Chapter Text
As Dean stood there, held up the metal stuck inside, he was preparing to say goodbye. He had so many goodbyes he wished he could have, but ultimately at that moment, only one mattered. Sammy… his baby brother, the boy he raised and watched grow into a man, someone he looked up to.
He was dying and for the first time, he was scared. When Sam started to walk away to call 911, Dean panicked, a feeling he didn’t let himself have too often.
“Dean… I can’t do this without you.” Sam whispered, afraid to leave his brothers side. He needed Castiel, or Jack more than ever, both missing into the universe.
He had no doubts Sam could and would carry on his legacy, he wanted Sam to experience everything there was in life, the stuff he didn’t get to. A wife, buying a home, having loving parents, one’s who raised you through thick and thin, not forcing someone to be “daddy’s blunt instrument” at the age of six. “Yeah, you can.”
This time Sam couldn’t hold back, they weren’t two people who tended to be overly emotional but watching his brother… his protector in this state, made him hurt in a way he hadn’t hurt before. It hurt more than his mom, than Jess, he wouldn’t let Dean die, not this way, not this early. “I don’t want to. I’m not willing to say goodbye, not yet, not like this. We are going to get you out of here, and you’re going to do great things. We can leave this life behind.” Sam whispered, if Dean made it out of here and wanted to retire, for the first time in a while, there would be no objections.
“Sammy…” with a quiet voice-crack, “I’ve… only always wanted what’s best for you. Prom...ise me you’ll carry on. Carry on without me, kn...ow how much I lo...ve you. It’s al...ways been me and you” Struggling to finish his sentences, Sam silently cried, watching as Dean took his last breathes, holding him in arms. Not unlike the reversed roles years earlier.
Holding Dean in his arms, they fell to the ground and for the first time, Sam completely broke. He knew Dean didn’t want him to save him, but he couldn’t just walk away, not now. Not with Jack in Heaven and Castiel still missing. They had work to do, and he was determined to save his brother.