matt," there were times Kyle had hoped that he had the liberty of forgetting his past, like Sam had, or never remembered anything like Matt.

"Then help me understand…" Matt turned around and stared at his brother pleadingly. "I'm your brother…talk to me," he went to Kyle's bedside and sat right next to him.

"I can't." Kyle shook his head.

"Come on dude, you can't shoulder this one alone…you have to let me carry some of the weight," Matt was not going to give up so soon. He had to try.

"No." The rejection was clear.

Matt gave up. Kyle was still broken from the secrets Jack had kept from them and nothing could change that unless a miracle happened. His big brother was the biggest hardhead ever. There was no point of trying to talk sense into him now.

Kyle forced himself up, gathering all the energies he got left, and leaned against the headboard. Matt hurried to his aid by fluffing a pillow and stacking it behind him. His little brother was disappointed in him, he could see. But he couldn't open up to Matt, at least not now.

"I'm sorry man." That was the least he could say.

Matt gave Kyle a resigned look and shook his head. He shouldn't have tried in the first place. "It's okay," if Kyle didn't want to talk about it, he was not going to push. "But dude, at least try to see the good side of everything…I mean, we got a family!" Matt smiled.

All he got for a response was an indifferent "Yeah."

"Gee! That's encouraging..." disappointment was evident in Matt's tone. "What now? Inferiority complex?" Matt zipped up his mouth when Kyle shot him a deadly glare. Judging from the response, Matt had definitely hit the jackpot but he was not going to bring it up.

Shrugging with resignation, Matt got to his feet and looked down to Kyle. "I better let you rest now…" he said and turned around, heading for the door. Then he stopped, cast Kyle a hopeful glance over his shoulder and reasoned "You know…I don't know what grudge you hold against him but Dean saved your life…if it was me, that'd be enough reason for me to forget everything and accept him as family."

Matt waited for Kyle to say something but his brother remained quiet and motionless. "At least you can pretend that you're okay with him…I mean you did pretty well with Sam just now."

"And Kyle…I'm always here and I wished you'd see that," saying that, he left the room without waiting for Kyle to respond because he was aware he would get none.

As soon as Matt had left, Kyle took a deep breath and let out a defeated sigh. His brother might be right about him having inferiority complex, but Matt got it wrong when he said he was pretending to like Sam. Kyle was not pretending. And what he said to Dean back at the dock, though he was heavily doped with the beer, came out straight from his heart.

The truth was he missed Dean. He used to love him like any little brothers would do for God's sake and what more he still loved him the way he did no matter how often his old man told him that Dean was a figment of his childhood imagination. Even when he finally believed that Dean and Sam were his imaginary friends, he still held them firm in his heart – making them his channel of reliving the wonderful past that he had to leave behind after mom's death.

Already feeling drained, Kyle lay down again and closing his eyes, he thought maybe he could give it a chance. But honestly, he was unsure whether he would be able to look at his dad without remembering the lies and the secrets he'd been holding. And looking at Dean, he was sure he would always be reminded of the rights he'd been denied.

God helped him because he really wanted to forgive or simply forget.

………………………………

Sam entered the kitchen and found his brother still sitting at the dining table, staring into the half empty mug with a blank gaze – the same way he had found him the last time Sam came to get the washcloth.

"You could burn the table staring at it like that," Sam kidded, attempting to ease the tension. There had been a lot of it everywhere – Kyle's room, the living room and now the kitchen - it was choking him. Sam prayed his thanks when his sarcasm brought a smile to Dean's face.

"Funny Sam," Dean replied and finished his coffee as Sam pulled a chair across him and took a seat. "So, how is Kyle?" he asked without looking up from his empty mug. There was something in his eyes that he didn't want Sam to see and Sam damn realized it.

"I think he should be okay after a night's rest," Sam reported. Then a moment of utter silence pierced between them before Sam asked "How about you?" and waited for Dean to open up – something almost impossible to happen without Sam knocking the sense out of him.

"Okay…" simple answer that told so much – Dean's defense mechanism from Sam's provoking inquiry.

"Do we have to go through this?" Sam rolled his eyes, downright frustrated with Dean always trying to act though. "Why can't you for once be honest with yourself…to admit that you're not okay?"

"Sam…" Dean groaned defensively, warning his brother not to push.

Sam let out an exasperated breath and looked away from Dean. His brother didn't want to talk, fine! He wouldn't push. Sooner or later Dean would open up to him. Dean just needed some time to heal himself – like he did when Dad died or when his crossroad deal had neared the due date.

"You should have told me about Kyle and Matt you know?" Sam crossed his arms on the table and rested his face on them. His shaggy hair fell on the table, making him look so young and so vulnerable.

It hit Dean so hard he almost choked on his own breath. He did keep a secret about Jack and his family and he did lie to Sam about Kyle and Matt when his little brother woke up at night calling the latter's names. Was it possible that Sam also remembered? Dean never thought of that until now.

"Sammy," Dean called, guilt in his voice. "I…I'm sorry."

Sam looked up to Dean and smiled dryly. "S'okay…I understand, there must be good reasons why you had to lie and keep it from me."

Then Dean realized what Sam was trying to do. His little brother was trying to make him see what he was supposed to do about Jack and probably their dad too – forgive. Dean snorted "Nice move Sammy."

The little brother chuckled guiltily. "Caught red-handed, huh?"

Dean laughed and Sam couldn't explain how he felt seeing the smile returning to his brother's face.

Then there was that sudden silence again. Their eyes met, stayed for a couple of seconds –studying, understanding - before they finally disengaged. Sam cleared his throat and whined "I'm hungry."

Amused at how much like a child Sam sounded, Dean tilted his head to the fridge. "There's still some roast left from dinner."

Sam got up and retrieved the roast from the fridge, putting it on the table. "You game?"

Staring at the roast and giving it a thought, Dean nodded "Yeah, I'm in! Get me a plate."

Sam grinned and got them both a plate. As he was about to sit down again, Matt entered the kitchen and pulled a chair, joining them at the table. "The roast looks good," the young Callahan said, eyeing the chicken.

Dean smiled. He gave Matt his plate and motioned for Sam to get him another one. His little brother pouted, annoyed for being ordered around, but still he got up and got Dean a new plate. "How's Kyle Matt?" Sam asked, curious. When he left them just now, Matt was practically sulking, ready to burst at his big brother.

"Still a jerk!" Matt answered nonchalantly as he cut the roast and put it on his plate.

"Look before you leap Mathilda!" Kyle, looking like crap, appeared at the door, grinning. He walked over to the table, smacked Matt on the back of his head and sat down next to Dean. Ignoring the confused and puzzled look on Dean's, Sam's and Matt's face, he snatched Matt's plate and ate the roast his brother had carefully cut into tiny bits.

"Hey?!" Matt chided, shooting Kyle a glare. But Kyle was so engrossed with his meal, he wasn't looking at Matt.

Sam shook his head disapprovingly. He seized Kyle's plate away, returned it to Matt and handed him the toast instead. Then he poured some green tea into a mug and gave it to Kyle. "They're easier for your stomach."

Kyle looked at Sam and rolled his eyes irately. "Gee! Thanks mom!" But he ate the toast anyway.

Snorting amusedly, Sam looked at Dean and Kyle alternately. Both big brothers were avoiding each other's eyes but at least they were able to sit side by side at one table. He looked up to Matt and found the kid smiling at him. Returning the smile, Sam knew immediately that they both shared the same feeling of satisfaction and gratitude.

"Sam, Matt, are you eating?" Dean asked all out of a sudden. "'Cause we're not going to wait for you." He warned and stuffed a spoonful of the roast into his mouth.

"We'd wrestle you if we have to." Matt replied and was echoed with Sam's "Yeah, we would." If they needed to form a tag team to reconnect the family, then they would.

"You can try…but don't hope too much." Kyle said, making a silent promise to try and to leave it at that if his attempts failed.

"Yeah…" Dean agreed. "You need to fight real hard." They still got a long way to go before they could become a real family again. Broken relations to be mended and wounds needed to heal.

"Don't worry." Sam and Matt answered in sync. "We'll win." Relations could be restored and wounds could be treated. But they would make sure they were not going to lose their family again.

By hook or by crook, they were going to win.

END

a/n: Hi everyone! Looks like the story finally reached its end. But there'll be a short epilogue and maybe a sneak peek into the sequel (if you want to). God! I'm so thrilled because Brothers in Arms is my first SPN fan fiction and it means so much to me. I started from scratch here and I'd say now I am soaring up high and this story was the start of them all. I met wonderful people from writing this my beta, PsiChic, though temporary you'd been a great help, Lizzy, Yohko, enviousxbeauty, Eileen, Tosharino, gr8read, Tribble, lynxpanther, Lee, sara respina, zuimar, samforlife, alwaysateen, alexisabove, masondixon, teacha4ever, FLD, orenkiut, Lia Walker, Lizard971, manavie and many more that I didn't mention here but are always important and precious to me, the reviewers, the readers who listed BIA into their alert and fave list, and putting me into the lists, who'd been with me since the beginning…Gosh! You'd helped me keep the story alive. You might not realize it but you did. And last but not least to my beta cum co-author cum big sis, Bia the one who love the Callahans more than I do, this story would never flourish if not for you…you gave me courage to continue though there were times I'd rather stop. I couldn't have done it without you by my side, please stay. Thank you all. LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!