Not long ago, Sam would have told you that he was familiar with death. Intimately so. He would have said that death didn’t hold any secrets for him, and hadn’t for most of his life. He would have believed that dying was just one of many, many things in which he had become an unwilling expert.
But wonders really never do cease.
The signs were easy enough to brush off at first. A little bit less appetite, a little bit more sleeping. An occasional limp. Just signs of middle age, he thought. They had no idea how old Miracle was when they first brought her home, but that was a dozen years ago now, give or take, and for the bulk of the time she acted more spry puppy than octogenarian.
When Sam finally consulted his vet, he braced for bad news (an old habit of his), and received pretty much what he expected. Cancer, some kind of blood cancer. Common in dogs, but mercifully indolent as far as cancers go.
“How long?” he asked, not even trying to hide the break in his voice.
The vet couldn’t tell him that, not for sure, just patted Miri’s shaggy head and said, “You’ll know. When it’s time, you’ll know.”
They had another year after that, before things got bad, before the medication started doing more harm than good. Sam didn’t know what Miri’s life was like before they found her, but he liked to think they, and then he, gave the sweet girl a good one. She’d only ever known love and safety and security in all their time together. Sam tried his best to comfort her after- after it was just the two of them. And while he couldn’t be sure, he suspected Miri had endeavoured to do the same for him. To see her whimper in pain as the disease progressed, to watch her lose interest in all the things that used to bring her unabashed joy, and not be able to do anything to help, it was agony.
And so when it was time, he knew. And it hurt, god, this whole new familiar feeling of grief. Of letting go. He feared the trust in the dog’s eyes would break him, he feared that somehow Miri would know, and feel betrayed.
She did know, in a way, in the magical way dogs and children seem to sometimes know things they shouldn’t. When it was time, when Sam held her and tried to say goodbye, tried to say thank you, Miri knew. Sam could tell by the way she calmly nuzzled away his tears, the way she put a steadying paw on Sam’s shaking hands. It was in that moment that Sam learned something new. He learned that death can be peace. That it can be a gift— given out of pure love and accepted with quiet gratitude.
He closed his eyes as he felt the small body relax and still in his arms. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer of thanks to his brother who brought this furry bundle of happiness into their lives so long ago. Thanks for this final gift— the understanding that death, just like life, can be a miracle.
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"I think it would do you both good to see each other." Jack says, taking the half empty beer from Dean's hand.
The smile on Dean's face brightens his features up so much he looked 20 years younger.
"I get to go be with Sam?" Dean asks. "Finally?"
Jack shakes his head. "Not yet. It isn't your time."
Dean scowled, grabbing the bottleback, taking a drink; "Then fuck off. Until I get to be with him again, heaven, hell, wherever, dont you talk to me. It shouldve been me in that barn, not him, and you fucking know it."
Dean kept his body from shaking, his voice even, but he knew that despite the dim lights of the no name bar, Jack would see the pain
in his eyes. The hurt, and loneliness in his soul that shined through the green that only Sam had ever been
able to fill.
"There's many worlds, Dean." Jack
said, this time sitting across from Dean. The gesture meaning to show not only empathy,
but equality. In this moment, he wasnt a God. He was just a guy trying to comfort one of the only fathers he knew.
"In this world, Sam died. In another you do, in one you go on a different hunt and nothing happens." Dean looked up; "So, youre taking
me to see a different Sam?"
Jack nodded; "He's elderly in this world. Time is-"
Dean held up his hand; "I don't need to hear the mumbo jumbo about time and space, just take me to him."
Dean blinked, and found himself outside a well maintained brick house with large trees, and a well kept yard. Inside he could hear
yelling.
Dean rushed in, moving quickly through the house, and in the living room found a tall man with white hair, and a beard.
"Why are you in here?!" Sam screamed at a young woman. "I want my brother!"
"Mr Winchester, I'm your nurse, Hannah, your son asked me to he-"
Sam grabbed a glass off and raised his hand to throw it.
"Sammy?"
Sam instantly responded to Dean's voice, the glass slipping from his fingers, and shattering on the floor.
"Dean?" Sam asked, stepping forward, his bare feet moving towards the broken shards of glass. His eyes locked with Dean's. Dean and the nurse moved to stop him.
Dean pushed Sam back onto the couch, ignoring Sam's tears of joy at seeing him. "Missed you, missed you." Sam sobbed, clinging to Dean's Jacket. Dean looked down at his sleeve. Dads leather jacket. Dean caught his reflection in a mirror above the fireplace. He looked how he did in 2005.
Sam cupped Dean's face pressing their foreheads together. "I wanna go hunting."
Dean closed his eyes, and sighed, taking in the moment. He hadnt realized he had forgotten what Sam sounded like, how it felt to hear his name come out of Sam's mouth,
forgotten what it felt like to be home again.
"Okay, Sammy." Dean obviously wasnt going to take Sam on a hunt but still the lie that he was a family friend, Sam's son had asked to come over was believed easy enough by the nurse.
For the next two days, Dean took care of Sam. Fed him, bathed him, walked around the yard with him. Mostly though, they just talked.
Sam seemed to be confused about what year it was, he mentioned Stanford alot. That was probably why Jack had sent Dean like this.
"You wanna go for a ride in the car?" Dean asked, having found the keys hidden in a drawer and Sam immediately lit up, nodding.
Dean took Sam to an empty field,
and watched the stars. Dean clinked their beer bottles together. Sam didnt even notice his was non alcoholic. He just smiled; "Cheers, jerk."
"Cheers, bitch."
That night, Dean helped Sam into bed. Something in his gut told him Sam's reaper wasn't far off. Dean pulled up a chair to sit by
Sam, and held his hand, squeezing it gently. He understood why Jack had brought him here. In the barn, there had been no time to say goodbye. The attack had happened
so fast, so violently, Dean didn't
have a chance to say anything to Sam.
This was his chance. Dean kissed Sam's wrist;, "I am so very proud of you, how strong, and smart you are. How you never took any of Dads crap.”
Sam's eyes softened, he looked so tired. Dean continued. "You've always kept fighting, and I know how hard that had to have been for you." Sam closed his eyes, starting to drift off into sleep, a soft smile on his face. "Love you, De."
"I love you so much, my baby brother."
After a bit, Dean laid Sam's hand down, and stood, walking towards the door to sleep on the couch. "Goodnight." Sam called gently.
"Night, Sammy."
The next morning, he left before Sam woke up, catching Sam's son, who he had learned shared a name with him at the front door.
"Take good care of him." Dean smiled, chuckling to himself at the young man's confusion.
"Do-do I know you?" He asked.
Dean shrugged, and walked down the sidewalk.
Dean Jr walked inside, setting his bag down on the floor in his old bedroom, before going to his dads room.
"Hey, Dad." He said pulling a chair up. "Your nurse just left. He seemed pretty cool.”
There was a small framed picture beside the bed of his dad when he was younger, beside him sat the uncle he knew, but never met. He
picked up the frame, analyzing it then looked
towards the door. There was no way, no possible way.-
But they were both wearing the same necklace...
"Do I know you?" He had asked the man.
"My big brother came and visited me." Sam told him. "We drove in the Impala" He smiled, stroking the amulet around his neck. "It was fun.”
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