Chapter 59.
Sam had not expected to see Cas until the evening brought everybody home, so he was surprised when he suddenly appeared in the library and amazed that he had Bobby with him. Because Bobby couldn't leave the house in Sioux Falls, which was more metaphysical than real. Bobby was a spirit.
"He made me bring him." said Cas, by way of wholly inadequate explanation.
"Okay." said Sam, but how the Hell is he here?"
"Great to see you, too, Sam." said Bobby, "And to answer your ungracious question, I'm here because I decided to get off the fence and ask Jack for full reseurrection."
"You're alive?" said Sam, rising to his feet and going to greet him properly, with a giant hug.
"Well, obviously, you idjit!" said Bobby, but he hugged back warmly.
"I thought you needed more time in Heaven, you and Karen." said Sam, releasing Bobby and taking a few steps back.
"Yeah, well, if that were gonna get resolved, tit would have by now. Being realistic, it ain't gonna happen and Crowley was making me nervous, so I asked myself where my heart really lies and turns out it wasn't even a question."
"What does Crowley have to do with it?" said Charlie.
"Crowley wanted to intervene between Anael and Dean." said Cas.
"Jealous, petty-minded little runt!" said Bobby, "So I figured maybe I need to be around, not to interfere myself, but just to make sure they get to do what's right for them. I mean, personally, I think she's perfect for Dean, but according to Cas, he has some doubts about that and I know Dean and his doubts."
"It's so good to have you back," said Sam, "Properly back. Dean's not here at the moment. He took Anael to a zoo in Salina."
"Weird to think of Dean going to the zoo like a normal person." said Bobby.
"Dean's changed a lot." said Charlie proudly.
"If you stick around here, they should be back for supper." said Sam.
"You got room for me to stay the night?" said Bobby.
"We have room for you to stay forever, if you want." said Sam, "You know we'd never turn you away."
"I do," said Bobby, "But Cas and Jack recreated my home in Sioux Falls and I like it there. I'll be here when I'm needed, but mostly there, working with Cas and the demons."
"And Samandriel." Cas reminded him.
"Yeah, less a co-worker and more a chew toy for Meg." said Bobby, "I try to protect him from her, but he's so eager to please all the time ... "
"Angels have an unfortunate tendency to enjoy being given orders." said Cas, "And Meg can be quite attractive when forceful."
"Don't tell Jules that." said Charlie.
"Jules knows." said Cas.
"Oh yes," said Bobby, "That poor girl knows he makes goo-goo eyes at the demon."
"I wouldn't call it that." said Cas.
"Course, she also knows he won't do anything about it. Lot of trust in that relationship."
"It's okay, Cas," said Charlie, "Nobody's accusing you of anything."
"No," said Bobby, "We all know you're crazy about Jules." He looked at Sam, "Do you think your brother's gonna be offended, when he finds out I pretty much came back to make sure he's okay?"
"No," said Sam, "Usually, he doesn't like that stuff, but this is now and this is you and he won't care if you came back to reorganise his underwear drawer, as long as you're back. He'll be as pleased as I am to see you."
"I hope so. You know how he gets when he's sulking."
Sm grinned. He did. "Trust me, you mean more to him than his privacy. He was happy enough to have you partially back, but to have you all the way home and fully human ... Like I said, he'll be as happy as I am."
"I don't need to worry about you this time, do I, Sam?" said Bobby, looking at Eileen like a fond father. "I was worried for a while, but you finally found the perfect formula."
"Yeah, life's been good, lately." Sam agreed.
"Course, when the little un comes along, he'll run you ragged, or she, I guess. Kids are trouble, Winchester kids worst of all."
"I wasn't that bad." said Sam.
"You were worse." said Bobby.
"I can believe that." said Eileen.
"But you'll love every second of it," said Bobby, "Because some men are just born to be dads. You got the patience, you got the sense of humour, you got a whole heap of love. It's meant to be."
That choice of words was a little disturbing, but Bobby, who had been out of the loop for so long, was not referring to the machinations of Chuck. He was doing what he had always done, offering his encouragement and support.
"you realise, the kid will see you as a grandpa figure?" said Sam.
"Hey, I'm old enough and soft enough. I'll play grandpa."
"Good!" said Eileen, "The baby needs one living grandparent."
"Might get another, if Jo and Ellen make up their mind to come home." said Bobby.
"Is that on the cards?" said Sam, "Last we heard, they were very busy doing undisclosed work for Heaven."
"Yeah, do you wanna know what that is?"
"More than you can possibly imagine."
"They're training angels."
"To fight?" said Sam, almost ready to believe it.
"To think. The boy Jack doesn't seem to go a bundle on mindless obedience. He wants them thinking like humans ... Well, the best of humans. Well, like Ellen and Jo. They're good, too. Ellen has a tone of voice that sinks right into the angels' ears, bypassing all the arrogance."
"Yes, she had that effect on me." said Cas,
"You should get back to Sioux Falls." said Bobby, "Jules is supervising demons alone."
"She is entirely capable." said Cas.
"Yeah, I know, but those two get on your nerves after a while and they listen to you a lot more."
"Crowley barely listens to me at all." said Cas, "I should go, though. I'm glad you're fully back with us, Bobby. There is no adequate substitute for you. Even the alternate universe version of you didn't come close to being a replacement."
Bobby looked at Cas appraisingly. "Dean's not the only one who's changed, is he? I see it more and more. You caught feelings for more than just Jules. You went deeper into the whole emotions game."
"Yes, I think I did." said Cas.
"Again, not a criticism. It's an improvement."
Cas looked a little awkward, faced with unexpected praise. "Thanks." he said. He turned to Sam. "I should go. I'll be home for supper."
Home for supper, perhaps the biggest change of all since Bobby's previous stint on Earth. The bunker was truly his home.
"Yeah, see you later." said Sam, "Thanks for bringing Bobby here."
Cas nodded and then vanished. Bobby looked troubled. "I hope I didn't offend him. He can be a touchy lil' son of a bitch."
"He's fine," said Sam, "Just gets a little freaked out when people say good things about him. He's getting better at it, we all are, but sometimes, he doesn't know what to say back and things get awkward."
"Yeah, I've noticed that working with him recently. He'll suddenly go quiet and just slip away, but he's better than he used to be. Feels like one of us, you know, not just an angel who hangs out with us. How about Anael? She fitting in okay?"
"Beautifully." said Sam, "She's nowhere near as acclimated to humanity as Cas is, but she wants to be human, whereas he never did."
"She's a lot more human than she used to be." said Eileen, "She tries hard. A good friend, too. I can talk to her about anything. She doesn't always completely understand, but she always gives me her full attention."
"I love her." said Charlie, "She's a little confused sometimes and she and Dean have times when they just spark each other's gunpowder a tad too much, but she really cares about him and about us. She's turning into a real team player."
"Sounds like the only one who has a problem with her is Dean." said Bobby, "But in the circumstances, that's a serious issue."
"Dean's just being Dean." said Sam, "He's getting there, slowly. He's stopped sniping at her every chance he gets and they're more often laughing than fighting these days, but he trusts angels about as much as his own feelings and the combination is not helping. But, they're out now, on a date. Show him the picture, Charlie."
She did and Bobby shook his head, smiling. "Looks to be going pretty well there." he said, "That grin! The boy is happy today, anyway. Maybe I didn't need to come back after all."
"No, we needed you to come back." said Sam.
"You haven't exactly been begging me." said Bobby.
"Had to be your choice." said Sam.
Bobby sighed. "Okay, maybe I do still have to worry about you a little."