The Devil's Lions - Part 6
Part 6 - Epilogue
In a terrifying vision of deja vu, telegrams declared the death of lions, and the workers flooded back. Trains began their regular rotations, bringing the men and supplies needed to get the project back onto schedule. The bridge took shape, and the camp was alive with activity and excitement. To hear the workers tell it, they had all been present at the kills, had all played a part.
Sam didn’t care. Let them celebrate. They were all alive, the lions were dead, and the job was nearly back on schedule. And he had received a note from Jess.
Are you excited?
Dean laughed when he saw the note. “Am I gonna have another niece or nephew pretty quick here? Me and Samuel will babysit, so you and the wife can have some alone time, you know, cuz of how excited you are.”
Sam blushed red, and punched Dean in the shoulder. “Christ, stop it. I just can’t believe you’re still here. What about looking for Dad?”
“You said you’d help me. And we still have a while before we know if he got the news or not. We can wait to see your wife and get off of this continent.”
Sam wasn’t sure what to think about Dean’s sudden lax attitude about finding their father. Granted, with the yellow-eyed demon dead, there were few threats that John Winchester hadn’t faced and killed with ease on his own. So he wasn’t about to complain.
The brothers were leaning against one of the main support beams of the bridge, watching the organized chaos of the construction when a runner from the depot found them.
Sam didn’t even wait for Dean. He took off running, a wild grin on his face. At the depot, a wave of deja vu hit him again. The press of the crowd, the long grass, Jess in her white dress… He blinked away the images and realized that Jess was waving at him and calling. The world narrowed down to her, and he pushed his way through the crowd and onto the platform. He swept her up into his arms and kissed her.
She responded with equal heat, but suddenly started laughing. The kiss broke, and Sam stepped back, brow creased. “What?”
“My wild American is even wilder for being in Africa. Is it everything you dreamed of?”
“It doesn’t matter, I dreamed about you more.” He swooped in for a second kiss, but stopped short at the sound of an unfamiliar yelp. He looked down to see an active and slightly fussy baby in her arms. His stomach bottomed out when he realized that it was their baby.
Jess smiled up at him. “Do you want to hold your son?”
Tears blurred his vision, and he nodded, unable to speak. But he hesitated, terror and excitement and love causing his hands to shake. “Wh-what’s his name?” he finally managed.
“Robert John. After my grandfather and your father.”
“Won’t he be proud?” Dean’s voice broke the moment, but Sam didn’t care.
He grabbed Dean’s arm and pulled him closer. “Jess, this is my brother, Dean. Dean, this is my wife.”
Jess’s eyes widened, and flicked between the brothers. “Oh. I think we have some catching up to do,” was all she said, and then added, “It’s lovely to meet you, Dean.”
“And you. Sam’s a lucky man, to have found such a lovely lady to spend her life with him.”
“I like to think so.” She smiled and then turned back to Sam and hefted baby John a little higher in her arms. “It’s okay. You can hold him. He won’t break.”
Sam still hesitated.
“You kill lions and build bridges, but you’re too scared to hold your kid,” Dean smirked.
“Hey, this is two different things entirely,” he replied, voice still shaking. “And the bridge still isn’t built, and I only killed the lions with your help.”
“Here I thought that you’re a grown man - well, you’re overgrown, that’s for sure - but it looks like I still have some work as the older brother.”
Sam looked between them, his wife, son and his brother. His father was still possibly missing, but the demon was dead, and while there would always be something to hunt, he could see a possible balance between the lives, how to still have his normalcy while helping Dean. And for the first time in a long time, he felt complete.
“Yeah. Look’s like we have work to do.”
Fin.
Back to Part 5 // Master Post