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Mum's the Word

Chapter 1: If Your World Falls Apart, I'd Start a Riot

The thudding would have gone unnoticed mere hours before, when the storm was at its peak; no one was expecting visitors at such a late hour on a weekday night. Sam ambled to the door, his boisterous laugh undeterred as he was pulled away from Jessica to tend to what was probably an impromptu invitation to a last minute party from one of their friends.

Pulling open the door, Sam stopped short at the familiar yet unexpected face staring back at him- certainly not Brady looking to grab a beer, or Harley wanting to break in a new bar. Sam's brain came to a stuttering halt, his lips unable to form the smallest of greetings for the drenched man standing before him.

"Hey Sam."

"Bobby?" The shock was overly present in Sam's voice as he stuck his head further out the door to see who might have accompanied the old hunter. Finding Bobby alone, he asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Singer didn't even flinch at his reception. He had prepared for everything from a huge bear hug, to the door being slammed in his face. So far, his welcome was in the middle: he could work with that. He shrugged. "What? An old friend can't stop by for a beer?"

Not hearing the usual pleading that their friends engaged in when trying to pry Sam out of his self imposed studying week, Jessica called out, "Sam?"

Sam glanced back towards the living room. It was too late to pass this visit off as a mistake or a sales pitch to support some local sports team; besides, any friend of theirs would have already pushed their way inside. "Come in," he offered, practically pulling Bobby inside.

The old hunter traipsed into the apartment, taking in the meager surroundings as he did so. It wasn't far from the entrance to the living room, barely enough space to take off his muddy boots. The place wasn't going to grace the pages of any magazine, but considering the kid had to build his life from scratch after he parted ways with John, it was an impressive start. What the place lacked, Sam certainly had made up for with the company he kept.

"Bobby, this is my girlfriend Jessica. Jess, this is an old family friend, Bobby."

Bobby pulled off his battered trucker hat and wrung it in his hands. Hunting had never really put him in the presence of an actual sophisticated lady before; he tended to associate with the hard life types. He had to give the beauty credit though, as she didn't flinch at his rough exterior the way most suburbanites did. "Nice to meet you. I just got to borrow your boyfriend here to talk about some family stuff."

Shifting from foot to foot to try and dispel his frustration over his former life spilling into his home unannounced, Sam wrapped his arm protectively around Jess's waist. After everything that happened, he had vowed to keep that part of his life away from Jess and what he- what they were trying to build. Even though Bobby was still firmly entrenched in the life, he believed that the man would respect his decision. "Whatever you got say Bobby, you can say it in front of her."

It was probably a cowardice act to use his girlfriend as a landmine for the old hunter to work around, but it was hard to say no to an old friend. Taking advantage of the golden rule to not involve civilians unless necessary, could sway Bobby from asking for help with whatever monster was giving him trouble.

The statement threw Bobby for a moment, unsure if the kid had suffered some sort of head trauma since going away to college. He thought 'family stuff' had been pretty obvious and yet perhaps he was being too subtle. He searched Sam's eyes to measure his resolve in the statement. Sighing, he tried again. "Okay. Your daddy ain't been around in a few days."

Sam grit his teeth. He had hoped his father had come to his senses after Sam had left; that was probably too much to ask for. The man had had a singular focus as long as Sam could remember and nothing that had happened over the years had seemed to sway it. "So he's working overtime on a miller time shift. I'm sure he'll get back to you eventually."

It wasn't uncommon for John to uproot everything in his gypsy patterns, but he always made an appearance sooner or later- no matter the impact on the people around him. Yeah, alcohol was a quick and easy way to forget about hardships for a while, but bars had to close sometimes. Hunting didn't pay for him to vanish off the face of the earth completely, and when he ran out of dough, he'd find his way back.

Bobby had to tuck his hands into his pockets to keep from shaking the young man before him. The boy was being stubbornly dense on purpose. "John went on a hunting trip and he ain't been heard from in a couple of days."

Sam's features went slack as the implication finally hit home. No matter the feelings between him and John, his father had responsibilities that couldn't be left unattended to for him to disappear on a hunt. "Jess, excuse us." Sam grabbed his coat off the wall and escorted Bobby out of the apartment.

They made their way out into the hall, taking the back entrance outside. They were halfway down the metal stairs, well out of earshot of the happy life he had put on pause back in the apartment when he finally raised his voice. "What do you mean he went hunting? He can't take Dean out hunting; that's crazy!"

"I know that!" Bobby snapped, turning to glare at Sam. Thoughts about not shooting the messenger ran through his head. "You know that. And apparently your daddy knew that too."

Sam stopped at the bottom step, anger and frustration tearing him apart. He wasn't trying to pick a fight with Bobby, but the man he was really pissed at was apparently MIA and Bobby was the closest target. "What does that mean? Where's Dean?"

Singer wished he had better news and better circumstances to show up at Sam's door with, but the situation was the situation. He'd only come because of the boys. While he rarely wished harm on any humans he met, John always seemed to find trouble and, as far as Bobby was concerned, he could find his way out.

Reluctantly he whispered, "Montclair." Perhaps if he didn't say it loud enough, they could pretend the whole mess wasn't transpiring.

"Montclair?" repeated Sam, hoping he heard wrong. The word felt heavy and wrong in his mouth, like trying out a dirty word for the first time as a child. Bobby just nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. "But that's..."

"I know," snapped Bobby with the same disgust Sam felt.

Sam deflated, his anger for his father giving way to his worry for his brother. "We need to go get Dean. I can't leave him there," he vowed.

Filling out applications for various colleges two and a half years ago, he had convinced himself that something like this wouldn't happen. He would leave and despite John being pissed, the man would step up in his absence. Deep down though, he knew this was going to be a result, and now he was just as guilty as his father for what this was going to do to Dean.

Bobby rolled his eyes. Winchesters were the most stubborn, thick-headed people he had ever met. "Yeah, so you go get Dean and then what, you idjit?" He waved his hand to emphasise where they were. "How does Dean fit into all this without John?"

Sam bit his lip to avoid answering. He didn't want to concede the point to Bobby, but unfortunately, he was right. He hadn't built his life with his brother in mind and if the worst came to worst, he was terrified he would resent Dean for having to give up what he had achieved to accommodate his brother. Still... Dean was family, and after everything that he had sacrificed for him, Sam couldn't leave him high and dry. No matter their disagreements, he couldn't abandon his father either. He'd drag the man back to be a father kicking and screaming if he had to.

Jessica watched Sam's frantic packing silently from the door to their bedroom. Family had always been a touchy subject for Sam, shutting down completely when topics turned towards his father and becoming extremely melancholy despite singing his brother's praises. There was a stubbornness there, of things that couldn't be changed but couldn't be let go either. It wasn't hard to recognize that the decision to leave his past behind and throw open the doors to a new and exciting future hadn't come easy.

She glided through the room to rest her hand upon his shoulder. Sam paused briefly in his movements, leaning into the gentle touch. "Everything okay?" asked Jess, knowing it wasn't but unable to determine which avenue to venture down to get Sam to open up.

The late night caller had him rattled in a way she hadn't seen before.

Sam let out an even breath, steeling himself. He tried to never lie to Jess; conning was a part of his old life and with the exception of burying his first eighteen years along with John and Dean, he hadn't let that ingrained skill show itself in this life. He was protecting her, saving her from the darkness that had almost consumed him like everyone else in his family. "Yeah. I'm sure him and his buddies just went on a bender at the cabin and lost track of time. We'll just go out there and drag him back." He paused, gritting his teeth. "Dad just shouldn't leave..."

Jessica let her arm slip to his waist and wrap around Sam in a hug. "Leave your brother alone like that," she finished.

"Yeah." The smile didn't reach Sam's eyes. "Dean's my big brother, you know. He used to take care of me when we were little... before... I owe it to him. Dad may think he can do whatever he wants, but I can't let him not be a father, not when it comes to this." He cleared his throat. "Shouldn't be more than a couple of days." Silently hoping that was true, he zipped up the duffle.

"If there's anything I can do to help..."

"No, we're good." The bag swung easily over Sam's shoulder, the long absent weight of concealed weaponry pooling at the bottom, heavier than they used to be given the task laying before him. With a quick kiss to the cheek, he parted from Jessica.

"Call me with updates," she called out to her boyfriend's retreating back.