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He saw her.
Standing in the middle of the freaking nowhere, wearing a simple white nightgown. The blond hair fell on her shoulders and her eyes looked lost.
He heard her asking for help, that’s why he ran in her direction without really paying attention to the sound of that voice. He simply acted by instinct because if someone yells for help you move, period.
But, if he had paid a little more attention, he might have been prepared for what it would have found.
To her.
He had stared at her for what it seems an eternity, his eye half-closed. He knew at that moment that his surprised expression had ended up betraying him, but he couldn’t avoid it. Hell, he just escaped the end of the world, and now this.
He had practically imposed himself not to blink. He wanted to, but the fear that he could see her disappear at any moment under his eyes without being able to keep her with him had prevailed. He’d seen it happen too often - more than he could bear.
“Mom?”
He whispered slowly, a little unsure. She stood still, probably more scared than him at that moment. In the end, though, she smiled at him.
One of those smiles that he used to love, but wasn’t familiar with anymore. God, he was surprised to be able even to remember it. Yet, it was there stuffed in a corner, safe. Hidden in all those memories that sometimes he liked to dust off, despite everything.
No one of them dared to take a step forward. He could have sacrificed himself for the world over and over again, but at the moment that little step towards her was too much even for him.
It was only when he saw her reaching out for him that he finally decided to move. Well, he had defeated death literally, what was scarier than that?
He managed to find the answer to that question at the exact moment he found himself wrapped in his mother’s arms. He knew that it was stupid, but that was by far the scariest thing he ever experienced.
Any minute now, everything could have disappeared and he wouldn’t have cared. And yet, if she was the one to disappear, he knew, his heart couldn’t handle it.
Not again.
He tightened the grip a little more, breathing in that smell that tasted like cinnamon, home, and old memories. God, how much he missed her - he thought without being able to smile, while a little tear slid along his cheek.
“Take me home, Dean.”
No, his heart probably couldn’t have to bear it anyway, but - for once, just this once - it was fine.