So here it is the final chapter, atlas we're here. Thank you all so much for reading my little blend of madness and I sincerely hope you have enjoyed the adventure (and trauma) I've sent the boys on. Thank you to each and everyone one of you who has taken the time and reviewed; it's those little messages that have kept me going with this story.

So what else is there to say other than thanks for reading and I hope you guys will follow onto the final installation of this trilogy; Catch 22.

So without further babble from me; here's the final instalment of Lying in Wait- Dusk…

Chapter 23- Dusk

Dean Winchester rolled lazily onto his side, his sleepy hazel green eyes glancing at the alarm clock.

It was just after 5pm.

He gingerly raised himself up onto his elbows and glanced over to the other side of the bed expecting to find Sam asleep.

Instead he found the bed empty.

For about thirty seconds Dean continued to stare at the empty bed.

He couldn't be, that, crazy could he ? To have imagined the entire scenario, to actually have believed that he had cured Sam, and that everything was ok.

Was he honestly that deluded ?

God he hoped not.

Slipping off the bed, he trotted sleepily into the living room and found that it pretty much was in the state he'd left it in before he'd gone back into the bedroom to shout and scream at Sam. Fair go not much shouting had come from the elder sibling and alright he'd hadn't screamed either; but he sure as hell had felt like it.

His mind still tired, Dean returned to the bedroom, lifted up the pillow he'd been sleeping on and retrieved the precious letter he'd read. His eyes scanned the letter again.

Part of him wanted to rip the damn thing into a trillion little pieces and let the Florida breeze have its wicked way with it, but the other part of him, the part he found himself listening to wanted to keep the letter, to have it somewhere safe; a place he could retrieve back to when times got testing and read those words of love and encouragement.

He scrubbed a hand over his tired face.

This was going to be very awkward.

Where the hell had his doped up little brother taken off to in the evening, and without telling him, both of them being serious no no's for Dean Winchester.

Dean folded the letter and slipped it into his back pocket on his jeans, he'd find a better hiding place for it later, for now, he needed it close by.

Walking towards the veranda, he hoped his painfully thin little brother would be sitting in the sunshine on the deck, but that would just be too damn easy where that boy was concerned.

Opening the veranda and stepping onto the wooden deck, Dean stared out into the ocean that lapped in the distance and stared down at the sand.

He also stared at the brown headed guy that sat with his back against the wall; the only part visible to Dean was the top of his head.

Dean slid the glass door shut and sucked in a deep breath, he didn't know what he was going to do or what he was going to say but he knew he was going to have to say something.

And with that thought firmly etched in his head, Dean trotted down the steps and plunged his toes into the warm sand and begun his short walk over to his little brother.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Sam Winchester looked up tiredly, as he lifted his head up to look at the man that was approaching him.

" This patch of sand taken..?" Dean asked awkwardly as he stood over Sam.

Sam shook his head, and watched apprehensively as Dean flopped down beside him, mirroring his position on the beach. His back against the shore wall, his head resting back lightly against the wave washed stones.

Sam swallowed and promptly stifled a yawn.

" It's getting to become quite a habit, this you know..." Dean said with a small smile, " Me coming out here and finding you sitting in the sand..."

" I like the beach.." Sam said simply, his voice void of annoyance or accusation but more worryingly, completely void of emotion.

An unlike Sammy characteristic.

The brothers sat there silently, side by side, no sound coming from either of them.

It was stifling for both of them.

So much needed to be said, so much needed to be expressed; yet neither knew how on earth to say it.

So the silence continued.

" So..." Sam said with a small smile, finally breaking the silence, as he turned to look at Dean. His big brother's face was fixed straight ahead, his eyes glazed over, the exhaustion clear on his face.

" You think the tide's coming in..?" Sam said with a grin, " After all the trouble we've been in and managed to get ourselves out of lately, it would be our dumb luck to sit here on the beach and friggin drown..."

Sam chuckled and waited for Dean to come back with some witty line, some smart ass comment; but nothing followed.

" Dean..?" Sam whispered finally shifting a little closer to Dean, " It's gonna be ok..."

" I tried to kill you.." Dean whispered, never looking at Sam, " I put a knife against you wrist which was dipped in poison dragged it into your skin until you bled..."

" You were possessed Dean, it wasn't you.." Sam said in a plain matter of fact tone as he squirmed uncomfortably.

" That's just it Sam..." Dean said in a small tone finally looking at Sam, " I wasn't possessed, I knew exactly what I was doing.."

" You thought you were saving me, that's good enough for me.." Sam said with a gentle smile,

" Yeah I know..." Dean said shaking his head as he sighed heavily.

Sam however wore a quizzical look on his face and clicked his tongue, his pale face, flushed red with embarrassment, and if Dean had been actually looking in his direction would have seen it.

" So, can I have it back then..?" Sam asked in an awkward tone.

" Have what back...?" Dean asked in an innocent, 'I don't know what you're talking about' tone.

" You know what Dean, that's not fair, I said, I mean, I only wrote that..." Sam spluttered and finally looked straight ahead, his cheeks growing a pretty fuchsia colour.

" I don't know what you're talking about..." Dean said simply as he fidgeted in the sand and sloped down further down the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him.

Sam smiled.

He knew what that comment meant.

" For what its worth, that thing you know nothing about..." Sam said looking over at Dean, who finally turned to face him, " I meant every word of it..."

Dean found a humbling smile appearing on his face, one he couldn't hide and one his little pretending game with Sam couldn't deny.

" Don't ever scare me like that again..." Dean finally admitted, " I swear to god Sammy, if you ever pull a stunt like that on me again, I'll kill you myself.."

Sam chuckled as he looked at Dean. He could read his older brother like a book. He could tell how worried Dean was, how scared his elder brother was; that old game face of Dean worked on everyone but Sam.

" How you feeling..?" Dean asked concern in his voice as he glanced at Sam who was still too pale, still too thin and still, well, insert anything into the line there, and it would probably sum up just how crappy and scared Dean was feeling.

" Like I got hit by a bus..." Sam said with a meek grin, " And weirdly, I feel hungry..."

" Well that's something I can rectify.." Dean said with a smile, as he rose to get up, but in seeing Sam's eyes staring into the distance of the water, he eased himself back down.

They sat quietly for a few moments.

Sam's gaunt voice broke the silence with an unusual question.

" What do you remember..?" Sam asked quietly, " Last night, at the cliffs, what do you remember..?"

" I don't know, not much.." Dean admitted with a shrug, as he awkwardly looked away.

" Do you remember where you got the truck from..?" Sam asked curiously, " I can still smell plums.."

" I don't know where that truck came from, don't remember any of that, other than driving home, which is also a bit of a blur..." Dean said with a hint of annoyance in his tone, " Look, can't we just move off this topic..."

" Of course.." Sam said with a nod, but then he turned purposefully towards Dean. He had that Sammy look on his face which made Dean's stomach tie in knots, " But just one more thing.."

" What..?" Dean muttered now not even looking at Sam, but feeling those hazel eyes bore into the side of his head.

" Do you remember anything the spirit told you..? Other than kill me.." Sam said with a light chuckle, " But seriously, do you remember anything..?"

Dean finally turned and looked at Sam.

" No..." Dean whispered, " I don't remember anything, just a feeling.."

" What kind of feeling..?" Sam asked surprised by the answer.

" A feeling of dread, constantly feeling guilty..." Dean said with a shudder, " It was like no matter how much I tried to put it to the back of my mind, it wouldn't work.."

" Dean you have nothing to feel guilty for.." Sam said gently, " I don't blame you, and I never will.."

" But you died.." Dean said in a small voice, " You died trying to save dad and I, and.."

" And nothing..." Sam said, now feeling awkward himself, " Nothing more Dean, it's not your fault, it's not anybody's fault..."

" You said something out there..." Dean said looking at Sam, " Something about it being your time, that you'd only been sent back to save me from this spirit..." Dean asked his eyes visibly worried, " Do you honestly believe that ?"

Sam was quiet for a moment.

" Yes..." Sam finally asked as he watched as Dean's head dropped down, " But maybe it wasn't this time, maybe it just wasn't my time; to be honest Dean I don't know what to think..."

" Join the friggin club..." Dean muttered in annoyance as he scooped up sand in his hand and watched as it disappeared through his fingers.

" It said something to me..." Sam said as he slumped down further on the wall, " Right before you shot it.."

Dean's head slowly turned and looked at Sam, " It did..?"

Sam nodded slowly, as he chewed his bottom lip nervously, " It said, that killing it would be the biggest mistake we ever made..."

Dean was unusually quiet as he considered what Sam said.

" What do you think it meant by that..?" Sam asked in a small tone,

" It was just desperate to stay alive.." Dean said a shrug, "It would have told us anything to get its own way.."

" I'm not so sure Dean..." Sam admitted, " I got a weird feeling about this, something about this whole damn situation isn't adding up.."

" You see, I don't get you Sam..." Dean steamed, " We just dodged a pretty big bullet, we got away with it, ok ? Stop tearing everything to pieces.."

" Dean this has never happened to us before.." Sam pointed out in an angry tone, " We've always managed to find something on anything we've ever gone after, or in this case, has come after us..."

" Of course, cause we know everything there is to know about the yellow eyed friggin demon now isn't it..?" Dean snapped as he folded his arms across his chest.

" How do we know he wasn't involved in this ? I mean anything bizarre that ever goes down is always connected to him, and this thing had glowing eyes just like it.." Sam heatedly protested.

" Unless you've also gone colour-blind as well as stupid, that spirit had red eyes.." Dean snapped, as he rose to get off the sand again, " Look Sam, I'm sorry for what happened out there, I screwed up big time, I know that..."

" Dean..-" Sam said in a tried tone, as he watched as Dean raised a hand in protest.

" I will make it up to you..." Dean insisted, " I don't know how exactly, but I will.."

" Please Dean, I don't want us to fight, not after everything that has happened.." Sam whispered in a small voice as he watched as Dean who was on his knees stared at him, tired.

" I don't know what to do Sam..." Dean finally whispered, " All I keep thinking about is the fact that I nearly killed you, and I couldn't stop it, it was like I knew what I was doing.."

" You were possessed.." Sam said in a matter of fact tone, his hand gently reaching out and giving Dean's wrist a squeeze.

Dean's eyes instantly went to the bandages and he felt sick.

" I lied to you..." Dean said his hanging in disgust, " Sam I am so sorry..."

" I don't blame you ok, and I'm not mad.." Sam insisted, " But I will get mad at you if you keep blaming yourself.."

Dean finally met Sam's hazel eyes, and studied his little brother. He'd come so close to losing him, and he had no one to blame but himself; he was the one who screwed up. No matter how many times Sam insisted that it wasn't his fault, that it was evil at work, Dean knew differently. It the only thing that made sense; Dean had screwed up, like Dean always did.

But it couldn't go on; he owed that to Sam and himself. After everything that happened between the brothers, everything that they'd both almost lost, all the pain all the torture, the worrying; they'd both just about survived.

" You and me..." Dean finally whispered as he saw the worry in Sam's eyes, worry that shouldn't be there; it wasn't Sam's job to take care of him, it was Dean's responsibility to be the big brother and take care of Sammy.

" Yeah..?" Sam asked noticing that Dean had trailed off, that his brother's hazel green eyes could no longer meet his. Sam's heart flip-flopped in his chest.

Dean returned to his position beside Sam, leaning against the water buffed sea wall; any excuse not to look at Sam, not to see the pain that was so visible in his little brother's eyes.

Dean listened as Sam sighed heavily.

" I'm sorry..." Dean whispered as he looked ahead at the setting sun, dusk descending on Clearwater, " I should of saved you.."

" You did..." Sam said with a smile as he stared at the setting sun and nudged Dean in the ribs, " You shot the bastard and killed it.."

Dean smiled at that comment; he had killed the son of a bitch.

" You and me.." Dean said again, finally mustering up the strength to complete the question. " We're gonna be ok aren't we..? We're gonna get through this..."

A natural, wide smile spread over Sam's tired face.

With that he wriggled down lower on the sand, and snaking the opportunity, he rested his head against Dean's shoulder.

" We'll be fine..." Sam said his eyes staring at the mess of delicate orange and reds that bled into in the open sky.

Dean rolled his eyes and stared at the top of Sam's head which rested against his shoulder.

" You're really milking this moment aren't you..?" Dean teased as he watched the sun lower on the sunshine coast.

" Considering everything that's happened in the last four weeks, I think I've earned it.." Sam said with a chuckle, as he realised with a grin that Dean hadn't shrugged him off. " I mean, there's nothing else we're hiding from each other, we're finally on a level playing field, and the bastard that's been tormenting our friggin lives the past few weeks is dead; so I think I've earned this sappy moment..."

Dean's heart danced around in his chest.

Sam didn't know everything; he didn't know about Dr. Andrew Wallis, he didn't know about the hospitals, he didn't know about the whole commotion in the hospital room when he'd come back to life. Sammy didn't know the whole story of the angel that had come to say goodbye to his family, the angel that had been about to move onto somewhere, but had somehow ended up back on earth; had somehow managed to find himself lying in the sand, with his head resting against his big brother's shoulder.

And right at this moment in time, Sammy was convinced that Dean had told him everything.

That they were equals and on a level playing field.

That his big brother had been totally honest with him.

He hadn't even told Sam about the co-ordinates that John had left for them.

Dean glanced down at Sam's head and found a smile enter his face. He'd tell Sam everything, he knew he had to, just not right now; right now he just wanted to stay exactly where he was, with who he was with.

Everything else could wait.

" I guess you have..." Dean admitted as he sighed contently. " Just don't make a habit of these girly moments, or I'll start charging you..."

Sam laughed at that comment, and both boys sat in silence again, watching the sun set.

Sam's voice broke the silence with the words that lifted Dean's spirits.

" We'll get through this Dean..." Sam promised the sincerity in his tone as he his head never moved from the comforting spot on Dean's shoulder. " You and me, we'll be just fine, I know we will..."

Dean grinned at that comment, the worry slowly slipping out of his system.

He was incredibly lucky.

He'd been given Sam back and been given a second chance.

No way in hell was Dean going to blow this opportunity.

" You can be sooo melo-dramatic at times Sammy..." Dean teased as he gently rested his own head onto top of Sam's, accepting the moment for what it was.

A second chance

One without boundaries.

" You bitch..." Dean muttered as he closed his eyes, his cheek nestled amongst Sam's dark brown hair, inhaling the salty sea air as the sun finally set over Clearwater, Florida.

" Yeah me too..." Sam said in a sleepy voice, effortlessly reading between the lines of his brother's crack, as he felt the lightness of Dean's head rest against the top of his own. " Jerk..."

Neither boy would have traded this situation.

Not for anything.

Not for anything in this world...

xxxxXXXXxxxx

They watched, smiling, cackling, laughing; taunting.

Oh what fools they were.

They should have listened to what their brother had told them, that killing him was the biggest mistake they would ever make.

If only the Winchester's knew exactly how big a mistake it would be.

The red eyed brother had simply started the battle.

The war was about to begin.

The blue, green, and orange eyed spirits watched the two brothers on the beach with utter disgust.

If only they knew.

If only they knew what was coming next...

The End.

3# Catch 22

Revenge is best served cold, and it's a term that the Winchester brothers are going to learn; fast. As the boys continue to re-build themselves from the last hunt, a new attack exposes just how vulnerable the boys really are; equalling perfect pickings for the ultimate revenge...

See you all in the next story and once again thank you for reading and of course reviewing !