Chapter 14

The sirens of an ambulance wailed in the distance. Dean struggled to sit and his father helped him to stand. John's oldest son was doing fairly well in the expulsion, so far. It was far from over, though; these things lasted hours that often stretched into days. John would know the antidote was taking a full swing at the poison when Dean started showing flu-like symptoms. In fact, to a well-trained doctor, the process would even look like the flu. It would test like the flu and treat the victim with similar discomfort, but it would be worse. It would be much, much worse and often the fever that accompanied the process created a sense of delirium. John hoped that wouldn't happen until after Sammy was safe.

"Let's go, before the paramedics get here and want me to go with them." Dean replied simply.

John's oldest son allowed the often-absent-father figure to support him on the way to the truck and help him inside. Dean's eyes drifted to his car.

"Wait. Dad, what about my car? There is a pile of weapons in the back, plus Sammy's laptop. If the crime guys search, they'll pin us for attempted murder." Dean said.

Without hesitation, John handed the keys to his truck over to his son and locked very serious eyes on him.

"You have to drive my truck to the nearest store or motel and wait for me. I'll bring Kacey out here and act as though I called the medics, cause your footprints, Sam's and my own are littering that place, they'll get us for sure. Switch me phones, the emergency call is still on your phone if they ask for proof. The car will look like it belongs to me. Go Dean, and be careful. I'll get there as soon as I'm done here." John replied. He'd thought this through on a whim and he hoped that it would work.

Dean nodded slowly and slid into the driver's seat. A small shudder of pain attacked his muscles and he flinched. John didn't miss it.

"It's started, hasn't it?" He asked.

"Yes sir, I think it has." Dean muttered cautiously.

"Dean, you can do this, just drive. It'll be a little while before it gets bad. You'll be fine to pull this off. Trust me." John assured his son.

Dean asked no questions and started the truck. Before he'd even pulled out onto the road, John had started running back to where Kacey lay. He'd have to do this as soon as possible because the sirens were getting closer. When John arrived, Kacey was just beginning to grope his way back to consciousness. He gently pulled the slumping young man to his feet, and pulled Dean's jacket along with him. It didn't take long to get out to the parking lot, where he lay the young man gently down and replaced Dean's jacket beneath Kacey's dark hair. He shrugged his own off and tossed it into the Impala, opening the door to make it look like he'd gotten out in a hurry.

He ran back to Kacey's side and dropped to his knees. The young man was just opening his eyes when John's face hovered over his. He tried to speak, but John placed a finger to his lips to shush him.

"The paramedics are on their way, Kacey. It won't be long. Try to stay with me, okay?" John asked gently. He looked up as an ambulance screamed into the parking lot and three paramedics got out to rush to the scene.

"What happened?" One of them asked in a clipped tone.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Another called to Kacey, who nodded his head feebly.

"I don't know, I was on my way through and I saw him here." John replied.

A police car pulled in behind the ambulance and two officers got out, a man and a woman. They hurried to the scene. Paramedics were strapping Kacey to a backboard and lifting him from the ground. One of them picked up the jacket.

"This yours?" She asked. Her voice was questioning.

John nodded. "Yes ma'am." He reached out and took Dean's jacket gently from the woman.

The coat clearly wouldn't fit the broader Winchester, but the paramedics didn't bring that up. They hurried Kacey into the ambulance and it tore out of the lot toward the hospital. John was left with the two police officers and he smiled tightly at them. The woman came over.

"You make the call?" She asked in a sharp tone.

John nodded silently.

"I'm going to need to see your phone." She said.

John obediently pulled it from his back pocket and handed it to her. She hit the button for the call log and skimmed through it. She saw the number for the emergency service and nodded before showing it to her partner.

"You found him?" the woman questioned.

"I did."

"Can I get your name?"

"John." The older man replied simply.

"Okay, John. I'm presuming that's your car?"

"It is."

"We're gonna have to search it."

"Go ahead." John motioned them toward the Impala. They took him up on his invitation and stepped briskly over to the vehicle where they began a thorough search.

The father figure stood silently aside and watched. However, his thoughts kept drifting back and forth between his two sons.


Dean gasped as another jolt of pain rippled through his muscles and a heavy feeling settled in his head, making his stomach churn. He bit it back, leaned his head against the driver's window, and closed his eyes when the cool glass penetrated his fevered skin. Where was his father? Sammy was still in trouble.

He sat up straight and fumbled in the dash for a medical kit. While he didn't find a complete one, he found a bottle of painkillers nestled in the corner. He took the bottle, opened it and shook two of the pills into his uninjured palm. He swallowed them dry, returned the bottle to the dash, and leaned his head against the window once again. He waited in the parking lot of the motel, as his dad had ordered him to do.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the familiar purr of his car's engine pull up next to him. The door slammed and a light knock rapped at the window. He looked up through weary eyes and stared into the face of his father. The expression on John's face was one of masked concern.

"Dean? Are you doing okay, son?" The father asked, but he could see that Dean clearly wasn't doing the best. The police had held him up longer than he intended and he could only pray that they weren't too late to save his youngest boy from death.

"Yeah, more or less." Dean replied. He covered the pain and discomfort he was feeling. It was the Winchester way. It was what his father had always taught him to do and so, he did it.

"Slide over, we're going to get your brother. I think there's a good chance that the demon took him to the South Serenity cemetery. I sensed the thing's presence when I passed there the first time." John said and waited for Dean to slide into the passenger seat before opening the door and getting in.

"Yeah, I can understand that. There was an odd feeling there the last time Sam and I went by." Dean replied, careful not to mention the fact that Sam had stopped breathing temporarily while at the cemetery.

John started the engine and pulled the truck onto the road. He directed it toward the cemetery and stepped on it. Time was crucial.

A/N: Okay, Sammy comes back in the next chapter! Until then, happy reading and lemme know what you think!