Chapter Text
January 2021
Sam moved swiftly through the library, dodging the various Hunters, Angels and the few supernatural creatures, who had all congregated for the latest meeting. It was late at night now, and the schedule had long gone array. Some people arrived late, one person arrived injured for some reason, and now, as everyone else was ready and prepared, Sam found himself being the only delay.
His phone was squished between his ear and his shoulder, and he shouted the last of the commands through its microphone to the duo on the other side.
He winced at the returning sound of breaking glass, closely followed by Claire's angered yell.
Silence.
"Is ah - Is everything alright?" He inquired, sticking one finger in his other ear in an attempt to block out the loud chattering around him. Logically, he knew his room was a far quieter place to have this conversation, but he needed all of the resources in the library, should things turn pear-shaped for the girls on the other line. "Is it dead?"
"Um... yeah I think so," Kaia responded quietly, her voice almost a whisper as it came through the speaker. "It's definitely not moving anymore."
"Why in the world were you two hunting a Chupacabra for anyway?" Sam inquired, pinching his brow between his fingers, suddenly feeling the stress of the past few years as it crept up on him. These kids would be the death of him, he just knew it. Still as reckless as ever, throwing themselves into dangerous situations at a moment's notice.
"It ahh... I dunno, it just kinda came outta nowhere. Literally," Kaia replied with a nervous laugh. "I mean... we weren't exactly looking for a hunt on today of all days, Sam."
Sam rolled his eyes and sighed as he collapsed into the leather armchair.
"Right... well. What are your plans then? Are you still coming back to the bunker for that restock?"
"Yeah, we'll be there," Kaia said.
"If we pull an all-nighter, we can be back in Kansas by tomorrow morning," Sam heard Claire pipe up from the background, her voice muffled by distance.
"Not a chance, Claire. Book a room, don't drive tired," Sam stated. Kaia's last message, sent the day previous, had placed their location outside Los Angeles. Today, they were near New Mexico.
They had both sounded so exhausted when they called. There was no chance in hell he was gonna let these kids drive back to Kansas in that state. It was one thing for a hunter to die bloody on a job, another to die in an entirely preventable accident, just because they were careless behind the wheel.
"Hey, Winchester," came the gruff but gentle voice of one of the older hunters in the room. Sam had recognised the man as one of Bobby's old contacts back in the day, although Sam had scarcely met him before he and his wife joined the American Hunters Association. "When exactly is this little shin-dig gonna start? We all gotta hit the road soon."
Sam covered the speaker on the phone with the palm of his hand before responding, a little shake in his head. He knew it had gotten late, and he could see that everyone was itching to leave, including the three Angels who were hanging around by the foot of the staircase. Sam side-eyed them cautiously, not wanting to hold the inevitable 'Where's God?' conversation that the three were quite obviously aiming for. They regarded him with an overly curious look but managed enough patience not to interrupt just yet.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second, sorry. Just um... I dunno, tell everyone to take a seat at the map table please," Sam replied, watching as the other hunter walked away with a hobble in his step. "Look Kaia, I gotta go. Call me if either of you need anything. And I swear to Jack, if Claire's here tomorrow morning, I'm taking her car keys."
"Yeah, no problem, Sam," Kaia responded, her voice perking up at the idea of rest. "See you later."
"That wouldn't stop me!" Shouted Claire in the distance.
"Get some sleep you two. Bye."
Sam hung up the phone and stood, stretching his arms over his head. Onto the last meeting for the day.
~
Sam was bleary-eyed the next morning as he passed the last Angel loitering in the hallway, stumbling into the kitchen and fumbling with the thankfully still-full coffee pot.
Someone had made breakfast earlier, leaving the now cold bacon and eggs wrapped in foil, in a stack resting on the counter. It was overly greasy, not remotely healthy in any way, nor was it tasty like Dean's cholesterol and sugar rich cooking, but the younger Winchester wouldn't complain.
It wasn't like he had eaten dinner the night before, and any food he did not have to cook himself would always be a godsend. Pun fully intended.
He loaded up his plate and grabbed the old mug, taking a seat at the table. It was surprisingly quiet today, he noticed with a faint smile. The only noise that broke the near-silent air was the vibration of his phone against the counter, signalling the incoming text.
Sam reached for it, seeing Eileen's name lighting up the screen.
Her text was sweet and simple, short and detailed. She was only an hour away and would see him soon. Flower emoji... Smiley face...
The hunter grinned gently down at the screen, replying with a series of hearts.
"I'm back!" Shouted an overly happy Jack, who had suddenly flown directly in front of the half-asleep hunter, who promptly dropped his phone in response.
"Shit!" Sam yelled in return, standing up in a panic as coffee spilled down his shirt. "Jack, you can't just fly in like that, man! You scared the crap outta me."
He patted at the damp fabric with a sigh, feeling his thundering heart slowing in his chest. The hunter rolled his eyes up to the boy, finally taking notice of the large grin that had graced his youthful features.
"Where did you go anyway? Your 'host' has been on my ass all week looking for you."
"I found them!" Jack shouted in excitement, skipping over Sam's questions with his typical overly happy energy. "I found Dean and Castiel!"
Sam's eyebrows shot upward.
"You found them? How? Where are they?" Sam asked, all in one breath, his eyes frantically searching the room. Only the two of them stood in the kitchen, no one else, much to Sam's immediate disappointment.
"They are safe... happy, actually. They were in another timeline, just like Aunty theorised."
"Why aren't they with you?"
"Here. Dean wrote you a letter. I think he would better explain what's going through his mind than I ever could," Jack muttered with a shy little laugh, shrugging the pink bag off his shoulder. "Even I find their thoughts unfathomable... and um- mildly uncomfortable."
The backpack landed on the table with a surprisingly loud clunk, causing Sam to raise his eyebrow at the young man. Jack simply grinned sheepishly in response, unzipping it and tipping it over, allowing its contents to spill over the table. Letters... fruits... vegetables... rocks?
"Um yeah. So letters. Here you go," Jack stated, riffling around until he pulled the right ones out of the pile. "These are for you."
Two letters. One from Dean, the other from Cas. Jack shuffled through the pile, pulling a few more out, and Sam could spy from over Jack's shoulder the names written on the envelopes in either Dean's or Castiel's handwriting. Jodie. Charlie. Claire. Donna. Eileen. Bobby.
So, it seemed Sam wasn't the only one Dean wrote to. Looking down at the sealed letters filled him with a sense of dread. It was almost as if he had just been handed his elder brother's last will and testament.
"Father?" came a sharp voice from the door. The Angel, who decided that now would be the best time to grace them with his presence, walked into the room with an overly dramatic flare as he looked toward Jack in awe. "You have returned to us, my Lord."
"I didn't go far, Cheriel."
"The Archangel Gabriel has requested your immediate presence - not that we would ever make any demands of you, My lord."
"Um... Right," Jack said with an air of disappointment. He turned to look at Sam with an apologetic look, to which Sam responded with a nod of his head. He pulled his adopted nephew into his arms for a quick hug before letting go.
"You go. It's ok, I'll be busy here," the hunter stated, gesturing to the letter with a tilt of his head.
The two Celestials were gone in moments, leaving behind the bag, and the various fruits for some reason... The copious amounts of grey rocks that had slid across the hardwood table earlier also disappeared with the sound of flapping wings.
Sam abandoned his food at the kitchen table, choosing instead to head back to his room. He didn't want anyone to approach him should the contents of these letters be emotional. Carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed and opened Dean's letter. There were four full pages of Dean's familiar chicken scratch handwriting.
He read the first few lines.
And then he stopped and reread them again.
A loud giggle broke its way out of his lips, and he descended into full-on laughter. He wasn't sure when exactly he ended up on the floor, but as he wiped the tears from his eyes, he only had one thought.
Finally... after 13 freaking years...
~
Eileen entered the bunker just over an hour after her initial text, in a whirlwind of energy. She bore a bruise on her jaw and a split through her lip, but her dark eyes were bright when they took in Sam's overly happy appearance at the bottom of the staircase.
She shifted slightly, trying to conceal the bouquet of hastily picked cosmos behind her back as the Winchester practically ran up the creaking stairs, coming to a stop at her side.
Sam's grinning face dropped into shocked concern as he took in her wounds.
"I'm ok," She said with a grin, unable to sign with her hands preoccupied behind her back.
She rolled back on the balls of her feet when Sam reached for her face, pulling her closer to get a better look at the dried blood.
"Why didn't you text me?" He asked, hands signing along, concern bleeding into his firm expression. "I could have helped you."
"It was just a ghost, Sam," Eileen said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway. Here, these are for you."
She held out the flowers, pushing them into Sam's chest with a self-satisfied smirk. Sam was flustered momentarily, hands wrapping around the colourful bouquet in confusion.
"Um... are these for a spell?" He inquired, lifting the flowers to get a better look at the stems.
"No stupid. They are a gift for you. I dunno... they reminded me of you, and I thought they looked nice."
"Oh- Um... thank you," Sam said, a flush of red staining his cheeks as he held the bouquet. "They're pretty."
"What were you so happy about before?" Eileen inquired, her hands signing along with her words as Sam tracked them with his eyes. "When you were running up here?"
"Jack found Dean and Cas! You're never gonna guess what those two have been up to."
"Ok, but I'm kinda tired. Why don't we make some cocktails and you tell me all about it."