I really hope that Dean can make good on his promise.

That was so heartbreaking - not only Dean's confession but Sam's too. They both have such a long way to go. And I fear that Sam is right - things will never be quite the same between them ever again.

Let's just hope the Markus doesn't get past John and Deacon. That's the last thing either of the boys needs right now.

So, Dean's going off to find Dominic - but something tells me he's not ready for this. I hope that one of the other hunters can go with him as backup. And Sam isn't ready to leave the hospital - the insurance thing, I'm guessing, was another of Dominic's little ploys to make things difficult for the Winchesters.

Dominic has to be eliminated.

Great writing, Bambers - can't wait to find out where all this goes.....Jules

Go, Dean!

My gosh, that man is a certified sick madman - he slept with his own daughter!! And that was just cruel, telling Dean that Shannon was carrying Dean's child when Dominic killed her.

Hopefully justice is about to be served, Winchester style.

Jules

Wow...that was so intense, hon.

And if they do take you away, I'll send you a cake with a file in it - lol!

I have a feeling, though, that the boys are still not out of the woods yet - Dominic's followers are still around somewhere. But thank heavens the bombs have been disarmed.

And Sam let Dean get close to him finally - that's got to be a good sign. They're hopefully one step further along their respective roads to recovery.

Jules 

I hope they find Dean soon - for both boys' sakes. This is so sad....

Both brothers are so scarred from what Dominic did - but I'm hoping it will only take a little push towards each other to get them on the path to healing. They've both got such a long way to go. Sam probably thinks Dean still hates him - and it's obvious Dean thinks the same.

Hopefully someone will step in and bring them back together so they can see they've both been wrong.....Jules

Huh.

John is uber sneaky, and that was a rather mean trick to play on Sam. So, were all the messages a ploy to get Dean to come home, too? John obviously knows that Dean's still alive, if he primed Sam to go after him.

Here's hoping that Sam finds Dean before too long. But I'm not sure whether they will ever forgive their father for his role in all this. Hopefully they can forgive themselves, and each other, for the way they have been manipulated.....Jules

I loved this one over on our original home, sn.tv - and I loved it just as much on the second read-through. Great job, Kris. Love your work hon. You just get better and better.

Ahh, the timeless love affair between the man and his car - *happy sigh*.....Jules

The tension just keeps stretching, like a rubber band pulled past its tolerance, but too tough to break.

I felt for John in this chapter - and you know what a big admission that is for me, since I'll tell anyone who will listen that I think John's a pr*ck. But I could feel each hit as he experienced it - each horrible, devastating revelation, each demonic blow to his metaphorical body, to his mind, to his sanity - and to his heart, as the show in Cold Oak began to play out.

John's pain and horror for his youngest just smacks the reader between the eyes, and keeps on smacking. I wanted to scream at the screen for the demonic hoarde to shut the flock up as they taunted him endlessly. The manoeuvring in the dark for the front row seats, the shifting of the flames, the fact that John wants so much to lash out but can't hit a target.....it alternately sends shivers down the spine and screams from the soul.

Hell of a read, hon. Hell of a read.

Jules

Could see John walling himself up so that nothing got in or out, despite being shattered into a million pieces by Sam's death and Dean's devastation. And the horde of hungry demons prowling around, incited more and more into a feeding frenzy like a pack of ephemeral sharks was positively creepy.

The self-examination that John was undergoing was an interesting insight into this very complex man. The analysis that he did on the YED's taunts about his failings as a father, and the knowledge that he had instilled in his sons a lot more than just how to be a weapon, was inspiring and touching at the same time. For all his faults, and I'm sorry but they were many, he did shape the boys into the men that they became, and in training them together, he helped to cement that brotherly bond that not even death could break. Not all of his choices were good ones, and some were downright ludicrous, but he instilled a set of uncompromising values in his sons in the matter of good versus evil, and not only how to fight but when to fight.

The devastation visited upon John all over again when Hell showed him the vision of Sam's body lying on the bed, and the subsequent crack in his defences was heart-rending. As were the demonic taunts and catcalls while Dean was pouring out his heart to his dead brother, with John having the front row seat.

And always, Yellow-eyes, ready to twist that sharp blade of defeat deeper and deeper into John's heart - into his soul, turning every thought to despair in an effort to break the man over and over again.

If I didn't know that there was a bullet topside with Azazel's name on it, I think I would be almost as despairing as John right now, after the relentless tearing and battering that he has been subjected to.

This is truly a masterpiece.

Jules

Okay, I'm back.

John's anguish over Dean's emotional bomb was palpable, screaming off the page. And his anger, not at Dean thank God, but at the manipulation of himself and his sons in the YED's grand plan, was achingly real. Everything had slammed into him with such force, it was a wonder that the emotional storm didn't rip John's soul to shreds more thoroughly than the fires of Hell had tried to do.

I could feel my heart sinking along with John's as he watched the deal being played out to its inevitable conclusion, could feel his frustration and panic in his need to get back topside any way he could, to save his sons from a fate literally worse than death.

And I think that I recoiled along with him when he used his hunter's and soldier's eyes to scope out his surroundings and saw the demonic horde for what they really were. I did appreciate his insights on the minor demons, though, when he realised that it was Azazel who kept them stirred up, and without his presence, they just became mindless, wandering vessels of evil.

But....I did get rather grossed out when they were sniffing and licking at the blood on his palms when he dug his fingernails into his flesh....ewwww! That gave me the shivers.

The fight was excruciating. And so intense. The battle in the flame-lit dark, the demons rending and tearing each other as well as John in a desperate, almost mindless, effort to break free of the Pit as the door slowly unlocked. The way that they were drawn to the blood and destruction like a pack of wild dogs - sent shivers down my spine.

And then the final confrontation, with John trying desperately to get his incorporeal body to move while Azazel taunted Dean and Sam, Bobby and Ellen tried to close the gate. I loved John realising that Sam would sense Dean in trouble. And it screams out at full volume how much love those two boys have for each other - not only Dean throwing away his life to get his brother back, but Sam leaving the gate, not caring that all of Hell could escape, to rush to his big brother's aid. And John drinking it all in during those final moments was the icing on the cake.

At last they connected as a family, without the threat hanging over them - well, with the new threat temporarily forgotten. At last John could show that he was a father as well as a hunter and a drill sergeant. At last he could reveal his pride in and love for his boys.

I've cringed, I've cried, I've shuddered, I've raged helplessly, and I've gasped in horror and anguish, all through this stunning epic. And I am left in awe.

This is truly a magnificent story.

Ju

I think I've read this once before, but I can't remember...anyway, it was a great read. I love the peek into the boys' childhood, and the way that Sam kept trying to repair the damage from his slip-up in the car.

And he's right - Dean really did raise him. And an awesome job he did on it, too....Jules

Uh-oh - they've already swapped, it seems. That was rather funny, having Sam in Dean's body with the girls ogling him.

Reading on.