And finally we have the last part of the Stanford fic for Simone! Darling, I really hope you enjoyed it even half as much as I enjoyed writing it! Your idea was perfect and I just hope I did it justice :)

Dean quickly regretted leaving the apartment when he looked down the long flight of stairs, the steps seeming to never actually reach the bottom. Dean hadn't anticipated the height and took in a slow breath, beginning the downward walk. He wondered how Sam had dragged him up the first night.

"Hey, man, you alright?"

Dean turned back and saw a young man on the stairs behind him. He'd been so focused on each step that he hadn't noticed him. "Oh, yeah, I'm good," he said with a small smile.

The blonde haired man hurried to the step Dean was on. "I saw you coming out of Sam's apartment..." He left the sentence hanging with a question mark at the end.

"Yeah, Sam's my brother. I was staying with him for a few days."

The young man's brow cocked. "You do know that's not allowed, right?"

Dean took another step, trying to make the student continue on. He wasn't really in the mood for chit chat. Or a lecture. "Extenuating circumstances," he said quietly.

"Oh, okay." Matching him step for step, he held out a hand. "My name's Brady. I'm a friend of Sam's."

Dean remembered Sam mentioning him and that he had introduced Sam to Jess so Dean gave a friendly nod. "Good to meet you."

"I just wanted to make sure that Sam was alright and you weren't breaking in or something. And you know you can't stay around any more because -"

"Right, the rules." Dean tried to hide his discomfort that was beginning to form under the bandaged area and he controlled his breathing, making sure to not seem any more winded than Brady was - who wasn't at all. "Don't worry, I'm leaving."

Brady gave a smile that seemed a little too relieved. "Okay. Good. Well I hope you told Sam because he's probably gonna be out late tonight and it would be weird for Jess to come back and not see you there if she was expecting you to stay." His word seemed to run into each other and Dean wasn't sure if he took a breath the whole sentence. Brady skipped ahead on the stairs and turned back, grinning. "But don't worry, I'll swing by tonight and tell her. Well, I'm late for class so I'll see you." And leaving no room for Dean's reply, the young man practically ran down the remaining flight and burst out the door.

Dean stopped, grasping the banister with a shaking hand. He'd barely paid attention to Brady's long speech as the throbbing grew worse. He dragged air into his burning lungs. Maybe he was doing too much too soon but he had to get out. Especially with that note he'd left... he had to go now or never.

He slowly made his way down the final steps and walked out of the dorm, eyes focused on his beloved car. His feet seemed to move faster beneath him with its own sense of relief at seeing her again. "Hey baby," he whispered, running a hand from the front of the hood to the windshield. He carefully slipped inside, pressing a hand over the bandage again just to be safe, and pulled the door closed behind him.

Staring at the large school ahead of him, and not knowing where Sam was inside of it, he quietly said, "See ya later, Sammy."

Sam stepped into the dorm room, dropping his backpack by the open door as he hurried in. He'd forgotten his law book and searched the living room for it before heading into the bedroom. "Sorry to bother you, man, but I forgot..." Sam stopped when he walked into the room and found it empty. He glanced back out of the bedroom. "Dean? Hey, you here?" His voice seemed to echo in the empty apartment.

Concern edged at him as he walked further into the room, finding the bed perfectly made and not a thing out of place. Then he noticed the white folded paper on the side table. Looking around once more to see if Dean was hiding somewhere for an unknown reason, Sam picked up the note and sat on the bed. As he began to read, his eyes widened.

'Sam,

I wanted to say thanks for patching me up. I guess I taught you well. And in case you're wondering why I'm not here, I couldn't stay anymore. For one thing, I think if I didn't your girlfriend would have kicked me out. She was eyeing the bed and I felt pretty bad for keeping her - and you - off it. It was stupid of you to p-' The words beyond that were scratched out. 'Never mind. Anyways, I've been trying to think of what to say about this. I have to be honest, Sammy, I hadn't expected to enjoy myself here. But I did. You've got a great life, man. Jessica is awesome, really, she's great. Of course she'd probably be better with me but whatever, she seems happy. And you're pretty happy too, Sam. You're turning into a real man now, more of a man that I ever saw you becoming with Dad. You and I both know that hunting is what I love, it's in my blood, and I always thought it was in yours too. But it isn't. This is what you love, the whole thing, the school books and assignments and bright future, it's all you. And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. You're happy. You deserve it. I know how hard it was for you to leave but I know how much harder it would have been for you to stay with Dad and me. So don't worry about any bad feelings, I understand. And Dad will too someday. This turned out a hell of a lot longer than I mean it to. Sorry. I guess all this was to say that...' The pressure in the handwriting changed, Sam noticed, going from hard to soft, as if Dean had taken a break in between. 'Well I'm proud of you, Sammy. You're gonna be a great lawyer. Don't worry about Dad or me coming to drag you back into hunting. We won't, I promise you that. You and Jess will have a great life together and I really hope you get everything you want outta life. Believe me, you deserve it. If you ever wanna talk, you know my number.

Stay safe, little brother.

Dean'

Sam hadn't realized he was crying until a tear hit the paper. He quickly swiped them away, surprised by his reaction. But more surprised by Dean. Part of him had assumed that Dean's presence had been a way to lure Sam back into the life he'd left. But as it turned out, not at all.

He stood slowly, still staring at the carefully written words. Everything Dean said was true and it amazed Sam how well his brother knew him, even after all those years apart.

Jaw clenching, Sam set the note on the dresser and sighed, inhaling deeply. He would be late for class if he didn't find the book and leave immediately, he knew. Sam's bottom lip trembled as he bit back his emotion at the knowledge that he might never see his brother or father again. It would be for the best, he thought as his fingers grazed the velvet box in his jacket pocket, especially now. Maybe one day they would talk again. Maybe he and his Dad would even see eye to eye on something.

He cleared his throat and shook his head quickly, determining that he would talk to Jess tonight after he got home about the future - and their future. Then maybe he would call Dean. Or maybe it would be best to just leave it alone. He was sure that note hadn't been easy for Dean to write and Sam respected him greatly for it.

A loud alarm travelled over the Stanford halls and Sam jumped, immediately returning to searching for the book. Upon finding it, he gave a final glance to Dean's note and smiled, feeling all together stupid but unable to not reply to his brother's final words. "You too, man."

End