Bobby looked up from the dozen eggs he was shifting around inside the skillet. "He in the bath?"
Dean nodded, "Safe and sound." he snagged a piece of bacon and attacked it aggressively.
"Think it's safe to leave him alone?"
Dean shrugged. "Pain meds have kicked in. He didn't seem to have any trouble getting in. I'll check on him in a bit."
Bobby nodded, turning the burner off and shifting the perfectly scrambled eggs onto plates, "So …"
Dean paused, eyebrow raised, "So?"
Bobby sighed in exasperation. "So what the hell happened? You gonna gimme details or do I have to dream something up?" He moved the three plates to the table.
Dean followed, shrugging. "He called me."
"Yeah? And?"
Dean sat down, "And nothing. He called me. Told me where he was, and said to come get him."
Bobby nodded. "So … no Ruby?"
"I don't think so. I mean, he hasn't mentioned her. He's been off the demon blood for a year, Bobby. A year!"
"You ever think to ask?"
"About that black-haired bitch? Not yet."
"And why is that?" Bobby took a bite of bacon.
"Geez Bobby. We just got him back. Can we just … just take a minute to celebrate or drink a beer or something?"
Bobby held up two hands in surrender, "Just askin'. Don't get your boxers in a bunch."
"Hey." Sam said, shuffling slowly into the kitchen. "Any of that for me?" He pulled the robe tighter around himself and sat gingerly down next to Dean.
"That my bathrobe?" Bobby asked, casting an annoyed look at the older Winchester, noting the smirk on his face.
Sam looked embarrassed. "I think it is, Bobby. Sorry." He rose to leave the table.
"Sit down, ya idjit." The old hunter relented. "I don't care if you wear it. Just don't go lendin' it to Dean."
"Hey!" The older boy cried indignantly as his brother smiled.
"Wouldn't dare." Sam grinned, casting a sideways glance at his brother.
"Just eat, Anorexia." Dean joked, tapping his brother's plate with his fork. "Scrambled. Your favorite."
Sam smiled. "They are." He looked up at Bobby, chagrined. "You remembered."
"I guess I can remember how the kid I all but raised likes his eggs. I ain't senile yet, you know." Bobby looked down at his plate, pleased at the call out, but refusing to show it.
"Here. Bacon." Dean said, his mouth full. He dropped three slices onto his brother's plate.
"Gross, Dean."
"What?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full, dude. It looks like a train wreck."
"Train wreck this, little brother." Dean replied, opening his mouth wide.
Sam looked, grimacing "Are you 12?"
Dean grinned, chugging down a huge drink of beer.
Sam shivered. "Beer and eggs."
"Damned right, beer and eggs - a timeless duo."
"A recipe for pukin', you mean." Bobby cut in. "I ain't cleaning that up, boy. So make sure you got good aim."
Sam snorted, then winced, his breath catching.
Dean froze, his beer midway to the table. "Sam? You okay?"
Sam nodded. He picked up his fork and began eating the eggs. And the more he ate, the faster he ate, until he was shoveling food into his mouth at record speed. Eggs, bacon, toast, milk, repeat.
Bobby and Dean exchanged glances but neither spoke as Sam proceeded to eat like he hadn't tasted food in the whole year he'd been gone. When his plate was near empty, and he hadn't begun to slow down, Bobby rose and left the table. He returned with a supermarket container of over-sized chocolate-chip muffins, the kind with the sugar crystals crusted over the top.
"Forgot to set out the muffins." Bobby said simply, placing the four-pack next to Sam whose eyes lit up like Christmas. Then the older man refilled Sam's milk glass and set the gallon jug down on the table.
"Thanks Bobby," Sam said around a mouthful of toast. He reached for a muffin and pulled the entire top off, popping it into his mouth in one move. He followed it up with a large drink of milk. "So good." He murmured. He reached for another and plopped it happily on Dean's plate, grinning at his older brother through lips covered in crumbs. "You gotta try it. It's amazing." He downed the rest of the glass and reached for the jug, letting out an echoing belch.
Dean snickered. "We'll just call you Grace."
Sam shook his head. "Don't care. Just … this is so good." He finished off the muffin and sat back, trying not to look longingly at the two that were left in the packaging.
"I ain't one for muffins, boy." Bobby said, reading his mind. "Those're for you two."
Sam's eyes lit up a second time as he reached for another muffin. "Thanks Bobby."
"Go easy there, Gigantor, or you'll be re-tasting it all an hour from now."
Sam grinned, shaking his head. He froze as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Bobby! Can I make coffee?" He started to rise. "Gosh, I need coffee in the worst way."
"Sit still, Sam. I got it." Bobby rose, taking his plate to the kitchen. He turned to Dean. "I suppose you want coffee too?"
Dean spread his arms."Come on, Bobby. Have you met me?" He asked. "Of course I want coffee."
The two boys shared a secret smile as Bobby sighed for show without really meaning it and headed off toward the kitchen. Sam continued to eat at an alarming rate, and Dean sat watching him, reveling in the fact that his baby brother had come home and was going to be all right. This same time yesterday, he'd been planning how best to kill the kid who was the other half of his heart, and today he sat beside him at Bobby's table, watching him hog all the muffins like he was 10 again.
It was almost too much, and Dean was afraid he was going to have to leave the table or break down like a baby when suddenly Sam saved him from his revery.
"You haven't asked me about Ruby."
Dean started, looking up. "No."
"How come?"
Dean hesitated, then shrugged. "You'll tell us when you're ready."
Sam nodded, belched again, and sat back. He stared at the table. "She's … uh … she's dead."
Dean nodded. "How? Did you …?"
Sam nodded. "In the church. After I br-broke the last seal. She was laughing at me. She played me, just like you said. Then she said … she said ... "
"What? She said what, Sam?"
Sam cleared his throat, "She said she'd played me just like she was going to play you. Said you were next. That they were coming for you next, and that was it … that … I just … I lost it." Sam stared at the table, eyes watery. He looked up at Dean. "I had the demon blade on me. I just … I kept it just in case. And I … I used it … on her. I just wanted her to shut up. She wouldn't shut up."
Dean nodded. "It had to be done, Sam."
Sam leaned in, tears falling down his face, "I did stuff, Dean. To get enough power. I … there was this girl. She was possessed by a demon, but … but she came back into herself before we … before I … was done." He gagged, jumping up and rushing to the bathroom, and Dean could hear the sounds of retching from a room away.
Bobby stepped inside the room and cocked an ear. "That my breakfast going down the drain?"
Dean nodded, sadly. "I got it, Bobby." He said, rising and heading for the downstairs bath.
