Work Text:
Old man river
Sam, depressed without Dean, finally got sick. Two months of hunting alone, no backup, no friends. No brother. The moment came that Sam couldn't tote one more barge or lift one more bale. By the time Sam collapsed on a city street he had lost 25 pounds. His shabby clothing hung loosely on his bony shoulders. A quick trip through the ER diagnosed double pneumonia. His critical condition hadn't changed in the two days since he'd been moved upstairs and into a room on the hospital's 3rd floor. Sam's bed was surrounded with IV poles decorated with bags of antibiotics, nutritional supplements and plenty of re-hydration fluids.
Chuck Shurley strolled past Sam Winchester's room looking for the room of a friend in the hospital and was startled to see Sam's name on the door.
“Hello. Are you Sam Winchester?”
“Yes.
“Your name caught my attention. My name is Chuck Shurley. I'm a writer.”
Sam's too exhausted to spend much time on social pleasantries so he asked the first thing that occurred to him.
“What's so special about my name?”
“It's the name of a character in my books.”
“You write about a man named Sam Winchester?”
“Yes. I write about a Sam Winchester. He hunts things that go bump in the night and he's lost all of his family to supernatural events.”
Sam's surprise triggered a long spasm of painful coughs as he tried to speak. His eye brows attempted to rise but he was too exhausted to complete the effort.
“Tell me about your Sam Winchester.” Sam tried to act as if he were trying to humor a stranger rather than pump him for information.
“Asking a writer to talk about their stories. You must be a glutton for punishment.” A quick smile peeked through a very bushy beard and mustache.
“Sam, you could help me. I'm at an impasse in the plot development in my latest novel. My Sam Winchester is at a major fork in his road. Why don't you listen to both plots and let me know which you think should happen to my Sam Winchester?”
“I'll listen.” Sam was sure that listening was the extent of his limited energy.
“I have two versions in mind, two possible and radically different outcomes.” Chuck paused and took a deep breath.
“In version A, Sam's brother, Dean, died and went to Hell. He suffered torture for 30 years before he cracked and agreed to torture others. This torture broke the first seal on Lucifer's cage. An angel named Castiel rescued Dean from Hell and returned him alive to Earth. My Sam, on the other hand, didn't handle life without his brother very well and became BFF with a demon. This demon got Sam addicted to drinking her demon blood.”
Sam shook his head in disbelief. “Stop! Why did you write this character that way?”
“Sam, Sam. Sometimes characters do only what they want to do. Sometimes an author has very little power.” Chuck chewed lightly on his bottom lip for a moment.
“I haven't even gotten halfway through Version A, Sam.”
“It only gets worse for S--, your Sam?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me hear it all, Chuck.”
Chuck cleared his throat and continued with the tale.
“My Sam broke the final seal on Lucifer's cage. As soon as Lucifer was freed, he raised The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They freely roamed the face of the Earth spreading war and hate and disease where ever they went. The angel who rescued Dean defied Heaven's orders and helped the brothers avert the Apocalypse. A demon named Crowley also gave some behind the scenes help to Team Free Will.”
Sam's disbelieving face told Chuck he didn't believe that a demon would have helped re-cage Lucifer.
Chuck shrugged. “Yes. Crowley actually wanted Lucifer back in the cage to insure his own survival.” Sam nodded weakly and gestured for Chuck to continue the story.
“The price paid for stopping the Apocalypse was high. Sam and Dean lost Bobby and Ellen and Jo and at least 20 other hunters over the course of that year. But the ultimate price was paid by my Sam. He literally jumped into Hell and forced Lucifer back into captivity. But Sam was now trapped with him in the cage. Forever.”
Sam started coughing again, but this time his longs felt like they were on fire. Chuck waited until Sam's coughing spasm had stopped before continuing the story.
“Almost immediately, Castiel rescued Sam from Hell but he accidentally left Sam's soul behind. The soul of my Sam spent over 160 Hell years trapped with in a cage with Lucifer, who tortured him for the entertainment value. For a year and a half, Sam walked the Earth with no soul. Soul-less Sam had no conscience and killed a lot of innocents. My Sam even let Dean be turned into a vampire to get information.
Sam gasped and paled at what Chuck's Sam had done to his own brother. Deeply shocked, he remained silent. Another spasm of coughing shook Sam's leaner and bony chest. Chuck waited patiently several minutes for the spasms to subside.
“Have I heard the worst part yet?,” Sam begged. Each thing he heard about Dean shattered his soul a little more.
Yeah, he says he's a writer, but how does he know so much? Their lives . . . one giant turd after another keeps rolling along the river of their lives. Sam's life? No, MY life.
“It gets bad, Sam. Ready to hear the rest?” Sam nodded.
“The angel Castiel, who fought Lucifer at your side on Earth, now had to fight a similar battle in Heaven. He had to prevent the Archangel Raphael from restarting the Apocalypse. He didn't want Sam's suffering and sacrifice to be in vain, but Castiel needed power to challenge Raphael. This power could come from souls. Crowley offered Castiel a loan of 50,000 souls to stand up to Raphael. The angel had good intentions and accepted.”
Sam moaned, but otherwise remained silent. He had a feeling he knew how this story was going to end. Chuck continued.
“But Castiel was poisoned by these souls. Crowley gave him 50,000 of the most depraved demon souls in Hell, not human souls. Castiel eventually swallowed millions of monster souls from Purgatory to become powerful enough to stop Raphael once and for all. He became evil despite his intentions to always protect and cherish Sam and Dean. But these monster souls from Purgatory completed the corruption of the angel. Dean lost the one friend he came to love as much as he loved my Sam. Dean eventually found a way to kill Castiel but Dean was never the same afterward. Something inside of him broke.”
Chuck paused to catch his breath.
“What a fucking lousy story!” Sam couldn't keep the anger out of his voice.
“What is Version B? Do Sam and Dean get to live happily in the other version?”
“Ah, the other version.” Chuck sighed.
“My Sam died and went to Heaven. Dean was still rescued from Hell by Castiel. He was brought to Heaven because of all the innocents he has saved during his lifetime. But Dean couldn't accept an existence without Hunting. His Heaven consisted of endless hunts until he could accept that he deserved Paradise. Over the span of eternity, his friends in Heaven joined him on his Hunts occasionally and quietly try to convince him to accept Heaven. It took a very long time because he was a very stubborn man. But yes, eventually Dean did find peace in Heaven.”
Chuck stopped speaking and looked expectantly at Sam.
“If I choose version A, I won't remember this conversation. You won't let me remember this, right? Because this is real. You're real.”
“Yes.” Chuck paused. “What is your answer, Sam Winchester?”
“I know what my brother needs,” Sam replied.
--------------------------
Bobby claimed Sam's body and buried him next to Dean's body in the middle of nowhere. Losing both of the boys so close in time broke Bobby's heart. Bobby died of a heart attack late November.
Ellen Harvelle claimed Bobby's body and had him buried next to the grave of his wife. Ellen took over Bobby's work for other hunters and provided them with extra research as well. Eventually she was killed by a shape shifter. Jo hunted well for the next 40 years on her own. Eventually she joined her mother in Heaven as well.