"He got into a car with Rick and his brother?" Dean asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I think so," replied Jake hesitantly.

"And he went with them on purpose?" Dean inquired, still in disbelief

"I guess so," shrugged Jake. "I really don't know."

"Why the hell would he do that?" asked Dean, more to himself than to Jake. "This is the same kid who was gonna beat the snot outta him a couple of days ago!"

Jake just shrugged his shoulders and looked at Dean. He didn't know why Sam had gone off with Rick and he didn't know how to answer his brother's questions.

Dean frowned and remained standing at the entrance to Jake's home making both Jake and his sister a little uncomfortable. But he was lost in thought, trying to figure out why his brother would have gone off with Rick and Robin and it had simply slipped his mind that he was still standing at their door.

After a moment, Dean snapped back into reality and smiled quickly at Jake and his sister, said, "Thanks" and turned to leave.

As he walked back to the Impala he turned around and asked, "You wouldn't have any idea where they might have gone, would you?"

Jake shrugged uncomfortably, "No. Sorry."

Dean sat in his car and stared out the windshield, once again deep in thought. He had no idea where Robin would have taken his brother or what he planned to do with him. But he was positive that this was all designed as payback for him. And Sammy was just being used as the pawn.

Dean started the Impala and pulled away from the curb. He really didn't know where he was headed; there was no way he was going back to the motel without his brother and he had absolutely no idea where Robin would have taken Sam. He didn't even know where he lived. Not that Robin would be stupid enough to take Sam to his house.

So how was he going to find Sam?

Then it came to him.

Nancy would know where Robin would be. And wherever Robin was, that's where Sammy would be.

When Dean drove up to Nancy's house, he saw her mother working in the front garden, so he parked the car by the curb, got out and started walking up the laneway.

"Mrs. Torchak," he called out as he approached her.

Nancy's mother turned around and recognized him immediately. "Dean!" she responded, more than a little surprised to see him.

"Is Nancy home?"

"No, I'm sorry, she's not."

Mrs. Torchak had taken an instant liking to Dean Winchester when she had first met him. He was polite and charming and she thought he was a much better match for her daughter than Robin Leavey, whom her daughter had been dating throughout high school. She found Robin to be not only snobbish but also conniving and perhaps a bit untrustworthy. There was just something about him that rubbed her the wrong way and she had been more than a little happy when Nancy had come home earlier this year and told her that she was dating someone else. She had gushed almost non-stop about this new boy at school since the start of the school year and when Dean had finally asked her out, she had dropped Robin like a hot potato. That's why she couldn't understand it when Nancy ended up back with Robin just a few weeks later and wouldn't even talk about what had happened. But who could understand teenagers?

"Would you know where I might be able to find her?" asked Dean politely.

"She's probably at Maxfield's with some of her friends. That's where she usually goes on Fridays after school." "She smiled and added, almost regrettably, "That is, if she's not with Robin."

"Thanks," responded Dean, ignoring the comment about Robin because he doubted very much that Nancy would be with Robin tonight. Before he turned to leave he asked, "If she happens to come home, can you ask her to call me? I think she still has my number."

"Of course," she replied, knowing that his phone number was still listed as number 7 on their speed-dial. Something else she didn't quite understand.

Maxfield's was the little diner just down the road from the high school. It made sense that Nancy would be there; it seemed to be the focal point for the local teenagers in this town. When Dean had first taken Nancy out, she had been adamant that they end their date at Maxfield's and he was pretty sure that it was so she could "show him off" to everyone in town. He had gone along with it because he figured it was the fastest way to get the gossip going and let Robin know that he had taken his girlfriend out.

Now he drove over there not quite sure what kind of a reception she was going to give him. Not that he was really concerned. If Nancy wouldn't talk to him, he was pretty sure one of her girlfriends would.

Dean pulled the Impala into a parking spot right in front of Maxfield's and looked into the diner through the big picture window. Sure enough, there was Nancy sitting with three of her friends. Dean only recognized two of the other girls and knew both of them were going steady with a couple of Robin's teammates on the football team. He couldn't remember ever seeing the fourth girl before which could work in his favor if Nancy wouldn't talk to him; she'd probably talk to him without too much persuasion.

Dean strode confidently into the diner, walking right up to the cash without looking around. After he ordered a coke, he casually spun around and leaned against the counter so he could survey the room. He let his gaze fall on Nancy and her friends and when the waitress brought him his drink, he nonchalantly wandered across the room until he stood directly in front of their booth.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure," replied the girl he didn't know. She picked up her purse and scooted over in the seat to make room for him to sit beside her, which earned her a nasty scowl from Nancy.

'So far, so good.'

Dean sat down next to her, moving over in the seat until was sitting opposite Nancy. But he ignored Nancy as he turned to the girl he was sitting beside and introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Dean," he smiled sweetly. "And you are?"

"Heather Tait."

Dean looked across the table at Nancy and asked casually, "Sooo…where's Robin?" as he glanced around the small diner, pretended to look for him.

"He's not here," she replied coldly.

'A little icy, but nothing I can't handle.' "I can see that," he answered with a smile. "Does he always make a habit out of leaving you alone on Friday nights?"

"Only when he's busy," came the chilly response.

"Okay…Looks like I'm gonna have to work a bit at this.' "Too busy for you?" he asked, sounding amazed. Then he shook his head and added, "That's just not right."

"What's not right?" Nancy asked curiously.

"That he'd have something better to do on a Friday night than spend it with you."

"He told me he'd see me later," Nancy countered.

"Really?" asked Dean skeptically. "Later…when?"

"I dunno," replied Nancy uneasily. "He didn't say. He just said later."

"Oh," continued Dean undaunted, 'Guess I'm gonna have to coax it outta her.' "Well, where could he possibly have gone that he couldn't take you with him?"

"He had to go to his family's vacation house on Grand Lake and he told me he'd call me when he got back."

"Is that so," stated Dean incredulously. "He just had to go out there all by himself on a Friday night?"

"A few of the guys from the football team went with him," explained Nancy awkwardly. "He said he had to do something for his parents." All Dean's questions were making her wonder what Robin was really doing – and who he was doing it with - but she found herself trying to defend him anyway.

"He and a couple o' football players went to his family's vacation home on a Friday night because he had to do something for his parents? And they couldn't take their girlfriends?" Then he shrugged dispassionately, "Sure doesn't sound too kosher to me."

Dean doubted that any of the girls had received much in the way of explanations from their boyfriends as to what they were up to and he was hoping that his comments and questions would plant just enough tiny seeds of suspicion in the girls' minds. Make them just uncertain enough to decide they had to find out exactly what their boyfriends were doing.

He took a slow sip of his drink as he sat back and watched the girls innocently. Nancy took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed one of the pre-programmed numbers in its directory; no doubt she was trying to call Robin. Dean placed his arm across the back of the seat making it look like he might be taking the first move to put his arm around Heather. He caught Nancy's unhappy glare before she quickly looked away.

Dean turned to Heather and said, "I haven't seen you around school."

Heather smiled back at him and said, "Oh, I'm not from around here. I'm just visiting for the weekend. Nancy and I are cousins."

Dean nodded as he watched Nancy hang up the phone and immediately dial another number. Obviously whomever she had phoned had not answered and he noted that she didn't look very happy. He looked back at Heather and asked with interest, "Do you visit your cousin often?"

"Usually every couple of months," replied Heather before she added brightly, "But I'd come more often if I had a reason."

Nancy's second call had also gone unanswered and Dean noted that she hadn't left a message. "Guess he must be too busy to talk to you right now," he stated offhandedly before he picked up his drink and finished it. As he stood up, he said, "Been nice chattin' with you ladies but, unfortunately I have to go. Have a wonderful evening together." He smiled at Heather as he added, "Maybe I'll catch up with you later."

Dean sauntered out of the diner and got into the Impala. He sat in the car for a few minutes pretending that he was fiddling with the car radio while he watched the girls through the window. They were deep in conversation when he pulled out of the parking lot. And he hoped he knew what they were discussing.

Dean drove down the highway in the direction of Grand Lake. After he had driven about eight miles, he pulled onto a sideroad and turned the Impala around so it sat facing the highway. He let the car idle as he waited behind some trees, just out of sight from the cars traveling on the highway but where he could observe every car that passed by. About twenty minutes later he saw Nancy's car drive by with the four girls inside. Dean smiled to himself knowing that he had been successful in arousing their curiosity about what their boyfriends were doing and that they were going to lead him right to Sam in their attempt to find them. He cautiously pulled back onto the highway and followed them, keeping just far enough behind so they wouldn't recognize his car and know he was trailing them.

Dean shadowed the girls for the entire trip to Grand Lake. When Nancy turned onto a road that looked like it led into a cluster of private homes, Dean didn't follow her. Instead he kept driving down the road until he found a place he could pull over and wait. He didn't want to follow the girls up to the Leavey's house and risk everyone seeing him and recognizing his car. He figured he'd wait a few minutes to let them get to Robin's and go inside. And then Robin and his buddies would be too busy dealing with their girlfriends to even think about him.

Ten minutes later, Dean proceeded down the road in the direction he had seen Nancy drive. Each time he came to a house, he slowed down to check out the vehicles that were parked in the laneway. At the ninth laneway, he hit pay dirt; there were both Robin's Mustang and Nancy's Honda Civic along with the pickup truck that had blocked his exit from school the other day.

Dean quickly scrutinized both the house and surrounding yard before he drove on. A thick stone wall encircled the entire property and an imposing wrought-iron gate closed off the driveway to unwanted visitors, both of which were designed to keep the grounds private and inaccessible.

Dean hadn't planned on driving up to the house and walking in the front door anyway. But, with the way the property was protected by the huge wall, Dean was sure there would be some sort of security systems he'd have to deal with before he even made it to the house. Not that he was all that concerned about it. He'd had to gain access to lots of places with heavier security than this place would have. After all, it was only a private residence and there were a whole bunch of people inside. Most of the security devices would already be turned off. It was usually harder to get into an empty building than an occupied one.

While getting in would be the easy part, getting out unnoticed might be a bit more difficult, especially if Sammy was hurt. And there was always the chance that they wouldn't get out undiscovered but would have an angry posse on their tails. In either case it would be hard enough to breach the distance across the yard but scaling that wall would not be easy. Still, he had done harder things. And so had Sammy.

Dean slowly backed the Impala down the road; he'd find a place to park it just out of sight. As he contemplated where he would leave the car, Dean noticed an almost inconspicuous trail on the far side of the road. The trail wasn't well used or even that noticeable but it looked wide enough for him to park the Impala. And, if he backed it up far enough, it would be next to impossible to see the car from the road once it got dark.

After he finished concealing the car in the bushes, Dean found a broken branch and swept it across the tire tracks that the Impala had made as he backed it onto the trail. He didn't want to leave any viable sign that a car had recently been backed into the vegetation. You never knew what was going to happen and it never hurt to take extra precautions.

Dean glanced down the road to make sure everything was quiet before he set out for the Leavey's house. He stayed close to the bushes in case someone were to come unexpectedly down the road. It was just getting dark as Dean neared the house. He looked carefully through the ornate gate for any sign of movement in the yard. When nothing caught his eye, he jogged quickly along the wall until he came to a spot where some of the stones were starting to crumble. He used the ruts in the wall to anchor his feet as he scrambled up to the top.

Dean lay horizontally across the top of the stone wall to minimize the risk of anyone seeing him as he once again surveyed the yard and the house. None of the exterior lights were on so the yard was swathed in almost complete darkness, which would camouflage his approach unless the outside lights were attached to a motion-sensor. In that case, he'd have to be extra-vigilant as he made his way toward the house.

Inside the house, lights were on in various rooms including most of the rooms on the main floor. From his position on the wall, Dean could see right into the main room and he noticed that three of the four girls were there. But he only saw two male figures in the same room as the girls, which left at least three other people unaccounted for. As Dean observed the house, he rapidly determined that the two males in the room were the boyfriends of Nancy friends. So that left, Nancy, Robin and Rick all unaccounted for. And probably Andy too. Dean didn't think he'd miss out on an opportunity to get even with him.

Dean scurried along the top the wall until he reached the rear corner of the yard. From there he could see into the large kitchen at the back of the house. Sure enough, there were Robin and Nancy, engaged in what looked like a rather heated argument.

'Perfect.'

Dean could see movement in one of the upstairs rooms but the window was obscured by a closed curtain so he was unable to determine exactly what was happening, although he was willing to bet that's where they were keeping Sammy. He lay still for a few minutes as he evaluated the situation.

All together, Dean figured there were at least nine people in the house not including his brother. The four girls wouldn't be a problem and their presence might even work to his advantage should he get caught. Girls usually weren't into violence and from the looks he had gotten from both Nancy and Heather, they probably wouldn't take too kindly to Robin and his buddies assaulting him. Of course, it would be better not to get caught and have to test that theory.

Dean would have liked to stake out the house for a bit longer to obtain a better idea of the house's layout and to determine exactly how many people were in there, but he didn't want to give them any more time to get comfortable. Not to mention the fact that he didn't have any idea what was happening with his brother and wasn't too crazy about the idea of him being in there alone with Robin and all his cronies. So, he carefully slid off the wall taking care to remain hidden in the shadows obscuring the rear corner of the property.

Dean discreetly advanced toward the house using the trees that were growing randomly around the yard to shield himself. With each stop he made, he carefully scanned the property for any type of security devices that he might accidentally trigger before he progressed closer to his target. He was somewhat surprised at the lack of safety precautions in the yard. The only equipment he was able to pick out were the motion-detection lights attached to the sides of the house.

When he reached the house without activating any of the exterior lights, Dean crept slowly along the side of the house until he came to a set of patio doors leading into a darkened room. Dean glanced between the slats of the vertical blinds and noticed that these doors led into a bedroom which was a perfect room through which to gain access into the house. The bedroom was probably pretty secluded from the rest of the main floor and, hopefully, not far from the stairs to the second floor. Once he got inside, all he'd have to do was go up those stairs, find Sammy and get them both the hell out of there.

Piece of cake. Especially with how easy it was to break in through patio doors.

Dean slipped silently into the room and quietly slid the patio door shut. Just as he closed the patio door, the exterior lights to the back deck clicked on. Dean backed up against the wall and moved one of the blind slats minutely in order to see what was going on outside.

Robin emerged from the house and walked to the middle of the deck. He glanced around the yard before he looked back into the house and motioned for someone to bring something out to him. Dean watched as Sam came out of the house next, flanked by Marty Wallace and Eric Bennett, the two boyfriends of the girls who were with Nancy. After they had joined Robin on the deck, Dean saw Rick come out of the house and go to stand right beside Sam.

Dean waited patiently to see what they were going to do; Sam didn't seem to be in any immediate danger and, after quickly checking him out, Dean was satisfied that no harm had come to him either.

Not yet, anyway.

Suddenly, Robin yelled out across the backyard, "WINCHESTER!" He paused and listened to the echo of his cry reverberate across the darkened area before he called out loudly, "We know you're out there! There's no point hiding anymore!"

Okay…so they knew he was here. Not that he was all that surprised. They had to figure he'd come after Sam. After all, that must have been the point of taking him in the first place. To get Dean to come after him. Still, Dean didn't move from his hiding spot. He remained pressed against the wall, observing the scene on the back deck. They might know he was here, but they obviously didn't know he had already gotten into the house. No point revealing his whereabouts until he knew exactly what they were up to.

"Come on out Winchester," persuaded Robin vociferously. "Time for you to take your licks like a man! Unless, of course, you're willing to let your brother take them for you!"

With that, Robin nodded toward his brother and Rick swiftly punched Sam in the abdomen , causing him to fall to his knees. Dean watched helplessly as Marty and Eric grabbed Sam and hauled him back to his feet. As they held him securely by his arms, Dean saw Rick flick a small pocketknife open and approach Sam. He held it up to Sam's cheek and looked at his brother as if waiting for permission to slice it across Sam's face.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," rhymed off Robin wickedly. "Or I'm gonna let my brother start carving up his pretty little face!"