Chapter 3. Come away

From somewhere a howling shriek made it's way to the bed of Bobby Singer, who sprang up like he didn't know his age and grabbed the gun by the side of his bed. He ran towards the horrible screaming, banging in the door of the room that held a sleeping girl by the name of Rory Gilmore. She was still screaming for all she was worth, but there was nothing in the room. She was just sitting there, straight up in bed, her eyes wide open in terror and she screamed, and screamed, and then she caught her breath only to continue screaming.

He let out a loud sigh and put his gun against the door, leaning it in a habitual way and went over to the bed. He sat down on the far end, below her feet and he looked at her, tears streaming down her face.

She hadn't eaten all week, the crying all night and now the night-terrors and screaming. He had no choice.

When she stopped for half a second Bobby saw his chance, he leaned her back in her bed, turning her on her side and turned the light on the bedside table on. She closed her mouth, and started panting heavily, like she had just run a marathon.

He regretfully shook his head and left the girl in her bed, heading down the stairs into the kitchen to dial the number of either Winchester brother.

"Bobby?" Sam asked drowsily as he answered the phone and was greeted by a gruff snort.

"Aren't you a genuis," the man muttered and Sam almost smiled, even though he was dead tired.

"What is it Sam?" Dean asked, looking at Sam with a furrowed brow. He shrugged.

"What's up Bobby?" Sam asked the phone and looked at his brother as Bobby explained. He then nodded. "Okay. Dean, I think you might want to hear this." He tossed the phone to Dean, who caught it and started pacing around the room as he listened to the story Bobby was telling him. At the end he drew a heavy sigh, pinched the ridge of his nose and nodded.

"We're on our way back, Bobby. We'll be there before noon." And then he hung up. Sam glared at him.

"We haven't slept in-"

"I know, Sam!" Dean snapped. "But there are some things that needs to be done anyway. This," he said, pointing to the floor for some reason. "Is one of them!" He then continued by throwing everything he had unpacked into the duffelbag and left the motel room, in his PJ pants.

Bobby kept glacing out the window every few minutes and Rory was to tired to care. She vaguely remembered dreaming about Tristan again, about the coffees and the dinners and all the little things that made him so perfect. Just thinking about it made her want to scream her head off. She wondered why...

Bobby got off his chair by the kitchen table and bolted for the door. She heard the gravel crunch outside but didn't care. She wrapped the blanket closer around herself and leaned back.

"Is she okay?" Dean said, jumping out of the car almost before it had stopped.

"No."

It was a simple answer that put Dean in a state of concern. Something new for him, when it didn't come to family.

He burst through the door with Bobby and Sam right on his heels and he stopped dead in his tracks whispering "Oh my god" as he saw the hollowed out face of Rory Gilmore. Her eyes were blodshot, she had deep dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks seemed to have sunk into her skull. "Oh my god," he repeated, looking over his shoulder at Bobby who shrugged.

"She kept saying she had eater, when I came in after having been in the garage. I didn't want to argue with her, she was already so upset. Last night, she woke me up, screamin' bloody murder. I thought someone was tryin'a kill her."

"Rory," Dean called, his voice demanding. "Get up. Now," he said, trying to yank her up from the couch as she struggled.

"No," she complained.

"Yes, now, this fuggin instant. Sam, food. Coffee!" he ordered and looked back at Rory. "And you are taking a shower, chaning clothes and then you are going to eat before we hit the road." He pushed her in the direction of the bathroom, pulling a shirt from his bag and throwing it at her. "Now!" he barked. She looked at him, eyes wide in shock and she complied.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "No, Sammy, I'll take this one alone, sorry. I'm taking her to see Missouri. She needs answers, and we all know she can't find them on the road. It'll be the death of her."

Bobby nodded, but Sam looked heavily disapproving. "You're going to take care of her? You? Mister Sensitive?"

"I think we've been nice enough about her starving herself and not going outside and all the other crap she's been pulling since we took her in. It's time for the real tough love."

"That," Bobby said wagging a finger in Dean's direction. "Is a good idea."

Rory looked pale and exhausted when she emerged from the bathroom, but the boys forced some food into her, some coffee down her throat and Bobby told her to pack up. She looked scared, and he said she wasn't being thrown out because she was depressed. He told her, in a sweet and fatherly way, that he was worried and that he wanted her to feel better, so she was going to go with Dean to meet a friend of Sam and Dean's father's. Rory then nodded and made her way up the stairs.

"Will you be okay?" Sam asked Dean as he threw Rory's stuff in the trunk.

"Will you?" Dean shot back, way more worried about his brother than about his own life. Sam nodded and smiled.

"You know me," he said meakly.

"Yeah, I do," Dean scoffed and then they shared that odd brotherly smile they had.

"Be careful kid," Bobby said to Rory as they came out the front door.

She nodded weakly and glared at Dean. "I'll try," she said, almost sweetly still.

"Good. Sam, there's a car over there for ya, the keys are in the ignition. Dean, safe journeys." Bobby nodded at them all and then turned around, locked the door and walked over to his own car. "Oh and by the way, call me when you got something," he said, and all four of them ducked into a car.

"I hate you," Rory clarified.

"No. You hate the demon that killed your boyfriend," Dean said and she glared at him.

"I could have wasted away and not even have known how unhappy I was," she snapped, almost growling it at him.

"Yes, and then your mother would have been sent to jail for killing me, Sam, Bobby, Ellen and oh, everyone else that's tried to help. No thanks!"

"You are so-" she started, steam almost visable coming out her ears.

"What?" he said, deflating her with a huge smile. "Charming?"

"Urgh." She turned and looked out the side of the window as the world rushed past her, the car roaring down a highway.