CHAPTER NINETEEN

This is the last chapter, so it's longer than the rest. It's my least favourite chapter, but at least the story is finally finished after 5 & half years. It was originally going to be longer, but I decided to put the last 2 chapters together & finally finish it.

As the days went on, Dean had been slowly regaining a small amount of feeling. A few days after the tests, Dean was doing his physical therapy with Rick, trying to strengthen the muscles.

One of the exercises they did was Rick bringing one knee up to Dean's chest and holding for 30 seconds and then straightening the leg flat on the bed, before doing it with the other one.

During one of those times, Dean was able to feel Rick's hand on his foot and very faintly on his leg as he pushed it up to his chest. It was the first time he had been able to feel anything when someone wasn't squeezing his leg or foot, it was the first time he had felt a gentle touch since he was shot. Dean gasped loudly, shocking Rick, who almost dropped Dean's leg onto the bed, thinking he had somehow hurt the younger man.

After being able to feel Rick's hand without him squeezing his leg, they had spoke once again to Dr Hayder, who told them since the swelling was slowly receding, and the feeling was slowly returning, that it should hopefully get easier to move his foot or even his leg.

Rick told Dean to try to move his big toe, to concentrate on little movements first before trying to move larger muscles. Dean would spend hours staring at his big toe, trying to 'will' it to move, but the toe remained stubbornly dormant until finally he felt his toe flicker.

When he felt it move, Dean exhaled with the excitement of maybe defeating the paralysis. He kept moving his toe back and forth, grinning happily each time he did it. Sam, Bobby and Cas watched him with smiles almost as big as Dean's, each of them so happy and relieved to see him take this huge step forward.

The next day, he started working harder with Rick to get some movement in his foot too. They started off with a simple technique of Rick placing his hand on the sole of Dean's foot and telling him to push him away.

As Rick pushed harder against Dean's foot, he tried to use all his strength to push against his hand. It was hard when he could faintly feel the hand against the sole, but he couldn't do anything to push it away.

It was incredibly hard and frustrating, and each session ended with Dean near tears, exhausted, sweating and breathing hard, his whole body awash with agony. Sometimes he felt like giving up, but he just had to look at the hated wheelchair at the side of the bed and he was suddenly filled with a stronger desire and determination, strength and will to be out of the chair and up walking again.

Whenever Dean seemed to be getting tired, Rick would always tell him he was the most stubborn patient he had ever worked with and if anyone could do this, it was Dean.

Eventually all the hard work and stubbornness paid off, and soon Dean was able to move his right foot and push against Rick's hand.

Sam, Bobby and Cas couldn't have been happier with the news. They didn't think they would ever see Dean happy again, but the big smile on his face was wonderful to see.

After finally moving his right foot, Rick started to work on strengthening Dean's left foot and the muscles in his leg.

Dean focused all his attention on moving his left toe. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could, but the left toe stayed motionless.

Dean started moving his right toe as he worked on moving his left one. He hoped if he concentrated on moving the two big toes at the same time, his left toe would follow his right.

But no matter how hard he tried, his left toe stayed stationary.

Dean worked even harder, putting everything he had into moving his left toe. Every minute of every day, he would be focusing on trying to move his toe. He pushed through the pain and each day would end with Dean left in agony and tears, angry that his own body was fighting against him.

There were days when Dean didn't think he would ever walk again, that his left side would never regain any movement or feeling, but it didn't stop him from trying.

Rick worked the younger man hard, and Dean's stubbornness once again paid off as he was rewarded with a flicker of movement of his big toe. Everyone was ecstatic at the news, but nobody was as happy and relieved as Dean was.

As soon as Dean was able to move his left foot, he had insisted on Rick helping him relearn to walk again. Rick had been reluctant, but Dean was stubborn and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He insisted on being back on his feet, desperate to be able to walk again. He was determined to relearn to walk as soon as possible and insisted on doing as much work as he could, even though he was still very weak.

After spending several days working hard, doing the physical therapy in his bed, trying to strengthen his muscles, he was now in the gym, holding onto the bars, staring down at his own two feet.

He had been doing this for the past four days, and the only thing he had been able to move so far was his right foot half an inch a couple of times, before he became exhausted and emotional, angry and frustrated.

Dean still couldn't stand at all unaided and was using his upper body strength to support his weight on the bars, he had some leg braces on for extra support so his legs didn't give way and collapse from underneath him. The swelling in his back hasn't subsided completely but it was still slowly going down. It was still painful, and his legs felt incredibly weak, and he only had a small amount of feeling, which seemed to be getting stronger each day, but Dean didn't want to be cooped up in bed any longer than necessary. He wanted to be back on his feet as soon as possible, and he wasn't going to give up until he was.

"Focus on your right foot first," coached Rick, standing on the other side of the bars. "Try to move your foot and your leg should follow."

Dean was standing with his hands gripped tightly onto the bars, focusing on his right foot, his teeth clenched in determination. He stared down at his foot and willed it to move. "Come on dammit. Move," he whispered, putting all his strength into the movement. This was so much harder than moving his toe or foot back and forth, he never realised how much hard work went into something as simple as walking.

Sam was standing at the halfway point in the middle of the bars, so if Dean managed to take any steps, he wouldn't have to take many to reach him. He stood with his hands clasped together, as if in prayer, watching him and giving him encouragement. "Come on Dean, you can do it."

Dean closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, which he held for a few seconds before slowly letting them out.

When Dean opened his eyes, Sam smiled when he saw that focused look in Dean's eyes, that look of determination on Dean's face, and that stubborn set to Dean's jaw which showed he meant business. He hadn't seen that look on his brother's face for a long time, and it was great to see it again.

Dean nodded to himself, and put all his concentration and strength into moving his foot. "I can do this," he whispered to himself. He always tried his hardest to live up to the name 'Winchester'. For them, the name meant they had to be tough, they had to be brave, they had to be strong, they had to be a hero. But he couldn't be tough if he couldn't even stand on his own two feet. He couldn't be brave if he was scared of letting his family down, of not being able to protect them. He couldn't be strong if he couldn't fight. He couldn't be a hero if he was useless.

All those thoughts going through his head gave him all the strength he needed. He wouldn't let a bullet in the back defeat him, he wouldn't let his body beat him, he would get control of it.

It took almost ten minutes, but finally his foot moved an inch forward, making Sam gasp.

"Oh my god," whispered Sam, placing his hands over his mouth. He had been in the gym with Dean at every session and he knew this was the most he had ever moved his foot.

Dean's breathing hitched and his eyes filled with tears as he struggled to move his left foot forward. His left leg was the weakest, so he had to try extra hard to get it to move. He squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on the bars as he struggled to move his left foot.

"Come on Dean." Sam removed the car keys from his pocket and waved them around. "If you don't move any further, I'll run down into the parking lot and leave a loooooong scratch down the side of your baby... and you couldn't stop me," he teased with a grin.

"Oh you bitch."

Sam laughed and waved the keys once more. "If you want to stop me... get your skinny ass over here."

Even though Dean knew Sam wouldn't do anything to his car, he used the threat to his baby to give him more motivation, just like Sam knew it would.

Dean doubled his efforts, putting everything he had into moving his left foot. He tuned out everything apart from Sam and himself. He used the same drive, focus and determination he used to fight demons and vampires, wendigoes and shapeshifters. Dean had fought for others his entire life, now it was his turn to fight for himself.

When Dean managed to eventually take a second step forward, he looked up at Sam to see tear tracks running down his face, but he didn't seem to be aware he was crying.

Dean grinned at Sam, who grinned back, his chin quivering with emotion.

"Come on. Just a few more steps. You can do it, big brother," he said in encouragement. Sam had always taken being able to stand, walk or run for granted, to him they were simple things to do. But as he watched the sweat break out over Dean's heavily concentrating brow, the muscle in his jaw tighten and the tendons and veins in his neck tense, standing out in sharp contrast against his taut skin with the effort of moving his foot, he felt guilty he could do all those things without thinking about it, but Dean had to work so hard just to stand up and move his leg forward.

By the time Dean took his third step, he was covered in sweat and his back was engulfed in agony. It felt like someone had taken a red-hot poker and was stabbing him in the back, but he just gritted his teeth and fought through the pain like he had all his life. It didn't matter how much pain it caused, he was going to do this. He would be back on his feet and out of the hated chair if it was the last thing he did.

As Sam watched Dean very slowly walk towards him, he couldn't help the tears or the proud feeling he felt at watching his big brother finally back on his feet. He felt like a parent watching their child taking their very first steps. "That's it Dean. You're doing amazing. I'm so proud of you right now."

A faint blush coloured Dean's cheeks at the praise as he struggled to take another step. He could feel his body start to weaken with each step, but he continued to push through it.

When he finally made it to Sam, he was exhausted and let go of the bars, immediately collapsing into Sam's waiting arms.

Sam caught him as his legs gave way and carefully wrapped his arms around him, making sure he didn't put any pressure on his back. "I knew you could do it," he whispered into Dean's ear.

Dean closed his teary eyes and lifted his trembling arms to hug Sam. "I did it Sammy. I walked."

Sam's breathing hitched, and he closed his eyes against the flood of tears making their slow way down his face. "I told you you could end up walking out of here. You stubborn jerk," he said, making Dean laugh.

Dean's laughter quickly turned to sobs as the reality that he had really walked hit him. He felt Sam tighten his grip on him as he held him through his tears, he heard Sam whisper comforting words into his ear. For the first time in a long time they weren't the tears of sadness and loss they were the tears of happiness and joy.

"Shh. It's okay Dean. I've got you," whispered Sam with a sniffle as he continued holding Dean.

Since Dean couldn't stand unaided, Sam was the only thing keeping him upright, so there was no way he was letting his brother go. He had no problems holding Dean, since he had lost weight while being in hospital. But no matter how much Dean weighed, no matter how heavy he was, Sam was always willing to take that weight, he would always find the strength to carry his brother if he didn't have the strength to hold himself up.

Dean was shaking in Sam's arms and the fabric at his shoulder was wet with more than his perspiration. Sam pulled him closer and pressed his face into the curve of Dean's neck as they both cried.

They held onto each other as if nothing else in the world mattered. It was as if nobody else existed in that moment but the two of them.

After a few hours of rest, Dean was wheeled to the children's ward to see the kids. He knew he was going to miss them when he finally left the hospital, but he vowed to come back once or twice a month to see them. They helped him get through a really dark time and he wanted to do whatever it took to make the children laugh and help them through their own dark times. He was glad he could offer the kids the chance to have fun and take their minds off their injuries or illnesses.

Dean smiled when he saw them all playing in the play area. Lizzy and Emily were playing with their dolls with some of the other girls, and little Simon was playing with a box of Lego with another boy called Mikey.

He sat watching them for several minutes until a girl with blond pigtails and bandages around one of her hands and up her arm walked over to a little girl with a pink bandanna, dressed in a princess dress and playing with her princess doll.

His eyes narrowed when she took the doll from the other girl, and started making fun of her, calling her names and saying she couldn't be a princess because princesses are pretty and had hair.

The little bald girl, who Dean called Belle, burst into tears and covered her face with her hands as she sobbed into her little palms.

Dean looked around the play area for a nurse, but they all seemed to be busy with the other children, so he wheeled himself over and took the doll from the blond girl. She had only been at the hospital for two days, and hadn't made friends with any of the other children.

"There's no need for that. That was uncalled for and cruel," he said, giving the doll back to the other girl. "There you go Belle."

"T-Thank you uncle D-Dean," she managed through her sobs, hugging the doll close to her chest.

"You're welcome sweetheart." He turned back to the other girl. "Say you're sorry."

"No. I'm not saying sorry for something that's true. My mommy says to not be sorry for telling people the truth."

"I was going to tell you kids a story, but after what you did, the rest of the kids will get to hear it, but you won't."

The girl- Maria, scowled and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care. I don't want to hear a stupid story. I don't want to be near baldy anyway," she said as she stormed off to the other side of the room.

Dean looked around for the nearest nurse and waved to get her attention. When she walked over he told her what Maria had done and said and she walked over and gently took her by her unburned arm and escorted her back to her room.

Belle was still crying, so Dean stroked his fingers down her cheek gently. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"No. I'm sad," she sobbed, her tears streaming down her little pale face. When Dean held his arm out, she carefully climbed up onto his lap and cuddled up to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

Belle sobbed into Dean's chest, her small form shaking from the strength of her cries. She was holding onto him around his waist, her little arms not reaching all the way around. She clutched at him, burrowing her head into Dean's chest as she snuggled in as tightly as she could.

"Shh. It's okay, sweetheart," Dean soothed as he held her. "Ignore what the nasty girl says to you, Belle. Bullies only bully other people to make themselves feel good."

Belle's breathing hitched, and her face was red and blotchy as she continued crying in Dean's arms. When she calmed down slightly, she looked up at Dean with big watery blue eyes. "W-Why do you call me Belle? Everyone calls me Anna or Annabelle if I'm in trouble. I'm Annabelle a lot when I'm at home."

"Have you ever seen Beauty and the beast?"

"Yes. We watch lots of Disney. I love princesses and I love princess Chevylay the mostest."

"Well, 'Beautys' name is Belle and do you know what the word Belle means?" She shook her head. "It means Beautiful. And you..." He pressed his finger gently to her nose. "Are my beautiful little princess."

Belle's face lit up with so much joy and happiness, and her smile was so big her dimples came out and that made Dean's heart warm in his chest. He used his thumb to wipe her remaining tears and lowered his head to press a gentle kiss to her bandana-covered bald head, making a blush colour her pale cheeks.

"Thank you for making me happy uncle Dean."

"You're welcome princess Belle," he said, making her giggle. "If anyone says you can't be a princess you can tell them you're uncle Dean's princess, okay?"

"Yeah. Love you uncle Dean," she said, snuggling up to his chest.

"I love you guys too."

"Can you come and play with us?"

"Oooh. I don't know about that," said Dean, pursing his lips as he pretended to think about it.

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaaaase," she begged, her bottom lip poking out, her eyes going big and round.

Unable to say no, Dean shook his head and sighed. "Okay. Put those things away."

"Yaaaay." Belle climbed down from Dean's lap and walked around to the back of the chair, to try to push him.

"What are you doing? You'll hurt yourself. I can wheel myself over."

"No I can do it." As she tried to push the chair, some of the other kids came over and helped her to push him over to where they were playing.

"Don't make me crash into a wall or anything."

The children giggled. "OKAY UNCLE DEAN!" They peeked around the chair so they could see where they were going. "BEEP BEEP!" they yelled when they saw little Simon sitting in the way.

"Hey little man. Quickly, before we run you over," said Dean, waving his arms.

Simon giggled and ran out of the way, before running behind him and joining the other kids as they pushed their 'uncle' Dean around the room.

Sam was standing at the door, watching Dean with the kids. He smiled as he listened to his brother laugh. Dean really came alive when he was with the kids, it was almost as if they made him forget about his injured back. They pulled him out of the darkness and took away his sadness and made him happy again. It was easy to see the kids loved their 'uncle' Dean just as much as he loved them, and it made him glad they could all have fun and laugh, even though they were in hospital.

After playing pirates with the boys for an hour, and princes and princesses with the girls for another hour, Dean asked a nurse to get the two teddies and the new black horse from the shelf where they kept them and a pink teddy from one of the kids.

The only sounds in the room were Dean's voice as he spoke in his normal voice to tell the story, the deep growly voice for Danny, the high squeaky voice for Stevie, and a girly voice for the princess, and the laughter from the children.

"Once upon a time, Danny and Stevie were out protecting the kingdom of Winchester when suddenly a giant shadow appeared and knocked out Danny and kidnapped Stevie. When Danny woke up he growled 'Sonofawitch' when he couldn't find his pain in the butt little brother. As Danny prepared to go find him, Princess Chevrolet offered to help. Danny was reluctant but he knew the princess was strong and brave and wasn't scared of anything and she knew how to fight with a bow and arrow so he finally said yes. The two rode on Impalette and searched the kingdom and its surroundings to find the lost knight."

They all listened as the princess was really brave and fought against the army of evil snowmen with Danny. When they found Stevie, they saw he had been frozen and was held in the fortress of carrots and candy canes.

"Danny and princess Chevrolet fought side by side, swords were swinging, arrows were flying as the battle continued. The princess even managed to save Danny when one of the snowmen creeped up behind him and tried to freeze him."

Castiel had joined them, and was controlling the 'snowmen', who were some white teddies he had gotten from the gift shop. He seemed to enjoy playing with the children and helping Dean tell the stories with the teddies, and the kids liked the angel too, even though they didn't always understand what he was saying.

"During the battle, Danny's trusty sword Zeppelin was frozen into the ground, so he had to fight with two candy canes. When all the enemies were defeated, Danny and princess Chevrolet had to melt the snow that had frozen Stevie and Danny's sword with a magic fire spell. They released Stevie, who was a total drama queen after being rescued because some of his girly hair had been snapped off when it had still been frozen. He recited a dramatic poem about his loss, making Danny and the princess roll their eyes. 'Don't worry, I'll buy you a mop to put on your head until it grows back,' said Danny."

Dean looked down at Belle as he spoke the next part. "Danny told the princess she was the bravest and strongest princess in the kingdom of Winchester and no matter what she fought against, he knew she would always win and kick some ass," he said, winking at Belle, who smiled up at him. "They all celebrated their reunion before going back to the kingdom of Winchester, and they all lived happily ever after for a long time."

The children clapped and cheered in delight, making everyone in the room smile.

"Until someone took the princess again," Lizzy added, and started giggling.

"But she's the mostest brave now and she can fight the nasty big meanie heads," said Belle with a grin.

"Damn straight," Dean agreed with a nod and a grin of his own.

Later Sam walked into Dean's room to see him prodding himself in the right leg with one of his fingers. He frowned as he approached the bed, and sat in the chair. "What the hell are you doing?"

Dean was silent as he continued with what he was doing for several minutes.

"Dean will you stop poking yourself in the leg?"

"But I can feel it, Sammy. It's awesome," he said with a grin, once again jabbing himself in the leg.

"Can you feel everything? Is the feeling fully back yet?"

"Not yet. I can only feel certain things, mostly on my right side. The feelings not fully back... but at least I've got some feeling. It's more than I had a couple of weeks ago."

"I'm really proud of you. Watching you walk towards me today was amazing. I felt like every parent must feel when their child walks for the first time."

Dean blushed slightly, like he always did when someone praised him. "I wish I could wake up tomorrow and be able to get up and walk. I wish I could recover from this straight away instead of the recovery been really slow. It'll take months, and I hate waiting."

"Me too. But you can't run before you can walk. It'll take a long time before you're fully back on your feet, but I'll be right by your side every step of the way... Literally."

"For the past couple of months, every time I saw someone walking, it reminded me that I couldn't. I was actually jealous of people doing something as simple as walking." Dean looked down at his legs and shook his head. "And now there's a big chance I could walk again, and it's..." His voice suddenly sizzled away like a drop of water on a hot skillet.

Sam looked over and saw the single tear slipping down his cheek. He placed his hand over Dean's in support. "Are you alright?"

Dean nodded and wiped the tear with his sleeve. "Yeah," he whispered with a sniffle. "Sorry, I'm being a wuss."

"Hey, you're the strongest person I know. You're anything but a wuss. Anybody in your situation would've broken completely by now, but you've just cracked a couple of times. If anything, that makes you strong. If I hear you say anything like that again, I'll get Bobby to slap you around the head."

"Oh thanks," said Dean, nudging Sam's shoulder with his own.

"Well, you need someone to knock some sense into you," Sam teased. "And Bobby's the right person to do it."

"Bobby's the right person to do what?" asked Bobby, walking into the room with some coffee.

"Knock some sense into Dean," Sam told him, taking his coffee from the older man. "Thanks."

"I've been knocking sense into the idjit since ya were both kids. It's one of my jobs." Bobby handed one of the cups to Dean, who looked surprised. "I asked the doc, and he said ya can have one."

"Thanks Bobby." The heat from the cup warmed Dean's hands, and the smell tickled his nose and filled his lungs. At the first sip, the taste hit the back of his throat like salvation as the caffeine started to infiltrate his bloodstream. It was just as Dean liked his coffee- Black as night and hot as hell. "Mmmmm. I've missed coffee."

"I've noticed. Ya reminded me of Homer Simpson when he drools for a donut for a minute there."

Dean laughed and took another heavenly sip of his coffee. "Mmm. Speaking of heavenly, where's Cas?"

"He said he had something to do, but he'll be back soon."

The three of them talked until Castiel showed up. When he appeared in the room, he was holding a long thin wooden box in his arms. "Hello Dean."

"Hey Cas. What's that?"

"It's a box."

"Yeah thanks," said Dean with an eye-roll. He watched as Cas carried the item towards his bed and placed it on his legs. "Is that for me?"

"Yes. I have been working on it for several days. After the doctor told us when you are back on your feet you would need help walking with the help of a cane, it gave me an idea. You can open it."

"Ooooooh." Dean carefully unlatched the box and opened it to reveal a beautiful black and silver cane with a car as a handle. "Oh my god. It's beautiful," he whispered, lifting it out of the box.

"The cane will help support you. It is also a weapon you can use to defend yourself if demons or angels or anything else thinks you are vulnerable and decide to attack you."

"What do you mean?"

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the cane. When Dean gave it to him, Cas held the handle in his right hand and used his first two fingers to press the 'headlights' which were buttons, and used his thumb to press on the door simultaneously. There was a clicking sound and the handle ejected to reveal it was attached to an angel blade, which was safely hidden inside the cane.

Cas lifted the blade carefully, holding it away from the other three men. "I have crafted the blade onto the car, which is in the place of a normal handle. The blade will not come out unless you know how to open it. If you press the buttons which are the headlights at the same time as you press one of the doors, it will eject itself. When you finish with the blade, carefully place it back into the cane," he said, placing the angel blade inside, and pressing a button on the back of the car. There was another 'click' and the cane looked like a regular cane once again.

"Wow. That's awesome," said Dean, staring in awe at the cane/blade. "Thanks Cas."

"You are very welcome. I am positive no angels would be able to find you, but I was concerned about other creatures and beings attacking you since you cannot protect yourself properly due to your injuries, so I made sure you would be able to. This blade is one of the most powerful weapons in all of existence and can kill almost anything."

"Including you."

"Yes. But I am on your side and also a friend so you would not need to use a blade to attack me. You have to make sure not to leave it in the hands of anyone else. It will be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Don't worry Cas. I won't let this out of my sight," Dean promised, using his fingers and thumb to unlock the handle and reveal the blade. It took a couple of tries, but on the third attempt he was able to release the blade. "I did it."

Cas smiled and nodded once. "Good. Now you are protected. Bobby, Sam and I will be with you, but there is no harm in extra protection. There is a human saying 'its better to be safe than sorry' which means you should be cautious, if you are not you may regret it. And I think that applies in this situation."

Sam was watching Dean familiarise himself with his new cane, and had to admit it was kind of cool. He was glad the angel had thought of Dean being vulnerable and a easy target for demons and other beings and had made something that would help protect him if him, Bobby or Castiel weren't around to do it.

When Dean finally put down the cane, he looked up at the TV, and his eyes widened when he saw one of his favourite movies was on. "Oh my god, it's Batman."

"Where?" asked Cas, turning to look around as if expecting Batman to have suddenly appeared in the room.

"On the TV, doofus," said an amused Dean.

"Oh." Castiel sat on the bed beside Dean, and looked up at the screen as Sam turned up the volume so they could hear it.

Dean was staring at Castiel, who was sitting so close to him, their shoulders were touching. "What are you doing?"

"You said you would watch Batman with me. Batman is on right now, so now is the opportune time to watch it."

"Now is the what time to watch it?"

"Opportune. It means the suitable or convenient time for a particular occurrence."

Dean turned to the TV, trying to ignore the close proximity of the angel sitting right beside him.

"Is that Batman?" asked Cas, pointing at someone on the screen.

"No."

"Is that Batman?"

"No. That's my man Jack."

"You're in a relationship with a man?"

Dean shook his head in exasperation. "That's Jack Nicholson, he's awesome. He plays the Joker."

Castiel nodded and was silent for a minute, before pointing at someone else. "Is that Batman?"

Dean rolled his eyes and turned to Sam. "Is it illegal to strangle an angel to death?"

"I don't know about illegal, but it's probably impossible."

"Is that Batman?"

"Oh my god, would you be quiet for a minute?"

"I am not god, I am an angel of the lord," came the serious response, making Dean roll his eyes again.

When Batman finally came on the screen, Dean pointed at him. "That's Batman."

"Oh," was Castiel's only response, which made Dean laugh.

"Oh? Is that it? You've been driving me crazy, asking if every person on the screen is Batman and as soon as Batman actually comes on, all we get is 'Oh'?"

"I thought that was the appropriate response to discovering something you didn't previously know."

"Right. Don't get too excited, you might sprain something."

"Okay," said Cas, as he sat unmoving, unblinking, his eyes wide as he stared at the screen.

Dean kept dividing his attention between Cas and Batman, his expression fond as he watched the angel doing a perfect impression of a statue.

"Hey Cas, are you alive?" asked Dean, giving him a nudge. When Castiel didn't answer, he waved his hand in-front of his face, which remained motionless. "Ca-as?" When there was still no response, he turned to Sam. "If he wasn't an angel, I'd be worried the dude had died with his eyes open or something."

"At least we know he's enjoying it."

"Of course he's enjoying it, it's Batman," said Dean, turning his full attention to the movie.

Sam and Bobby looked at each other and smiled fondly as the two figures on the bed stared at the TV, one of them not blinking at all, the other only blinking when his eyes became sore.

As Dean watched Batman with Cas, he thought about everything that had happened in the past couple of months. Since he had been in the hospital, this was definitely his favourite day. Not only did he walk for the first time in several weeks, he had lots of fun with the kids and now he was watching one of his favourite movies with his three favourite people, and he could finally see the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

He had read a quote about The darkest experiences in a human being's life allow that person to either go deeper and stay depressed or get the strength to stand up stronger than ever.

Dean was taking slow steps toward the end of that dark tunnel, and he was doing it on his own two feet. He had been through one of the worst times of his life, one of the darkest times he had ever been through, but he knew he had his family by his side no matter what.

Dean was still standing and he was definitely stronger than he had ever been, and he had his family and the kids from the children's ward to thank for that.

*The End*
I'm terrible at endings, but I hope you like it anyway. :)