A/N: Happy Thursday everyone! As a special treat I am going to post this chapter early. I can't wait for you to see Sam's reaction to a letter her receives. NC

Chapter 16

Sam grimaced and limped toward the waiting transportation, exhausted and drained. He had twisted his ankle right before completing their mission and cursed himself for being so careless and not seeing the debris. At least it wasn't broken, only sprained, and a good soak and ace bandage should help it heal quickly.

His team clambered into the vehicle with him and slumped down looking just as exhausted as he was. He knew they all needed a short break before tackling another mission. He just hoped the brass would see it that way and give them time to recharge.

The vehicle started and pulled away from the hanger at a fast speed making them swing back and forth with the motion. No one spoke at first until Chaos and Hawkeye started talking about going to a bar and shooting some pool. Sam 's eyes were half closed as he idlily listened to the conversation, zoning out for a moment.

When the truck lurched to a stop, Sam shook himself and came back to reality as his team jumped from the back of the truck. He waited until they were out before getting out himself being careful of his hurt ankle. They headed for their barracks to drop off their gear before walking across the compound to the mess hall. Sam took the time to wrap his ankle to hopefully help with the swelling. If it didn't seem better the following day, he would visit the doctor. The team was aware of Sam's discomfort and walked slower than usual.

"I'm going to stop on the way back and see if any mail came in for us," Sam told his team as they lined up grabbing trays to get food.

"Great, I hope my girl wrote to me," Spark said.

"My Mom sends weekly letters to keep me updated with what's going on back home," Hawkeye offered.

"My grandmother has her Sunday school class write to me," Chaos added. "I told her I was sending one letter for all of them. Or I write one letter and make copies of it."

"A family friend sends me letters a couple times a month," Sam told them.

Once they had their food, they found a table and sat down to eat. The group continued casual conversations as they wolfed down the food. It was always like this as soon as they got back since it was MREs in the field.

Sam detoured to pick up the mail and slowly limped back to the barracks as he glanced through the letters. He faltered in his steps when he saw a letter with his name on it. The writing was familiar, and he gasped when he saw the return address. It was from Dean. Once he got over the shock, Sam hurried back to deliver the mail and to read his. There was another one from Bobby in the stack and he separated them out.

The air outside was hot as Sam made his way to the small patio they had set up behind the building. They had folding chairs, couple of tables made from barrels and crates, a secondhand beach umbrella, and garbage can. He took a seat and laid the two letters on the table and stared at them for a moment before picking up the one from his brother.

He pulled a knife from his side pocket and slit open the envelope so he could pull out the letter. Carefully, he unfolded the paper and began to read it. He didn't know he was holding his breath until he struggled to breathe.

'Hey Bro,

First off, Bobby didn't spill the beans about you so don't be pissed at him. I saw a letter you wrote him and figured it out on my own. I went by Standford to see you and found out you weren't there. I gotta tell you, I panicked when I couldn't find you.

You're an asshole for not telling me what you were going to do. I can understand not wanting to tell Dad. Marines, man, I never would have thought you'd do something like that. I hope you are taking care of yourself and staying safe.

Sammy, I want you to know how proud I am of you. For you to complete your Marine training and have your own team is awesome bro. I knew you were smart as shit, but wow man, you rock.

I'm staying at Bobby's for a bit and helping him out. I told Dad what I thought of him and how he treated you and then I left him. I'll cool off and head back home soon.

I have missed you Sammy. You don't know how long it took me to get a good night's sleep (without the sounds of your snoring keeping me company) and I've got nobody to split the chores with, without you here to share the load. I have been worried about you and damn, I wish I had tried to contact you a lot sooner after you left. I was thinking about you all the time, but I guess I convinced myself you were better off away from the life, and safe. You should have called me. You know I didn't agree with what Dad said. I would never cut you out of my life.

I hope you will write back and tell me how you are doing. Send it to Bobby and I'll have him forward it to me. That way Dad won't find out I contacted you. I'm not going to tell him. I think that is your place, your story, if you want him to know. I will write more later and fill you in on what's been going on.

You stay safe over there, wherever you are. I love you bro.

Dean'

Sam sat back and read it again and fought the tears filling his eyes. He chuckled softly when Dean called him an asshole. He could picture him at Bobby's, sitting at the kitchen table, biting his lip as he composed the letter. There were a couple of marked out words and messy writing, but that was Dean, and he wouldn't change him. He still couldn't believe he told their father off and left. He beamed with happiness when he reread how proud Dean was of him. He definitely was going to write back to him.

Spn

Dean had stayed a week at Bobby's before heading home to Lawrence, Kansas. He was still upset with his father and gave him the cold shoulder, but still helped him on cases. He knew John needed help with some of the more difficult cases more than others.

It had been nearly a month since he had written to Sam and still hadn't got a reply. Dean walked out to the mailbox and pulled the mail out. He thumbed through them and saw a letter from Bobby. Excitement raced through his body because he could tell there was another letter inside the envelope. He dropped the other mail on the hall table and hurried to his room for privacy.

After flopping onto his bed, he slid his finger under the flap and worked it open. Dean pulled out a single sheet of paper and was surprised when a picture dropped onto the bed. He picked it up and stared in amazement at the five men dressed in camouflage. Of course, the tallest one was his little brother, but by only an inch or so. Dean studied Sammy and thought he looked good. He didn't look like the same person who stormed off to Standford. There was an air of confidence and authority about his demure now.

He unfolded the paper and began to read the neat handwriting.

'Hey Dean,

I have to say I was shocked to receive a letter from you, but I was happy too. I'm glad you know what I did.

I may be an asshole, but you're a jerk. I couldn't tell you bro. It was something I had to do on my own. The photo is me and my team, Tango Company. Going from left to right, you have Hawkeye, Chaos, Doc, and Spark. I'm called Titan since we don't use our names but code names.

I am hanging in there and doing my best. I can't tell you about our missions since they are top secret. I won't lie, they are dangerous, and we must be extremely careful, but I have a great team. We have each other's backs when we're in the field. I gotta admit that all the training Dad gave us growing up paid off. I think I was more prepared than most of my fellow recruits.

You don't know how much it means to me for you to say you are proud of me. And thanks for not telling Dad you're in contact with me. When I get back, we'll see how things go. Right now, I'm not worrying about that.

And dude, I miss you too. I'm mad at myself for not getting in contact with you. I thought about it so many times, but something kept me from doing it. I don't know what stopped me. Maybe it was the Winchester stubbornness. I want to apologize for that.

I hope we'll have a little down time before heading out again. I work on the plans for our missions and try to come up with the best one. I have been lucky and have not lost anyone yet, but I have lost friends. It's hard to accept sometimes and understand why we're over here in the first place.

Will stop for now and get this posted. You take care of yourself and watch out for Dad too. You know how he can be sometimes.

I love you too bro and I'll write when I can.

Sam (Titan)

Dean rolled over onto his back and held the letter over his face to read again. He looked at the picture again and gently rubbed a finger over Sammy's face. He was going to put it in a safe place where it wouldn't get messed up.

"I'm glad you wrote back bro," Dean mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes and pictured his brother in his mind comparing the brother that left for college to the brother who was a Marine and running his own unit. Titan, he thought for a moment. It did fit him.

A/N: The brothers are in touch again and things are good between them. Thank you for coming on this journey and to anyk guests who have left reviews. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC