Oh thank heavens, a happy ending before I  have to go to work!

Your stories always get me in the gut and worm their way into my every thought until I make it to the happy ending - it really makes work difficult.

Glad that Elizabeth accepted Sam, never really doubted she'd have Dean back - who wouldn't?

The baby instantly accepting Sam and babbling as though in earnest conversation had me wondering. It struck me as very trusting and very advanced for a 6 month old baby but then Aidan is a Winchester so why shouldn't he be super clever and instinctively into family.

If you haven't already gathered it, I loved this story. Enough angst and pain to keep it interesting. Add in 3 great story lines in one and it was brilliant read. One I will no doubt read again.

Thank you.

Author's Response:

I'm going to address Aidan first.  My kids are very vocal, always have been.  I have pictures of my oldest, not even able to hold her head up, and holding conversations with her grandfather.  Six months is when they're sitting up, very engaged in others and they babble constantly.  They don't become untrustworthy or fearful for another 6 months to a year.  I think Aidan would be trustful of Sam because at his core he's a good person - it was the external stuff that had gotten into the way - Aidan wouldn't know about the external. 

I prefer happy endings.  I'm a bit fearful that we're not going to get a happy ending in the show but I'm hopeful. 

I'd take Dean back.  Who wouldn't accept a hero in their lives?  Liz just had to know that Sam was finally to the point where he'd put others before himself. 

Thank you so much for all these reviews!  They've made me very happy these past few days.

Kim

What an emotional chapter! I'm feeling speechless and somewhat shell-shocked.

The details of Dean torturing Ruby were graphic and I could really feel his controlled hatred. Castiel may be an angel of God, but it is Elizabeth that is the real angel in Dean's world. So understanding and loving.

Author's Response:

I hope emotional was a good thing.  And graphic wasn't too graphic.  I loved the character of Elizabeth.  I wanted her to be someone who would accept Dean's life for what it was but not take his crap from him. 

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Kim

Hey can you please add another chapter to this story. I felt like the last chapter left a lot of issues unresolved and i would really like to see them fixed. This is a wicked story and i would love to see another chapter for it. Pleeeeeease :)

Author's Response:

Thanks for reading and reviewing.  I really appreciate it.

Kim

Say again. Wow. What an ending! Loved it - such a beautiful scene in the church (well, when I say beautiful I mean horrible, scary, tense... you get the idea!) and it was great to see them working together again, that one single moment that restores their relationship to what it used to be. And Michael really is a mini-Dean, isn't he - coming in and telling them what's what.

You pointed out something that's been bothering me in the show - where the hell is Meg? - and gave a really believable explanation for it. I can really see her coming back as the new YED to continue Azazel's plan - in some ways itwould be a great way to end the show, kind of mirroring the first/second season. (Did I really just say that? A great way to END the SHOW?! Oh my god. Sorry, sorry...)

You also did what a lot of people have tried to do - written a fic where Dean has a family and kept hunting - but this time it worked! It's a very different family dynamic to your Ben Braeden series, but there's hints at a similar relationship, particularly between Dean and Michael. He is an amazing teacher in both stories, another very believable and enjoyable aspect to your writing!

And that very last scene - pancakes! Yay! (Just had pancakes for breakfast, heehee) Such a perfect image of home for them - rowdy and chaotic and fun, a complete change to the darkness of the rest of the story.

Now, having written one of the longest reviews I've ever done...

Thanks for a brilliant read, and I can't wait 'til July! *crosses fingers, toes and tails hopefully*

Author's Response:

Thank you so much.  I want Dean to have his heart's desire so badly when the show is over (I can say it without getting upset -- probably because I own the DVDs).  I want Sam happy too.  I want redemption and happiness and both of them still doing what they love and know is right, without demon blood helping them along. 

As for Meg, I loved that demon.  She was great and I'd love to see her come back.  If Anna can get her body back why can't Meg?  Even Dean got his body back.  We should start a letter writing campaign...bring back Nicki...naw, I know, let them write their story.

I've never had a problem with Dean hunting and having a family mainly because military families let their active duty member go off to war on a regular basis and it's not the end of the world for them.  I've had people say "but it doesn't follow them home" like it could with Supernatural -- tell that to the guy who messed with my car in order to make a point.  If he'd decided to use a bomb instead of sugar in the gas tank, it would have been a very different lesson.  So, I can see them hunting for as long as they want to with a loving family waiting for them to come home.  I wanted to show that Liz was strong enough that she could let Dean go (tell him to get out the door) and still not fall apart. 

My other dream - to see Dean as a father.  He'd make a great, great father.  I hope that at some point next season they give us an episode that shows us the future and that it's not all terrible.  Think I'll get that?  I doubt it too but I can dream.

So, longest review ever...longest reply.  Thank you again.  I loved writing this story but I enjoyed people responses to it even more.  A redemption story is always fun to write.

Kim

WOW WOW WOW... once again an update from this fic makes my day!! Its so beautifully written, and the flashbacks just add so much to the drama of the story line.

Plus Dean as a dad (and in a mini!!) definitely put a smile on my face :)

Thanks for this and I can't wait to see what else you have in store!! Have a good time until we meet again on the other side

B xx

Author's Response:

I'm very happy to make your day. 

Confession... I own a Mini and think they're the greatest cars.  If I ever write Dean in a car beside the Impala, it will likely always be a Mini. 

Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the ending!

You have outdone yourself. That must have been so challenging to write and yet it flowed effortlessly. The torture scene and Dean's approach to it really had me seeing this terrifying broken, dangerous creature forged in hell - stellar writing really!

Like the pace of the relationship between Dean and Elizabeth - the way he clings to her for forgiveness because she gave him back some semblance of himself - wonderful stuff.

Keep repeating myself Mary but you are doing a wonderful job on this - it has everything, action, pace, intrigue and such a depth of emotion. I count it as time very well spent and look forward to the last chapter.

Great read. Abi.

Author's Response:

I like that.  Describing Dean as a creature forged in hell.  When he's pushed that way I think he's really no longer the person he once was, no matter how much he wishes he was.  I think he needs to resolve his old self with his new self before he'll be happy. 

Thanks again.  I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow and the final chapter up on Sunday.  Hope the end doesn't disappoint.

You continue to augment the present with the past in a fluid way. Both time zones have so much going on in them.

In the past - the tension between the brothers is palpable and cuts through those tight bonds of brotherhood we all look upon as unbreakable. The way you write Ruby's character is spot on in my estimate - she is like a permanent thorn in the most venerable spot in Dean's defences. She appears to have slithered into the growing space between him and Sam.

Does that language mean anything? Nice touch that Demons would have their own language and that Dean might recognize it from hell. The betrayal was brutal - Sam under the influence definitely, but leading himself there. Equally powerful is Dean's rebuttal that Sam is gaining all this power for him. Really superbly well written.

The future is being played out nicely too, it's the small touches that give this story it's solidity. For instance that bit about changing the combination locks - it speaks to Sam clearer than the six or seven times his brother tells him to get lost. Meg is also a great device - her history with Dean gets his immediate attention.

Story has me on the very edge of the seat - and just who is that masked chick Dean runs to?!!!!

Onward ....

Author's Response:

The Poem, I found out recently, was written by a Italian Poet.  Very famous.  It's called "Inno A Satana" (Hymn to Satan).  I'm assuming it's Italian but I've no idea.  If you're curious it was written by Giosue Carducci and it's much, much longer.  Now for the confession...I didn't know any of this when I found the poem.  I found it on the Church of Satan website -- not because I have leanings that way but because I was curious.  I have the translation, I know what it says but decided if anyone wanted to know, they'd ask. 

Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews.  I love long, detailed reviews, they always make me think. 

Kim

That was beautiful.Your writing is great, and the characters you've made up seem so believable. I'm not always a big fan of time jumps in stories, but I have no problem with it in this story. You switch between the different years at the right times, when we're wondering why and what..

Keep it up, please:)

Author's Response:

Thank you so much.  Funny enough, I'm not particularly fond of time jump stories either, they tend to take a lot of work to follow what's going on.  I tried very hard to make the changes at appropriate times.  Its a lot harder to do than it may seem.  It means a lot to me that this story is working for you.

Thanks for reading and leaving a review.  I really appreiciate it.

Seven chapters, all done, a chapter posted every day.  Won't be long and this will be over.

Kim

wow this is really good. love all the different time lines you have going on, and how they reveal just a little more each time. Can't wait for more xx

Author's Response:

Thank you very much.  It was a pain in the arse to write, and even more difficult to put together but I like the finished product.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

OMG!  I absolutely love this story!  Gah, I don't usually go for this kind of futurefic (with the boys no longer together) but I know you're writing and I always enjoy it so I tried this one out and I have not been disapointed.  The way you're gradually revealing the whole picture with flashbacks is really well done and the state of their relationship is done so well as to be believable and intriguing.  I also love the OCs you've introduced.  I can't wait for the next update! :)


Author's Response:

It all started with a comment someone made about "what would Sam do if Dean walked away?"  I became intrigued with the idea.  This is the story that resulted.  Sam's walked away several times and now Dean's hinted at it twice...wonder what will happen when Dean's had enough?

Thanks for the review and the wonderful comments.  I had a hard time with this story and it makes my day to know that it's working.