Summary: AU: Stanford Era: "Dean … Sammy's in trouble." A late night phone call sends Dean Winchester and long-time friend, Caelan Hagan in a desperate search to find Sam before the unthinkable happens; uncovering lies and secrets involving the youngest Winchester, that have been years in the making.
Warnings: Violence, swearing, physical abuse, torture, implied adult themes.
Disclaimer: I don't own the supernatural characters.
Author's Note: Just another possibility on why Sam left for Stanford. Hope you enjoy.
Special Note: Special thanks to Kas3y for your kind reviews. Here's another chapter just for all you guys who have taken the time out to read this story and to all the people who have this story on their alerts or have put it on their favourite lists. Thanks. It means a lot.
DEMON SPAWN: THE PHONE CALL
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dean was just manoeuvring the Impala into a park round at the back of the hospital when Sam came too with a start. His eyes were blown wide with fear, swinging his arms around wildly as if fighting off an attack before his dislocated shoulder became known and Sam shouted out a violent string of curse words, his expression once more contorted with pain, holding his breath as if that could somehow take his suddenly all-consuming pain away as he slumped against the seat, his body trembling with pain, his face losing all colour, becoming a sickly shade of white.
"Easy Sammy," Dean said, not surprised when Sam jumped at the sound of his voice. Dean wanted nothing more than to comfort his brother, but Dean knew that any touch – even from him – would send Sam over the edge and into a full-blown panic attack. "You're okay little brother … you're safe,"
Sam blinked furiously turning to rid himself of the terrible, disorientating feeling that consumed him, looking around in a blind panic, not recognizing where the hell they were. If it wasn't for Dean's strong, calm, soothing voice beside him, Sam would have already bolted from the car in a mad dash to get to somewhere safe; somewhere where he was no longer in constant pain, surrounded by memories and strange voices of violence … and torturing pain and … oh God no! Not the box! Please God, no, anything but the box!
"Sam … Sam! Sammy!" A familiar gruff voice said in a raised voice, the feel of hands upon his shoulders and a hard shake – not hard enough to cause pain but more to gain his attention – had Sam blinking frantically as he struggled to get free from the gentle but firm grip upon his shoulders.
"Nah … no! Get off! Get off of me!"
Sam felt the hands lessen their grip upon his shoulders before strong arms were embracing him and holding him in place, that familiar voice speaking low and soothing into his ear. Sam fought to get free from the hold but after a few seconds he realised how useless it was, his body sagging limply into the embrace, feeling helpless, bitter and wishing his big brother was here.
Dean's heart almost stopped beating when his brother tried to open the Impala's door, trying to escape from whatever nightmare image his little brother was envisioning right now. Realising that voice alone wasn't getting through to Sam and not wanting Sam to hurt himself any further by running off to wherever the hell his brother thought was safe; Dean threw caution to the wind and wrapped Sam up within his embrace, holding his brother still even though Sam managed to get a few solid hits upon his jaw with his elbow, tears building within the corner of his green eyes as he noticed just how freaked out and terrified his brother was.
"Ssh, easy Sammy. You're okay, you're safe little brother. I've got you. You're safe now, I promise." Dean repeated his mantra over and over hoping that his words, voice touch would find a way to break through to Sam's paralysing fear, because seeing his baby brother like this … it was slowly stripping Dean apart piece by piece, his guilt made one hundred times worse because Dean should never have allowed this to happen to his brother!
Dean had worked so hard to protect this kid from things that could hurt him, so that Sam would never be this scared to not even recognize his own brother's voice or touch. Damn! Dean had failed majorly with that mission!
"I've got you Sammy," Dean murmured, slowly tracing out Sam's name with his finger upon Sam's shoulder. "Ssh, I've got you now baby brother. You're safe, you're safe now Sammy."
Within minutes, Dean felt Sam's body begin to relax within his embrace as he finished off the last letter of his own name and slowly pulled back enough so that he could look his brother in the eye. "Hey little brother," Dean said softly. "Are you back with me now?"
"Yeah … I think," Sam said slowly, the last residue of his terror slipping completely away from him, blushing slightly at the amount of concern he could see within his big brother's eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled, lowering his eyes in embarrassment.
Two years apart and Sam had already managed to freak out a total of three times in less than twenty-four hours. Man, Dean must be so damn proud of his little brother! Sam couldn't help the sarcastic comments from his mind. He was acting more like a frightened child than a capable, independent adult.
"Sammy," Dean squeezed Sam's shoulders reassuringly. "Look at me,"
Reluctantly, Sam raised his eyes to Dean's, not able to ignore the commanding tone in his brother's voice, years of listening to and having absolute trust with his big brother to be able to protect him and keep him safe automatically had Sam meeting Dean's gaze, although he couldn't help but bite upon his bottom lip self-consciously.
"You have nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about okay little brother?" Dean told him, keeping Sam's gaze until he knew the words he had spoken had registered within his brother's mind.
"Okay, thanks." Sam nodded, grateful to have a big brother like Dean. Dean always seemed to know when the right time was to be able to tease and make fun of Sam in a brotherly good-natured way or when it was the time for being serious, no mocking, only unconditional love and support.
"No problem geek boy," Dean grinned, giving one last final squeeze before removing his hand from the back of Sam's neck. "You know where we are?"
Sam nodded shyly. "Hospital?"
"Yep. Think you're ready to go in there so we can put you back together again?"
Sam was about to agree – if a bit reluctantly – when he caught fresh, angry looking marks upon his brother's jaw. "Shit Dean … did I do that?"
Dean's smirk remained relaxed and easy, shrugging indifferently. "Not your fault Sammy. I should've remembered what you're like when you wake up in that confused and disorientated state. It's my fault for getting in the way of your elbow!"
Although lame, Sam couldn't help the short bark, bitter laugh at his brother's comment, knowing that even if he didn't deserve it, Dean had forgiven him for marking his face.
With a weary, anxious sigh, Sam nodded to Dean to let Dean know that he was ready to exit the car and enter the hospital. The sooner they got this over and done with, the sooner Sam could work at trying to forget that this day had ever happened!
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Fuck!
Peter laughed at Caelan's obvious unease. "You have two choices Hagen; set both of us free, run like hell and hope we don't catch up and kill you or … surrender to the organisation and let them help you to … see the errors of your ways. You have roughly five minutes to decide – maybe ten – what you're going to do before they get here and then the choice will be taken out of your hands."
Caelan swallowed hard, knowing that this sneaky son of a bitch would try something but when he handed Caelan back his phone without trying anything, Caelan had stupidly let his guard down and now … now Caelan was going to have a handful of … hell, Caelan didn't know if this organisation was made up of Hunters or humans or … something less than human (witches, vampires, the list was endless!).
The one thing Caelan knew for sure was that he couldn't stay here and fight this many – possible – Hunters. His only viable option was to let Stewart and Adams go while he tried to make a hasty retreat without becoming caught or being killed.
Caelan frowned as Stewart's second option finally filtered through to Caelan's panicked mind. "Wait … by the organisation helping me to see the error of my ways … does that mean brainwashing?" Caelan's eyes widened slightly as another thought occurred to him. "Oh God, is that what you bastards did to Sammy? Did you fucking try to brainwash him?"
Stewart shrugged in nonchalance, looking almost bored. "Well, no. I didn't personally participate in the … reconditioning of Sammy Winchester, but I did hear that it was a success and that he was … cured."
Cured?!
Caelan's rage bubbled closer to the surface just itching to pound some sense into the cocky, arrogant Hunter before him when he heard Adams' soft, demanding plea and his attention immediately diverted to the other Hunter who was still securely bound within the back seat of the Ferrari.
"What did you say?!" Caelan demanded, keeping Stewart up against the car with his forearm as he moved a little to his right so he could see Adams more easily.
"I said; you need to take us with you!" Hank's light green eyes were wide and full of panic. "Pete … fuck Pete … you've just assured our deaths!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Peter demanded hotly. "I'm saving us, you ungrateful ass!"
Hank swallowed a large lump within his throat. "Pete … have you forgotten what happened to the last person who initiated Protocol Three?" Hank asked in a low, frightened voice. "While it's true that they never leave a man stranded … sometimes, in order to make the problem "disappear", everything and everyone involved in the situation gets eliminated. Peter, they're not coming here to rescue us. They're coming to destroy us!"
CH DW SW CH DW SW CH DW SW CH DW SW CH
The short walk from the Impala to the hospital's back entrance left Sam pale, shaking and sweating all at the same time, Dean's arms around his waist the only thing stopping Sam from crumbling to the ground in sheer agony, breathing hard, his head hanging low as he bit upon his lip to keep from either whimpering or screaming in pain.
The sound of a new, unfamiliar voice startled Sam and he could feel his body tensing in natural reflex. If he had to; he'd make this broken body run!
Dean tightened his grip about his brother, knowing by his brother's tenseness that Sam was getting ready to flee. "Easy little brother, you're okay; no danger here, just someone to help you, okay? Trust me Sammy, you're safe." Dean whispered soothingly into his brother's ear as he pulled Sam closer toward him protectively, trying to relax his own anxiousness, knowing that if he was tense or upset, Sam would automatically pick up on that.
"Dean Winchester, I presume," A petite, dark-haired woman inquired, her tone both friendly and business-like at the same time. "I'm Doctor Elizabeth Cox, but you can call me Liz. Any friend of my brother's is a friend of mine." She smiled brightly as she took in the two Hunters before her. And despite how exhausted they looked, Elizabeth could tell that they were definitely good-looking men … especially the shorter one. Something about men with green eyes turned Elizabeth's mind to mush. If she wasn't a married woman …
Elizabeth coughed, returning her thoughts to the present, a slight blush creeping over her checks as she noticed the man with green eyes staring at her intently. "I hear you boys need some discreet medical assistance, no public eye and to be together throughout the whole procedure?" she asked, trying to maintain her professional attitude but this man's gaze was intoxicating and intrusive at the same time.
Flicking his eyes down the length of her body and back up to her eyes again and Elizabeth could see the green eyes growing softer, obviously liking what they saw.
Damn! Elizabeth bet this man could teach her some new tricks … married! Elizabeth reminded herself, abruptly cutting off her own natural attraction toward this man. She was a married woman, damn it! And their Doctor! Get your mind out of the gutter and act like the professional woman that you are! She scolded herself.
Dean watched an array of emotions flicker through the woman's expressive blue eyes, trying to stop the smirk that wanted to spread across his face as he realised that if he wanted to … he could so get this woman in the sack! But there were more important things to worry about than his possible sexual victories. Sammy needed help.
"Yeah," Dean said, his expression relaxing when he realised that this woman posed no threat to them, when she had uttered the Hunter's code words for no police or outside interference. "My brother Sam, he … he needs help."
Elizabeth smiled, her heart settling back into her chest once the scrutinizing look of Dean's eyes left her to indicate his brother standing beside him. "Okay, let's get him inside and treated, shall we?"
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Peter's eyes bulged slightly at Hank's words before he scoffed loudly. "They won't destroy me!" Peter declared confidently. "My father provides them with too many donations for them to even try and kill me. If they tried anything so stupid, my father would –"
"Pete, don't you get it?" Hank demanded, his tone almost desperate as he tried to convince his stubborn friend of the impending doom that threatened them. "If …" he glanced quickly at Caelan, assessing his options before he shrugged. If they really were coming here to kill them, then what was the point in keeping the organisation's secrets?
"If Levi was willing to leave us here and take the rap for what he did to that kid; what the hell makes you think that your father … or mine for that matter, are even still alive? Don't you think our fathers would have intervened by now if they could?"
Peter frowned, admitting that Hank's words made some kind of sense, but to incapacitate or kill their Dads and to have the audacity to try and destroy them … it made no sense to the cocky young Hunter. They had devoted their lives to the organisation and to have them try and … eliminate them …
No. It wasn't possible. They wouldn't do that to him, to his family. The Stewart name demanded respect, loyalty and trust. It made no sense for the organisation to try to do something like this.
Hank let out a sigh of frustration as he quickly moved closer to both Peter and Caelan. "Pete," Hank dropped his voice, trying to squash the fear inside of him, no longer attempting to hide the other side of himself because of Caelan's presence. They had no more time for games. Hank had to convince Peter of his words, and there was only one way that he knew how to do that.
Hank met Caelan's eyes, trying to portray the honesty and sincerity of his words to the other Hunter. "Let me out Hagen; I promise I won't try and escape or try to make a move on you. Besides, there's not much I can do with my hands handcuffed behind my back, right?"
Caelan hesitated, knowing that there was still a lot he could do even while handcuffed.
"Please … Caelan; I give you my word that I won't try anything. And after we get away from here, you can … do whatever you have to do to make yourself feel safe around me. I just … I don't want to die here … not like this."
Caelan searched the depths of Adams' light green eyes and reluctantly opened the door so that Adams could get out, but not before Caelan shot Adams a dark, menacing, warning look.
Hank nodded in reply to Caelan's unspoken threat, scrambling out of the car as he stood before Peter, Caelan eyeing him suspiciously, warily. Hank ignored Caelan, catching Peter's eyes before he moved forward and locked his lips upon Peter's, kissing him hard and passionately before he pulled back and placed his forehead against Peter's.
"Pete, baby, please believe me when I tell you that if we don't leave now, we are going to die here!"
Peter's eyes lost the cocky and arrogant nature that was part of his genetic make-up to stare up at Hank with obvious love and affection. "Okay," he replied, almost drowsily, licking his lips in contentment. "Okay Hank, whatever you want."
Hank breathed a sigh of relief before turning to face the shocked expression upon Caelan's face. "Caelan, can you please get us out of here before they get here?"
Caelan blinked stupidly a few times before his Hunter instincts kicked in and he nodded. "Get in." He ordered gruffly, shutting the door behind the two Hunters as he scrambled into the driver's seat and ignited the Ferrari's engine.
Although Caelan would never admit it to Dean, he felt a thrill race through him at the prospect of being able to drive this car.
Caelan put the car in gear and gunned the engine. "Okay, let's see what this beauty's made of!" Caelan said under his breath before he bolted out of the abandoned car park with a squeal of tires and an excited grin spread across his face as he roared away and sped quickly away from the building of horror shows and the looming threat that was advancing toward them.
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Blinking the blood from his eyes, Sam shook his head slightly to get his bearings, vision blurry, smoke spiralling from the bonnet of his car, confused and disorientated about where he was and what the hell was happening.
Car accident, Sam's mind supplied, filling in the blanks from what his eyes were seeing. Oh God, if he'd been in an accident, then where the hell was Dean?
Sam tried to turn his head to check the passenger seat but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make his body obey his command to move his head. Okay, this was weird. Why the hell couldn't he move his head? Was he possessed or …
An intense feeling of rage filled him as he focused upon a black truck that was upturned on its side, wheels still spinning as if the occupant in the driver's seat still had his food upon the accelerator.
Before Sam could even process what he was doing, Sam found himself exiting the car, striding toward the over-turned black truck, blood, vengeance and violent images flickering through his mind, muttering violent oaths and curses toward the occupant in the truck – who he knew hadn't even had a chance to exit the vehicle and flee from him once again.
With growing horror, Sam came to a startling revelation that if the occupant of the vehicle wasn't dead already, then Sam would have no problem in killing that person himself.
No!
Sam tried to force his body to back away from the black truck, something about it feeling familiar to Sam even through his freaked out, panicked thoughts of denial at what he was about to do.
Sam ripped the truck's door open with enough force to almost yank it off its hinges, reaching in to grab the occupant and haul his ass out of the truck, slamming his body up against the side of the truck.
"Where is he?" Sam hissed, his voice filled with venom. "You tell me where the hell my father is right now or I'll kill you where you stand!"
Sam froze, familiar dark eyes locking onto his own, the same flippant smirk that Dean did so well, copied from the man who Dean had tried to emulate in his everyday life appeared upon his lips.
Dad?!
TBC