Guys, this chapter is a little different,it's not fu=ocused on Sam/Jess. It's 6 years later now, and it focus mostly on Dean and an important thing that happened in that period. It took some time and research to do it, so I apologize for any inaccuracies. If you'd like to correct something, feel free to do it in the review. I hope you like it!

April, 2007 – Stanford, CA

Sam was getting late for his first class. He had stayed up late studying, and of course woke up late. He ran into Dean in the kitchen.

"Hey man, weren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I'll go later today, I have an appointment in 30 minutes."

"Is anything wrong?"

"No, just the usual… the doctor just wanted to see how everything's doing."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No Sammy you don't need to, I'll be fine, just go to your class and I'll see you later."

Sam finished his breakfast, said goodbye to Dean and drove off to the campus. Jo always left before he did, she was doing her undergrad in another college which was further away, and she had to ride the bus there.

Sam was going to law school in Stanford, which was his dream. He was finishing his first year.

When he got parked near his building, he started thinking about when he first got here, and how things had changed ever since.

He always wanted to go to college, but he knew his family was different. So he had a major fight with his dad, and John said to him that if he left, he should stay gone. And as much as it hurt him, he did. He never actually liked hunting in the first place. Dean loved it, even Jo loved it, but he was, if that's possible, the "black sheep" of the family. All because he wanted to have a normal life. So he left, got a scholarship and got his bachelor's degree. He had a job, and rented an apartment near the campus. He hardly ever spoke to John, like maybe once or twice a year. He talked to Dean a little bit more than that, but not much. He also had some trouble accepting that his brother was going away. He was more in contact with Jo, she was always more easy going than the other two. Everything was going fine, until right after he finished his undergrad, almost 2 years ago.

It was late at night, and he got a phone call from a hospital, saying John, Dean and Jo were in a car accident in Jefferson City, Missouri. The lady said Jo was fine, but Dean and John were in a pretty bad shape. He didn't even wait for the lady to finish talking, he just asked what hospital they were and went to the airport immediately, he caught the first flight to Missouri. He didn't wanna drive because it took almost 2 days to get there, and he needed to get there as fast as possible. He got to Kansas City and rented a car for the 2-hour drive to Jefferson City. He called Jo on the way, she assured him she was fine, But John and Dean were not so much, the worst case was John. He was getting surgery within the next hours, and they wasn't sure he would make it. Dean was doing better than him, but he wasn't great.

He got to the hospital in the afternoon, Jo was there and her eyes were very red. She told him they were coming back from a hunt in John's pickup, Dean was driving, and a truck collided with them from the right side, and it smashed the car against a wall. She said she was fine, she was already conscious when the ambulance came for them, they examined her and didn't find any injuries. She told Sam the doctors said that John had a major head trauma, a lot of internal injuries and a severe blood loss. His condition was extremely delicate, and he was on surgery now to see if they could save him. Sam asked Jo about Dean. It wasn't easy for him to admit it, but he was more worried about Dean than with his own father. Dean had always been his major father figure, it was undeniable. Jo told him Dean was in the ICU, he was doing better than John but it was serious too. He had a minor head trauma, 2 broken ribs and some injuries, but the biggest concern was his left leg. It had been smashed against the side of the car, the majority of his bones were destroyed, and his nerves were a mess. They were doing the best he could to save it. Sam sat on a chair in the waiting room and broke down. He couldn't believe this was happening, they had to be okay. He couldn't lose his father, and above it all, he couldn't lose Dean. He regretted the fact that he barely talked to them in the past four years, damn, he barely saw them. He wished he could be more in touch, but his father never gave in… John was never father of the year, but he was his father.

He was about to ask a nurse if he could see his brother, when the doctor that had been operating on John came. He had that unmistakable look on his face. The second Sam stared at him, he knew. His father didn't make it. He sat quietly with Jo for a while, he had his arms around her, and she was sobbing. He also had tears rolling down his face, and after a while he gathered some courage and they went to see John. But he couldn't stay longer though. It was too much for both of them to see his father dead. Sam and Jo burned John's corpse the next day, neither of them could say anything.

Sam now had to focus on Dean, he was not doing so great and was barely conscious. Even though Sam was a mess because of John, Dean needed him, and he refused to leave his brother's side. They got a motel room near the hospital, and Sam made Jo spend the nights there, even though she didn't have any serious damage in the accident, she needed to get some rest. But Sam would only go there for short periods, to take a shower, get something to eat and lie down for a few minutes, and he did that when Jo was with Dean. Then, he would get back to his brother. He was getting better, he was able stay more alert, he could have some conversations and remember them later. Sam told him that John had died, and that was one of the few times he had seen his brother cry. But now they had to focus on his recovery. Although he was doing better, his leg wasn't. The area below the knee was infected, and the infection was slowly starting to spread. Dean started to get a high fever, and after a few days, he was complaining his vision was impaired, it got to a point he could barely see anything anymore. The doctor explained it was due to the toxins that were spreading through his body. They were giving him medicines and doing the best they could, but it wasn't getting better. Then, Dean asked what his options were. The doctor said that if they could save his leg, which was unlikely, he would have a long way of recovering, and it wasn't guaranteed that he would be able to walk normally again. But they weren't sure his leg could be saved, and this infection could get so bad to the point of killing him. The other option was to amputate the leg, and since he was young and they would cut his leg below the knee, his recovery would not be that traumatic, and after a while he could get a prosthetic leg, and after doing therapy, he would be able to walk like a normal person, of course his life would not be the same and he would have to go through a lot, but it was the best option for him now. Dean didn't have to think much. He decided to cut off his leg.

They performed a surgery on him and cut off his left leg below the knee. The doctor explained that it would be much easier for him to adapt to the prosthetic leg since he still would have his knee. If they had to cut above the knee, he would have to use around 80% more energy to walk than he did with both legs, and the time to adapt to the new leg would be longer. He stayed in the hospital for a few more days to recover, and Sam stayed with him all the time, and so did Jo. He started to do some exercises at the hospital with a therapist, and he was supposed to continue the treatment there, but they weren't gonna stay in Missouri, so Sam talked to the doctor about bringing Dean to California with him, so he gave him the name of a good doctor there so he could take him.

When Dean was discharged, the doctor gave them a lot of instructions, and they took of to California. They decided to go by car, since they had to take the Impala with them. Dean was using a wheelchair they rented for him, he still couldn't use crutches because he had to heal from the broken ribs first. The trip back took a lot more than it usually would, they had to make more stops in motel rooms so Dean could lie down. He was still in some pain, and the swelling of his stump had to go down. He almost didn't talk during the whole trip, and Sam didn't force him to. He spent most of the time staring out the window, with a distant look on his face. Sam knew that even though Dean had been strong to make his choice, he needed some time, it wasn't gonna be easy at all. He knew Dean was upset, but Sam was completely sure his brother would be fine eventually, and he would be there for him, he would take care of him for once.

Dean's recovery sure wasn't easy, but it was a team effort. Sam took a year off before going to law school so he could concentrate on Dean. Dean wasn't happy about it, but he knew there was no way he would convince Sam otherwise. But Sam couldn't leave his job at Walgreens because he needed money now more than ever. So Jo would stay with Dean at first while Sam was at work. Dean was going to a rehab center, and once his ribs healed he started using crutches, he didn't like the wheelchair at all. He was getting less upset about things. He was learning at the therapy how to do everything he used to do, and Sam always encouraged him to be independent. A few months after the accident, he started using the prosthetic leg, but of course it would take some time for him to get used to it. But as the doctor had said, since he still had his knee, it was easier for him. Dean surprised the doctors, he was able to walk with the prosthetic in less time than usual, he was very determined to do so. Sam wasn't surprised at all. Dean was his hero, he knew he would do it in no time. Things got a lot easier once Dean was able to walk again. His humor had improved greatly, he was slowly becoming the old Dean again, and Sam could not be happier about it. Losing his father was not easy, but he was so glad to have his brothers with him again.

Dean's life was not 100% as it used to be before, of course. He had to take extra care of his stump, he had to clean it carefully and check everyday for any signs of redness, since the skin there was more sensitive he could get a pressure sore, and those were a bitch to heal. There were other things too, like having to take a shower sitting down, since he had to take off his leg to do it, having to look out for his other leg, since he relied on it a lot. He also had to exercise on a regular basis to keep his muscle strength.

After Dean started walking, he got a job at an auto shop. He had a passion for cars, so he was happy about it. Jo got a job too, and after a while they moved to a bigger place. Sam's apartment had two bedrooms, and he was sharing one with Dean. They decided to rent a 3-bedroom one so everyone could have more room and privacy. This apartment was on the first floor, but since Dean was not using the wheelchair anymore, they wouldn't have any problems (Sam's old place was on ground floor).

Sam had got a scholarship to go to law school in Stanford after the first year since the accident. Dean was unbelievable proud of his little bro. Jo had also got a scholarship to go to another college. Things were finally falling into place.

Sam was able to smile at the memories, he was already finishing his first year as a law student, he was still working at Walgreens but was looking for an internship at some law office. Dean was doing fine, of course he still had his moments, but he was dealing, and Sam was proud of him. Despite of everything, having his brother with him again was really amazing. The relationship between them had got even closer after what had happened and he was thrilled about that.

Sam entered the building and spotted a girl at the hall. He walked towards her and when she saw him, she smiled. He kissed her on the lips.

"Hey, baby."