Sam wasn't certain how much longer he had with Dee, and although he tried to console himself with knowing that he'd have his brother back, it wasn't taking the edge off his pain. The incident at the diner made it especially clear to how much he was tied to his little girl, the pain that she felt had cut him deeply making him wish he could just put her in a bubble and protect her always.
Bobby had made sure that the coast was clear before calling and inviting them to stay with him for whatever time remained with Dee. He didn't want to let Sam out of his sight when everything was said and done. Sam might say that he was fine, but he knew better; the kid was being torn in two and in different directions as well. All he could hope for was that it would be over and done soon so they could start picking up the pieces and get to gluing the kid back together.
Twyla could have wrung the Sheriff's neck, and told him so when he came back in for dinner. When he asked what the trouble was, she immediately dumped his coffee on him and told the man to take a hike. She wanted to make sure that Sam and Dee were alright, but didn't know how to get hold of him except through Bobby and she didn't want to see too forward. 'Yeah right!' she thought as she picked up the phone and called the familiar number. It rang twice before the familiar voice answered. "Bobby! Hey, I was wondering if you knew how I could get in touch with Sam."
"Uh, Twyla? Everything alright, that agent isn't back is he?" Bobby asked suddenly concerned.
"No, nothing like that. I just wanted to check up on him and Dee." She hoped that sounded more confident than she thought it did.
There was a pause before Bobby spoke again, "Actually, they'll be here soon. You know, I try not to pry into other people's lives, but Twyla you have to know…"
Laughing, Twyla rolled her eyes, "I know Bobby, he can't have a steady thing going. I was just hoping for coffee if he was up to it. Maybe a picnic before he and Dee leaves, that's all."
Bobby heard the wishful air that was behind the statement and wondered what it was about Winchester men that got the women falling over themselves. Rubbing his hand over his face he knew that he couldn't really say anything, he had felt the same way the day he met his wife. Ah hell… "I tell you what, I'll make sure he calls you as soon as he gets in and gets Dee settled. How's that?"
"Sounds great Bobby; thanks!" she said before hanging up the phone. She knew that Sam wouldn't be able to settle down, at least not until he was able to help Dean get out of the legal mess he was in, but hopefully he would know that when he was ready, she would be there.
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Sam had managed to load the truck and get Dee into her seat without any difficulty. He even made sure to put the beer in the cooler at the back of the truck so they wouldn't have to get more later. He didn't know about Bobby, but he knew that after all of this was over, he wasn't going to have a clear day for awhile.
"Daddy, you sure I can wear you're necklace?" Dee asked when her daddy got in the truck. She normally wore it at bedtime to help keep the bad dreams away, but now she was going to be able to wear it all the time.
Smiling, Sam looked at his little girl while starting the truck, "Sure sweetheart, I'm sure. You wear that always, ok"
Nodding, Dee was happy that her daddy trusted her not to lose it like she did the other necklace she had. She remembered that it had a lot of beads on it, and smelled funny, but she had lost it while playing in the sandbox with Dillon at preschool. Now all she had to do was keep it always and forever so that her daddy would know how special she thought it was.
The drive to Bobby's was mostly quiet with Dee watching everything out the window and Sam too deep in thought to worry about anything else besides getting from point A to point B. The radio was playing a song that Dee obviously liked the way that she tried to keep up with it, but settled into just humming along as if she knew the actual words. Sam couldn't help but wonder what he would think if he knew that he had been singing to the Goo Goo Dolls. Now that he thought about it, he knew what Dean would think about him listening to the group.
Pulling into Bobby's driveway, he saw right away the spot that had been cleared for his truck, and he appreciated the gesture; it was right next to the Impala that had been carefully transported across the country. Trying hard not to cry, he got out of the truck and helped Dee out of her seat. Bobby was waiting on the porch with door wide open and a smile on his face.
"Hey there Dee, how about you come inside and help me with an ice cream problem I have." He said when she ran towards him, "It seems that news of a certain little girl being upset earlier caused an avalanche of every flavor you could think of being dropped by today." Looking at Sam he saw someone who was practically at the end of his rope and it wasn't a good look on the kid. "Come on Sam, you get some too. If you think I'm going to eat all of this by myself you're crazy!"
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He was tired, he couldn't sleep the night before so he stayed up and read some book of Bobby's about how having a flat tax would solve the nation's woe's. He hadn't really been interested in it, but he'd read every other book that was in the house, most of them more than once. Normally he'd be tearing into them some more, but he knew that if he continued looking at them he'd lose his mind. Today was technically his last day with Dee, but from what Lillian said it wasn't necessarily the case; that somewhere his brother's contract was being reviewed and debated all because of a spell that had been cast in an effort to help. Feeling the need to stretch some more, he went to get more coffee and saw that he had drunk a whole pot by himself. 'At least I didn't drink all the beer.' He thought, trying to keep things in perspective.
Hearing the sound of little feet on the stairs, he turned in time to see Dee jump into his arms with a big smile on her face. "Guess wha' daddy! I dream'd Mommy an' me an' you were on a pic'ic an' we had fun!"
Thinking about the phone call with Twyla the night before, Sam had an idea. "Hey Babygirl, how about you, me and Twyla have a picnic today. Does that sound like fun?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"YAY!!! Le's go Daddy!" she yelled, tugging her daddy towards the door.
Laughing, Sam stopped her and scooped her up into his arms. "Not so fast, we need to get dressed, brush our teeth, call Twyla and ask about the picnic…"
"K Daddy… you brush you'r teeth and I get dress'd!"
Sam was sure his little girl thought he had him fooled somehow, but as soon as she came back out in her favorite shirt and shorts, both with puppy paws all over it, he stood by her while she brushed her teeth and smiled when she stuck her tongue out at him. Apparently he was only being a good Daddy when he let her eat ice cream.
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The picnic was in full swing at the school playground and Dee wanted to show off on the monkey bars. With a promise that she could play after she ate her lunch, Dee immediately dug in and ate her sandwich and chips before running towards the playground toys.
"She's a handful isn't she?" Twyla asked, watching Sam as he got that wistful look about him again.
Sam watched Dee for a moment before turning to the woman in front of him. "Yeah, she can be. Thank you for inviting us, I know that you have other things to do…"
"Nope, not a thing. I was taking the day off anyway just to be a little different, but I hadn't made any solid plans." She said with a smile. It wasn't entirely true, she had taken the day off so she could cash in her 'Day of Beauty' gift certificate that her sister had given her as a present for 'working too damn hard.' She knew she could go to the spa anytime, but a date with Sam Winchester was much too rare.
As they continued to chat, they both would look over and watch Dee as she climbed around like a little monkey. Both laughed as she swung upside down and asked for a banana. Their laughs ended abruptly though when she started her flip to right herself and lost her grip; sending her crashing to the ground below.
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Sam hated waiting rooms; it was worse torture than anything else he could think of besides watching his baby girl tumble to the ground in slow motion and not being able to move fast enough to catch her. That was the worst thing he could ever image, and he knew that it would remain so for the rest of his life. A cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of him and he stared at it dumbly before he followed the cup to the hand, to the arm, then to the body and finally the face of Bobby who was standing there with a worried look on his face.
"I take it no news yet?" he asked as he watched Sam beat himself up.
"Bobby, what if she gets sent back with brain damage or something? How am I supposed to live with that?" he asked hoping that it wasn't true, hoping that every horrific scenario playing in his mind wouldn't come true.
Looking at Sam, Bobby shook his head. "Now look, you need to quit doing this to yourself. You did everything you could, I heard all about how as soon as she started to slip you were up and racing towards her. How as soon as she hit the ground you were right there next to her yelling for help. Don't kick yourself, we're human, and that makes us a little slower than what we like sometimes."
Any response to Bobby's claim was cut off by the doctor. "I'll take you to Dee right now and we can talk on the way. As you know head injuries are tricky, but so far we haven't seen anything in the scans to indicate any problems. However, she hasn't woke up yet, and any further evaluation is going to have to wait until she does."
Both Sam and Bobby looked at the doctor and asked the same question, "How long?"
Seeing the distress in the men's eyes, the doctor could only answer, "Hopefully any minute now, but quite honestly I don't know."
Sam looked at Bobby while the doctor walked away. "She can't be here tonight Bobby, what if everything happens and she gets changed back!"
Bobby understood Sam's stress and had to wonder about it himself. Taking a deep breath, he calmly stated, "We'll wait until an hour before the deal was made, then we'll take her and go."
Comfortable with the plan, they both walked into the room and sat down next to the little girl who had stolen both their hearts.
AN: Ok... don't shoot me... I'll update soon!!!!