Thanks for writing! I love how patient Sammy is in this. In response to your author's note, wow you must have been really disappointed with Season 8... I honestly could not understand the way the writers made Sam that way in S8 though... Just so out of character. And I hate how we didn't see any hurt/comfort for Dean regarding purgatory...sigh. well I guess it's why fanfiction exists!

I just read this story again after literal months of searching for it, and by golly, I think it's even better on this read-through! You have a beautiful sense of pacing, both on a large and small scale, and this was a delight to read. Thank you for sharing it with us!

"Sam feels his heart clench in his chest, and he lets out a sound halfway between a gasp and a sob."

Dammit, me too, Sam, me too. ;-;

Oh, man. The part where he couldn't write it down- I actually whispered "That's so fucking cool" out loud to myself.

this is really, *really* good! and that's coming from someone who doesn't usually like h/c fics. :-) thanks so much for taking the time to write and share this!

This was great.
You did a awesome job.
Thank you for sharing your time and talent.

Loving this.

Woohoo!

cool i love supernatural!

" Dean never lets himself forget Cas' warning: "eating monsters will eventually turn you into a monster yourself."

This is where in my story I have Dean cross the line,I didn't populate Purgatory with any creatures but monsters, so Dean had to eat them in order to survive. But it did change him as a result.

I think this is sooo cool that you and I wrote stories that so closely parallel each other. I love how much care Sam gives Dean in your story. If you read mine you will see that I went down a slightly different path but the brotherly dynamic stays intact too.

OH, this is like deja vu! I wrote a fic about Dean coming back from purgatory and your description of him in this story is like a page right out of my own. I started writing my fic back in June but just finished it the end of August. It's called "All the Better to Hunt With" please read it, the similarities of your vision of Dean and mine are so similar it's uncanny. Proves great minds think alike -hehe.

It just made sense to me that Dean would be almost feral, have long hair and a beard by the time Sam gets to him. No barbershops, no way to shave or cut his own hair. And I don't even want to think about his toenails! (LOL) And what would he eat there anyway?

Great story...very real and well written

Amazing story and I COMPLETELY agree with you wanting to see the good ole days back. I am so glad that you made Cas be ok, and that you didn't make him kind of turn into the bad guy. I've seen a couple stories where they made it so that Cas abandoned Dean completely, and those make me sad. While I know Cas messed up last season, none of them have been perfect, and while I love Dean, he could have handled the situation a heck of lot better, so I have a hard time laying all the blame on Cas. Anyway, I'm just hoping that we'll see him back next season, back to his normal goofy self. Anyway, all that aside, I think you did a fantastic job with this story.

Let me start by saying, I loved this story.

I say this over at hoodietimeLJ and I tried to print it out, but chapter three was being a SOB. Then I saw that you had a link over here and I was happy. Printed up chapter three with not problems, thank you ffnet, and started reading.

The amulet: Love how it was sooooooo important to the rescue and to Dean's recovery. If Jeremy C. does nothing else for us fans, he should at least put us out of our misery and have Sam (it is assumed by all that he has it somewhere) give Dean back his amulet.

Sam: SAM RESCUED DEAN. I want that to really happen, I agree with your end a/n, SAM NEEDS TO RESCUE DEAN. I saw the spoilers (which I will not mention) and I can only shake my head. I love Sam taking care of Dean. I got the feeling that Sam just wants to take his terrified big bro in his arms and just hold him until all the fear is gone.

Dean: OMG poor baby. 'I 'just want to take him in my arms and protect him from his nightmares. But once his mind clears, 'Sammy' is the first thing he needs. LOVE.

Jody and Anita: Two 'motherly' women who help Sam take care of Dean. Mary is smiling.

Impala: LOL, I would love to see a shapeshifter take on the form of Baby.

Cas: HE GO BOOM! That's right, Dean doesn't need you. Goodbye.

I have maybe one little thing that sticks in my mind, I would think that Sam would want to sleep a little closer to Dean? Maybe it is me, but I may have wanted Sam always no further than arm's length from Dean? Not really a nitpick, but just a personal preference.

Love this story, this should be episode one of the new season. October needs to get here.

Wonderful! ;-D