This story just breaks my heart-and I love it so much! I've always been conflicted about John. It's clear he loves his boys but oh man is he a crappy parent

I’m sorry but I still hate John Winchester

Awww poor Sammy

A lovely piece...

Great story! It had me hooked from the start. Just awesome! :)

A very sad story.

Makes you wonder about John parenting skills.

I know he loved his kids,but he could of did things a lot different.

This was a very good well written story.

So glad you shared it with us.

Oh I love this. Love John like this.

I liked it. :) Well done.

So amazingly heart-wrenching!

Good story, very well done. Nice work with John, very balanced.

Ok, how can you ignore a kid that uses an inhaler and keeps coughing. If this story was real I would put a hurtin' on John Winchester... I like when John realizes his mistakes and when he isn't a villain in the story; he is just an overly obsessed man that tends to put his kids second too often. Thanks for posting. You wrote him just the way I see him.

Awesome job with this! I like your John; he's very well-written. Sam not telling him when his inhaler ran out was perfect. I also really like the sort-of apology at the end, I feel like that's just how the Winchesters talk. Great job with this!

I absolutely loved this. A beautiful character study on John, and a perfect representation of the Winchester family dynamic.

"For all he keeps trying to think of Sam as being on the cusp of adulthood, moments like these bring home the fact that he's still a child in so many ways that matter." ...What an amazing line. Fantastic work! :D

You nailed John! I love him to bits too and you did him justice. He's not father of the year but the situation he never asked for but found himself thrust into would have broken a lesser man. So the boys were actually lucky to have the father they had. He taught them so much to just be able to survive, sometimes that can cancel out all of his other imperfections. Loved this story and I appreciate it how you didn't sugar coat it. Thanks!

Wow. I was really gripped - this seemed totally believable as a backstory to all the characters. Definitely echo all the positive praise from the other reviews here. I don't like John - but I think you've made me more sympathetic to him.