this is so ... bittersweet i think is the right word. It is so different from canon, the low swealdering resentments both of them have, and you have portraid it perfectly. I can completely see this happening, if canon hadn't happened as it did

I loved this story. Just thought you should know.

I really liked this fic. It featured many of my favorite things: Dean being able to live without Sam (even though he misses his brother), Dean finding a balance between hunting and a normal life, Dean/Lisa and Dean&Ben (Ben was so awesome in this!)... And Sam misjudging Dean and then coming to see his mistake, so there's a promise of things getting better now between Dean and Sam too :)

Thank you!

Hi,
love it. Poor Dean though :). I think you managed to portray everyone very realistically.
Greetings Yorushike

Loved this! Hated that Sam turned into a pompous, self-righteous, bitter man. It made me angry that he instantly assumed Dean was drunk at Jess's funeral when he knew the type of dangerous jobs Dean did. I'm glad that Dean got with Lisa and Ben. Thank you for sharing.

love it

awwwww...just...awwwww

I enjoyed this. It's an interesting what if? Scenario.

Ok, so I read this a while ago, and just skimmed through it right now and am now wondering - who's John's contact? The one with the brown eyes? I'm not sure if you explained or hinted at his identity here, and I really want to know.

Really awesome story. It's a really interesting look at what their lives might have been like had Sam actually stepped out of their lives for good when he went off to Stanford. Except, you can't ever really get out of the life. Even when you leave it, it comes back to you with a vengeance. At least he knew that Dean would help him out. Or... he found that out when Bobby actually forced him to call.

I loved the life with Lisa and Ben and seeing all of the background scenes to the story of Sam and Dean up until this point. It all came together very nicely to create this awesome story. :D

It would have been really nice to see a bit more at the end when Sam and Dean are working out their issues. Especially Sam coming to the realization that Dean hadn't been drunk, but had tried to come even with a cracked skull.

Some of my favorite lines:

And then his father's world had reached out with greedy, horrible fingers to grab one more Winchester.

His wife was dead, and Peter would never truly remember his mother, and his family really was cursed.

Awesome. I really enjoyed this exploration of the brothers relationships.

Good story!

This was so awesome! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Thank you, I enjoyed that so much - although it made me so sad that so much time had been wasted between Sam and Dean over silly misunderstandings - but isn't that so typical of families?

I loved the characterisation - I loved Lisa and Ben. Liked the clever incidental touches like the refs to Azazel, the scars, and Gabriel(?).

It was interesting how Sam seemed so alone - the mantra of the show is definitely 'family above all' and I had a sense that things will get better for him now he's not turned his back on his (extended) family.

Thanks for sharing!

Hmmm it was disapointing in a way you know because most authors don't really like Sam, so the brother love was missing alot.