Well this week has been *rough*.

But that has nothing to do with anything lol.

However please read the end note for some personal stuff relating to upcoming updates :)

And to my ppl. I'm so sorry for you guys getting like four updates last week. FF like deleted the fic and the chapter led to "Sorry this is not available" and I was panicking lol. Friendly reminder that all my stuff is on Ao3 so if something ever happens to my fics, I almost certainly didn't delete it. Check Ao3. And if you want to download my fics I really don't mind so long as they are not redistributed and you still stop by to leave a comment every once in awhile *wink wink*.

Anyway!

I know several people have been asking about Caleb and tbh I forgot this chapter was about Caleb til I reread it lol. I wrote this one awhile ago and I sometimes forget what happens in what chapter bc I'm writing them out of order.

I hope you like this one! I do lol. Protective Caleb for the win!

Please enjoy guys!

~TH~

The knock was hesitant, but the answering voice was surprisingly cheerful.

Dean pushed the door open and gave a hesitant wave, "Uh, hey Mr. Whiteman."

"Hello, Dean," he said with a kind smile. "How are you settling in?"

"Uh, good. It's been good…"

A short chuckle, "That's good."

"Yeah, uh-" he cut himself off, feeling more awkward than he had in years. His mind was drawn back to Caleb putting his seven year old self up to convincing Pastor Jim to make cookies. He tried to shake off the memory and the conflicting feelings it brought.

The man sitting at a large desk put down the pen he had been writing with. "Is there something wrong, Dean?"

"No… not wrong. I just… Carlos said that I should ask- he let me try some of his… stuff and he said I should ask you for some." He felt his face flushing pink. He was being scammed. Carlos hated him and was trying to get him kicked out. What was he thinking actually asking what appeared to be a respectable adult for drugs?!

But the man only smiled, opening a drawer. "Here you are. But I will warn you, they are hard to find."

"Oh… uh, do I have to pay or something? I don't have much but -" but it would be worth it. Anything would be worth it to fight back the rage and anger and anxiety and deep sadness that seemed to perpetrate every essence of his soul.

Another soft smile. "How about I give them to you this time, there's only enough for a week. We can meet this time next week and we can work out a payment, alright?"

Dean knew. He knew this was a bad idea. This guy was literally following the book. Free drugs to get you hooked. Letting you know that you can't get these anywhere else.

But he wanted them.

He needed them.

Instead of all of the doubts, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a heartfelt, "Thank you."

~SPN ~

"What?!" The jarring answer had Caleb's guard up, but also nearly sighing with relief. It had been four days. Four days with no leads and absolutely no signs of Dean. Caleb still called Dean's phone multiple times a day, always with no answer.

Today there was an answer.

"Yes, yes, hello, who is this?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Caleb's shoulders tensed. Some rando had Deuce's phone with no sign of the kid.

"Maybe after I find out why you have my friend's phone." He answered icily.

The man on the other end let out a bark of a laugh. "He left his phone here and we have a no return policy. Tell your friend to keep better track of his stuff."

The psychic grit his teeth. Trying to keep calm despite the rage and worry encircling his gut. "Where exactly is here? He can't remember where he left it."

"Sounds like your buddy needs to lay off at the bar."

If Caleb could strangle the man through the telephone he would.

"Look, fine, he got black out drunk. His phone isn't the only thing he lost. He can't even remember what bar he was at and he thinks he left some things there too. Can you at least give me a town?" He'd tried tracking it but up until today there'd been no luck whatsoever.

"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?"

Yeah absolutely not. "Fine."

"Wickford, Michigan." The line went dead.

~SPN~

Wickford, Michigan wasn't all that large. The town itself held four bars and two motels. The buildings were generally run down and there didn't seem to be much lavish lifestyle. It looked like a place that the Winchesters would feel right at home in.

The first motel garnished nothing. It was run by an old couple who may not have been all sunshine and rainbows, but were a far cry from the crude man he'd spoken on the phone with. Caleb got a room for the night and headed to the other motel across town.

As soon as he saw it he knew it was the place. The place couldn't pass an inspection if the inspector was blind. If nothing else he'd smell it and give it a big fat fail.

Caleb didn't wait around or try to find Dean's room. He barged into the office, startling the man who had sounded much tougher than he looked. The man dropped his joint and Caleb smirked. So that was the smell, pot. He should have realized. This place was probably used to make lots of trades. Likely more than just weed.

A thought that the man had been repressing surged forward with a vengeance. Dean was young and attractive and alone.

But he also knew how to take care of himself.

Deuce wouldn't let anything happen to him that he didn't want to happen.

Hopefully.

"Where's the kid?" Caleb slammed his hand down on the desk.

The man's eyes widened. "I-I thought you said you'd leave me alone!"

"Well," Caleb said with a sickly sweet voice. "Considering that my kid brother has been missing for a week, and now you have his phone, you're lucky I came here all on my own without calling the cops."

Color leached from the man's face.

"Hey, hey I didn't do nothin' to him. He left his phone in the room, that's all."

"Give me the phone."

The device was pulled out of a drawer and fumbled into the psychic's hands.

"Why'd he leave?"

The man hesitated.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Hey man, his card was maxed. He left on his own 'n everything! I didn't run him out or nothin'!"

"Do you know where he went?"

The man shook his head.

"What room was he in?"

"Uh…" He frantically moved through some papers. "Thirteen."

Caleb simply held out his hand and the man scrambled around the desk until he found a key attached to a big one-three.

"When did he check out?"

"Uh… about a week ago?"

With a clenched jaw, the psychic turned and exited the office.

The man was telling the truth. A quick swipe at his head told Caleb that the man had told him everything he'd known.

Caleb also knew that Dean was smart. He wouldn't just leave his phone behind. Unless it was an intentional ditch. Which… which was very possible given the circumstances.

Deuce hadn't been in the best mindset after everything went down with John, and who could blame him? But if that continued… and it probably looked like Caleb had ignored him.

The key stuck but opened the door after a moment.

Caleb didn't know what he expected to find. The room had been cleaned… kinda. He supposed it was as clean as the room got. The bed was made and there was a single folded towel in the bathroom.

He pulled open the drawers but found nothing.

Times like this he wished he had some of his dad's ability. Everything might have been scrubbed by now but it'd be worth a shot.

But he wasn't ready to call his dad.

Not yet.

Not until he knew a bit more. Or until he was truly at his breaking point.

Caleb sat on the bed, pulling out the phone.

One answered call.

A couple dozen from Caleb starting four days previous.

An outgoing call to him.

Three outgoing to Sam.

Caleb steadied his breath. Anger came back for the Winchesters. All of them this time.

Sam for being the little brat he was and never realizing that his actions had consequences for Dean if not for himself.

John for being the abusive and manipulative jerk that Caleb had always known he was but tried to ignore for unity's sake.

And at Deuce. At Deuce for not going to Bobby's or Jim's. At Dean for not calling anyone but Caleb. The one person who was out of range. Mac was in New York doing medical work. He would have answered or called back. Jim was at the Farm. Bobby always answered his phone.

But no!

He had to give up after one call!

And five days.

He'd waited five days to ditch the phone.

Waited until his funds ran out.

Waited and hoped but not tried again.

Because the Brotherhood may have cared for Dean, but Caleb was the only one to ever actively stick up for him.

And if Caleb didn't care, who did that leave?

His anger faded with the realization of the kid's twisted logic.

Hadn't Dean said it in his message?

Caleb was the only one he could turn to.

And Deuce truly believed that.

Caleb didn't know what would win out, his anger or his grief.

~SPN~

The first bar was nice. Too nice for Dean to have spent any time or money there but it was worth a shot.

"Yeah." The bartender answered, a wall of expensive alcohol behind him. "He came in, looked around and left. This is the closest thing this town has to a social club. Street urchins are not welcome." The man looked him up and down as if he wasn't quite sure if Caleb was acceptable enough for them.

If he only knew that Caleb could give a single call and put down enough money to buy the bar and all the alcohol in it.

"He looked a mess." The man continued, only feeding Caleb's anger. "I'd suggest looking under one of the bridges."

The next two hadn't seen the kid, which was slightly surprising. Dean tended to hide in bars when he had nowhere else to go. Especially if his card was maxed he should have been jumping between bars until he got enough money to comfortably skip town.

The last bar in town was the most run down. The alcohol was ridiculously cheap, but must have been terrible as the place was nearly empty. A few clearly underage kids were hanging around and would occasionally pass him a glare as if to dare him to try and take the alcohol from them.

Dean would fit right in here.

The bartender watched him warily.

"Can I help you?" The man was large and covered in tattoos. He looked more like a bouncer than a bartender.

"Yeah, I'm looking for my kid brother. His name is Dean. About six foot. Twenty. Green eyes."

The man lifted his chin, watching him. "Brother, huh?"

Caleb didn't like the tone the man was using. "Yeah. Brother. That a problem?"

"Kid came in. Fit your description. Didn't have no family though."

Eyes briefly closed as he grit his teeth, Caleb let out a breath and smiled. "That's probably him. He's been… moody lately. All 'I have no family' and crap. You know how kids that age can be."

"Yeah."

There was silence between them for a moment.

"So, do you know where he went?" Caleb finally ventured, trying to keep his exasperation out of his voice.

"He left."

"But where did he go?"

"None of my business. And if he's over eighteen it's really none of yours."

Caleb felt like he had been slapped. "What does his age have to do with anything?"

"Nothin'." The man shrugged, "'Cept you have no right to drag him back into wherever he came from. Looked to me like gettin' out was something he should have left a long time ago."

The implication that Caleb had any hand in what happened to Dean caused him to flush red. "You don't-"

"And gettin' out is something you should do before the boss gets here. He's real protective of all the kids who come through here."

Caleb's initial reaction was to fight back. But he had to admit that he had begun to feel ill. It could have just been the conversation but he had the sudden overwhelming urge to get out.

He spun around, fighting the nausea and pressure in his brain.

Once in his jeep he let out a breath.

Dean was fine.

Dean would be fine.

Since when did anxiety hit him in almost palpable waves?

Was Dean's connection weaker or was it just his head?

He should probably sleep.

But he needed to find Dean.

But his head was killing him.

Reluctantly, he headed back to his motel.

He'd find Dean just… just after his brain released this sudden migraine.

~TH~

Reviews (I've been forgetting to respond I'm so sorry!):

Shazza19: Here's Caleb! Sorry for the lack of warning lol. Yeah, Dean's feeling pretty lost and confused. I wanna hug the baby (even tho he's the exact same age as me in this story lol). The Triad will get involved before the end of the story but far of the fun is when will that happen? You'll see ;)

Secretwrittenword: Thank you! Capturing characters is my passion and I'm so glad when people say it's good! Here's Caleb lol. I forgot it was this chapter but at least you didn't have to wait lol. I don't have any Sam POVs planned rn, but we will be getting some Sam in the near future!

WastedJamie: Thank you! I shouldn't feel complimented that I write John's abuse accurate by I am lol. John will also be making a brief appearance within the next couple of chapters. We'll see a bit more of what he's thinking of the whole situation. I don't like him lol. Like I know I sometimes write him really bad I try to not to make him too bad in the Brotherhood at least. But even if I'm kind to him I don't like him lol. Sorry that was a mini rant. Anyway, thank you!

Princess of the Fae: He'll get found... eventually.

Kathy: Yeah Dean isn't making the best of decisions... Caleb's certainly trying! It's me who's holding him back lol

EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester: Sameeeeeee

Meilan: They were something for sure ;) The whole Caleb and Dean relationship is definitely gonna... uh... happen. Stuff will go down in both the good and bad way. But don't worry! Caleb is looking and will never stop!

So?

Whiteman?

Caleb?

Dean?

I've seen lot of speculation on the drugs, so I really hope you're not disappointed when it's revealed. It will be revealed tho, just not yet.

But isn't protective Caleb HOT?!

Next chapter is back to Dean and ima be honest it has some plot points but it's wrapped in filler fluff. Idk if I like it or not but it was necessary, y'know?

Which leads to my minor personal update. I don't really talk about where I live and stuff but oh well lol. Basically we supposed to get pounded by a hurricane next weekend. Last time I kept really spotty cell service/wifi but that was a Cat2 and we're looking at a 4+. It may hit. It may not. I may keep internet. I may be in black zone for a bit. I really don't know lol. All this to say! I'm going to assess the situation and I may post early or I may have Line (Pricelesstrashpanda) upload for me (if you're reading this before I ask you, I apologize lol). Again! I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, but if I post early or not at all, know I'm not neglect ya'll I'm just not sure what's gonna go down yet!

Now that THAT uncomfortable rabbit trail is out of the way, please please please tell me what you think! You guys have been leaving the BEST comments!

Love you guys!

Much love and God bless,

Jamie