**Epilogue: Dean**

The junker car they had grabbed for the trip to Colorado wasn't even worth comparing to the Impala from Dean and Sam's childhood. But that car was missing along with its owner, so they had to take what they could get. The car was too quiet for Dean's taste, but the guy who just lost his girlfriend deserved to call the shots every once in a while so Dean didn't complain.

But Sam himself, though, was too quiet for Dean's taste. Too driven, too scary focused. And Dean had to say something about that.

"You can leave me," he offered.

It took a moment for Sam to blink, pull himself together and turn his eyes off the road for a second to look at Dean.

"What?"

"I can stay with Pastor Jim or whoever," Dean shrugged. "Or drop me off in a big enough city where no one will notice a minor on his own. You don't need to be dragging me around the country while you try to find Dad."

Sam swerved the car sharply, landing them half on the shoulder of the road and half on the grass.

"Dean, I'm not leaving you," Sam stated bluntly.

"Look at me man," Dean protested, holding up his small hands with his skinny arms. "What good am I to you like this? I don't know if you've been paying attention over the last decade and a half, but this isn't going to change any. I'm no good in a fight, I can't interview witnesses, I attract all kinds of attention. You need a real partner, not some kind of lame-ass Peter Pan."

Sam, to Dean's surprise, grinned.

"Peter Pan?" he mocked. "Seriously, dude?"

"He never grows up," Dean explained.

"You can't even fly," Sam pointed out. "That's why we're stuck driving to Colorado instead of taking a plane like normal people."

"Whatever," Dean growled.

Sam sighed. His huge hand landed on Dean's skinny shoulder.

"Look, Dean, I don't care about any of that crap. And there's no way I'm leaving you at Pastor Jim's."

"Sammy…"

"Dean, I need you here, okay?" Sam blurted out. "I just… You help me just by being here. And if you were gone… Things would be a lot worse."

Sam's words stayed in the air, cramming the small stuffy car.

"Okay," Dean agreed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "C'mon, Sam, get back on the road. We're wasting daylight."

"You know," Sam commented as he merged into traffic. "Peter Pan could swordfight, too. Last I checked, you couldn't do that, Dean."

"Shut up and drive, Sam."