There's no way to get beyond this. No way to soften the blow.
"I wouldn't have believed in an afterlife without seeing it boys." John said mildly, "...Both sides. There's a hell of alot more communication between them then they'd want us to believe."
He shakes his head, "...The short straw is...something's hitting this town. Something bad. And I was told...that I had to come back. That you two were in danger. That alot of people were in danger but you two..."
His gaze goes to Dean, and then to Sam, "Final business I guess you could call it. I didn't ask if there was any catch-22 I needed to be aware of, but the fact remains that I'm here to keep-well...keep people safe. Keep you two safe, first and foremost."