Song Remains the Same

Epilogue: Things We Lost In The Fire

"There is no real ending.

It's just the place where you stop the story."
— Frank Herbert

...May 2nd, 1983
Lawrence, Kansas

In labor and delivery at Lawrence Memorial Hospital on a sunny Monday afternoon, an exhausted and happy new mother of twins nestled in bed with her two new babies cradled close. The brand new infants wore matching long sleeved white onesies and little knit caps provided by the hospital.

Mary Winchester studied their sweetly sleeping selves with fierce, vulnerable tenderness. She traced their faces and their cheeks, memorizing delicate eyelashes and little noses and the tiniest of movements and sounds. Humming Hush Little Baby softly, she briefly remembered when sweet little Dean was this small. A bittersweet pang struck her. Before she knew it, these two would be running around and be getting into everything. But for now... they slept snuggled up to each other, comforted by the other's closeness. She smiled—a weary, peaceful little turn of her lips upward. "Angels are watching over you, my sweethearts..." she whispered softly, transfixed by their perfection. Protective feelings welled deeply over the precious little new lives she'd loved since the day she found out they were coming.

There was a little knock at the door, and in came a handsome dark-haired man carrying their four year old son. "Hiya honey," he greeted with a big grin, then looked at the boy in his arms. "Someone order a big brother?"

Mary smiled back at her husband John and son Dean. This moment was the moment all mothers dream of and worry over. The moment when they would introduce their child to the new arrivals. Mary wasn't too worried though—Dean had been more than ready to be a big brother ever since John and Mary first told him about the twins. "Hi Dean baby!" Mary greeted brightly. "Wanna meet your brother and sister?"

John was already setting him onto the small empty space on the bed beside Mary. "Oh my gosh Mama!" A delighted Dean exclaimed reverently, reaching out to touch them gingerly in turn. "They're so little...!"

"Yeah buddy, they are," Mary said, pressing a kiss to her oldest son's head. "They're gonna need their big brother to look out for them, huh?"

"I can do that, Mom!" Dean said confidently, keenly examining his new siblings with bright eyes and a huge smile.

John settled in beside his family on a chair, studying the babies. "Which one is which, Mary?"

"This one's my brother," Dean said proudly before Mary could answer, touching his hand to one baby. "And this one's my sister."

Mary looked at her husband briefly in surprise, then stroked her son's head once. "Wow Dean, how'd you know that?"

"I can just tell," Dean replied matter-of-factly, finally looking away from the twins to give his mom a very pleading look. "Can I hold them? Pleaaase Mom?"

Mary fixed her son with a pointed, playful look. "That's a pretty big job. How about sit nice beside Mom and I'll help you?"

"Yeah!" Dean was already eagerly wiggling himself into the space beside her, holding his arms out. She carefully lifted Alexandra first, nicknamed Allie—she would only go by this nickname for the first year or so of her life, but Mary didn't know that. She let the baby lay across Dean's waiting arms, then she set baby Sam into the place where Mary and Dean were snuggled close. Mary kept an arm around Dean, just in case—but he was being very careful, impressively so for a four year old. It was obvious that he knew, even in his little mind, how important and special the moment was. "Mom, I can't believe this!" Dean said in his sweet little voice, staring at his sister then his brother in total gaping awe. "They're so... so... beautiful!" He carefully patted his little sister's head with all the finesse a four year old could muster. She grunted in response, her face wrinkling up. "Aww!" Dean exclaimed. He leaned a little closer and whispered, "I'm gonna be your big brother forever, okay?" Her arm flailed and her hand grabbed his pinkie finger hard. Dean got extremely excited and looked at Mary with a little gasp. "She's grabbing me Mom!"