Omg, this is beautiful and made me cry for some reason. Sam and Dean will be there for each other, no matter what.

I like Sam's and Dean's POV here !

Their Sadness and Guilty really enough to twist everyone's heart...

I really like the way you have this from Dean's perspective, worried that he would lose Sam.
I like the part where Bobby gets possessed. Never explained, and this works nicely.
I like the part about how Cas explains about using Jimmy as a vessel. Nicely done! And about the unexplained tightness he's got now...

I do like the personal touch of handing clothes into the bathroom, but didn't you forget the underwear? (or does Sam go commando? *eyebrows raised*!)

*whistle*

Great story. It was so sad. You really captured the despair of early season 5.

Man, this was such a sad time for the boys. Even though they were falling apart before this, it's what really tore them. I can't blame Dean for not trusting Sam after this - I mean, who would, really? He had all the right intentions, but lying and keeping such secrets...? I get why he trusted Ruby after Dean died, but... He still should have suspected even a bit, even after the crap they went through, after she saved his life. Dean wanted to kill Lilith, too, and that's what's upsetting (as well as everyone blaming only Sam for the apocalypse). Just because Dean learned about it before it was too late doesn't necessarily make it only Sam's fault. Who wouldn't want to kill the thing that killed his brother...? Buut the way he went about it... Lol.
Anyway, I loved how you went about this, though. With Dean still loving Sam, even after everything. That you had him not trust him, of course, but still love and want to watch after him. Perfect how you had him leave out clothes and painkillers for Sam during his shower. Couldn't have added a better touch to this fic. Dean's words were definitely harsh, and I'm glad you made him feel bad after saying them, wanting to make it better with Sam after, but not getting the chance. Don't really think much he could have said would have really helped, however... Also, I liked how you had Dean realize it wasn't all Sam's fault either; that he was misguided and 'he'd been on the hook since he was six months old'.
And poor Castiel. Can't blame Dean for not wanting to deal with his turmoil as well, but I did feel bad for him, especially since emotions are new to him, and he's at a loss as to how to deal, even what he was feeling. Very nice touch. I love all the little stuff you add in too, and Bobby's reactions.
Amazing job as always, and I'm done rambling for now. You don't need to hear other people's opinions about SPN as well. I'm sure you hear enough. n.n;

I was so impressed with this fic that I had to wait until I got home to write a review instead of attempting it on my phone at Starbucks. Too much to say!

The Story that is Supernatural is so rich, they can never come anywhere near exploring all the depth in the show, which is where you come in. And that has never been more the case than in “Fear Itself.” The enormity of what happened in that convent – for the world, but especially for the brothers’ psyches and relationship, was barely touched on in the show. This story captured it, and I was left tearing up and muttering to myself in public as I read. (“Oh my God! That’s it… that’s exactly it!”)

This passage left me short of breath:

“It wasn't really the boys' fault; the rational part of him knew that. The deck hadn't just been stacked against the Winchesters: every single card had been friggin' booby-trapped. There wasn't a move they could make that wouldn't screw them over, not with Heaven and Hell gunning for them. But Lucifer… Bobby had felt the rumble of the earth clear across the country as the Prince of Darkness had slipped his leash.”

I love this description of how terrifying the situation was, and how the boys, with all their failings and all their strengths, hadn’t stood a chance. Makes my heart ache…

And this one:

“He'd seen Dean like this before: after Dad died, after Hell. Overwhelmed with loss, able to go on only by shoveling on the denial and stuffing all his pain into the bulging box in the back of his mind. Sam had killed the world, had actually started the end of six-plus billion people all by himself, and somehow it was this, having destroyed his brother's last hope, that was what really brought it home.”

There may be no more awful feeling than to be the one who screwed up. (In this case, screwed up BIG time, although Sam was pushed, pulled, manipulated, and torn the whole way.) You capture his regret, his horror, his devastation so perfectly. I could just weep for him – that good soul (and I NEVER doubt that his soul is fundamentally GOOD) left with this staggering burden on his conscience.

And one more:

“Seemed kind of ridiculous now, with the kid slouched on the bed next to him, hair messily in his face, eyes pooled with exhaustion and grief. But in the end, it had made something clear: the one thing Dean really, truly feared, the one that all those other fears had at their root, was losing his brother. Dean's life was too wrapped around Sam, intertwined with him since he was four, to survive the uprooting with sanity intact.”

You so perfectly capture Dean’s love for Sam, and how unimaginable losing him is, no matter what else happens on Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell. (Or Purgatory!) This took me back to the Season 8 finale, too, and my own reflections on Dean’s stopping the third trial in its tracks. He had NO time to think. Maybe if he had, if they could have known the truth and discussed it, maybe he could have let Sam go (as he did before). But not like this. Not with no time to think. Going with his most fundamental instinct, there was no way he was going to let his brother complete that ritual and sacrifice himself again.

Thank you for once again taking all that is THERE in Supernatural, but hasn’t taken form, and breathing life into it.

I am reading this in 2013 and still remember the feelings I had in these episodes. This years finale was unusual in that the Winchester's were physically and emotionally on the same page and felt again like brothers, it was the rest of the world that was spinning away. The visual of the falling Angles was captivating. Back to this fic, it is beautiful ly written and so evocative of that time and place. Thank you.

These were really good scenes. They got at the heart of what each of them must have been thinking and going through as the Apocalypse was beginning in earnest. You filled in some of the gaps in the show very effectively.

They really did persevere in the worst possible condition.

So beautiful! So sad and raw! I am speechless. I'm going to reread it right now!

Amazing story, and so nice to see an alert in my inbox for it. Heartbreaking and painful it still held a little bit of hope. Totally in tune with the episode and you got their feelings and emotions spot on.
I am keeping faith that Carver will bring things round this season though sometimes it has been hard.

Thanks for sharing another beautiful story. Yes, it's rather angsty and sad, but there's still hope and that is what I always adore in your stories - besides how easy good story-telling seems to be when you do the telling.

Aw, this was sad, but not completely depressing. I love it!

I enjoyed this very much, especially the very important point that one can lose trust in someone, be devastated by their choices, feel far apart even when next to each other, yet still love one another.

I'm... sort of crying right now.

*sniff*

I love, as always, because it's probably not possible for me to NOT love something you write. But...

I'm holding out for that "upbeat" story coming.