Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters - these were created by Eric Kripke - I'm just borrowing them. I'm not making any commercial gain. No harm or infringement intended.
E/O Challenge: apple, journals, motion sickness, panic, and quilt. About Bobby! 300 words. As they fight over who's driving the Impala, Bobby considers how the Winchesters have been shaped by their childhood. Happy Birthday, WifeyMcWiferson!
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I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars, an' I've nearly gone up in smoke,
Now my hand's on the wheel, I've something that's real,
An' I feel like I'm goin' home.
- Willie Nelson, "Hands on the Wheel"
Hands on the Wheel
Bobby tried to hide his smile as he watched the brothers fighting over who was going to drive.
Dean has always been the apple of his eye, but he's a firm believer in never playing favorites. Although, he usually cuts him a little more slack for the simple fact that Dean's always had so much more on his shoulders and received little in the way of thanks. John was a man of deep emotion, but boy did he play his cards close to his chest. You'd need a damn Enigma machine to decode his declarations of affection.
Bobby suspects the real reason Dean won't relinquish the wheel is because of the terrible motion sickness that has always plagued the young man. He'd always reckoned this was down to the way John insisted the boy pore through old hunter journals while they travelled from one hunt to another. Huh, I guess that also explains the reluctance for research.
He knows John only meant it as a way of educating a boy too twitchy for mainstream schooling, but Bobby still remembers how often he'd find the boy studying by torchlight under his quilt in the dead of night, all in a panic because he'd fallen behind in his reading.
He looks up to see that Sam's relinquished the keys with an exaggerated, world weary sigh.
"Well, if it means so much to you, jerk," the younger Winchester whined, as he shared a quick, secretive wink in Bobby's direction.
Yeah, Sam understands.
It's hard for him too; being the youngest and knowing there's no hope of promotion without grief in his future. It's even harder showing gratitude day-in day-out for something you never wanted and certainly never asked for, but if there's anyone who knows and appreciates what Dean's sacrificed, it's his brother.
(;,;)
