Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.
This is for Hot Show who asked for a story about how Dean and Sammy learned to trust Bobby. Hope this is what you wanted.
Previously on Supernatural- He didn't see anything amiss just their buggy… their very empty buggy. Sammy was gone!
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Bobby swiftly scanned both ends of the aisle looking for Sammy. He then sifted through the stuffed toys on the bottom shelf hoping the kid had just decided to play and seek. Finding no trace of the rambuctious little boy Bobby threw the balls into the buggy and scooped up Dean before heading out of the aisle. Bobby quickly pushed the buggy up the main aisle while glancing from side to side checking every aisle for the wayward Winchester. Spotting a store employee stacking shelves in the health and beauty aisle he careened the buggy into that aisle and up to the young woman. After setting Dean into the buggy and ordering him to stay put, Bobby walked up behind the young employee and asked, "Excuse me ma'am, can you help me?" Getting no response he frowned. Clearing his throat he loudly said, "Ma'am, I need some help finding my nephew." When the young woman still failed to acknowledge him, Bobby roughly tapped her on the shoulder.
Dean watched from the buggy as the woman jumped in fright and quickly spun around to face Bobby. Hearing her question his uncle he wondered why she talked so funny. A shaking rattle gained his attention and had him turning to look for the source of the noise only to be disappointed when he saw a couple pushing their baby in another buggy. Sighing he turned back around and was surprised to see Bobby moving his hands while he talked with the young employee. Fascinated he continued to watch as his uncle and the woman talked and gestured for a few more minutes before Bobby shook his head and started back to the buggy.
Bobby walked back to the buggy smiling when he noticed Dean staring at him in awe. "Wondering about the hand signs huh Dean. Britney can't hear so I was using sign language to talk to her. Maybe if you're good, I'll teach you some signs before bed, okay squirt?" he said ruffling the little boy's hair as quickly followed the store employee down the aisle. Reaching the customer service desk he stood and waited as Britney conveyed the problem to her manager who then walked over.
"Britney informed me that you have lost your small nephew. Can you describe him for me?" the manager asked as he picked up a notepad and pencil.
"Yeah, Sammy's a year old. He's wearing a blue Cookie Monster shirt and jeans. He's got brown hair and he's about this tall." Bobby described bending over to show Sammy's height.
"Thanks. I'll get his description out to all our employees." The manager informed him. "And don't worry. Britney and another employee are locking the doors so no one can take him out of the store. We'll find him."
Bobby and Dean stood and listened as Sammy's description was broadcast to the entire store. As the announcement ended Bobby began to walk away to start his own search for John's youngest. He had only gone two steps when the desk phone ringing stopped him in his tracks. Glancing over to the manager he waited anxiously to see if the call was about Sammy.
The manager hung up the phone and grinned at the worried man and boy before him. "We've found him!" he exclaimed. "Just follow me."
Bobby took a deep breath thankful that he wouldn't have to tell John that his youngest was missing. That was definitely one conversation he could do without. Following the store manager he tried to reign in the anger that was quickly replacing the fear. The kid had really scared the crap out of him. Noticing that they were walking through the lingerie section of the store Bobby tried and failed to stop the blush that crept up his cheeks. "What in the world is the kid doing here?" he thought as he pushed the buggy past racks of woman's unmentionables. Keeping his eyes focused straight ahead he quickened his step more than ready to be out of this particular part of the store.
The manager stopped next to the dressing room where another employee was waiting. The new person, an older lady smiled at Bobby and pointed to the open ladies dressing room. "He's in there." She simply said. Noticing Bobby's reluctance she giggled and added, "The dressing rooms are empty. It's safe for you to go in."
"Thank you ma'am" Bobby said tipping his hat. Scooping Dean up he carefully placed the little boy on the ground before taking his hand and walking into the dressing room. And there was Sammy; standing in the corner of the room making faces at himself in the mirror.
Seeing his big brother in the mirror Sammy happily waved. "Dean! Dean! Look!" he called as he made another face in the mirror. Giggling he clapped his hands at his great new game.
Bobby was across the room and beside the little rebel in two strides. Bending down he snatched Sammy up and delivered two swats to the youngster's backside. "Samuel Winchester, don't you ever do that again!" he scolded before enveloping the now squalling boy in a tight hug. "You scared me and your brother to death!"
Sammy reached up and wrapped his arms around Bobby's neck. "I sor-rry" he cried laying his head on his uncle's shoulder.
Bobby carried Sammy out to the buggy and easily placed the little boy in the child seat and fastened the buckle. "It's okay Sammy." He soothed as he picked up Dean and set him in the buggy smiling as the older Winchester immediately made his way to the front of the buggy and threw his arms around his little brother. Bobby thanked the store employees for their help and swiftly made his way out of the woman's section. Heading up to the check out he stopped to pick up some coloring books and crayons for the boys. Seeing a book with a happy baby sitting on the floor with toilet paper strewn all around, he grinned and added it to his buggy. He needed something to read to the little guys. He thought if he had to hear The Three Little Pigs again he'd huff and puff and blow something down himself.
At the hospital
Joshua sat in the crappy hospital chair by John's bed and watched as a machine breathed for his good friend. The doctor had assured him that the vent was needed to give John's lung a chance to heal but the thing still gave Josh the creeps. It made his own throat ache to see a tube protruding from his friend's mouth and to hear the whoosh sound of the machine as it forced air into his lungs. But what freaked Josh out more than anything was how still John was. Joshua hadn't known John Winchester all that long but there was one thing that he knew about the man. He was never still. Some part of him was always in motion. Whether it was his fingers tapping or his leg bouncing he was continually doing something. It had driven Josh crazy in the past but now he longed for John to move just a little. Just enough to reassure him that his friend would be fine. Deciding he needed to get out of the room and take a break before he cracked, Josh took one last look at his friend and then slowly left the room.
At Bobby's house
After a quick and uneventful trip to the grocery store, Bobby and the boys made their way back to the house. Bobby unfastened Sammy from his seat and picked him up before taking Dean's hand and leading them up the stairs of the porch and into the house. He set Sammy on the floor and dumped the blocks out in front of the small boy. Once both boys were settled in he headed back to the car and began the task of carrying in the shopping bags. Bringing in the frozen food first he opened the fridge and carefully placed everything inside. Finally after four trips to the car, Bobby managed to haul the last bag into the house. Seeing the boys still quietly playing on the floor, he headed into the kitchen to start supper. The little guys had to be getting hungry by now. Pulling the pans and grease out of the cabinet, Bobby set about making a dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. He checked on the boys frequently as he cooked smiling as they happily played together. As soon as everything was ready he fixed a plate for the boys and himself. Knowing Sammy didn't have enough teeth for the corn Bobby grabbed a jar of baby food from the cabinet and set it on the table before going to get the boys.
After eating a bite at the cafeteria, Joshua headed back to John's room ready to renew his vigil. Spotting the pay phones he turned and walked over deciding to call Bobby. He picked up a phone and quickly dialed Bobby's number.
Hearing the phone ring Bobby left the table and walked over to snag the phone. "Singer here." He gruffly answered.
"Bobby, it's Josh. Just calling to check in." Josh told his friend.
Feeling Dean's stare Bobby smiled and said, "Oh hello Mr. Miller. Heard your old Chevy's been giving you trouble. How bad is it?"
"Mr. Miller? Chevy?" Joshua questioned. "Bobby have you lost your. . .Oh, I get it. Dean's listening?"
"That's right." Bobby agreed sneaking a glance towards the table to see Dean staring at him.
"Okay, here's the deal. They've got John on a vent for now to give his lung a chance to heal. And they're keeping him sedated while he's on it. The doc says he shouldn't be on the damn thing too long but he wasn't very clear on the details. Just kept saying wait and see. Guy must have been a circus ringmaster before he became a doc. Anyway, John's okay for now. How about the boys? How are they doing?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine here." Bobby replied. "Those pups are learning more every day. I'll have'em trained real soon."
"Sure you will." Josh laughed. "More like they'll have you trained."
"Not a chance" Bobby growled before joining in the laughter. "I gotta go. You take good care of that Chevy now. And call me when you think I can come check it out."
"You got it Mr. Mom." Josh teased. "Give the boys a hug for me and remember you're the grown up."
"Ha, ha." Bobby said. "Talk to you later, Miller." Hanging up the phone he walked back and sat down at the table. Picking up Sammy's spoon he dipped it in the baby food jar. After wiping off the excess he held it to Sammy's mouth. "Here Sammy. Eat up."
"No" Sammy replied closing his mouth.
"C'mon Sammy. It's good. See the baby on the jar is eating it." Bobby reasoned holding out the spoon again.
Sammy refused to open his mouth and turned his head away from the spoon every time Bobby attempted to feed him.
Bobby noticed that Dean was now watching his every move. "Oh, I get it. The kid wants to see if I can handle his brother. Well, this is one test I'm definitely gonna pass." He thought. Racking his brain he tried to think of a way to make the stubborn boy eat. After a few minutes, the light bulb went off and the perfect plan was born. Knowing he had to play this just right, he put the spoon back in front of Sammy and said, "You sure you don't want it, Sammy. It looks mighty good." Seeing Sammy turn away from the spoon once again Bobby smiled. "Okay, I'll eat it then." He said as he shoved the spoon in his mouth. Smiling at the surprised little boy he fought the urge to spit the disgusting slop back out. He quickly swallowed and smiled at the baby. "Mmmmm, that's really good." He lied dipping the spoon in the jar again before saying the word he knew would change Sammy's mind. "Mine" he declared as he slowly held the spoon up to his mouth.
Sammy glanced from the baby food jar to Bobby and back in surprise. Suddenly interested Sammy reached out for the spoon with both hands and yelled, "No mine!"
Winking at Dean Bobby looked at Sammy and asked, "You want some Sammy?"
"Mine!" Sammy hollered bouncing in his high chair. "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
"Well okay. Guess you win." Bobby said as he carefully slid the spoon into Sammy's mouth. In minutes the jar was empty. Bobby grabbed a wet rag and cleaned Sammy's face and hands before picking the little boy up and setting him on the floor beside his brother. Taking the boys back into the living room he turned on the TV and VCR and put in a tape of cartoons John had recorded for the boys. Once he was sure they were taken care of he headed back to the kitchen to clean up knowing another big challenge was just ahead; bath time.