Chapter Two
Sam opened the Impala's door and stepped out, grabbing his duffel bag from the floor of the passenger's side as he did so. John exited the driver's side and walked around the front of the Chevy towards his youngest son.
"Thanks for the ride," Sam said, smiling.
John returned the gesture but it didn't meet his eyes.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked, "There's still time to change your mind. We could go back to the motel room and forget about all of this."
Sam shook his head though. John nodded, knowing his son wasn't going to see things his way… well, not without a little help.
Sam hesitated for a moment before he reached out with both hands and hugged his father tightly.
"I'm not going away forever," he muttered, his face pressed against the shoulder of John's jacket.
The older hunter gripped his son tightly, "You'll be back before we know it."
Sam chuckled and broke away from the embrace, his expression suddenly sad.
"I wish Dean would have come," he told John. Dean had been the one so excited to hear that he wanted to go to college so it upset Sam slightly when he'd said he'd stay at the motel instead of going to the Greyhound station with them.
John shrugged, "I'm sure you'll hear from him soon."
Sam nodded and looked towards the big grey building with the Greyhound bus line logo above the doors.
"You'd better get in there," John said, "You don't want to be late."
Sam nodded and began walking towards the doors. Before entering the depot, he paused and looked back, "I'll call you when I get to California."
John nodded and waved a hand, watching his son disappear into the building. He walked around to the driver's side, opened the door and sat down, taking his cell phone out as he did so.
"Hey," he said as his eldest answered, "Just dropped Sam off. I'll be back soon."
John closed the driver's side door but didn't immediately pull out of the parking lot. He sat for a while, watching the doors, and thinking.
He was immensely grateful to Eli Flint for agreeing to help Sam, he didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't met the man, Sam was just so stubborn. John hoped Eli would be able to get through to him and help show him that he was needed as a hunter, that knowing what he knew about the things that were really out there made him selfish if he chose instead to go to some hoity-toity college.
John felt himself smiling, imagining being reunited with his youngest son again, Sam full of a renewed desire to hunt monsters and save innocent people.
Putting the Impala in drive, John pulled out of the parking lot and drove slowly back to the motel room, stopping once to watch a Greyhound bus as it drove past him on the road before continuing on.
SPN
Dean was so proud of his brother. He'd been just as surprised as John to find out that Sam had been accepted into one of the best colleges in the country; Dean though, hadn't been a dick about it.
After that initial argument while led to their father storming out of the motel room to go find a bar and get shit-faced, John seemed to have mellowed out.
Sam had been terrified of facing their father upon his return but it seemed that his younger brother's fear was all for naught. When they woke up the next morning- John had slipped back into the room while they were both asleep- he wanted to talk with Sam and seemed to have forgotten all about the shouting match they had had the night before.
Dean didn't know exactly what they said to each other- he left to go pick up breakfast so his father and brother could have some privacy- but Sam later told him that John was okay with him going away if it was what he truly wanted. Of course John wasn't happy about Sam's decision but he seemed to realize his youngest would be miserable if he didn't go to college. Dean also guessed that John was hoping Sam would get bored of it and come back in a few months.
The weeks leading up to Sam's departure were not strained exactly but tinged with anticipation. As school began to wrap up and the first day of July crept closer, that sense of excitement was so palpable Dean could have cut it with a knife. His brother talked non-stop about California and clearly couldn't wait to leave. Dean was happy for his brother but his throat tightened every time he thought about the fact that in a few short weeks Sam was not going to be with them anymore. It wasn't like his brother was leaving forever; Sam promised to call Dean as often as possible and that'd he'd come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas break too. Dean was glad his brother would be returning for the holidays, they just wouldn't be the same without Sam, he knew. Dean knew that it would take a little bit for him to get Sam's absence but he reminded himself that his brother was going to college, to make something of himself and he would be much happier in California than motel-hopping with them.
John seemed to realize that Sam was only focused on one thing: Stanford, and didn't try and push him into going on any hunts, asking only that he work on research. Dean was glad that their Dad wasn't forcing Sam to go with them on hunts, partly because he knew how much his brother disliked that part of the job and because he was certain something would happen with his sibling so distracted. John might not like the idea of Sam going to college but at least he appeared to accept that his youngest was going, no matter what he said. Dean secretly wondered if their Dad thought Sam would get tired of a normal, college student existence and come back to them.
Fat chance, Dean thought smugly; Sammy's stubborn, just like you, Dad.
W
The day Sam planned to head to California dawned bright and clear, a wonderful summer morning and not great for being cooped up in a bus for hours on end.
Dean felt more than a little bit emotional when he saw Sam packing his duffel bag after taking a shower. In just a few hours Sam would be on his way to college and Dean might not see him for a while.
John wasn't in the room. He had offered to go get breakfast so Dean and Sam were alone.
The older brother cleared his throat, drawing his sibling's attention to him.
"Sammy," Dean said thickly, cursing himself silently for getting all weepy, "You be careful, okay?"
Sam nodded, "What do you think's going to happen to me? I'm just going to school."
Dean shrugged, "You never know. You're a magnet for trouble."
Sam smiled, "I'll be okay."
Dean returned the gesture, feeling tears prick the corners of his eyes, "I know you will."
SPN
Sam stared out the large window of the Greyhound, chin propped up on the heel of his hand as he idly watched storefronts zip by.
He shifted in the seat, slightly uncomfortable. The room available for his legs was far too small and his knees were pressed hard against the back of the chair in front of him. Glancing to his left, he saw that the teenage girl sitting beside him barely looked up from her cell phone as he fidgeted; she was too focused on texting to pay much attention to anything else.
Sam sighed and looked back out the window, wondering if he should call Dean or his Dad.
No, he'd only been on the bus for a couple of hours and if he called now his father might get the wrong impression and suggest he come back. Sam had promised to call once he arrived in California and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Deciding that he had nothing better to do, Sam leaned his head back and closed his eyes, recalling from years of being on the road that time seemed to move faster when he was asleep.
The rhythmic rumble of the big bus's tires on the road and the quiet conversation of the other passengers around him soon lulled Sam into a deep sleep, the young man unaware that he would never arrive in California as he intended.
Author's Note:
Special thanks to Jenjoremy for helping me out with this chapter!
Thanks to LotRia, Hacked It Out and Fell, jannyverveer, 1hotpepper, Frakking Toasters, jo1966, sarah, SamDeanLover28, Kas3y, Trucklady53, StyxxsOmega, BranchSuper, whatnosheep, SPN Mum, Souldarkalone, angel1718, IcyFox West and Guest for reviewing.
I promise that Eli Flint will make his move in the next chapter! Take a moment and leave a comment and I will try and update quickly!