A/N: Here is is, the last chapter. It is a little long, I hope you all don't mind. I'd like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. Thanks to those of you who held my hand while I mumbled. Thanks to TraSan and Dennis.

Apercu

Chapter Five

Now the earth gives forth its secrets
Held in mountain sea and plain
They have never been forgotten
Only locked inside my brain
While I slept I had a vision
I remember
You were with me

"Time to come home," Sam's words to his brother were still echoing though his head as pain shot through his body. He could hear other voices—Ruby, Cas, Bobby—shouting from somewhere on the other side of the black wall holding him immobile. Something burned up his arm, it felt like his veins were filling with acid.

"Breathe, Sam, come on, one breath," Ruby said from beside him.

What? Sam focused, aware of an ache in his chest and the desperate pounding of his heart. He took a gasping breath, the air rushing into empty lungs.

"Good job, Sam." Ruby's voice was soft. More sounds started filtering through, worrying sounds.

"That's it! His heart's working," Cas said.

"I think Dean's free, you did it, Sam," Ruby said softly.

Sam managed to get his eyes open and looked up into Ruby's smiling face. "What?" Hoping he'd heard right, terrified it hadn't worked.

"I'm pretty sure you got him out." Ruby patted his hand.

"Pretty sure?" Sam took another deep breath, rubbing the spot on his chest where the bullets had slammed into him, it ached like it was badly bruised.

"He's free for the moment, I think, you need to finish it so he can come all the way back home," she said.

"Yeah," Sam said, sitting up. He blinked as the room spun slowly around him, revolving several times before it finally stopped. "Bobby?"

"How do you feel?" the older hunter asked, looking up from Dean.

"We need to get going." Sam swung his legs off the bed and stood, waiting as the room took another spin. "Maybe you should drive." He walked over to Dean's bed and put his hand on his brother's arm. "Dean? I'll be back, I have something to do."

"Tell him the truth," Ruby said quietly.

"What do you have to do?" Cas snapped. "You are in no condition to go anywhere."

"I have to," Sam said, looking over at the doctor.

"Have to do what?" Cas growled.

"Tone, Brother," Ruby chided.

"Tone be damned, Sister! What are you planning?" Cas frowned at Sam.

"He has to kill the djinn," Ruby said placidly. "In order for Dean to truly escape, once and for all, the djinn has to die."

"So? Send Bobby." Cas turned his formidable frown on Bobby.

"It has to be Sam," Bobby said with resignation.

"Has to be?"

"Yes." Bobby sighed. "Or believe me, I would already be on my way." The hunter was frowning at Ruby and Sam equally.

"Sorry, Bobby," Sam said, he looked back down at Dean. "I'll be back, once the djinn is dead." Unless Yellow-Eyes is there, then maybe...

"You need to go. I'll keep an eye on Dean." Ruby gave him a gentle push.

"If something happens, Ruby..."

"Don't worry, Sam, I won't leave him vulnerable."

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Cas shouted, then looked sheepish. "Never mind, I know. It's okay, Sam, he won't..." The monk cleared his throat.

"Thanks," Sam said. "How far?" he asked Bobby.

"Four hours."

"It'll be dark when we get there. We need to hurry, we can't lose this chance, Bobby."

"I know, Sam, I know." Bobby said firmly. "We'll fix this tonight."

"Yeah," Sam said softly. "Can I have a minute with Dean?"

"Sure, Sam." Ruby gave him a quick hug, Cas nodded and they left. After a moment, Bobby followed them, closing the door behind him.

"Dean..." Sam said.

XXX

"Time to come home," his brother's quiet words were the last thing Dean heard before his heart stopped. He knew it stopped, he actually felt it. The sensation was so much different than before. There was an awareness of his death. There was the sense of sliding between worlds. There was a moment when he was drifting, hearing voices shouting—he couldn't quite make out the words—and then he was swallowed up in silence.

Sound started creeping back in, first a soft hum, then actual voices. Sam's, Bobby's, a woman's and another man, he couldn't make out the words, but from the tone he thought they might be arguing. He listened, trying to figure out what was going on. As he listened, he tried to figure out where he was, what had happened. He remembered being in the field, Sam and Ruby finding them and Sam shooting Sammy. He said I was trapped in the djinn's world. Did it work? The thought that he could escape where he was had been the main reason he'd agreed to everything. As he told Sam, anything, even death, would have been better.

"Can I have a minute with Dean?" Sammy said quietly.

"Sure, Sam," the female voice answered.

"Dean..." Sammy said softly, his voice gentle, warm. "I got you out," he said, then chuckled, there was bitterness in the laugh. "Mostly." Sam paused, then there was a tiny shift—like Sam had sat on the bed, and a warm hand covered Dean's. The hand was trembling. Sam sighed, the sound was so much like Sam—Sammy, the person he knew before hell, before everything—that hope started filtering into him. Maybe, maybe it was all true?

"I need to leave. Just for awhile, I hope. I have to kill the djinn." Sam sighed again. "I might not have told you the whole truth, Dean. Well, I told you the whole truth of what needed to happen then, just not everything that needed to happen." He squeezed Dean's hand. "I have to kill the djinn." Sam laughed, this time it was rueful. "Me, before you say anything. It has to be the one that freed you, and it has to be tonight, before the next eclipse. I should have told you, I know." There was a long pause. "You're still vulnerable, until the djinn is dead."

"I have to go, Dean." Sam's voice was suddenly full of tears and his hand tightened on Dean's. He was sure if he were awake it would be so tight it would hurt. Dean tried to return the pressure.

"Dean! Can you hear me? Dean?" Sam took a shaky breath. "Hey, man, I'll be back, as soon as I can. I'm fixing this tonight. I promise. One way or another, this ends tonight." There was a gentle pat on his chest, then Sam was gone, leaving Dean drifting in the dark.

XXX

Sam tried to sleep in the car. Bobby was silent after the first few minutes, and Sam closed his eyes, hoping to rest before they got there. He couldn't sleep, however, Dean's words were haunting him. Had his brother really died in the wish world, at the hands of hellhounds, and been dragged to hell? He knew those memories would be real for his brother if he—when, when—hewoke up. How could Dean... "We'll figure it out," he said quietly.

"What?" Bobby said.

"Oh," Sam said, opening his eyes. "Talking to myself."

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"Remember when Dean almost died a month ago?"

"Yeah?"

"He told me when I was there in his reality, he said..." Sam trailed off.

"What?"

"He said he'd been dragged to hell by hellhounds," Sam said it so quickly it came out almost as one word.

"He WHAT?" The car swerved, Bobby pulled it back into the lane with a muffled curse.

"Hell, Bobby, he said he went to hell."

"My god," Bobby whispered. "If he remembers that..."

"I know." Sam shook himself, dwelling on that now wouldn't help. "Where are we?"

"About half an hour out."

"Half an hour?"

"You've been asleep. Snoring."

"I thought..." Sam looked out the window, the edge of a small town was visible, the lights twinkling in the distance.

"When we get there, you let me go in first," Bobby said.

"No."

"Yes. No argument on this."

"Bobby..."

"No."

"But..."

"No." Bobby glanced over at him. "No."

"Okay," Sam finally agreed. It's better this way, he goes in, distracts it—or them—and gives me a chance to kill it. The rage that accompanied that thought made him blink. Just killing it seemed too easy, too simple for something that had let his brother believe... Sam took a deep breath. Just focus, kill it, kill the demon if he's there, get back. Just focus, kill it, kill the demon. He was repeating it like a mantra, drawing strength and finding calm in the fact that it was finally happening.

Sam was still repeating it when Bobby pulled up in front of the warehouse. They'd been there a few days before, making sure the djinn was still using the spot. It had been there for several months, Sam suspected it was because the djinn was suffering. Bobby had done his best to deny it every chance to feed. Sam knew the demon had been providing it victims, they were all dead when Bobby found them, as if when it finally got a chance to eat it gorged itself.

"Okay, wait for the signal," Bobby said, grabbing a knife out of the trunk and handing it to Sam. The older hunter opened a jar of blood and poured it over the blade, then put it back in the car. After that was done, Bobby pulled out a shotgun and a large knife for himself.

"Yeah," Sam said, the mantra still running through his head. He felt a surge of anger flow through him, and he damped it down.

Bobby walked to the door and carefully opened it, glancing to make sure that Sam was waiting before going into the building. Sam listened to the older hunter's footsteps as they moved away from him. He glanced at his watch, he would wait for the signal—or five minutes—whichever came first. While he was waiting he powered off his cell phone. There was no way he would risk it going off and alerting anyone to their presence. It was getting close to his self-imposed deadline when he heard Bobby's call. Sam stepped through the door and into a long hallway.

It was dark in the building, but his eyes adjusted and he walked on with confidence. Bobby was standing in the entrance to the main room of the warehouse, a large space full of rusting cars and old farm equipment. The smell of old gas and diesel filled the air as Sam came up beside the other hunter. Acknowledging Sam with a nod, they moved into the room, Sam heading left, Bobby right. There were three places they had recovered remains of the djinn's meals, they planned to start their search there.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Sam's attention as he skirted a derelict tractor. There was a body dangling from a chain, moving silently back and forth. Sam put a cautious hand on the flesh, it was still warm, he checked for a pulse. Nothing. But it's fresh, he was just here. He took a step away from the body.

It came from behind a rusting truck, head down, aimed straight at Sam. The djinn slammed into him with enough force to carry them both into tractor, the large blade mounted on the front narrowly missing Sam. He felt something sharp dig into his back and struck out, knocking the djinn away from him. "Bobby!" he shouted, then went after the djinn again. It was racing between the pieces of equipment, heading for the far side of the warehouse. Sam's instincts were screaming "trap" as he ran. The djinn disappeared behind the hulk of a semi-truck.

"Sam!" Bobby called.

Sam dashed around the cab of the truck. The djinn was there, it's attention focused on Bobby. Sam dove at it, driving it to the ground. It struck out, it's hand connecting with the side of Sam's head. He rolled away and went limp. It grabbed his ankle and started pulling him towards it. Sam stayed lax, letting it draw him in. When he was a little closer to it, he raised his foot and kicked it in the chest. It was shoved away, stopping against the wheel of the truck. Bobby rounded the corner of the truck as it was getting up, a scowl in its face. It stopped when it saw the older hunter. Sam risked a quick glance. Bobby had a shotgun aimed at it. A shot wouldn't kill the djinn, but it would slow it down.

Without warning—without anything that telegraphed what it planned—it launched itself at Bobby, carrying him away under the force of the attack. Sam followed with a shout. The djinn had Bobby pinned on the floor, its hand moving towards the older hunter's face.

Sam didn't waste his chance.

He slammed the knife into the djinn's back, feeling it slide along a rib. The creature reared up, trying to pull the knife out. The djinn collapsed under him. As it fell, Sam pulled the knife out and plunged it down again and again.

"Sam!" Bobby said, grabbing his arm.

He looked up at the other hunter, literally seeing red for a moment. "Let me go," he growled, low and threatening.

"It's dead."

Sam focused on the body beneath him, its back... He swallowed. Did I do that​? He shoved the blade in one last time, giving it a twist to drive it deeper, then he stood. "The demon?"

"Gone. Long gone. He left a calling card back there." Bobby grimaced.

"Okay, let's head out. I want to get back before Dean wakes up." Sam took a step and stumbled into Bobby. "Sorry."

"We'll go as soon as you're patched up. My god, Sam, how bad were you hurt?"

"Am I hurt?" Sam asked.

"You're bleeding."

"Bobby?" Sam looked at the other man. "It is dead?"

"Yeah, Sam, it's dead."

"Dean'll be okay?" He suddenly needed reassurance. It had been so long with this one hope, so long waiting for Dean to wake up.

"Yeah, Sam, he'll be okay." Bobby handed Sam his gun.

"What's this for?" Sam said, staring at the gun.

"I can't help you out and carry that."

"Oh, okay," Sam said and leaned against Bobby for support. "It's over?"

"It's over." Bobby assured him and helped Sam out to the car.

XXX

Dean had no idea how long he'd been drifting when the darkness suddenly released him. The light against his eyelids became steadily brighter, the sounds around him steadily louder. He took a deep breath, there was a medicinal scent on the air and underneath that was the smell of coffee gone stale. As more awareness crept in, he could hear a hushed conversation to his left.

He tried to open his eyes and to his surprise they opened.

Dean blinked and focused on the pale blue ceiling. He let his eyes roam around the room. There was a crucifix on the wall opposite him and another bed to his right. The walls were devoid of decoration, just the soft pale blue. Something sparkled on one wall, a small rainbow moving back and forth. He watched it for a long time, a sense of wonder filling him. When was the last time..? He tracked down the source of the colors, a glass of water was on a stand beside the bed.

The sound of voices at the door caught his attention. Two people stood just outside, a tiny woman in a nun's habit and a man in monk's robes. Dean watched them for a moment, trying to understand the conversation. He made out the word "Compline." The two seemed to be arguing over it.

He let his eyes drift back at the ceiling, aware of a growing sense of unease. Something had happened. Sam said he was going to hunt the djinn. Sammy! He looked around, his brother wasn't there. That explained the unease blossoming quickly into panic. He tried to force himself up, to find Sam. His muscles didn't respond to the command. He took a deep breath and concentrated. Still nothing. Okay, new tactic. "Hey," he called, his voice came out as a whisper. Even if it had been louder he doubted they would have heard him, there was a loud commotion from somewhere down the hall.

"Ruby! Cas!" Bobby shouted as Dean was opening his mouth to try again. What's going on?

"Bobby!" the nun said and the two hurried away from the door.

Dean could hear the older hunter's gruff voice and the other two answering. He was pretty sure they were the ones he'd heard in his dreams. Ruby? And Cas?

"Let me go." That voice was louder than the other two, an angry order snapped out with force.

Dean tried to struggle up. He managed to get a hand into position under himself and started to push himself off the bed. Come on. I was chasing a skinwalker a few days ago. What the hell? His body finally started to respond, he was at least five inches off the bed when a gasp stopped him.

"Dean?"

He looked up. His brother filled the doorway. Sam's bangs were tumbled over his forehead, there was a bruise on his cheek and a cut in his hairline was leaking blood across his face. He stood completely still for a moment, tears overflowing his eyes, then he was pulling Dean against him in a ferocious hug, so tight Dean felt his ribs creak.

"Sammy?" Dean said, hoping his voice would work. It must have—Sam responded with a soft sob. "Sam?"

"Hey," Sam said, pulling away. He smiled at Dean, tears running over his face, mingling with the blood.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Dean..." Sam frowned, the frown Dean had been missing since his return from hell.

"Sam, you need to let Cas..." Bobby said, stopping just inside the door. "Dean!" Sam shifted so the older hunter could pull Dean into a hug. "It's good to see you." Bobby stepped back and cleared his throat. "Really good."

Dean smiled at him. Bobby looked older, a little more worn around the edges than he had the last time Dean had seen him a few weeks before. No, that wasn't real, that's what Sam said. How long has it been? He turned his attention back to Sam. His brother looked older too, there were lines of grief on his face and a pinched look around his mouth that Dean didn't remember. He was distracted from his appraisal when he realized his hands were covered in blood, he stared at them for a moment, then looked up at Sam, knowing exactly whose blood it was without asking. "Sammy?"

"I'm okay," Sam said. "It's mostly on my jacket, Dean."

"Sam," Bobby growled.

"Sam?" Dean said softly. "What happened?"

"I killed the djinn." Sam closed his eyes for a moment, tears were still running down his face. There was more in the quiet words than the statement of fact, there was a world of pain, of loneliness. Dean tried to reached out to Sam, his arm was slow in responding. Shit. "Dean..."

"Sam, you need to get your back taken care of, it will only take a moment," a female voice said gently. "Cas is waiting for you."

"Ruby," Sam said, looking at her, "please."

"It will only take a minute, and Dean needs to be checked, too. You'll be back in less than half an hour."

"No." Sam grabbed Dean's wrist. There was a desperate edge in Sam that Dean recognized. His brother had reached—and long passed—his breaking point.

"No," Dean said with as much authority as he can muster. "Can the doc come here?"

"I figured as much," a man said sourly. "You need to lay down so I can get a look at your back."

"Uh..." Sam looked lost for a moment. As Dean watched, his brother pulled himself back together. "Okay." Sam gave Dean's wrist a squeeze and stood, stripping off his jacket and shirt as he walked to the other bed.

"What happened?" Dean demanded.

"He got thrown into a piece of farm equipment," Bobby said. "I cleaned it up, it didn't look like it needed stitches."

"I'll be the judge of that," the monk said.

"I'm sure he took good care of it, Brother, he always does," the nun said with a smile. "I'm Sister Ruby, Dean. And that is Brother Castiel. He's one of the doctor's here."

"Sister Ruby?" Dean asked, looking at her. She sounded a little like the Ruby he knew, but she didn't look like a demon. Of course they never do.

"Yes," she beamed at him. "When I joined the Order I was Sister Mary Margaret, but in the Seventies, all the sisters took their own names and I was caught up in the fad." She chuckled. "I never gave up the habit, but I wear sneakers."

"Uh huh," Dean said absently, turning so he could watch the doctor work on Sam. There was a long gash down his brother's back. He could see Sam trembling, his jaws clenched. "Sammy?"

"I'm okay," Sam said, his voice muffled.

"He will be much better once the pain meds kick in," Brother Castiel said, scowling at Sam. "I hope this is the last time I have to do this."

"Last time?" Dean asked, looking from Sam to Bobby.

"You know how it is," the older hunter said with a shrug.

"Yeah." Dean was starting to get tired, it seemed like it was taking longer and longer to get his eyes back open after each blink. No, I need to stay awake to talk to... A soft snore came from the other bed.

"Pain meds kicked in," Brother Castiel said with a chuckle. "That will make it easier."

"Is he okay?" Dean said. His eyes refused to open that time.

"He will be," Sister Ruby assured him. "Get some rest."

"But... I... Just... Woke..." Dean slid into sleep.

XXX

A sound woke Sam. He lay there for a moment, not sure where he was, then memory rushed back—killing the djinn, coming back, Dean awake. The sound came again. Sam opened his eyes and looked over at the other bed, Dean was asleep, lying on his side. It had been so long since Dean had moved in his sleep at all that tears sprang to Sam's eyes. His brother was breathing rapidly, another small groan escaped his lips.

"Dean?" Sam said, getting out of bed. "Dean!" When his brother didn't respond, Sam gently shook his shoulder. "Wake up."

"Leave me alone," Dean muttered.

"Dean!" Sam shook harder.

"What?" Dean's eyes opened and he looked up with a frown. Sam recoiled from what he saw in his brother's eyes—horror, pain, emptiness, guilt. Dean rolled over on his back and looked at the ceiling.

"Dean?" Sam said, unsure.

"What?" Dean snapped.

"You were dreaming."

"Yeah, hell again, Sam."

"Hell? Oh god, Dean, I'm so sorry." Sam took a step towards him.

"Sammy?" Dean whispered.

"Dean?" Sam sat on the edge of the bed, dropping his hand on Dean's chest. It caused a little ache to twist in his heart. He'd spent many hours talking to his brother just like this, only then Dean had never answered and Sam had been terrified he never would be able to again. "What is it?"

"Sammy." Dean nodded, then looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"It's a care facility run by Ruby's Order."

"Care facility?"

"Yeah, they take care of the elderly and," Sam swallowed the lump in his throat, "the dying."

"And you say I've been here since I went hunting the djinn?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Dean repeated. Sam was sure his brother didn't believe him. Something in his tone alerted him. Dean looked away from Sam, his eyes roaming the room. "The window," he said quietly.

"What?" Sam turned. Bright pink light lit the curtains, the first rays of sun creeping into the room.

"The color. It's been... Since I got back from hell, it's been so..." Dean swallowed and focused on Sam. "I never escaped the djinn?"

"No, you've been in a coma," Sam said, wondering how many times he'd have to tell Dean before his brother believed him.

"For how long?"

"Nine months." Nine endless months, Dean.

"Nine months? No. No, it's been two years.

"No, Dean."

"And you didn't..." Dean hesitated.

"Didn't what, Dean?" Sam said gently. Tears were suddenly bright in his brother's eyes.

"You didn't die?" Dean whispered, the words sounding like they were driven out by force.

"Die?" Oh god, Dean.

"Yeah, the demon took you and you..." A tear broke loose and ran over Dean's face.

"Dean?"

"You died, Sammy, you..." Dean turned his head away. "But we stopped him. Dad got out, and we stopped him."

"Dean, the demon..."

"It never happened?" Dean said desperately, a sob escaping him. "I wished that? Are you telling me I wished all that? No! I can understand seeing mom, wanting her alive—but the rest... No. This isn't real. Am I still in hell? Alastair, you bastard! Show yourself!" Dean was shouting.

"Dean!" Sam grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook him gently. "Dean, listen to me!"

"No! Let me go!" Dean fought against Sam's hold, but months in a coma had left him weak. "No!"

"Dean, please!" Sam pulled his brother against him and held him as Dean had when they were children and Sam was terrified by a nightmare or something else lurking in the dark. At first Dean continued to fight, then he slowly relaxed. He fisted a hand in Sam's shirt. It was quiet for a long moment.

"It didn't happen?" Dean asked.

"No," Sam said. What his brother had said finally caught up to him. "Dean?" Oh god, no, please say no.

"Sammy?"

"You went to hell?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Sam, I..."

"For me?"

"Yeah." Dean was completely still, his breathing harsh.

"How long did you have before you went, Dean?"

"A year."

"I'm sorry," Sam whispered, knowing how his brother felt about people who made deals, knowing the pain that must have driven Dean to that decision.

"And when I got back from hell, everything was different. You..." Dean broke off, stopping whatever he was going to say. He pushed away from Sam, leaning back in the bed.

"What?"

"You and Ruby had gotten together while I was gone."

"Ruby?" Sam couldn't stop the laugh. "Really?"

"She wasn't a nun, Sam. She was..."

"Dean?"

"A demon." Dean looked away. "Brother Castiel was there too, or someone named Cas was, he pulled me out of hell."

"I didn't save...?" Sam took a deep breath, trying to force away the pain that revelation brought him. "You must have heard their voices. And Cas did save you, I told you we almost lost you a month ago. He's the one who brought you back."

"He was..." Dean stopped again, a bitter smile on his face. "It wasn't real?"

"It didn't happen," Sam corrected, he put his hand back on Dean's chest, needing the contact.

"I remember it all, Sam, like it was real."

"It was real for you."

"I..."

"Dean, what is it?"

"How could I wish for that?" The desperation was back in Dean's voice.

"It's not like that, Dean. The djinn takes something and makes it into reality. The wish gets twisted somewhere along the way."

"Like in 'Bedazzled'?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam smiled. Leave it to Dean to have a movie reference, even now. "You said mom was alive?"

"In my wish, yeah." Dean frowned. "The first wish, I guess. Mom was alive, but we—you and I—weren't really on speaking terms. I'd gone to hunt the djinn when I realized it what was going on. I killed myself there and woke up in the warehouse. You'd just gotten there." He sighed. "I should have figured it out then, you finding me at that moment was a little convenient wasn't it? Shortly after that you were taken by the demon."

"And dad got out of hell?"

"A gate was opened and dad fought his way out. He helped kill the demon." Dean was quiet, tears tracking silently across his face. "It wasn't real?" he said again.

"It was real for you." What did the djinn find in him to let all that happen? "Your wish..."

"Yeah?"

"You saved us."

"You died, I went to hell."

"I died, you traded your soul to save me," Sam said, trying to remove the haunted look from his brother's eyes. "Mom was alive, for awhile. Then dad got out. You saved us."

"I went to hell, Sam. How could I wish...?"

"I don't..." Sam broke off, realization sudden;y dawning. "The demon."

"What?"

"He was working with the djinn, to keep you there. We're still not sure why, but we know he was helping. He'd been at the warehouse where I killed the djinn. Bobby found the body."

"Body?"

"He's been leaving us the bodies of the people he's possessed. It started about four months ago. The first one came with a note. Since then just the bodies, but we know it's him."

"Okay," Dean said, but Sam wasn't sure his brother was listening.

"Dean, you wanted save us, no matter what it cost you," Sam stopped when Dean shook his head. How do I fix this? I don't think this will be an easy fix. "Dean..." He took a deep breath, tears burning in his eyes as the enormity of what Dean had gone through slowly unfolded. His brother had... He went to hell. Oh god. There was a distance between them—at least in Dean's reality—Sam had sensed it the first time he'd been there. What else? The words were gone, Sam couldn't think of what to say, what to do. He sat there, staring at the wall over Dean's head, feeling the tears running across his face, unable to do anything but listen to his brother's harsh breathing. Sam had no idea how long they'd been sitting there in silence when Dean's hand covered his.

"Sammy?" Dean said, lingering on the word for some reason.

"Yeah, Dean?"

"You know what?" Dean asked, a half-smile on his face.

"What?"

"I really suck at wishing," he said with what Sam suspected was supposed to be a chuckle. It didn't sound much like one.

He met Dean's eyes. They were still haunted, that world of pain and guilt still there. Sam knew it would take a long time to get rid of it, maybe it would never completely go. Still, Dean was trying to smile. Sam smiled back. "Yeah, Dean, you really do."

Epilogue

It was a bright morning, Sam drove through town, humming along with the stereo. He was picking Dean up and they were heading out to Bobby's for a couple of weeks. The older hunter had left three days before, and told them to come to his place as soon as Dean could travel comfortably. His brother was slowly recovering, at least physically. The wish world still clouded his reality once or twice a day. When Dean slept, he was haunted by nightmares of hell. After waking his brother that first time, Sam insisted on staying with Dean. Ruby agreed. No one else dared disagree with Ruby, so Sam had stayed.

Dean talked about those years he'd spent in the world the djinn had created. At first he'd seemed reluctant, but after a little lecture from Ruby, he'd relented and started talking to Sam. About the year after his deal, about his time in hell, about the months after he'd gotten out of hell and how his world had been a different place. The apocalypse had been on the horizon, Sam and Dean in the middle of the final battle between good and evil.

Sam sighed.

It would take a long time to free Dean from those memories, to convince him once and for all that this was the real world. Sometimes he could see Dean still didn't believe him. It wasn't all the time, but every once in awhile Dean got a wild look in his eye. Once when Sam woke him from a nightmare, Dean struck out at Sam, calling him Alastair, before he'd realized where he was.

Sam pulled up in front of the building, Ruby was waiting for him. He turned off the car and got out, leaving the coffee he'd picked up for his brother on the dashboard, knowing Dean would want to leave as soon as he possibly could.

"Sam," she said as he approached.

"Is Dean okay?" Sam asked, panic flaring in his chest.

"He's fine, Brother Castiel is with him right now."

"Good," Sam sighed in relief.

"He's going to be fine, Sam, you just have to give it time."

"Ruby..."

"He will," she said firmly. "I know he will."

"Thank you." Sam stopped. Thank you seemed a little in adequate for everything she'd done for him—for them. She pulled him against her in a tight hug. He rested his head on her. Without her, I would never have made it.

"You're welcome," she said after a long moment. She gently pulled away with a smile. "Let's go get your brother."

Cas was standing in the hallway, watching Dean pace outside the door to his room. "Took you long enough," he said, looking up as Sam came down the hallway.

"I've been gone forty-five minutes."

"Which is forty minutes too long. You should have just taken me with you."

"I thought it would be faster, that way Cas could run the rest of tests and..."

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Dean frowned at him. "Where's my coffee? Can we go now?"

"The coffee is in the car," Sam said. "Is he okay to go?" he asked Cas.

"Yes," the monk said with a smile. "You need to check in daily for the next week, though."

"They will," Ruby said from behind Sam.

"Just like that Sister?" Cas said to her.

"Of course," she said. "Have faith."

"I try," Cas said with a wry smile. "You test it quite frequently."

"Part of my job, Brother."

Sam laughed and held out his hand to the monk. Cas took it in a firm grip, meeting Sam's eyes for a moment. Sam nodded understanding. Cas smiled, patted Dean on the back and headed down the hallway.

"Call when you get settled tonight," Ruby said, turning to them.

"We will, Ruby," Sam said. "Ready?" There was no answer. "Dean?"

"What?" Dean looked at him, then blinked. "Oh, yeah, ready. More than ready."

They walked down the hall and out the door into the bright sunshine. Dean stopped in front of the Impala. Sam stood beside him and his brother leaned against him. They stood that way for a long moment, Dean's eyes tracking the single cloud in the otherwise blue sky. They'd been standing there for several minutes when Dean took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Sam glanced over, Dean's face was sad, but when he sensed Sam's look his expression brightened a little.

"You didn't put an iPod in the car did you?" Dean asked.

"An iPod?" Sam frowned at him. "No."

"Good. Don't."

"Okay, I won't." Sam nudged him with his shoulder.

"Yeah, just remember that." Dean looked at him, met his eyes with a smile. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Right answer," Dean said softly. He walked to the passenger side of the car and dropped in.

Sam glanced back, Ruby was in the window watching them. She waved as he turned the car on. Dean was silent in the seat beside him, Sam glanced over. Dean was staring out the windshield, a shuttered look on his face. After a moment Dean rummaged through the box of tapes and shoved something in the stereo, turning up the volume as he did. Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years" blasted out of the speakers.

"It's good to be home, Sammy," Dean said quietly.

"It is," Sam agreed and turned the Impala onto the highway.

The End