Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters and, sadly, am making no money from them.

A/N: Just a little bit to wrap it all up... thanks for sticking with me on this one. Until we meet again...

Scars from the Past

Epilogue

Gradually, with the help of his father and brother, Dean returned to normal. He had wanted to get into the car the morning after Sam called, but John insisted they wait a few days until he was stronger. In the meantime, he spent at least an hour on the phone with his brother every night.

The family wasn't completely healed with that trip, but it helped. Dean and Sam spoke often, Sam and John spoke occasionally. Dean was fortunate enough not to run into Wally again, but John made it his business to see Wally frequently.

A few years later, when Dean was working a job on his own, John disappeared. Dean drove to Palo Alto to enlist Sam's help in finding him. A year later, they were still looking for him and working other jobs along the way.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The Winchester brothers walked into yet another motel room, having spent the last few hours searching the woods for whatever had been terrorizing several small towns in the area. Their father sent a text message to Dean's cell phone with coordinates that lead them to the town they were now in, and his journal had an entry detailing strange lights in the woods. After spending the afternoon researching, they spent the evening looking for anything that could help them figure out what was going on.

"Dude, I'm fine!" Dean grumbled as Sam reached out to steady him. "Back off."

Sam smiled to himself and dropped the weapons bag onto the floor. Dean had thought it would be a good idea to get a higher view of the area so, despite Sam's warning, he climbed a tree hoping to see the lights. Unfortunately it rained earlier in the day and his boots slipped on a moss-covered branch. A pile of wet leaves padded his fall, but his shoulder hit a protruding stick that managed to pierce the skin through two layers of shirts.

He stiffly slipped out of the first shirt.

"Your shoulder's bleeding." Sam noticed. "Let me take a look."

"It's fine."

"Let me take a look." Sam insisted.

He took the first aid kit from another duffle bag as Dean pulled the t-shirt over his head. He grunted, tossing it aside and sitting down in one of the chairs. Sam stood behind him and snagged an alcohol swab from the kit. He felt Dean stiffen as he cleaned the wound.

"It doesn't look too bad." Sam said. He reached for the antibiotic cream and bandages, stopping when he saw a scar he didn't recognize. "Dean?"

"What?"

"Where'd you get this?" he asked, touching the back of his brother's arm.

"Get what?" Dean groused.

"This scar?" Sam touched it again.

"You expect me to remember every scar?"

"You have so far." Sam said quietly as he dressed the fresh wound.

"Whatever, Dude."

"Come on, Man. Just tell me." Sam said, sitting across from Dean and looking at him with the patented little brother expression that usually got him his way.

"Fine." Dean growled. "Dad and I had split up to work two small jobs; I was on a poltergeist gig."

Dean told Sam a ridiculous story about having met a sexy woman at a bar after finishing the poltergeist job. It involved handcuffs, whipped cream and candle wax, among other things. Sam begged for him to stop but Dean piled it on, wanting to make sure Sam never asked about that particular scar again.

When Sam went into the bathroom, Dean thought back to when he really got the scar. He remembered talking to Sam about what happened when he was being held by Wally, but he downplayed the injuries because he didn't want his little brother to worry.

Dean heard the bathroom door open and returned to smirking.

"You are so not right." Sam said as he pulled down the covers on his bed. He turned off the light.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam started a few minutes later. Sometimes it was easier to talk in the dark.

"Yeah?"

"I know you're lying."

"Yeah. I know you do."

Fin