Chapter 7: Bobby Singer
Dean followed Bobby inside the small house and the swinging door slammed closed behind him.
"Well Dean, I'm going to go put Sam to bed" he stated as he walked down the hall. Dean followed him down the hallway and he sat down on the end of the spare bed in the extra bedroom. "You're just gonna sit here all day boy?" Bobby questioned. Dean shrugged and Bobby sighed. "How about you and me go outside and play?"
"What about Sam?" Dean asked.
"He's sleeping he'll be fine" Bobby explained.
"Sammy was asleep when his nursery burnt up" Dean said aloud as he looked over at Sam and his eyes dampened. Bobby froze and looked over to notice Dean's crestfallen expression. He sat beside the boy and sighed.
"Has your dad talked to you at all about what happened?" he asked.
"He told me that something not human….killed her" Dean answered. "He told me that there are monsters and that they're real." Bobby sighed and shook his head in frustration.
"How could he do this to you?" he questioned, "That man…."
"It's okay" Dean spoke up, "He didn't do anything wrong."
"I bet you he didn't even try to comfort you, he just ignored it like the coward he is."
"He was crying he didn't need to worry about me" Dean defended.
"A father always needs to worry about his sons, how are you doing with all this?" Bobby answered.
"I have to be strong for Sammy" Dean added. "So I'm fine."
"Are you scared Dean?" Bobby asked as he could tell Dean was lying when he had said he was fine. Dean hesitated and then a tear ran down his cheek.
"It's just me Dean, I'm not your daddy, you can tell me."
"Yes" Dean answered finally. Bobby held the boy and Dean cried into his shirt. He felt the boy's heart racing and he could feel the heat emitting from his cheeks.
"I'm here Dean" Bobby said to him as his heart went out to the boy. After a few minutes Dean pushed away and he glanced over at Sam, who was still fast asleep. "How about when Sam wakes up we can take him with us, and go outside" Bobby suggested.
"We can go now" Dean replied with a small smile. Bobby smiled back and led Dean outside, he grabbed two baseball mitts from the shed and handed one to Dean.
"Ready Dean?" Bobby asked as he threw him the ball.
"Ready" Dean replied as he managed to get the large glove over his hand. He missed the first few throws but after a few hours he had gotten the hang of it and was actually quite good.
"You're a natural Dean" Bobby laughed as Dean caught another ball.
"What that mean?" Dean questioned, his voice had returned to its normal cheery self.
"It means your good" Bobby replied as Dean threw the ball, making direct contact with Bobby's mitt.
"Thanks, you're good too" Dean said briskly. Bobby chuckled and continued to throw with Dean. Soon the sun was going down.
"Wanna grab some dinner?" Bobby asked as he sat the mitt down.
"Sure" Dean answered as he followed Bobby inside. Bobby began to make some chicken and Dean's mouth watered, he felt like he hadn't eaten a good meal in weeks. Bobby slid the chicken onto his plate and grabbed a hunk for himself.
"Have you ever tried this stuff Dean?" Bobby asked as he grabbed a bottle of steak sauce from the refrigerator. Dean narrowed his eyes at the bottle as he tried to read it.
"Um, I can't read" Dean said embarrassed.
"It's steak sauce" Bobby said as he poured the red liquid onto his plate and cut off a piece of the chicken, dipping it into the sauce. He shoved it in his mouth and savored the taste. "Mmmm…. That's good stuff. Do you wanna try it?" he asked.
"Okay" Dean answered. Bobby poured some on the side of his plate and Dean dipped his chicken in it and took a bite. His eyes lit up in satisfaction. "That's very good" he said as he licked it from around his mouth.
"It's the best" Bobby said as he ate another piece. He then pulled out a blueberry pie from the refrigerator and Dean eyed it.
"What's that?" Dean asked.
"You've never had pie before?" Bobby said amazed.
"Nope" Dean answered. Bobby cut him a slice instantly and put it on his plate, handing over another fork.
"Go on" Bobby said as he watched him. Dean put a piece in his mouth and a smile came on his face that had never been there before.
"It's amazing" Dean said through a mouthful.
"Right?" Bobby said as he cut himself a slice and ate it with Dean. Dean finished and then his eyes filled with fear.
"What is it Dean?" Bobby asked.
"I forgot to feed Sammy" Dean said as he ran towards the room and Bobby followed him. Dean grabbed the formula and then ran to the sink and filled the bottle with water he mixed in the formula and picked Sam up.
"Whoa Dean, you can't give cold formula to a baby" Bobby said as he grabbed it.
"Why? That's how I always do it" Dean said.
"Babies need warm milk Dean, it settles in their stomach better" Bobby said. Bobby ran to the microwave and warmed the bottle before returning to Dean.
"Here, let me feed him" Bobby said.
"Really?" Dean questioned.
"What do you always feed Sam?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah" Dean answered.
"Unbelievable" Bobby scoffed as he picked up Sam and put the bottle to his mouth. Sam sucked on the bottle and Bobby glanced over at Dean.
"You wanna go watch some TV Dean?" Bobby questioned. Dean nodded and Bobby led Dean down the hall and handed him the remote as he flipped the TV on. Dean turned on cartoons and was mesmerized. He had never gotten to pick the show before. Bobby continued to feed Sam and smiled over at Dean as he saw the once sad boy's expression vanish and be replaced by the one he used to have before the death of his mom.
It had been four days that the boys had spent at Bobby's. It was actually the best four days of Dean Winchester's life. He and Bobby had bonded and now he saw Bobby as someone he could talk to about anything. Bobby hadn't brought up hunting once and Dean was grateful. It might have sounded cool at first, but the more Dean thought of it the more scared he got. If dragons and wizards were real, what about the scary monsters that were out there? He had heard about werewolves and vampires on TV and they didn't sound nice. What about ghosts? And he had heard about demons in church when his mom took him and Sam on Sunday's. Surely if there were demons though, then angels had to be real. But then Dean pushed that thought away instantly. Angels weren't real, that was a fact. If they were real they would have saved Dean's mom, she had always told Dean that angels were watching them, but now he knew it was a lie. Angels weren't watching anyone. It was December 5th, and snow had begun to fall from the sky. Sam was now seven months old and had begun to crawl. He crawled towards the middle of the living room carpet and Bobby chuckled at how fast he moved.
"Sammy come look at this" Dean said as he ran over to his brother and picked him up. He held him up to the window and Sam looked out at the snow, he was disinterested though and struggled in Dean's arms. Dean sighed and set him down.
"Wanna go outside Dean?" Bobby questioned. Dean ran over to Bobby and flashed his cute smile at him.
"Can I?" Dean asked excitedly.
"Come on, let's go get your jacket on, and then you can go out" he said as he scooped up Sam and followed Dean down the hall. Dean pulled on his heavy blue jacket and Bobby helped him zip it up. Bobby stood by the window with Sam in his arms and watched Dean play in the snow. He threw it up in the air and he tried to bury himself in it. Dean came back in after a few minutes shivering and Bobby turned on the fire and made some hot chocolate which he drunk with Dean. He held Sam on his lap and looked over at Dean.
"How was it Dean?" Bobby asked.
"Cold" Dean answered as he sniffled and smiled over at Bobby.
"Tomorrow when I put Sam down for his nap I'll take you sledding" Bobby suggested.
"What's that?" Dean asked.
"Well, you get on kind of a board, and it has blades underneath that slide on the snow. Then you go down a hill and you go really fast down it" Bobby explained.
"Like a racecar?" Dean asked as his bold green eyes beamed in excitement.
"Not quite as fast, but yeah kinda like a racecar" Bobby answered.
"Wow, I can't wait" Dean said happily as he sipped the hot chocolate. Sam fell asleep against Bobby's stomach and Bobby repositioned him with his head on his chest and lying on his belly. Dean was about to doze off as well but he was snapped out of it by a knock on the door. Bobby went to the door and Dean followed him.
"Daddy!" Dean exclaimed as he hugged his dad around the waist.
"Hey Dean" he said weakly as he patted him on the back.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked as he pulled away and looked wondering up at him.
"John?" Bobby questioned. John took off his jacket and Bobby spotted blood soaking through his shirt coming from his side. Dean froze as he looked over at his dad and his eyes watered.
"W…what happened?" Dean asked.
"Dean, take Sam to your room, I'll be in there as soon as I can" Bobby said as John put a hand to his side. He handed Sam over to him and Dean walked towards his room, Sam had woken up and now wanted to crawl around on the carpet of the room. Dean sat him down and Sam began to explore. After a few minutes John came in, he had changed clothes and he looked a lot less pale then he had when he came in. Dean looked over at him and John picked up Sam and walked over to Dean, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"What happened?" Dean asked instantly.
"I was hunting a ghost, and it caught me off guard, hit me in the side with a knife" John explained.
"Where is it now?" Dean asked.
"I killed it; I had to finish the job right?" John answered.
"You got hurt; does that happen a lot on hunts?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, but its fine, as a hunter you have to be strong" John said. "When you are old enough to become a hunter, you can't let pain stop you from completing a job, there are people's lives at stake" John explained. Dean nodded and John smiled at him. "Alright ready to go?" John asked as he sat Sam down on the floor and let him crawl.
"We're leaving?" Dean questioned.
"Yeah, I got another job in Maine to check out" John told him.
"Can't we stay with Bobby?" Dean asked as John stood up.
"No Dean, we're leaving" John said as he walked out the door. "Get your brother" he added. Dean looked over at Sam and picked him up, following John.
"Where are you going?" Bobby asked as John headed for the door.
"Got another case in Maine" John answered bluntly.
"How about you just leave Dean and Sam with me?" Bobby questioned. "You can come back for them."
"There my sons Bobby and they go where I go" John replied as he pushed past him. Dean spotted his roller suitcase by the couch and went to get it. Bobby seethed at the words and he grabbed the back of John's jacket and he turned towards him.
"Dammit John they're kids!" Bobby said angrily, "A life of a hunter ain't no life for kids!"
"Bobby I lost Mary, and I'm not just gonna leave my boys behind!"
"Then leave this life behind!" Bobby spat, "You know Mary never wanted this."
"Don't you dare try to bring her into this!" John shouted.
"If you cared about her at all, you would let these boys have as normal of a life as they could" Bobby said as he looked over at Dean who was chasing after Sam so he could leave with John. "John, Dean's only four years old, and he's faced more trauma then any four year old should, and then to be told that the scary things he's read about are real?" John mumbled, "Please John, give this up, be a father to Dean and to Sam." John was silent for a moment and then he looked Bobby in the eyes.
"I won't give up on trying to find the thing that killed my wife" he said through gritted teeth. He looked over his shoulder and yelled for Dean.
"Come on Dean!" he said. Dean finally got to Sam and he tried to carry him as he rolled his suitcase in the other hand.
"Lemme help ya Dean" Bobby said as he picked up Sam and Dean rolled his suitcase towards the car. John got in the driver's seat and Bobby sat Sam on the seat. He crawled towards the window and put his hands on the glass. Dean was about to get in but Bobby put a hand on his shoulder and Dean turned towards him.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to take ya sledding Dean, you would have loved it" Bobby said with a soft smile.
"It's okay" Dean said shyly, not looking Bobby in the eyes.
"What is it Dean?" Bobby asked.
"Nothing" Dean replied, "I'll miss you" he said softly. Bobby hugged him and Dean held on for a moment tightly before he got into the car. The car took off and Bobby looked back at the house through the back window as they drove, watching it disappear. He glanced over at Bobby and waved. Bobby returned it and then turned away, walking slowly back into the house. Dean wished he would have told Bobby what was really wrong, the truth was, the idea of monsters scared Dean, and the last thing he wanted was to fight them. He didn't want to become a hunter.
