Bobby couldn't believe his ears when Dean told him about the deal he made with some crossroads demon. A year, he thought wildly. A goddamn year! Emotions rocketed through him as the implications of Dean's decision rolled through him. It felt like he got sucker-punched by a kitsune and then kicked off a cliff.

He grabbed the boy - man, really - and shook him.

Hard.

"What is it with you Winchesters, huh?" He demanded in a throaty rasp. "You, your dad. You're both just itching to throw yourselves down into the pit. Can't you wait to meet your damn makers when it is time for you to meet 'em?"

"That's my point, Bobby." Dean didn't growl it. He was simply too worn out at that point to. And that, more than anything scared Bobby the most. "Dad brought me back. I'm not even supposed to be here."

"So?" Bobby's fingers curled into the sleeve of the flannel Dean wore. "What's your point?"

"I just..." Dean paused to swallow. "Well, I figured that at least this way, something good could come out of it, you know? I-I- It's like my life could actually mean something."

Fear and anger warred within him at those words.

"What? And you think it didn't matter before?!" He shook Dean again, desperate to anchor him to this world and to the body he had been born in. "Have you got that low an opinion of yourself? Are you actually that screwed up that you can't see that you matter?"

Dean didn't have to answer that question because Bobby already knew the answer. His head got screwed on backwards the moment John handed him Sam and told him to protect him. Taking care of his brother wasn't just something Dean did because he wanted to do it. It was something he did because John Winchester impressed upon him he had to do it.

"I couldn't let him die, Bobby." Dean's voice was barely above a whisper. And hurt all the more to hear. "I couldn't. He's my brother. I had to do something to save him. It was my one job. And I failed. So I had to fix it." The eyes that lifted to his were full of pain and suffering. "For dad."

John wouldn't want you fixing it by giving up your life, though, boy, Bobby told him silently. He gave up his life so you could have one. Don't you know that?

He didn't say any of that to Dean, though. What good would it have done? Deal been made and there was nothing he or anyone could do about it.

"How is your brother gonna feel when he knows you're going to Hell?" He left that question hang in the air for a moment before demanding, "How'd you feel when you knew your dad went for you?"

"You can't tell him." Dean's face and voice were hard as stone. "You take a shot at me, whatever you got to do, but please, Bobby... don't you tell him about what I done."

Not that Bobby needed to tell Sam about what his brother had done. He suspected Sam would figure it out on his own after a while. If not, there'd be some jackass who would let the truth slip.

A/N: Hello, all! I hope this finds you well!

This is tagged to episode 2x22