Great story =)

Oh, another brutally painful portrayal of John and I loved it. The fear for an alone Sam must have been so excruciating for him and my heart aches for that - for him. And Dean. The poor kid... the aftermath of Sam's leaving must have been as devastating as the actual departure. I want to hug both father and son here.
Thank-you!

I'm trying to think of something specific to point out that I especially liked, because that's the kind of review that I always like to get. But I am coming up blank because it was all beautiful. From Dean standing dumbfounded at the door to John wanting to go to the window and call them back to the whole entire thing at the bar. Gah. This was great. Very well done.

This is excellent. I'm surprised it doesn't have a lot more reviews!

You do conflicted!Johnny brilliantly.

He loves Sam, and wants to keep him safe, but he wants him to be happy and it's obvious he's not, but he doesn't want to let him go because he won't be protected, and at the heart of it all he's Mary's little boy, she died for him, and he's the last thing he has left of her. (You wrote it much better than that of course!)

"John finally admitted to himself that he hadn’t really expected Dean to come back either.

Somehow, that hurt his head more than the light and the drink and the noise combined, so he stopped thinking altogether."

This line made me want to cry. one of the best closings I have read.

Very, very good fic!
Cathy.

This one broke me - John is a character I think you either love or hate, and I'm one who loves him, despite the many evident faults. All he ever wanted to do was avenge Mary and protect the family he had left. His pain & worry over Sammy came over so well here - and his heart wrenching admission to himself that he hadn't expected Dean to come back to him. He's a man as damaged as Dean, with different ways of hiding it.

"The wisecrack, buoyed by neither enthusiasm nor humor, fell onto the table and puddled with the beer that the booth’s last occupant had spilled." - A line I really wish I could have written!

Nice story. I kinda wished they would've done something with that, had a flashback or something. But I guess fanfics will have to do! :)

--You don’t want to hunt? Fine, well, write something nice on our tombstones, if you can find the time in your busy schedule, and Sammy said Sure, how about Rest in Peace, **? and went back to his book?--

Ha! I love the fic but that line was the best.