There's so much I need to tell you and I don't know where to start. One thing you need to now is that you daddy did something your mama didn't know about and certainly wouldn't approve of, that's for damn sure.

On the off chance you weren't the one to find this letter, you need to find the man who baptised you as a baby. He'll be the one to tell you some more of your story. That's all I can say. I don't want what he tells ya to be used against ya and maybe things will make more sense.

Sorry for being so crytpic, kiddo.

Riley racked her brain for a name, as if she'd remember being baptised at some young age. They never attended church again after her father left and that was a seemingly dead end in itself.

All I ever wanted for you three kids was to be safe and healthy and have some normal life. Course my luck is like some bald guy winning a comb. I'm no fool and I know right now, you're probably pissed off at your daddy and at me. Can't say I blame ya, girl. Best advice I can give ya is to watch your back and trust your gut. If somethin' seems off, then it probably is. I know you don't like firearms, but you tell them boys to teach ya how to handle a weapon. I don't want to see ya in heaven ahead of schedule, Riley Ann.

Riley folded the letter in half. She'd been reading bits of Bobby's letter and each part seemingly presented its own mystery. Even though Bobby was gone, he was still being secretive, although this time, it was because he was still trying to protect her even though he was gone.

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Sam was sitting in the bunker library at the table when he felt Riley's presence. He raised his eyes to the doorway when she entered and she gave him a slight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sam?"

"Yeah?" To him, she seemed so soft and small. Fragile, even. Sam set down the book he'd been reading on the table in front of him, but left it open, his thumb on the paragraph where he'd stopped.

Last night after her talk with Castiel, Riley had slept in his brother's room. She didn't know he knew that, of course. Sam had gone down to her bedroom a few hours after she'd said she was turning in to check on her and found her bed made and empty. He'd immediately gone down to Dean's room and paused outside the doorway. He could hear them talking softly, but he couldn't make out the conversation.

She frowned slightly, not sure how to ask him without giving away what she'd read. There was no way, so she closed her eyes and asked. "How would I find out who baptised me?" That made Sam's brow wrinkle, his suspicion rising at her random, out of the blue request.

"Uh, I'm not real sure." That was definately one thing he'd had no experience with. "Can I ask... why you're asking?"

"I was reading the next part of Bobby's letter..." Her voice trailed off as she approached Sam at the table. Her brown eyes conveyed sadness and Sam motioned to the chair next to him after closing the book he'd been reading, dog earring the page. "He's being real cryptic. Was he paranoid or something?" That made Sam chuckle, his dimple deepening.

"You could say that." He reached out to pull his laptop close and opened it. "Can I ask why we're looking for somebody who baptised you?"

Riley hesitated before she reminded herself that this was Sam. He was trustworthy and he'd been right there for her since she'd moved in a few months ago. The brunette slid into the wooden chair next to him. "He said that the man who baptised me could tell me more about who I am, I guess."

Sam opened a search engine on the screen. "You've been here with us for a couple months, Riley... and I don't even know your last name." His hazel eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Elkins." Recognition flickered in his eyes even though he tried to keep his expression neutral and she tilted her head at the subtle change in his features. "You knew my dad, didn't you." It wasn't a question. "Sam?"

"Met him once. Him and dad had a falling out." His gaze moved towards the computer screen. "Small world." Sam mused softly. He typed in her name and hit search. "Your family go to church anyplace regularly that you can remember?"

"Not since my dad left when I was five."

"Where'd you grow up?"

"Nashua."

"Iowa?"

"Yeah."

Sam typed in a new search, this time for churches in that area within a 25 miles radius. "You remember how long it took you to get there from your house or what the church looked like? Anything stand out to you?"

"It was smallish, I remember." Riley paused, pressing her lips together. "It was brown or something, I think." Sam smirked at her vague description, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "I don't know, Sam. I was four or five." He scrolled down a bit and frowned. "Bobby was pretty clear that I needed to do this though."

"I'll find it." Riley scooted closer to the man next to her so she could see what he was doing. Name after name he scrolled past and she didn't recognize anything, shaking her head. Her shoulders slumped a bit until she saw the one at the bottom. "There. What's that?"

"Little brown church in the Vale." Sam murmured. He moved the cursor to click on the images of the church. "That it?"

"Yeah." Riley breathed, her gaze on the picture and he nodded. She remembered walking up the steps and through the oddly shaped doors in the towering entrance. The plaque was hanging above the double doors, proudly stating the name and year it was built. Sam watched her take in the details of the image before her eyes moved to his few seconds later. "I would've been baptized between birth and five, when my dad left."

"Let me work on this and I'll let ya know what I find, m'kay?" Riley closed her eyes, relief washing over her. "I'll look through and find what we need. You wanna start breakfast?"

She nodded and pushed up off her chair. "I can do that. Thank you so much, Sam."

"You're welcome." Her footsteps faded and he found the church's website and a whole lot of information. The church was built between 1860 and 1864 and they kept a record of baptisms and Sam clicked on the contact page. His hazel eyes scanned the information and found the phone number. He thumbed the digits into his cellphone and held it to his ear.

"Hello. My name is Sam and my fiance was baptised there about twenty five years ago..."

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Dean had showered and brushed his teeth before heading down to the war room. Sam was sitting on the north side, in the library. He nodded at Dean's presence and he was on the phone. "Yes, we're getting married and she would love it if the same man who performed her baptism could possibly do our premarital counseling and our ceremony." Dean quirked an eyebrow. "Sure, I can hold."

"Gettin' hitched, Sammy?" Sam shushed him, shooting his brother a dirty look.

"I'm still here." He motioned to Dean to hand him a pencil from the mason jar by the lamp. Dean watched Sam scrawl something on yesterday's newspaper margin. "Is he still serving there or is he retired?" His expression changed to one of disappointment. "Really? When?" Sam closed his eyes, disappointment on his face. "Yeah. Of course. Was he from the area? Could we pay our respects?" He wrote something else down. "Thank you so much, m'am." Sam thumbed off his phone. "Fuck."

"What?"

"Long story." Sam rose from the table. "C'mon, Riley was starting breakfast." Dean followed his younger brother down to the bunker kitchen.

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Hello beautiful readers!

What exactly is it that Riley's going to find? Does Bobby have a reason to be paranoid, even on the other side of the veil? Hope you enjoyed this. :) Reviews keep me motivated!

CitrineMama