Morning dawned with dreary, overcast skies. The darkness complimented the heaviness that was slowly seeping into Bobby Singer's heart and his home. He honestly didn't know what to do with Dean or Sam, let alone Dean and Sam. They were walking on eggshells. Each was waiting for the other shoe to drop, skirting around the two rather large elephants that dominated the room.
As he measured two scoops of coffee and dumped them in the filter lined basket, Bobby wondered with a bitter smile if the resurrection of the damned devil was the least of their problems. Getting those two boys to communicate with each other was worse than pulling teeth.
"Dean! Sam!" he called out gruffly. "Get your asses down here."
Bobby pushed the coffee pot into place and switched the unit on. Bracing his hands against the rim of the sink, he stared out the window and sighed heavily. For seven days there'd been nothing. No sign of Lucifer, no demonic activity whatsoever. Hell for that matter, no angels either. He'd been through every single book and parchment in his library and still he'd come up empty handed. Add the boys' bullshit to the fire and Bobby was about to lose what remained of his sanity. Ellen's phone call couldn't have come at a better time as far as he was concerned. It would do Dean and Sam some good to get out on the road, they might even end up accidentally speaking to one another.
The steady drip of the coffee maker was drowned out by the thump of heavy boots coming down the stairs. Tilting his head to the left so that he could listen more closely, Bobby waited. He wasn't disappointed. The sounds of a scuffle followed, ending when a solid body connected with the wall. Damned infants, that's what they were, still shoving each other around like they were kids.
Bobby didn't realize he was smiling until Dean stumbled in and grouchily demanded to know what was so funny at "fuck o'clock" in the morning.
"Your face," Sam muttered under his breath, just loud enough that only Bobby could hear him.
Biting his lip to keep from chuckling, the older hunter pulled three mugs from the cabinet by the sink. After pouring them all a cup, he sat down at the battered Formica table beside the window.
"Got a call from Ellen late last night," Bobby said tersely. "Seems she's lost contact with Jo."
"Ain't like that's something new, Bobby," Dean groused, disgruntled at being woken up at such an ungodly hour for a catfight, especially one he hadn't been around to witness. "She's probably just caught up working a case. Nothing to worry about."
Sam cleared his throat and took a deep breath before adding, "I really can't believe I'm about to say this but maybe Dean's right, Bobby. Jo's headstrong and this isn't the first time she's ducked out on Ellen. If she feels like she's - "
"For a year and a half?" Bobby interrupted. Two pairs of eyes blinked at him incredulously. "Yeah, you heard me right. Girl's been gone damn near eighteen months now without a peep."
"Shit," Dean said, rubbing a hand over his face. Whatever this was, it was more than a typical mother-daughter argument. "Where was she when Ellen heard from her last?"
"Orlando."
Son of a bitch, Dean cursed silently. It would have to be Florida. Everything twisted and truly fucked up always happened in Florida. God, but he hated that damned state.
"If it's been a year and a half," Sam asked, breaking his brother's train of thought, "why call now? Did something happen?"
For a long moment, Bobby didn't speak, just sat there staring at Dean and Sam as if they'd each grown a second head. In all honesty, he was surprised that his announcement had pulled more than two words from either of them. A niggling thought tickled the back of his mind, almost as if it were being whispered into his ear. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Mysterious ways my ass, he thought.
"Hunter by the name Lee Garrett says he thought he saw Jo down in Jacksonville. Couldn't be a hundred percent sure, he'd only seen her once a few years back - 'fore the Roadhouse burned down. It ain't much, but it's a lead."
"And I'm guessing you're expecting us to follow this lead?" Dean scoffed. He leaned back against the counter and crossed his ankles. "As my little brother is so fond of saying, this is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles, Bobby. Why would we go chasing after Jo who most likely doesn't want to be found in the first place when - thanks to Gigantor over there - the fucking Prince of Darkness is running loose?"
"Fuck you, too, Dean," Sam bit out as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his brother.
"Goddamn it, boy!" Bobby shouted, pounding a fist on the table top and spilling his coffee. "If you'd pull your damned fool head outta your ass for five seconds, you'd realize that Lucifer was gonna rise no matter what you two did. It was meant to happen. Just like you're meant to stop it. And I'm pretty damn sure you'll get 'round to that sooner than you really want to. But in the meantime? You get off your sorry asses and go find that girl. She's all Ellen's got left. Jo's a hunter and that makes her family. Right now, whether you like it or not, family's all any of us have got. Am I gettin' through to you, boy?"
Dean ground his teeth audibly. "Yes, sir," he hissed then turned to his brother. "Get your crap, Sam. We've got a needle to find."