Great story. I loved the why Dean open up to Sam about there Mom. And your right some of there shit are colorful.

Oh, that was just plain FUN! So much warmth and caring and sharing. (And it was nice to get a hint at just what it had done to Dean seeing Sam die in front of him...again.) And the stuff with the shirts was awesome. One of my friends has been doing "Sammy shirt watch" for years now...she's gonna LOVE this story, LOL!

This was such a sweet story! I'm gonna share it on Facebook. :D I loved how you looked at their clothing that represented so much of their lives without dwelling on it-I especially loved the khaki that sharply reminded Dean of his little trip through Not-so-Wonder-Land. :( Such a good point! The conversation between them was scrumptious! I wish they could take more time to do that in the series, but time is so short on TV! You made this moment so personal, so private between them I felt like that proverbial fly on the wall, privileged to have been there.

Memories of family before Mary's death were cool, but sweeter because Dean shared them with his brother. And then, wow, Michael used that one last memory of John to torture Dean-nicely done!

I have to agree with the middle aged lasy about the shirt. Sammy's so hot I don't even remember his shirt in that episode. I'm guessing by your story it was yellow? When I watch my boys it's rare that I notice their clothes! Anyway you did a really fantastic job. Anna...GGGRRRRRRRRR I hated her after this episode!

I thought the 'pink' shirt looked totally gay and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Sam wearing it. :P I don't remember the 'banana' shirt, so I'll have to pay attention when I watch that ep again. It makes logical sense they would pick up odds and ends at thrift stores, but I never entertained the idea, so great job of coming up with that explanation for some of the 'interesting' shirts.

I liked that you had Dean make a comment about John looking like he wanted to deck Sam for saying their Mom was beautiful because, yeah, where was Sam's brain-to-mouth filter? LOL I also loved hearing Dean share some of his Mom memories with Sam. It was sweet.

Another great one. Your stories add so much to the canon we know, and it all makes perfect sense. I loved how you mixed things we know with things you imagined when Dean told Sam about his childhood. The way you had the dirty clothes cue a memory run for Dean was a stroke of genius. The way the boys were teasing each other was spot on, and I always love to see an extension on any whump that may have happened in an episode. You rock, girl, and I'm a fan.

This made me laugh aloud and I again enjoyed your text very much. I seem to keep repeating the same things, but I have to say again that you've caught the boys very well. Dean's protective attitude is just in its place in this. And the discussion between the brothers, all the little jokes and everything, just great.

The shirts of Sam, oh, I've noticed them too. You really made me laugh with those flashbacks (the sales clerk)! And the amulet-thing, aww (and I also felt bad in there because I watched yesterday "Dark Side of the Moon"), and Sam keeping Dean's clothes...

And I liked the part where Dean told about his childhood with his mom, those memories were alive and I can see the little Dean running to catch a ball... Cute.

Great work, I liked this. Thank you again.

At last! I'm finally catching up on some fics that I set aside and this was such a gem of a read! I really enjoyed this episode and you highlighted many of the moments that stood out for me, there was something so powerful in seeing all four Winchesters together and fighting for each other.

The close examination of Sam's vast array of weird and wonderful shirts made me smile! And I really liked how each one brought reminders to Dean about the past and the ever changing state of his relationship with his brother. It was a neat way of showing how much they've been through.

Great insight with the the demon healing verses Angel healing. I love it when authors pick up on things that I haven't thought about before because you're right, it really does fit canon that Sam wouldn't be completely healed and healthy that fast especially considering time travel was also involved!

Sam's face when he saw his mother for the first time was such a touching moment and I really liked how you used this to spark him into asking Dean questions about her. The moments you chose were everyday life memories and I guess that's what makes Dean treasure them. The fact that they represent a simpler and innocent time in his life. Dean swearing when he was kid reminded my of the story my Mum loves to tell about how when I was little she came back from work and asked me how my day was and I said “Daddy lost the blo*dy can-opener!”

But I guess what I enjoyed the most was the tone of this fic. You managed to keep it in canon, true to the boys and their struggles with the apocalypse and vessels but with a hopeful and positive outlook. Plus it was so nice to just see them joking around and talking about their childhood.

This was such a treat to read and I'm just sad that it's over! Take care and I hope you're still writing! Abbi

You do such an incredible job with the boys. I really enjoyed the trips back to Dean's memories for Sam and the idea of Sam being stuck with shirts no one else is big enough to wear. He does look like his chest goes on for miles.

Sweet and superb followup to "Meet The Parents!"

As always, you amaze me.

sid

That was gorgeous. Beautiful tag, beautiful schmoop - loved it being darkish myself. Loved it.

Phoebe

Fantastic fic!

Awesome story, never read anything like that before. I mean, yeah, we all had noticed Sam's various shirts, and I practically love his entire collection-but you've described each and every story hidden behind his shirts-just fabulous. My fav line is-

"You pay him no mind, honey." The 50-something sales clerk winked at Sam as she passed by. "A face like yours, trust me…no one will be looking at the shirt."

Very very true. Aw man, he is such a gorgeous boy.

Love it,

Ritu.

OMG! THIS WAS AWESOME!

omgomgomgomgomgomgomg...this was brilliant! AND YES! ANGELS LIE!

i'm so glad you fixed him!

yaya

God, how did I miss this in my inbox? have just dumped a ton of stuff and found you!

Gah, flails at the angsty goodness. When was the last time we saw real *care* on Show? What I really love about this is this one line that really jumped out at me: "Because it wasn't your freakin' destiny to die in some backwoods cabin in 1978... We have bigger roles to play, remember?"

Isn't it awful to be in a situation where some small part of Dean might possibly think it would be better for Sam to die ahead of that awful destiny, especially as Show is giving hints that he has actually lost hope in Team Free Will?

That was a particularly vile shirt. Cackles: no shirt of Dean's is going to fit those shoulders! Totally love the History of the Shirts introspection...

xZ

Gosh, I've got so much love for this fic, it's such a lovely portrayal of the boys! I hope the show can go back to a somewhat similar relationship between Sam and Dean in the remaining episodes of S5. Awesome job you did again!