Thanks for sharing this with us, such an excellent story. I was braced for pain and shock, but you slowly healed both Sam and Dean and me the reader too. I love the style of your writing, the angst that isn't gratuitous, how taut it is. I can see it going down like this, only it's more hopeful than I expected, and that's a gift. That desperate hope that somebody damaged will be themselves again - come back - cuts deep.