Unsupervised Minor – Pre-series. John's on a job, but when an 18 year old Dean has to leave on a rescue mission, he is forced to leave 14 year old Sam by himself. When a drunk driver brings Sam to the attention of child services, the family's worst nightmare occurs.
Chapter 1 - No Choices
"Got your homework, books, calculator, extra paper ...?" Dean grinned as he checked on the boy following out the door behind him. A stony glare was the only response he got. Dean had graduated this past spring and was not above rubbing that fact in with his little brother. Of course it would be more fun if it bothered him more. It was a pain to have a brother that actually liked school, and he couldn't remember a time when Sam wasn't totally prepared for class. At 14, Sam was more mature than most kids Dean's age. And at 18, Dean was now an adult -- an adult who was once again in charge of his little brother, this time for the next two or three weeks.
Their dad had left on Saturday evening after getting a call from Bobby Singer asking for help on a remote hunt three states over. They were going far out into the wilderness to find out what had been killing some big game hunters. Over the past three months, five fly-in game hunters had gone missing, with only three bodies to show for it. After considerable research, Bobby thought he had a handle on the creature that was killing the hunters, but asked for John's backup since it was so far away from civilization. There was a lot of equipment to be hauled and backup was always important so far away from help.
Dean swiped the leaves off the top of the Impala and unlocked the door. Sam threw his book bag in the back and dropped into the seat. At 14, Sam was almost Dean's height, but was relatively skinny lately after his latest growth spurt. They watched as a school bus drove past the bottom of their drive. "You know, I really should allow you to take the bus each day, dude, instead of giving up my beauty sleep to chauffer you in each day."
"Yeah, well, if you'd just let me drive the car to school each day, you wouldn't have to get up."
A look of feigned horror crossed Dean's face, "You … drive the Impala!? I don't think so. You won't even see a driver's permit for another year, and then you get to learn how to drive in Dad's truck – with Dad." He uttered the last two words as if in a horror movie, and shuddered to go along with the theme.
"Whatever, Dean. I've known how to drive for two years now. Just get moving or you'll be coming in to sign another tardy pass for me."
"Your appreciation is heartwarming." Dean pulled out and headed out to Sam's current school. Dean had graduated last year from a school two moves ago. They'd only lived in this small town for the past two months, and Sam was just starting to take part in school activities again. Now that he was in high school, Dean knew that the frequent moves would get more and more difficult, especially for Sam who didn't put himself out there with the same ease as Dean.
When Sam had mentioned that he'd be going to a basketball game after school today, Dean had been pleased to hear that Sam was beginning to want to join in. Dean turned down the stereo as they got closer to the school. "So what time'll I pick you up after the game?"
"I don't know, I'll call you. It should be over by 8:00. Besides, I think I'm going to be able to catch a ride with Mike."
"Mike who?" Dean glanced over at his brother. He was, after all, responsible for Sam, which included getting him to and from school.
"He's the guy that lives a couple of miles down the road from us. He and a few of his friends were planning to go to the game, too." Dean's rotating hand gesture suggested he should elaborate further. Sam rolled his eyes, "The guy with the blue '68 Mustang."
"Ahhh, now there's a guy who's going to drive home carefully. Okay, Sammy, but call me when you get home. I've got a chance to earn some money helping out a guy on an actual paying job today. When you call, I'll pick up some pizza and meet you at home. And," he grabbed his brother's arm as he was making a quick escape, "…don't stay out too late."
"With the tests I have tomorrow, trust me, I won't be going anywhere but home after the game." Sam eased his wrist out of his brother's grasp with an exaggerated patience, "Got to go, Dean."
"See ya' beanpole." Dean had never been a big fan of school or grades, but he was proud of Sam's accomplishments, and considering what most 14 year olds got up to, himself for one example, he figured he had it easy in the brother-supervision department.
When 5:30 rolled around, Dean was getting frustrated. Tom, the guy that had hired him for the day, hadn't brought enough equipment and supplies for the job, and had had to run out to the store for the third time. Dean doubted they'd ever get the job done. Dean checked his watch again, but realized that Sam probably wouldn't be calling for at least a couple of hours yet, so he hoped he'd be done by the time Sam called.
As Dean strolled over to look out the window again for incoming supplies, his cell rang. He glanced down, surprised that Sam would be calling already, only to realize that it was Pastor Jim's rectory on the other end of the line.
"Jim?." It wasn't that he wasn't happy to hear from his good friend; it was just that in their field, more often than not, an unexpected call was never a good thing.
"Dean, it's Maggie," an anxious voice came over the earpiece. Dean recognized the voice of Pastor Jim's church secretary, a grandmotherly lady that worked part-time at the rectory. "Do you know where I could reach your dad?"
"Maggie, it's good to hear from you, but Dad's out on a job right now. What's going on?"
Maggie sighed. "I don't know, and I'm probably overreacting, but the pastor told me to call your dad if he didn't come back by now."
Now Dean was worried. Maggie's husband, Rick, had been a hunter and she was well aware of what it meant to not come back on time. In fact, that's how she'd ended up working with Pastor Jim, after her husband had died on a hunt many years ago.
"Maggie, it's okay. Tell me what you need." Dean began packing up as he talked.
"Well, honey, Pastor Jim was due back two days ago," Maggie fretted. He doesn't stay away that long without calling me. You know what I mean. He said if he didn't return by today, to call John, - so he must have worried that something might go wrong."
Dean immediately snapped into hunter mode. "How long has he been gone, Maggie?"
"He left six days ago - he was going to visit to an old shut-in way up the Red Hills. It was about a one-day drive and another day hiking in to get to him. He got a message that the older man had a situation he couldn't deal with on his own. Franklin used to attend church regularly until his wife died, then he moved all the way out there. He was an eccentric, and I guess he didn't want to deal with people anymore, but Pastor Jim still tried to keep in touch with him from time to time."
"Do you know what the old man's situation was, Maggie?"
"No, he didn't tell me if he knew. He just said that Franklin was upset about something going on in the area, but he was concerned enough to contact Pastor Jim, and not much scared that old man." Maggie sighed. "You sure you don't know how to contact your dad?"
"Maggie, Dad's already out of touch working with Bobby Singer on a job right now. I can't get hold of him, but I cou …," he paused. His first instinct was to help, but what about Sam? He was supposed to be taking care of him. He couldn't just leave him on his own for that long. What if something happened to him while Dean was away?
That's why he hadn't gone on the hunt with his dad and Bobby. Sam couldn't go, so of course Dean stayed to watch out for him. But Sam was 14 now, and by the time Dean was 14, he had been taking care of Sammy, frequently on his own, for several years by then. Hell, Sam was already hunting with them regularly now when schoolwork allowed.
He knew his dad had ordered him to stay with Sam, but on the other hand, Pastor Jim needed help now, and Dad would have wanted to help him as well. Dean was torn. Neither choice was a good one, but finally deciding that, right now, Pastor Jim needed him more than Sam did, he made up his mind to help. Hopefully, it would just be car trouble or bad cell coverage, and he'd be back within a couple of days.
"Maggie, I know you might still think of me as a kid, but I am an adult now. You know I've been hunting for years, and you know I've gone on plenty of hunts with Dad and even with Pastor Jim. I can at least check into what's happened, call for help if I need it," though for the life of him, Dean couldn't think of who else, beyond his Dad, Bobby or Jim that he could call for something like this. "Did Jim leave the coordinates?"
"Yes, Dean, thank God he did. I'd never be able to tell you how to get there. I can even text them to you. Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you?" He grinned as he heard what sounded like her sorting through her purse. "Are you sure it's okay, though, you going to look for him? What about Samuel?"
"Don't worry, Maggie, he'll be fine. He's old enough to stay on his own for a couple of days." He'd just have to call Sam and let him know what'd come up. Sammy would understand, he'd want him to help Pastor Jim, and he'd probably even enjoy some time to himself for a change. And for the past year, their dad had allowed Sam to take part in their hunts. He must have felt that at 14, Sam wasn't a child, and would be safe enough. Well, Dean acknowledged, there was safe, and then there was Winchester 'safe'. It was safe for him to hunt werewolves and wendigos, but it wasn't safe enough for him to stay home alone. Strangely enough, they all understood and accepted this logic.
He kicked the wall and tried to persuade himself that he was overreacting. Sam would be okay on his own, heck he'd be spending most of his time in school, anyway. He'd go check things out, help get Pastor Jim home, and be home in two days, three tops.
Dean heard the tone that meant a new text message had arrived. "Got it Maggie, thanks. As soon as I get hold of Sam, I'll head out."
"Thank you, Dean. I just didn't know who else to call. Let me know when you find out anything."
"You got it. Talk with you soon, Maggie. And, don't worry. Jim's a tough old man himself."
"Don't let him hear you making that 'old man' comment, or he's likely to tell your dad about the time you …"
"Sorry, Maggie, got to go … the con…ction's break..ng …" Dean flipped his phone closed with a small grin. Then realizing what had to be done next, Dean looked down at his cell, and hoping with all his heart he was doing the right thing, slowly clicked through to Sammy's name.
The phone rang five times before Sam answered, and then all Dean could hear was a lot of loud noises and annoying chants. "Sam … SAM!"
"What … Dean? Hello?"
"Dude, can you even hear me?" Dean spoke louder.
"What?" the volume increased as somebody on the home team must have scored. "Dean … what do you want? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but we need to talk," Dean yelled back into the phone.
"Yeah, okay, just a second. I'll call you right back."
Dean began to pack up his gear as he waited. He found some paper to write a note saying he had to quit the job, and pulled out a map to see where he was headed. Four and half minutes later, his phone rang. "Sam..."
"Dean .." the background noise had diminished considerably. "What's going on?"
"Pastor Jim's missing. I'm sure he's fine, but he's overdue coming back, and you know how Maggie worries."
Sam knew how they all worried when a hunter didn't make it home on time, especially one of their few close family friends. It usually meant there were problems, but how bad the problems were could be highly unpredictable. Most times, it was just a little more work than expected, but other times … he didn't want to think about that. "Well, come get me. I can be ready to leave as soon as you get here."
"No, Sam. I can do this on my own, it's no big deal, I'm just checking out the area… and you know you shouldn't miss any more school." He figured this would go over better than telling his little brother that he wasn't about to take him on this one. Besides, it was one thing to leave him home by himself, quite another if he took it upon himself to take Sam on a hunt that their dad hadn't personally checked out. Dean knew quite well where those limits were. "Do you think you'll be able to catch a ride home with your friend, Mike?"
"Dean, I'm doing fine in school. I can back you up. Let me…."
"Sam! It ain't gonna happen. Can you imagine what dad would say." Dean left the thought hanging.
"Yeah, Dean, I got it," the voice was dejected.
"Just don't go getting into any trouble while I'm gone," The demand was only half in jest.
"Yeah, right, and studying for mid-terms'll leave me plenty of time for that. Don't worry about me, just find Pastor Jim, okay."
Don't worry about Sam? Yeah like that was ever going to happen. Shit, if anything happened to his brother while he was gone, Dean would never forgive himself. Yet, he knew that Sam could handle himself alone, and right now Pastor Jim likely needed him a lot more. "Yeah, well, sorry to leave you like this, but if you make a mess of things while I'm gone, I'm going to find a particularly creative way of getting even."
"Jerk," his brother responded. "Hey, call me and let me know how Pastor Jim's doing when you get to him."
"I doubt there'll be a cell tower when I get up into the mountains, but I'll let you know as soon I get him out of there."
"Okay Dean, but … be careful."
"Dude, you thinking I can't take care of myself? I'll straighten you out when I see you in a few days. Meanwhile, you don't get into any trouble while I'm gone. Salt lines, bolted doors, and all the charms and symbols, ya hear me – every night!"
"Like I don't know all that by now." Sam muttered. "Gee, Dean, it's getting louder here again." The crowd noise picked up considerably as Sam obviously made his way back to the game. "Sorry -- can't hear you anymore." But Sam still heard a muffled, "Bitch," as he made his way back up the bleachers to his friends. He smiled. He loved his brother, and was usually glad to have his company. But there was a lot to be said for having some peace and quiet, and it would be nice to have some time to himself for a change.
Dean stopped by the house, grabbed his supplies, and was on his way in less than 30 minutes. As he gunned the Impala on the road out of town, he got that unpleasant feeling again. He knew that the faster he got there, the faster he could get back, and then that disturbing thorny creepy feeling he got in the pit of his stomach every time Sam was left alone, would go away as well.
I hope this chapter catches your interest. Let me know what you think of the story so far. Thanks!