Author: kaly
Category: Gen
Rating: K+
Spoilers: Scarecrow
Summary: Sam thinks on his conversation with Dean and comes to a decision.
Notes: I had intended to write a post-Nightmare story but got sidetracked by this idea I had back when Scarecrow first aired.
Disclaimer: Not mine. The pretty, snarky, angsty brothers belong to the WB.
Choices
Sam looked at the clock for the fifteenth time in as many minutes, glaring at the hands that seemingly refused to move. The bus station was quiet and Meg was once again sleeping. Sam, however, was busy glaring at the clock and his phone in equal measure, wishing the latter would ring, all the while knowing it wouldn't.
Biting back a sigh, he looked at the clock once more to find that it was a grand total of two minutes later than the last time he had checked. Ever since he'd hung up from speaking with Dean the feeling of something not quite right had been increasing. Every tick of the second hand, a noise that was beginning seriously to grate on Sam's nerves, only accentuated it.
It wasn't as though Dean couldn't take care of the situation in Burkitsville, Sam knew he was more than capable of handling a hunt on his own. So he was at a loss to exactly what was bothering him. Growing frustrated by the uncertainty, Sam picked up his bags and moved over to the window, looking out to the brightening sky as though he might find an answer there.
The problem was, ill thought words aside, Sam hated not knowing that Dean was okay. He couldn't help feeling torn in two. On one side, the indignation still burned that their father was refusing them the right of facing their mother's killer. On the other, the compulsion to help his brother, to watch his back, was overwhelming.
But even though he was still waiting on the bus to California, his conversation with Dean kept playing over and over in his mind. There was something nagging him that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but one comment in particular bothered him.
I'm actually on my way to a local community college, I've got an appointment with a professor.
The words seemed ominous, in retrospect. If the people in the town were involved in what was happening, would that involvement reach to the school as well? What if it was a trap? Closing his eyes, the earlier unnamed worry suddenly tightened in Sam's stomach.
Sam tried to reassure himself that if Dean truly needed help he would call. However, doubts as to if Dean would be able - much less willing - to ask for help plagued him.
He'd rarely felt as close to his brother in years as he did that night, miles apart and on the phone. Dean had said things that Sam had never expected to hear and then let him go to find his own path. But the pain Sam had felt at saying goodbye returned ten fold as he thought of all the things that might have happened since they'd spoken.
Knowing he was probably worried over nothing and that he'd never hear the end of it, Sam dialed Dean's number anyway. He chewed on his lower lip, staring at the screen for a moment before hitting the send button. If nothing was wrong and he was merely overreacting, Dean could give him hell for being paranoid and Sam wouldn't care. At least the doubts would be settled.
Listening to ring after ring, Sam's concern increased. When the call clicked over to voice mail, he punched the end button and sighed. Maybe Dean had forgotten his phone in the car. He was probably busy interviewing someone and had left it behind. Though neither was like Dean.
Trying to ignore the growing misgivings, Sam glanced at his watch and decided he'd wait an hour or so and call again. Dean would answer, make some smart-ass remark about having a mother hen for a little brother, and everything would be fine.
Two phone calls and several bitten fingernails later, Sam knew where he was meant to be. It wasn't with a man in California that Sam hadn't seen in years. It was with the brother who had practically raised him, protected him and saved his ass on a regular basis.
As he hotwired a car, hidden in the back of the bus terminal parking lot, Sam couldn't help but think the choice was an easy one in the end. They had both lost so much - too much - growing up and Sam would never forgive himself if anything happened that he might've prevented.
He wasn't about to lose Dean, too.
fin