So here is the next chapter of my little, or not so little story. I've already started on my second story, so it's a little tricky going from this story to that one but I'm enjoying it.

Please forgive all mistakes they're mine alone.

A/N: Thanks you all again to everyone who is ready, favouriting, or following this story. It really keeps me going knowning that people other than my sister is enjoying this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the wonderful characters that I am taking on this journey.

Chapter 7 - Buried Treasure

The doctor left 15 minutes later, after discussing with Sam his therapy options and possibly involving his brother in some of the exercises. Sam excused himself to his bedroom, quietly closing the door. A few minutes later Dean could here muffled sobs and moved to go comfort his brother "Dean leave him, this is a huge thing for him, He just needs to work some stuff out" Bobby says not unkindly, but knowing how the young father would react, was intent on leaving him to have a moment to wallow in the warring emotions that this revelation would evoke.

"Screw that, I'm here now... I want to help him. I want to be his brother again... " Dean says, his own emotions rising to the surface, making him swallow the lump down, determined to be strong.

"Alright, go in there, but... just remember, he doesn't need the cocky, smart#ss Dean, what he really needs is his big brother, you get me?" Bobby says back to Dean starting out softly then getting more passionate by the end.

Dean nods to Bobby in understanding, then turns towards the bedroom where the heartbreaking sobs are coming from and opens it slowly and quietly, then closes it behind him.

What he sees, makes the big brother part of him stand to attention and run to his little brothers side. Sam has pulled himself out of his chair onto the floor, obviously not having the strength to get to the bed where it would be more comfortable, he is laying on his side and has his hands to his face and rocking back and forth, sobbing like his life depends on it. Dean lays down onto his side next to his brother and grabs him into his arms and starts shushing him and talking softly to him, not caring about the tears that are soaking his shirt, just about the little brother who had been holding himself together, just barely and now that he has some good news, that finally something is got right, that he couldn't hold it together anymore.

"It's Ok little brother, your Ok, I'm here now, just get it all out." He says softly, rubbing Sam's back in little circles, the way he used too when he was a little boy and his big brothers arms where the safest place to be. "I promise, things are going to get better now, you don't have to hide from me Sammy, it's Ok" Dean kept up his barrage of soft words to his brother until the sobbing quieted down, but he kept holding his brother until he was ready to let go. When Sam finally pulled back, his eyes where puffy and red, his nose was all gross but Dean didn't care, all he saw was his brave, strong little brother who had been through SO much, and had finally been able to grieve for the loss of his wife, his baby girl, the brother he thought he would never see again and his own injuries.

"Are you feeling a bit better now Sammy?" Dean says gently, still rubbing his back, not letting go.

Wiping his eyes and nose with his sleeve, Sam looks into Deans eyes, and sees that there is no shame, or guilt, directed at him, just understanding and pride. He shakes his head, this is who he needed all those months ago, when his injury first happened, when his world fell apart. "T.. thanks Dean, I'm sorry" Sam says his checks going pink in embarrassment, he was wrapped in his brothers arms, sobbing like a little girl. "I know what the doctor said was good news, but, I don't know what came over me."

"Hey now, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. It looks like this was long over due. I'm sorry, I haven't been a very good big brother have I?" Dean asks, moving so he can drag Sam up to lean against the bed, so they can be face to face..

"I want to say something to you, that I don't think you know about" Dean clears his throat, getting his thoughts together so he can get this out. "When you left for Stanford, I was so shocked that it was happening that I couldn't speak, so... I let you leave thinking that you had lost me too, but Sammy... I was so proud of you, I mean somehow, you, with our crappy lives, where able to get straight A's, write your admissions essay and get a scholarship to one of the best schools in the country, how could I not be proud... I kicked myself for not saying anything when you left, I didn't think you wanted me calling you, so I did the next best thing I could think of." Dean stops' talking for a minute and Sam is looking at him, transfixed. "I organised with the scholarship board for you to have a little extra money to help pay for food, books, anything else you needed. And every christmas I had a care package delivered to your dorm room, I hoped you knew it was me but I was just happy that you didn't go without" Dean looked away from the watery, hazel eyes looking at him, seeing past his tough exterior into the gooey centre.

"That was you? I... I always wondered who would do that for me, I always thought it was a mistake.. I even tried to give it back once, but they told me that it was definitely for me" Sam says wiping his wet eyes with the back of his hand. "Why didn't you come and see me, all that time I thought you had disowned me... like Dad"

"Dad and I argued about you leaving, we stopped hunting together soon after that. I was so proud of you but Dad couldn't see past you leaving, it wasn't until 6 months later that he started to see how wrong he was, but by then... it was too late" Dean says sadly "I would drive though Stanford and check up on you when ever I could, Dad too" Sam's eyebrows rise when he mentioned Dad came to see him. "We didn't abandon you Sam, but we thought it was best to leave you to your new life, you deserved it."

Tears are now streaming down Sam's face "I'm sorry, I didn't know... I've been blaming you guys, I thought... I thought, I had been kicked out of my own family, but all this time..." Sam says through his tears, crying openly.

"Sammy, come on, it's Ok, I'm here now" Dean try's to comfort his brother, snaking both arms around his brothers bulky, muscled frame, knowing that what he just revealed would help his brother to heal and his own guilty heart to heal.

They stayed that way for a while, not moving, comforting each other. Sam finally lifts his head and looks at his brothers face and smiles, laughs a little in embarrassment, but doesn't move away. "I think I've cried on you enough for today, sorry... Ha ha, I didn't realise how much I needed that... you can make fun of me now" Sam says nervously.

"It's fine, Sam, really, I want you to come to me for all this stuff, or Bobby if you need to. Because what's ahead of you... us, is going to be tough, we need to be honest with each other Ok" Dean says to Sam, standing up and waiting for Sam's go ahead to pick him up, to be transferred to the bed. "... I'm not going to make fun of you, as hard as that is to say" Dean says smirking at his brother.

"Yeah, Ok" Sam gratefully nods his head, then lifts his arm so Dean can easily lift him and place him on the more comfortable bed, when he lays down, while Dean lifts his legs and arranges them comfortably. He then hands Sam a few tissues so he can blow his nose and wipe his face of tears. "I'm fine now, thanks Dean" Dean pats his shoulder and walks to the door.

"I'll be right back Ok?" Dean says and slips out of the room and walks towards The kitchen where Bobby is sitting with Hope, feeding her some banana custard, she giggles and smacks Bobby in the face wiping some custard on his beard making him cringe, Dean chuckles at the sight "Having fun there grandpa?" Dean says, pulling faces at Hope, making her squeal in delight.

"How is he?" Bobby asks quietly, worried that what ever happened behind that closed door, was a cathartic experience for both Winchester boys and not a heartbreaking one. "Does he need me to go in there or...?"

"Nah, Bobby, he's fine. We got to say a few things to each other that... I think we really needed to say... He's been holding onto a lotta stuff" Dean says, trying to keep his emotions under control. "I just wish Dad could be here for this, you know... I mean, the man that Sam has become... Dad's an idiot for not being here, and when he does show his face, I'm going to have a thing or two to say to him." Bobby nods his head in agreement, he would have to fight to get to John first, and it wouldn't be words that he would want to trade with the older Winchester when he came out from the hole he had been hiding in."

"So, Sam's alright in there?, you guys are on the same page now, or do I need to bang your heads together?" Bobby asks, really worried about the young father who he had cared for and come to know as the son he and his late wife never had.

"Sam's fine, Bobby, really... it got a little... chic flicky in there, but I think he needed it. It's like he hadn't really grieved... like he needed to keep it all inside" Dean shakes his head worriedly.

"Sounds like someone else I know" Bobby says with a smirk. "He's had a lot on his mind and this little one needed her Daddy, I don't remember Sam really crying that much after the accident. He got real quiet, almost catatonic for a while in the beginning."

"Well the damn just broke, I think he wasn't expecting good news, I think he thought he only ever had bad luck, or bad things always happening to him, like he deserved it or something" Dean is suddenly worried about his little brother.

"Yeah, but now, things are turning around. He's finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." Bobby says with a small smile on his face.

Dean nods and moves to go outside to the Impala. Going to the trunk and lifting the weapons tray, moving things so he could get to the back, digging out an old duffle bag, closing up the trunk and taking it inside and to Sam's room and closing the door behind him. Looking up to see Sam staring at him with a quizzical look on his face. "I have something I think you'll want to see, Sammy"

"What? W...What's wrong?" Sam looks at the old, tattered duffle bag that Dean is holding, he doesn't recognise it but thinks it belongs to their Dad. "What have you got in there?"

Dean clears his throat, scratches the back of his neck, "Well, Ummm, I have some old stuff that Dad had been holding onto and I found it in the back of the trunk, when we split up"

Dean puts the duffle on the bed and unzips it, moving the old tattered material out of the way to see the contents. Hidden within the well worn, dull olive drab material, are an odd collection of childhood memorabilia that Sam thought had all been lost over he years. A soccer trophy, dog eared, paperback copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, an old report card with all A's, the crumpled Stanford acceptance letter, a long lens wedding photo of Sam kissing Jess and finally, a newspaper cutting of Hope's birth announcement. "Dad kept looking at most of this stuff for like 4 weeks after you left, with a bottle of Jack in one hand and this bag in the other, then it was each anniversary after that. He would add to it too, I haven't seem this photo or the paper clipping before" Dean says looking at the photo of Sam and Jess together on the happiest day of his life. "He really did miss you, Sam, I know he doesn't show it very well, and he would probably never admit to it..."

Sam is breathing through his nose and biting his bottom lip, trying to keep his emotions in check. Clearing his throat he says "Uumm, this is... I don't know what say".

"Yeah, Sam, I just... I just wanted you to know that even though Dad could be a real a$$ while we were growing up, he really missed you, he was proud of you and he was happy that you were finally getting that apple pie life that you always dreamed about."

Sam picked up the second hand copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and remembered being scrunched in the backseat reading that book for the 3rd time in as many months, one of which was for a book report where he compared the main character to his father and he got a perfect score. Then he picked up the photo of himself with Jess at their wedding, right after they said 'I do'. His eyes got misty and he quickly put the photo down so he wouldn't let his grief overtake him again. "These are amazing, really, I forgot all about some of these things" Sam picks up the soccer trophy and wonders after all the fights he and his father had about the 14 year old playing sports, why would he keep it after all these years? "Why did Dad hold on to this, he always dug his heals in about me playing soccer... I don't get it?"

Dean shakes his head, not sure himself but aware that his Dad was a very contradictory man, that when on one hand he wanted his son to stay with him, stay together, and on the other hand, was proud that'll his youngest son, the last gift his late wife had given him, had married the woman he loved, made a life together, a child, then sadly much like himself had lost it all. And after years of not understanding each other, they now tragically had more in common that a father and son had the right to have.

Dean realised now that only after so much heartache that Sam will finally understand how easy it would be to become obsessed with revenge, so obsessed with making evil pay for taking his happy life away. Dean smiles to himself that Sam had chosen a different path, he wanted to be a better father to Hope, he wanted her to know that her father loved her and that she could have any life she wanted. He as an older brother didn't want this scary life for Sam, but as they had been so brutally reminded that this life never really left them alone.

"Hey Sammy, can I ask you something?" Dean asks watching Sam put the treasures back in their fathers old duffle bag, putting a hand on top of it and holding it there, closing his eyes for moment, as if like a prayer. Then lifting his hand, looking at his brother and waiting for him to continue, the moment passing.

"Yeah, what is it?" Sam says back, his big eyes blinking back at him.

"I want to help you with all this, with protecting Hope, keeping her safe, getting you through your therapy, everything, but I need to know... Will you let me, will you let me be part of this and help you get rid of that yellow eyed bastard once and for all?"

Sam looks into Deans earnest eyes, knowing that before he had actually asked him, that he wanted his brother with him, he couldn't do all this on his own.