Thank you for the interests you've shown this story so far! :)

Here's the second chapter for you!

_ SPN _ SPN _ SPN _ SPN _

"You did good Dean." Caleb said and gave Dean's shoulder a pat as they returned to their motel room.

"Ah come on, it was a simple salt and burn!" Dean said but smiled nonetheless.

"No no, don't be modest. I couldn't have done it alone." Caleb said and dropped his bag on the floor. "Lunch's on me today! Pizza's fine with you, kid?"

"You know it." Dean grinned and flopped down on his bed as Caleb left the room.

Dean put his hands behind his head and let out a satisfied sigh, while letting his eyes travel across the old cracked ceiling of the motel room. The hunt had been simple and yet he was really proud of himself. The ghost, whose bones they had set out to burn, had shown up just as Caleb was about to ignite the bones, and if Dean hadn't reacted instantly and shot the damned thing with his shotgun, Caleb would have been thrown across the graveyard. The older hunter had been very grateful and had promised to let John know how great his oldest had been on this hunt, and Dean knew that his dad would be very pleased with him.

The grin on Dean's face faltered a little when he thought about his dad and baby brother. Sam had been anything but happy when Dean had left him alone with their dad and Dean completely understood why. Sam and John didn't always agree on things, and even though Sam was only thirteen years old he was stubborn as hell and asked so many questions that it drove their dad crazy sometimes. Dean just prayed that the two of them wouldn't be at each other's throats while he was not there to get between them – especially not when today was November the 2nd and Dean knew his dad would be drunk. Speaking of which, Dean really needed to call his brother and ask him if everything was alright. Not that he feared John would do anything to his youngest, not as long as Sam stayed out of his way at least and Dean knew that Sam was smart enough to do so. But hey, what could possibly go wrong in only a couple of days? Dean decided he would give his brother a call as soon as he'd taken a shower. He hadn't even made it to the bathroom though before the familiar tones of his cell phone sounded in the room, so he quickly made his way back to the bed and answered the phone.

"Yeah?" He said.

"Mr. Vedder?" An unknown female voice asked.

"Who's asking?" Dean demanded to know.

They rarely used their real names anymore and Dean couldn't remember when he'd used that exact alias and to whom. Still, with all of the evil SOBs out there, you couldn't be too careful.

"This is Joanna Wilkins from the school office." The woman said. "I'm calling about your brother Samuel."

"Sam? What about him? Is something wrong?" Dean asked and felt panic rise inside his chest.

Since their dad was usually busy with hunts, Dean was Sam's number one contact in case of emergency or in case the school needed to get in touch with his brother's family for some reason.

"That was what I'd hoped you could tell me, Mr. Vedder." Mrs. Wilkins said. "Sam hasn't been in school today and we didn't get a call or was contacted about anything that could inform us about the reason, so that's why I'm calling you."

"Hang on, Sam hasn't been in school today?" Dean asked incredulously.

Sam never missed out on school. Not unless something was entirely wrong, Dean realized with increasing concern.

"You weren't aware?" Mrs. Wilkins asked.

"No, I'm out of town at the moment, but my dad is home so Sam's in good hands." Dean said. "I will give him a call and sort this mess out Mrs. Wilkins."

"Alright, thanks for your time Mr. Vedder." Mrs. Wilkins told him and said goodbye before hanging up.

Dean looked at his phone for a few seconds while collecting his thoughts. There must have been some kind of logical reason for Sam not to have tended school, Dean told himself. Still, it was with slightly shaking hands that Dean pushed the speed dial and called his father. Dean impatiently drummed with his fingers on the nightstand while waiting for his dad to pick up the phone, which he unfortunately never did. Not that it came as a big surprise to Dean – John Winchester was a busy man and if he was out getting drunk or was passed out on the couch because of it, then a call would probably go by unnoticed. Dean gave up on his father and called his brother instead.

"Come on Sammy.. Pick up.. Pick up.." Dean mumbled and then washed a hand down his face when the phone was never answered.

Dean hung up the phone and put it into his pocket, before he quickly threw his things into the duffel bag. If something had happened to his brother while he had been away on a hunt, Dean would never be able to forgive himself.

"Two steaming hot pizzas coming up!" Caleb gladly announced as he returned to the motel room, but he stopped up with a confused expression on his face when he saw what Dean was doing. "Where are you going?"

"I got a call from Sam's school.." Dean explained and swung the duffel bag over his shoulder. "Sam hasn't been in school today, and you know that kid. He would rather take dance lessons than miss out on school. I called dad and then Sammy, but neither one of them picked up."

"You think something's wrong?" Caleb asked with a concerned look.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this." Dean said as he walked out of the door.

"You want me to come with you?" Caleb asked as he followed Dean out of the motel room. "I can get my things packed in a second and then be ready to hit the road."

"No, it's fine. I'll call you if something happens." Dean said as he threw his bag into the trunk of the Impala and then closed it.

He quickly made his way to the driver side of the car and slid behind the wheel in one smooth motion. Dean was luckily only a few hours out, and he would break all speed limits if necessary to get back home fast. As Dean was about to start the engine, Caleb opened up the passenger door and put down a pizza box on the seat.

"At least eat something on your way back there, okay?" Caleb said and shot Dean a quick smile before closing the door again.

Dean nodded his thanks and turned on the Impala, before speeding out of the motel parking lot as fast as he could. Pizza box disregarded, Dean had only got one thought in his head right now – to get back to Sammy as soon as possible.

_ SPN _ SPN _ SPN _ SPN _

TBC….

Please review – I love when you do ;)

-Elisa.