AU: Sorry this one is so short... I'll try to do better next time!


He missed them more than he could say because if he actually said it out loud then it would bring it home on a whole other level. If they were here then dad would already have a plan and mom would give her patented smile to let them know that everything was alright. That was the problem though – they weren't there, and in fact if they were then none of them would be in this mess to begin with.

Taking a deep breath, John looked in the backseat and smiled at the sight of Dean and Sammy curled up together lost in their own little world sound asleep. He knew that Dean didn't trust him right now and that Sammy didn't trust anyone, but he knew that this was for the best; if they were separated, there would be no one to watch over his little brothers and that was totally unacceptable.

As the sun began to peek through the tree line, he was thankful that he had learned years ago to stay awake for days if needed. It saved a lot of time and he was able to get a lot more done without the normal interruptions. As he continued down the road though he allowed his mind to drift to one of the few times he had been allowed to hunt with his dad without everyone else around. They had been after a banshee and after two days of tracking the sightings it became obvious that it was just a bunch of teenagers who had set out to terrify their neighbors. Normally they would have left the area disgusted with the obvious waste of time, but for some reason Dad had wanted to stick around and see how far it went. Chuckling at the memory, John could still remember the screeching of one of the teens' mothers when she caught her boy and his friends in the act. After watching her take a broom over the boy's head a few times all the while screaming at the top of her lungs, he had been surprised to see his dad laughing all the while trying to stutter out 'guess we know who he patterned the banshee after.' It had taken them days not to laugh out loud when either of them remembers that, but what was even funnier was the indignant looks on his brothers faces when they found out that he and their dad shared something that they weren't a part of. Now that would never happen again – there would be no more inside jokes, no more side glances that would send them both into gales of laughter while everyone else stopped and stared.

He chanced another glance at the backseat and finally admitted to himself what he'd been feeling all this time; he felt alone. As crazy as it sounded with his two brothers in the backseat, he truly felt alone in the world and he had no idea what to do about it.

Once again lost in his thoughts, allowing the Impala to make its own way down the narrow road while he only applied pressure to the accelerator or slightly adjusted the steering, basically on autopilot in an effort to not think too much while at the same time failing miserably at that process, he didn't notice the small warm body make its way over the back of the seat until its warmth was already nestled up against him in the attempt to give him the comfort he didn't realize he was missing. Looking down he saw Sammy curled up at his side and he smiled, the knowledge that we was only as alone as he wanted to be set now firmly in his brain.

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Judge Anderson could not believe what he had just been told – the Winchester brothers were gone! He received the phone call not even five minutes ago and still hadn't wrapped his head around it. As he looked at the file before him once again he had to wonder what was going through their heads if they thought this was going to go unnoticed. Hearing a strong knock on his office door he groaned before granting admittance since he already knew who it was going to be.

"You know we shouldn't be seen together, especially right now." He said crossly as he stood and reached over to grab his hanging robe. He knew he had another ten minutes before his first case but he really didn't want this meeting to get out of hand – so far he'd managed to hold his own, but even he was going to have to pay the piper one day.

The man who had walked into the judge's chambers looked on in amusement – he knew he didn't have to remind the man before him the debt that was owed, but he wasn't there to rub the insignificant knat's nose in it. "I have no idea what you're talking about your Honor, I'm just here to check on the heater – we got a work order that it wasn't working properly."

Knowing that there was no way to get around the imposter in front of him; Anderson nodded and motioned to the chairs in front of the desk. When he acknowledged that the man wasn't going to sit, he continued to stand as well and watched warily the amusement that flickered across the face that he was looking at.

"So, John took his little brothers and ran. What are your people doing about it?"

"The police have been notified to keep a look out for them. They've only been told that I want to make sure they're alright and not to make any moves against them at this time." Judge Anderson said quietly, hoping that no one would walk in and hear what was being discussed.

Laughing, the man allowed his eyes to flicker yellow, and then enjoyed the horrified look on the pathetic figure before him. "You'll tell them that new information has come to you and you believe that the eldest Winchester has kidnapped his brothers during what you believe is a psychotic break. You'll notify that wonderful agency that takes in abandoned and abused children, and you'll fill them in on what you tell the police, then when they find them, you'll make sure that they're separated. Do we understand each other?"

The judge continued to stare at the now empty spot before him, not bothering to wonder how he got himself into this position – he already knew and he wish he could kill himself for it.

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Caleb could not believe what was going on. It was bad enough that two of his good friends had been murdered during a hunt, but now their boys were gone and he couldn't help but wonder how he could have prevented it. Of course the answer was simple – they should never have left them alone. However it was too late now, now he and the others needed to find the boys and figure out what the hell was going on because there was no way he was willing to chalk everything up to coincidence, that would just be too convenient and that was something that never happened in a hunter's life.

Sighing, he allowed his frustration to surface a moment before tucking it away once again. Being on the road with hardly any communication with the others was starting to wear thin on him, but it had been close to a week now since they lost contact with the boys and he couldn't help but worry that they were running out of time to find them and that made him push himself even harder; often ignoring the protests and suggestions of his friends. Something wasn't right about this whole situation and the only thing he could do was chase after leads that didn't seem to make sense half the time.

Flipping the radio off he worried about the news reports that were already making their way across the country claiming that Johnny had kidnapped both Dean and Sammy while suffering from some sort of mental break due to the stress of his parents' deaths. It was something that they didn't need, and he knew the boys would find a place to hide and not come out for a very long time; which scared him more than the thought of facing the demon that was on their asses. He knew John would keep the boys as safe as possible, but with Sammy still affected by whatever happened that night, he was positive that it was going to throw the older boys off in their tactics which made finding them all the more important.

Seeing a turn off, he slowed down only slightly and that's when he saw it – the dark car that suddenly appeared into his rear view mirror, allowing Caleb to understand that he'd been shadowed for awhile. Not knowing who it was, and not caring what they wanted, he took the turn fast and relished in the thought that the dust being kicked up from the dirt road would help hide him for a bit while he figured out exactly what to do because right now he was drawing a blank, only knowing that he needed to get rid of his pursuers so he could get back to what was more important – finding the Winchester brothers.