A.N. If you are still hanging in with me here is Chapter 4. Hopefully you like! Thanks so much for reading, if you feel so kind review as well :)
Disclaimer: Not mine...not even a little bit.
The Roadhouse is bustling, full of hunters when he pulls up in the parking lot, and he suddenly thinks maybe coming here wasn't such a great idea.
But that thought that immediately vanishes as Ellen comes storming out of the front door, brandishing her shotgun that helps her push a group of men out into the soft drizzle.
"You don't come to my bar and stir up trouble. Now get the hell out of here before I have to embarrass you by beating the hell out of ya!" She yells as Bobby slams his door shut.
Several pairs of drunken eyes swing around to confront him.
"You need help taking out the trash?" He grouses, puffing his chest out in case these idjits don't get the message.
"No Bobby, these boys were about to run along." She pauses to level her shotgun with the first ones guts. "Weren't ya?"
A furious bobbing of heads follows as the boys scramble to get back to their cars, slipping several times on the mud on the way.
Their wheels kick up mud as they tear out of the parking lot.
Ellen sighs and turns to greet the only man left in the parking lot.
"Hey there Bobby."
"Ellen."
"Well don't just stand there getting wet. Come on in." She goes back inside and Bobby follows.
He has to step over bottles and beer nuts and vomit to get to a table and Ellen moans in disgust as she looks around.
"Busy day?" He inquires, as he gestures to the chaos.
"Just a bunch of stupid kids who thought they were superheroes." She moves the broom into her hand.
"Mom, did you get rid of those jerks?" A blonde petite head pops out of the back door and as she spots Bobby she waves vigorously.
"Yes Joanna Beth, now stay out of here. Wait until I clean this up and then I will come and get you."
Her daughter nods, flashes another grin at Bobby and then disappears back through the swinging door.
"Wow, she's shot up like a weed." Bobby comments taking the broom out of Ellens' hands.
"That's what they do when you feed them." She laughs and reaches back for the broom. "I can do that Bobby."
"I don't mind." He replies, as he starts to sweep up the glass littering the floor.
Ellen shrugs at him and tries to hide the smile blooming on her lips. "Your choice."
Once everything is clean, as clean as the Roadhouse gets anyway, he sits in a chair and Ellen sets a sandwich in front of him.
Bobby reaches into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Her hand on his arm stops him.
"Don't even think about it Singer. You helped clean up this shithole, you eat for free."
Bobby bites into the sandwich and thinks he is really quite fond of this shithole, although that might have more to do with the people in it than the actual place.
Jo is given the okay to come back out and comes flying back into the room, French brain thumping against her back.
"Bobby!" She shouts hooking her arms around his waist and grinning up at the older man.
"Hey there beautiful." He plants a kiss on her forehead. He had almost forgotten the simple joy of being surrounded by people he loves. Not death and destruction and a smell that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he cleaned everything.
"You've been gone two weeks." She says with a pout before crying out gleefully "I grew another two inches!"
"Did you?" He pushes her back to look at her. "Well I'll be damned; you're almost as tall as me now."
Jo eyes light up as she looks back at her mom. Ellen touches the top of her daughters head with a wistful sigh.
"It's getting late Jo. And I know you've been ignoring your homework."
The girl groans. "Aw Mom, can't it wait till after Bobby leaves?" she questions and Ellen shakes her head.
"You've waited long enough Jo. Bobby will be back soon."
He gives a hard shake of his head. "Oh yeah, got a job up here next week."
"Promise?"
"Yes. I promise."
"The only other person who comes here to see Mom is Mr. Winchester and Sam is okay, but Dean picks on me."
Bobby resists the urge to laugh. If Jo was anything like her Mom, looks wise and smarts wise, Bobby has the feeling that Dean will have his hands full sooner rather than later.
"Don't worry Jo. I ain't going anywhere." He reaches out to tap the girls' hand.
Her voice is the voice of someone who has lost far too much in far too little years as she says quietly.
"Good."
"Now go on to your room. I'll be there in just a minute to check your homework."
She is a flurry of blonde hair and energy as she vanishes just as quickly as she had appeared.
Bobby is tired just looking at her. He stands and lifts his jacket back onto his frame.
"I'd better get going Ellen. Rufus is waiting for me two states over."
"Tell Rufus I said hi. Did you want to take anything for the road?"
"Nah, I have to fuel her up next city. I'll grab something to eat then."
He could swear she looks disappointed at his answer.
"Well I'll see you next time you blow through my door." She smiles at him.
"Yeah."
She wrings the bar rag in her hand for a minute or so, before she places it on the table.
"Thanks for everything Bobby." She says, her voice flat.
"Anytime El."
"To hell with it." She mutters and grabs the lapels of his jacket.
Bobby would have asked what in the sam hill she was doing, but his lips were a little bit preoccupied at the moment.
He wasn't even aware that he was back in his car until he hears the rustle of the cheap gas station bouquet under his hand. He had come there to ask Ellen out on a proper date. He had left with a kiss on his lips that he was still smiling about. Bobby was definitely putting this one in the win column.
Ellen thinks as she sees the gray threatening clouds rolling in, that it is going to be a terrible day.
She isn't proven wrong as one of the newest hunters leans over the bar and tells her morosely. "She was the one, you know?"
"Yeah honey, I'm sure she was."
He slams a palm down. "No, she was it. The it it."
Ellen shakes her head. "Well why did it not work out?" she questions replacing the empty beer bottle with a full water bottle.
"Couldn't handle the job." He grunts, burping into his hands.
"Then maybe she wasn't the one."
He looks lucid for about half a second before shaking his head. "No she was. She just needs time to warm up to the idea."
She watches him with a tiny chuckle. "What girl doesn't love a man who comes home smelling like dead evil shit?"
"I know!" he declares and lifts his head to beam at her. "I'm like superman without the cape." He stands up, swaying on his feet and turning to meet the other hunters. "We are all superheroes!"
One of the older, grumpier men mumbles. "Shut the hell up." And the younger boy puffs up his chest.
"Why don't you make me you old geezer?"
So the kid had obviously been absent the day the good Lord was passing out common sense.
"You just made the worst mistake of your life son." The older man states rising from his chair.
Oh yeah, terrible, terrible day.
She wasn't feeling much better about this particular Tuesday five minutes later when trying to reason with the group of apes had proven fairly useless. She was feeling even worse when the young man comes flying across her bar and onto the floor.
He comes up swinging; landing a solid punch onto the older mans jaw and planting his feet into a fighting stance.
Ellen's heart drops into her stomach when she sees a flash of silver reveal itself from his back pocket.
She was really hopes she isn't going to have to clean up any blood today.
Another five minutes pass and then Ellen has had enough of the drunken, foolish pissing contest. She guides them out, none too gently, with the barrel of her shotgun and hopes that she won't have to waste her ammo shooting at the ground.
She hears the familiar squeak of Bobby's car door and smiles internally. Well ,at least now if anything goes south she has backup.
They clear out pretty soon after Bobby's arrival and then Ellen goes back inside to survey the damage. She needs to replace some of the shot glasses, one or two chairs and clean up the glass that is glittering like diamonds on the floor, but she guesses things could be a lot worse.
Bobby offers to clean up and she doesn't have the energy in her to argue with him. Really it was nice having someone take care of her for a change.
They talk a little bit while they work but mostly they just move in comfortable silence. It's been a long time since Ellen could just be with someone.
Before she knows it Jo is flying in and talking up a storm ,and she wonders where her little girl is getting all her energy from because she could sure as hell use some. Her heart softens in her chest and all the walls she has to build up to keep sharp and alive and strong when everyone else is around crumble.
Her daughter turns sparkling eyes on her and Ellen reaches out to place a hand on her baby's head.
She is growing up way too fast.
She needs to get Jo taken care of, look at her math problems, and comb out her braided hair; but more than that she needs this moment, this brief look into a family that if fate would be so kind she could have.
She shoos Jo upstairs and tries to think of a way to thank Bobby Singer. For caring about Jo, for helping her clean up, for about a hundred other things that she can think of.
She's wringing the bar rag in her hands, a habit she was never able to kick from childhood, and waits for a sign that Bobby wants her to do what she is currently thinking of doing.
She settles for just the verbal thank you and then he says "Anytime El." Her heart does that pitter patter thing and she thinks for a second before she says "To hell with it."
His lips are soft and the stubble from his face tickles her. It's perfect for a first kiss and Ellen can't wait until they get do it again.
After Bobby stumbles out of her bar and to his car, she watches him from the window with a huge grin on her face. A grin that threatens to split her face in two when she sees him pick up and move the cellophane wrapped bouquet.
Ellen thought this was going to be a terrible day. She was glad she was wrong.
Coming up next: Break out the Barry white and the sparkling cider ;)