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.
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: 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.
DEMON SPAWN: THE PHONE CALL
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Dean was running to their motel room before he was even aware of what he was doing, only knowing that his little brother was so distraught that not even Dad's bellowing orders to "Stop wailing like a spoilt child and man up, because you're a Winchester for Christ's sake!" and "Winchester men don't act like snivelling children!" was having no effect on calming the young man down.
Dean needed to get to Sam now, before this situation got even more out of control than it already was.
Ignoring the curious motel guests who had come out of their rooms at the screams and shouting that emanated from the Winchesters motel room, Dean quickly kicked open the door and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight that greeted him.
Sam was curled up in a ball in the corner by the bed, arms wrapped around his knees, eyes squeezed tightly shut, rocking, tears spilling down his pale, drawn checks, screaming for Dean to help him; while John was in front of Sam, kneeling on one knee, hands on Sam's shoulders, wild panic and fury fighting for dominancy upon John's features, shouting in Sam's face, violently shaking Sam as if that action alone could somehow calm his youngest son down.
Dean watched in horror as John's right hand left Sam's left shoulder to arc up and land a swift, stinging blow upon his brother's left check.
"Snap the fuck out of it Sammy!" John growled, and Dean could hear the rising frustration within his Dad's voice, underlined by a tinge of fear.
Sam's eyes snapped open and everything seemed to go still and silent for a long heartbeat, Sam blinking at John repeatedly, a stunned look upon his young face before Sam shrunk further into himself, his wails increasing in volume, his breaths coming out in panicked gasps now, his whole body shaking, ducking his head in between his knees, refusing his father's touch, cringing away from John as if he thought John was going to cause him more harm.
Dean had opened the door to the room, Sam in a state of confusion and agitation; but now, because of John's actions, Sam was descending rapidly into hysteria; his breathing and closed-off posture indicating that Sam was on the verge of having a full blown panic attack.
It had been hard enough dealing with a younger version of Sam when he had a panic attack, but now that Sam was an adult, taller than him, Dean wasn't too confident in his ability to be able to calm his brother as he once had.
Hearing the pitiful wails from his baby brother, caused Dean to move into action, instantly needing to help Sam when he was in pain or scared. Dean pushed a shell-shocked John Winchester out of the way, shooting his father a murderous glare before he knelt next to Sam, gently placing a hand upon his brother's shaking knee, his tone low, soft, soothing as he gently coaxed his brother into an easier, more regular breathing pattern.
Dean wrapped his arms around Sam, engulfing Sam in his embrace, Sam instinctively tucking his head protectively within his brother's chest, shaking and sobbing, recognizing the familiar arms that encircled him and had always kept him safe.
"What the hell happened?" Dean asked his father, his narrowed eyes glaring daggers at John. "I leave for one freakin hour and come back to see all hell has broken loose! Sam shaking and traumatized, curled up in a ball while you're looming over him, shouting at him, shaking him … Couldn't you see that Sam was scared out of his mind? You didn't need to hit him."
Instant regret morphed into John's dark eyes, realizing that he hadn't handled the situation as well as he should have. "I was only trying to calm him down," John explained in a soft voice. "I thought the shock of a slap would snap him out of it. It used to work on you when you were younger."
"That's not how Sammy works," Dean had sighed. "And if I ever see you put your fucking hands on my brother like that again, I will be drawing blood! Do you understand me?"
It didn't take a genius to figure out why Dean had come back to see his baby brother cowering in a corner, bordering on a full-blown panic attack, crying out for Dean once John had explained what had caused such a violent outburst from his youngest son.
Because of John's actions, he had inadvertently caused Sam to become lost within a memory he was trying desperately hard to forget. Sam had been learning over the small table in their room to get his lap-top, when John had come up behind Sam and touched Sam upon the shoulder, which had caused the youngest Winchester to react the way he had.
Dean could still hear his younger brother's shrieks of pain as Dead Fucker relished in the fact that he was breaking the youngest Winchester while Dean was forced to listen to it all, unable to do anything to help his baby brother.
Dean had told his father to disappear for a couple of hours while he tried to calm his younger brother down. At first, John had refused to go, but once Dean had explained why Sam had freaked out like he had, John had given Dean a curt nod, his lips thinned in anger as he left his boys alone; feeling a pang of regret that it was Dean, Sam looked to and not John. But John knew that he had brought this on himself by leaving his boys alone so much while they were growing up.
It had taken Dean half the night to calm his sibling down, the kid eventually tiring himself out by crying himself into a state of exhaustion.
John had come back the next day and his demeanour toward Sam changed so dramatically that it hadn't taken Sam long to figure out that something was wrong. John Winchester had never been much of a toucher-hugger-feely type, but a simple hand to the shoulder or ruffling of the hair had shown the Winchester siblings that their Dad truly did care about then, and a simple touch was how John conveyed his feelings.
Now, John avoided Sam like he had the plague, would go out of his way not to touch Sam in any way, shape or form. Dean knew that his Dad was doing everything in his power not to upset Sam again, not wanting to remind Sam of one of the worst days of his life, but Dean could see the hurt forming within his brother's expressive puppy-dog hazel eyes, thinking that John was avoiding him because he was ashamed and disgusted by Sam and this was the only way that John could let Sam know that he now rejected Sam.
The big fight between Dad and Sam had come just two days ago. And the fact that Sam was now willing to stand up to Dad and tell him what he thought just proved to Dean how much stronger and more confident his brother was becoming. If Sam could argue with the old man, then Sam was almost well enough to move again … maybe even hunt again.
Sam had been suffering from the nightmares ever since they had escaped from the hospital, but the nightmare Sam had awoken up from two nights ago had been different.
Sam had insisted that Caelan was in grave danger and they needed to get to him as soon as possible. Dean was willing to trust his brother's judgement, jump into the Impala and drive off to Caelan's location immediately, recognizing the same qualities that Sam had exhibited when he had dreamed that their Dad had been stabbed while in the hospital; but John had wanted more than a gut feeling and a dream to go off of.
Reluctantly, Sam had admitted that Dean Fucker and Marc Ley-Lamp were the ones that Sam had seen in his dream, the ones who had come for Caelan and hurt him.
"Marc's dead son, remember? I killed that traitorous son of a bitch myself by slicing his neck open. There's no way that bastard could have survived that. Believe me, he's dead." John had told Sam in a no argument, no nonsense tone, Dean becoming worried, not sure of his brother's mental state at the moment, wondering if everything his baby brother had suffered through was finally putting a strain on Sam's mental capabilities.
But Sam was adamant that Marc was still alive and gunning for Caelan right now.
An argument between the oldest Winchester and the youngest Winchester ensured in a battle of wills, while Dean could only stand there, caught in the middle, playing referee and peace-maker to the best of his ability.
After John realized that he wouldn't be able to talk any sense into his youngest son, John had stormed out of the room, saying that he couldn't stand by and watch his youngest boy fall to pieces and acting like a crazy guy.
Those words had hurt Sam, Dean could tell, and after making sure that Sam knew Dean wouldn't be leaving him, Dean went outside to see his father leaning up against his truck, a worried, anxious look upon his face.
"I hate to do this to you Dean, but I have to go." John had informed his oldest son, regret clearly evident in his voice. "There's something I need to take care of in order to protect Sammy."
Dean had wanted to yell and curse at his Dad for abandoning them once more, but instead he had only nodded, hiding his bitter disappointment behind the carefully crafted mask he reserved for his Dad alone.
"Take care of your brother Dean, and … I'll call when I can."
"Yeah Dad, of course," Dean replied, watching as John jumped into his truck and took off without smoothing things out with Sam or saying goodbye … which was typical of John's character, but Dean had somehow hoped that this whole experience had given John a different perspective on things.
DW JW CH SW DW JW CH SW DW JW CH SW DW
"Sammy," Caelan sighed, his voice softening slightly, easily detecting the kid's fear. "What is it kid? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm … I'm sorry Caelan, I know I'm probably the last person in the world that you want to talk to right now, and I know you probably hate me, but … " Sam sighed loudly, his voice low, fill of urgency and Caelan just knew that the young man was bitting his bottom lip nervously.
"I don't hate you kid," Caelan said, resigning himself to the fact that he probably wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight as he cautiously raised himself into a sitting position. "None of what happened is your fault. It's not like you asked for this organisation to target you … right?"
"Right." Sam agreed, his laugh sounding more like a sob. "I just … I'm sorry I woke you, but … I had this … feeling and … I think you should leave the motel right now and come to us." Sam finished off in a rush, embarrassment colouring his tone. "I know it seems silly but … please Caelan … please leave there right now. You don't even need to come to us, just … get away from where you are right now.
I tried to tell Dad that he's still alive, but you know how Dad is, won't believe anything without solid proof to back it up and I don't have any solid proof … well, I do … kind of, but he wouldn't believe me even if I could explain it. Hell, I don't even know how to explain it.
I just … I don't know how he found me. I think maybe he might be tracking me somehow because of this … whatever the hell it is that we share with each other. I don't know. But because of me, they've found you. I'm sorry, but –"
"Breathe Sammy," Caelan ordered, his head spinning, not only from this epic hangover he was about to have but because of Sam's garbled explanation. The kid was rambling and Caelan knew that was never a good sign. He was scared, but Caelan had no clue what the kid was scared about.
While Sam took a breath, Caelan tried hard to work thought what the youngest Winchester had said, trying to make sense of his words, of his fear.
With an inward moan, Caelan switched on the light and got to his feet, instinctively starting to pack his belongings into his bag, knowing that all of his other problems had to be put on hold and he needed to get to the kid before he did something stupid in his obviously panicked state.
No matter what else Caelan might be going through, he couldn't in good conscience ignore a call from his distressed brother. "Okay kid, how are you doing?" Caelan was relieved to notice that the kid's breathing appeared to be somewhat calmer now.
"I'm really sorry Caelan," Sam gasped, sounding desperately close to sobbing now.
"Its fine," Caelan replied easily, slinging his bag over his shoulder, his eyes doing one final sweep of the room before he quickly exited the room. "Where are you now? Where's Dean?"
"Dean … I … gave him the night off brotherly duties. He was starting to climb the walls and I feared I might actually kill him if he stayed, so …"
"Fair enough," Caelan chuckled, knowing how protective Dean would have been of Sam considering what had happened and how being hovered over annoyed the youngest sibling considerably.
"Please Caelan, just get out of there," Sam pleaded. "I know how stupid it sounds because of a … feeling, but –"
"Relax little dude, I'm out, okay?" Caelan tried to soothe the young man. "I'm on my way to you as we speak."
"Oh thank God," Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Caelan. It's probably nothing but …" Sam let out a laugh that was half-embarrassed and half-hysterical.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on Sammy?" Caelan asked, his tone level and calm, hoping to keep the young man from freaking out any further.
"I told you. I have this … feeling and somehow, I don't know how, but I think he's tracking me somehow."
"Who Sammy?"
"Sicko and … Marc Ley-Lamp."
Caelan couldn't help but frown at Sam's hesitant, reluctant reply. "Ah … Marc's dead kid," he told Sam as gently as he could. Maybe something had happened in the week Caelan had been away from the Winchester siblings to cause Sam's memory to go haywire. "You're Dad told us that he killed him … remember?"
"Yeah, I know that." Sam huffed out in irritation. "But he's not dead Caelan. He was dead, but now he's not." Sam insisted. "Sicko he … I can't … all I can say with certainty is that Marc Ley-Lamp is alive, Sicko is his son and the two of them are heading in your direction right now."
Caelan was more concerned than before; Sam's muddled explanation made even less sense the more the kid tried to explain himself. "Sam –"
"Look, I know how crazy this sounds Caelan. I've heard it all before from Dad; that's why he decided to take off because he couldn't stand to be around his crazy as a loon son any longer. And that's why Dean keeps looking at me as if … as if he's scared I'm gonna crack and I'll end up in a loony bin!" Sam's laugh definitely sounded more hysterical this time.
"But, you and Dad and Dean … you don't have to worry about me anymore. I don't care if you all think I'm crazy. I know that Sicko is tracking me somehow. He has to be. Because nobody else outside of us knows where we are. So, in order to prove my … theory, I'm taking myself out of the equation."
"Wait … what? Sammy, what are you talking about?" Caelan's heart beat faster in fear. "You don't need to be making such rash decisions Sam. Let's just take a minute to take a breath; I'll round up your brother and we'll come to you where we can all discuss this in a calm and rational manner … okay kiddo?"
Nothing but silence from the other end.
"Sam? Are you still with me little dude?"
"Yeah."
Caelan relaxed slightly when he heard Sam's soft reply. "Okay, good. I'll be there –"
"Caelan, I'm sorry but … Look, I'm the reason you guys were dragged into this mess in the first place. If I hadn't of called you that day and got you all involved in this, Elizabeth wouldn't have died.
I can't … if he's really tracking me the way I think he is, then you guys aren't safe around me. Nobody is safe around me. Don't you get that? I can't have you or Dean hurt because of me.
I couldn't live with myself if … sorry Caelan, but I won't be here when you get here. Tell Dean … you know what, never mind. I promise to call you guys when I get settled, okay? I'll … thanks for everything Caelan and I'm sorry … for everything."
"Sam, wait a minute man, let's calm down and –"
Caelan's words were cut off by the sound of a dial tone. "Damn it!" Caelan growled, not liking the icy, twisting feeling in his stomach. That damn stupid kid was just going to take off? Take off half-cocked, panicked, upset and confused? Take off because he thought that by being with them he was putting them all in danger?
Oh hell no!
There was no way that Caelan was going to let the youngest Winchester go off on his own, handling all of this shit by himself because he thought he would be protecting them.
God, how had Caelan not seen this? He'd been too wrapped up in his own self-misery, guilt and remorse that he didn't see … he didn't care what this was doing to Sam.
Man, he had screwed up majorly with this one. Caelan had abandoned his brothers when they'd needed him the most; too wrapped up in himself, but there was no way that he would let Sam walk away from them.
They'd let Sam go to Stanford because they thought he had wanted out of the hunting life, when in reality he had been bullied into leaving in order to protect them. There was no way that Caelan was letting Sam walk away to protect them again. Not this time.
"Dean Winchester, you better be sober man. And after I'm done kicking my own butt, I'll be kicking yours!" Caelan vowed under his breath as he quickly located Dean's number, listening to the ringing on the other end, impatiently waiting for the older Winchester sibling to pick up.
CH SW DW CH SW DW CH SW DW CH SW DW CH
Now, two days later, Dean was standing outside of the motel room, having been kicked out by his younger brother. At Sam's instance, the Winchester siblings had arrived in the same town where Caelan was apparently holed up this morning.
Dean was almost tempted to seek out his friend, his brother, desperately needing someone to confide in, but Dean couldn't leave his baby brother unprotected. Not when Sam's emotions were all over the place.
So, Dean had stayed outside of the motel room, willing to give his brother the space that he seemed to crave for, out of sight and waited until Sam fell asleep before Dean felt comfortable enough with moving toward his baby, deciding that he was in dire need of a drink or two … dozen!
Dean was nursing his second beer, having been at the bar that was two blocks from their motel for half an hour now, not really in the mood to drink, too anxious and concerned about Sam to be able to relax enough to enjoy himself.
With an inner sigh, Dean decided that he would finish off his beer and head back to the motel, no matter what Sammy said or wanted, when Dean's cell phone chimed loudly from within his front pocket.
"Yeah?" Dean answered, not bothering to check his caller ID, knowing that only people he trusted had this new number.
"Dean Winchester, I am going to kick your ass for leaving our brother all alone in the vulnerable, erratic and unpredictable state he's in!"
Dean almost choked on his beer at the familiar voice that berated him. "Caelan? Hey dude, I was just about to come and pay you a visit." Dean stated, never believing he'd be so happy to hear the slightly irritated voice of his best friend and brother.
Because, no matter how much Dean had tried to down-play Sam's dream of Caelan being hurt as just a product of Sam's mind playing tricks on him, Dean had been worried, scared that his brother may be in danger and Dean being unable to prevent that from happening.
The way that Caelan had taken off after Elizabeth had died, avoiding all contact from any of them, had caused Dean to fear what reckless actions Caelan might take in this dark self-destructive mood.
But now, here Caelan was, sounding perfectly fine as he grilled Dean, promising to hurt Dean for leaving Sam alone.
Dean frowned, his happiness instantly giving way to wariness and dread as Caelan's words penetrated his mind. "Wait a minute, what do you mean?"
Caelan let out a long exhausted sigh. "How drunk are you Dean?"
"Not drunk enough man," Dean answered truthfully. "I'm on my second beer. Why? What's going on Cal? Are you okay?"
"Dean, I just … the kid just called me, panicked, scared, spouting off a whole lot of crazy things that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I think … I think Sammy's in trouble … again."
TBC
Aten: See, told you I'd be fast. But this one was already typed up. Two more chapters to type up, so that may take me a bit longer … but definitely will be ready to post by tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued patience and support, it really means a lot to me.