Need You Now

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own either Supernatural or Harry Potter. Thank you, good night.

Summary: After Jessica's death, Sam returns to the family business, but he left something behind at Stanford, that may or may not be detrimental to his future. This story contains slash.

AN: Merry Christmas! Or whatever holiday you want to celebrate. So without further ado, here's my newest venture into fanficdom.

Chapter 1

Sam Winchester sat in the passenger seat of his brother's '67 Chevy Impala, having agreed to help the older male in looking for their currently missing father. His hazel eyes kept darting to the cell phone he currently held in his hand. He knew he needed to make the call, or text, but he wasn't sure what to say. Though, he had to figure something out, and quick, because if his boyfriend returned from his trip to England before he got back, he'd worry.

"Ya know, Sammy," his brother's voice cut into his swirling thoughts, "just staring at it won't make it do anything."

"Shut up," he grumbled.

He finally clicked on the device and sent a text.

Hey, just wanted to let you know, my brother showed up and asked me to help trying to find our dad. Nothing to worry about, he's probably on a bender somewhere. I'll be back Sunday night so I can make my interview on Monday. This is just in case you get back before I do. Jess is at the house, and can possibly fill you in a bit more.

He hit the send button and returned the phone to his pocket. His gaze swiftly shot to his brother, as his laughter rang through the car.

"You are so whipped, Sammy," Dean shook his head. "What? You think that pretty little girlfriend of yours is going to run off on you while you're gone?"

"Jess? No," Sam scoffed. "I was messaging my roommate. He's currently in England for the week and I didn't want him to come home and be surprised by Jess being there while I'm not."

"I didn't know you have a roommate," a frown marred his brother's features. "And why would he be in England?"

"Sev's been my roommate since I first started at Stanford," the younger male shook his head. "We've gotten really close over the years. He's my best friend. As for why he's in England, he goes home every October for a week, to see his friends and uh, visit… uh parents."

"Mama's boy?" Dean gave him a look.

"His parents died on October 31st, 1984," Sam glanced at him. "He goes home to visit their graves every year."

"Oh," green eyes shot back to the road. "Sorry."

"Look, let's just find dad," Sam sighed.

888

Severus "Sev" Black, age twenty two, made his way down the street toward the apartment he shared with his boyfriend, Sam Winchester. He had just gotten back to Stanford from his annual trip to England. He had had a good time. Spent a few days with the Weasleys and Ron and Hermione, who were busy planning their wedding. Overall, it had been a good visit, but now he just wanted to get home and crawl into bed with his boyfriend.

All that flew out of his head, however, as he neared his address and saw the flashing lights on emergency vehicles. He sprinted forward, hoping against hope, that they were not actually at his apartment. But when had anything ever worked out that way for him. He continued to run toward the building but was stopped by one of the firemen who were working on the remaining flames.

"Whoa, son, I'm sorry but you can't go in there."

"That's my apartment!" he yelled desperately. "I have to get in there!"

"No, I can't let you do that," the fireman insisted. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Sev stood there in shock as tears streamed down his cheeks. The fireman motioned for one of the police officers to take him, but he hardly noticed. He was ushered to the side, and he heard what the officer was saying but it wasn't really sinking in. After a few minutes, the officer left him alone with a blanket around his shoulders. Rubbing his hand down his face, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He found the number he wanted and hit the call button.

~Hey, this is Sam. Leave me a message.~

"Sam, where are you?" he took a deep breath to keep his voice from trembling. "I just got home and our apartment's burned down. Jess is dead. Sam, where the fuck are you? What the fuck happened?"

He closed his phone and put his head in his hands, trying his best not to lose it.

888

Sam listened to his voicemail, once he was sure his brother was asleep. God, Harry sounded so lost and desperate, but he couldn't bring himself to call him back. He couldn't bring Sev into this life. Sev was too innocent, too normal, to get dragged into this travesty that was the family business. It was for the best if he just let the younger man get on with his life, away from him.

888

St. Lousi, Missouri

Sam stood on the porch of his friend Rebecca's house and knocked on the door. It was opened a moment later by a pretty blonde woman.

"Oh my god, Sam!" she greeted happily.

"Well, if it isn't little Becky," he smiled at her.

"You know what you can do with that little Becky crap," she smiled and gave him a hug. "You know, I'm actually surprised Sev isn't with you. You two were practically inseparable at school. And he did mention he was going to be gone for the weekend, so I guess I just assumed."

"Yeah, well, I haven't really talked to Sev since Jess," he shook his head. "Anyway, I got your email."

"I didn't think that you would come here," she shook her head.

Dean took that moment to step forward and extend his hand, "Dean. Older brother."

"Hi," she shook the proffered hand.

"Hi," he smiled.

"We're here to help," Sam cleared his throat. "Whatever we can do."

"Come in."

She held the door open and they walked inside. As Sam followed his friend further into the house, Dean rolled his eyes and closed the door. He made his way after them, his green eyes taking in his surroundings as he went.

"Nice place," he commented when he had caught up.

"It's my parents'," she shrugged. "I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zack's free."

"Where are your folks?" Sam asked curiously.

"They live in Paris for half the year," she shook her head, "so they're on their way home for the trial." She led them into the kitchen. "Do you guys want a beer or something?"

"Hey," Dean smiled, pointing at her.

"No, thanks," the younger brother declined for them both. "So, tell us what happened."

"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair," she explained. "And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing." Tears began streaming down her face, "So, he called 911, and the police—they showed up, and they arrested him. But, but the thing is, the only way that Zack could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police—they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."

"You know," Sam took a deep breath, "maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack's house."

"We could," Dean shrugged.

"Why?" Rebecca gave him a confused look. "I mean, what could you do?"

"Well, me, not much," he motioned to his brother. "But Dean's a cop."

"Detective, actually," Dean chuckled slightly.

"Really?" her gaze turned to the elder, who nodded. "Where?"

"Brisbee, Arizona. But I'm off-duty now."

"You guys, it's so nice to offer," she shook her head, "but I just—I don't know."

"Bec, look," Sam interjected, "I know Zack didn't do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."

"Okay," Rebecca agreed. "I'm gonna go get the keys."

She took off down the hall. Dean watched her go for a bit before turning back to his kid brother.

"Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends," he whistled softly. "And what's up with this Sev guy? To hear her talk, it sounds like he was your boyfriend."

"Look," Sam gave him a pointed look, "Zack and Becky need our help."

"I just didn't think this was our kind of problem," Dean allowed the deflection.

"Two places at once?" a brow quirked. "We've looked into less."

Dean just shrugged in response.

888

As Sam walked down the highway, he pulled out his cellphone and quickly located the contact he wanted.

Sev, I'm still looking for my dad. He's somewhere in California now, so I'm headed there. I know I haven't talked to you in awhile, but I just had a fight with my brother and we split up. I know I shouldn't even ask, not with the way I ended things, but I really need someone to talk to, and you've always been there. I miss you so much, and I wish I could tell you everything. I'm sorry, but there are parts of my life that I just can't drag you into. I wish I could, but I can't ruin your life like that. So maybe it's better this way. I should just leave you alone and let you get on with your life.

He glared down at the device in his hand before hitting the delete button. He'd said it himself, he couldn't drag Sev into this. With that thought in mind, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and continued walking.

888

Sam entered his brother's hospital room, but didn't make it passed the doorway. He was fiddling with the phone in his hand, as his eyes kept drifting to Dean's unconscious body. He really wanted to call Sev, just so someone would reassure him and tell him everything would be okay. He was just about to make the call when the door entered the room.

"Your father's awake. You can see him if you like."

"Doc, what about my brother?" he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Well," the doctor took a deep breath, "he sustained serious injury: blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema."

"Well, what can we do?" Sam asked.

"Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up," the doctor shook his head. "If he wakes up."

"If?"

"I have to be honest," he said sympathetically. "Most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. He's fighting very hard. But you need to have realistic expectations."

With that, the youngest Winchester left the room and made his way down the hall to his father's room. John Winchester was lying in bed, his arm caught in a sling. He awkwardly grabbed his wallet and pulled out a small card.

"Here," he handed it to Sam. "Give them my insurance."

He took the car and a smile ghosted across his face as he read it.

"Elroy McGillicutty?"

"And his two loving sons," John nodded. "So, what else did the doctor say about Dean?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Look. The doctors won't do anything, then we'll have to, that's all. I don't know, I'll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him."

"We'll look for someone," his father agreed.

"Yeah."

"But Sam," he said gravely, "I don't know if we're gonna find anyone."

"Why not?" hazel eyes narrowed slightly. "I found that faith healer before."

"All right, that was," John took a deep breath, "that was one in a million."

"So what?" Sam asked incredulously. "Do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?"

"No, I said we'd look," he scowled. "All right? I'll check under every stone."

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Sam finally looked away.

"Where's the Cold?"

"Your son is dying, and you're worried about the Colt?" the younger man scoffed.

"We're hunting this demon," John's eyes narrowed, "and maybe it's hunting us too. That gun may be our only card."

"It's in the trunk," he finally answered with a sigh. "They dragged the car to a yard off of I-83."

"All right," his father took a deep breath. "You've gotta clean out that trunk before some junk man see's what's inside."

"I already called Bobby. He's like an hour out, he's gonna tow the Impala back to his place."

"All right," John nodded. "You, you go meet up with Bobby, you get that Colt, and you bring it back to me. And you watch out for hospital security."

"I think I've got it covered," Sam scoffed lightly.

He got up to leave, but his father stopped him, picking up a sheet of paper off the side table.

"Hey. Here," he handed it to his son. "I made a list of things I need, have Bobby pick them up for me."

Hazel eyes darted across the paper, "Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?"

"Protection."

"Hey, Dad?" Sam paused for a moment before exiting the room. "You know, the demon, he said he had plans for me, and children like me. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?"

"No, I don't," but John didn't meet his eye.

With that Sam left the room and made his way out of the hospital.

As Sam made his way toward Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he pulled the phone he'd managed to grab from the Impala before they were taken away, which just happened to be one of his brothers, and quickly punched in a number from memory and hit the call button. He put the device to his ear and waited. After four rings he heard the telltale click of it going to voicemail.

~You've reached Sev's phone, please leave me a message. And Ginny, please stop calling, I'm going to do what I'm going to do and there's nothing you can say to change my mind.~

Sam took a deep breath as the tone sounded, "Hey, Sev, it's me. I know I shouldn't call. I mean, I haven't before now. But I'm just going through a few things right now, and I just needed to hear your voice. Anyway, I probably won't call again. And I'm sorry, Sev, for everything."

He hung up the phone and tucked it back into his pocket as he pulled into Bobby's salvage yard.

888

Sev sighed as he flopped down on his bed. He had had a trying year since the fire and Sam's disappearance. He had finished his degree, barely, and had spent any spare time he had searching for his wayward boyfriend. But he'd had not luck. Especially after a couple months and Sam's phone had been turned off.

He ran his hand through his hair as he pulled his phone out of his jeans and opened it. Green eyes rolled in annoyance as he saw the ten missed calls and one new voicemail. He scrolled through the numbers to see who had tried to reach him. Two were from Hermione, one from Ron, six from Ginny, and one from a number he didn't recognize. He frowned as he saw the message was from the unknown. Maybe it was one of his teachers or classmates. With that thought, he clicked over to his voicemail and put the device to his ear.

~Hey, Sev, it's me. I know I shouldn't call. I mean, I haven't before now. But I'm just going through a few things right now, and I just needed to hear your voice. Anyway, I probably won't call again. And I'm sorry, Sev, for everything.~

Sev shot up as he registered who exactly was calling him. He pulled the device away from his ear and quickly hit the call back button.

~This is Dean's other phone. You know the drill.~

"Sam, answer the bloody phone! You can't just call after a year and apologize for everything! I've been looking for you, dumbass! I thought you were dead! So you'd better call me back, Sam Winchester, or bloody hell, I'll castrate you!"

Ammie: I know, it's another one. But this one has been playing around for awhile, and since RL has been hectic I decided to give ya'll something for the holiday. And yes, Harry has an alias in this one, which will be explained as the story progresses, so please be patient with me. And don't worry, our starcrossed lovers will be reunited before too long. Anyway, please let me know what you think.