Sam is stuffing things into his duffle as fast as he can. He can't be here one minute more—he is leaving. TO HELL WITH ALL OF IT! (Still Sam's mind, so pardon his French) He makes no noise as he slips out the window in their room making his way across the dark yard. He won't follow the road because if Dean comes looking—he'll be too easy to spot.

Sam is going to use the woods to his advantage—even though, he is spooked by woods—has been ever since they went on that werewolf hunt. He cautiously enters them and quickens his pace. He wasn't stupid either he took his knife when he left and a little money from Dean's wallet. (Not all of it, he didn't want Dean to starve or anything) Now he wonders where he will go—should have thought about that before you left, dumbass, he thinks to himself. Bobby's house in South Dakota? Nah, first place Dean would check. Pastor Jim's? Definitely not. Caleb? Oh, come on Sam—Caleb lives like you do; he doesn't have a permanent address! I guess I am on my own, he thinks.

During Sam's little monologue, Dean has hung up the phone and is calling for Sam to ask what the kid wants for supper. "Sammy—Sam—hey are you hungry? What do you want to eat?" Nothing just silence. Dean goes to look in their room because that is the last place he saw Sam. No Sam. He checks the bathroom, nada. You know that pit that you get in your stomach when you get separated from your child in a crowded store? Dean's feeling way right about now. He walks outside and calls for him again, "Sammy—Sammy—SAM!" his heart is beating about a mile a minute.

He has no way of looking for Sam, he thinks, until he remembers—the Impala! Dean runs to her and gets in, he doesn't even take the time to relish the moment, cranking her up and peeling out of the driveway. "Where are you, Sam?" he says out loud. Fear is seeping into him with every passing minute; what if something took Sam? What if…he stops that train of thought that will make him crazy if he keeps thinking like that. He is at least a mile away from their house now and no sign of Sam; he couldn't have got that far, could he? One thing for sure, when Dean finds him he is going to kill him!

Sam wishes now he had taken some food with him and some water—he's hungry. He's tired, too, bets he has walked about three or four miles since he left last night. Nothing looks familiar to him. Is he still in Arizona? Maybe he should stop and ask someone? There is a gas station up ahead, so he will head for it—get some water and maybe a pack of crackers. The following night was hard, but Sam got through it. He managed to keep himself warm and out of sight—regardless of what certain other people think, nothing came after him. Wonder if that would make dad proud? Probably not.

Dean is frantic now; he went back to the house and called everybody he could think of: Bobby, Jim and Caleb. Picking up the phone to dial his dad, Dean is apprehensive about telling him Sam is missing. 1—2—3 rings and dad answers, "Dean, what's going on? Is something wrong with Sam?" dad questions rapid fire. "Dad, Sam is missing. I looked for him all night. I called Bobby, Jim and Caleb; nobody's heard from him. Dad, I'm sorry" Dean blurts out. "How do you know he's missing and not just run off?" dad inquires. "Because Sammy wouldn't do that to me, dad" Dean states, "Unless you pushed him too hard this time" worries Dean.

"Didn't see him on the road?" dad asks. "No" Dean answers. "Well, that means he took to the woods—smart—that's what I would do" dad beams. "Sounds like you're proud of him, dad. Are you?" Dean questions. "Maybe" dad answers, "I'm headed back, son, we'll find him" Relief fills Dean, "See you soon, dad."

SUPERNATURAL

Sam had traveled (no Sam didn't walk that far—he hitched a ride with a family of four part of the way) farther than he thought, he was in Flagstaff, sitting on a bench and eating one of his crackers and drinking his water—he's been gone about three days now. A golden retriever walked up to him and nuzzled him with his nose, "Hey boy" Sam cooed at the dog, "Are you lost? You want a cracker?" Sam smiled at the dog as he took the proffered treat from his hand. Sam gets up intent on finding some place safe to sleep and the dog follows after him, "Guess Uncle Bobby was right, you feed em you can't get rid of em" Sam chuckles.

It didn't take long for Sam to name the dog probably about ten minutes, "Ah I got it! Bones, your name is Bones boy. Do you like that name?" Sam manages to get out in between barks only to be licked to death, giggling he says, "I guess you do. Wonder what Dean would say if he saw me now—gone two days, made good time, not dead yet and I have a DOG? I've always wanted a dog." Sam instantly depresses himself when he mentions Dean. The fact that Dean might be going out of his mind right now really worries Sam, but after what he saw and heard his heart and brain couldn't take it anymore. He tried to do everything they wanted him to do—guess he's not a good son and not a good brother. Maybe they will be better off without him; they can both hunt together then and Dean can go out whenever he wants which he seems to want to do more often now (for someone whose supposed to be so smart, Sam can be really dumb. Dean wants them to hunt together—the three of them and he doesn't want to go out every night—like Sam thinks he does. Girls are too big a headache and just a release for Dean, but Sam romantises everything—Sam involves love where Dean doesn't).

John and Dean have been scouring the countryside looking for little Sammy and not having much luck. He's not using a card so there is no trail to follow. Dean doesn't know which direction Sam took; he believes that Sam might have attempted to leave the state and that thought horrifies him (Sam out there alone with no one to take care of him and all the fugly creeps that would take advantage of him) they have got to find the little pain in the ass before Dean's brain explodes. Dad, on the other hand, seems impressed by Sam's efforts to stay off the grid—it shows him that Sam was soaking up everything that he was teaching him. Even if John is a little worried about how his relationship with his youngest will be now, he doesn't show it—he just does his best to keep Dean calm and moving in some sort of direction. It is about two weeks in when they get their first real lead on Sam's whereabouts. Pastor Jim calls John and tells him that he received a phone call from a mutual friend (Missouri Mosley) who told him to "tell that fool, Winchester, that his boy is in Flagstaff and he better watch out how he handles this or she will whack him with her spoon! That boy is so hurt by the things that his so-called father and that delinquent brother of his did to him—even if it all is one big misunderstanding—the boy might not ever want to come home again." John doesn't tell Dean right away that he knows where Sam is because he knows that Sam is safe and because he wants to see what else the boy can do on his own.

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