Chapter 1 – Bobby and Ethan
Six months Later
Dean pulled up to the house exhausted. He'd driven for forty eight hours, stopping only for five of those hours to sleep and get something to eat for himself. John had been unable to help his oldest son drive because he'd been hurt in their latest hunt.
The duo had been hunting an angry spirit. The research hadn't taken that long which was good for Dean, who hated research of any kind. John had, as always, taken lead. Before either Winchester knew what had happened John was flying through the air and was thrown against a tree. He slumped down at its base. Dean could hear a distinct cracking sound, as his dad hit the tree, but it didn't register at the moment. He was too busy making his next move to protect his father and try to kill the thing. John, shaking his head, quickly came to and together father and son managed to "send the spirit to hell".
When it was over, the older hunter grabbed the vicinity of his ribs and grimaced in pain. His breaths were short and shallow, indicating just how much pain he was in. Dean tried to assist John back to the car but the older hunter kept on insisting he was fine. It wasn't until on the way to the car, when he slipped and fell in the mud, letting out a gasp of pain, that his father finally relented and let Dean help him. Dean could tell the older hunter was hurting badly and told him to rest in the back seat while he drove. John had passed out after ordering Dean NOT to take him to the hospital. Dean obeyed the order, as usual, and instead took his father to the one place he knew neither of them would be in charge…Bobby Singer's house.
Inside the house Bobby was sitting down to eat supper in front of the television. He could hear the car coming up to his house and grabbed his shot gun; one could never be too careful. When he saw it was the impala he put the gun away and went to stand on the porch. He watched Dean look towards the back seat quickly before getting out.
"Dean," Bobby said concerned, realizing that something was wrong.
"Hey Bobby, sorry to drop in on you like this…" The oldest Winchester boy trailed off.
Bobby waved Dean's apologetic manner away, knowing that Dean was uncomfortable asking anyone for help.
"You know you can drop in anytime son. Is that John back there?" Bobby asked indicating the back seat of the Impala with his head.
"You know how stubborn he can be, he's hurt real bad; he wouldn't let me take him to the hospital." Dean said in a frustrated tone.
"Let me guess, he said it as an order," Bobby said with a wry grin.
"Yes, sir," Dean answered the older hunter respectfully.
Mumbling under his breath, damn stupid fool, Bobby helped Dean get John out of the car. Together they got the injured man into the spare bedroom where Dean and Sam usually stayed.
"Grab some sleep Dean; I'll get your dad patched up." Bobby instructed a hint of sternness in his voice.
Dean wanted to argue but knew better it was a losing battle. It was Bobby who had helped raise him. It was Bobby he turned to the first time he took Sam over his knee. It was Bobby who helped him see that Sam needed him to be a 'parent'…the big brother…the protector.
Dean trudged to the bedroom Bobby indicated and crashed. He slept for almost twelve hours. When he woke up the first thing he did was grab his cell phone. When he realized he had no missed calls he glared at the phone in his hand and tried to call his brother. Sam had promised to call him every two weeks on Friday's faithfully. He should have had a call from him long before now.
Dean scrunched up his face in annoyance when he got his brother's voice mail. "Hey, you reached Sam Winchester. Sorry I missed your call; leave a message and MAYBE I'll get back to you."
'Maybe you'll get back to me Samantha? We'll see about that.' Dean took a deep breath and waited for the beep. After finishing up the call and taking a few deep breaths Dean went downstairs and found Bobby in the kitchen.
"Did you sleep ok?" Bobby asked studying the oldest Winchester boy.
"Yeah…how's dad?" Dean asked with concern.
"He's pissed that you brought him here. He'll be fine otherwise. I say you guys are gonna be here at least a month though…gotta give them ribs a chance to heal." Bobby informed Dean.
"Shit, that's just fucking great." The young hunter shook his head in dismay. "I can look around to see if I can't find some kind of work close by…."
Bobby, with a stern look on his face, interrupted John's oldest son, "Boy, I have no intention of letting you just waltz on out of here to hunt on your own. You can work in my garage to earn some extra money if you'd like." The experienced hunter offered.
"Bobby, who are you to tell me what to do! You have no right…" Dean began to rant.
The older man cut the younger man off… "Mister, I was given the right the day your daddy left you and your little brother on my doorstep and gave me permission to act in his place. Now, since he's not exactly up to being a parent to you at the moment, then I'm it! If you don't want me to warm your bottom you'll change your attitude and watch the language!" Bobby asserted himself.
"Well, I can't just sit here." Dean replied still frustrated. "I really don't want to work in your garage, no disrespect intended and if I'm going to be restricted from hunting on my own…" Dean trailed off sounding miserable.
"Go visit Sam." Bobby stated emphatically
Dean's eyes went wide; some how he always forgot that Bobby was blunt when he spoke. Seeing the older man raise an eyebrow Dean looked at the table and blushed. 'Freaking mind reader' Dean bit his lip to stop from asking Bobby how he knew that he'd planned on visiting his younger brother.
"When was the last time he called?" Bobby asked shrewdly.
"Three weeks ago; I'm not worried." Dean replied with a casualness he didn't feel.
"Sure you're not, you're pissed off and making mistakes in judgment that will get you into trouble. Go check on him Dean; take a couple of weeks. You're daddy's not going anywhere." The older man encouraged.
"If I leave tonight…" Dean left the thought unfinished.
"You can be there by tomorrow night." Bobby finished the sentence for Dean with a smile on his face. "Supper will be finished in a half hour. Why don't you go pack while I get dinner ready to put on the table and then you can leave right after?"
Dean gave the older hunter a wry grin, "Yeah, if I live through your cooking."
Bobby cuffed Dean in the back of the head playfully.
Two hours later Dean was on his way to California to check on his brother…
California---
Sam woke up and looked around his dorm room. He'd been scared to come to Stanford in the beginning but Dean had helped him get over that fear by scheduling phone callsand making sure Sam never felt left out of his life.Now Sam realized just how amazing college really was.
Sam's class' had been going great; he'd even managed to make the dean's list his first semester. When he'd first met his roommate, Ethan, Sam had been rather glad; Ethan reminded him of Dean…it would also prove to be a downfall. Ethan always managed to talk Sam into going to parties and putting off his homework.
Sam rolled to his side, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. 'Oh crap' Sam jumped out of bed and began to quickly get dressed.
"Ethan, wake up!" Sam called frantically.
Ethan cracked an eye open wondering what his roommate wanted.
"You didn't set the alarm; class starts in ten minutes." Sam said in a panic
That was all Ethan needed to hear in order to get out of bed and get dressed in a hurry; minutes later both boys were running across campus. They got to their American Politics class with just a minute to spare.
"Thank you for joining us Mr. Winchester, Mr. Tyler. Do either of you care to turn in the assignment that is due, or have you decided, once again, not to waste your time and mine?"
The two boys looked at one another and frowned. The professor waited a minute and when no reply was forthcoming chose to ignore the boys for the entire class period.
When class was over Sam led the way back to the dorm room. There was a letter taped to the door. "Whose is it?" Ethan asked worriedly.
"Mine…" Sam replied with a sigh.
Ethan shrugged his shoulders and walked in. Sam left the letter where it was hoping that if people saw it taped up there they would think no one was in. Sam sat at the desk and looked at Ethan.
"Did you know we had an assignment?"
"I don't think we went to class that day." Ethan replied, trying to remember.
Sam groaned and lay back on the bed. The new quarter wasn't turning out like he'd thought; this was the second assignment he had missed in his American Politics class. Sam knew he wasn't working up to his full potential. Dean had warned him that if he didn't do all the things he had told him before putting him on the bus he would come up there and kick his ass. Sam wondered if his brother would really do that. He thought he could let Dean know in little ways he was in trouble, needing him to help him get back on the right path and back on track
"Your phone's blinking." Ethan observed.
Sam reached out to take the phone and accessed his voice mail. "Samantha, you better call me back tonight or so help me, I'm gonna kick your ass! NOW SAM!"
Sam felt himself pale and was going to call his big brother back but decided first he'd better eat. By the time Sam remembered to call Dean back it was late at night so he promised himself to call the next day.
The next night---
Sam dragged Ethan back to their dorm room. The youngest Winchester had decided to stay sober that night since he had a test the following morning. After depositing Ethan in bed Sam sat down at the computer. He wanted to study for just a little while.
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Dean drove up to the college and found his brother's dorm with little trouble. He got out of the car and stretched before making his way into the building that housed the students. It didn't take him long to find his younger brother's room…or the letter that Sam had yet to take down.
Big brother mode kicked in and Dean opened the letter, his main intention had been to skim it just to make sure Sam was ok. Dean's anxiety about seeing his brother after six months was replaced by his anger at what he read.
Dean folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope. He had to take a few deep breaths to try and calm his anger.
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Sam looked over at his roommate and saw the signs of someone about to get sick. With the quick reflexes John had instilled in him since childhood, Sam put the trash can in front of Ethan…who promptly threw up. The smell of vomit and alcohol was enough to make Sam sick.
Sam's hearing, still trained to listen to all that was around him, picked up a sound in the hallway. Without thinking he threw open the door.
"Dean?" Sam asked in surprise.
Dean held up the letter for his brother to see. "What the hell is this?"
TBC…