Chapter 5. Epilogue

A/N1: Hey Everyone! This is the last chapter. I would firstly like to say a very sincere apology to Nana56 who bought this fic in a KazCon writers auction over a year ago. I am so very sorry that it took so long together and I hope it didn't fall short of what you wanted. I also wanted to apolgise to everyone who might have been waiting on updates. I am sorry they came so far apart from each other. I never intended that to be the case and I hope like crazy life allows me to post more regularly with any future Multi-chapter fics.

I also want to thank each and every person that has read and reviewed … even those of you that just read and didn't leave a review. I hope I entertained you, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for giving me some of your time.

I would like to thank Angelustatt (my bestest friend – awwww) for reading over this for me. Any grammatical mistakes are my own.

Okay, I guess now I should shut up and just let you read, huh? Well here goes … hope it isn't too suck of an ending :)

Chapter 5. Epilogue

"I don't know why you let him sign himself out." Sam's distaste for his father's choices had never been hidden by the teen and nothing had changed in the last week they had been holed up in the hospital.

It amazed Caleb that the oldest and youngest Winchester could band together and be a damn formidable team when pushed, when in danger. But once the storm passed and all was on the mend again it was like a switch was flipped and they were enemies again. It was tiring. And if it was tiring for him he could only imagine and watch how tiring it was for Dean.

"Last I checked, Sam, your brother was an adult."

"He's not twenty one yet."

"He is on his drivers license," Caleb supplied and then ducked his head when he received twin dark glares for his trouble. It was better that he went back to being silent observer to the battle in front of him.

"He can make his own decisions," John continued, his gaze back on his youngest son.

"Since when?" Sam challenged. "Since when haven't you pulled rank when you wanted to. You know he'd follow your orders."

Sam was right about that. It was probably what infuriated both Winchesters so much. Caleb on the other hand didn't know what to think about that. Was it a good thing that Dean followed his father's orders so blindly. If Caleb were honest? It worried the hell out of him.

John sighed. "So I'm wrong for giving orders and I'm wrong when I don't give orders. Which is it, Sam? Because I don't know any more."

Sam glared at his father and then huffed. "You just don't get it!" He accused and then turned around and slammed out of the front of the house, the screen door slamming behind him.

John turned to look at Caleb in frustration and the psychic held up his hands in a manner that told his mentor he wanted nothing to do with it. "All I have to say, Johnny, is welcome to the teenage years."

"Dean was never like this," John countered.

"That's because Dean was never a normal," Caleb told him.

Any chance at normal Dean had was ruined the night he had witnessed his mother burn on the ceiling of his baby brother's room. It was something that John had used to his advantage. Caleb didn't think the older man did it on purpose but he took for granted that Dean was always there, always doing the right thing, always picking up the slack when John didn't, or couldn't.

"Sam will get over it," Caleb tried to assure, patting John on the shoulder. He stopped short when John winced and ducked away from him with a scowl. "Sorry ..." He had almost forgotten the bullet he had put in the older man's shoulder. Dean wasn't the only person who had signed himself out against medical advice.

"Watch it, Junior."

"Sorry," Caleb said again.

"Stop apologising," John sighed and re-adjusted his arm in the hospital issued sling hanging around his neck.

Caleb opened his mouth, about to apologise for apologising when he decided against that. It wasn't likely to go down very well. John was in a foul mood. Arguing with Sam coupled with pain was never a good combination.

"It doesn't change anything."

John sat down at the kitchen table. Caleb remained standing, watching John. He didn't know what to do with John's silence. They had spoken at the hospital but they hadn't had "the big" talk that Caleb was waiting for. The talk where John told him how much he had screwed up.

John raised his eyes to meet Caleb's. "What do you want me to say, Caleb? It was a bad hunt, Dean got hurt."

"He could have died."

"But he didn't."

"Luckily."

John shook his head. "No luck about it, kid. You kept him alive until you could get him out of there."

"We should have never been stuck there in the first place." Caleb understood that sometimes things were out of his control. He didn't like it, but he accepted it. But how could he have totally misread the hunt entirely? How could he have allowed Dean to be hurt because of it?

"You cant predict everything. You came across something you weren't prepared for, something none of us have come across before. You weren't the only one to be caught off-guard."

"Don't remind me," Caleb huffed.

John frowned, obviously not understanding.

"I shot you," Caleb reminded his mentor.

John sighed, comprehension making way on his features. "We've been over this. You did what you had to," he said tiredly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"You want me to rip you a new one? Would that make you feel better?"

"Maybe ..." It wouldn't. He hated fighting with John, but even more he hated letting him down. It was much easier when John was the one in the wrong, when John was the one to make the mistake, when John put his kids in danger because then Caleb could get angry at him. He could feel justified. It gave him someone to rage against. But this time it was all on him. "I shot you."

"You had no choice."

"There should have never been a reason to make that choice. It was supposed to be a simple hunt. What is the use of having this fucking psychic curse if I cant help the people I care about? Dean could have died … so could you." He hated that. What was the use of being psychic if you couldn't prevent fuck-ups like this?

"You're right. It shouldn't have happened. I agree and I think that you two knuckle-heads need to pay more attention. You need to stop walking into situations so blase like you invincible. You need to concentrate, Caleb. But you weren't the only one to walk into this one. You couldn't have known what you were dealing with and you needed to make a heavy decision out there and you did it. You kept Dean alive and you had what it took to take the enemy out despite the danger to someone you care about. I'm not mad … I'm proud."

"Proud?" Dean was signing himself out AMA, John was nursing a bullet to the soldier and the man was proud. Caleb was starting to understand Sam for not understanding his father. It was moments like these that he felt like that thirteen year old boy again, back to a time when adults just made no damn sense.

"Don't let it go to your head. And don't make a habit of taking a shot at me … but your damn right I'm proud."

Caleb stared at John for a moment. This wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. "You feeling okay?" he asked, slowly sinking into the chair opposite John's at the table.

John rolled his eyes. "Don't be a smart ass and take a compliment when I give it."

"Yes sir. Seriously though, are you feeling okay." As much as his mentor drove him insane and made him angry at times he had been horrified by what he'd had to do once everything had calmed down and it'd sunk in that he had actually shot him. He, Caleb Reaves had shot John Winchester.

"It takes more than a bullet to keep me down."

It had been said with a smile, a joke. But it scared Caleb. Because John Winchester was one of those people that always seemed invincible … until you were faced with his mortality. John wasn't invincible … and this latest hunt had been a big reminder of that.

"Good to know." Caleb decided to keep his fears to himself. He had already revealed too much. "I think I'll go check on Dean."

"You do that."

Caleb took one last look at John and then turned around and headed into the living room and up the stairs. John was sitting in the kitchen, arm in a sling but fine for the most part, Sam was outside somewhere sulking and Dean was up resting in the room that he shared with his brother. All Winchesters were accounted for.

Caleb raised his hand to knock on Dean's door and then thought better of it. If the kid was asleep then Caleb didn't want to wake him. Instead he grabbed the door handle the turned it, pushing the door open quietly. He quickly popped his head through the door.

"What are you doing, Damien?"

"Deuce?"

"You were expecting someone else?" Dean asked from where he was lying under the covers on his bed. He had a comic in his hands. He held it up. "You've gotta have some better reading material in your room, right?"

Caleb walked in and closed the door. "I have a few books in there."

"I was thinking more along the lines of certain magazines."

"You're supposed to be resting."

"I am resting. I'm bored."

"Oh God, Dean Winchester is bored. Watch out world."

"Shut up. How's Dad?"

"His usual self."

"Sammy?"

"Outside hopefully simmering down."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not." Caleb wasn't going to trouble him with his brother and father's ongoing battle of wills. There would be plenty of time for Dean to worry about that when he was better. There would be plenty of moments for him to witness it again. Now was Dean's time to relax, to take it easy and Caleb was going to make sure that Dean got this moment.

"Where's Jim?" Dean asked, tearing Caleb from his silent oath.

"Picking up Dad from the airport," Caleb told him, walking over to the bed and taking a seat on the edge.

"Mac's coming?"

"You know Dad, not happy unless he has control of his favourite patient."

Dean sighed. "I'm just hate that he has to see me as a patient so often."

"Me too," Caleb agreed. He agreed more than Dean knew. He was supposed to be in Knight Training. He was in training to be Dean's protector. He was doing a bang up job so far. "But think of everything you can milk out of this."

"I'm not ten any more, Dude," Dean reminded him. "I think I'm more likely to get my ass kicked as soon as I'm better. We fucked up big time with this one."

Caleb shook his head. He'd been through this. John was mad but for once it wasn't at them. He was mad that Dean had been hurt but he wasn't blaming them. It wouldn't have mattered even if he had of because Caleb would have taken all the blame. He felt like it was his fault anyway.

"We had no idea what we were fighting against." Caleb inwardly smiled as he realised how much his reasoning to Dean sounded like what John had been trying to convince him of. Maybe the old man wasn't wrong … maybe a little.

"What were those things?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"What does Jim say?"

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Caleb said in his best Pastor Jim impersonation.

"What?" Dean just looked more confused.

"Shakespeare," Caleb sighed, rolling his eyes and then smiling back at Dean.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that he has no idea. He's been hard pressed to find anyone that has come across anything remotely like them."

Dean was quiet for a moment, looking down at the comic still in his hands. He knew how Dean must be feeling. It was weird to have nothing at all to go on. There was always some lore, something to explain what they saw, what had happened. But this time they had nothing but their own experience to go by.

"Are they gone? Like dead?" Dean asked, looking up at Caleb.

"I don't know. They disappeared. It certainly felt like we'd killed them but with not a lot to go on I cant be a hundred per cent, besides, even if we did there could be more where they came from. Jim is having that area watched. We aren't totally blind. We learnt some things about those creepy little lights. We know psychic energy attracts them..."

"We know that it can also send them packing."

"And we know it cant directly attack a psychic … it needs a non-psychic host. That's where your old man came in."

"Why didn't it just use me to get to you then?"

That was a good question. Everything had happened so fast, all Caleb could remember worrying about was getting Dean out of there and to a hospital. "Maybe you were too injured."

"Maybe ..."

"No use guessing and worrying over it. We'll take things as they come. Besides, Jim is putting an alert out there. Letting other hunters in the brotherhood know what we know about them."

"He's putting out a memo warning others about killer Tinkerbells?"

"Something to that effect," Caleb agreed, smirking, feeling the mood lighten a little.

The sound of the door opening downstairs put a halt to any more conversation. "Dad and Jim are back. Prepare to poked and prodded … a far worse fate than any psychotic faerie could put you through, I can assure," Caleb teased and then stood as he could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. They didn't belong to a member of the Triad … they were Sam's.

Dean looked up at him, putting the comic aside on the bedspread. "You could play diversion for me."

"Not a chance, Deuce. But if you're a good boy I might bring you up some dessert. Jim baked chocolate pie." Jim had gotten the recipe from one of his parishioners and ever since Dean had been begging him to try it. Jim was a big softy when they were hurt or sick.

"Chocolate pie?"

"You heard me … maybe some ice cream on top if I'm feeling nice and Mac says you can."

The door to the room opened and the lanky teenage form of Sam Winchester walked into the room. He was in a better mood than he had been moments ago. Mac's presence would allay his fears for his brother and hopefully calm the storm brewing between the two warring Winchesters.

"Dean! You're awake."

"No, I'm asleep sitting up with my eyes open," Dean replied sarcastically as his brother came further into the room.

"Sleep talking too, apparently," Caleb joined in.

"Shut up. You're both morons," Sam said, but Caleb could sense his relief, he could sense the amusement hiding behind the scowl the kid was wearing.

"I'll go down and say hello before Dad comes up here." Caleb backed up towards the door as Sam took his place on the side of Dean's bed.

"Damien," Dean called.

Caleb stopped with the door half open. "What is it?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For getting everyone to safety."

Sam looked at his brother and then to Caleb and nodded. "What he said."

"No sweat, boys." Caleb winked and then turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him. He leant back for a moment and closed his eyes. He could still see the events of this latest hunt play in his minds eye.

Opening his eyes, Caleb took a big breath and shook his head, pushing the memories down and away. This time they had gotten a happy ending … mostly.

The End.

A/N2: So there you have it. I didn't have a solution, I didn't tell you what those little creatures are. I was going for a mysterious element … which probably just confused the hell out of you and ruined the story. I hope not, but I apologise if it did. I love this show, I love this verse and I love all of you for taking the time to read my work … or my attempts at writing anyway LOL

I wish you all the best for this new year. I hope 2011 rocks for us all.

Tara x0x