Here is part 2 as promised. Thanks for the reviews! They really mean a lot :)

A Better Father Part 2

At lunchtime the next day, Bobby decided that he should wake Dean up, smiling down at the drowsy boy before helping him downstairs for breakfast.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Bobby knew that loss of appetite was a symptom of morphine, but Dean was already too skinny and hadn't kept any food down for a couple of days. This couldn't go on any longer.

"You need to eat Dean, how about some toast?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Ok." After half an hour of Bobby coaxing dry toast into Dean's mouth he decided that this wasn't going to work, so he allowed Dean to curl up on the sofa under a blanket and watch some movies. Dean seemed to be content for a while, but after the third film Bobby saw a single tear trickle down Dean's cheek.

"Dean, what's wrong? Talk to me buddy."

"Don't call me that!" Dean shouted, anger blazing in his eyes glared at Bobby with a look suddenly full of venom. Nobody called him that apart from his Dad.

"Don't take that tone with me son, or I'll give you a hiding." Bobby realised that he had made a mistake when he saw the boy withdraw into himself, burying his head under the blanket and curling up in a tight ball, pulling his ankle off of the pillows that had been supporting the cast. It had been an empty threat, Bobby would never lay his hand on a child but Dean didn't seem to realise this.

"Dean, I didn't mean it, sorry. I'd never hurt you, ever. I'm sorry for scaring you." He could see the blanket shaking as Dean sobbed beneath it and sighed, damn I've lost my touch.

"Please Dean…"

"G'way." Dean sounded broken, his voice cracked as he sobbed harder. I want my Daddy.

Bobby and Dean spent the rest of the day in silence, a silence which was only interrupted by Sam screaming and crying out for attention. Dean was the only one who could calm his brother down, it seemed as if the younger Winchester could sense his older brother's distress.

Bobby finally made peace when he ordered takeaway burgers, hoping that Dean's appetite had returned. It had, with full force.

Maybe the way to a man's heart really is his stomach because Dean's eyes lit up when he took a bite of his Bacon burger turbo and then crammed a few of his large chili-cheese fries into his mouth.

"Mnnn, so good!" Dean grinned at Bobby despite himself, how could he be angry with someone who gave him a burger? Dean had been living off spaghetti-ohs for weeks with his Dad being unwilling to cook for him so this was a real treat.

"You forgive me now?"

"Yeah. Do you have any pie?"

"Depends whose asking." Bobby winked as he left the room, returning with a huge slice of apple pie on a plate for Dean. He knew the boy wouldn't be able to eat the whole piece but it was the gesture that counted. How very wrong he was, within minutes Dean had eaten the pie and there was not a crumb left, he had even licked the apple filling off the plate when he thought Bobby wasn't looking.

"You really were hungry!"

"Yeah." Dean looked slightly sheepish but was grinning nonetheless, he was so irrationally happy at that moment that he had even managed to forget the pain he was in.

The next morning Dean had some leftover burger, nodding in acknowledgement when Bobby asked; "you eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast now?"

"Sorry."

"S'alright. You can eat whatever you want, just try not to make yourself sick again."

"Ok Bobby, thanks. What are we doing after breakfast?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Can we go to the park and feed the ducks?" Dean realised how babyish his request had sounded and quickly tried to cover up for himself, his Dad kept telling him to man up.

"Um, it's just that Sammy loves the park!" Sure he does Dean, you're a kid, and you can act like one y'know.

"Ok, the park it is."

Progress was slow with Dean having to stop at least once every half hour when his ankle became too painful, but he was grinning from ear to ear by the time they reached the pond. Bobby perched on the edge of the embankment with Sammy in his arms and watched as Dean began throwing chunks of bread to the ducks, his favourite seeming to be an American black duck. Its feathers were slightly rumpled and it was smaller than all of the other birds, but Dean didn't seem to mind. In his mind that duck was the cutest and needed him to look after it, like Sammy did.

Half a loaf of bread later, Dean was ready to go, hobbling onto his good foot and making his way to the café with Bobby where they both had an ice-cream. Even Sam had a small spoonful of Dean's vanilla ice cream, which he swallowed down gleefully, giggling. Damn why do they make me so warm and fuzzy, if Ellen or one of the others saw me right now…

It was only when it started to pour with rain that Bobby managed to persuade Dean to leave, but Dean was struggling to walk over the slippery mud and fell face first onto the gravel path, tears springing to his eyes when pieces of stone dug into his palms, but thankfully he had not landed on his bad ankle.

A young woman who had been hurrying by under an umbrella in an attempt to keep dry hurried over.

"Do you three need any help? I have some plasters in my handbag."

"Yeah, thanks." Bobby acknowledged her gruffly, too preoccupied with checking Dean's ankle to be polite. He had a reputation of being a grumpy old man, why not live up to it.

"Do you want me to take the littleun back to your car while you carry this young man." Bobby looked uncomfortable but Dean wasn't in any fit state to walk back to the car, the cuts in his hand would hurt if pressed against the crutches and he could hardly support a baby's neck and back properly if he hand a four year old in one arm.

"Thanks, that'd be great."

"C'mon you little idjit, fancy getting yourself hurt again. What am I going to do with you, hey?" Dean sniffled a little but refused to cry, chewing his lower lip and clinging tightly to Bobby's jacket.

Bobby settled Dean into the passenger seat of his 1971 Chevelle and took Sammy off of the woman who had followed them with Sammy in her arms.

"Uh thanks." Bobby took Sam and placed him in a makeshift baby basket before accepting some plasters.

"I'll be off then, I hope you feel better soon little man." The woman smiled at Dean and ruffled his short hair before returning to her journey, leaving a slightly bemused Bobby behind. Maybe there were some decent people left on the planet who were not completely egocentric and selfish.

"I'm just gonna patch you up kiddo, then we can go home and watch something, any movie of your choice."

"Doesn't hurt." It did hurt, but Dean didn't want Bobby to prod the cuts in his hands, knowing that would make them hurt even more.

"Sure it doesn't. The sooner I clean you up the sooner we can go home." Dean pouted and glared at Bobby before sticking his hands out. They were shaking violently but Bobby didn't ask any questions or comment, he knew that this would embarrass Dean and that the boy would stubbornly say that he was shaking because of the cold, not because he was in pain. Stubbornness ran through the Winchester bloodline.

Dean refused to cry when Bobby carefully wiped his hands clean and removed the bits of dirt and gravel, but let out a tiny yelp when Bobby pressed on a plaster

"All done now."

"Good." Bobby turned the radio on for the journey back, singing along with Dean who was finger tapping to Aerosmith and gently singing the lyrics under his breath. Although Dean would never admit it, he had a lovely singing voice, but singing was for girls. He wanted to be big, strong and macho like Daddy.

It was late that night when Bobby heard the unmistakable rumble of the Impala's engine and he was immediately grateful that Dean and Sam were asleep. He had a few choice words lined up for John Winchester.

Bobby flung the door open with more force than was necessary before John had the chance to knock and a sheepish looking John was revealed.

"Where have you been you dick? Have you got any idea!"

"Hi Bobby."

"That's it, you just up and leave like that and come back with nothing more than hi Bobby."

"What else do you want me to say?" God he is a conceited ass!

"SORRY! I want you to say sorry for leaving your kid behind in such a state. I want you to apologise for not caring for your boy properly and leaving me to take him to the damn hospital!"

"Hospital?" John's eyes widened momentarily but the flicker of emotion was so brief that Bobby wondered if it had ever been there.

"YEAH YOU SON OF A BITCH, HOSPITAL. DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HURT DEAN'S ANKLE WAS. HANG ON, DON'T ANSWER THAT. YOU DIDN'T KNOW BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO BUSY WALLOWING IN SELF PITY TO NOTICE THAT YOUR SON HAD A BROKEN FUCKING ANKLE. THE POOR KID MUST HAVE BEEN IN AGONY FOR HOURS AND YOU DID NOTHING. NADA. THAT'S LOW, JOHN, EVEN FOR YOU!"

"Bobby..." John was lost for words, he loved his boys. He really did. What have I done?

"C'mon in then. Prick." Bobby could see the hurt in John's eyes and felt slightly bad for shouting at him. But only slightly.

"Where is he?"

"In bed, leave him be, it took me ages to make him settle down. You can see him in the morning."

"I want to see my son."

"Well I want your son to get a rest, and I want you to sober up a bit before you talk to him. You stink of booze, how much did you drink?" John didn't answer, ashamed at his actions.

"I'm…I'm sorry." Bobby did a double take. John Winchester never apologises.

"Get some rest ya idjit. There is a blanket on the couch."

"Thanks Bobby."

"Any time."

When Dean woke up the next morning he let out a small moan, sitting himself up and picking up his crutches, groaning when he knocked his sore hands when propping himself up on them.

All in all he was thoroughly miserable.

He really didn't feel well at all, Bobby had given him a dose of morphine in the night when he woke up in pain for the fourth time, and it didn't seem to agree with him.

"Bobby!" Dean barely gasped out the eldest hunter's name before he threw up all over himself and his bed, not being able to roll over in time. By the time Bobby threw open the bedroom door Dean was crying harder than ever, tears streaming down his face.

"Hey Champ." Dean gave a little sniff and looked up; standing just behind Bobby was his father.

"Daddy!" Dean struggled to prop himself back up but John strode over to his son and gently pushed him back against the pillows.

"Hi Dean, sorry I wasn't here earlier, I hear you were a very brave and well behaved boy for Bobby." Dean gave a small nod but paled and moved a hand to his mouth. Luckily hunter's reactions meant that John was able to push a bucket under his son's head just in time.

"S'alright Dean, let it out, you're doing good son." John began to rub circles on Dean's back and supported his forehead, helping his son to sit up and propping the boy against his own chest.

"My tummy hurts Daddy!"

"I know, I'll get you some pills in a minute." John carefully moved his hand from Dean's forehead to his stomach and began to rub Dean's abdomen gently, making Dean relax a little.

"Better?"

"Y-yes." When Dean was sure he wasn't going to be sick again he snuggled down into John's lap and closed his eyes, mumbling something about Sammy.

"Sammy's fine, he's sleeping for now. Do you want something to drink…" John was about to stand when Bobby came in with a plastic cup of water.

"One step ahead of ya."

"Thanks Bobby." John took the cup and placed it to Dean's lips, instructing his son to take small sips. When Dean was done Bobby tucked him in under the blankets, picked Sam up out of his cot and sat with both of his sons in Dean's single bed. It was a tight fit but he didn't want to leave Dean's side again. He felt terrible and knew he would have to make things up to Dean, one step at a time.

Early the next day John was packing his things in the back of the Impala, much to Bobby's despair. Despite everything he had truly enjoyed caring for the Winchester boys, there were like family to him and he wanted nothing more than to spend some more time with them.

"You can stay longer you know, I don't mind."

"I do know, but there is a case down in Oregon, a suspicious fire and I just have to check it out."

"Are you sure you are doing the right thing, dragging Sam and Dean into this lifestyle. They're not soldiers; you still have the opportunity to live a normal life. If I were you I'd grab it with both hands."

"I need to kill the son of a bitch who hurt my Mary, I have to know who or what it was. I can't bear not knowing."

"Think of your kids, John. Please."

"I'm sorry Bobby…Come on Dean!" John called over to his son, who was hovering in the doorway of Bobby's house. The small boy made his way slowly over to the Impala, eyes trained on the floor.

"Do we have to go Daddy? I like it here."

"It will be fun Dean, I booked a nice hotel for us to stay in."

"I don't want to live in a hotel, wanna stay with Bobby." Dean stuck out his lower lip and hovered by Bobby's side.

"Dean." As soon as John used his warning tone Dean nodded sadly, resting his head against Bobby's stomach for a moment as he was pulled into a tight embrace.

"Seya soon Dean, you're welcome home any time."

"Thank you Bobby." Dean pulled away sadly and settled in the passenger seat of the Impala, looking back at Sam who was in a baby-seat staring transfixed out of the window. Sam had no idea what was going on and Dean was jealous. He wished he was oblivious to the hurt around him.

"Take care of those boys John, they are great kids. Don't change that." Bobby pulled John into a one handed hug before pulling away and giving a gruff cough.

"Thanks for everything Bobby."

"Yeah…get outta here before you go all chick-flick on me!"

"Bye."

"Bye."

Bobby turned and walked back to his house with slumped shoulders, the familiar sound of the Impala pulling away ringing in his ears.

The creaks in the floorboards seemed louder than before, probably because he could no longer hear the bangs of Dean's crutches or Sammy crying in the background. All that was left were his own footsteps.

With a dejected sigh Bobby slumped down at the kitchen table and poured himself a large whiskey, staring up at the clock that was ticking loudly, mocking him. Each tick marked another wasted moment of his life, a moment when he was alone with no-one around to love, or to love him back.

Bobby knocked back another drink and pondered his life, what a waste! All this time on the planet and what did he have to show for it? A collection of whiskey and some old books. All the people he had saved and this was his payment.

Some life!

Bobby couldn't help but think that he would have made a better father than John Winchester. Yes, the man clearly loved his sons, but not enough to shelter them from the dangers of the world. He was willing to drag his sons into dangerous situations, train them for a life of hunting monsters, what kind of parent puts their child's life at risk like that?

Bobby made his way through the rest of his whiskey, giving up with pouring it into glasses and instead sipping straight from the bottle. What was the point?

He then hauled himself up, slumped in front of the television and began to flick through the channels, all the while thinking of the green eyed boy whom he had learnt to love as a son and the little baby who would grow up to be a hunter.

He would have been a better father than John, definitely.

Yeah, that turned out a tad more depressing than planned but I was in a bad mood!

Please review and let me know what you think, it really makes my day! Also, I have another idea for a new chapter with lots of angsty-slightly older Dean, but I might just leave it here.

If you guys want more then leave a review to let me know, I might say I will wait until I have at least 15 reviews, I know that is mean but I have a lot of work on and don't want to spend hours writing things if no-one is reading them haha. Also, it would be nice to know that I am not alone in my bubble of Supernaturalness! So yeah…let me know and I love you all :)x