Chapter 12

Bobby strolled into his office for privacy to make a phone call to an old friend. He picked up the receiver and punched in the number, listening to the clicking as it connected and started ringing.

"Hello," a soft spoken female voice answered.

"Hello old gal," Bobby said warmly as he smiled to himself.

"Bobby Singer, you old coot, how are you doing?" Missouri gushed happily when she recognized his voice. "It's been too long."

"That it has. I'm good. Look, Missouri, do you remember anything happening to a Winchester family some years back?" Bobby questioned.

"Well now, let me see…" Missouri noted as she went back through her memories. "Yes, it was about five, six years ago, tragic thing. I had met Mary out shopping and we would speak. She had some hidden secrets, that girl did, but she was so excited when she became pregnant. Her husband, John, now he was a good mechanic. I took my car to the garage he co-owned and never had a problem. His prices were reasonable, and he didn't try to cheat you. They loved each other so much. You could see it when you were around them. There was a house fire if I remember right and Mary and John perished, but their two sons survived. Little things they were, Dean and Sam, left all along in the world. Such a shame."

"House fire, ummm,,,"

"Why the interest Bobby?"

"I think I have one of those boys with me now. Rufus and me were on a hunt that led us to a farmhouse outside of Lawrence. We didn't get there in time to save the couple that lived there. The woman asked me to take care of her son. I found a boy in the bedroom, says his name is Dean Winchester and begged me to take him with me."

"And of course, you did. You're a good man Bobby Singer."

"I don't know about that. But I couldn't just leave him there. He said they were his adopted parents, but he didn't really say anything about his biological ones. I guess I know why now."

"I know the boys were taken by social services, they became wards of the state, but I didn't know what happened to them. If you have one, then it's safe to say they were separated, and I bet the baby was adopted right away. That poor child, to lose his parents and then his little brother too. I can't imagine what that did to him."

"How old were the boys when this happened?"

"Goodness, that was a long time ago. I think the oldest was four and the youngest was less than a year old."

"That fits."

"What are you going to tell the boy Bobby? About what you do?"

"I'm going to be honest with him. If he's going to stay here, he needs to know. Could you go to the courthouse and get his birth certificate for me? I'm going to need to enroll him here in school this fall and will need that."

"I can do that for you. Are you going to be a distant relative that took him in?"

"Yeah, figure that's as good a story as any. Parents were killed in a car accident should work."

"When are you going to visit again? It's been way too long. I'd like to meet this young man too."

"I am running low on a few things. Maybe the boy and me will drive down for a couple of days sometime this summer."

"You're welcome anytime, you know that."

"Thanks, I'll let you know. Well, I better get this over with," Bobby sighed. "He's waiting on the deck for me."

"Go easy Bobby. If the boy has lost another set of parents, he is probably fragile right now."

"Yeah, I get that. I'll tread lightly, but I gotta be truthful to him or I don't think he'll trust me. He's a complex kid."

"I'll get that birth certificate for you and let me know if I can help in anyway."

"I will, you take care Missouri."

"You too, Bobby Singer."

Bobby hung the phone up and leaned back in his chair for a moment as he sorted his thoughts to prepare himself to talk to Dean. He wasn't sure what, if any, fallout would happen, but he needed to prepare himself. He pushed away from the desk and got up to head back outside. He stopped by the fridge to grab a couple of drinks for them before continuing outside.

spn

Dean had let his mind wander and he was in a daze when Bobby stepped back onto the deck and took a chair beside him. He realized Bobby was there and pulled himself back to reality, sitting up straighter when he saw the serious look on his face.

"Here you go, son," Bobby said. He handed him a drink and opened his own. After taking a couple of sips, Bobby drew in a slow breath and looked at Dean who was trying to act relaxed, but he could see he was tense, waiting for him to talk. "Well, guess I should get this over with. I hate to tell you this, with you being so young and all, but it can't be helped now that you're here and are going to be staying, I guess, but maybe you won't want to stay after you hear what I have to say."

"Are you a bad guy or something?" Dean asked suddenly before Bobby could continue.

Bobby looked surprised at his remark and took off his ballcap to rub a hand through his hair before replacing it.

"No son, I'm not a bad guy," Bobby huffed, at least he didn't see himself that way. "There are things out there in the shadows, monsters, that most people think are not real, but they are. Werewolves, vampires, spirits, they're real and they kill people. Me and others, called hunters, track them down and kill them. We protect the ones that can't protect themselves."

Dean listened to Bobby talk and never said a word as he let the words sink in. When he said that monsters were real, Dean wondered if the man was nuts or unstable. It was almost more than he could comprehend.

"Is that what killed my adopted parents?" he finally asked, looking closely at Bobby.

"Yes son. Rufus and me were tracking the monster. It had killed people in another town, and we followed it to the farm. We just didn't get there in time to stop it from killing again. I'm really sorry 'bout that Dean."

"How did you learn all about this?" Dean asked.

Bobby bowed his head for a moment before answering, "My wife, she was possessed by a demon and tried to kill me. I didn't know what was happening to her until a hunter barged in and exorcised the demon. The demon was the only thing keeping her alive, so when it left her body…She didn't make it," he mumbled sadly. "It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to become a hunter and I've been doing it ever since. That was years ago."

"Teach me, train me," Dean said forcefully, sitting forward in his chair.

Bobby looked at the young boy and thought about what he was asking of him.

"I want to learn," Dean continued when Bobby didn't answer. "I want to be a hunter too."

"This isn't something to take lightly Dean. It's a lot of hard work and you're still a kid. You've got school to think about and a life to live."

"I can do it. I learn quickly."

"It'll mean working extra hard and I won't go easy on you."

"I understand. Can we start tomorrow?"

"If you're sure about this, but listen, if anytime you change your mind, that's fine. I wouldn't think any less of you."

"I won't. I want to learn to save people. I think I would be good at it."

"There's some books you can read that'll give you a better understanding of the monsters out there, sort of Monster 101." Bobby got up and started back inside.

"Okay." Dean followed the older hunter into the house and really got a good look at his office. Books were stacked on shelves and around the walls along with objects Dean didn't recognize. He let his gaze roam over the room as Bobby looked on a bookshelf and pulled several books down.

"Why don't you start with these and when you're done, I'll give you a few more. Training will start at six am every day, so it'll be early bedtimes from now on."

Dean accepted the books and just nodded his head at what Bobby told him. He didn't know why, but this was something he knew he needed to do. It was like something inside of him was driving him. He was going to work hard and become the best hunter he could so no other kids had to suffer and go through what he did, losing his adopted parents.

"Dean do you remember what happened to your real parents?" Bobby asked carefully, watching his reaction. He saw Dean stiffened and a scared look crossed over his face as he hunched in on himself, his mood changing in the blink of an eye. Dean finally shook his head no to Bobby's question and he decided not to press the boy right now. He changed the subject with his next sentence. "Next month I'll get you enrolled in school, and I'll check with a retired hunter and his wife that live in town to see if they can keep you when I need to go on hunts."

"Why can't I come with you?"

"You'll not be going anywhere with me on a hunt until you learn how to protect yourself. Joe can help you when you stay with him. He was a good hunter and if he hadn't been injured on a hunt, he'd still be out there doing it. This ain't going to happen overnight Dean. You need to learn how to use a handgun, knife, your fists, and your brain. Let's get some book learning first and in another year or so, we'll work on the other. You'll need to build your stamina up and put some muscles on your body."

"I will. You'll see," Dean assured him, his funky state disappearing. He headed into the living room and sat down on the couch. He opened the top book and turned to the first page and began to read. This was a whole new world for him, and he was anxious to become a part of it.

Bobby watched the boy walk into the living room and settle on the couch. He started reading one of the books and wondered if he had made the right decision. Should he have exposed the boy to his world or shielded him from it? Dean seemed eager to learn and was taking all that happened in stride, probably better than some adults would. Yet, Bobby thought he saw something in the boy, he just might make a good hunter. Bobby leaned back in his chair and sighed, hoping the future would be kind to them.

A/N: Dean learns about the supernatural and wants to become a hunter. He is going to have to work hard and do some serious training before Bobby will allow him to hunt. Thanks for coming on this journey. Thank you to any guest who left reviews. I do like reviews/comments. NC