A/N: And, to round off, a short epilogue...

Bought And Sold (Chapter 17: Epilog) by frostygossamer

Sam uncurled his long body from the driver's seat of his tiny clunker of a car, parked outside his home. The ramshackle, sprawling fixer-upper they had found on the outskirts of Wichita was still a work-in-progress. He surveyed the front aspect. The fresh, new paintwork on the metal shutters looked great. Dean and the gang had evidently been hard at work.

It had been two years since he and Dean had moved into the old building - all they could afford - with the intention of setting up a men's shelter along the lines of Bobby's place back in Appalachia. The refuge was now almost full to bursting with needy and grateful guests.

It was Dean's baby. He was the guy in the man-matron's coverall.

Sam spent his working day with law firm 'Milton & Paradise', a legal outfit that dealt mainly with custody and discrimination cases. Once they had settled in, Sam had been able to complete his degree course by correspondence, although, as a male, that precious diploma would forever elude him. Since he had attended all the classes and read all the books, he had no trouble finishing the course with top marks.

It was largely a personal victory.

Bobby had put them on to Missus Milton, who had dealt with several of his 'customers' favourably. She was a liberal-minded woman and made a point of employing men in her company wherever she could. She had taken Sam on initially pretty much as an act of principle, and had kept him on because he proved to be damn good at his job. Since none of the other guys in the company were educated beyond the level of the mailroom, having a male legal clerk on staff was something of a signal of intent.

Sam enjoyed being the Ernie Brockovich of 'Milton & Paradise, Attorneys-at-law'.

He almost tripped over a bunch of happy kids, who where running around the backyard, and entered the house via the kitchen door. A delicious smell of food hit his nose the moment he stepped inside. Dean was standing beside the stove assembling a long line of hamburgers for distribution. Sam crept up behind him and slipped his hands around the shorter man's waist. Dean shook him off.

"Save that for the bedroom, Sammy," he mock-scolded under his breath, without ceasing his preparation.

Sam laughed and grabbed a piece of roll, stuffing it into his mouth as he settled himself in his usual seat at the end of the wood bench. In the interests of 'maximum occupancy', he and Dean shared one cozy, twin-bedded room, convenient for discreet, late-night tippytoeing between beds, whenever they felt the urge.

Samuel ran into the room with his best friend, and dashed straight up to Sam.

"Uncie Sam," he yelled. "Look what me and Jesse did today in class."

He waved a storybook in his uncle's face. It was called "Ben Can Be A Fire-fighter Too."

"I'm gonna drive a big red fire truck when I grow up," he claimed.

"Not gonna do what Uncle Sam does then?" laughed Dean, plonking a special veggie-burger in front of his brother.

"Yeah, that too," Samuel insisted. "And Jesse as well. We're both gonna be famous fire truck driving lawyers."

Sam grinned. "That's what we need, sonny. More legal fire-fighters."

"That'll be after you've save the world, huh?" Dean joked, flopping down across from Sam.

"Sure," piped up Jesse. "We're gonna save everyone, Uncle Dean, so everyone will be happy and free and equal, whether they're a girl OR a boy."

"That's the idea," the adults nodded, as the kids knuckled down to their burgers.

"Sometimes I reckon Jesse may be TOO freakin' smart," Dean commented to Sam.

Sam chuckled. "I wouldn't worry, babe," he said. "With kids like ours, tomorrow is gonna be a better place."

The End

A/N: So Sam and Dean live happily ever after with a bunch of kids who will have better chances. Hope you enjoyed my story. Please feel free to review if you did. :)