A/n: Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to Johanna8D, hectatess, mckydstarlight, SparksFlyAngel, freetobescary, and LilyBolt for all of your recent reviews!

Chapter 30

The next morning, Sam may not have been well rested, but he was certainly ready to head back to the hospital and hopefully return to the Singer Salvage with his brother safe and sound. The feeling of unease still clung to him like smoke, and he was progressively getting more and more anxious as the morning went on. The twenty two year old stretched and yawned and tried to massage his back. Bobby's couch was a bit too small for his liking, making it almost as uncomfortable as the back seat of Dean's Impala. The thought brought on a ting of dread to the younger sibling who had forgotten to mention the vehicle and its state. Dean hadn't said anything about the accident, so chances were he didn't remember it nor was he aware of the car's status. The younger Winchester wasn't looking forward to that conversation with his brother. Brady may have targeted and hit them, but, Sam technically was the one who had been behind the wheel.

The thought of the hell his former friend had put them through caused the young man to grow hot with rage. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to avenge his wife and his brother. It's funny what seeing a family member almost die after losing the love of your life does to a person. Not to mention both Brady and Meg had left him with so many inquiries about himself. What did they mean by his "destiny?" Why was Sam their favorite? Favorite what? Those were only a few of the questions going through his mind at the time. His mother had been suspiciously quiet throughout his explanation to what had happened, Bobby too. Maybe with the threat of Dean on the verge of death being gone, he could try and address them again. Although that in itself was a bit mysterious. How did his brother have such a strong and quick turn around? One minute he was flat lining, the next in near perfect health.

His swirl of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of someone approaching him in the living room. A few seconds later, the house's owner came into view. He had been eyeing Sam's spot, trying to see how quiet he needed to be while creeping to the kitchen. Upon seeing a pair of hazel eyes peering back at him, he continued into the room normally.

"Mornin'. You get enough sleep?" He asked.

"Uh yeah, yeah I think I'm good," Sam lied. "How about you?"

The hunter sighed, "better 'n the night before," he admitted.

"I hear that."

"Yer mom still sleepin' I take it?" The younger Winchester nodded. "Doesn't surprise me any. Must help knowin' her boys are alright. Though I guess we aren't sure if Dean's completely outta the woods just yet."

"Yeah, um, about that. Does it seem a bit, I don't know, strange to you?" Sam questioned, uncertainty apparent in his voice.

"How do ya mean Sam?"

"I mean Dean was...he stopped breathing. I saw him laying there and I heard the machines and...I don't know. It just seems so..."

Bobby waited a while for the young man to find the word he was so clearly trying to get out to help clarify his confusion. When he only continued to struggle, he offered a suggestion, "lucky?"

Sam chewed his lower lip, tilted his head slightly, and squinted his eyes a little, as if in doing so the answer would come to him.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be lookin' a gift horse in the mouth son."

"No, yeah I know, it's just..."

"Lucky," the elder man finished for him. "Listen, I may not know you and yer brother all that well, but near as I can tell after all this shit hit the fan, he's a fighter. He fought through the pain the best he could and the coma and the way I see it, he's come out holdin' the champion belt. Now if nothin' else, you've gotta hand it to him, he's a damn strong person to have gone through all that and lived."

"You're right Bobby," Sam agreed with a nod, his voice was small. "He is lucky, and Mom and I are too." He paused and brought his head down slightly, his eyes faltering from his friend's. "You know Dean and me, we don't really get along. Haven't for...I don't even know how many years now, but it wasn't all our lives. We were pretty close once when we were really little. And then somewhere along the way...I don't know. We just-we grew distant. I didn't even invite him to my wedding, Bobby. I was just so afraid that something would happen, you know? He'd get into a fight with someone or try to get into the pants of one of Jess' friends or he'd ruin our big day somehow. I just didn't want to chance it." He scrubbed a hand over his face before continuing on. "Then when he showed up, I'll admit, I wasn't happy to see him. I just knew the only reason he'd show up like that was because he needed something, not because he wanted to try and bond or mend fences or whatever he claimed he was there for." Sam stopped again, watching his hands clasp together not knowing what else to do with them but needing to do something. "But then all of this happened and I'm not saying all is forgiven or the slate is washed clean or the water under the bridge isn't still mucky, but seeing Dean on that ceiling...the look of fear and-and pain in his eyes..." The twenty two year old shook his head and fell silent as he lowered it to his hands.

"Well he's alive, which means you have another shot at mendin' and cleanin' and unmuckin' things between you two."

Sam raised his head and for the first time in awhile since they started talking, he met his hazel eyes with the hunter's blue.

"Yeah, I do. But that's not the only thing needs clearing up," his voice was the strongest it had sounded all morning as his features morphed from soft to determined. "I'm going to find out what Brady was talking about and I'm going to make that son of a bitch pay for what he's done to me and my family. Dean and I may not be close, but he's my brother, and I'm not going to let that bastard Brady get away with anything anymore."

Before the hunter could respond, there was creaking from the stairs followed by the appearance of a still groggy Mary. She stopped short noticing the look her youngest son was wearing and the concerned one of their host.

"Everything ok in here?" She asked with a furrowed brow and slits for eyes.

"Fine," Bobby covered.

"Great. Coffee?"

"Just on my way to make some actually." The hunter turned from Sam and headed into the kitchen, Mary close behind. Sam stayed seated on the couch a while longer, collecting himself before joining his mom and friend.

Once coffee was made and everyone had had a cup and some toast, they all piled into Bobby's Roadrunner, and took off back to the hospital. Unsurprisingly, Dean had been thrilled and eager to put the hospital and its patrons in the rearview mirror. They were never his favorite place to be even when he was younger, though his antics landed him a trip in either the doctor's office or the ER a good number of times.

Most of the car ride back to the Singer Salvage was in awkward silence. No one knowing what to say but clearly there was much that everyone wanted to voice about something and to someone.

Once the beat up vehicle pulled up to the familiar dirty pale blue house, the owner turned to look at the brothers.

"You two're welcome to whatever you want in the fridge. I imagine you're probably pretty hungry Dean."

"I could eat," he shrugged.

"Well I've got some left over chicken in there if you want it. Feel free to eat it as is or make a sandwich out of it."

Dean was about to answer when something sitting off to the side caught his eye. He quickly threw open the door, and forgetting yet again about his stitches, he shot up and then doubled down.

"Dean, careful."

The elder brother ignored his mother's warning, getting slowly to his feet, and slamming the car door as he made his way to the Impala. Sam climbed out and joined him, keeping his distance and giving Dean his space.

"I uh, I had Bobby tow it back here for you so that when you're feeling better you can fix it up." The eldest didn't say anything or even acknowledge that his sibling had. "Dean, I'm sorry."

For a long time the elder Winchester boy didn't say anything as his eyes took in and evaluated every inch of his car. Sam wanted to say something more, but all he could think about was apologizing and that seemed to fall on deaf ears. A few minutes later, Bobby and Mary were both out of the car silently watching the two brothers. Without a word, Dean turned and headed into the house, Sam not far behind. Mary made her way to follow, but was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She spun around and met eyes with the hunter who quickly let go.

"What happened back at the hospital?" He inquired once he knew both of the boys were out of earshot. She sighed but never took her eyes off of him.

"I did what I had to, and frankly that's all you need to know."

"Yer boy Sam's suspicious you know? He doesn't know what happened with his brother, but he suspects somethin' did. Says Dean was practically on death's door one minute then alive and well the next. I know what I gave you, and I know that's used to summon a demon. I also happen to know that the only reason there is to do so, is to make a deal. If Dean was in as bad a shape as Sam says he was, that was one hell of a turn around." Mary continued to hold his accusational gaze.

"A miracle happened, Robert Singer. That's all." With that she turned on her heels and disappeared through the front door, leaving Bobby to stand at a loss for words and the ominous feeling that all was not well with the Winchester family.

A/n: Just a note to all those who review, I'm going to busy for the next few days getting ready for SPN BurCon so if I don't respond, I promise I'm not ignoring you and I really appreciate your time and thoughts.

SparksFlyAngel: Yep, Dean is awake and its not really a coincidence. Sam's kinda suspicious himself. There's still some mending that needs to happen, and not just Dean's broken arm or stitched wound either. The four of them kind of have each other in a way, so we will see what happens next. I've been a bit busy so I'm not as ahead as I'd like to be, but I am a bit. I'm glad you're still enjoying this story and that you liked this chapter. Thank you so so much for your time, interest, support, and review!