Chapter Eleven: Keep on Smiling
Sorry! Sorry! I don't deserve your saintly patience!
I know this is updated late, and I'm so sorry! But I assure I have good reasons for it!
First off, I had a really great birthday, got to have a pizza party and everything! But that's not the coolest thing about it, I got a freaking Ferret as a gift! XDXDXDXD, How cool it that?
His name's Milo, he's three months old and he's just the cutest little thing EVER!
Also, I've been having urges to write more on other stories I've been working on, so here pretty soon, I'm gonna be posting about two or three more new stories.
So, with a baby Ferret that needs tender loving care and new stories that are also calling out for my attention, this might be the only chapter for a long while, I'll still write on it, but it'll take longer to post. ^_^; I know. 'what else is new?' right?
Sorry guys.
But thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I'm so glad you like the story so much! :D And thank you xxFallenAngel1010xx for leaving the happy birthday wish!
And wow, this story already has forty reviews! Awesome! Congrats to ValkyrieNyght for bringing us up to that number! :)
Enjoy!
When Bobby finally unlocked the door to let Rosie out, the first thing she did was ask to take a shower. To which he complied, mildly surprised at how, quiet she was. At first, he was just going to dismiss it as her not doing well with mornings, but looking at her closely, she had bags under her eyes. Like she didn't even get a lick of sleep at all last night.
And she just seemed so…solemn.
What happened to that annoyingly chipper girl that was with him yesterday?
She said nothing as she followed him out of the basement, and when he found her a towel, she took it with a quiet "thank you." And headed straight for the bathroom.
Bobby waited in his library for her finish her shower. Intently listening to every sound just in case she decided to give him the slip like before. But, all he heard was the water turning off and a few clunks here and there that told him she was still in the bathroom.
When she finally entered the library, she only gave him a quick, silent glance before she walked across the floor and sat down on the couch. All without so much as a smile. Now he was just confused, was she have bipolar or something? He hoped to god that it wasn't something like that!
But what ever it was, he found himself actually starting to prefer annoyingly chipper right about now.
He spent a few seconds contemplating what to to. He wanted to start the day off asking her questions for details about what happened before she got here, but as he watched her just sit there braiding her damp hair with that downcast look on her face, he decided to hold off and find out just what the hell was up.
"So what's wrong with you?" Bobby asked, making Rosie give him a curious glance.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't gimme that bull! All day yesterday you couldn't keep a smile off your face and now yer moping' around acting like one a those kids I see sometimes in dark cloths thinking that the world is just miserable place to live in 'n crap like that."
"And it all happened right after Cass left." He leaned over, looking her in the eyes with a narrowed glance. "Did he say something to you yesterday?"
Rosie fidgeted under his stare. What could she say? Bobby called it. Though 'threatened' was more the word for it. But she couldn't tell him that, she would only get Castiel in trouble and feel like a lousy tattletale. "Kinda," Rosie started, "He just… what he said helped me to have a really big wake-up call yesterday…"
Sensing that she wasn't going to go further into detail with the conversation she shared with the Angel, the older hunter only gave a short, "Uh huh." Which was the universal 'Bobby' sign for Rosie to continue.
"I wasn't taking anything as seriously as I should have," Rosie said. "Especially you and Cass, heck, I couldn't wait for Sam and Dean to come by again and see if they wanted to go and hang out somewhere."
"I was acting like you were all celebrities, and you are in my world, but here…I just got so caught up with with being around you guys, I was behaving like a kid that was playing a game with new friends. And I shouldn't have done that. "
Rosie brought her legs to her chest, hugging them close and hiding her chine behind her knees. "I like you guys, and I guess, I somehow assumed that you would like me too…it was stupid of me to think like that."
"I'm really sorry I was such a bother yesterday Bobby." Rosie said, staring at the floor.
"It won't happen again."
The whole time Bobby just listened to her talk. And once he was sure she was done, in took a deep breath. "Well then, I'm glad you decided to wise up, really, good for you." Bobby said, but then a serious look crossed his face. "But I'll tell you right now, I didn't much liked bein' dragged around the store. At all!"
"And I can't tell you if I like ya, because I'm still not so sure what to make of you." Bobby added. "And yeah, it was pretty naive of ya ta think so!"
Rosie kept her eyes down, accepting what he told her without a word. Never noticing the hard look on his old features suddenly softening a little.
"But…"
That one word made her look up in surprise, watching the older man as he scratched his fingers through his graying beard with a thoughtful expression. "I suppose if every night I'll get to eat good, home cooked meals, I don't mind running to the store sometimes to pick up a few ingredients."
Bobby looked back over to her, inwardly smiling at the look she had, and then he started playing with the pages of a book that lay in front of him, a little unsure how to continue. "And Rosie, you eeh~, …you seem like a nice girl." he finally said, "Hell, I'll even say you have pleasant smile, and you should make sure to keep on smiling like you do every so often."
"Because seeing little things like that, after ages of what I do, it's… surprisingly kinda refreshing."
He cleared his throat, looking back at the book that was in front of him. Rosie figured saying things like were making him feel uncomfortable, especially when it was to someone he didn't know too well, but still…it made her cheer up some. Bobby may have been coarse and gruff most of the time, but he was one of those people, if they really had something nice to say, others could tell they meant it.
"And ya know, I don't really mind if ya 'uncle Bobby'." He suddenly said. "Like you said, we want to keep in character just in case."
"Don't we?"
She was surprised to hear him use the same words she said to him at FredMeyers, it made her heart swell, Rosie couldn't help but give a small, happy smile.
"Thank you, uncle Bobby."
"But don't go over bored with it," Bobby warned. "I was only half kidding when I said I would shoot you."
"Don't worry, I won't." Rosie promised. And despite the fact that he was actually dead serious, she continued to smile. "…So…you really liked dinner last night?"
Bobby, giving a short chuckle at her question, nodded his head. "Yep, I think the last time I ate anythin' good that was made by hand was a peach cobbler a neighbor made for me." He told her. "But I don't think she'll be comin' back around here with more anytime soon."
Rosie snickered, she remembered what he was talking about, the episode 'Weekend at Bobby's', a lady named Macy Ward had taken a liking to Bobby, even made a big pan of peach cobbler for him. But when his friend Rufus came by with an Okami that he didn't quite put down, it got away and attacked her.
Bobby rescued her in time, but Rosie was pretty sure she never returned for pan afterwards.
Bobby let himself give a small smile as well, before he returned he decided to get on to business. "So, if were done with all the sharin', I was hopin' you'd be up to telling me again what happened the night before you woke up in my house." He said. "Because I'm having trouble pinpointing exactly what could have brought you here."
"Sure, no problem." Rosie said. But then, out of nowhere, her stomach let out a loud rumble, and then she suddenly realized, she was starving!
Bobby gave a loud guffaw at the wide eyed embarrassed look she made as she covered her middle. "But it can wait 'till after you eat," Bobby said, waving her off, a smirk on his bearded lips, "ya still have that chicken in the fridge, so go ahead 'n get it."
He didn't need to tell her twice. Rosie jumped from the couch and hurried over to the fridge, taking out her chicken and asparagus and heating them in the microwave before she ate, giving relief to her stomach before she felt satisfied enough to help Bobby with anything he needed.
...
...
...
...
...
...
Rosie was very enthusiastic to help Bobby any way she could, answering every question he had for her. The second day, she was happy to do so again. But then, on the third day of staying with Bobby, that eagerness had all been worn out and instead replaced with annoyance. She knew that in research going over every detail, no matter how small, was important, but that still didn't keep from having the same questions asked over and over again was starting to grate on her nerves a bit.
Including Bobby's
"And you're sure you don't remember nothin' else happening," The hunter asked for the umpteenth time, having to raise his voice as Rosie was in the kitchen fixing them both lunch.
"You just herd the voice and 'poof', yer on the couch?"
"Yes," Rosie insisted, sounding a bit more irritated that she meant to as she finished and plated two turkey and ham sandwiches and walked back into the library. "I just fell asleep, and heard a voice."
"I didn't see a face, I didn't smell anything unusual, I only heard a voice, and then I woke up here." And she plopped down on the couch taking a big bite of her own lunch.
"Well perfect." Bobby grumbled, tossing a pen down on the desk in frustration before lacing his fingers together over his head. "Again, that's a whole lotta jack squat to go with here."
"Here's your sandwich" she stated, holding Bobbys' plate out to him. He took it from her, but he set it aside. He would try and remember to eat it later as he had too much on his mind right now to even try and focus on consuming food.
Rosie, however, ate hers, and when she finished, she placed the empty plate on the back of the couch. Stretching her legs over the cushions and leaning back against the arm. Just relaxing while her full stomach digested her food as she sat in the sunlight, its rays gave a comforting warmth to her face.
Wait…She sat up as something suddenly came to her. "Warm…" she stated softly.
Hearing her, Bobby shot her a confused glance. "What?"
"Yeah! I felt really warm when I heard the voice!" Rosie told him, excited to finally remember something new. "It was like I was wrapped up in a…oh, oh wait, I was." And she leaned back against the arm in disappointment. "… Never mind."
Bobby threw up his hands up, she got so riled up, and now she wasn't going to say anything? "Was what?" he asked.
"I have a busted window in my room, we patched it up some, but it gets really drafty at night. So mom got me a heating blanket to use until she found time to call someone and get it repaired." Rosie explained. "The warmth I felt was from my blanket. It takes a little bit for it to start working, so I bet I had already started to dream when it kicked on."
"How'd your window get broke?"
"Freddie decided to be a jerk one morning and tickled me awake." She told him in a grumbley voice, obviously still a little sore about the whole incident. "So when I thrashed around trying to get away from him, I accidentally knocked over a stand up lamp I had and it broke the glass."
"Ah…nice ta know."
From the tone of his voice, Rosie knew he was being sarcastic, and he gave a loud aggravated sigh as he leaned over the desk. "What I can't understand is what would pick you, out of a whole world of people, to grant a wish for." Bobby said, sliding his fingers under his cap to scratch his head. "And why would they grant a silly wish like yours in the first place anyway, it makes no sense!"
"I mean, no offense to you 'n all, but why would anyone want to meet people like us?"
Rosie didn't take any offense, she understood why he said that. Bobby and the boys had hard lives because of what they did, and they had to have little connection to as few people as they possibly could for the risk of anything they hunted using ones they cared about to hurt them. They had to cut themselves out from the world and they had to keep from getting close to others.
Many people in this world, other than hunters like them, probably saw them as jerks for being so distant, but Rosie didn't think of them as such. She knew they did it for a reason. And personally, she would always think them all to be heroes for the sacrifices they made for trying to make the world a little safer with each monster they took down.
"Just what did it see in you? What did you have that no one else did?" Bobby mused to himself, bringing her attention back to him, "What's the catch?"
Bobby slouched in his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. While Rosie just watched him, and her nervous kick starting up, she began to run her hands along her braid. She hated seeing Bobby like this, he always found answers no matter how little information he got to go on, but now he was stuck. And it was her own fault he wasn't getting anywhere; she was keeping her true wish from him. He probably would have found out what brought her here by now if she told it to him.
At first she felt she had to hide the truth for Castiels sake, but now, she was starting to feel bad for it.
The Angel may have been her favorite character, but Bobby had been so good to her during her stay, and she began to hold him to a special place in her heart too. She couldn't speak for Bobby himself about his own opinion about her, but she had grown to trust him after the past few days.
It was probably because he would make her laugh sometimes, or he would ask about her family and make small talk over dinner. She didn't know if he was doing it just to be nice, or if he was really starting to warm up to her some. Either way, even if it was one sided, it was because of those little things that she felt something change in what she thought about the old hunter.
She knew that he wasn't her uncle, that he wasn't really family, but as time passed he sure started to feel like it. And deep down, she kinda hoped he felt the same.
At least a little bit.
She wasn't ready to tell the boys, but if she told Bobby…maybe if Bobby knew, maybe he would find some sort of clue out of the truth, find out how and who is was that brought her here. And who knows, maybe he would keep it between him and Rosie, and since Bobby was friends with Castiel, maybe he would even help her to convince The Angel to stop looking for purgatory.
Plus, it would be a great relief to know at least one person knew her secret, and who better to share it with than Bobby?
"Bobby," Rosie started, holding out on the 'uncle' title to show how serious she was, "I have…there's something I need to te-"
The ringing of his phone cut her off. And having to be one to answer every call no matter what he was doing, Bobby took it. Not noticing Rosie slump over in her seat with a discouraged expression on her face.
"Yeah."
...
"Uh-huh…"
...
"Really? You two alright?"
...
"Okay."
...
"Right, sure."
...
"Alright, see ya then."
After hanging up the phone, he turned back to Rosie. "That was Dean." Bobby told her. "Him'n Sam are gonna be showin' up here in a few days, they're comin' in from Rhode Island."
Rosies eyes widened. Rhode Island? So they fought the Arachne?
Already?
She still needed to find a way to at least be on friendlier terms with Castiel, where the heck did the time go?
"Now, what were ya gonna to say?" Bobby suddenly asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
"Um, I uh-"Rosie was fully intent on telling him the truth, really she was, but after the interruption and hearing that the boys were coming over, the confidence she had on all the 'maybes' suddenly began to fly away from her. "I…what if we can't find what brought me here?" Rosie asked, deflating as her nerve completely went away. "Will I be stuck here forever?"
"Well, that's a high probably," Bobby started, "But don't you worry about that, sooner or later, we'll find it somehow."
Rosie managed to give him a small smile, despite the shame she felt at her cowardice, it was nice that he was trying to assure her.
"But, I don't need your help right at the moment," Bobby said. "So feel free to do what ever until I need you for somthin'."
That made Rosie perk up a little bit. It felt like forever since she go out of the house, and it was such a beautiful day outside, maybe she could go for a walk around the property.
"Can I go outside?"
"No." Bobby flatly stated as he flipped though the pages of a book. "You'll stay where I can see you." Rosie felt disappointed, but alright, she could accept that as it seemed fair enough.
"Okaaay, can I read some of your books then?"
"You touch them and I'll shoot you." He said, still not looking up from his book. "You'll ruin them and I need every single one for work."
Rosie gave a big frowned, crossing her arms and plopped against the arm of the couch in annoyance. Now that was just ridiculous. 'Ruin them'. How would she do that? Drool all over them from some freak loss of control over her salivary glands?
Blowing her bangs from her face, Rosie tried to think of what she could do to pass time. She didn't want to just sit around listening to Bobby work, But it was too early to start preparing dinner. Suddenly, as she watched Bobby close the book he had and toss it to a different area on the desk, a bunch of dust flew off and settled on the floor. Which made Rosie realize how dirty and dust bunny infested it was.
Looking over to the kitchen, which appeared even messier, she saw that table and counter tops with filthy with crumbs and dust, and the sink was filled with dirty dishes. She'd even forgotten about the utensils that she used last night, they needed to be washed too.
Finally, after contemplating for a bit, she smiled.
She knew what she could do.
There you go peoples, in the next chapters I'm gonna try and shoot for speeding them up more and making them a bit longer. And I'll try my best to update as soon as I can.
But now, I'm gonna go and let Milo out, I'm making sure he gets lots of playtime in between naps :)
Let me know what you all think, okay.
