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They’re just a few light years from Azazel, and Dean has a stop to make.
He walks down to sickbay as they dock and finds his brother hunched over a microscope.
“Hey, Sammy.” He leans against the doorframe. “What’re you looking at?”
Sam stretches and turns, giving Dean a weary smile. “Samples of the fungus from the Lilith grain. It’s not something I’ve seen before.”
“Can it wait a few hours?”
Sam nods and stands. “You, uh, you ready for this?”
Dean snorts.
“Yeah.” He gathers up a pad and some supplies to use as barter on the station. “Me either.”
-----
Dean's not prepared for the sight of the memorial. He never is, not any of the times he's visited it over the last 25 years. The holoimage of her floating above the place smiles at him, and he draws in a breath. Behind him are his brother and Cas, warm presences that give him the strength to push forward. Mary would be pleased, he thinks. She was right after all, in a fashion. He's got a Vulcan watching over him and guiding him and Sam. But the reverse is true, too. They make a good team, and he's actually content for the first time he can remember.
He takes a deep breath and glances around. There’s no one nearby except Sam, who’s got a lost look on his face as he stares up at the holo images, and Cas, standing steadfast as always, keeping the world at bay.
He steps forward, resting his fingers against the M of her name.
"Hey, Mom."