Chapter Two
Second Thoughts
Dean and Lisa were blissfully unaware of what was going on at Sam's. Ben was in his room, as usual, so the two of them were enjoying a rare night alone. They knew that Savannah was on her way to college, but they had celebrated with her earlier in the week. They kept their phones on, in case she wanted to call, but had full and complete faith she was with her father. A faith that was about to be shattered. Dean's cell rang, and, annoyed at the interruption, he checked the caller ID. It was Savannah. Lisa told him to answer the phone, talk to Savannah, and then they'd be able to get back to their night.
"Hey, baby girl. You guys at the airport?"
"Uncle Dean?"
Savannah's voice broke in a way that scared Dean out of his annoyance and made him nearly jump off the couch. "Savannah? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm, um, I'm at the airport."
"Where's your dad?" Dean asked.
"I'm alone."
Surely I didn't hear that right. "You're what?"
"I'm alone. Mom and Daddy forgot. They left to have a date night."
"Savannah, what are you talking about?" Dean asked. Savannah told him the whole story, and Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Son of a bitch."
Lisa, who had gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water, heard Dean curse into the phone. "Dean? What's wrong?"
"Savannah, hang on a second honey, okay? What time does your flight leave?"
"I've still got more than an hour." Savannah said.
"Okay. Listen up. Get somewhere safe, okay? I'll call you right back." Dean swore. "Keep your phone on you."
"Okay."
"Everything's gonna be okay, kid. Promise." Dean said as he hung up the phone.
"Dean? What? Talk to me." Lisa said.
Dean gripped his phone hard enough his knuckles were turning white. "Sam forgot that he and Savannah were supposed to leave tonight."
"How the hell did he forget that?" Lisa practically screamed. "It's all they've been talking about for weeks."
"I don't know. But I'll for sure be kicking his ass for it tonight." Dean said.
"Where's Savannah?"
Dean actually laughed at that. "She got pissed at Sam for forgetting, so she took cash out of his wallet and his credit card and went to the airport. She's already checked in and through security for her flight."
Lisa's eyes bulged. "What…?"
"Yeah." Dean took a breath.
"What should we do? Should we go pick her up?"
Dean thought about that for a minute. "No."
"Dean…"
"Savannah'll be fine. She's already there and on her way. I'll tell her what to do, and tell her to call me every step of the way. If we go pick her up now, by the time she gets another flight, it may be too late to get there in time." Dean explained. "Trust me, I don't like it either, but we have to have faith in her."
"Okay." Lisa said, though she clearly couldn't stand the idea.
"I'm going to call Savannah back. Can you go pick up Morgan? Bring her back here?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. I got it." Lisa said. "Wait. Where are Jess and Sam?"
"Savannah said something about a date night, that they'd be back later tonight."
"Yeah. I'll go get her. Let me know what happens." Lisa said, picking up her car keys.
"I will." Dean dialed Savannah's number, and she answered on the second ring.
"Uncle Dean?"
"Hey, baby girl. You okay?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Savannah said. "Can you guys go get Morgan?"
"We're already on it." Dean said. "You got money on you, baby girl?"
"Just Daddy's credit card." Savannah answered. "He's gonna be so mad at me for taking it…"
"Baby girl, the last thing that you need to worry about right now is your dad being mad at you. You're right, you shouldn't have taken it without permission, but you left a note and told him why. I won't let him get on you about this." Dean said.
"Uncle Dean, what do I do? I can't move into the dorm for another couple of days…"
"Slow down, baby girl. I'm gonna tell you, okay? But you have to be calm. Take some deep breaths." When Savannah was finally breathing normally, Dean continued. "Do you remember if your dad made hotel reservations?"
"I don't know." Savannah said.
"Okay. Listen to me. Do you have your tablet with you?"
"Yeah."
"Use the time on the plane to book yourself a room for tonight and tomorrow. Use your dad's card to pay for it and for a cab there from the airport. Can you handle that?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." Savannah answered.
"Okay. And text me. Every step of the way. When you board, when you turn the phone off, when you land, when you're off the plane in the airport, when you've got your bags…you get the drift?" Dean asked.
"Got it." Savannah said.
"When you're at the room, call me. We'll talk more then. Don't be scared, baby girl. You can do this." Dean said.
"I'm not worried about all that, uncle Dean." Savannah said.
"Then what?" Dean asked, even though he already knew.
"They forgot." Savannah said, barely stifling a sob. "I thought I mattered to them. They did this again."
Dean's heart broke. "I know, baby girl. I know. Trust me, when I get my hands on your dad, he's toast."
"I didn't want to be alone for this." Savannah said. "I needed him."
"Savannah Marie Winchester, listen to me." Dean said. "I don't care what happens. I don't care how I have to do it. I'll drive there myself if I have to. But I swear to you, you will not be alone this weekend. Do you hear me?"
Savannah felt weight lift off her shoulders, enough to make her smile. "Thank you, uncle Dean."
"You're welcome, kiddo. I love you. Call me back if you need to. I don't care what time it is." Dean said. "Go get you something to eat."
"I will. I love you too."
When Dean hung up the phone, he fought the urge to throw and break his phone. Savannah would need him again, and that was the only thing making him keep his temper. Dean suddenly got an idea. He called Ben into the room to help him, and forty-five minutes later, Dean was on his way out the door. Dean had bought two tickets to RDU for later that night, and, with luck, Sam and Jess would be able to meet Savannah at her room early the next morning. Ben had tracked down the position of Sam's cell phone, and Dean sped away towards them. He found them almost an hour after hanging up the phone with Savannah. As he parked the Impala, Dean saw them. Sam and Jess were sitting on a blanket together at the other end of the lake. Sam had his arms around Jess, laughing and smiling at something Jess was saying, as if nothing was wrong. It pissed Dean off. He had a hand on his door handle when his cell phone went off again.
"Hey, baby girl. You on the plane?"
"Yeah. We're about to take off." Savannah said. "Did you find Daddy?"
"I did. I'm about to go talk to him now." Dean said. "But you've got to go."
"Yeah." Savannah said.
"Be safe, baby girl. I love you, okay?"
"I love you too, uncle Dean. Will you tell mom and Daddy I love them too?" Savannah asked.
"I will. See you soon, baby girl."
"Bye, uncle Dean."
Dean's phone beeped and Savannah hung up. As Dean snapped his phone shut, he suddenly felt a deep sense of foreboding. His stomach tightened painfully, and he was worried. Mistaking the feeling for anger, Dean got out of the car and headed towards Sam and Jess just as Savannah was listening to the flight safety instructions. Less than two hours later, Dean would be wishing that his biggest problem was dealing with Sam.
