Chapter 1: A call from a friend

A/N: This story crosses with Becoming part 2, and before Anne.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I'm sad to say. They belong to Whedon and Kripke, I only wish they were mine haha. Enjoy!

Dean checked his cell for what seemed like the millionth time, keeping one eye on the road. He was hoping to hear from a certain blonde-haired Slayer, as he hadn't been able to reach her in over a week. Not since he and Sam had put the town of Sunnydale, and her, in their rear view mirror. It didn't help that they missed each other's calls or that Sam would ask him if he'd heard from her yet.
Neither he nor Sam had wanted to split town, especially with Angelus, Spike and Drusilla still at large. But their dad had given Dean a set of co-ordinates, and both knew it would do no good to argue.
He was worried about Buffy, and hadn't been that focused on the job, which had cost him. Dean shifted in his seat, wincing sharply in pain as he agitated his cracked ribs. He had a few new scars to add to his collection, as did Sam, but the werewolf they'd turned out to be hunting in Phoenix had introduced him rather painfully to the trunk of a very big tree.
Dean glanced in the rear view mirror at Sam, who was stretched out in the backseat, sound asleep, oblivious to everything. Usually he would've woken his brother, in favor of pissing him off and of having company, even if said company was bitching about his choice of music or the fact that he was awake period.
Dean liked having Sam with him, and he knew that Sam was better off with him than in John's company, when the two fought all the time. Sam had been up late a lot of nights in the last week, researching or instant messaging and e-mailing Willow so he decided to let him get some sleep just this once.
He noticed that the gas gauge was nearing E and turned off onto an exit ramp, pulling up at a gas station a moment later. He shut the engine of his beloved Impala off, got out and slipped the keys into his pocket, and then headed into the quick-mart to get two coffees and pay for the gas. When he opened the car door again to put the hot drinks into the cup-holders, the blinking screen of his cell phone greeted him, saying he had a missed call.
He swore silently and grabbed it, shutting the door with a groan and flipped it open, only to swear again when he saw that it'd been Buffy who'd tried to reach him. He pressed the call button to listen to the voicemail, still swearing under his breath, and pumped the gas into the tank with the other hand, keeping an eye on the meter.
"Dean, its Buffy," he heard her voice say, then silence before she continued, "I need you." That was all he needed to hear, he and Sam were heading back to Sunnydale.
A/N: kinda short but the next chapter will be longer!