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 kandilyn and 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-TWO

"Well, that would depend," John replied evenly, feigning being relaxed even though Sam could detect by the slight crinkles in John's eyes and the grimace underneath his smirk that John was anything but relaxed. And going by the subtle "tells" John was exhibiting, Sam knew that his Dad was in pain but was desperately trying not to show any weaknesses in front of Sam.

"Depends on what?" Sam demanded, his patience nearly non-existent now, anxious to retrieve his father and get the hell out of here.

"If your Dad was the son of a bitch who tried to kill me, then … his dead body is in the back of my truck." John answered calmly … too calmly if Sam knew his Dad. He had something planned, that was for sure.

"You killed my Dad?!" Sam yelled, infuriated beyond belief now. "You think you have the right to kill my Dad?" Sam pulled a knife from his jacket, knife held tightly within his left hand. "Let me show you what happens to anyone who hurts my family," Sam whispered in John's ear before plunging the knife into John Winchester's stomach.

Dad! No!

Sam bolted into a sitting position, trying to fight the calming hands he could feel upon his shoulders, trying to steady him, keep him in place.

"Sammy! You need to calm down right now or the Doc over there is going to give you something to put you under again. Please Sammy, calm down buddy. You're safe little man,"

Sam paused in his struggles, knowing the voice that spoke to him, knowing the touch of the hands that tried to hold him in place as well as to soothe him.

Dean!

Sam blinked and immediately his big brother's face morphed into Sam's view as Sam practically launched himself at his brother, burying his head against Dean's shoulder as he felt those familiar arms surround him, embracing him within the comfort and security of his fearless older brother's embrace.

"It's okay Sammy," Dean said, swallowing back his surprise as he tightened his hold about his younger brother. The last time Sam had launched himself at Dean like this was when Sam had been sixteen and had his heart broken for the first time (although Sam had never openly admitted that to Dean!).

"I've got you little brother, I've got you," Dean soothed, not liking the way Sam was trembling or the fact that he seemed to be reverting back to child-hood symptoms that had always alerted Dean's big brother protective instincts.

Sam shook his head, trying to bury his head deeper into Dean's shirt, trying to regain his out of control emotions. It had been nothing more than a dream, Sam tried to tell himself. Dad was probably on his way toward them right now. There was no way that his Dad could be in trouble, right?

But, that dream had seemed so vivid. And since Sam had already embarrassed himself in front of his brother countless times today, what would one more time matter? Better to be safe than sorry, right?

Sam pulled back from Dean, eyeing him carefully before Dean removed his arms from around Sam. "Dean … I …" Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly, deciding to take the plunge into crazy town.

If, on the off chance that Sam's dream had been more than just a dream, then Sam owed it to his Dad to mention it to Dean so that if their Dad was in trouble, they could get help to John as soon as possible. "Dean, I think Dad might be in trouble,"

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Caelan couldn't help but grin as he tore through the gravel road, deliberately staying off the main roads – at least until they lost the people that Caelan knew had to be following them … because that's something Caelan would do in this type of situation.

They may have a ten minute lead on them – possibly twenty by the time they worked out their plan of action – but that wouldn't take them long to catch up. But by then, Caelan had to have ditched the car and …

Shit! Caleb!

"Fuck!" Caelan pulled his phone from his front pocket and quickly dialled his friend's number. The last thing in the world he wanted was to be responsible for sending his friend into a trap! He had to warn the other Hunter … especially since it was Caelan who had called him in.

"Caleb," Caelan sighed in relief, but was having a hard time keeping his own anxiousness out of his voice. "Shit man, it's a trap. You need to get out of there ASAP! The area is crawling with … unknowns. Not sure …" Caelan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, quickly regathering his scattered thoughts. He needed to stay level-headed and to think if he was to survive an encounter with this infamous organisation. "Will need to dump the car soon and proceed on foot."

"Hey!" Peter spluttered indignantly from the back seat, obviously beginning to regain his senses after Hank's kiss. "You are not just dumping my car Hagen! Do you know how much money I have invested in this fine piece of machinery? You are not dumping her like she's a piece of crap car that is so easy to get rid of!"

Caelan quickly glanced in the rear-view mirror, deciding that neither Hunter posed a threat to him at the moment as Caelan ignored them and continued to make plans with Caleb about a safe meeting place for pick-up and probable disposal.

"Disposal?!" Stewart shrieked, wanting nothing more than to knock Hagen out; kick his ass out of the car and cruise off into the sunset; Hank by his side as they faced the unknown together.

Carefully; Caelan parked the car, the over-hanging trees and bushes masking the car's identity and hiding it from prying eyes for the time being. It wasn't great cover, but it didn't matter … just as long as it fooled them long enough so that the three Hunters could escape from here and plan their next move.

Yes, Caelan freely admitted that he couldn't in good conscience leave the other two Hunters behind to rot … He wasn't quite that cold-hearted yet. They were fellow Hunters after all; even after everything they had done, Stewart and Adams deserved to have their say. Plus Stewart and Adams would be able to provide good Intel on this … organisation, who apparently had a Secret Agenda going on within the Hunter's community. It would be nice to plan their next move properly, instead of running on gut instinct, having no idea who to trust and who not to trust. It would be nice to have a clear picture of who the enemy was and how they were going to be defeated.

"Right, come on, let's get going you two," Caelan held the rear door open and motioned the two Hunters out with his gun; but it wasn't until Hank nudged Peter that Peter finally decided to move and leave the vehicle, Hank following close behind him.

"Turn around," Caelan told Hank, procuring the handcuff keys from his pocket as he released the handcuffs from Hank's wrists. "Right, I don't know what you guys are going to do, but as for me, I am getting out of here. Normally, I'd be taking you guys back with me to get some answers … and maybe to throw in a few punches for what you both did to Sammy … but I have neither then time nor the man power to force you guys to go with me."

Caelan spun around to leave before he stopped and faced the two Hunters once more. "Don't think this is over." Caelan warned them, his eyes narrowed to slits as he studied the two wannabe Hunters before him. "It may be a while, but the next time we meet … I will have great pleasure in inflicting the same damage upon you that you inflicted upon Sam. I promised Sammy that you two wouldn't get away with this … and I keep my promises." Caelan announced darkly.

Once he was sure Stewart and Adams had gotten the message, Caelan walked away from the two Hunters, hoping to not see them again anytime soon!

"Wait!"

A hand gripped Caelan's arm and spun him around so that Caelan was face to face with Adams' panicked light green eyes.

"You can't just leave us!" Adams demanded, his tone bordering on desperation.

"Really?" Caelan raised his eyebrows in disbelief, pulling his arm out of Hank's grip, staring down the Hunter before him until Adams squirmed and blushed at Caelan's non-verbal accusations.

"Well … of course you can go and leave us," Hank stammered, suddenly looking very uncomfortable and vulnerable. "But, please Hagen, take us with you. If the organisation finds us … we're dead!"

Caelan hesitated. It was going to be hard enough for just him to manoeuvre through this area without being detected, let alone having a klutz like Stewart to shield as well.

"Please," Adams begged, almost as if he could sense Caelan's answer as being negative in favour. Adams reached out to grab Caelan's arm once more as he ran a hand through his ginger-blonde hair. "If you let us come with you, I promise to answer any and every question that you may have about the organisation."

"Hank!" Stewart protested, aghast and appalled. "Protocol Six Hank! If you reveal any information about the organisation, they have the right to … evict you for treason. Hank, you make this deal and the organisation will kill you."

"They're going to kill us anyway!" Hank snapped back. "At least this way, we give Hagen and other Hunters fair warning before the organisation puts their major plans into action." Hank geld Caelan's gaze, his light green eyes wide, clear and honest. "If you save us Hagen … I will tell you what the organisation's plans are for Sammy Winchester."

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Dean blinked, his expression emotionless as Dean tried to process his brother's words. Dad? In trouble? Huh?

Urging himself not to burst into laughter – because he knew that Sam would take it to heart if Dean was to laugh at the moment – he managed to school his features into his "neutral" big brother expression … the look he portrayed when he wasn't entirely sure where Sam was going with this explanation or if he didn't know what was going on in that big brain of his! Sometimes Sam would surprise him in the direction that his mind worked.

The key here was not to ridicule anything that Sam said – because let's face it; this kid had been too damn quiet since Dean had found him trapped in that box! – but also maintain a sense of realism and factual aspects that Sam could grab hold of if he found himself drowning in his delusions once again.

Dean searched Sam's eyes, not exactly sure what he was looking for, but he relaxed slightly when he noticed that Sam's gaze remained focused and clear. "What makes you think Dad's in trouble?" Dean asked quietly, instinctively knowing that now was not the time to mock his younger brother.

Whatever had jolted Sam into consciousness, causing him to cling to Dean in an almost desperate need to feel safe and now had urged Sam to question the safety of their Dad, demanded Dean to take this seriously; because even if the kid's fears proved unfounded, then it was up to Dean to validate those fears and then to reassure Sam that he had nothing to worry about or fear. Sam shouldn't feel stupid for voicing his opinion … ever!

But first, Dean needed to know where his brother was going with this and why he thought their Dad might be in trouble.

"Because I had a dream," Sam said, and Dean could detect no false-hood within his brother's hazel eyes.

"Okay," Dean said, knowing that there was more to it than Sam just having a dream. This kid had dreams and nightmares all of the time and not since Sam was thirteen years old had Dean seen his little brother react like this after a dream/nightmare (clinging to Dean as if his life depended upon it!).

Sam blinked furiously as he realised how stupid this was going to sound; and the longer Sam was awake, the more convinced he became that it had been just a dream – a nightmare – because of the recent torture session he had experienced. Still, Sam knew by the look within his brother's green eyes that Dean wasn't going to let this go without some kind of explanation.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly; and before he could lose courage or back down out of embarrassment, feeling completely foolish, Sam proceeded to tell Dean of the dream that he'd had before he had awoken in a blind panic.

"I … it looked like a car accident," Sam began, his eyes lowering down to his hands, his voice low, hesitant, unsure now. "I had blood dripping into my eyes, and when I tried to see if you with me, I couldn't make my body obey my actions. In the next instant, I found myself getting out of the car and going toward an over-turned black truck.

I was so angry Dean and that freaked me out even more because I have never felt such … rage before. Instead of calling for an ambulance, I pulled the person out of the truck, only to see Dad's eyes staring back at me."

Sam paused, lifting his eyes to meet his brother's. "The next thing I know is, I have a knife in my hand and without any hesitation or feelings of remorse I … I stabbed Dad in the stomach and then I woke up.

Dean … please tell me that it was just a dream. Tell me that you've heard from Dad and he's fine. Please tell me that I didn't murder my own father!"

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"You two stay here," Caelan told the Hunters as he cautiously got to his feet, ignoring the immediate argument from Peter Stewart, Hank gently trying to soothe his frazzled partner beside him. "Adams, do me a favour and kiss Stewart all ready," Caelan said, rolling his eyes at Stewart's pathetic argument.

At Caelan's statement, both Hunters turned to stare at Caelan, shocked by his words. "What?" Caelan demanded, not knowing what the hell the big deal was. "You think I'm shocked that you two are a couple? Well, yeah, I am actually but … it's none of my God damned business how you guys spend your free time. Just … you ever try to hit on me and I'll knock you out cold, deal?"

Caelan grinned at the flabbergasted looks upon the Hunters faces. "What do you know; there is something else that will shut Stewart up just as effectively as a kiss from Hank!" Caelan couldn't help but tease them before becoming serious once more. "Stay low guys; eyes sharp; don't let your guard down, okay? I'll be back once everything checks out."

Hank nodded, understanding Caelan's words even if Peter didn't. Caelan wanted them to watch his back and if it was a trap, then the two Hunters were to leave Caelan and escape. "Don't worry Hagen, I've got it covered." Hank said confidently, basically reassuring Hagen that if he was caught, Adams would tell the Winchesters; warn them of the organisation's plans to take over the Hunter's community; and the danger that both Winchester siblings were in, but especially Sam, so that even if Peter or Hank couldn't do anything to stop the organisation, then maybe the Winchesters could.

Although stopping them at this point would be next to impossible and definitely suicidal … but maybe they could throw a hypothetical wrench into the organisation's plans, slow them down a bit until they could come up with a more permanent plan of taking down the organisation.

"Good luck," Adams said, pulling a gun out, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for potential threats.

Caelan nodded his appreciation at Hank's non-verbal assurances as Caelan left the safety of the shrubs behind him and walked out into the open, proceeding with caution, toward Caleb's Ute.

God, Caelan really hoped he was right about Caleb not being involved in all of this; because if Caleb was a member … then they were all screwed!

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Dean couldn't help the shiver that raced through his body at the haunted look within his brother's hazel eyes. And while Dean could understand why Sam had woken up the way he had, that didn't mean that what Sam had experienced or witnessed was nothing more than a dream.

Besides, it wasn't as if Sam had suddenly disappeared to kill their Dad and then transported back here, all the while remaining undetected and unnoticed by Dean's vigilant look out while his younger brother slept!

Sam would never stab their Dad … or anyone! And that argument alone was enough to convince Dean that it had been nothing more than a dream; no vision, premonition or crazy ESP thing to worry about on top of everything else … thank God!

But by the look in Sam's eyes, Dean was going to need more evidence in order to convince Sam that what he had experienced had been nothing more than a dream. "Come on Sammy, of course you didn't murder Dad!" Dean scoffed lightly. "You haven't got a murderous bone in you kid!"

"Oh, really?" Sam cried indignantly. "Because last I checked … I murdered lots of things Dean."

"Evil sons of bitches don't count Sammy," Dean replied dismissively. "Besides, all of this is a moot point anyway. Dad's fine Sammy."

"You think?" Sam asked hesitantly, desperately wanting to believe his brother, but the dream had been too vivid, had felt too real to be just a dream. "You think …" Sam coughed, blushing furiously, lowering his eyes once more. "You think you could maybe call Dad and just check? Please Dean; I'd feel a lot better if one of us actually heard Dad's voice."

"Sure Sammy," Dean said, automatically ruffling his brother's hair to lighten the suddenly serious moment, much like he would have done when they had been younger.

"Hey!" Sam protested weakly, trying to slap Dean's hand away from his hair, but there was no real strength or heat in either his hand or his words, his hazel eyes widening slightly before relaxing once more; exhaustion beginning to set in once more now that he knew his father's whereabouts were about to be accounted for.

"You should get some rest Sammy," Dean told his brother gently, seeing the unvoiced gratitude within Sam's eyes. "The anaesthetics are still in your system. It's okay if you need to sleep bro. Don't worry, I'll be right here when you wake up, promise." Dean said, his voice lowering to almost a whisper as he gently ran his fingers through his brother's hair … an action that had helped to soothe, calm and help Sammy go to sleep when he was having a restless night.

Dean was pleased to note that his particular method seemed to work just as effectively upon his twenty-one- year old sibling, much like it had when Sam had been eleven-years old. It was nice to see that some things never changed.

TBC