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.
Hopefully at the end of this chapter you will all understand what is going on with Sam and who Familiar Stranger is. And hopefully everything that needed to be explained is explained. Just the confrontation with senior Stewart and his henchmen to go and this story should have reached its conclusion.
If there is anything I have left out or you are still unsure about, please feel free to message me. You never know, I may have left it unintentionally unresolved for a reason (possibly a sequel).
Special Note: Thanks to Cheetah Grrl 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. Thanks to everyone for their patience and continued interest.
Whoops, sorry about the mix up with the last chapter, don't know what went wrong there but thanks to Mimmi85 it's all fixed now.
DEMON SPAWN: THE PHONE CALL
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
"It's good to see you Hags!" Caleb greeted, grin stretched wide across his face, as he enthusiastically squeezed Caelan's shoulder, his gaze travelling up and down the length of Caelan's body assessing. "And you appear to be in one piece, which is even better!" Caleb's light brown eyes sparkled in evident relief.
"Yeah, same goes for you too Hawkes," Caelan agreed, after giving his friend the same once over Caleb had given him. "Okay, so what's the plan boys?"
"Get the hell out of here and rescue Sam," Dean piped up, his eyes filled with grim determination.
"Sounds good to me," Caelan confirmed. "Let's make it happen." He offered Dean a reassuring, confident smile before turning to Caleb once more. "Lead the way Caleb. I'll stay at the rear and Dean … you just try to stay on your feet, okay buddy?"
Dean shot Caelan a scathing look. "You don't have to worry about me pretty boy, you just worry about yourself!" he grumbled, even though his eyes had an edge of amusement in them. He'd missed this; the easy bantering between him and Caelan which had become almost second nature to the two friends now.
"Damn Hags, why do you always think you can boss me around? I am the oldest one here you know?"
"True. But I'm the best-looking, which means I get to be in charge." Caelan retorted teasingly.
Caleb huffed, pretending to be insulted by Caelan's words, but Caelan could see the light grin upon his friend's face. "Here, before we get going, you need to make a call Winchester," Caleb threw his phone to a startled Dean who caught the phone easily, looking at Caleb, puzzled about who exactly he needed to call.
"You need to call your Dad," Caleb elaborated, rolling his eyes at Dean. "Geez Winchester, did they hit you too hard in the head and knock a few screws loose or something?" Caleb winked at Dean, letting him know that he was only joking around with the younger Hunter and not being serious.
Dean couldn't think of a witty come back for that comment at the moment, looking at Caleb's phone in his hand, pieces falling together within his mind. "Dad's your back-up plan, isn't he Caleb?"
"Okay, so maybe they didn't scramble your brains too much kid," Caleb smirked at Dean approvingly. "But technically your Dad is the back-up to the back-up plan."
Dean blinked, trying to wrap his mind around that statement. "You have another back-up plan?"
"Yep." Caleb smiled, looking almost smug. "The back-up plan should be here in –" Caleb checked his watch. "– ten minutes, bringing the youngest Winchester with him."
Dean's eyes widened at that news. "Sammy's okay and coming here?"
"Yep." Caleb grinned at the visible relief he could see reflected with the younger Hunter's green eyes.
"Is he with another Hunter?" Dean asked, the phone forgotten now, eager to hear news of his brother and to make sure that he was in good hands. "Bobby, maybe?"
"Not exactly," Caleb hedged uncomfortably, casting a nervous glance toward Caelan. "Although I have heard that he knows his way around the hunting life-style."
Dean frowned, instantly picking up on Caelan's hesitation. He was about to ask another question, but Caelan beat him to it.
"Is it him?" Caelan's tone held traces of fear, awe and nervousness.
Caleb gave Caelan a quick subtle nod of confirmation.
"Son of a bitch," Caelan hissed, astounded. "I can't believe that Johnny actually called him for help."
"I don't think he head much choice Caelan," Caleb shrugged unconcerned. "Regardless, we do have a back-up plan if Peter and Hank fail at diverting Senior Stewart's henchmen away from us."
"Who?" Dean demanded, a small slither of apprehension settling within him, not comforted by his best friend's reaction to this mysterious not-Hunter who now apparently had his Sammy in his possession.
Caleb smiled down at Dean, shrugging again, hoping to ease Dean's sudden uneasiness. "I haven't met the man myself," Caleb admitted, his tone light. "But I hear that he's the best at what he does and he goes by the name of Nirkish."
"That doesn't make me feel any better Caleb," Dean snapped irritably.
"It's okay Dean," Caelan laid a reassuring hand upon Dean's shoulder. "Whatever else this guy is … I know that he won't hurt the squirt. For whatever reason, he seems to have a soft spot for the kid."
Dean opened his mouth to voice more objections before Caleb glanced around uneasily, while gesturing toward the phone Dean still had clutched in his hand.
"Call your Dad Dean, let him know you're all right and then we can get out of here and meet up with Sam … okay?" he smiled, trying to appease and compromise with the older Winchester sibling.
Dean still looked as if he was about to argue before he closed his mouth and nodded, agreeing to do what Caleb had suggested. The faster he made the call to his Dad and got out of here, the sooner he'd be able to see Sammy again.
DW CH SW DW CH SW DW CH SW DW CH SW DW
Sam's hands clenched into fists, glaring hard at the man beside him, a sudden wave of intense rage and denial descending upon him as he fought to control the various emotions churning within him at Familiar Stranger's statement.
Just what in the hell was this guy implying here? That his parents made a damn deal with The Demon? That Sam had Demon Blood in him? That John knew about all of this and didn't tell him a damn thing about it?
Sam scoffed loudly at those notions. For what purpose would his parents make a deal with The Demon? It wasn't as if any of them were living charmed lives and living happily ever after. Their mother had died. Their father had become obsessed with killing the yellow-eyed bastard. Dean had become mindlessly obedient to their father and the family mission. Sam had been cursed.
All of that misery and misfortune didn't sound like a productive Demon Deal to Sam. No one had gotten any happiness out of the tragedy that had befallen the Winchester family. No one would have wished this upon themselves.
It almost made Sam laugh for even considering that this was an option. Demon Deal? … Yeah, right! There was just no way that would have happened. Sam instantly dismissed that ridiculous idea from his mind.
John keeping secrets from Sam wasn't a foreign concept to Sam. For as long as Sam could remember, both John and Dean had tried to shield him from the truth about what their Dad did for a living and what had killed their mother, for as long as they could.
But would John keep something this big from Sam?
If it was to protect him … then Sam reluctantly admitted that John would keep something this big from both of his boys. Dean would never have been able to keep something like this from Sam. So, John knowing about this and not saying anything … was a very real possibility.
Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his rage beginning to ease to anger at that sobering thought, frustration starting to mix with his anger because … damn! He was old enough to know about this shit now! How dare his Dad keep something like this from him!
Sam paused, cautiously reviewing what exactly his Dad had kept from him, if he did in fact know about any of this. But what exactly was this?
"So … let me get this straight," Sam said his words slowly, quickly regathering his scattered thoughts into a more coherent structure, working through the bits of information that he did know and what he suspected. "You're saying that my Dad knew about The Demon and its apparent connection to me?"
Familiar Stranger nodded. "I was the one who informed him of your destiny years ago Sam Winchester."
Oh great, so now Sam had some kind of Demonic Destiny to worry about now? Sam rolled his eyes sarcastically. This day just kept getting better and better …
"Okay, let me stop you right there. Firstly, I don't have any connection to The Demon, other than the fact that my mother was killed by him in my nursery. Secondly, I don't have any abilities what-so-ever; it was just a stupid dream followed by a damn headache. Thirdly, and most importantly, I do not have any Demon Blood in me! Nor do I have any secret Demonic Destiny."
"I never said that your destiny was Demonic in nature Sam Winchester," Familiar Stranger interrupted Sam's tirade quietly. "I was just stating the observations that I made while healing your headache."
"What observations?"
Fantastic, now Sam was back to grinding his teeth together again so tightly that his jaw was beginning to ache.
"That your abilities appear to have been activated earlier than expected." He replied, frowning as if that answer should have been obvious to Sam.
"How?" Sam demanded tightly. "How do you know that?"
"Because there was a … residue left in your mind from the time that you were connected to …" he tilted his head slightly, confused now. " … I believe you call him … Sicko?"
Sam's breath caught in his throat at the mention of that name. He had told no one about the weird dream connection that he seemed to have with Sicko, nor had he revealed what Sam secretly called the unknown man to anyone, except Dean. So, how the hell had this guy … Wait. Sicko's father had informed Sicko that he'd healed his father using his powers. Did Sam have … powers … abilities … just like Sicko apparently did?
Panic made Sam's heart beat faster, the strongly held denial that he had clung to, began to fall away as pieces slowly began to fit together like pieces to a puzzle.
No! He didn't want to have abilities! He was already a freak who couldn't talk about his past or upbringing, who The Demon had visited when he was just a baby. And now … what? He was supposed to have some kind of freaky Demonic Powers?!
Oh, hell no!
SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW
"Relax John," Bobby Singer said in a gruff, resigned tone, already knowing by the stiffness in the Hunter's shoulders and the tight lines of stubbornness creasing his brow that John Winchester would do anything else other than relax.
John shot a bitch face in Bobby's direction – that was so similar to his youngest son's look, that Bobby almost chuckled at the sight of it – not even bothering to answer Bobby's useless comment.
Relax?
How the hell could he relax when it had been over an hour since the deadline Nirkish had promised him that he would hear from either Dean or Caelan by now?
The promised phone call weighed heavily upon the Hunter's mind, and even though he and Bobby were only forty minutes away from the boys' location, every minute that passed without word from his boys increased John's worry and concern.
Nirkish should be there by now. He should have managed to get Dean, Caelan and Caleb out of the hospital by now … right?
Being tardy and waiting on people was not something John Winchester tolerated. Being a Hunter and previously a military man, John had learned the importance of being punctual; how to work within a team, your unit being an extension of your own body, trusting that every member of the unit knew their jobs and performed that function to the best of their ability (if one person failed at their job, the whole unit and mission fell apart!); and lastly, but most importantly, how crucial communication was between the members of your unit or your hunting partners.
People had to know what was happening or any changes that had to be made in order to complete their mission or hunt successfully.
John had taught his sons these three basic truths in order to be a successful Hunter. If everything had gone according to plan, then Dean should have called John an hour ago … on the dot! So, either Caleb hadn't passed that information onto Dean or … something had gone wrong with the plan.
"Glaring at your phone like that isn't going to make it ring Johnny," Bobby remarked, chuckling dryly.
John scowled at Bobby, muttering profanities under his breath before he went back to glaring at his phone, willing it to ring, willing it to let him reconnect with his boys once more and let him know that they were at least still alive.
Almost as if the universe had sensed that John was at his limit of patience and was about to let loose the infamous John Winchester temper, his phone lit up and began ringing.
"It's Caleb," John breathed in relief before he quickly answered the phone. "You're late Caleb," John greeted, his voice clipped and impatient.
"Dad, it's me,"
John's eyes closed briefly as he offered up a silent prayer of thanks to the universe, his features softening slightly, only now realizing that he wasn't sure if he would ever hear the sound of his oldest son's voice ever again.
"Dean," John sighed, tears of gratitude within his eyes. "Son, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good Dad," Dean replied and John could detect the weariness within his boy's tone, indicating to John that Dean was far from okay, but he was still hanging in here and he was alive, damn it! That was the most important thing here, he was still alive.
"What's your status son?" John inquired briskly.
"Caleb, Caelan and I are still in enemy territory, about to proceed through the enemy ranks now and out the back door, hopefully undetected, Sir," Dean reported, all signs of previous tiredness replaced with military precision. "We will reconvene with Sam in about ten minutes; if we encounter no obstacles or interruptions."
John nodded; silently applauding his oldest son's no bull-shit and straight-to-the-point attitude. He was so damn proud of the man his boy had become.
"What about you Dad? What's your location? Are you okay?"
John smiled at the worry he could hear in his oldest boy's voice. He had always been like this; more worried about everyone else than himself. "I'm good Dean." John said, not able to hide the emotions within his tightly crisp tone. "Bobby and I are about forty minutes out. How are you Dean? Any significant injuries at your end?"
"We're fine Dad,"
Good. That meant no one had any serious life threatening injuries, even though John could tell by the tone in Dean's voice that he was down-playing his own injury. John knew that despite any serious injury Dean may have suffered, he would keep trying to fight even if both of his legs had been blown off … Especially if it was to save his family.
"You keep me posted Dean; report back in fifteen minutes, okay?"
"Yes Sir." Dean acknowledged the order before ending the call.
John huffed out a sigh, relaxing slightly after hearing his son's voice and knowing that there would be an up-date soon. Hopefully by then, John would be able to hear both of his sons' voices. But John knew that the tightness of apprehension wouldn't leave entirely until he could see both of his sons, alive and unharmed.
Forty minutes seemed like an eternity to John right now, but he would be able to ride out this anxiously long forty minutes as long as he had regular up-dates from his boys.
JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW SW JW
Did that mean that his dream was more than just a dream … a weird coincidence … a fluke … some kind of abnormal reaction to the drug that he'd been given or the strain of the punishment session that had transpired today?
Had he really been connected to Sicko? If Sam had somehow acquired freaky Demonic Powers, did that mean that Sicko had been visited in the past by The Demon as well?
"Why? Why am I connected … to him?" Sam barely recognized the horrified high-pitched, pleading wail his voice had become.
Familiar Stranger peered at Sam closely, hesitant and worried now. "Both of you received visits from The Demon when you were six months old. Maybe we should no longer discuss this subject as you seem to be becoming increasingly distressed …"
Fuck! Shit!
If that were true then … did that make Sicko and Sam … Demonic Brothers?!
Sam was gagging now, on the verge of dry-retching as that horrific thought took shape within his mind. He knew that he was probably over reacting but …
No! It couldn't be true … could it?
After everything Sicko had done to him … put him through … cursed at him, spat at him for being a Demon Spawn, only to find out that Sicko … he might be a Demon Spawn to; having more in common with Sam Winchester than anyone else on the planet.
How the fuck could this be possible?
Small, gasping whimpers reached Sam's ears, dimly aware of a sharp pain emanating from his chest, his breaths fast and shallow as he desperately tried to hold onto his sanity, his reality.
If he and Sicko really were connected … bound together by The Demon's visitation … Demonic Brothers with Demonic Powers fated to a Demonic Destiny … then why the hell had Sicko punished him for all of these years?
Why had he broken Sam repeatedly over the years, broken him while Dean had been forced to listen to it all … unless … Sicko didn't know that he was potentially a Demon Spawn and … Oh God … Dean …
Sam grasped at his chest, horrible, wheezing, gasping sounds filling his ears, surrounding him, feeling as if he was drowning; drowning within the wave of disturbing suspicions and notions, desperately clinging to the one life-line that had always been able to pull him out of his panic attacks.
"D … D … Deeee … " Sam gasped, holding onto his brother's name, urgently picturing his bad-ass older brother in his mind, knowing that if anyone could save him from this nightmare, then Dean would.
"DEAN! HEL-HELP ME!" Sam screamed with everything he had left, the panic and fear completely overwhelming and consuming him now, unaware of his surroundings, barely with it enough to realize that he was panting now, his breaths becoming more shallow, not able to get any air into his oxygen starved lungs.
Oh God … he was going to die … Dean, please, help me!
"Easy Sam Winchester, you need to calm down …"
"Get off of me!" Sam felt unfamiliar, foreign hands grabbing at him and Sam instinctively fought them as hard as he could, drawing himself into a protective ball, wanting to block out everything else around him.
The only touch he wanted to feel, voice he wanted to hear and face he wanted to see, belonged to his hero, the one who had raised him, the person who knew him better than he knew himself, Dean Winchester. Once Dean arrived, Sam would open himself back up, but until then …
"No! Get your hands off of me!" Sam screeched as he felt fingers brush against his forehead and then his mind suddenly closed off, enveloped within the nothingness of darkness.
"Sleep now Sam Winchester, your brother will be with you soon …" Sam thought he heard a voice say as it followed him briefly into the darkness and then was gone as suddenly as it had appeared.
TBC