Chapter 10

Hey everyone, I went through and edited the previous chapters a little bit, nothing too drastic, just changed the timing and everything, trying to make the story flow a little better. I put up the day and time that everything is happening at, mainly to keep me on track. You'll notice that in this chapter we go back a little bit, next chapter we will start where we left off with Sam, Charlie, and Seeth. Sorry if this causes any confusion, you shouldn't have to go back and reread though. Nothing about the content changed. Hope you enjoy and as always read and review.

December 7th at 2:30pm

Megan sighed as she looked at her watch. She ran her hands through her hair, wishing she could just pull it all out. Glancing over to her left she could see Hendrickson leaning over a desk with a couple of other agents. As soon as Don's SUV had been found Merrick had declared the cocky, arrogant bastard lead agent on the case. Of course, she couldn't expect much less. Putting Don and his team on this case had been risky from the start and now that their boss was missing there were just too many personal ties. Twenty minutes ago Don had been declared officially missing; it was highly suspected that the people who took Charlie also took Don. She grabbed her keys off her desk; it was time to go tell Mr. Eppes that his two sons were in the hands of a killer. She should just call him, it would save about a two hours worth of time but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Alan deserved to be told in person.

Colby had been thinking the same thing from his own desk. Mr. Eppes deserved to know about Don and Charlie. Well, he already knew about Charlie and he was worried about Don. They had called him when they were trying to find Don but hadn't called him since. Although Colby didn't know Alan as well as Megan or David he still liked and respected the man. Any person who could put up with Don and Charlie deserved the great admiration. That's why this was so difficult, he didn't want Mr. Eppes to suffer anymore than he had too but he didn't want to screw himself over either. The FBI wouldn't take too kindly to knowing that Colby had aided Dean in kidnapping an agent, even if it was going to help find Charlie. Even just admitting he had at one time known Dean and Sam Winchester would probably land him out of a job. The FBI could think that Nick and Sam and Dean had Don, that might help broaden the search, help in finding Charlie but there was no need for Alan to believe he could be potentially sonless.

He knew Megan had been putting off on going to the Eppes house so when he heard her finally grab her keys he rushed over. "Tell you what, let me go tell him. You are needed here more than I am. Plus, the news is bad enough," trying to lighten mood, "we don't want him to have to look at you."

That earned a small laugh from Megan. She hesitated still though; it should be either her or David that went. Colby and Mr. Eppes certainly knew each other but not as well. However Colby was right, Merrick was already threatening to take them off the case and when she had asked to leave to go inform Mr. Eppes he had nearly popped a blood vessel. No offense to Colby but he wouldn't be missed as much. It was still better than just calling. "Alright," Megan finally said. "Call me if you or Mr. Eppes need anything!" Megan shouted at Colby's retreating back.

Colby had turned away quickly, hoping Megan wouldn't notice the relief/concern on his face. Relief that he would be able to alleviate some of Alan's worries and concerned at just how well this was going to go. He trusted Alan for the most part but he wasn't sure how he was going to take this. Colby would just have to make sure he knew that he had Charlie and Don's best interests in mind.

Although it was only about three o'clock the roads were already congested. Consequently it took about forty minutes to get to the Eppes house. Before he even got out of the SUV Alan was on the porch. The normally easy going expression on Alan's face had been replaced by lines of worry and dark bags under his eyes from not sleeping. Although he thought it would have been impossible the man's face fell and grew older when he realized it was Colby stepping out of the vehicle. He had been expecting Don. As he got closer he could see tears start well up in Alan's eyes, Colby's heart dropped. He had always wanted to eventually be a father but could he accept this much responsibility. In order to try and prevent the man from having a breakdown Colby quickly reassured the man that he wasn't here to deliver bad news but they should step inside. Alan's face lifted slightly.

"The house is a mess, I'm sorry," Alan Eppes commented, fatigue lacing his voice. It had been two days since this nightmare had started, they were now starting on the third day.

"It's okay, really," Colby replied. He could see the couch had been slept on; there were dirty dishes in the sink and half eaten plates of food laying on the counters and tables. He followed Alan into the kitchen where the man put a cup of coffee on. Colby was half dead already from the lack of sleep so he didn't protest. When Mr. Eppes finally turned around and looked at him Colby figured it was time to tell him. "Don is okay," Colby said, best to get that out of the way.

Alan breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since Megan had called to let him know that Don hadn't been back to work after they had sent him home he had been almost psychotic. His two sons were missing, his family, the only people who mattered to him.

Now came the hard part. "Don is with Dean Winchester." The little bit of relief disappeared from Alan's face and Colby swore some anger came along with the worry.

When Don had stopped by for those five minutes he had mentioned briefly that the suspects were primarily Sam and Dean Winchester and Nick Colbert. Having nothing better to do Alan had looked the names up. Not much came up on the Winchesters but he had gotten too many hits for Colbert. He supposed that if Don was going to be with anyone than he rather it be Winchester than Colbert. But hadn't Colby just said that Don was fine, not in danger. "But I thought you said…" his sentence trailed off, he was lost in what was left of his mind.

Colby realized that Don must have told his father who the kidnappers might be. "I did and Don is safe. Dean and Sam Winchester are the ones responsible, Nick Colbert is. Nick kidnapped Sam and Seeth, the third Winchester. Charlie unfortunately was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know the Winchesters and when I contacted Dean he sounded like he needed help. I thought Don would be able to provide that. The FBI has declared Don missing but I guarantee you he is safe. Dean and Sam aren't guilty of most of the things that they are accused of. I promise that I will do everything to find Charlie but I thought you deserved to know about Don," Colby finished. The hard part was over, or hopefully it was, depending on how Alan responded.

Alan studied Colby's face. He remembered back to the Dwayne Carter incident and thought about how mad, frustrated, and betrayed Don had felt. His son had ranted for weeks about Colby. Alan was from the sixties and from how he had grown up and what he knew about the young soldier turned agent he couldn't believe that Colby had done what he had on purpose. Now Alan was torn in two. He still believed in Colby, still believed that the man could never betray his teammates. However, now his sons were in danger and half of his anxiety could either go away or stay depending on whether he believed Colby. He decided to believe the man. "Are there any new leads on Charlie?" Alan asked, knowing that the question would tell Colby that he trusted him.

Colby let out a small smile, "No. I should get back to the office, continue to help," Colby hadn't told Alan specifically that letting this out would not be good, particularly for him but from the look on the older man's face he knew that his secret was safe.

"You should. Let me make you some sandwiches, for David and Megan," Alan replied, getting busy before Colby to respond. Ten minutes later and Colby was putting his jacket back on as Alan handed him the sandwiches. Before he gave the food completely over Alan said, "You know Megan and David are family too."

Colby caught Alan's eye and understood what he was trying to get across. "I know, I'll call you as soon as we find out anything new."

December 7 at 1:30pm

"Give me your credit card," Don said holding out his hand.

Dean balked at the request. "Why in the hell would I do that?" They had pulled up to a motel where Bobby was going to meet them and Dean had decided it would be less of a risk if Don went in to pay for the room. Don had gotten half his body out of the car before sliding back in and giving his ridiculous request.

"How have you not gotten caught?" Don asked. He saw Dean's mouth start to turn up into a smile and could see those sarcastic words piling up in his mouth. "Don't answer that, I need your credit card because they have put a trace on mine."

A little disappointed that Don had cut him off Dean sighed and reached for his wallet. He picked out a card that he hadn't used yet, he had just gotten this baby two weeks ago, and handed it to Don.

Don took a look at the card, specifically the name. He didn't even say a word, just looked up at Dean who was smiling back at him, did that boy ever not smile.

""My great grandfather, got as a birthday gift," Dean loved messing with Don's head.

Before Don hit something or SOMEONE he got out of the car and went to pay for the room. The girl at the counter was young; probably 16 or 17 and she looked like she would rather be at the dentist. That was good for him; it meant that she was unlikely to pay much attention to who he was. "Hi, can I get a room for tonight, two full size beds please." Without looking up from her magazine the girl stuck out her hand, which Don hesitantly laid the credit card in, swiped it and handed it back with a set of keys she had grabbed from the wall behind her.

"The room number is on the key, enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," Don replied back. Dean certainly sprang for the high life. Don climbed back in the car which was still a little difficult for him; he wasn't used to going so low to get into a vehicle. "Room 16, the girl didn't bother to say where."

Dean snatched his credit card back from Don and backed out of the parking space. He liked this change of attitude in the agent. It seemed like Don had resigned to the fact that he was going to have to put up with him in order to get his brother back. Dean was in charge and Don knew it, life was freaking fantastic.

After a couple minutes of searching the boys finally found the motel room. It certainly wasn't the Ritz Carlton but it would do, there was a place to plug in the laptop and clean, running water. Dean glanced at his watch, it was about 6:25 and they still have two and half hours until Bobby got there. Bobby knew a lot more people than Dean did and was better at getting information. Dean eyed the bathroom and a could suddenly smell a not too pleasant odor coming from his body, he hadn't showered in a while. "I'm going to hit the shower, if you want you can use to Sam's laptop to look stuff up." Dean said to Don. He was positive the agent was on board and wouldn't do anything stupid like call the FBI.

Don noticed the horrific smell as soon as they walked into the room. There had to be years of mildew and mold festering underneath the carpets. The comforters on the beds looked like they hadn't been replaced in about twenty years and there were stains up and the walls. Upon closer inspection there was also a mystery stain on one of the comforters, he moved Dean's bag over to that bed, making sure to cover up the spot. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to find anything useful but wanting to know more about these Winchesters Don rummaged through Dean's bag, trying to find Sam's laptop. There were bound to be some files on here that would give him insight. He certainly wasn't a techie but he knew his way around a computer enough to get some information.

Twenty minutes of searching and nothing but a boat load of shit and more shit. There were thousands of pages saved under favorites, all of them dealing with ghosts and demons and other strange, unreal things. There were a couple of pages of information that were supposed to be classified or not for public view but Sam had them saved. He had also looked through all the files saved on the computer. Most of them were pictures. A few had Dean in them, candid shots that Dean most likely didn't know about but almost all of them were of Sam and friends. 'These must have been when he went to college,' Don murmured to himself. He looked up as Dean came out of the bathroom, hair still wet but from here Don could smell the difference.

"I'm going to go grab a bite to eat, you want anything," and then just for good measure Dean added, "I'm buying." Dean was wiling to take the risk going through a drive through, he was starving.

"Umm, I guess a sandwich, whatever," Don replied, choosing not to take the bait.

"Alright, be back in a few," Dean said and then he was gone.

Don sighed as he closed out of the pictures, he was bored and anxious. He had no idea if Charlie was okay and while he believed that Dean might be able to do better than the FBI on this one he was getting tired of sitting around. All they had was a guy's first name, they had no idea where he was or even who he was. Don didn't want to think about how many Toms were in the country, although he would go after every single one if that is what it took. He was going to get Charlie back and this Nick Colbert guy was going to regret messing with his little brother.

Don doubted the television worked, even if it did he wasn't up to watching anything. He remembered seeing some of things of interest in Dean's duffel bag when he had been searching for the lap top, including something that looked like a journal. He had heard the Impala leave, not that it was hard to miss, and was confident that it would take Dean at least thirty minutes to find somewhere to eat Don got up, rummaged through and found the journal/backpack thing.

Flipping open the book Don first noticed that this couldn't be Dean's, the first date was almost twenty four years ago. The first entry sounded almost normal. 'This must be his father's,' Don thought to himself, recalling that the mom had died in a house fire. John Winchester, he believed that was the dad's name, was obviously torn up. Anyone who read this could tell he loved his wife with all his heart. Don briefly thought of his own mother and father. They may have had their issues but they loved each other.

Don should have stopped there already he was doing what he had been trained not to. Put a human face on the criminal, sympathize with them. But he continued to read on. Each entry became a little crazier. John started off rambling about how Mary had been pinned to the ceiling, her stomach slashed open. Then he met Missouri opened his eyes, a person or the state. Don couldn't tell. Then he got into the really heavy stuff, old newspaper articles, hastily drawn figures and symbols, ideas on how to kill spirits, werewolves, shapeshifters? Amidst all the crazy talk there was another normal entry. Sam had left for college, John felt guilty for arguing with him, yelling at him but he worried for Sam's safety.

Don was so entranced with the journal that he didn't hear the Impala pull up and didn't hear the door open. He didn't look up until he heard Dean's voice.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Next chapter:

Round two: Don or Dean? Place your bets now.