Disclaimer- I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

ccgnme- Thank you! Yeah, it's been a year, right? Even Dean has to care!

TH3angelinH3LL- Thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it! I'm a giant Cas girl myself, as you've probably noticed, so I'm very pleased you think I did him justice!

captainbartholomew- Thank you! Dean PoV's are always a pleasure to write! I can't really take credit for the idea of stories for each season, it was suggested to me by a friend. Uh, pent-up rage? I would say grief, more like it. Rage is kinda Dean and Sam's M.O.

Garideth- Thank you! (Yeah, I figured you might after her speech, and everything.) :P

AngelicScream: Yeah, most people get tired after pushing fifty or so…..

stupid-nickel- Um, Dean knocked over the glass by touching it, right? So, who's to say he can't move Odette?

Chapter name borrowed from The Flaming Lips!

Lyrics are borrowed from Lyman Hancock.

When I come to the end of my journey,

And I travel my last weary mile,

Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned

And remember only the smile.

Forget unkind words I have spoken,

Remember some good I have done,

Forget that I've stumbled and blundered,

And sometimes fell by the way,

Remember I have fought some hard battles,

And won, 'ere the close of the day.

CHAPTER TWO- THE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF JOHN

I entered the room quietly, clutching a brown paper bag.

He was here.

He had to be.

"Hey," I cleared my throat nervously. "I think maybe you're around. And if you are, don't make fun of me for this, but um, well, there's one way we can talk."

I pulled out the Ouija board.

I circled around the bed, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Dean? Dean, are you here?"

I had my hands poised on the pointer, when it slid out of my grip to 'YES'.

I froze for a second, laughing in relief.

"Oh, thank god. You scared me, Dean. It hasn't been the same without you."

He slid the pointer again.

I blinked in confusion.

"Dean, what? H? U?" It finally sunk in. "Hunt? Hunting? What, are you hunting?"

The pointer moved back to 'YES'.

I looked around the seemingly empty room.

"It's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do, do you know what it is?"

"What is it?"

The pointer slid forward again, spelling the letters 'REAP'.

My stomach plummeted.

"A reaper. Dean. Is it after you?"

'YES'.

I blew out noisily.

"If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it."

I stood up, pacing the floor.

"No. No, no, there's gotta be a way. Sam… Sam'll know what to do."

~Supernatural~

"So, he really answered?" Sam ran back to Dean's room, carrying John's journal.

"Yeah."

Sam stared wistfully at Dean's unconscious body.

He sat on the edge of his bed.

"So, Dad wasn't in his room, but I got his journal, so who knows? Maybe there's something here."

Sam flipped it open to the page about reapers, and I leaned over his shoulder to read it.

Something cold brushed against my shoulder.

Dean.

He'd found something.

~Supernatural~

Sam stood on the window side of Dean's bed, hands in his pockets.

I squeezed his hand.

"Dean, are you here?"

We both looked around.

"I couldn't find anything in the book," Sam exhaled heavily. "I don't know how to help you. But I'll keep trying, alright? As long as you keep fighting. I mean, come on," His breath hitched.

"You can't leave me alone with Dad. We'll kill each other, you know that."

He paused, and I put an arm around his shoulder.

"Dean, you've got to hold on. You can't go, man, not now. We were just starting to be brothers again. Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

I pulled him out of the room.

Sam was fighting tears, and I rubbed his back soothingly.

"It's okay, Sammy. Everything's gonna be okay."

He started in surprise as I used Dean's nickname for him, but didn't object.

It wasn't until later that I realized that I'd said the exact same thing to my own brother.

~Supernatural~

We were both sitting on Dean's bed, when he convulsed, waking suddenly, choking on the tube in his throat.

Sam was on his feet at once.

"Dean?"

I ran into the hallway.

"Help! I need help!"

"I can't explain it," The doctor shot Dean a bewildered look.

"The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you."

I instantly thought of Castiel.

"Thanks, Doc."

As he left, Dean turned to Sam.

"So you said a reaper was after me?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"How'd I ditch it?" Dean cocked an eyebrow.

Sam shrugged. "You got me."

I looked at Dean in disbelief.

"Dean, you really don't remember anything?"

He glanced at me, shaking his head.

"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Something's wrong."

Somebody knocked on the door.

John hovered in the doorway.

"How you feeling, dude?"

"Fine, I guess," Dean snorted. "I'm alive."

"That's what matters."

Sam clenched his fists angrily. "Where were you last night?"

"I had some things to take care of," John's eyes were hooded.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Well, that's specific."

"Sam," Dean's tone was rebuking. "Come on."

He ignored him.

"Did you go after the demon?"

John stared at him impassively. "No."

Sam glared at him.

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?"

John sighed.

"Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't even know what we're fighting about," He pleaded.

"We're just butting heads. Sammy, I, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

Sam glanced at him oddly. "Dad, are you alright?"

"Yeah." John passed a hand over his face. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

"Yeah." Sam bobbed his head. "Yeah, sure."

He left, still frowning.

John looked after him sadly.

I made to follow him, but John walked with me out in the hallway.

I bit my lip nervously.

"So," He began.

"So." I shifted uncomfortably.

"I guess you're going to be staying with them, aren't you?"

I looked at him, confused. "If they don't mind, I guess so, yeah."

Something unidentifiable flashed in his face.

"You take care of my boys, you hear me?"

Unease flickered through me.

"Of course, John. I promise."

I watched John go back to talk with Dean, unsettled.

It wasn't even an order, what he'd told me.

They were the words of a man about to die.

~Supernatural~

I walked back with Sam in silence, cradling my own cup of coffee.

We looked into the room.

John was on the floor.

"Dad?"

We ran to his side, and Sam knelt over him, screaming for help.

I think I knew, even then, that it was already too late.

The doctors were attempting resuscitation.

We stood in the doorway, ignoring the nurses who tried to push us out.

"No, no, no, it's our dad," Dean was frantic. "It's our dad!"

"Come on," Dean begged the unresponsive John.

"Okay," The doctor looked grim. "Stop compressions."

"Come on, come on," My hand closed around his arm.

"Still no pulse," The nurse looked down.

"Okay, that's it everybody."

I held on to Dean and Sam tightly.

"I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41 AM."