Unexpected Destinies Chapter 9
Title Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU
Word Count: 1,594
Summary: After realizing his brother is no longer at Lisa's, Sam tries to contact him.
PRESENT
Sam resisted the urge to fling his cell at the wall in sheer frustration. Why the hell wasn't Dean answering his phone? He'd been trying nearly nonstop to contact his older brother for the past hour but wasn't having any luck.
"Are you sure he still has that... cell?" Samuel asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Yes, it's definitely his number, it's his voice on the answering machine and Bobby would have told me if he'd changed it."
Samuel blinked, clearly running the first part of that sentence through what they'd told him about since coming back. Sam nearly snorted, it had been about a year since his grandfather had been resurrected and he still had difficulties with some of the simple stuff despite all of their coaching. It made him wonder at times whether Samuel had always been this bad with technology, was simply slow on the uptake or whether he had been brought back wrong somehow. Or no, not wrong, just different, damaged perhaps. He of all people should know that his grandfather was a good man. He'd seen him in action for months now and admired his knowledge and skill when it came to hunting. Sure, he himself had been trained to be a hunter from a young age, but Samuel had been trained from birth and had generations worth of knowledge at his disposal during that time.
The thought made him think of what his cousins jokingly referred to as the Campbell family archives. Regardless of what they were called, they were a treasure that Sam couldn't get enough of. Luckily some of his cousins were a lot more computer savvy than Samuel and had started scanning in the books and personal journals a few years back so the records were accessible from anywhere with an internet connection and knowledge of the necessary passwords.
"Maybe he doesn't take calls from numbers he doesn't recognize," Samuel suggested. "You no longer have your old phone."
"No, he's always picked up before, just in case it's an emergency from someone who was referred to him from another hunter."
"Have you left him a message?"
"No, I don't want to scare him, it's better if I'm actually on the other end to reassure him that it's really me and not just some creature pretending to lure him into a trap or something."
"He might think that anyway until we can prove otherwise and we need to be present for that."
"True, but I can start laying the groundwork," Sam's fingers clenched around his cell as he resisted the urge to hit redial, again. "I'm gonna give Bobby a call, see if he's heard anything from Dean lately."
"Okay, let me know if you need anything."
With that, Samuel pushed off the doorframe and walked away. Sam appreciated the gesture as he didn't want someone watching him while he informed Bobby that Dean had been lying to him for either weeks or months now. The latter was the more likely of the two as he'd stayed and watched Lisa interact with the unknown man and they seemed quite settled. Who knew how long ago his brother had abandoned her and Ben? He'd been tempted to ring the bell and ask, but he didn't know how much Dean had told her about what had happened and he didn't want to frighten her to death should she know that he'd gone to Hell. Asking one of the others to do so in his stead had been out of the question as he'd seen enough of Lisa to know that she wouldn't give out that kind of information to just anyone. Even with Dean having broken her heart.
The thought made Sam want to hit something. What the hell had his brother been thinking? He'd had everything he'd dreamed of and he'd still gone and fucked it up. Dean's self-destructive behavior and lack of self-worth really grated him at times. What the hell was wrong with his brother anyway? Sure, he'd been to Hell, but some of this went back further than that, he'd just never been able to see it as a child, too blinded by the hero worship he'd had for Dean to really see his brother. To see the flaws and weaknesses that were present even back then. It had been almost inevitable, really, if he thought about it now, Dean had just never been cut out for this lifestyle, too damaged by what had happened to them that fateful November evening. He'd just never been able to see it as a child, being too naive to understand the human psyche. But now... well now he could see and understand it all, realizing just how vulnerable his brother was at this moment, even if he wasn't being hunted by those damn djinn.
With a sigh of frustration and worry, he hit speed dial number one and waited for a response.
"Yeah?"
"Hello to you too, Bobby."
"Sam, how are you? Was the information I sent you helpful? You never did let me know."
"What? Oh, right, that, yes, it was very helpful. Worked like a charm."
"That's good. Would it really have killed you to let me know? Or that you were alright?"
"Jesus, Bobby, you sound like a mother hen right now, of course I was fine," Sam stated, rolling his eyes.
"Not at all full of yourself either, I see. You're not invincible, Sam, just like your father wasn't, no matter how much he liked to think so."
"I don't think that, Bobby, it's just that it wasn't a particularly nasty creature is all. Besides, you know I'm not doing this alone, that I've got others watching my back."
"You really sure that you can count on them?"
"Yes, Jesus, I think I've been with them long enough to know that."
"Well, okay. What do you need?"
"Who says I need anything?"
"You called and it wasn't to thank me for the last time I helped you, so what do you need?"
Sam scowled, pulling his cell away from his ear long enough to glare at it before he put it back. "Have you heard from Dean recently?"
"No, not particularly recently. It must have been a month ago now, why? Is something wrong?"
"Kinda. I was poisoned a week back an-"
"You were what?" Bobby exclaimed, alarmed.
"Poisoned, by a djinn, but don't worry, I'm okay now."
"A djinn? Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, Samuel recognized the signs and knew of an antidote, so no real harm done."
"Well that's a relief. What were you doing to get yourself poisoned, ya idjit?"
"That's just it, nothing. We weren't hunting them or even looking into a case, they just came after me. Thing is, apparently they're the kids of the djinn that Dean and I killed a few years back."
"Jesus on crutches! You think they might be after your brother next?"
"That was my guess, yeah, so we double timed it over to Cicero."
"From your earlier question, I take it you didn't find Dean's corpse."
"No, see, that's just it, we didn't find Dean at all."
"What?"
"Dean isn't in Cicero. Not anymore anyway."
"Is Lisa still there? Is Ben?" Bobby questioned.
"Yeah, they're both still there, living with some guy. I don't recognize him, but he's clearly moved in and is quite settled."
There were a few moments of silence before Bobby started cursing. Sam nearly laughed at some of the more familiar and creative combinations. He never had figured out whether Dean had learned them from Bobby or whether the older hunter had picked them up from his brother.
"Then where the hell is he?"
"I was hoping that you might know, Bobby."
"How should I know?"
"Dean never mentioned anything to you when he called? Not even something small and seemingly insignificant at the time?"
"That's just it, he hasn't been calling."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said, Sam, but that was when I last called him."
"Shit."
"You tried calling him?"
"Yeah, he's not picking up."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Bobby, let me know the moment you hear from him, alright?"
"Of course I will, ya idjit. But if I can't reach him, then what do you plan to do next?"
"I don't know. I can't think of where he might have gone off too, especially if he decided not to tell you about it. That's just not like him, he tends to cling to the people he knows well and cares about."
"All I can say is that he's been different, quieter, when I've spoken to him. I almost felt like he was pulling back, only volunteering information when I asked for it and not saying much beyond that. I just assumed that he wanted to separate himself from his old life as much as possible and I didn't want to interfere with that."
"What? He's gone even softer? It's a good thing he's out then as he'd not last long with what we're dealing with these days."
"Sam." A warning.
"I mean it, Bobby, his head wasn't really in the game anymore, hadn't been for a long time now."
"Sometimes I wonder if you know your brother at all."
"And what do you mean with that? Of course I know my brother!"
"It's just that you have this tendency to underestimate him from time to time. You might want to be careful as that can get you into trouble."
"Just let me know if you manage to contact him."
Chapter 10
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU
Word Count: 1,594
Summary: After realizing his brother is no longer at Lisa's, Sam tries to contact him.
PRESENT
Sam resisted the urge to fling his cell at the wall in sheer frustration. Why the hell wasn't Dean answering his phone? He'd been trying nearly nonstop to contact his older brother for the past hour but wasn't having any luck.
"Are you sure he still has that... cell?" Samuel asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Yes, it's definitely his number, it's his voice on the answering machine and Bobby would have told me if he'd changed it."
Samuel blinked, clearly running the first part of that sentence through what they'd told him about since coming back. Sam nearly snorted, it had been about a year since his grandfather had been resurrected and he still had difficulties with some of the simple stuff despite all of their coaching. It made him wonder at times whether Samuel had always been this bad with technology, was simply slow on the uptake or whether he had been brought back wrong somehow. Or no, not wrong, just different, damaged perhaps. He of all people should know that his grandfather was a good man. He'd seen him in action for months now and admired his knowledge and skill when it came to hunting. Sure, he himself had been trained to be a hunter from a young age, but Samuel had been trained from birth and had generations worth of knowledge at his disposal during that time.
The thought made him think of what his cousins jokingly referred to as the Campbell family archives. Regardless of what they were called, they were a treasure that Sam couldn't get enough of. Luckily some of his cousins were a lot more computer savvy than Samuel and had started scanning in the books and personal journals a few years back so the records were accessible from anywhere with an internet connection and knowledge of the necessary passwords.
"Maybe he doesn't take calls from numbers he doesn't recognize," Samuel suggested. "You no longer have your old phone."
"No, he's always picked up before, just in case it's an emergency from someone who was referred to him from another hunter."
"Have you left him a message?"
"No, I don't want to scare him, it's better if I'm actually on the other end to reassure him that it's really me and not just some creature pretending to lure him into a trap or something."
"He might think that anyway until we can prove otherwise and we need to be present for that."
"True, but I can start laying the groundwork," Sam's fingers clenched around his cell as he resisted the urge to hit redial, again. "I'm gonna give Bobby a call, see if he's heard anything from Dean lately."
"Okay, let me know if you need anything."
With that, Samuel pushed off the doorframe and walked away. Sam appreciated the gesture as he didn't want someone watching him while he informed Bobby that Dean had been lying to him for either weeks or months now. The latter was the more likely of the two as he'd stayed and watched Lisa interact with the unknown man and they seemed quite settled. Who knew how long ago his brother had abandoned her and Ben? He'd been tempted to ring the bell and ask, but he didn't know how much Dean had told her about what had happened and he didn't want to frighten her to death should she know that he'd gone to Hell. Asking one of the others to do so in his stead had been out of the question as he'd seen enough of Lisa to know that she wouldn't give out that kind of information to just anyone. Even with Dean having broken her heart.
The thought made Sam want to hit something. What the hell had his brother been thinking? He'd had everything he'd dreamed of and he'd still gone and fucked it up. Dean's self-destructive behavior and lack of self-worth really grated him at times. What the hell was wrong with his brother anyway? Sure, he'd been to Hell, but some of this went back further than that, he'd just never been able to see it as a child, too blinded by the hero worship he'd had for Dean to really see his brother. To see the flaws and weaknesses that were present even back then. It had been almost inevitable, really, if he thought about it now, Dean had just never been cut out for this lifestyle, too damaged by what had happened to them that fateful November evening. He'd just never been able to see it as a child, being too naive to understand the human psyche. But now... well now he could see and understand it all, realizing just how vulnerable his brother was at this moment, even if he wasn't being hunted by those damn djinn.
With a sigh of frustration and worry, he hit speed dial number one and waited for a response.
"Yeah?"
"Hello to you too, Bobby."
"Sam, how are you? Was the information I sent you helpful? You never did let me know."
"What? Oh, right, that, yes, it was very helpful. Worked like a charm."
"That's good. Would it really have killed you to let me know? Or that you were alright?"
"Jesus, Bobby, you sound like a mother hen right now, of course I was fine," Sam stated, rolling his eyes.
"Not at all full of yourself either, I see. You're not invincible, Sam, just like your father wasn't, no matter how much he liked to think so."
"I don't think that, Bobby, it's just that it wasn't a particularly nasty creature is all. Besides, you know I'm not doing this alone, that I've got others watching my back."
"You really sure that you can count on them?"
"Yes, Jesus, I think I've been with them long enough to know that."
"Well, okay. What do you need?"
"Who says I need anything?"
"You called and it wasn't to thank me for the last time I helped you, so what do you need?"
Sam scowled, pulling his cell away from his ear long enough to glare at it before he put it back. "Have you heard from Dean recently?"
"No, not particularly recently. It must have been a month ago now, why? Is something wrong?"
"Kinda. I was poisoned a week back an-"
"You were what?" Bobby exclaimed, alarmed.
"Poisoned, by a djinn, but don't worry, I'm okay now."
"A djinn? Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, Samuel recognized the signs and knew of an antidote, so no real harm done."
"Well that's a relief. What were you doing to get yourself poisoned, ya idjit?"
"That's just it, nothing. We weren't hunting them or even looking into a case, they just came after me. Thing is, apparently they're the kids of the djinn that Dean and I killed a few years back."
"Jesus on crutches! You think they might be after your brother next?"
"That was my guess, yeah, so we double timed it over to Cicero."
"From your earlier question, I take it you didn't find Dean's corpse."
"No, see, that's just it, we didn't find Dean at all."
"What?"
"Dean isn't in Cicero. Not anymore anyway."
"Is Lisa still there? Is Ben?" Bobby questioned.
"Yeah, they're both still there, living with some guy. I don't recognize him, but he's clearly moved in and is quite settled."
There were a few moments of silence before Bobby started cursing. Sam nearly laughed at some of the more familiar and creative combinations. He never had figured out whether Dean had learned them from Bobby or whether the older hunter had picked them up from his brother.
"Then where the hell is he?"
"I was hoping that you might know, Bobby."
"How should I know?"
"Dean never mentioned anything to you when he called? Not even something small and seemingly insignificant at the time?"
"That's just it, he hasn't been calling."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said, Sam, but that was when I last called him."
"Shit."
"You tried calling him?"
"Yeah, he's not picking up."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Bobby, let me know the moment you hear from him, alright?"
"Of course I will, ya idjit. But if I can't reach him, then what do you plan to do next?"
"I don't know. I can't think of where he might have gone off too, especially if he decided not to tell you about it. That's just not like him, he tends to cling to the people he knows well and cares about."
"All I can say is that he's been different, quieter, when I've spoken to him. I almost felt like he was pulling back, only volunteering information when I asked for it and not saying much beyond that. I just assumed that he wanted to separate himself from his old life as much as possible and I didn't want to interfere with that."
"What? He's gone even softer? It's a good thing he's out then as he'd not last long with what we're dealing with these days."
"Sam." A warning.
"I mean it, Bobby, his head wasn't really in the game anymore, hadn't been for a long time now."
"Sometimes I wonder if you know your brother at all."
"And what do you mean with that? Of course I know my brother!"
"It's just that you have this tendency to underestimate him from time to time. You might want to be careful as that can get you into trouble."
"Just let me know if you manage to contact him."
Chapter 10