Okay, not as much action, but I had fun! Thanks for reading and thanks to Brigid Tanner for the incredibly quick proofing!

Chapter 28

It was hard to keep that promise, it really was. Sam gripped the edge of his mattress, trying to keep his temper in check. "A couple of months before we moved here?"

Sam looked at his brother, watched Dean swallow hard. Dean nodded, looking away.

"You should have told me, Dean," Sam insisted.

Dean shrugged. "It didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Besides, you said I was overreacting and I probably was."

Sam frowned. "I said you were overreacting? You mean, you did tell me?"

Dean's eyes were fixed to the far wall. "Well, sort of. I started to and you said I was overreacting, then you brought out that damned list."

Sam nodded, more to himself than Dean. "I guess I was sort of obsessive about the list, huh?"

"For all the good it did," Dean grunted. "Maybe we should head out to Bobby's tonight."

"Okay."

Dean's eyes snapped to his, eyebrows up in either question or shock. "Okay? You mean, if I said start packing, you'd just pack up? No arguing? No hundred and one questions? None of that 'but Rae needs a normal life' crap?"

"It's not crap, Dean, and I think you know that. But yes, if you want to leave tonight, then we'll leave tonight. No problem." Sam replied, hoping he sounded as sincere as he felt. To prove his point he went to the closet and pulled out his duffel. "Should I start now?"

Dean stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head. "No. I promised. Besides, I think Susan is helping. Rae hasn't talked about her parents in years, but she sounds like she's looking forward to her next appointment."

"That's good." Sam shoved his duffel back in the closet. "Speaking of appointments, when is your next one?"

Dean frowned, checking his watch. "Uh, I think I just slept through it."

Sam wanted to chew his brother out for that, but Dean still looked tired and it had been a bad day. "Guess you needed it." He pulled his cell out. "I'll give the office a call, see when they can work you in. You want to lie down until dinner?"

Dean gave him an odd look. "You're cooking?"

Sam offered a small smile. "I was thinking pizza."

"Pepperoni," Dean replied, stretching out. "But check with Bobby first."

Sam paused, still looking at his phone. "Uh, I wanted to ask you about that."

"What? The kind of pizza Bobby likes? He's in the next room, ask him." Dean's eyes were closed, his face devoid of expression.

"No, not that." Sam took a deep breath.

"What?" Dean sounded distant, half-asleep.

"Nevermind, we can talk about it later," he said softly, edging out the door. As he pulled the door shut, Dean's slow, even breathing reached his ears. His brother was asleep already.

Sam headed out into the main room, calling the therapist's office. He snagged the remote off the coffee table, turned down the volume. The receptionist managed to work Dean in tomorrow morning. Sam decided that would be fine, he doubted Dean would let Rae out of his sight long enough to go to work tomorrow anyway. That was assuming they both still had jobs tomorrow. Sam knew he did not say anything to his supervisor before running out and he doubted Dean would have bothered either. Why did Dean think they could do this again, taking care of a child?

"Uncle Sam?" Rae stood beside him. He must have been really wrapped up in his own thoughts not to notice that. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, no problem. Feel like pizza tonight?"

"Sure." She grinned at him. "Pepperoni?"

"Go ask Bobby what he wants," Sam nodded toward the couch.

"Yo, Gramps!" Rae shouted over the television. "How's pepperoni pizza sound?"

One hand lifted into the air, a thumb pointed to the ceiling. "He says that's fine," Rae said.

"Gramps?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised.

Rae flashed a bright smile as she leaned in conspiratorially. "I think he likes it." The smile fell as that cute, pondering expression replaced it. "Maybe Dad should have told him about it before. You think Bobby's feelings wouldn't have been hurt?"

Sam motioned with his head, leading them to the far side of the kitchen. "Bobby's feelings were hurt?"

Rae nodded. "When Dad didn't call to tell him where we were. Bobby thought it meant Dad didn't want him around any more."

Sam winced, glancing over at the couch and Bobby's wild, curly hair sticking out from under the trademark ballcap. "I'm sure Dean didn't mean…"

"He didn't," Rae interrupted sharply.

Sam leaned against the table, eyeing her. "You sound pretty sure about that."

Her eyes lit up. "He told Miss Susan that Bobby was my grandfather. Called Bobby a stand-in for his dad. Isn't that cool?"

Those twanging nerves of Sam's were vibrating again. "How is that cool?" he demanded, consciously trying to keep his voice down.

"Because Dad did the same thing I did," Rae explained patiently, voice soft. "I found a new dad, and so did he." She watched him silently for a moment. "So are you ordering that pizza or what?"

Sam nodded, studying the pattern in the vinyl kitchen floor. "Yeah, in a minute. Go watch your movie."

"Uncle Sam?" He looked up into a worried face. "You can do that too, you know. It's okay. It doesn't mean you don't love them anymore."

He tried to smile for her, reached out and tugged her into a warm embrace. "Thanks, kid. Now go hang out with 'gramps'."

Rae giggled as she skipped into the den, bouncing on the couch beside Bobby. He watched Bobby drape an arm over her shoulders, smile at her. Apparently Bobby was the grandfather type. Huh. Why didn't he notice that before?

Sam pulled out a chair to sit in, staring at the phone in his hand. He called the therapist's office again to make an appointment for himself, right after Dean's. He was missing far too much happening within his family lately and that was not good. Hopefully this guy could help him sort a few things out. He remembered that he still needed to order the pizza.

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

Rae woke to a voice. She opened her eyes to a dark room, something heavy over her legs. Trying to twist around to find the source of the voice, she heard Dad mumble, "No, won't let him." Almost immediately both of Dad's arms, the one under her pillow and the one hanging off his side of the bed, wrapped around her and pulled her in close. His dream-induced embrace was tight, breathing was barely possible.

"No!" he shouted, his voice clear and loud this time. "You can't have her!"

"Dad?" she managed to squeak, the pressure against her ribs preventing enough air to shout. "Dad?"

He rolled back and forth, still clutching her tightly to his chest. Rae rolled with him, not that she had a choice but fighting might have made things worse.

"NO!" His shout filled the room, making her heart race. Dad never sounded like that, like he was scared. What could scare him? What was he dreaming?

The door to her room burst open, but she was too busy trying not to be crushed to see who it was.

"Dean? Dean!" Thank god, it was Uncle Sam. The light came on, not that it helped her much, she still couldn't see anything through Dad's frantic thrashing. Then strong hands peeled Dad's arms away from her, but that made things worse.

"NO!" Not fear this time, just pure anger. Rae watched as Dad's eyes opened, fixed on Uncle Sam. She recognized that look, the look Dad had just before he went after something that hurt Uncle Sam. She was pretty sure he was not awake yet, that he still saw whatever was in his dream.

Rae sprung in front of her uncle, hands up, trying to get Dad's attention. "Dad? Daddy! Wake up!"

Dad paused, eyes dropping to her. His shoulders slumped and he dropped down to sit on the bed. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he asked, "What happened?"

"Probably woke the neighbors," Bobby's voice was close. Rae sought it out, found the old man standing right behind Dad. Bobby looked pretty tense, like he had been about to grab Dad from behind, like he still might.

Dad chuckled, but he did not sound amused. "Sorry. I'll, uh, I'll go watch a movie or something. You all go back to sleep." He stood to leave the room.

"Hold on, Dean." Bobby blocked the door. "What the hell was that?"

"Nothing." Dad shoved past Bobby. "Don't worry about it."

Bobby and Uncle Sam shared a look before following Dad out of her room. Okay, sleep now was flat out impossible. Rae followed the men into the den where Bobby and Uncle Sam were confronting Dad.

"Dean, that wasn't nothing," Bobby insisted. "Was it a nightmare or what?"

Dad pulled out his Hell Hazers DVD, ignoring everyone.

"Dean, answer the man!" Uncle Sam shouted. Rae stared at that. Uncle Sam rarely shouted and since they found out about the panic attacks, he barely raised his voice.

Dad popped the DVD in the player and turned on the television. Looked like Uncle Sam and Bobby were not going to make any headway like this. Rae took a deep breath, evaluating what she planned to do. It seemed like the right thing anyway. She walked into the room and turned off the tv. She turned slowly to face her Dad, who refused to look her in the face.

"Daddy? Was it a bad nightmare?" Rae asked, moving slowly toward him. She only pulled out 'daddy' when she was really scared or really wanted something.

He shrugged, still not looking at her. Well, at least he acknowledged her. She took a couple of steps forward, until her knees nearly touched his. "Did it get me?"

He looked up then, eyes wide. She noticed his face pale. The thing in his nightmare did get her.

"They always get you, too," she told him, resting her hands on his knees. "But I bet the cops don't show up for your nightmare."

The scared in Dad's face was chased away by a tiny smile. He leaned forward, resting his head against her abdomen as he hugged her, nearly as tight as he did during his nightmare. "Have I ever told you what a great kid you are?"

She smiled, looking up at Uncle Sam and Bobby. "Nope. Never."

All the tension drained from Uncle Sam's face but Bobby still looked worried. Uncle Sam shoved Bobby in the shoulder. "Just a nightmare," he told Bobby softly, "not a panic attack."

Bobby nodded, scrubbing the top of his head. "Well, if all the action is over for the day, what's this movie Dean keeps talking about?" He walked around to turn the television back on. The last trailer before the movie started was on. Bobby settled on the couch next to Dad, patting his Dad's leg a couple of times before directing his attention to the movie.

Rae squeezed between them, feeling secure between the two men. She saw Uncle Sam standing off to the side, looking left-out. Rae motioned with her head to the floor beside her. Uncle Sam frowned and headed for the kitchen. He came back with three beers and one brown bottle root beer. Rae took her root beer as the others accepted their beers. Uncle Sam settled on the floor, leaning back against the arm of the couch. When Rae checked on him halfway through the movie, Uncle Sam was sound asleep, his head resting on Dad's leg.

"He was always a lightweight," Dad whispered, catching her. Rae tried to grin at that, but a yawn interrupted her. She lifted Dad's arm so she could lean against his chest. Now she was surrounded by her family, everyone in touching distance. This was the safest place in the world.