A/N: First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed! You guys have no idea how happy it made me. Second of all, I wanted to apologize for taking so long to post the epilogue that many of you wanted. I wrote this right at the end of the school year, so I ended up getting swamped with all of that stuff and then I just plain old forgot. Sorry :( Anyways, here is the happy ending I promised.

No beta this time, so all mistakes are mine. (And don't be afraid to let me know.)

Disclaimer: Not mine :(

"Oh God, not again."

He couldn't believe it.

He had failed his little brother. Again.

And it had cost little Sammy his life. Again.

He remembered what Sam had said about his biggest sin having been letting his big brother down. You stupid, guilt-carrying, bitch, he thought. You never really let me down. Not when it counted. No, I'm the one who's been doing the letting down. Ever since that day in Cold Oak... He took a deep shuddering breath in an attempt to hold back the sobs, but they broke right through the walls he had built and they just. kept. coming.

I... Sammy, I- I just...

"I'm just so damn sorry," he finally choked out, the words barely understandable through the grief that was strangling him. "I'm sorry, Sammy..."

All of a sudden the chest beneath him rose with a giant gasp. Head popping up so fast he nearly got whiplash, Dean scrambled to get a better look at his little brother's face.

"Sam?!"

After a few long gulps of air, Sam finally opened his eyes and looked over at his big brother. "Dean," he exhaled.

Relief washed over Dean like a freakin' tsunami and in the next moment he had scooped Sam into his arms and was holding onto him as if he were afraid that if he let go, Sam would be gone. He almost was.

"Oh God, Sam," he said wetly, clutching his limp but conscious little brother and holding his head in the crook of his neck. "Oh God."

That was too close, he thought. Too fucking close.

A few minutes passed with them simply sitting by the Impala in the now peaceful night, Sam allowing Dean to cradle him much like he had when Sam was little and hurting - whether it was because he was too exhausted to move or because he just needed to know that his brother still loved him, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were soaking up the fact that they were both still there and alive and most importantly, together.

Eventually Dean felt Sam begin to shift in his arms, so he carefully sat him up against the Impala and shifted so that he was sitting so his little brother could lean against him for support. The side of his mouth quirked up into a small smile as he thought, No matter how big this guy gets, I'll be there to support him. With a frown, he added, Or at least, I'll try to be... His frown turned into a scowl as he thought of what Sam had said in the church and promised, ...whether he likes it or not. Before that he had never known how much a single syllable could shake him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet voice from his left.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?" he questioned, turning to look at his little brother.

There was a pause as Sam slowly turned his head to look at Dean, big eyes shining brightly from their sunken sockets. "You okay?"

Dean snorted a dry laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine." Another pause, longer this time. "Are you?"

"Huh?" Sam's brow scrunched up in confusion.

"Are you okay?" he clarified, hoping that Sam knew he didn't mean physically since he obviously still needed to improve in that department. He watched as his little brother looked him in the eyes with his own hazel ones, searching for something. Whatever he was looking for he must have found, because a few moments later he wetly replied, "Yeah. I'm okay." And Dean could see that he was, at least for now. He was going to have to see about helping Sam deal with the guilt the kid unnecessarily piled on top of himself, but he was going to take what he could get at the moment.

"Good."

They sat in silence for another few minutes until Dean decided that they had had enough of a chick-flick moment to last them both for decades.

"Jesus, Sammy," he exclaimed in mock exasperation as he slowly climbed to his feet. "You pull of any more stunts like this and I'll have to start buying tampons." He gave Sam a mischievous wink as he bent down to help his little brother into the passenger seat.

"Oh, really?" Sam countered. He waited for Dean to climb into the driver's seat before he continued, "And that's coming from Mr. "I Wuv Hugs" over here."

"Shuddup." Dean scolded as he turned the ignition, eliciting a thundering growl from his precious car. He turned her around quickly, gravel spraying from underneath the squealing tires. Dean wanted to get Sam back to the bunker as soon as possible so that he would be able to give him a proper check-up. Because driving with the music blaring seemed to make time move faster, Dean was about to pop in one of his tapes when a small voice drifted over from the passenger side.

"Love ya, jerk."

Dean heard his breath hitch at the use of the old nickname and he was sure Sammy heard it too. It had been too long since they had bantered like that together, like brothers. He let out a soft sigh, and with a small smile he replied, "Love you too, bitch."

The Impala continued its journey through the night, blaring Led Zeppelin through its speakers, eating up the pavement like a ravenous beast, and purring its satisfaction that its boys were going to be okay.