Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters
He was humming Metallica to try to calm himself down, but it wasn't working. So many thoughts were streaming through Dean's mind as the road stretched out in front of him. How would he help his brother deal with his grief, when would he tell him that the reason their father wasn't with him was because he was missing and Dean didn't have a clue where he was or even where to start looking. But his main worry was that after two years apart, could they go back to being brothers the way they used to be?
Dean had always known that this day would come, the day he would finally meet up with his brother again but he had never imagined that it would be like this. As he drove to Stanford he tried to fight back the feeling of dread that was beginning to take hold of him. His Dad was missing and now from the little information he had been able to get out of Sam, Jessica had died in the same tragic way that his mother had twenty-two years ago. He thought back to the last voicemail that he had received from his father warning him to be careful, that they were all in danger.
A thought flashed through his mind, could his father have known that something like this was coming. He immediately dismissed it, deep down knowing there was no way that his father would leave Sam unprotected if he had any idea about what was going to happen. But the more he thought about it the more he was certain that Jessica being killed was in some way connected to his fathers disappearance.
This was bad, really really bad. He pick up his cell and dialled, listening as it went straight to voicemail. As he waited until the familiar message had finished he took a deep breath while he waited for the beep.
"Dad, please if you get this message call me, I'm on my way to Stanford. Sam called, his girlfriend has been killed. I don't know everything, but it sounds like she died the same was as Mom. Dad, please, I don't know what to do."
Dean sighed as he cut the call, he knew that Sam was going to be expecting him to have the answers once he arrived but Dean knew that the information he had would only lead to further questions.
He looked at his watch, it had been twenty minutes since he last called Sam and heard his brothers' one-word replies. Calling his brother every fifteen minutes not only served to ensure that Sam was ok and that while in a state of shock and grief he was being reminded that his brother was on his way, but it also let Dean feel like he was doing something to help his brother even though he couldn't be with him. He was about another half hour from Stanford as he started to dial Sam's number again.
The call going to voicemail had Dean's heart rate increasing. Deciding against leaving a message, he redialled the number.
"Come on Sammy, pick up" he whispered.
He was certain that it was about to go through to voicemail again, when a voice answered "Hello"
With that one word, Dean Winchesters heart stopped, the voice on the other end of the phone wasn't Sam.
"Where's Sam, why have you got my brothers phone?" it can came out of Dean's mouth so fast that he was quite surprised to find the person on the other end actually understood what he had said.
"You're Dean" it didn't sound like a question to Dean, more a stated fact, that for unlike Dean this had been expected, and he listened as the voice on the other end of the line continued to speak.
"Sam said that you'd be calling. I'm his friend Zach. He can't come to the phone right now"
"What's wrong…..what's going on? Why can't he come to the phone?" Dean couldn't understand what was going on, he had just spoken to his brother a few minutes ago.
"Sorry, that came out wrong, I just meant that he asked me to answer the phone cause he said you'd be calling. The cops needed to talk to him, wanted some information on the fire."
The weight that had been bearing down on Dean's chest was suddenly released.
"Why is he talking to the cops, I thought the fire was an accident?" Dean had hoped that he would have arrived in Palo Alto before the cops had a chance to talk to Sam. He didn't like the idea of Sam facing the cops alone in his current state.
" Yeah, they think it was some faulty electrics in the bedroom, but they need Sam to let them now if he had noticed any prior faults, stuff like that."
"How's he doing?" Dean couldn't help but feel a little hurt at having to ask a stranger how his brother was, the same brother that he had watched over and protected since he was four years old.
"He's holding up, but you know Sam, man, he puts on a tough front."
"Yeah, I know. Listen, tell him I called and I'll be there soon." With that he cut the call and pressed a little harder on the accelerator.
Part of him was glad that his brother was not alone, while the other part, something that he would never admit to anyone especially Sam, was feeling unreasonably jealous. He had always been the one to look out for his little brother. He had never stopped trying to protect him, even while he was at college, but now there was someone else looking out for him. This Zach person had been with his brother in the immediate aftermath of his girlfriend's death and while thinking about this a terrifying thought crossed his mind.
Sam hadn't called him. If he had not picked up the phone to tell Sam that there father was missing, would Sam have called him? Maybe Sam didn't want him there. No, Dean told himself, Sam had asked him to hurry; Sam did want him there. But Dean couldn't shake the niggling feeling of doubt that had come over him. One thing was for sure, he would know soon enough as the lights of Palo Alto came into view.
Tbc...
Thanks for all the reviews. Ok so thats chapter 2, let me know what you think. I promise Dean will meet up with Sam in the next chapter.
