Hello dear readers! Well here it is, the final chapter of what was my first EVER fan fiction story. I've certainly learnt a lot about writing. As I mentioned last chapter I have a new story in the pipeline, which I plan on writing soon called, A Moment in Time. I want to try and write most of the story before I post it this time, that way I'm not loosing track of where I was up to and forgetting details.

I am sincerely grateful for all the wonderful reviews and the lovely people who took the time to read this story. I have enjoyed every minute! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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

Chapter 22 - Epilogue

Dean stood on the sidelines, with his niece in his lap and his father and friends by his side and watched one of the most amazing things he had ever seen. His little brother, who, not five years previously could not stand up without the aid of a cane or a walking frame, let alone walking, with a slight limp, across a stage to receive the Best Newcomer Award at the Faulkner Awards for his fictional novel called 'A Hunters Life'.

He had started working at the local newspaper, writing a weekly column and one day he just started writing a novel, using his own experiences and those of his family, he wrote about the life and times of Charles 'Chuck' Wesson, who had a life of tragedy and decided to take up a life of crime fighting but found out that humans weren't the only monsters in the world. It sold tens of millions of copies and got Sam onto the New York Times Best sellers list and earned him a residuals cheque that helped to make their lives a little easier, then he negotiated for a rather large cheque for his next two sequels which he was now in the throws of writing.

His family couldn't be more proud and a little stunned that their stories were proving to be so popular. They were all more than happy to give their approval for Sam to use their lives to write his novels, he promised no one would be stupid enough to to believe that any of it was true and if anyone ever asked any questions he would say it had come from his imagination. Dean hadn't been all that surprised that his little brother had decided to start writing but he was more than surprised at the subject matter.

Considering how much Sam had complained, bitched and moaned about all things hunting, including the weapons, survival and combat training, researching and Latin translations but mainly the moving from town to town, changing schools, making friends, fitting in just made Sam's life that much harder and now he was writing about it and being extremely successful at it.

Dean had been working at the salvage years for Bobby for six months before the older surrogate father had given him the keys to a local garage and told him; he was expanding to old vintage car repairs and rebuilds but wanted Dean to take over as manager and head mechanic. Dean had, initially been stunned that the gruff hunter had done such a thing but in his own way, he was helping to support the middle Winchester much like he had been there for his little brother. The emotions that welled up in the older brother at the gesture, was equal to seeing his niece smile at him when he walked into a room. He was overwhelmed and honest to god grateful that that the older man knew him so well and was giving him a way to get what he had always wanted.

Dean set himself up in that garage and made quite a reputation for himself for the quality of his work and the speed in which he did it. He enjoyed working in some of the coolest muscle cars that ever graced gods great earth. He also enjoyed his afternoons alone with his niece while his little brother was writing his novel. He and Hope would enjoy hours of uninterrupted bonding time, just the two of them working on or around the Impala or as Hope called it 'the Pala'. Not only did he actually enjoy his nieces company but he was relishing being domesticated, making PB&J's with the crusts cut off and caramel milkshakes with a curly straw, playing hide and seek and doing puzzles of a giraffe or a tiger.

Sam enjoyed reading to his daughter and noticed pretty early on that she had an affinity for words and reading. Soon she was winning awards for her reading and was in a special advanced placement class, she represented her school in the county spelling bee, beating out the long reining star of the spelling bee circuit. Sam wanted to encourage her as best as he could and would bring out the flash cards and made up a vocabulary game that Dean would tease his little brother about but praise his niece for.

In the mean time, the two eldest members of their rainbow family were hard at work creating a hunters database of all the different types of monsters and their weaknesses, what will kill them what will slow them down and what will keep them dead, gone and never to return again. Spells, chants, incantations and prayers, for all possible scenarios, symbols and sigils and their power to repel and obliterate. They were going to release it anonymously and with Caleb selling his handmade knives and hunter weapons with his finger on the pulse and an ear for a story and a face people trusted to tell him all about new hunts and monsters they men always stayed on up to the minute accurate and the hunting community never suspected it was them, especially with the protection spell warding off all suspicion and interest. They were like the wrong ends of two magnets, nothing ever got close to them and everyone stayed away. Of course Bobby kept up his salvage yard and John would help him out when ever he wasn't helping Dean at his garage or at Caleb's shop, none of the men ever went at least two days without seeing or hearing from each other.

The day's turned into weeks and then into months and soon time was flying by. The older men tried to keep their memories alive by telling their stories to the youngest Winchester whenever they could. In the odd occasion that Sam would get an idea and had to write it down before he lost momentum, John would sit with Hope and show her old photo albums with photographs of Sam and Dean as little kids, John and Mary, Bobby and his wife Karen and Caleb and his sister and their parents when they were all young and carefree.

He and Bobby would tell Hope a story, one photo at a time, to spread out the memories and to keep his granddaughter interested in their history. She seemed to absorb it all and John had heard from Sam that Hope was always retelling parts of his stories to the other kids in her class or at show and tell, which made the eldest Winchester smile. His granddaughter was giving them all a run for their money, which just made him realize how much he had missed with his own sons.

Every time he saw his granddaughter he was reminded of his youngest son and it made him want to do better this time. He wanted to nourish her curiosity, her quick wit and her father's love of books. He remembered being so hard in his youngest son, never really understanding his passion for school, learning and reading, he always tried to steer his son toward hunting but he would dig his heals in every step of the way, so they butted heads and they never really had much of a relationship. Now he was finally getting to know his son and he realized that they actually had a lot in common.

When he actually stopped to talk to the man, he realized that he was not merely smart but he was genius smart. He could complete a New York Times crossword (one of the hard ones) without breaking a sweat, he spoke and read in three languages and was able to weave an engaging and intricate story about their lives. John was truly amazed at his sons ability to juggle writing his novels, book signings, meetings with his publisher, researching his next book as well as spending time with his daughter, giving her a bath, tucking her in, reading her stories had become father/daughter time that they both enjoyed. John envied their relationship, envied the easy way they interacted. He had missed so much while he pushed his son away, pushing him to fight, not realising that if he had brought him into the fold, treated him as an equal, he would have been more open to following orders and they would have stayed together as a family.

Now his youngest son was a father and all John just wanted to was watch her grow into a woman, get married and have lots of little babies running around giving Sam grey hairs and Dean a fat belly. He wanted to grow old, watching them; enjoy their lives free of danger, peaceful and loved. When they were first born, he had such high hopes for them, football, girlfriends, college, cars, jobs, marriage and kids. Unfortunately that life was never meant to be. Sam was lucky enough to be able to have a small slice of normal but that was cruelly taken away from him and now they could all, as a family, enjoy their lives together, safe and sound.

In the summer Dean started seeing a woman named Roxy, whom he had met at his garage, she had needed her vintage Aston Martin restored after a fender bender and they got to talking over a coffee and then realized they had a lot in common. Sam noticed the difference in his brother right away, he smiled more, he had a swagger that Sam recognised, he recognised it because he too had been lucky enough to feel it... Love.

Sam smiled at the thought of his 'wham bam thank you mam' brother finally being in love and at this realisation Sam's smile slipped from his face and sadness overtakes it. He's going to loose his brother. He and his daughter have become so used to having Dean in their lives, that the thought that they are about to loose one of the most important people in their family is devastating and there's nothing they can do about it.

Sam has been blessed to enjoy the love of a good woman and the joys of loving a child made of that love. He had always suspected that Dean would make an excellent family man. Sam was proud to say that Dean had been, father, mother, brother and friend for him during his childhood and well into adolescence and adulthood. Sam knows that many of the things he has done with Hope are things his brother would do with him, he had always been understanding, calm and encouraging and Sam strived to follow in his footsteps.

When Sam and their father were at each other throats, Dean always got between them, he would placate their father, tell him he would make sure Sam was trained and ready for the next hunt. He would then turn to his little brother and like a switch being flipped he would change from loyal soldier, to understanding confidant.

Dean would always know what to say to make Sam feel better. The difference between his big brother and his dad was that Dean explained things in a way that Sam could understand and even though their father would keep them on a need to know basis most of the time, everything that Dean did know, he told Sam and would ask for his opinion, he would treat him like an equal and this is what he wanted with his daughter. He wanted her to come to him with anything and to know that he wouldn't judge her, just be there for her and help guide her into the strong woman she was destined to be. His big brother had done all that for him and his heart ached with the realisation that someone else going to get that from him.

Sam was truly happy that Dean was happy and he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardise that happiness. He buried any jealousy or possessiveness he had and just watched him live his life until the day he brought his girlfriend over for their usual Sunday dinner and throughout the evening Roxy had been making small, snide comments about how Dean didn't need to be tied down to his family, that he would be making his own family one day and that Sam had to learn to let go.

Sam had just sighed and tried not to take it personally, the old Sam would have told his brothers girl to shove it where the sun don't shine, but if this woman was putting a spring on his big brothers step, he would bite his tongue to avoid any unpleasantness, got up and waddled his way into the kitchen to make coffees, not noticing the look on Dean's face as he left the room.

Sam took his time collecting the mugs and putting everything they would need on a tray, he hadn't noticed it at first but when he stopped to pour the hot water into a pot he heard voices coming from the other room. Sam was normally an eavesdropper but as the voices grew louder he stopped what he was doing and listened. "...so rude", "...can't believe you..." "...them than me!" "...leave" "...of course not" Sam heard bits a pieces of the conversation and hoped as he heard a chair scrape against the floor that Hope didn't become too distressed. His daughter didn't like loud voices, negativity or anger, they made her upset but as they had all been getting along so well, there had been no need to shield her from it.

As Sam decided to pretend that he hadn't heard then fighting so he picked up the tray and limped slowly back into the room to find Dean sitting alone at the table and his girlfriend nowhere to be seen. "Hey... Where Roxy?" Sam asked scrunching his eyebrows together. What could they have argued about that had caused her to leave?

"Sammy... I'm so sorry... " Dean stopped talking and gotten up, from the table and started pacing the room. "She had no right to say all those things... "

"Dean... It's fine... I understand... She just wants you all to herself... I mean, I... I sort of get where she's coming from..." Sam shut his mouth when he realised what he had said, he sounded like such a needy, spoilt baby who didn't want to share his toys.

"Sammy?" Dean took a step closer to him. "What are you talking about?" Dean asked genuinely confused about what Sam had said.

"It's nothing... I'm being silly... You should go find her and apologise..." Sam said quickly.

"Hey... No... Sam, talk to me... It's not silly" Dean took another step forward and Sam stepped back, he told himself that he was a grown ass man, he didn't need his big brother all the time, he was being selfish and he had no right to be.

"Sam, stop..." Suddenly, both of them stopped and looked at each other. "Please, just talk to me, I won't make fun of you, whatever it is, just tell me" Dean just wanted to get to the bottom of all this and move on.

Sam sighed loudly and looked out the window "it's nothing really... I feel so stupid for saying this but, here goes... You are... I understand... Since you started seeing Roxy, I've been feeling a little left out... We don't exactly have anything in common and I guess looking after us is a bit of a chore but I know you didn't do it on purpose and I guess I just got used to you just being there... I want you to be happy and if she makes you happy then I want you to go get her back and get married or whatever and live happily ever after... You deserve it" Sam was a little breathless by the end of all that and he tried to look at anything but his brother.

Dean stared at the man in front of him, absorbing what he had just said, astonished that his brilliant little brother could be so stupid. "Sammy, you and Hope are THE most important people in my life... I really liked Roxy and I waited before I introduced you because I wanted to make sure she would be a good fit... obviously I was wrong. I'm sorry if you got the impression that I was forgetting about you guys but she had to be worthy of knowing you, not the other way around" Dean watched as Sam's face flushed red, then his eyes grew misty and he cleared his throat trying to cover it up but failing spectacularly. "Wait... Sammy did you honestly think you are a shore to me?"

Sam's face grew even redder "Well, I carry a lot of baggage and I'm not sure we really fit in to your life with Roxy..." Sam glanced at his brother and saw nothing but confusion on his face. "You always looked after me, ever since we were kids and... you never really got to have what you wanted and... this is your chance... you can have it... I don't want to get in your way" Sam waited anxiously for Dean reaction, minutes passed and suddenly Dean was right in front of him, his two hands on his shoulders searching out his eyes.

Sam looked back and for a moment he thought Dean was going to laugh at him, he had a weird sort of smirk on his face and his eyes were bright and mischievous. "Sammy... You idiot" Dean said smiling, he moved his hands down to Sam's biceps and held on firmly. "I'm not leaving you... I would never leave you, nothing and no one could ever replace you and Hope in my life. Nothing... I can't believe you even thought that... I guess I just have to keep showing you... If I'm lucky enough to find someone and they become a part of our family, they have to know that it's not just me they're getting, but you and Hope as well" Dean saw his little brothers eyes fill with tears, he shook his head, he guessed that some part of Sam would always feel like he wasn't good enough to hang around for, that at the first chance he or their father or even Bobby and Caleb got, they would all leave for something better. He would keep trying to tell his little brother, for the rest of his life if necessary, that there wasn't anything better than them. They made him happy, they gave his life meaning, they were the reason he got out of bed every morning.

Sam sniffled and wiped his eyes with the back of his had just wanted his big brother to be happy. It hadn't occurred to him that maybe he was already happy with them and that anyone else he might met was just icing on the cake. "Dean... I'm sorry... I... I just don't want to hold you back from you living your life" Sam said again, he and Hope we're doing really well on their own, he had become content with his family the way they were now.

Dean would come over every day to have lunch with Sam and Hope, he would take her to the park every Wednesday and since he moving in above the garage he would come over every second Sunday for dinner. John and Bobby had their long standing photo album show and tell and they would all go over to Bobby's every other Sunday for pot roast. They all got along so well it was easy to forget that not long ago they all carried baggage that they couldn't let go of, it made them angry, it had changed them and now they were all safe, they were able to let go of their baggage and move on.

"You aren't stopping anything Sammy... In case you hadn't noticed, you and Hope are the reason we all get up in the morning... How can I say this so your big geeky head will understand... Ah... you and Hope are our sun and we revolve around you... Not the other way around... you big dork" Dean chuckled when Sam's had immediately came out to smack him and he took the hit knowing that Sam was smiling too.

"I get it... I'm sorry..." They were quiet for a moment "I just... sometimes I forget" Sam looked up at Dean and smiled then he asked "Are you going to call her?"

"Who?" Dean asked and when he saw Sam's brow raised he knew exactly who he was talking about. "Oh nah... She wasn't a good fit Sam... She tried to make me choose between you and her... there's no contest man"

"But... Dean... Don't..." Sam was in awe that his big brother would choose him, even after all they had been through and all the bridges they had mended. "Just talk to her, maybe you can still have both" Sam said, his emotions were just at the surface, his bottom lip quivered and his eyes glistened with tears.

"I would have had both, but... She didn't want to share me Sammy... I understand the need to have someone you care for focus just on you... but you guys... You and Hope, Bobby, Caleb and even Dad are my family... She should have wanted to be part of that too... not try to make me choose" Dean knew in his heart that when he called her, he was going to tell her it was over. He was going to tell her what she was loosing because he really had thought that maybe she could have fit in with them.

Sam looked into Deans eyes and saw the truth in those words. He smiled a small reassuring smile and nodded his head. "If you're sure... I... I... liked... her" Sam tried really hard to sound like he meant what he was saying but ever since he had met Roxy, he realised that they would never get on, they didn't have anything in common, other than Dean, but as much as Sam wanted his brother to be happy and would bury any misgivings he had about her, she was just as adamant that she was the only thing that would make Dean happy. She was never nasty to him, but she would say certain things which to the less experienced person would sound normal and non threatening but as Sam was used to listening to what was underneath what a person said and to watch someone's body language he knew that she was closed off, not willing to allow Sam or even Hope to into her heart. If she had they both would have been the brother and daughter/niece that she never had. That's how Winchester were, once you made it into the family fold, you were family.

Dean glanced at Sam and knew that his brother was lying, unfortunately he had seen Roxy in action but he hadn't wanted to believe that she was that selfish. Now, looking back, he can see that her comments and actions had hurt his little brother but to his credit he hadn't said anything back in retaliation. The love he felt for his family, especially his brother and niece trumped all and any feelings he may have felt for a woman.

"Now, I want you to listen to me Sammy... I... want... you... and Hope... in my life, the two of you make me feel wanted, needed and cared for. No woman or man is going to keep me away from you or from feeling like that and wanting the two of you to feel the same in return. So if I meet someone that I want to stay in my life, they have to fit into our lives... not the other way around" there was silence for a moment as Dean allowed this information to soak in to his little brothers big brain.

"Okay Dean..." Sam said finally relenting. His big brother had his mind made up and it would not changed for anyone, man or woman. They would both find friendship, companionship, passion and love with woman throughout the years and the filled a void, a part of their lives left empty by loss, sadness and a need for tenderness and intimacy. These women came in and out of their lives when they felt restless. Sam was in an on/off relationship with the local primary school teacher, they were friends and sometimes lovers, she knew that his heart was always with the love of his life and she was okay with this. Dean finally found a woman who made him happy and kept him out of trouble. These women weaved their ways into their lives and became a part of the family like they were made for it.

The small family grew closer and wouldn't go more than a few hours without some sort of contact. Emails, texts, phones calls or even video calls would sustain then until Friday nights and the weekend. The older members of their little family watched the brothers as they became closer and after everything they had been through were relieved that they had found peace with each other. The group would enjoy family meals, game nights and on special holidays they would all gather, along with new and old friends and celebrate like any normal family what it is to be safe and protected.

The Winchester boys enjoyed watching the youngest Winchester blossom into a strong, independent, loyal and incredibly smart young lady. No one was all that surprised that she earned straight A's and was offered a scholarship to Harvard. Sam was incredibly proud of his daughter and had been a little worried that he wouldn't be able to provide everything he didn't have growing up but whenever he was struggling to earn enough or to find the time to be in two places at once someone would step in and help and sometimes Sam never found out who it had been. It made him incredibly grateful and humbled that they would help to give his daughter everything that she could possibly want.

For Hope, the fact that her father worked so hard for her, made he want to work hard to get good grades, be a good person, enjoy her life and make him proud. Hope loved her father so much that she would never ask him for more than he could give. She never felt like she was neglected or not being provided for. In fact sometimes she felt like her father worked too hard to give her everything and she would on occasions, tell him that she could go without, or use something second hand instead of the newest and the best, which her father had always wanted her to have.

Hope would always measure any man wanting to be part of her life, by the men who had shown her how to love and be loved, how to be strong and independent, loyal and honest, book smart and street smart. Each of the very different men in her family, guided her through each obstacle or problem she may have encountered, each man was better at different types of advice. Bullies or boys and uncle Dean was her man, Languages or getting past a language barrier and her grandpas Bobby and John are her ports of call when she needs blunt, straight forward advice or help with her car and when she just needs to have fun and let her hair down, she goes to Caleb, their relationship has always been special, he never asked her what was wrong or what was happening, he would just take one look at her face and know that she needed something to distract her. Sam always knew exactly what they were up to and knew he would never do anything too irresponsible or dangerous to get her hurt or injured. Dean had reassured the young father that he had laid down the law with the reckless hunter that many of the lines he would usually cross for fun without a second thought, were out of bounds when it came to Hope. Caleb reassured them all that he would never do anything to harm the youngest member of their family. They took him at his word and even though occasionally the police or someone or other would come to the salvage years looking for them, there was never any question they Hope was safe with her uncle Cal and that he would run through fire to protect her.

Years later and the small family became smaller, then bigger, as the eldest members of the family passed on and Hope married a man she met while at college and brought more members of the Winchester family to life, they were all grateful for the safe and full lives they had enjoyed and knew that any sacrifices or choices they had to make when they were younger, were worth every minute they got to spend together. No one had any regrets or dreams unfulfilled. Hope, Sam, Dean, John, Bobby and Caleb all treasured being one big, happy family and looking back at how their lives were before they decided to collect the three pieces of the medallion they realised it was merely surviving and since then, they had actually LIVED.

The End.