My apologies for the immense delay. I lost my grandfather at the beginning of August so the majority of this chapter is written in Bobby's POV in honor of him. Thanks to Brigid Tanner for proofing this. (She said it's too short, but we'll continue with the parts I left hanging in the next chapter.)

Chapter 35

Bobby stood next to Sam, sharing the younger man's anxiety but for a completely different reason. He knew Sam was worried about Rae participating in this skeet tournament, that she might not be ready for this kind of public presentation. To be honest, after what he heard happened during her history presentation, Bobby was not sure Sam was off-base on this one.

Most of Bobby's anxiety emanated from the woman standing next to him. Wow, was Rae's English teacher a looker! He could not believe how Dean could not like this woman, and he really wanted them to get along. His hope in bringing her today was that she might finally see what a great job Dean and Sam were doing in raising Rae.

"Bobby?" Judy Grimmault tugged on his arm. "Isn't there an age restriction on this tournament?" Her sparkling, intelligent eyes were wide.

"Sure, Judy," he patted her hand comfortingly. "No kids under twelve and you do have to present a birth certificate as proof."

Her hand constricted on his forearm. "Oh, well, that's reassuring. My students know how to use shotguns. Wonderful."

Bobby chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "Now don't be like that." When she started to pull away, he released her. A moment later, to his surprise and relief, Judy leaned back against him. Bobby put a tentative hand on her shoulder and was rewarded with her hand on his.

"Okay, let's see what this granddaughter of yours can do," Judy said. "Are they up next?"

"Soon," he replied. "That's the eleventh team getting ready to shoot. Dean and Rae are team twelve."

"Oh my god," Judy hissed, her shoulders stiffening.

"What? What is it?" Bobby hunched over slightly to hear better. The son of team eleven was shooting.

"That's Kevin Smith!" she hissed. "He's one of my students!"

"Oh, so that's Kevin." Bobby eyed the boy carefully. "He's the reason we're here, you know."

"How's that?" Judy asked, each shot sending a shudder through her that Bobby could feel.

"He invited Rae to come watch him and his father compete in this thing." Bobby chuckled. "Well, that just got Dean's dander up. Next thing we knew, Dean signed them up for the tournament."

Judy twisted slightly to look up at him. "When was that?"

Bobby shrugged, trying to remember what Dean said late last night. "Not sure. Couple of weeks ago, I guess. Why?"

Judy frowned. "Well, that didn't exactly give them much time to practice, did it?"

Bobby held in the laugh threatening to escape. "Well, obviously you don't know Dean very well."

"Well, any parent who chooses to teach a young child how to use a firearm…" Judy began, but she was interrupted by Sam.

"I used to think that way, too. But I've changed my mind," Sam declared.

"Really. What made you change your mind? Your brother?" Bobby flinched at the disdain in Judy's tone.

Sam leaned over, one arm still draped around Sarah's shoulders. "Kids who are brought up knowing what firearms can do don't play with them. You should see Dean's watermelon example. It's pretty persuasive." He nodded his head at Rae, who was watching Dean check out her shotgun. "Rae won't touch any kind of gun unless one of us is around. If my dad were here, he'd probably tell you…"

"That's enough, Sam," Bobby said firmly, rubbing Judy's shoulder protectively. Sam gave him a startled look before turning back to watch Dean and Rae.

Rae moved to the first shooting position. Bobby wondered if her eyes were even open, the way she shot. Her attempt at the second position wasn't much better. Head hanging low, she side-stepped toward the third position.

"Hang on! Just a minute!" Dean shouted, waving his hands for attention. He pulled Rae to the side. Bobby watched intently as Dean's hands gripped those young shoulders in a firm, reassuring manner.

"What do you think he's doing?" Judy asked in hushed voice.

"Trying to calm her down. Rae's a pretty decent shot. For her to miss two targets like that," Bobby shook his head at her, "she must be pretty shaken up."

"You've, uh, seen her shoot then? Do all of you go hunting or something?" Judy's face reflected her fear that might be the case.

Bobby saw Sam's tall, lean frame tense at the question. "We've been known to hunt a thing or two," he said before Sam could put in his two cents' worth again. "Did you think Dean just happened across Rae in that bear's cave all those years ago?"

Judy spun to face him. "Rae's paper did say he was out hunting…" Her eyes searched his.

Bobby nodded at her. "He was hunting a bear known for mauling campers to death. That's the kind of hunting we do, from time to time. Not for sport."

"Oh." Judy leaned against him again, pulling his arm around her waist this time.

Rae stepped up to the third position. Bobby watched as her shoulders raised and lowered with deep breaths. "Pull!" The shotgun snapped to her shoulder as she sighted. With the loud report of her shotgun, the clay target exploded in midair. Bobby let out the breath he had been holding.

--------------------

"That's it!" Dean shouted. "When you get two targets, just focus on one. Don't worry about both of them." Dean hovered near her, probably just within Rae's peripheral vision. Judy watched, fascinated, as her student responded so well to Dean. Rae hit at least half of her targets after that, and all of the targets at her last two positions.

"That's my girl!" Dean shouted when her turn was over. He rushed forward taking the shotgun in one hand and the girl in his other arm. Dean swung her around once before setting her gently on her feet. The instant she was free, Rae dashed into the crowd to find her Uncle Sam.

Sam crouched down a little, shortening himself so he would be barely above eye level with the girl bouncing off strangers in her haste to get to him. Judy could not help but smile at the look of pure joy on the man's face as Rae collapsed against his chest.

"Hey, Rae!" Kevin Smith appeared out of nowhere, eyes gleaming with young teen puppy love. Oh, why hadn't she noticed that earlier? It certainly explained a lot about his behavior in class. Should she separate them now?

"Hi, Kevin," the girl replied, a little breathless. "Did you see me? I did it! I actually did it!" Rae sounded full of energy and pride but the way she held on to her uncle's arms, Judy was pretty sure it would leave marks later.

"You were great," Kevin said with a big, goofy grin on his face. Sam looked like he had to swallow something sour and rocked Rae gently side to side. "Listen, I was wondering if, after the tournament, you'd like to…"

"Shhh!" Rae snapped, her eyes riveted back to the shooting area. "It's Dad's turn."

Judy heard Kevin's lone sigh as they turned to watch Dean Cooper shoot. She knew several of the younger teachers thought he was 'a hunk' and she could have sworn their librarian referred to him as 'dreamy.' Judy wondered what they would think of him now. Dean stood with an easy confidence, the shotgun loose in his hands. When he called for the targets to be released, the shotgun snapped up to his shoulder as though it were an extension of his body. One by one targets exploded in midair from Dean's precision shooting. Judy decided the librarian would undoubtedly form a Dean Cooper fan club if she witnessed this.

"Is he crazy?" Sam hissed to Bobby. "At this rate he'll wind up in the paper."

"Relax, Sam," Bobby whispered back. "Don't forget what the doc says about trust and uh, all that stuff."

Sam rolled his eyes, allowing Sarah to pull him away. Judy tugged on Bobby's arm. "What's he so worried about?"

"Sam just feels that Rae has been kidnapped enough for one lifetime and would prefer his brother and niece stay out of the paper," Bobby explained.

Judy nodded in agreement. "Good point."

"Shhh," Bobby hushed her. "Don't encourage him." She stared at him a moment. What did he mean by that?

At the eighth position, Dean shouldered his shotgun. "Okay, I've had enough." He waved off the officials trying to question him about it, making his way through the crowd.

"See?" Bobby said to Sam. "Now they won't even place."

Judy twisted slightly to see Bobby's face. "How do you know that?"

Bobby grinned at her. "Well, judging by the shooting so far, that display ought to put Dean in fourth place for individuals and their team about right smack in the middle."

"Oh." Bobby could be so impressive sometimes! That must be why she kept letting him talk her into doing these things. Or it was that devilish twinkle in his eye? She would have to think it over – later.

Dean Cooper shouldered his way through the knot of spectators gathered for this thing with a wide grin on his face. "So?" he asked, arriving at their position. "Does anyone feel like banana splits?"

Rae squealed like a little kid. Judy took that as a 'yes.' "Can I ride with Gramps?" Rae asked, her head turning to look at Bobby.

"Well, I have to drop Judy off first. She says she has some grading to catch up on," Bobby replied.

Rae shrugged. "Okay by me. Dad?"

Dean Cooper shrugged, an almost identical movement to his daughter's. "If it's all right with Bobby."

"Come on, then, Sunshine." Bobby beamed at the girl. Then he turned to Dean to ask, "Where do I meet you?"

"That ice cream place around the corner from the apartment," Dean said. "By the time I get the guns cleaned and put away, you'll probably beat us there." Sam laughed at that, though Judy had no idea why.

---------------

Bobby dropped Judy off at her place. He studied Rae for a moment out of his peripheral vision. That girl would never have asked to ride in the same vehicle as her dreaded English teacher unless she was up to something.

"Bobby?" Rae asked, clearing her throat a little.

Here it comes, he thought. "Rae?"

"Uh, you know Dad and Uncle Sam won't be there yet, right?" She looked up at him, reminding him of the little kid she used to be. Boy, the girl grew so much this year!

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, searching for a place they might be able to sit and talk for a while.

"I was just kinda wondering about something." She shrugged, glanced out the side window.

"So are you going to ask or beat around that bush all day?" Bobby grinned to himself. "You know your daddy will come looking for us in less than an hour."

She chuckled at that. "Yeah, I know. I, well, I wanted to ask about my grandfather."

Bobby froze. Fortunately they were at a red light. "Hang on," he said, holding up one hand, "I think I need to pull over for this." After the light changed to green, he pulled through and turned off into the first parking lot he could. Bobby parked under the shade of a tree at the far side before turning to face her. "Say that again."

She fidgeted in her seat, acting more like a little kid than the young woman she appeared to be. He wondered if it was this age, caught between childhood and adulthood, or if it was part of the 'delayed emotional growth' that therapist mentioned. She cleared her throat, eyes darting up to look him head-on. "I want to know about my grandfather."

Bobby frowned. "Which one, sweetheart?"

"Not my birth parents' parents," Rae replied with a shake of her head, sending loose brown curls cascading over her shoulders, "Dad and Uncle Sam's dad."

"You want to know about John Winchester," he said, wanting this to be crystal clear before he answered. She nodded, watching him expectantly. "What do you want to know?"

Rae continued to stare straight at him. Apparently she expected him to try to weasel out of this. Smart kid. "Well, when Dad and Uncle Sam tell me about the exact same event, it sounds totally different. Dad will grin and laugh, like it was a good memory. Uncle Sam will scowl and shake his head, like everything that happened when he was growing up was terrible. I don't understand that. Was my grandfather that different with them or what?"

Bobby scratched his whiskers up his jaw, right up to his ear. That was the problem with smart kids, they asked hard questions. "Actually, I think John treated them pretty much the same, except he expected a whole lot more from your daddy than he did from Sam. Uh, Uncle Sam."

Rae waved a hand at him. "I'm thirteen. Don't worry about the uncle thing, I got it covered." Bobby laughed to himself, shaking his head. "You were saying? John expected more of Dad than Sam?"

The swift change of gears from proper family names to first names, with the only exception of Dean's, threw him for a moment. But just for a moment. "Well, yeah. I mean, I always suspected he left his boys alone when he went hunting, leaving Dean, your dad, to look after his little brother. I never could get him to admit it. Not until much, much later, after I couldn't do anything about it."

Rae's eyebrows shot up her forehead at that. Well, who could blame her? "So how did you find out?"

Bobby cleared his throat. He really did not want to go into all the details. "Well, did Sam ever tell you about when he left for college?"

Her eyes widened now. "Uncle Sam left? You mean he left without Dad?" She rocked back, slamming the back of her head against the seat. "Well, that would explain a lot!"

"How do you mean?" Now Bobby was intrigued. What exactly about Dean did that explain?

"Nevermind," she said brusquely, sitting forward again. "So what about when Sam left for college? What does that have to do with how they grew up?"

Bobby wondered if he could stall until their hour was up and his cell starting ringing like crazy because Dean was looking for them. If those boys hadn't told her any of this, maybe it was because they didn't want her to know. Ah well, he was halfway in it already, might as well go all the way.

"John and Dean came by my place, looking for some research. I forget about what. Anyway, Dean isn't his usual joke-cracking self. When I asked John about it, he sent Dean outside to get something from the car. Really, he just wanted Dean out of earshot."

Rae watched him with bright eyes, her attention riveted to him. "And?"

Bobby removed his ballcap and scratched his head before replacing it snugly on his head. "You know, I've probably already said too much."

She slugged him in the shoulder. "You can't wimp out now! Come on!"

Bobby sighed. He had the terrible feeling that Dean or Sam or both were going to kill him. No going back now. "Well, he told me about Sam's scholarship to college, like it was something really great. Then I asked him why if it was so great Dean was moping around."

"Did John tell you?" Rae asked, leaning closer to him.

Bobby nodded. "He asked me how I would feel if the kid brother I pretty much raised by myself picked a fight with my father so he could go to college, because my father was a stupid, stubborn son of a bitch."

Rae's eyes widened even more, something Bobby did not think possible a minute ago. "No shit?"

Bobby might have laughed, but that had been his reaction too. "No shit."

"What did you say?" Rae asked, hanging on his every word.

"Nothing." Rae gave him a disbelieving look. Bobby cleared his throat. He was not particularly proud of his reaction, even after all this time. "I got my shotgun out and pointed it at him. Your dad walked in about that time."

Her jaw dropped. "And?"

"They left." Bobby shrugged one shoulder. "Next time I saw Dean was when their daddy was taken by that demon. He said he didn't even know if he should have come." He let out a long sigh. "If I thought about Dean feeling like that, I wouldn't have done it."

Rae's gentle laughter was unexpected. "Right. Like you would have thought of it back then. Get real, Gramps." She grinned at him. "Beside, it's not like Dad had really adopted you yet."

Bobby started to answer, but what the hell did you say to that? "Excuse me? He hadn't adopted me or you yet?" He needed a little clarification. If she was talking about herself it would make more sense.

Her grin broadened. "After Dad saved me I adopted him as my new dad. It took him a while, but he caught on eventually. After his dad died he started calling you and talking to you more, right?" She paused, watching him. Bobby nodded slowly. "Right. So eventually he adopted you like I adopted him. It's just taking longer for you to catch on than it did Dad." She winked at him. "Not that I'm saying you're getting slow in your old age or anything."

Bobby snorted, starting up the engine. "If your daddy disowns me for telling you all that, it's your fault." He shook a finger at her before putting the truck into reverse.

TBC – more questions from Rae coming up in the next chapter