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 Mimmi85 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-THREE

Dean waited until he was certain that Sam had fallen into a restful slumber before he retrieved his phone from his pocket and opened it up, scrolling down the list of names until he came to Dad's name.

Although not willing to admit it to Sam, Dean was more than a little anxious at not having heard from their Dad in the last four hours. If it hadn't have been for the text message two hours earlier, Dean would have been overcome by panic by now. Dean tried to curb the anxious, worried feeling that was gnawing at his stomach because his Dad was never known for his punctuality.

John Winchester was a man with a one-track mind. When he was involved in a hunt, it would consume his entire being until he had finished that hunt. Sometimes Dean would go for days – sometimes weeks – before his Dad remembered to check in with his boys. The longest Dean had gone without hearing from John had been four weeks; and Dean had almost lost his composure – and his mind – because he had become convinced that Dad was dead – and now, how did he care for Sammy? – and when John finally did make contact with Dean, John had been irritated at Dean's missed calls – he had thought something was wrong with his boys – and had reminded Dean that he should only call John in an emergency when John was on a hunt.

So, the fact that it had only been two hours since Dad's last communication – four hours since the phone call – shouldn't make Dean feel as uneasy as he did right now. But that was part of Dean's genetic make-up; he couldn't help but worry until all of his family members were home – it didn't matter if Dean had spoken to his Dad ten minutes ago! – he would still have that nagging, nauseous feeling within the pit of his stomach until his Dad had returned home in one piece. And this time was no different either.

With a heavy sigh, Dean waited until he heard his father's slightly irritated but gruff voice on the other end of the line; instead, Dean's call went unanswered, to the voice mail. Dean left his father a brief message, basically urging John to call Dean back ASAP so that Dean could inform John about Sam's condition.

Dean tried to put the worry he felt for John's well-being to the back of his mind, instinctively knowing that no matter where his Dad was or what he was doing, that John Winchester would be fine. Dad was always fine and Dean refused to let himself think any differently, because if he did … then Dean's walls and defences would crumble and fall, giving way to all of Dean's doubts and fears. Dean couldn't allow for that to happen. Not yet. Not while Sammy needed him to be strong. Dean could fall apart later, once he got Sam out of this hospital. Until then, he had to hold it together for just a little while longer.

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Caleb was not a member of this secret organisation … thank God!

He listened to Caelan recount everything that he and the Winchesters had done and learned during the last – God, had it really been that long? – ten hours; ever since Caelan had been awoken at four in the morning by the desperate phone call from Sam Winchester which had started this whole mess to begin with!

Caleb was shocked and appalled; the first thing he wanted to do was to teach both Stewart and Adams a lesson they would never forget for participating in a torture session with not just another Hunter, but also Caleb's friend!

"Wait," Caelan laid a calming hand upon his friend's shoulder. "I know how you feel Caleb, believe me, but right now … now's not the time for this. We need to meet up with Dean and Sam, but … " Caelan glanced over at Stewart and Adams who were wisely hanging back from both Caelan and Caleb before turning back to his friend once more. "They've got to know about Stewart's sister at the hospital, right?"

"If they're as good as us and have done their homework on us, then yes; it would be safe to assume that this … organisation … would know everything about us."

"Wow. Thanks Caleb. Way to keep that optimism alive brother!" Caelan teased, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You know me Caelan; I'm just full of optimism!" Caleb grinned, punching Caelan playfully on the arm before returning to the problem at hand. "Okay. So, why don't I go to the hospital and meet up with the Winchesters, while you and the … sadistic twins take off to a Hunter's Cabin? Then we can –"

"No!" Caelan interrupted Caleb sharply. "No Caleb, we are not splitting up. Besides, how the hell do we know if the Hunter's cabin hasn't been compromised all ready? For all we know every Hunter in this district might be loyal to this damn organisation!"

Caleb sobered quickly, his light brown eyes searching his friend's eyes for a clue as to what their next move would be. "What do you want to do then Hags?" Caleb asked softly, squeezing Caelan's shoulder in support and assurance when he saw the almost hysterical quality within Caelan's brown eyes.

Caelan closed his eyes, refusing to give into the hysterical laugh that bubbled inside of him. "I want to survive today so that I can track these bustards down one by one and make them pay for ever thinking that they could hurt Sammy!" Caelan replied without hesitation.

"Okay," Caleb nodded. "Then, let's make that happen. Any ideas on how we go about doing that?"

"Maybe," Caelan opened his eyes, feeling more calm and in control of his emotions now. No longer having to work against being out-numbered, Caelan felt relief that Caleb was by his side. "Told you this was big Hawkes. If you want to leave and not get involved in this, I completely understand – considering that I don't even know what this is! – then, you should leave now."

Caleb raised his eyebrows, glaring hard at Caelan before he crossed his arms in front of him, his features hardening into his "fucked off" expression.

"Chill dude!" Caelan said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just double checking; no need to get your panties in a twist!" Caelan teased, breathing a sigh of relief because he honestly didn't know if he could pull this off by himself. "Your plan to enter the hospital and connect with the boys is a good one, except I'll be your back-up … out of sight, of course."

"Why out of sight?" Caleb frowned. "Why don't you just come into the hospital with me?"

"I figure; that these guys already know that I'm involved with rescuing Sam Winchester and questioning those two chuckle-heads about their involvement in the abduction of Sam and this organisation that these two obviously are affiliated with. I figure that if they spotted me, they would shoot me dead on the spot."

Caleb blinked, confused by his friend's deductive skills. Normally Caleb could follow Caelan's thought processes, but right at this moment, all Caleb could do was to stare at Caelan, confused.

"It's what I would do," Caelan admitted. "They don't know how much I know or if I know anything at all, but in order to protect their secrets … they don't have a choice in the matter. The will eliminate all five of us."

"Five?"

"Yep, five. Stewart, Adams, me and the Winchesters. It's the only way to ensure that all of their secrets remain secure and safe." Caelan paused, chewing on his lower lip, thinking of a plan that would allow all of the Hunters involved – Caleb included now – to escape this place and the reach of the organisation with their lives intact. There was only one person who could help to get out of this one. Damn, John was going to kill him when he found out. But Caelan no longer had a choice. He would deal with John's wrath after they survived this.

"Right, this is what we do," Caelan began, deadly serious now, completely calm as he relayed this crazy, suicidal plan to his friend. It was simple enough … maybe too simple; and if Caelan, Stewart or Adams were spotted, then it was all over.

Their priority right now was to get to the Winchester siblings and get them out of that hospital before the organisation came for them and killed them. After that … then Caelan would call in a favour with a guy he'd hoped never to see again in this life-time! That was plan B. Plan A was much simpler and much less complicated than contacting that guy. And Caelan hoped like hell that they could go with Plan A … because at least that way, John Winchester wouldn't have any reason to kill him!

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Shock, confusion, alarm, agitation, disbelief, horror, dismay, agony, fury, misery, wrath, burning red hot hatred assaulted Sam's entire being as he looked down upon the lifeless body of his father, feeling the tears streaming down his checks as Sam cradled his father's body in his arms and rocked backwards and forwards, a low, keening sound emanating from Sam, grief and rage fighting to be the dominate emotion within Sam.

It wasn't fair! How could this happen?! His father wasn't supposed to die … never! Not him! His Dad was invincible … this was never supposed to happen … at least, not until they had gotten their revenge; not until they had avenged Mary Campbell's death.

This … this wasn't … Now what the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't function without his Dad's orders … he couldn't … was this his fault? Because of his obsession with that … Demon Spawn … had it ended up costing his Dad his life?

Sam threw back his head and let loose a cry of excruciating anguish; resentment, guilt, shame, hatred all burning inside of him, trying to consume him, feeling himself slowly begin to lose himself within his emotions to become one with his pain, his hatred, having no real morals or petty vendettas as he slowly succumbed to his out of control emotions.

It would be so easy to just give up now. It would be so easy to just let all of this go and end it all right here, right now!

But …

Sam sobbed as his eyes returned to his father's cold, dead body, knowing that all he really wanted was to have his Dad back! He would give anything if his Dad would only wake up right now and tell him what to do!

Dad, please, what do I do?!

Gently, Sam traced the knife wound across his father's neck, his grief giving way to anger once more as he glared at John Winchester's body, lying on his side, one hand covering the stab wound, even while the blood seeped through his hand, his eyes blown wide and filled with shock and fear that he may actually lose his life here tonight; his breathing becoming more laboured, almost gasping now.

No, Dad, no!

Sam tried to urge his body to get up and go to his dying father; dump this … stranger that he held in his arms, get to his Dad and call for some help before it was too later …

But, just like before, Sam had no control over his body, no control over his limbs as Sam knelt in the dirt, holding someone he didn't know in his arms, glaring at John Winchester coldly, unmoved by John's weak attempts to stop the bleeding as he desperately struggled to hold onto his life.

No … no, body please move. Get up and help him! Help my Dad now! Now!

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Dean sat in a chair by his brother's hospital bed, acutely aware by the wrinkles upon his brother's brow and the way that Sam tossed his head from side to side, sharp moans of displeasure … bordering close to cries of anguish … that his baby brother was in the middle of one hell of a nightmare!

"Ssh," Dean whispered, running the back of his thumbs over the furrow-lines upon Sam's brow, trying to soothe him into a better dream, trying to guide him out of the nightmare that had claimed him. "You're okay Sammy, it's just a dream." Dean said, close to his brother's ear, hoping that the sound of his voice could reach Sam, even in his dreams! "You're okay little brother, I've got you. I've got you now."

Dean breathed a sigh of relief when Sam stopped thrashing, his cries fading, the lines across his brow receding into the background as Sam appeared to be sleeping peacefully once more.

Dean removed his hand from his brother's forehead and placed it upon his brother's arm, not wanting to lose physical contact with his sibling in case it somehow caused Sam to fall into another nightmare.

It was foolish, Dean knew, but this was the only way that he knew how to protect his brother. He couldn't physically enter Sam's dreams to help him slay the bad guys! All he could do was to keep trying to remind Sam that he wasn't alone anymore by a simple touch or a word; Dean hoped to keep his brother grounded in this reality.

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Even though Sam knew that John Winchester was dying – he would be dead in a matter of minutes, maybe half an hour at the most – Sam felt obligated to march over to John, take out his gun and empty his clip into John – possibly more than one clip – until he was positive that John Winchester had drawn his last breath.

But if Sam gave into his temptation; his temper; his rage to get revenge by killing John Winchester by shooting him, then John would get off too easy and Sam … Sam wanted him to suffer for having caused the death of his father. He wanted John's last hour to be filled with pain and misery. And Sam was going to make sure that he was there to watch every second of John's feeble attempts at prolonging his life; gasping for breath, trying to slow the bleeding, begging Sam for mercy …

Please! Sam couldn't help but scoff. As if he would ever show this piece of shit mercy! Not after what he'd done! John deserved to die suffering!

And then, once John had breathed his last breath, Sam was going after his bastard sons. Get rid of the Winchester line once and for all!

No more Demon Spawn to obsess over once Sam killed him! And once that stain from his life was removed, Sam would pick up where his father had left off. He would hunt down all of the special children that The Demon had visited over the years … except, he wasn't going to save them. No, Sam was going to torture the fuck out of them for months on end until their bodies finally gave out.

And the first child he was going to start with was little Sammy Winchester … No. Maybe not. Now that Sammy was marked, Sam knew that he could find him anywhere at any time. Maybe … because he was so special … maybe little Sammy Winchester would be one of the last. Still, that didn't mean that Sam couldn't make the Demon Spawn's life complete hell until then!

Oh yes, Sam realised that he could have lots of fun with this. Why should little Sammy get off so easily? No. Sam wouldn't give up, he would keep trying to save the little Winchester … It was what his father would have wanted.

Sam placed his hand upon his father's neck, closing his eyes for a few seconds, feeling a sort of determined calm coming over him, his hand a little warm and tingly, sharing these last final moments with his father before he had to put the man to rest and –

Headlights and vehicle engines returned Sam to the present with a jolt. With a sinking heart, Sam realised that there was probably more than one vehicle and they were headed this way. In fact … was that a damn ambulance?

Fuck! Now what the hell did he do?

With a savage growl, Sam picked up his father's broken body and raced toward his relatively undamaged Ford Focus. "Damn you John Winchester!" Sam snarled, casting one last, longing look toward the oldest Winchester's body before he took off in the opposite direction, knowing that the sound of his engine would be masked by the other vehicle engines, not liking the way his engine struggled to keep the car moving. Hopefully the car could make it into the next town and then Sam would have no problem in acquiring another vehicle.

It didn't matter if John Winchester lived or died. Because Sam was determined that either way and no matter how long it took, he was going to be the one to get rid of the Winchester line once and for all!

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Dean felt his phone vibrate within his pocket as he casually removed his phone from his pocket, still keeping physical contact with his brother.

Unknown number …

Dean frowned, knowing the odds of this being a wrong number was extremely low considering that only trusted friends had this particular cell number.

"Hello?" Dean answered the phone cautiously.

"Is this Dean Winchester?" A clinical, professional voice asked from the other end of the line.

"Maybe," Dean replied shortly. "Who the hell is this?"

"My name is Doctor Wayne Scott. I'm calling from …" This strange man's words were fading in and out of Dean's concentration, some words and whole sentences not even registering with Dean.

" … John Winchester is in a serious condition … possible stab wound and car accident … when officials arrived at the scene; John Winchester was the only person there."

"Excuse me?" Dean hissed, full concentration back on the phone call now as he peered anxiously at his brother's peaceful expression. Not wanting to wake him, in case this phone call caused Dean's temper to flare, Dean decided to take the phone call outside of Sam's room.

"Be back soon bro," Dean pattered Sam's arm consolingly before he got up from the chair and exited the room, standing just outside Sam's room, not willing to venture too far away from his little brother just yet. "Sorry Doc, what were you saying about John Winchester? I'm Dean Winchester, his son. Please, tell me … is my Dad all right?"

TBC