BOOH! lol. I'm still alive yes! Things has just gone by a little slow (obviously) so I haven't gotten to post the chapter! But it's here now and I hope you like it! Sorry for the long wait!

A Sam and Bobby story this time! ;D

As usual huge thanks for my spellchecker, Ravanne!

K - Kicked

Set: You might recognize it from "Hypothermic"

Sam took a deep breath as he stopped in front of the door of Bobby's house. The older hunter was going to be pissed. Sam had vanished almost two months ago and has avoided Bobby completely since then. He was fully expecting that his old friend was going to rip him a new one. Sam lifted a hand to knock on the door, but it opened before he could and he stood face to face with Bobby.

"Uh... hi." Sam found it difficult to look Bobby in the eyes and ended up looking at the floor.

"Well, look who decided to show up. Took you long enough." Bobby didn't sound happy, but he stepped aside to let Sam in. Reluctantly, Sam stepped inside and had just turned to face Bobby when he felt a fist hit him in the mouth, splitting his lip.

"You stupid, stupid boy!" Bobby growled and stood face to face with Sam, not shying away from Sam's usually intimidating height.

"You have any idea how worried I've been?" Bobby grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him into the house. Bobby kept rambling on about Sam's complete lack of intelligence, but Sam wasn't really listening.

"I'm sorry," Sam mumbled as Bobby pushed him down onto the old coach in the study. "I just... I needed to be alone." The excuse sounded weak even to his own ears.

Bobby knew he was growing more and more into one of those grumpy old men who hardly ever smiled, but one thing that he knew would never change was that he really cared for the Winchester boys. Now that Sam was the only Winchester left, all of Bobby's love and protection for John's sons was now directed solely at Sam. It was the one reason that Bobby had for forgiving the boy for vanishing so easily.

"Look, boy. I'm just glad you're back. I need help with a little case," Bobby explained, for once having the advantage of looking down on Sam.

"I could need something to get my mind off... things," Sam said, resting his elbows on his knees and looking up at Bobby.

"But how can it be a 'little' case if you need help?" he asked, offering Bobby a little smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Because it's a little weird. A town nearby is bugged by something, but they can't seem to explain what. They think it's some kind of animal, but..," the old hunter took off his cap and scratched his head before putting it back on.

"But what? What kind of animal is it?" Sam frowned.

"That's the thing. Each report coming in is different from the other. One girl claimed she was attacked by a Zebra while another guy by a giraffe," Bobby explained.

"So... some Zoo is missing their animals?" Sam cracked a smile when Bobby glared at him and groaned.

"You Winchesters are a bunch of comedians," he mumbled under his breath. "No, smart ass. The thing is that none of these animals is found again, yet they keep showing up."

Sam opened his mouth, but closed it again quickly. He didn't really know what to say to that.

"That is weird," he finally agreed. He let his eyes wander and finally noticed small differences in Bobby's living room. The old family friend had always kept a bottle of whiskey around to share with friends, but now there was quite a few more and most of them were empty. Sam doubted that Bobby had enough company to warrant so many, and it would explain why the old hunter needed help what sounded like a pretty easy hunt.

"So, you want to check it out?" Bobby asked quickly, needing to keep Sam focused when he saw the younger man's eyes wander about the room. He had been hard on the bottle after Dean's death and didn't really want the youngest Winchester to see it. Bobby missed Dean so much, but he knew that his sense of loss was insignificant in comparison to what Sam had to be feeling.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's go," Sam stood up, but Bobby stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Tomorrow. You look like death warmed over. What about a night's rest? We don't go into a hunt half cocked," Bobby said.

"Are you sure? I'm ready," Sam insisted, but Bobby just shook his head.

"It's late. Get to bed. We'll fix it tomorrow okay? There's no shame in needing rest, Sam." Bobby led Sam through the house and up the stairs to the spare bedroom the Winchester would use when staying with him.

Sam groaned as he stretched in the bed, making his muscles complain a little. Soft sunlight shone through the old curtains and warmed his face. For a moment he forgot where he was and decided to enjoy the peace he felt for the first time since...

"Dean!" He sat up, looking around the grey room and his eyes landed on the empty bed beside him.

"Of course," he muttered sadly, remembering everything. Each morning was the same, waking up and being reminded all over again that he was alone. He sighed and got out of bed, the desire to laze washed away with the renewed sense of loss. He found his shirt draped over a chair and pulled it back on. He hadn't bothered to undress last night except for taking his shirt off, leaving pants and socks on and his boots right next to the bed. Always at the ready in case... in case of anything really.

He ran a hand over his face as he went down the stairs. He wasn't surprised to see that Bobby was already up, pouring himself some coffee and a whiskey on the side.

"Hey," Sam scratched the back of his neck and yawned.

"Morning, sunshine. Want coffee?" Bobby offered and was already taking out another mug.

"Sure. Thanks." Sam gave him a little smile. He went over to the table and sat down, stirring the coffee around with a spoon.

"You know how to kill this thing?" Sam took a sip from his coffee before looking up at the old hunter.

"Well from what I have found out it's either stabbing it with something silver, like with shape shifters, or set it on fire. So we do both," Bobby confirmed and nodded sideways to where the front door was. It wasn't before then Sam noticed five Molotov cocktails and two long silver stakes on the kitchen counter.

"You know your stuff, Bobby," Sam said, impressed.

"I've known about the supernatural since your mother was a young girl," Bobby reminded him. Sam frowned a bit at that.

"I though you didn't start with hunting before you were old... older..." Sam flashed a quick smile at the little slip.

"I didn't, but I've known about it for most of my life. It wasn't before... well you know what happened to my wife already," Bobby's face fell a little and he felt more than a little relieved when Sam didn't ask for any more details about that horrible night. They sat in silence while drinking their coffee and somewhere along the way Sam started tapping his feet and looking around the room as if he hadn't been there before.

"Sam," Bobby grumbled trying to get his attention.

"Hmm?" Sam stopped the unconscious movement and looked up at him expectantly.

"I assume you're ready to go?" Bobby stood up with a smile on his lips. Sam nodded and got his jacket on in record time.

"Okay then. Let's roll." They picked up their equipments and went out to the cars.

"What are we waiting for?" Sam ran a hand down his face and yawned. They had used up the whole day looking for the creature without much luck and now it was getting dark. They had to be careful that passersby didn't see their weapons and ran off to tell the police, but it made tracking whatever this creature was even more difficult. When the whole day had passed without sign of anything unusual they decided to leave their improvised bombs in the cars.

"Bobby, we're wasting our time here. It could have been anything we saw today. We should have…"

"Since when did you start getting so eager to kill anything that moves?" Bobby asked, biting his bottom lip at the look on Sam's face. He knew just fine just when Sam's attitude had shifted.

"Look, Sam. We can't just torch a stray cat just because it might be the creature." Bobby took a good look at Sam from where he was sitting in the front seat of the Impala, the door left open so that he could jump out if needed. Sam sat in the back, resting his arm on the top of the seat and the car door open on his side.

"I don't want to torch random cats either and look what happens, but how are we supposed to figure out what is the creature and what's a real animal?" Sam rested is head on his other hand and closed his eyes.

"That might make things a little easier," Bobby whispered, nodding his head towards something. He carefully moved his hand towards the shotgun on the car seat next to him. He knew a shot wouldn't kill it, but it might keep it back long enough for them to run to the back of the car to get the kerosene-filled bottles. He silently cursed himself for being overcautious and not having the flammable bombs closer at hand.

Sam opened his eyes and started a bit when he saw a monkey sitting on the roof of a car on the other side of the parking lot.

"A monkey?" he snorted, but picked up his silver stake from the floor of the car. The creature seemed harmless enough right now, but Sam knew better. "You know how quickly it can change?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the creature.

"Nope," Bobby said shortly and quietly followed Sam. They silently agreed without words that Sam would go at the monkey while Bobby got the Molotovs. Suddenly the monkey screamed and jumped off the car roof. By the time it hit the ground it had transformed into a cougar.

"Sonofa-" Sam yelped in shock. "That was quick." He tightened his hold on the stake as the big cat crept closer to him, snarling in anger.

"Hurry, Bobby," Sam hissed.

"Be careful Sam," Bobby hissed back and he carefully started to open the trunk so that the creature wouldn't see him. "Don't make any sudden movements."

Sam sighed, but focused on the cougar again. "Come on, kitty. Fun time's over." Sam inched closer, raising the stake when creature changed into a bear.

"Oh wow," Sam stepped back a bit now. The bear was huge and Sam suddenly feared the silver stake wouldn't be enough.

"Sam! Get a move on would ya?" Bobby urged. Sam looked back at him, and Bobby knew that they were going to be in serious trouble. The bear saw the young man's attention turn from him and took sudden and violent advantage of Sam's momentary distraction. Bobby reacted quicker then the young Winchester when the bear charged .

"SAM!" Bobby grabbed Sam and they both hit the ground so hard their breath flew out of their lungs. The bear growled and ran around the Impala and out of sight for a moment.

"Hurry," Sam jumped up and ran across the parking lot, chasing after it.

"Hey freak! Come and get me!" Sam shouted towards the direction the creature had vanished. Bobby kept close to behind the open trunk, using the Impala to shield himself while Sam tried to get the creature's attention. Suddenly the creature came running out of the dark, past the Impala and Bobby and straight at Sam.

"A horse?" Sam was taken aback by the sight of the unexpected animal.

"I can't kill a horse!" he complained, but realized quickly that he had to do something as the big four legged creature ran him down. The horse hit his shoulder and Sam groaned in pain. Okay, so maybe it wasn't as intimidating as a bear, but a horse sure could certainly do damage too. Sam regained his focus as the horse charged again, but instead of running him down, it started to circle him.

"What's it doing?" Sam asked, trying to keep his attention on the creature. He shook his head when he started getting dizzy.

"SAM!" Bobby yelled horrified. It was suddenly clear to him what it was doing. It was confusing Sam and running in a too small circle for Sam to know when to back off. He grabbed the Molotovs and ran at the animal.

Sam stopped following the creature, his gaze shifting to Bobby for just a second. He quickly realized that the horse wasn't circling around him any longer, but he had left himself vulnerable just long enough for the creature to take advantage of his distraction. He felt a sharp blow to his chest that knocked the wind completely out of him. He gasped in pain, stars dancing across his eyes.

"No! Get out of there, Sam!"

Sam tried to focus his blurry vision at the two Bobby's just as everything went black.

Bobby froze when he saw one of the horse's hoofs kick Sam first in the chest and then to the side of his head. It felt as if it happened in slow motion. Sam's head snapped to the side before he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. The animal immediately changed into a bear again and Bobby didn't waste a second before lighting the rag and throwing the kerosene at it. The bottle hit the bear over the back, the dark fur quickly catching fire and the creature roared. Bobby noticed lights getting turned on in nearby houses and quickly picked up Sam's silver stake and ran up the bear, thrusting the weapon into the thick skin of his chest, impaling the heart. He figured the fire would probably be the thing to kill the creature, but he wasn't going to take any chances. The bear roared again and hurried into the dark only to collapse and die.

Bobby turned towards Sam again,

"God no," Bobby shoved the weapons under a parked car and ran to Sam. The young hunter lay sprawled on the ground, his mouth hang open limply as if silently screaming.

"Sam, please!" Bobby pleaed. For the first time in years, Bobby felt tears in his eyes. Too much blood was running from what he found out was a huge wound low on his head, just below the ear.

"Help! Somebody!" Bobby shouted as soon as he heard doors opening.

"Oh my god!" A young girl in her late teens gasped when she saw Sam. She picked up her mobile and pressed it to her ear. Bobby didn't listen to what was being said and focused fully on keeping Sam alive. His pulse was thready and his chest heaved as if desperately trying to get air in.

"What happened?" A man in his thirties knelt down on the other side of Sam. Bobby didn't answer, just pulling open Sam's jacket before ripping open his shirt.

"Shit!" Both Bobby and the strange man gasped at the blood and bruises on Sam's chest. The left side of his chest looked nearly caved in.

"The ambulance will be here in less then five minutes," the young girl explained, covering her mouth with a hand.

"Good. You did good, Sidney," the strange man spoke again. Still Bobby acted as if he was alone with Sam.

"Come on, Sam," he pulled a piece of cloth and pressed it against the bleeding wound, but he got no reaction out of Sam.

"They're coming," Sidney said pointlessly as the sirens from the ambulance interrupted the suddenly quiet evening. Bobby silently thanked whoever for the quick ambulance.

"Stay with us, Sam," Bobby warned as the ambulance came to stop in front of them. Two men came out from the front of the car and one from the back and before Bobby could even think to say anything, Sam was strapped to a backboard and being loaded into the ambulance.

"Sir. Sir? Are you family?" one of the ambulance personnel asked Bobby.

"Uh, yeah. I'm his uncle," he explained, just barely able to bring himself to talk.

"I will have to ask you to follow in another car if you want to come with us. We need room to work on the patient," the man explained. Bobby just nodded numbly and headed for the car, but just before the ambulance door closed he heard "We're losing him."

"I thought you were better then this, Sammy?"

He would recognize that voice anywhere. Sam opened his eyes and it didn't take more then a few seconds before tears started to blur his already blurry vision.

"Dean," Sam sat up, finding that it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He reached out for Dean and his hand connected with his brother's, but he didn't feel anything.

"Hi, Sammy," Dean smiled brightly to his little brother, tightening his hold on the hand in his own. The hospital room was white and cold, but at least Sam had it to himself.

"Are you..." Sam started.

"You're dreaming. You have been for quite a while now," Dean reached out a hand to carefully brush it against the open wound on Sam's head,

"I would say it's time to wake up, Sammy. I might not be here, but Bobby's ripping himself apart."

"What?" Sam had problems following what his sibling was saying. All he wanted to do was to look at his brother. Dream or not, it was the only way he would see his brother. He didn't care if he never woke up again, just so long as he could see Dean.

"Sam, you have to wake up."

Sam closed his eyes, tears sliding down his cheeks. "I don't want to. There's no reason to," he whispered. He felt pressure on both sides of his face and opened his eyes. The fact that he couldn't really feel Dean made it just harder to take. The fact that it only felt like air pressing at his cheeks. It made it that much harder.

"There's a reason to. I'll see you again, Sammy," Dean promised with a sad smile.

"That can be years before I die..." Sam shook his head, feeling pathetic, but not really caring.

"You won't die. Not yet. But we'll meet again soon..." Dean insisted.

"What...?"

Sam gasped for air. Pain erupted through his chest and head, making it hard to breathe.

"Sam! Calm down. Calm down, damn it! Help!" There was another voice now and he could feel other hands on his shoulders. They weren't Dean's, but they were just as welcoming. Bobby...

"Can someone get in here, damn it!" the older hunter was yelling, Sam continued to wheeze around whatever was stuffed down his throat.

Dean! Dean... Sam tried so hard to hold onto the dream he had had, but the memories of it was being whisked away with the pain of real life. He had said something. Dean had told him something important. He just couldn't remember what!

Sam managed to force his eyes open to slits and noticed blurry motions moving around in front of him. The loud noises from the figures moving about him were starting to get drowned down by a loud beeping sound Sam was all too familiar with. His sight was turning white. He was going under again.

"It's okay, Sam. Sleep. Sle.." The strange voice urged gently, luring him back into unconsciousness.

When Sam woke again the room was dark and he was alone. He blinked and took a tentative breath. It was easier to breathe now. The tube down his throat was gone, replaced by a nasal canella, feeding him oxygen. He flexed his fingers and looked round the room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He was alone and close to a big window. He frowned. He listened hard for noises and caught the sound of traffic somewhere beyond the window. In the hall outside his door, he could hear voices speaking softly and the tell-tale squeak of a nurse's rubber-soled shoes walking past his room. He knew quickly that he had to be in a hospital, which meant something had gone wrong with the hunt. Bobby would not have risked attracting attention if is injuries had not been serious.

He shifted a bit in bed and forced himself to open his eyes. His vision was clear this time.

"Did I fall asleep?" he mumbled to himself when his surroundings wasn't drowned in darkness.

"Sam? Are you awake? Thank god!"

Sam turned his head slowly and saw the biggest smile on Bobby's face ever that he could ever remember. Bobby got out of his chair by the window and grabbed hold of Sam's hand.

"I'm so glad to see you awake, you idjit." Bobby patted Sam on the arm, as if reassuring himself that Sam was actually there.

"How... wha... what happened?" Sam frowned when his head suddenly felt so heavy. He closed his eyes again, but felt Bobby tighten his hold on his arm, helping him to focus and stay awake.

"Don't you remember?" Bobby looked over his shoulder, making sure that they were alone before leaning in closer.

"We hunted that metamorphic animal. It kicked you in the head and chest. You've been..." Bobby's voice trailed off. Sam opened his eyes again.

"What? How long have I been here?" he asked and licked his lips. His throat was dry and very sore after having a tube shoved down it.

Bobby saw his discomfort and reached for a cup that had been sitting on the rolling table next to his bed.

"Here, take this," Bobby said, using the control to lift Sam's upper body a bit. He took a spoon and carefully fed Sam some of the ice chips the nurse brought for when he woke. Sam let the ice melt in his mouth before swallowing and it took a few spoonfuls before his throat began to feel better.

"You've been in coma for almost two weeks, kid," Bobby explained as put the remainder of the ice aside. "I've been so worried. I'm starting to feel how Dean did. You're such an accident prone." Bobby smiled sadly.

"Dean?" Sam's eyes lit up a bit. Bobby bit his lip as soon as Sam looked more aware.

"I'm sorry, Sam. He's still... not here," Bobby's heart broke a little when the hopeful look in Sam's face fell a bit. They didn't say anything for a long time and just listened to the sound of the hospital coming to life again. Sam sighed and thought of the dream he had. He remembered his brother's face, but he just couldn't recall what Dean had said to him.

"I dreamed of him," Sam whispered, hands suddenly searching for Dean's amulet he had kept around his neck. He began to panic when he couldn't find it. Bobby knew at once what he was looking for and started digging in the pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"Here. I took care of it for you," Bobby handed it to Sam and the young hunter visibly relaxed, clutching the amulet to his chest and closed his eyes.

"What did you dream of?" Bobby asked, sitting down in a chair.

"I dreamed Dean was here. He talked to me, but I don't remember what he said. He touched me, but... I couldn't really feel it... I... it felt so real though," Sam clutched the amulet even closer, tears leaking from his closed eyes.

"How is this supposed to get any better, Bobby? I need him," Sam struggled to keep from crying openly again. He felt Bobby take hold of his hand again.

"We'll get through this. Somehow. Okay? You still got me. We'll manage this together," Bobby promised. Sam just nodded again and closed his eyes. He already knew what he had to do though. The only thing he could do. Go after Lilith. Make her pay. He owed Dean at last that.

"Thank you," Sam mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

Enjoy! Next one is going to be a bit... yeah, what can I say? Inspired from my trip to Ireland? lol