Nightly Farewells

The screams of them filled the air. She knew that they were using the one weapon they had and had been an accidental discovery. She gave Bobby a slight push on the back while she held the silver stick in her hand. She didn't want to summon it just yet. She had yet to try it on one of them and she was unsure of it helping.

She lingered with Bobby before they followed the boys out. It would be a mad dash to the van and she gave a push. She could hear footsteps closing in. She gave a final shove and jumped in when the shot rang out. There was black and flashes of light and a burning in her shoulder.

The smells of antiseptic and the living, dead and dying permeated her nose. The sickly green made her feel sick but she wandered through looking… searching. She found Bobby falling. There was one of his men in black and she jumped and tried to reach for Bobby.

"Grab on Bobby! Don't let go!"

"Idjits."

Bobby let her hand go and looked up at her as he fell. She watched as he fell into shadow. The man in black was holding onto Bobby.

"No matter what you do… eventually you will lose them all."

She looked to see Lucifer smirking at her. He added, "Why not a trade my little pretty?" He reached out to touch her.

A screech sounded in protest. Bobby…

Angela woke up and took a deep breath while sitting up suddenly. She took stock of her surroundings in the soft cover of darkness. In her ears she could hear Lucifer laughing and it sounded close. She turned her head to look. Out of reaction, she grasped her left hand in her right and ran her thumb on the thin scar that had never faded. The touch was calming and served as a reminder that what she had been hearing wasn't real.

Glancing over to her left, she took in the sleeping figure and gave a soft smile. At least she hadn't waked him up. He needed the sleep after everything. Never mind what she was feeling at the moment. She managed to still her breathing as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, still rubbing the thin scar on her palm.

"Little sister had a bad dream again?"

Angela didn't bother to acknowledge the hallucination of the hell bitch. It worked and it faded as she continued the rubbing of her palm. She left the room and started down one of the wood covered walkways, her feet taking her to the one place that she felt drawn to.

Everything was prepared for the morning as the Lady promised. The moonlight filtered in the darkened room, giving a beautiful picture of light and shadow as it fell on the stone… coffin. She walked up to gaze on the carved lid. So much work had been done in one day, it amazed her. Tentatively she ran her fingers on the carvings, feeling it. It was real.

"I'm sorry Bobby. I have all these capabilities and yet I wasn't strong enough."

~0~0~

Dean Winchester couldn't sleep. He couldn't believe it. After everything the man who had been the only family to him and Sam was gone. He knew that was the risk of being a hunter but that didn't make it hurt any less. Tomorrow it would become very real and he figured that he would say his good byes now. He walked along the wooden walkways, remembering the way from the last time he had been at this place and of course Bobby had been with them too. Damn there were too many memories of old Ironsides.

"Dean?"

Dean looked up to see his brother Sam coming towards him. It looked like more than one person was not getting their sleep tonight. He waited until Sam was close enough to ask, "Can't sleep either Sam?"

Sam replied, "Actually I was looking for Angie. I think she had a nightmare."

Dean nodded. Both knew what that meant. At least no one was screaming out in fear and no bangs or crashes broke the night music. That meant she was wandering around probably looking like a ghost. "Any ideas?"

Sam had a good idea where. Not that she showed it in front of Dean but Bobby's death had hit her hard. When the realization hit in the hospital, she had started babbling in her native tongue and he caught one word clearly. She said the word 'papa.' It sounded strange at first but it became clear. After all there were times that it had been just her and Bobby and the grizzled hunter always treated her like a daughter. Keeping that in mind he asked his brother, "Were you going to…?"

Dean came to the same conclusion, "Yeah. Come on Sam." He led the way.

~0~0~

"I remember when I asked for yard space at the house," Angela spoke softly. "You indulged me even though you though I was the craziest person you had ever met. You always indulged me Bobby just as I did the same for you. I think it amused Dean especially."

Angela looked around the empty room, unaware that she was being watched. Even with her senses, she didn't sense anyone. It was a testament to the emotional toll. She then gazed back down on the glyphs that formed the cartouche of Bobby's name. She rubbed each glyph and continued, "You know, I never do realize how much I care about people until I almost lose them or I actually do lose them. I figured that as much when you tried to play the game and of course I let you have it afterwards. The thing is, I don't know what to do now Bobby. I have yet to use Absolution on the black blooded assholes, Dick I will leave for Dean, and the whole thing you found about the Old Religion… I feel like asking what you want from me."

There was no answer except a slight breeze that blew through the place. It was like a gentle scolding and Angela narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but laugh a little even though it sounded a bit watery. "Fine you grumpy old coot. I'll keep going and I'll make sure your favorite idjits keep going too. We'll find a way. Going in and kicking ass and if we fall, we go down fighting. After everything, you do deserve that as much and your rest and I need to practice for tomorrow and don't tell me that you ain't going to let us do whatever." She gave a final rub of the cartouche as she began humming a song, an old song, the same one her mother sang to her and she used a few times on the boys.

It was soothing to her especially her mind. She knew things would be okay. She always said that living was the hard part. The song reminded her of that and allowed her to be completely relaxed when a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her.

~0~0~

The Winchesters found her and Dean would have started forward but he was stopped by her conversation. True that it was one sided but she voiced fears and worries that he had, like what were he and Sam going to do now that one more of their family had gone and left.

It was like that conversation he had before going to hell and the others afterwards. She hit the nail on the head and drove the point home. The ugly thought about what life would be like if she was gone invaded his mind and he found that he would fight to keep that from happening. He had the feeling that he would break then and there and it would be doubly worse for Sam. Bond or no bond.

Listening to her, Dean remembered things that he had learned from Bobby and the good times they had. One fond memory was when Bobby took him to play catch instead of weapons practice. What John sometimes deemed unnecessary, Bobby said it was.

Sam knew his brother to be deep in thought and moved to check on her. She did seem better now that she was doing whatever she was doing. He could actually feel it through the bond and it was a welcome feeling. He muttered to himself, "Part of your charm right Bobby?"

He swore he could hear Bobby grizzle at him and telling him to shut up. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit and he heard Dean do the same. It was like what she had mentioned about the Day of the Dead. It did relieve a little of the pain as he joined her.

Elder your time has come and now I am filled with sorrow… We sing and rejoice, tell tales, laugh and cry and love another day…Take spirit from long ago… Be certain in need and the path will emerge…

"New song?" Sam asked.

"No. The same one," Angela replied softly. Now that she knew Sam was here, Dean wouldn't be too far away. She knew them too well. She then spoke a little louder so that he could hear, "You know I feel like I lost my father again. The only difference was that he gave his life to save mine and Bobby died in the line of duty. He wouldn't have it any other way. Going out with your boots on is the most important thing which was why he made the effort to come back and write the numbers on your hand."

"You think so Angie?" Dean's voice came as he stepped closer.

"It's Bobby."

That was enough for Dean. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and gave a slight smirk at Sam before heading back to try and get a few more hours of sleep. A little while later, Sam and Angela went back to their room, well Sam actually picked her up and carried her when she started falling asleep on her feet. Bobby's death hit them all hard and upon the eve of the farewell, a little bit of that pain had been lessened for them. There were going to be tough times ahead but they would persevere and more likely at the cost of one's health. Sam knew that she was going to try and shoulder everything and as he put her back into bed, he whispered, "We're in this together."

They were. From now until they went down fighting. They just had to take it one day at a time.

A/N: I wrote this because the episode At Death's Door struck a chord as it reminded me of when my grandfather died. Like Bobby, he spoke the same words he would say to me when I was growing up and then he was gone. This is the aftermath of that and there are references to other pieces as well as other episodes. Read and Review and also enjoy.