“Geeze, Sammy, what the hell is easier than falling?” that is just SO Dean… loved the TV comments. Sam really likes his high horse, doesn’t he? All in all, I'm really glad there's another story to look forward to. Kinda curious about the Joss flashback, but looking forward to more. Update soon! Really, really soon, 'k?

What a fab first chapter..straight into the action..both boys hurt, wendigo still a threat! Can't wait for chapter two!

Thank you for another wonderful chapter!

I love how you keep having Sam rely on Dean's influence on him:

Sam closed his eyes and counted in his head, a trick he’d seen Dean do when he needed to hear something that he couldn’t see.

Nice observation. You describe their motivations so perfectly:

John wanted the bastard dead; Dean wanted to keep people alive.

And Sam saw in his brother something that, for him, had always been missing from his relationship with John: understanding.

Sam's so smart:

“How the hell are you going to stop anything bad from happening to me if you’re unconscious?” he snapped.

Nice description of Sam's thoughts about John while he was at Stanford, how he was angry, then nostalgic, then angry again after he disappeared:

When he left for school, he spent almost a year burning with anger at John, ... When he’d met Jessica his second year, the anger had drained and had been replaced by a strange sort of nostalgia. ... When Jess died and Dean showed up, finding Dad had consumed him. Each day that passed without contact turned the heat of his anger up a little more.

Yay for internal dialogue, when is Sam going to understand?:

But the two years that you were away were harder… but I can’t stand to see you so angry at him… but if you could just see how you are exactly like him …

OMG, the “We do what we do and we shut up about it.” story was absolutely perfect! John's reaction was wonderful, it was the perfect length, everything.

Man, you crack me up:)

“Anasazi!” ... “Bless you.”

I love how you give us the complete picture of the scene, mixing the dialog with the motions, just like watching it on TV:

He turned back to the rocks, methodically sifting through them as he spoke.

This is great, you again have captured the John/Dean dynamic so well:

“You see him a lot differently than I do.” ... “He was… he’s been two different people for me, Sam. You’ve only seen one.”

Jeez, Sam cuts straight to the chase:

“How long did it take you to forget what hurting feels like?”

And Dean thinking about Brenna was so sad. Maybe a future fic could be in the stars sometime down the road...

Another awesome chapter; you just keep getting better and better:)

awesome start.. Love it..update soon please

I'm so glad to see you back with a new story. Even though this one has both brothers hurt, I still can't help but have eyes for Dean. Sorry about the leg Sammy, but how are you going to comfort my boy? :) This was an exciting chapter, especially for the first one. I really enjoyed getting right to the action, and not having an exposition chapter. The use of the wendigos was great because you didn't have to waste a lot of time explaining the creatures to us, and let us have our hurt/comfort moments right from the beginning. The flashbacks worked well, and helped to explain the brother's background a little more without taking away from the action. It felt very natural, since they might be lost in memories while trying to cope with the pain. Thanks for providing a very exciting read. Can't wait for more.

I am not usually one to do reviews, mainly because I figure anything I say has already been said before. I had to make an exception for you though. I didn't find your stories until after your first two were written so I didn't get a chance to let you know how much I enjoyed them. Luckily, my sister pointed out to me that you had started a new one and ta da! Opportunity knocks. So, this is really for all the work you have on here. I think you're an incredible story teller. Your characters are so engaging and so well rounded that it's almost like I'm reading about people I know. To be honest, I was watching one of the first season episodes after reading Within My Hands and I had to pause for a minute because it was almost like they were acting wrong. I don't think I explained that well, but it's a good thing. :) I am very excited to see a new story from you and I can't wait for the chapter. Thank you for writing something worth re-reading a lot! :)

What a fantastic start! Hey, screw exhibition. Tossing us directly into the action is just fine. Love Dean's bravado. And the humor is great; I laughed out loud a couple times. You've got the brothers' voices down really well. Looking forward to reading more!

Liz

There's more, right? 'Cause this was really good. I'd love to see more of it!

supernatural mommy

Adding to Author Alert list - this is fantastic!

Great start! I loved your other stories & I cannot wait to see what you have planned for the brothers this time!

Great start, I cant wait to read more.

you have a gift for action.

AH! NO! I really enjoyed that chapter. A very fine start to a promising story.. and I gotta mention.. Riddick... MacGyver... _ two of my favorite people. RDA and Vin... M.. Can't wait for the next installment.

Wow, now that's a first chapter! I love me some good whumpage, and our boys are definitely feeling a bit worse for wear. Great start!

Wow.. you are the master! Such a long and beautiful chapter. I could NOT stop reading it.

The flashbacks were a great little addition to the story, and really added to it. They cut the chapter at the perfect times, and flowed nicely into the main story. Kept me interested! (not that I wouldn't be without them, cuz *damn* this is good writing!)

The most moving part of this chapter for me is the relationship between the boys. You've done a great job of bringing them to life, and keeping with their characters. Dean's smartass remarks were great, too! I love his response to "how many fingers am I holding up".

I hope you're a fast writer, because I can't wait for the next part!