John swallowed hard around a rising tightness in his throat. There was more to tell and he was holding it back? Jesus. That was never good. How bad had it gotten for them? How bad had it gotten for Sammy?

"Sammy did it, huh?" He had heard as much from Dean, even if Sam tried to brush off that credit. John couldn't help the surge of pride, even as his eyes began to well up. The angel had seen right through to the heart of his fears; that he had been so obsessed with his hunt for the demon that he had failed Sam and Dean on a fundamental level. The emotions were too new and too raw for him to even attempt to tamp them down.

"I'm glad he didn't have to do it alone," he managed. "Thank you."