I had this chapter written two different ways, so thanks for the melding advice from Brigid Tanner, my intrepid proof-reader. Thanks to everyone following this!

(Anyone interested in a fic about the editor of The Demon Newsletter - which runs rampant on the CW boards - go check out laceym's new fic. She's new to FFnet and a good friend, and known as Denmother on the CW boards.)

Chapter 26

Bobby watched over the room so Dean could concentrate on looking after Rae. He waited patiently as Dean peeled away the tape and Sam cut that Martin guy from the couch. When everyone was free to move about, Bobby cleared his throat.

"So what do we do with this one?" he asked, pointing the shotgun at the unconscious man on the floor.

"I have a few ideas," Dean grumbled, but his voice died off when Bobby shot him a strong look. Funny, after all these years Bobby never realized how much influence he really had on John's eldest. It was a little frightening and at the same time humbling. For Dean to trust anyone this much was rare. Rare as in 'oh, it's a friendly vampire' or 'don't worry, this demon is just visiting, exorcism won't be necessary.'

"We need to call the police," Martin stated firmly. "Ernie posed as an agent of Family Services and kidnapped a child." He shook his head sadly. "He must be held accountable."

"Would we have to testify?" Sam asked. "Would any of this make the papers or the news?"

Martin sighed. "Probably. This is pretty bad. I imagine the news would really sensationalize it."

"No," Dean snapped. "We can just leave tonight."

Bobby was shocked to see Sam nod in agreement. "We can sell the second car for money the next place we stop."

"No!" Rae said, stomping a foot, drawing all eyes on her. "We can't run every time we have a problem!"

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. "Rae, honey," Dean ran his hands from her shoulders down her arms, soothingly, "this isn't just a problem. This is a big, big problem. We can't be on the news. You know that."

"Dean, call Dolan," Bobby suggested, wondering over Rae's outburst. "Maybe he'll have an idea. Martin, you call the police. We'll be by the cars after Sam uses some of that tape on Ernie here."

Bobby had been watching the kidnapper carefully. The man's breathing was growing deeper and more regular, making him suspicious of Ernie waking soon. Dean hustled Rae toward the door, patting down his pockets looking for his cell.

"Dean!" Sam shouted. Dean looked back to see Sam fling his cell across the room. Dean caught it in one hand, never losing grip of Rae with the other. He threw his brother a nod in thanks before shoving Rae outside. Sam rushed over with strips of duct tape cut from the couch to secure the kidnapper while Martin searched for the phone.

Bobby waited until he was certain the kidnapper posed no danger before following Dean and Rae outside. He glanced back once to be sure Sam was behind him. They replaced the weapons in Dean's trunk before the cops could arrive. Bobby tried not to show any of the nervousness he felt while they waited.

They all leaned against the Impala. "What are we waiting for?" Bobby asked.

"We have to make sure the cops take Ernie away," Sam replied, looking more than a little shocked by the question.

"What for? Just leave tonight," Bobby replied, repeating Dean's idea as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "You can stay at my place until you decide where to go next, if you're all determined to stick with this school thing."

"Dad promised," Rae said, hands on hips. "We only disappear as a last resort."

Bobby frowned at her. "I didn't think you liked the idea of going to school."

Rae shrugged. "It's growing on me."

"English teacher is a bitch," Dean said softly from behind her. Sam shot him a glowering look.

"Yeah, but my history teacher is cool, so is the track coach. And I'm making friends." Rae stared at Sam. "I think I'm starting to understand what you mean about that now."

"How's that?" Sam asked, leaning forward to look at her.

His question was interrupted by Dean's cell ringing. "It's Dolan again," Dean said, answering it. Dean walked off a little ways to talk. Sam watched, clearly wishing he could make out more of the conversation.

"That's the real reason you won't leave, isn't it?" Rae asked softly, sliding closer to lean against his arm.

"What?" Sam looked down into her expectant face. "What are you talking about?"

"Because you're best friends, right?" Rae looked like she just had a huge revelation.

Sam cleared his throat, looking nervous. "What's our story?" Sam asked Bobby, fidgeting beside the Impala.

"Exactly what happened," Bobby said, thinking that maybe this was a good idea after all, if Rae was starting to understand relationships. "One, it's the truth, and two, if we show them good reason to keep your identities a secret, the police shouldn't release them to the media."

"What about our records?" Sam demanded.

Bobby shrugged. "Don't act guilty."

Dean laughed, stepped back beside Rae. Bobby noticed that he didn't move far from that girl. Actually, the rescue went far better than he could have hoped. "What did Dolan say?" he asked Dean.

Dean shrugged. "He said he'd work on it, call me back. Guess he doesn't have a clue either." Dean grinned and Bobby saw relief flood the oldest Winchester's features. Rae leaned back into his touch like she didn't have a care in the world, while Sam appeared worried enough for all four of them.

When sirens sounded some distance away, Sam jumped. "Easy there, Sammy," Dean chided, "you're going to give the whole game away."

Two police cars barreled into the parking area. Ernie left by ambulance with a police escort. The cops from the remaining car approached them. "Mister Cooper?"

"Officer Steve?" Sam asked, standing straighter.

"You know this guy?" Bobby hissed.

Sam shrugged. "Sorta."

Bobby made a mental note to ask about that later. What else has been going on with these three?

"Hey, sweetheart," Officer Steve approached Rae, "how are those nightmares?"

Rae smiled at him. "Better."

Bobby raised his eyebrows at Sam. Since when did Rae talk to anyone else? Sam looked a bit shocked, too.

"Hope this doesn't make them worse," he said.

Rae grinned. "Nah. My dad kicks ass."

Dean snorted back a laugh as Bobby pressed a hand over his mouth.

"So I see," he said, pointing to her shirt. "Can I ask you a couple of questions?" Officer Steve pulled out his notepad.

"Fire away," Rae said with a grin.

Officer Steve grinned. "Well, you're a lot more outgoing when you're awake, aren't you? Okay, how did he kidnap you? Where were you?"

"At school. I guess he told my principal that he was Mister Martin and I was being separated from my family. The principal helped him take me." Bobby watched Dean's face darken during Rae's explanation.

"Did you cry out? Scream for help?" The cop asked.

"Sure, just like Dad told me. I screamed help and fire, and everyone watched that moron take me away." Rae shook her head, her face displaying exactly what she thought of all the adults who actually bought Ernie's story.

"We'll have to ask the principal about that." Steve told Dean. "Even Family Services can't separate a child from her family without a court order." At the look that crossed Dean's face after that, Bobby figured he would not be standing between Dean and Rae's principal either. That did not look like a healthy thing to do.

"Officer Steve? Why is it people assume if you're being investigated by Family Services that you have a bad family?" Rae demanded.

Steve smiled at her. "Well, honey, people are like that. Okay, just a couple more questions. That all right?"

"Sure." Rae shrugged, like she did this type of thing every day.

"How did your family find you here?" The police officer asked.

"We called Dad on Mister Martin's cell. He wanted me to dial nine-one-one, but I knew better," Rae told him with a nod.

Office Steve looked confused. "You knew better? Than to call the police?"

Rae's hands went to a firm hold on her hips. "I'm already grounded, no way was I going to make it worse."

Officer Steve chuckled, looking at Dean. "I take it you'll explain this to her later?"

"Sure," Dean replied with a nod, "no problem." Bobby doubted Dean would tell Rae she did anything wrong. If anything, he figured the grounding might be lifted.

"Okay, I'm going to head over to your school now, unless you'd like a police escort home?" The friendly cop offered.

Rae laughed. "No, thanks. I'm with my family. Doesn't get any safer than this."

Officer Steve shook each of their hands and took down all three of their work and cell numbers before leaving.

"Good man," Bobby observed.

"Yeah. Wish I could get Sarah to call him," Sam grumbled as Dean and Rae climbed into the Impala. Bobby waited for them to leave.

"Problems with this Sarah?" he asked.

Sam sighed, leaning against Bobby's truck. "Maybe. I'm pretty sure her ex is stalking her."

"How's that?" Bobby asked, wondering how long they could lag behind before Dean started calling.

"Well, I think I saw him near our apartment last night," Sam said softly, as though the boy could get away with that kind of omission by whispering it.

"Last night?" Bobby's eyes slid over Sam's face. "You didn't say anything," he accused.

Sam heaved a sigh. "I don't want to worry Dean. He's dealing with enough as it is."

"You're talking about the panic attacks," Bobby observed.

Sam raked both hands through his hair. "Yeah. Honestly, I'm surprised he was able to deal with this today."

"I'm not," Bobby replied, heading for his truck. The weight of Sam's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Why not?" Sam demanded. "You didn't see him after that big episode. The paramedics thought it was a heart attack," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Bobby remembered Dean telling him how the heart attack still bothered Sam. "Because Dean doesn't panic when he has a job to do. From what I can tell, each of his attacks happened as the result of something he thought was out of his control."

Sam's hand dropped away from his arm. "I never thought of it like that," he admitted. "Wait, what do you know about each of his attacks?"

"While you and Rae went for a drive, Dean and I had a little talk." Bobby shrugged, opening his truck door.

"Bobby? Did he tell you when they started?" Sam asked, peering at him through those shaggy bangs.

Bobby debated on whether or not to lie. Finally he just nodded.

"It was after we moved here, right?" Sam seemed desperate for this answer. "Right?"

Bobby frowned, studying the younger man. "Why don't you tell Dean about Sarah's stalker and then ask him that." He jumped into his truck, pulling the door shut. Bobby leaned out the window. "The best relationships are founded on honesty."

----------------------

Sam watched Bobby drive away. Honesty? Was he kidding? It's not like Dean was always honest either, always keeping little details and things to himself. Since Bobby arrived and Sam watched how much his brother relaxed around the older man, Sam had become suspicious of when exactly these panic attacks started. Dean had not been this relaxed for quite a while, maybe a few months before they settled here.

He slipped into his own car, watching the yellow police tape put up on the door of apartment seventeen. They could not let this go to trial, not and stay in the same town. Not only was there a chance of Dean being recognized, but the fact it could become common knowledge that Rae was really the heiress Clementine McDermott. This time the kidnapping was done by a complete moron, fortunately for them, but what about next time? They couldn't afford a next time.

Sam was starting to understand why Dean was suffering from these attacks. He felt some serious anxiety himself. As he took out his keys to start the car, Sam noticed that his hand was shaking. After debating with himself for a moment, Sam pulled out his cell and searched through his phone list. He needed to make a call before going home.