Katie went through a bad patch of nightmares the summer before she started kindergarten. She woke up screaming throughout the night. After they were asked to leave the fourth motel in two weeks, John put them all in the car and headed to Bobby's.

Bobby knew it was bad when all four of them rolled up at breakfast time with dark circles around their eyes. No one was getting any sleep. John really needed to keep going, but he felt terrible leaving Bobby to deal with this mess. He just couldn't leave them at another motel. Dean took care of so much. The kid deserved some rest. John knew Bobby would see to it.

"You're sure? I hate putting this on you and leaving." John said.

"I told you to go, remember? I'll keep the kids until you come back, nightmares and all."

"You're a glutton for punishment."

"I keep opening my door for you."

John headed out that afternoon after a long talk with Sam and Dean. Katie didn't want to see him leave. She buried her face in Dean's shirt when he drove away.

It was easy to enough getting through the afternoon and dinner. Katie perked right up when they took her out to play with the new puppy. She stuck close to Dean through all of it. It was getting dark when Bobby started making noises about sending her to bed.

Sam looked at him with those big eyes of his, "She's not going to make it easy."

"Don't worry, bud. Your dad got me up to speed." Bobby winked at him.

Dean took Katie upstairs for a bath. She loved the tub at Bobby's house and the toys. Tub toys never made the cut for the Impala. Dean let her take her time playing after she was washed up. Bobby poked his head in the door.

"Dean."

"What's up?"

"Bring her down when you're done. I'm setting her up on the couch."

Dean's expression hardened, "She can sleep with me and Sam."

"I know about the nightmares and I know you're on top of it. You need some real sleep though."

"I'm fine. Honest. I can take care of Katie."

"Course you can. Tonight, I need you to let me watch over her. We'll be right downstairs from you and Sam."

"I'm coming down when she screams. She gets scared if I'm not there when she wakes up." Dean proclaimed stubbornly.

"Let's see how it goes."

None of the kids were particularly thrilled with the sleeping arrangements. Thankfully, Dean and Sam convinced Katie to stay with Uncle Bobby and helped tuck her in. Dean came back down three times with things Bobby needed to know. Finally, Bobby put his foot down and Dean stayed upstairs.

Bobby settled in at his desk with some research that needed to be done. He could see Katie curled up on the couch from where he was sitting. The little girl fought to keep her eyes open, but sleep finally won out.

The first nightmare started at eleven thirty. She might have been sleeping for two hours. Katie let out a piercing scream and sat bolt upright. She kept repeating no over and over. Bobby hustled over and knelt down next to her.

"Hey, hey, hey. Katie May, I'm here. Look at me, see? It's okay. You're awake. You're all right."

He scooped her up and held her to his chest. He rocked back and forth with the frightened girl. Dean came running down the stairs.

"She's okay, bud. She's fine." Bobby assured him.

Dean got close and Katie calmed more.

"Dean!" She cried pulling away from Bobby, reaching for Dean.

Bobby handed Katie over to her brother. He watched Dean settle her back down on the couch talking to her in a low voice. Dean smoothed her hair back from her face. Then he made the bargain.

"If you close your eyes, I'll sing. Ok?"

"Hold my hand."

"Okay. Close your eyes."

"Ok De."

Dean sat on the floor with his back against the couch. He reached up, took her hand, and started to sing Hey Jude in low voice.

Bobby sat back a little watching. The kid could teach him plenty. He should have known. Dean handled Sammy's nightmares for years, he was a pro. The boy still needed to sleep though. Once Katie had fallen back to sleep, Dean stood up and tucked her in a little more. Bobby smiled at him.

"Not too shabby." He told Dean.

"We can't let her yell in the motels. That works most of the time."

"I'll keep that in mind. Time for you to get back to bed."

"In a little while."

"Now, son. You'll hear if we need ya."

Dean scrutinized Bobby in a way that made him feel a little exposed, but he went up the stairs.

John told him the nightmares sometimes happened three or four times on a bad night. Bobby hoped it would be easy, more for the kids than himself. He didn't sleep much anyway. Those kids deserved a break.

Three hours of research and four cups of coffee later, the second wave hit. Katie started whimpering and squirming. She wasn't awake yet. Bobby stood, but kept his distance to see where this would go. The whimpering turned to screaming. Her words surprised him. This time she kept calling Mommy. John told him that Katie didn't really remember her mother. Debatable.

He had to wake her up this time. He tried to be gentle and he took her little face in his rough hands. Katie blinked sleepily before her eyes went wide. She froze when she realized she was awake and Dean wasn't the one there with her.

"Dean?" She asked gasping.

"Uncle Bobby, remember? Dean's sleeping upstairs. I've got you." He told her as he drew her to him.

She burst into tears and buried her face in his shirt. She was shaking from the sobs and trying to slow her breathing like he told her to do. Katie finally started to doze off on his shoulder. Bobby eased her back onto the couch. It was when he let go of her that her eyes opened wide and she screamed for Dean. The boy was down the stairs in a flash and this time Sammy was on his heels.

Dean shot Bobby a murderous look as he scooped up Katie.

"I woke her up before she really got going. We were doing fine until I put her down." Bobby explained a little more defensively than he intended.

"You okay now?" Dean asked Katie.

"Uh huh. Uncle Bobby took care of me. I know I'm not supposed to wake you up, but I got scared."

"Don't worry about that."

Dean and Sammy sat with Katie for a long time. She was settled on the couch and finally falling asleep.

"Thanks, Bobby." Dean said.

"That's why I'm here. You take good care of her. I've got a lot to learn from you."

"It's my job." Dean said simply.

Bobby closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It shouldn't be his job. He should be worried about girls and cutting school.

"Your brother's fading fast. Why don't you take him upstairs?"

"You'll watch out for Katie?"

"I will."

Dean nudged Sam and got no response. Dean sighed and hoisted Sam up onto his shoulder before heading upstairs.

There were two more nightmares that night. Bobby managed to calm Katie before she was able to wake up Dean. He thought they managed pretty well. He sat down with her and closed his eyes for just a second.

Dean came down around seven having slept better than he had in a long time. He found Bobby and Katie on the couch sleeping. Katie was stretched out with her feet in his lap, he held both in one hand. They looked peaceful. He slipped past them careful not to wake her up. He started breakfast. Coffee first, he knew it would get Bobby's attention. Ten minutes later, Bobby found his way into the kitchen.

"Smells good in here."

"I figured we could all use a good breakfast."

"Mmm. Good call."

"So... how was she?"

"Two more before she really slept. We managed alright."

Dean put a cup of coffee in front of Bobby without really looking at him. "She looked comfortable with you, Thanks. For taking care of her."

Dean went back to the stove and the pancakes he had on. The circles under his eyes didn't look so bad this morning. Bobby smiled into his coffee.