"Sam, slow down," Dean demanded. "What d'you mean he's gone?"
"I can't find Alec anywhere," Sam said, his eyes wide with panic. "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him."
"How do you know he left?" Dean asked. He couldn't tell what happened. He was still exhausted and he wasn't really following Sam's rushed explanations. He'd only slept for maybe 40 more minutes before Sam came barging in and yelling that Alec was gone.
"I-I, um, it's hard to explain, but he's gone and it's my fault," Sam said. "He left Freak Valley. Link said he hopped the fence and just started running."
Dean's first thought was to go after his little brother. Alec could get into all sorts of trouble without even trying, but something had upset him, which meant he was probably looking for trouble.
"I ran after him for a while, but he's too fast," Sam said. "He's gone."
"Sam, whatever happened, it sounds like he's pissed. Just let him cool off for a minute. He'll call if he needs help or he'll come back when he's ready," Dean said, trying to go for reason. He felt like running after Alec too, but they needed to think about this for a second. He knew Alec was in a mood and they needed to give him some space.
Sam ran his hands through his hair and turned around. "I messed up. He's never gonna trust me again…"
"Sam," Dean said, putting his hands on Sam's shoulders to stop him. He was dying to know what had happened, but he didn't want to push right now. Sam was in full freak out mode and he couldn't blame him. "He's gonna be alright. He was trying to work through some stuff before and it must've all just piled up. So whatever happened, I'm sure he'll forgive you for it."
"He caught me with Tera," Sam quickly admitted, daring him to say that was alright. "I was making out with the demon that had him possessed and nearly killed him and he saw it."
Dean took an involuntary step back and breathed out, "What?"
"You heard me!" Sam yelled. "I like her! I like being around her!"
"She's a demon, Sam!" Dean yelled back. His brother couldn't be serious right now. They hated demons and he thought they were actually looking for a way to kill Tera, not keep her around longer. And definitely not make out with her.
"I don't care!"
"No. You're not allowed to do this," Dean ordered. He sounded like Dad just then and he knew it was a mistake, but he couldn't help it. Sam would not react well to that tone; he never had and he never would.
"You can't stop me!" Sam bellowed, just as Dean had expected. "You're not in charge of me! I can like whoever I want! I don't care that she's a demon!"
Dean reacted without thinking. His fist was slamming into Sam's face before he could stop himself. He wasn't good with words anyway; this would get his point across better than arguing with Sam. No wonder Alec took off. For him it was either take off right now or start throwing punches. He usually went with the latter.
Sam tried to turn with the punch, but held his hand against his cheek with the hit. Dean almost thought he was just going to walk away, but he didn't. Dean had to suddenly throw his arm up to block Sam's punch. Dean winced; his arms were already bruised from sparring with Alec and this was just making it worse.
But Sam had crossed the line. They had nearly lost their little brother because of Tera, not to mention their own lives. She had started a demon army to take over the world. Their whole job revolved around killing things like Tera. Sam was wrong.
Dean hit Sam again, hard. Anger welled up in him just thinking about what they were doing; he couldn't even imagine how Alec felt. Sam followed up with a hard hit to his cheek, but he threw one right back. They kept going; neither one willing to stop.
Blood suddenly filled his mouth as Sam got in another good hit. He was just about to throw another punch, but two hands grabbed his arms and roughly pulled him away. He struggled against whoever was pulling him back, but Garth and Ellen were pulling Sam away too.
"Knock it off!" Rufus growled in his ear. "I didn't come outta retirement just to babysit."
"Sam, calm down, use your words," Garth was telling Sam a few feet away.
Dean spit the blood out of his mouth and glared back at Rufus. "Lemme go."
"Not 'til you stop actin' like a 5 year old," Rufus replied.
Dean forced himself to stop struggling. Rufus relaxed his grip, and Dean immediately ripped his arms out of the hold. He stormed off, away from Sam.
"Take him either to our place or somewhere else until he cools down," Rufus said to Ellen and Garth. "Keep 'em away from each other…"
Dean ignored them and kept walking. He ignored Rufus when the older hunter ran after him and fell into step with him. "You gonna tell me what that was all about?"
"No," Dean replied shortly.
Rufus huffed, "This is why I don't get involved in this kinda crap…" Dean still refused to answer so Rufus tried to get him on a different track. "Where's the kid?"
Dean frowned, "Alec?"
"Yeah. Where'd he go?" Rufus asked, looking around. "He outta be the one to diffuse shit like this."
"He took off," Dean muttered.
"He comin' back?" Rufus asked. He was going for casual, but Dean could tell the older hunter was worried.
Dean shrugged, "I don't know…"
"Should I go find Bobby? You not givin' me real answers is really startin' ta piss me off. I'd knock some sense into ya myself, but since you already look like shit…" Rufus trailed off, glancing over at him to see if he would take the bait. He didn't and Rufus sighed. "I don't wanna care. And it's your fault that I care in the first place."
Dean frowned, "What? I didn't do anything."
"I was retired," Rufus stated. "I didn't talk to no one unless I had to go out and get more liquor. But then you went and rescued the kid and I can't help but like the kid 'cause he's funny and he got me my liquor. And the kid has friends who want to help and be hunters and they need someone to teach 'em and the kid convinced me to do that. And now I care and it's your fault. If you hadn't rescued the kid, I'd still be retired."
"If I hadn't rescued Alec, he'd be dead," Dean shot back. "Or he would wish he was. They would've caught him if me and Sam hadn't been there. He was already hurt and if we hadn't gotten him outta Seattle when we did, he wouldn't be around right now to get you your liquor."
Dean expected Rufus to yell back or start up another fight, but he didn't. Instead, he smirked. "I knew I could get ya talkin'." Dean frowned, but Rufus continued, "I do actually care about the kid."
Dean nodded; he knew Rufus cared about Alec. His little brother was the only person Rufus didn't argue with. "I don't know where he went," Dean admitted quietly. "I know why he left, but I don't know if he's comin' back…"
Rufus sighed, "I'm guessin' this has somethin' ta do with why you were hittin' Sam."
Dean nodded again, but refused to tell him what it was. He was pissed at Sam, but he didn't want everyone to know why.
"You gonna go lookin' for him?" Rufus asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. Dean didn't answer so Rufus hesitantly offered, "I'll go with ya ta look…"
Dean gave Rufus a small smile, "Thanks, but I'm gonna give him a little bit to cool off. I'm hopin' he's gonna just come back."
"If he doesn't, you won't be alone in your search," Rufus said, his eyes purposefully shifted away from him. Dean's smile grew a little and he clapped Rufus on the back. He'd wait a little while before he went after Alec, but he'd let Rufus know when he went.
"Sam! That's enough!" Ellen yelled, pushing against his chest. He was glaring after Dean and he had half a mind to go after his older brother.
He was mad; he was mad at Dean for telling him what to do, he was mad at Alec for making a big deal about nothing, he was mad at Logan for opening the door, and he was mad at himself for getting caught in the first place.
He knew Dean and Alec still hated Tera, but they didn't know her like he did. She wasn't like the other demons and he couldn't help that he liked her.
"What's goin' on Sam?" Garth asked. "Why are you and Dean hittin' each other? You guys are brothers, you're not supposed to hit each other like that."
"Just leave me alone!" Sam yelled, unable to take it anymore. He stormed off towards Command. He hoped Garth and Ellen would just give up after a few minutes.
"Sam!" Ellen said sharply. She was trying to get him to stop, but he ignored her.
He stomped back to Command and Ellen and Garth stopped following him after a while. He slammed open the door, making Logan jump in surprise.
"Where's Alec?" Logan asked cautiously.
"Why do you care?" Sam snarled.
Logan's face fell slightly, but then he quickly changed directions, "I'm sorry Sam. I didn't realize that he didn't know. He was freaking out and I didn't know what he was going to do so I thought it would be best to get you before he took off."
Sam just brushed by him and muttered, "I have to get ready for the hunt."
"Sam!" Logan called after him, but he was already headed for the door.
He needed to forget and he only knew one way he could do that. He went to Seattle to find a bar to drink for a while. When that failed to block out the memory of Sam kissing the demon, he moved on to plan B. He started a fight.
He didn't care who was in the fight and he really didn't care if he lost. His knuckles cracked, his lip split, his side ached, and his head throbbed. None of it mattered though. He felt betrayed; it took everything he had to not kill Tera. He had almost killed his brothers because of her; he almost lost everything on that hunt. And now Sam was with her.
Two men suddenly grabbed his arms. He didn't even try to free himself. Another man hit him hard in the side, and then again across his face. He was hit at least four more times when someone decided to break it up.
The men were suddenly shoved off of him, and he collapsed to the ground without their support. Someone else roughly grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. He stumbled along as the man drug him through the bar. The man stopped briefly to grab his jacket from where he'd been sitting before he kept going.
"I said, that's enough," the man growled in his ear. Alec realized it was the bartender. He'd been yelling at them all to break it up during the entire fight, but no one had listened to him. The man opened a door, and Alec expected to be thrown outside, but instead the man brought him into a side room and sat him in a wooden armchair.
"Can I trust you to not run away?" The man asked him. Alec refused to meet his eyes so the man grabbed his chin and forced him to look back at him. "Can I trust you to not run away?" The man repeated.
"Go to Hell," Alec snarled.
The man sighed and walked over to a desk, tossing his abandoned jacket over the top. He grabbed something and walked back over to him. Alec felt dread creep up his spine as the man zip tied both of his arms to the chair. He hated being restrained, but he let the man do this. He could still find a way out of here.
"Don't do anything stupid," the man told him. "I'm just goin' out there to straighten things up, and then I'm comin' back. I wanna talk to you, and this will give you a chance to cool down and not destroy my office."
Alec just glared back at him until he left. He scanned the small room for a way out as soon as he was gone. He wanted to forget, but he didn't want to get caught up with the cops. They might hate him more than White did now, considering how he made them all look like idiots. He knew he shouldn't have done this, but hindsight was always 20/20.
Alec rocked in the chair to test its strength. It wasn't as flimsy as he would've liked, but he figured he could still break it. He gathered his strength before he sort of jumped with the chair, and then landed on the back two legs. The chair splintered; a piece breaking off in his forearm, but he still had to yank his arms to be completely free of the zip ties.
Blood ran down his arm, but he ignored that and looked up at the small window. He could easily jump to get to it, but he needed to break it before he could get out of here. The only other thing in the room was the desk. He could either use the desk to stand on, or he could push the desk in front of the door to block it.
It only took him a second to decide. He grabbed the desk and swung it towards the window. He hopped onto the top of the desk, but then turned his back towards the window. He brought his hurt arm up, and slammed his elbow against the glass. Alec suddenly broke down and held his arm in pain. He looked back to the glass, but was disappointed to see that his hit had only cracked it.
"Dammit…" Alec muttered.
He took a few deep breaths to get ready to try again, but the door opened before he could. The man walked in again, took in the room, and looked at him with disappointment.
"Now this is what I was talkin' about when I told you to not do somethin' stupid," the man said. Alec just stared back at him. "You trashed my bar, you broke my chair, and now you're trying to take out my window." Alec refused to move, or even say anything. "You at least owe me a conversation."
"You call the cops?" Alec asked.
"No," the man stated.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"You don't."
Alec weighed his options, but decided he should at least talk for a minute. If he had to, he could take the guy out and just run out the front.
"My name's Hank," he said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.
"Alec."
"Are you just cocky or do you really like gettin' your ass kicked?" Hank asked him. Alec scowled. "You took on an entire bar for no reason. Begs the question of cocky or stupid." Alec looked away from him. "Or are you aimin' to forget?"
Alec didn't know why, but he answered the man, "The last one…"
Hank nodded, and then asked, "Girl problems? Or family?" Alec looked up when Hank said family, giving the man his answer. "I see. Mom? Dad?" Hank asked, trying to get to the bottom of it. He paused for a second, "Brother?"
Alec shrugged. Hank waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. Blood dripped down his arm and dropped from his fingers. It was starting to pool on the desk and he just watched it.
"C'mon, sit down on the desk and let's see what I can do," Hank told him. Alec hesitated; he didn't want to trust this guy.
"You got a phone?" Alec asked him instead. His phone was crushed somewhere in the bar. It'd fallen out of his pocket and someone had stepped on it.
"Yeah."
"Can I use it?"
"You gotta tell me who you're callin'," Hank replied.
"My ride," Alec hedged. Hank got up and grabbed a phone and handed it to him. Alec didn't waste any time dialing Dean's number.
"Hello?" Dean answered hesitantly, not recognizing the number.
"Dean…it's me," Alec said.
"Alec! Thank God!" Dean replied. "Where are you? You want me to come get you?"
Alec nodded, forgetting that Dean couldn't see him. "Yeah…" Alec cleared his throat. "I'm at a bar in town…"
"Do you have a name for me? I'll find ya faster if I know where to go," Dean said.
"I don't know what it's called," Alec admitted.
"Hank's," the man said with a small smile.
"Hank's," Alec whispered to Dean.
"Alright kiddo, I'll be there soon," Dean reassured.
Dean hung up and Alec handed the phone back to Hank. "Dean, is that your brother?" Hank asked him.
"One of 'em," Alec replied. He slowly sat down on the top of the desk, cradling his injured arm.
"You gonna let me look at that now?" Hank asked.
"No."
"It's bleedin' pretty good there…"
Alec agreed with that, and decided he could use this to focus on something else. "You have a first aid kit?"
The guy raised his eyebrows in disbelief and Alec just stared back. "I don't have much," Hank finally replied. "Just some basic things like some gauze and some rubbing alcohol."
Alec shrugged, "That'll work." Hank still didn't look sure; Alec sighed and ripped the chunk of wood from his arm causing it to bleed freely. "Just go get it."
Hank gave him an unamused look before he got up and left the room. He was back a second later carrying a small box and a folding chair, but he didn't pass it over. Instead, he set up the chair and sat in front of him. He looked him right in the eyes and stated, "That was stupid."
"Got you moving," Alec replied.
Hank shook his head and reached out towards him, but he immediately pulled away. He didn't trust people to actually help him; in his experience it never turned out well for him. Sam and Dean were the exceptions to that rule. Hank cocked his head to the side slightly, as if trying to figure him out.
"You don't like people helping you?" Hank asked him.
"No."
"How about I just help pour the rubbing alcohol over your arm and I let you wrap it or whatever you want to do," Hank asked.
Alec thought about it for a second, and then turned his arm over. The cut was jagged and covered the majority of the length of his forearm. Hank moved a little closer so he could pour the alcohol over it; the cut foamed and burned when the liquid hit him. He clenched his jaw and breathed through the pain.
Hank stopped and got up to go get a towel. He cleaned off the extra rubbing alcohol from his arm and passed over the gauze. Alec quickly wrapped it, but his blood soaked through the bandages.
"You're gonna need stitches," Hank said.
"I know."
"You want a ride to the hospital?"
"No."
Hank sighed, but sat back to give him some space. "Alright, we'll just wait for your brother to get here."
Alec nodded; he was just fine with that.
"Where the Hell is Sam?" Dean asked Logan as he barged into Command.
"He's out back," Logan replied. Dean started to turn away, but Logan stopped him, "Dean…is there anything you want me to do?"
Dean shook his head and quickly ran back outside. He had to find Sam and tell him that he knew where Alec was and he was going to get him. He was still pissed at Sam, but if their roles were reversed, he'd still want to know where his little brother was.
He finally found Sam with a small group of transgenics and Ellen. "What're you doing?" Dean asked as he ran up. Panda, Stella, Tack, Pete, and Roger were all standing around them, looking like they were gearing up for a hunt, but Pete and Roger weren't in Sam's group, they were in Alec's.
"We're leaving for the hunt," Sam replied with his eyes down.
"Where's Max and Josh?" Dean asked. "I thought they were in your group…"
"Max had to go fix something across the valley and Josh is helping her," Sam said. "Pete and Roger are filling in. The shifter is probably going to attack tonight. Logan figured out that it attacks every three days, so we need to go now."
"I know where Alec is," Dean said. "I'm gonna go get him…you wanna come with me?" He was giving Sam a chance to talk to both of them and explain what had happened. Maybe this was all a big misunderstanding.
"He doesn't want to talk to me, and I've gotta go," Sam replied, brushing by him. The others followed him, but Ellen hung back for a minute.
"Maybe this is good for all of you," Ellen said softly. "Give you guys some space so you can all cool off…" Dean nodded, and then Ellen reassured, "I'll watch out for him. You go get Alec."
"Thanks Ellen," Dean said.
Ellen gave him a quick side hug before she followed after Sam. Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, and then ran his hand down his face. He needed to focus on one thing at a time; he would go find Alec, and then he would figure out what to do with Sam.
He needed to get going, but he decided to get Rufus before he left. The older hunter was still worried about Alec and it might put him on Rufus's good side if he took Rufus with him. He ran over to the house that Rufus, Garth, Ellen, and Jo had been staying in and quickly knocked on the door.
He had to wait a minute before Garth finally pulled the door open. "Hey Dean, watcha doin'?"
"Is Rufus here?" Dean asked instead of answering.
"Yeah, c'mon in," Garth replied, motioning him inside.
Dean sighed, but followed Garth inside until they made it to Rufus in the kitchen. Rufus raised his eyebrows once he saw him, silently asking him what he wanted. "Alec called, and he wants me to come get him. You wanna go or not?"
"Lead the way," Rufus said. Dean didn't waste any more time before he started for the door again with Rufus on his heels.
"Can I go too?" Garth asked, trailing after them.
Dean sighed; he hadn't expected to bring a lot of people with him, but he was in a hurry. "Only if you can keep up," Dean grumbled.
"Awesome!" Garth said, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"So where's he at?" Rufus asked.
"Some bar," Dean said with a shrug. "He probably started a fight or something…That's what I would've done."
"That's what you did do, you moron," Rufus said. "What else would you call slamming your fist into your brother's face?"
"If you're gonna talk, then I'm not takin' you with me."
Rufus chuckled, but he didn't say anything else. Garth and Rufus followed him all the way back to the car and they rode in silence all the way to town. He didn't really know if Alec would be ok that he brought Rufus and Garth with him, but he thought it was nice that they cared so much for him. Alec would be ok with the company for the trip back, and then he'd make sure no one hung around him once they got back.
Dean pulled into Hank's bar and cut the engine. "You guys stay here. I'll go in and get him."
Dean didn't wait for either of them to reply before he got out and headed for the door. The bar was deserted, but chairs were tipped over, glass was scattered across the floor, pool cues were broken in half, the whole place was a mess, but he didn't see Alec anywhere.
"Alec?" Dean called out. He turned in a circle, but there was no sign of his little brother. A side door across the room suddenly opened and Dean instantly turned to focus on it. A man walked out, but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw him.
"Yeah, you guys are brothers…" the man muttered. "C'mon, Alec's in here."
Dean practically ran to the office to get to his little brother. He ignored whoever the guy was; he didn't really matter unless he hurt his little brother. If this guy hurt Alec then he would take him out, there was no question about it.
Dean stopped in the doorway when his eyes landed on Alec. He was sitting on the top of a desk holding some bloody gauze to his arm. His lip was split, he had bruises on his jaw, and he looked miserable, but he did smile a little when he saw him.
"Someone have a knife?" Dean asked as he walked closer, looking at Alec's arm.
Alec shook his head, "I broke the chair and a chunk of wood broke off in my arm. I pulled it out, but it needs stitches."
"Alec…" Dean sighed.
"I'm sorry," Alec said softly, ducking his head down. Dean felt terrible; Alec thought he was in trouble, but Dean just wanted to keep him safe.
Dean put his hand on the back of Alec's neck so he'd look at him and reassured, "It's ok…I just don't like seein' ya hurt."
"I'm alright…" Alec muttered. Dean raised his eyebrows in disbelief, which got Alec to smile again.
"Let's get you back so I can stitch up your arm and get you some ice," Dean said, ruffling Alec's hair. "Also, head's up, I brought some of your besties with me."
"Really? Who?" Alec asked with a chuckle.
"Rufus and Garth," Dean said, and Alec's smile grew. "Now, c'mon, let's get goin'."
Alec moved to get off of the desk and Dean reached out to help him and grabbed his jacket from the desk. He put his arm around Alec's shoulders, more for emotional support than physical support.
"Sorry about the mess Hank," Alec said to the man.
"It's no problem," Hank replied. "Just glad I could help a little."
Alec nodded, and then leaned against him just a little bit more.
Dean knocked on the passenger window once they were by the car, making Rufus jump. He opened the door a crack and grumbled, "What?"
"Move. Alec's sitting up front," Dean said. Rufus looked up in surprise at hearing that Alec was with him, and Dean frowned. "What? Did you think I wouldn't get him?"
"I thought you had the wrong bar," Rufus replied. He gave Alec a quick once over and said, "You look like shit."
"That good, huh?" Alec said with a small smirk.
Rufus chuckled and got up so Alec could sit down. He patted Alec's shoulder before he got in the backseat. Alec leaned against his door once they started moving, and closed his eyes. Dean was ready to drive the whole way back in silence since he didn't think Alec felt like talking, but he was wrong.
"Hey kid, did you at least get in a few good hits?" Rufus asked, leaning forward to rest his arm against the back of the seat.
Alec huffed, "What do you think?"
Rufus thought for a minute, and then nodded, "Yeah, I think you got in a few."
"What'd you do to your arm?" Garth asked. "That doesn't look like it's from a fight…"
"I broke a chair and a chunk…" Alec held up his hands to show how big the chunk was, "…of wood broke off in my arm, so I yanked it out."
"Whoa! Are you serious?" Garth asked.
Alec chuckled and held up his bleeding arm, "Yeah, I've got some proof."
Garth smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Tonight's the perfect time for us to shoot some pool," Rufus muttered. "Maybe we'll actually make a game of it."
"I doubt it," Garth said. "Alec could still beat us even if he lost his arm instead of just getting a bad cut."
"Toothpick, Alec could beat you even if he didn't have any arms," Rufus said in amusement. Dean glanced over at Alec and saw that he was silently laughing to himself.
"You know what I think would be a good game?" Garth asked. "Dean and Alec."
"How do you know that I can even play pool?" Dean asked, shooting Alec another side glance. Alec smirked back at him, and Dean knew he was thinking about the first time they had ever played pool together. Alec had hustled him and Sam the first time they had played, making them think he didn't know how. Dean still found it funny.
"I figured Alec had to get it somewhere," Garth replied with a shrug.
Dean chuckled, "Well, you're right about that." Alec pushed him over slightly, and Dean reached over to mess up his hair in return.
Garth and Rufus talked about pool the rest of the way to Freak Valley. Alec would throw in his opinion every once in a while, and Dean watched over Alec as he drove. He had to tell Rufus and Garth to get lost once they got back; he wanted to take care of his little brother and he knew Alec wouldn't want an audience.
He brought Alec into their house, and he was happy to see that it was empty. Alec let him lead him through the house until they got back to his own room. Dean had Alec sit on the bed while he went to go get their first aid kit.
Alec let him help without any complaints, which was weird for him. Dean shouldn't have been surprised though, since Alec was still upset about what had happened. Dean wanted to talk about it, but he knew Alec didn't want to. So, he fixed up Alec's arm and all the other cuts he could find. He got a couple pills and held them out for Alec to take them.
Alec looked up at him, and Dean thought he was going to refuse. "C'mon, it'll help ya sleep…" Alec nodded and finally took the pills from him. "Alright, now go ahead and lay down," Dean told him, helping him get more comfortable. Dean shrugged out of his leather jacket and put it over Alec as a blanket. He knew Alec could get under the covers, but this might help him sleep.
Alec pulled his jacket closer and snuggled further on his pillow. "Thanks Dean," Alec whispered, already falling asleep.
Dean went over to the other side of the bed and sat down next to Alec and leaned against the headboard. He was exhausted and he knew he wouldn't stay awake for long. The stress of the day was really catching up to him, but now he had a moment to rest. He still needed to figure out how to talk to Sam and what to do with that situation, but for now he would just hang out with his little brother, and they would figure everything out later.
More soon...