A month after the wedding Sam and Jess brought up the subject of moving out, something that had hung in the air for a long time but no one dared address. While Dean tried to seem nonchalant about the topic, Sam knew his brother well enough to know how not having his brother with him would affect his day to day life. Sam and Jess finally decided to move out for a week and see how it went.

That same night they left for an old cabin a long dead hunter had owned, Dean felt an emptiness in the vastness of the Bunker, something even Cas, with all his soft words and reassuring touches, could not fill. Neither brother slept well that night, Sam pacing the cabin, checking every room obsessively and Dean stopping every hour to stare emptily into Sam's vacant room, lost in memory of when he had left for Stanford, how alone Dean had been despite having their father with him. Durning the week apart, hourly phone calls became something of a ritual. Sometimes they were quick check-in's and sometimes they took up to twenty minutes of just silence, both of them taking comfort in knowing the other one was on the line, safe, there, alive.

Cas tried, he really, really tried to help Dean. Several times in the night the older Winchester would wake up with tears on his cheeks, panicking about Sam leaving for Stanford, shaking from the memories of John's absolute rage when he found out. Once he woke up to the memory of Sam jumping into the cage, sobbing, shaking, he woke up to Cas gently holding him, whispering in Enochian. Both Sam and Dean slept lightly, ready to answer the phone to reassure the other at any given moment.

It felt like one of the longest weeks of Sam's life, the day's stretched like years, minutes like hours. Jess understood, she knew how they had grown up, how much they needed each other. When Sam woke up after seeing his brother zapped to Purgatory with Cas, feeling the blind horror and pain and emptiness, she simply sat by him, leaned against his arm. When he told her he couldn't do it, couldn't live apart from his brother, she nodded and kissed him and told him it didn't matter to her. She gently presented the obvious fact, "it will always be Dean," she had told him. "I know you love me, I know you love Cas like family. And I know that it will always be Dean and then me, it's a simple fact. I don't mind."

When the week was over, Sam could have thrown himself at Dean and hugged him but he simply nodded and greeted his brother with a smile and a ,"hey Dean." And was answered with a, "heya Sammy." And that was all that was needed to be done, both of them knew the unspoken words, the underlying meaning to the brush of Dean's hand on Sam's arm, the soft smile.

I love you, brother.

And in the big picture, that's always what if came down to. Sam and Dean, Dean and Sam. The Winchesters. The impossibly, irrationally, codependent Winchesters. And everybody knew it, those three words were meaningless, obvious when it came to Sam and Dean because they knew it too. It would take a second, maybe less, for one of them to die for the other and perhaps another second for the other to go to any lengths, face any consequences, to bring them back. Keep them safe.

Cas knew it, he wasn't bothered. He, like Jess, knew that however much Dean loved him he would always choose Sam over him, over anybody, unless he was absolutely certain that Sam could handle it by himself. The Angel didn't pressure either of them to move out, to leave, the Bunker was big enough for everyone, still with excess rooms. Cas never mentioned when he saw Dean watching Sam over the top of his plate, Sam turned in early or fell asleep in his chair and Dean just stood there for a moment, eyes soft as he watched the steady rise and fall of his little brother's chest. It was a habit Dean never even tried to break, the almost parental instinct to keep an eye on their younger.

And Jess would never mention nor judge when Sam woke up next to her, calling out for his brother who was there in an instant, softly talking, gently rubbing his hands up and down Sam's arms, resting them on his shoulder, reminding him that everything was okay. Sometimes she stepped in to help, only when Dean instructed her to though. Most of the time it was Dean that Sam needed, not her. It didn't hurt like she had thought it might, being shoved aside briefly, unable to do anything to comfort her husband as he sobbed, instead it was a calmness, a happiness that Sam had someone who could take care of him. So she never minded, she just waited and she just watched.

And suddenly, impossibly, it had been a year. One year since they had been married, since hunting was forever, permanently, out of the question. No one realized it until Jess checked the calendar, let out a gasp, and announced it. Dean had blinked, confused, Cas had sighed and smiled. Sam was the only one to gently say, "happy anniversary." For that second year, everything was happy. Everything was calm.

The third year followed suit, calm, still a few salt and burns in the area to keep them entertained. Once a week they would take a trip to Heaven, visit everyone, fill them in on anything exciting that had happened. Finally, half way through that year, during a trip to Heaven, Jess smiled nervously and said, "I'm pregnant."

Nobody knew how to react for a second and judging by Sam's face, he didn't have any idea of this. Finally, he croaked out, "are you sure?"

Jess nodded, eyes filling with tears. "I tested positive."

Sam hugged her, feeling his heart melting and tears forming in his eyes. "Oh wow," he whispered. "I...I'm going to..."

Jess nodded into his chest. "You're going to be a dad." They broke apart, Sam's eyes found Dean immediately.

Mary, who had been standing by Dean, smiled up at her oldest. "Do something," she said softly. "Don't just stand there, congratulate him!"

Dean just walked forward and hugged him. "Holy shit," he whispered into Sam's shoulder. "Holy shit. I never thought you'd be a father before me."

Sam nodded. "I have no words."

"You don't need to have any."

"I know," Sam whispered.

Dean stepped back, but not before whispering very softly, "I'm proud of you, Sammy." That was the highest compliment he could give, and Sam knew that. To have earned Dean's pride was beyond anything Sam could have ever asked for, could ever deserve. So he whispered back;

"I'm proud of you too."

And nearly nine months later Sam was whispering those words, those soft words, "I'm proud of you," to Jess as she sat in the hospital bed, clutching a tiny child against her breast, tears streaming down her face.

Johanna Beth, that's what they named her. Not Mary, not Charlie or Jody or Ellen, but Jo. Dean didn't ask why they had chosen that name, didn't ask when they had discussed baby names. He had no right to, it wasn't his child but when Sam gently passed him the baby, he felt his eyes water and his heart melt and silently thanked Chuck that she was healthy. That his brother had a beautiful baby girl.

When Sam had first looked at his daughter, he felt love, pure, undiluted love. Then remorse. She would grow up in the bunker, she would live as normal as a life as she could, but one day, when she was old enough, they would have to sit her down and talk to her, explain why everyone lived together, explain the lore books in the library, the Devils Traps under the rugs. She would have to know about Heaven and about Hell, about God and the Devil and why her Dad would sometimes wake up screaming for his brother. It would change her but she'd never hunt, her soft pink hands would never hold a gun, her large, grey eyes would never see a burning corpse, never see a body. She would never face a Demon or a Wendigo, never fear the darkness like they had when they had been children. Jo would get a proper education, she'd study hard, she'd be safe from everything they had grown up on. Sam pressed his lips to her forehead, tears streaming down his face. His daughter, his beautiful baby, would never be a Hunter. He'd kill God before that happened.

Five months later, Dean brought up the subject of adoption to Cas. He knew the Angel's love for children, how he doted on Jo and he had wondered if the Angel wanted one of his own. Cas had said he'd think about it, unsure whether or not it would be a good idea. And nearly a year later Cas was sitting with a year old girl on his lap, agreeing with Dean when he said it was a good idea.

Her name was Hannah and she was small for her age. Her single mother had died in early childbirth and the hospital, not knowing who to contact as almost all the relatives were dead or AWOL, had contacted an orphanage. And somehow, through a thousand and a half phone calls and forms to sign, Cas and Dean had ended up with the tiny child, nameless at first.

They didn't know how it had come to Hannah. They had several names to think about; Irene, Sarah, Lisa, Morgan, Amy, but Hannah, which had been a suggestion by Dean had somehow made it's way and stuck to the child. She seems to like it too, giggling and gurgling when anyone said it.

Dean loved her, he knew Cas did too. But he knew, like Sam knew, they would have to tell her one day about their old life, the life they left, about who they were, about what they had done, who they killed, why she could never bring friends over to their place. Cas would have to explain to her why he could heal with the touch of a hand, why his brothers would materialize at any given moment, why there were guns and knives and swords packed away in so many boxes and why you were never, ever, allowed to look in the trunk of the Impala where they still kept the weapons they would hopefully never have to use again. She would learn that her parents and her uncle were legacies, legends, she would know everything and it would change her, but she needed to know. Not soon, but someday.

Dean sat on the hood of the Impala, sandwiched between Cas and Sam. Jess was inside putting Jo to bed, singing to her. Singing 'Hey Jude' because Sam once let slip that that was what Mary sang every single night until she died. Dean sighed happily. He wasn't going to say he didn't miss hunting because sometimes he did, but now, now he had a life. He had a beautiful daughter and a niece and a husband, he had let go of the fear that had always gripped him. Fear he knew Sam had never experienced the fullness of, because he had always had someone there to keep him safe.

Sam glanced at his brother, smiling softly. Dean's eyes were cast upwards, green reflecting the stars clearly. He felt oddly sad, perhaps it was because their story was coming to an end- not death- but something different. His eyes welled with tears when he realized. Their story was not ending, it was simply a new chapter, a new story line. Instead of saving people, hunting things, the family business, they had a family and even if this chapter was less action, less adventure, it was safer. Happier.

Cas glanced over at his husband, squeezing his hand gently. It was hard to believe that they were where they were. Alive, happy, safe, with a family. He felt his heart swell with love when Dean glanced at him, mouthing the words 'I love you'. Cas smiled and mouthed them back. Then he heard the door open and close behind Jess. Heard her approach and put a hand on his shoulder.

"She wanted you." In her arms she held Hannah, all large, wet, brown eyes and soft hands, who reached out to Cas and he gently took her, held her and rocked her softly.

Dean smiled at his daughter and then at his brother as Jess leaned down to kiss him. We were Hunters. We saved people, hunted things, and we killed, destroyed, lied, but in the end we saved the world. No matter the cost, we are safe, everyone is safe from the things that lurk in the dark, things we spent our lives killing, things that others refused to see. We've bled, been tortured, been killed. But now that's over. We don't need to fight anymore. Every noise in the night is no longer a demon or a ghost, we are safe. And the love that started our lives morphed into something different, became a web of connections and feelings and now, a stem of that love that started it, is the same love that ended it. Ended our hunting, our pain.

Love started it and love, he caught his brothers eye and ducked his head, glancing at Cas who was holding their sleeping daughter with an expression of profound affection, love is what ends it.

~End~

AN: Thank you so much for reading and enjoying! Sorry for the very delayed update, I'm staying somewhere where there is no wifi so...yeah. Sorry. To answer a question I've gotten asked a lot, no, I'm probably not doing a sequel. However, I will write more mainly Supernatural Fanfiction as you guys seemed to enjoy this piece. I hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for all the review and for enjoying my work. Bye!