CARRY ON | SPN

1. Reunion

As Sam shut the door of the impala behind himself, sliding onto the leather cushion of the passenger seat, he found himself immediately turning around in place- almost on instinct.

He frowned at the empty back row, having expected an all too familiar, small figure with messy hair occupying the seat behind his. Either bouncing up and down with the barely contained energy that only a pre-teen could hold, or asleep, head against the window, breathing evenly.

"Where is she?" Were the first words to slip out of the man's lips as he turned to his brother beside him, who had just turned the keys in the ignition cylinder and allowed the vehicle to purr to life.

Dean hesitated, his hand that was resting on the steering wheel briefly tightening its hold to the point of his knuckles turning white, and though the younger Winchester observed this, he stayed silent with raised eyebrows.

Without looking to him, the elder of the two reached into the left pocket of his jacket and pulled out the tape that he and Sam had been listening to mere moments ago. The message from their father.

Still yet to so much as glance at him, he skipped forward to the message before playing it and Sam's eyebrows once again furrowed as John's voice floated to their ears with words that Dean had apparently cut off outside before they had played.

"And it's about time you went to go get your sister." Dean's jaw was clenched, and though Sam's gaze was burning a hole in the side of his face, he was still yet to look at him, emotions flashing through his eyes that his younger brother couldn't quite decipher, "She's in Ferndale, California. At some boarding school I enrolled her in. It's the only one there, so you'll know it when you see it."

Then, the voice was gone and the tape stopped. Just like that. No further explanation, nothing.

It was only then that Dean turned to look at a visibly confused Sam.

"What's she doing at some boarding school in Ferndale?" He questioned before his face fell a bit, "She's not working a case by herself, is she?" The words were rushed out as panic began to set in at the mere thought.

Dean shook his head back and forth, placing the tape back into his pocket, "No, no, nothing like that." Though he quickly shut it down, he hesitated to say more, and Sam could clearly see it.

"What?" He pushed, anxieties not fully gone when faced with his brother's obvious reluctance.

A short sigh left the man's lips and he let his eyelids shut for a second before he spoke, "Dad sent her away the day- the day after you left for Stanford." He admitted.

The confusion only grew, "He sent- why would he do that?"

The shrug that Dean gave was one with rigid shoulders and a hard expression, "Dunno. He did it while I was sleeping. Didn't tell me and refused to tell me where she was, even when he came back. Said that she was safer and that I had to drop it."

Bewilderment took over Sam's features, "And you did? You dropped it? You had no idea where our sister was and you were okay with that?" Barely five minutes of them officially being back together and his voice was already raised. But this was warranted.

The glare that the older man sent his way was sharp and full of fire, "Of course not." He snapped, offended at the accusation, "But he said she was safe and I had to live with that."

A scoff left Sam's lips as he fell back into his seat, "So, what? He gives me shit for leaving for school, just to send her to one the next day?"

Instead of answering, Dean started the car and began driving, turning up the radio and allowing it to drown out any possibility of a conversation sparking back up and the younger Winchester thankfully took the hint, sinking back and allowing the journey to their sister be made in silence.