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. I have no knowledge or training in medical areas. I have tried to keep everything as realistic as possible, but, as medical knowledge is not my area of expertise, just beware that there may be some mistakes in the next few chapters.
Special Note: Thanks to Mimmi85 for your kind words. 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. Did I say two chapters? Yeah, that's not happening, sorry. Just trying to tie up all the loose ends and boy am I struggling with that, but there is an ending in sight … just not quite sure when.
DEMON SPAWN: THE PHONE CALL
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
"Sammy!" Dean practically screamed, terror flooding his system as his body finally obeyed his command to sit up.
Dean grunted in surprise, the sudden movement causing his wounded mid-section to flare to life with burning pain. But Dean had to ignore that. He had to push his own pain down because … Sammy obviously wasn't here. And if Sam wasn't here, it could mean either of two things; Sam was dead or those sons of bitches had taken him again.
"N-no!" Dean growled, shoving his feet to the side, breathing through his pain as he struggled to pull his uncooperative body out of bed and into an upright position.
Dean refused to believe that Sammy was dead. So, the only other option he had left was that those fucking assholes had taken his brother.
Finally, Dean managed to pull his legs to the side of the bed, feet touching the floor, taking a couple of minutes to centre himself, valiantly trying to ignore the drips of sweat that cascaded down his body because of the exertion he was forcing his body to endure; the only thought in his mind was that he had to find Sammy before those assholes hurt him like Dead Fucker had done; before they decided to beat him, torture him and put him in that God damned awful box again!
Dean had to get to his brother now, before it was too late, before this round of torture completely broke something within Sam's mind forever, becoming out of even Dean's reach to be able to save him.
"Holy crap! Hey! Mr Winchester, you have to calm down." A pair of strong hands clamped down upon Dean's shoulders, holding him in place. "Sir, you have to stop moving around or you're going to pull out your stitches. Mr Winchester … lie down and get some rest."
"Get off of me!" Dean hissed, jerking his body away from those hands, trying to focus as he stared up at the male nurse before him. "Get your fucking hands off of me right now before I knock your teeth into the back of your throat!"
Dean's voice may have been shaking slightly, but that didn't mean that it wasn't filled with deadly venom and a poisonous threat.
The male nurse actually gasped, a look of fear within his eyes as he instinctively started to back away from this slightly crazy and deranged man.
"Easy Mr Winchester," he stammered gently. "No one's going to hurt you, okay pal? I just need you to calm down and relax. You're at the hospital; you've been shot and just spent the last few hours in surgery. So, unless you really want to cause yourself permanent damage, you will listen when I tell you that you need to get into bed right now and get some rest."
"Fuck you!" Dean spat out, his top lip curling in disgust and fury. "You tell me where the fuck my brother is or I'm not listening to a damn word you say and getting out of here anyway. I would really like it if I didn't have to hurt you before I leave. But if you get in my fucking way … so help me, I'll –"
"Dean!"
Dean's head snapped up at the sound of that familiar voice and he almost burst out laughing in relief when he saw Doctor Elizabeth Cox entering the room. Finally, someone who could give him some straight answers about what had happed to Sam.
"Doc," Dean's voice lost its deadly edge and he almost managed a half-smile for the doctor's benefit. "Am I glad to see you! Tell me Doc, where's Sammy? What happened to him? Is he okay? Please, tell me he's okay!" Dean was half a beat away from begging, so overcome with worry that he couldn't contain it any longer.
Elizabeth offered Dean a sympathetic smile before she turned to the male nurse. "It's okay Jenkins, you can leave, I'll get Dean Winchester settled."
The nurse glanced from the doctor to Dean and back again, unsure if he should leave the female doctor alone with this highly unstable, volatile man.
Dean would have been impressed by the silent conversation between the Doc and the nurse if he wasn't so damned worried about his brother and anxious for news.
The nurse nodded slightly before glaring hard at Dean in warning before he left the room and closed the door behind him.
"Doc, where's Sam? Is he … I mean, he's not …"
"Dead?" Elizabeth supplied before she smiled in gentle reassurance. "No Dean, Sam's not dead …
Dean breathed a huge sigh of relief at that news, knew he had been over reacting, but he couldn't help that when it came to the safety of his baby brother.
… At least, as far as we know anyway."
Dean's head shot up at those words. "What does that mean?" Dean demanded, his heart pounding against his chest almost painfully; his big brother senses screaming at him, letting him know that Sam was far from okay and that he needed help now.
Dean's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Sam's here right? I mean … he's safe and secure in his hospital room, right?"
"I'm afraid not," Elizabeth reluctantly admitted, her blue eyes shining in sympathy. "Sam's … missing."
What?!
Shit!
"Fuck!" Dean cursed under his breath, not allowing himself to give into his despair or guilt right now; instead, Dean squared his shoulders, a determined calm coming over him, knowing that nothing else mattered except to find Sam and bring him home!
"Dean! Wait!" Elizabeth placed a hand upon his arm, preventing Dean from struggling to his feet once more. "You're in no condition to search for your brother right now. You need to stay here and rest. You'll be no good to your brother dead, Dean."
Dean opened his mouth to argue with the doctor before the logic of her words hit him. As much as Dean hated to admit it, the Doc was right. The way Dean was feeling at the moment, he wouldn't last ten steps before he collapsed. But … it wasn't in his nature to let his brother suffer if he could help it. His brother needed him and –
"Caelan," Dean gasped, the answer suddenly so obvious and clear. "Doc, I need my phone. I need to talk to Caelan immediately." Dean stated, his voice deadly serious and urgent. "Please, I may not be able to physically search for my brother, but Caelan can."
Elizabeth looked into those insistent, pleading, drop-dead gorgeous green eyes and she felt her resolve weakening, wanting to give into the man before her, but …
"I'm sorry Dean," she said softly, her body automatically stiffening up, tight lines of anger around both her eyes and mouth. "But I'm afraid I can't allow you to call anyone."
Dean blinked, confused.
"After what you did to my brother … did you really think you would get away with it?" Elizabeth scoffed, her pretty features scrunched up into a look of contempt and disgust.
Dean's eyes widened when he caught sight of a familiar figure coming to stand quietly beside Elizabeth, a delighted smirk of satisfaction upon his lips, making him appear almost ghoulish because of the extensive bruising to his face.
"You!" Dean snarled, recognition flaring brightly within him, his natural instinct to get out of this bed and finish what he had started with this Hunter earlier.
Peter Stewart stood there, grinning at Dean smugly. "Pay backs a bitch … isn't it Winchester?"
Dean turned accusing eyes to the petite doctor, whom Dean had thought he could trust. Obviously, he was wrong. And that just make Dean's anger all that more intense, furious that this woman had been able to play him from the minute the Winchester siblings had entered the damn hospital.
"You're behind this?!" he spluttered incredulously. "You working with them to help torture my baby brother?!"
Elizabeth flinched at Dean's words, shooting a doubtful look in Peter's direction. "You helped to torture Sam?" she asked, her gaze intense as she studied her younger sibling's body language carefully.
"Don't listen to him, he's lying!" Peter denied Dean's claims loudly. "He was the one who attacked me Liz! Look at what he did to my face!" Peter gestured to himself, an indignant, hurt look crossing his face at his sister's accusations.
Dean scoffed, more than a little impressed by this man's ability to evade the issue while being able to pin the blame back upon Dean's shoulders.
"What? You got something to say Winchester?" Peter snapped at Dean, blue eyes flashing dangerously in warning.
"It doesn't matter," Elizabeth sighed tiredly, placing a hand upon Peter's arm to still her brother's rising agitation. "The fact of the matter is, you caused my brother harm Dean. And no matter the circumstances, no one is allowed to hurt my brother."
Dean couldn't help but nod in acknowledgement at the protective flare within Elizabeth's eyes, instantly understanding exactly what Elizabeth was say; because Dean felt the exact same way about Sammy. No one was allowed to put their hands on Sammy, even if he did deserve it.
"Fair enough," Dean reluctantly conceded. "I see your point. But don't expect an apology out of me for what I did. You saw the state Sam was in when I brought him in. And your brother helped to hurt my brother."
Dean paused, his lips curling into his fearless smirk. "If I'm being completely honest Doc, your brother got off easy. If I'd known what condition I'd find Sam in … I doubt I would have let the little bastard live!"
"Why you –" Peter started forward, intending to shut this cocky little bastard's mouth, but Elizabeth held out her arm, preventing him from advancing.
"Don't let him manipulate you into a fight Peter. That's exactly what he wants." Elizabeth reprimanded her silently seething sibling.
"So, what happens now, Doc?" Dean asked, his lips twisted into an unpleasant sneer. Whatever respect this woman had gained with him was completely gone now. "You gonna whisk me away like you did with Sam?"
"Maybe," Elizabeth replied evenly, not intimidated in the least by the injured Hunter before her.
"You do know that you won't get away with this, right? Sam and I … we have people who will look for us. So, whatever you're planning … it's a waste of time. Caelan will –"
"Caelan won't be able to help you Dean," Elizabeth told Dean, her tone hard and cold. "He won't be able to help either you or Sam." She declared confidently.
"Why? What are you going to do to him?" Dean inquired, a sickening feeling of dread worming its way through him. "Don't you hurt him, you bitch! If you fucking hurt either Sam or Caelan … I swear to you that I will hunt you down and –"
Dean's threat was cut off abruptly when Peter moved forward to restrain the Hunter as Elizabeth smoothly injected something into Dean's vein.
"Get off of me!" Dean s screeched, furious, bucking his body wildly as he tried to overthrow Peter Stewart and stop his evil sister from drugging him.
On any other day, Dean would have been able to beat this pansy Hunter with his hands tied behind his back, but Dean wasn't at one hundred percent and unfortunately Peter was effectively able to subdue him.
"Get off of me, you crazy bastard!" Dean demanded in a fit of rage.
"Ssh, calm down Dean," Elizabeth said in a mockingly soothing tone. "Just relax. Soon you won't be feeling any pain or regrets … you won't feel much of anything once my father is through with reconditioning all three of you."
Elizabeth laid a gentle hand upon Dean's forehead, smiling with pleasure when she noticed the drug beginning to take effect. "I'm sorry Dean, I truly am, but … being reconditioned is a lot better than being dead." She tried to assure the weakly struggling Hunter. "Right … Peter, let's get prepared for Caelan, shall we?"
No!
Dean tried to move his body, but the more he struggled, the more he seemed to be pulled under by the drug the evil bitch of a doctor had given him.
Caelan … Dean had to warn Caelan that this was a trap, was the last thought to cross Dean's mind before he succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness once again
DW CH DW CH DW CH DW CH DW CH DW CH DW
Caelan and Caleb rounded a corner and came upon the room where the "witness" to Dean's shooting and Sam's abduction was being treated ... contained.
A grim look of determination crossed Caelan's features, the security footage may be damaged and unrecoverable, but Caelan vowed that he would do whatever it took to get the information of where this organisation had carted the youngest Winchester off to.
After everything he and Dean had gone through today in order to rescue Sammy from these bastards; only to have them recapture him again …
No, Caelan wasn't about to let them get away with it a second time. He was going to find Sam. Even if he had to go through every single member of this organisation to do it!
Caelan shared a look with Caleb and knew that his friend would back him up no matter what they had to do or who they had to go through to achieve their goal.
Steadying himself, Caelan was about to push open the door, before he spotted Elizabeth Cox practically running toward them, a worried, concerned look upon her face.
Oh shit, now what?
"Caelan," Elizabeth said, slightly out of breath, looking extremely ruffled, gesturing frantically for Caelan to follow her. "You need to come with me right now." Her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Why? What's wrong?" Caelan asked, instantly on alert because of Elizabeth's tense attitude and because of her strange, swinging behaviour.
"Dean's awake," she replied, and Caelan couldn't help the wide smile that he felt upon his lips, not understanding the woman's reservations because to Caelan, this was good news. If Dean was awake, that meant that the surgery had been successful and his best friend/brother was going to live.
"Dean's awake … and he's pissed." Elizabeth elaborated, running a nervous hand through her hair. "You have to come with me immediately, before he hurts himself further or one of the staff have him up on assault, or before the security marches his ass out of the hospital for good."
"Oh." Caelan frowned slightly, Elizabeth's agitation finally beginning to make sense now. Dean was awake. But knowing Dean like Caelan did, all the older Winchester sibling would be worried about is the condition of his younger brother. And not being able to get that information or a straight answer from anyone would cause Dean to become irrational, his worry quickly turning into frustration and finally anger because all he would want is to see his little brother as soon as possible.
If someone didn't calm Dean down, Caelan had no doubt that Dean would rip the whole hospital apart in order to get a simple glimpse of his brother.
"Okay," Caelan nodded, knowing that if Dean had already reached the aggravated and violent stage, then the only two people who could calm Dean down now was Sammy and himself.
Caleb slapped a hand upon Caelan's shoulder and grinned at him encouragingly. "You go Hags, I've got this," Caleb assured him. "This "witness" will be telling me things he'd be too embarrassed to tell his mother by the time I'm through with him." Caleb promised, a dark edge coming into his light brown eyes.
"Thanks," Caelan said. "Be careful." He added before he turned and followed Elizabeth down the corridors of the hospital at an extremely hurried rate.
Ten minutes later, Caelan was standing outside of recovery, slightly out of breath, a puzzled frown upon his face at hearing no disturbance at all. The place was eerily quiet; too quiet if Dean Winchester was indeed in freak-out, protective older brother mode.
Caelan turned to Elizabeth and was surprised to find tears within her blue eyes, her bottom lip trembling violently as she hung her head in shame.
"I'm sorry Caelan," she whispered. "I tried to keep both you and Dean out of this, I swear. But …"
Caelan closed his eyes, his heart pounding against his chest as he suddenly realised that this was a trap. And Lizzie … she had been in on the whole thing. God, he was so gullible and naive to believe anything that she had said.
But Caelan had wanted to believe that she was still the same woman that he had fallen in love with ten years ago. Obviously, he should have listened to his gut and not his heart.
"Lizzie, what have you done?"
Elizabeth met Caelan's accusing, sad betrayed gaze and couldn't help but swallow convulsively at the anger burning within her former lover's eyes. She knew what Caelan was like when he was hurt and betrayed like this by the people that he loved and trusted completely.
But, Elizabeth didn't have a choice. She'd had to help her father and the organisation recapture Sam Winchester for the retribution and honour of her father's name. Dean Winchester and Caelan Hagen had crossed the line when they had hurt her little brother and dared to disrespect the Stewart name by treating Peter with such callousness and cowardly behaviour. They had this coming … all three of them.
But … Elizabeth knew that she couldn't stand the organisation and what it stood for. She knew her father had disowned her years ago … so, why did she have recent memories of her father reinstating her back into the Stewart family for helping him reacquire the Demon Spawn and luring the older Winchester and her former lover into a trap that had been set specifically for them?
Conflicting emotions and memories boiled within Elizabeth until only one true thought remained, drowning out all of the other doubts that she had. Dean Winchester and Caelan Hagen had hurt her little brother and for that, the two of them had to pay!
Elizabeth shook her head, back on track, the mission and objective clear in her mind once more. "Daddy's furious that both you and Dean hurt Peter, even though he'd given you both a free pass; a grace period from the organisation's tracking team to eliminate you immediately. Now, because of what the two of you have done to my brother, Daddy decided to … teach both of you a lesson you're not likely to forget in a hurry. He's going to take both you and Dean away for … reconditioning."
Caelan stared at Elizabeth blankly, a cold, empty numb feeling filling him. God, how could he have been so stupid as to believe her lies?
And now, not only was Sammy missing, but it looked as if both Dean and himself were going to go missing as well … maybe permanently missing.
TBC