Big thanks to those of you who have stuck with this fic run-amok. Now, back to that plot!!

Chapter 31

Dean pushed open their apartment door, wondering what Bobby and Rae had been up to all this time. He found them on the couch with his photo albums and could not resist the grin that spread across his face, especially when Rae looked up with that light in her eyes.

"Hey, Dad!" She tossed the album into Bobby's lap, running to greet them. "How did it go?"

"Eh," Dean shrugged, "no problem." He hugged her back.

"What took you so long?" Rae demanded, pulling away from the embrace. "You two have been gone for hours!"

"What's wrong?" Sam asked from over his shoulder. "You and Gramps not getting along?"

Dean cast a look over his shoulder at his brother. Sam looked amused, so he decided to take it the way it sounded, as teasing. Sam was trying, just like he was.

"She got bored with Sam's research, so we've been looking at Dean's pictures," Bobby said from the couch, holding up one of the albums. "I didn't know you had so many, Dean."

Dean shrugged, moving into the room. "Find anything?" he asked.

"Yep. You and Rae are very photogenic." Bobby replied, no hint that he was kidding.

Dean rolled his eyes, knowing how Bobby was. "The research?"

"Oh. That." Bobby shrugged. "Well, the librarian was definitely murdered."

He heard Sam's sharp intake of air that mirrored what he felt. "What? Are you sure?" Sam demanded.

Bobby nodded, setting both albums on what passed for a coffee table. "Come here." He nodded his head toward the kitchen.

They followed close on the older hunter's heels. Bobby had the copies of the autopsy report out along with a list of poisons and their residual affects on the body. One was circled. Bobby tapped a finger on it. "This one makes the victim suffer a vicious heart attack, which pretty much always results in death. I'd say that was used on your librarian."

"Wonder why?" Rae asked, leaning in from the other side of the table. "You don't think it was because she was dating a married guy, do you?"

Dean cocked an eyebrow at her. "What makes you think that?"

Rae shrugged. "Amy's idea. Oh, and…" she shuffled through the papers for a moment. "Here. This letter found in her apartment makes it look like she was at least seeing someone."

Dean held it up for Sam to see. "What do you think? Salt and burn, just to be safe?"

Sam shrugged. "There haven't been any deaths at the school. She could just be a restless spirit. Maybe we could help her cross over?"

Dean sighed. Why couldn't it ever be easy? "Cross over? You serious? Like that chick who ran over the farmer?" He rubbed a hand over his head. "Let's salt and burn, just to be safe. No problems then."

"Can't," Bobby declared, shuffling through the papers again. "Looks like she was cremated."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Just like that chick who couldn't drive. Can't it ever be easy?"

"What's the fun in that?" Bobby asked, stacking the papers.

"But what would be keeping her around? That woman, Molly, it was love that kept her here." Sam said, taking the papers from Bobby. "This letter," he held up the page, "doesn't really sound like a woman in love."

Dean chuckled. "Well, Sammy, you ought to know." The glare he received was SO worth it. His little brother could be such a woman sometimes. He took the paper out of Sam's hand. It seemed trivial before, so he never bothered to read it. Dean skimmed the letter. It still looked trivial. "So?" he asked.

"That's my point, Dean," Sam laid the paper on the table, pointed out the single line that probably referred to a man in the librarian's life. "If she were really in love, the whole letter would be about him."

"So, whoever he is, he can't be the reason for her sticking around," Dean reasoned, starting to see where Sam was coming from. "Then what?"

"Good question."

Dean shot his brother a look. "Thanks."

"Well," Bobby read over it again, "if we can figure that out, then we'll know how to get rid of her. Assuming she's a threat in the first place."

"There's only one teacher left at the school who knew her," Dean informed them, taking a seat at the table.

"Who, Dean?" Sam pulled out the chair next to him.

Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, Miss Grimmault."

Sam's head dropped.

"Oh, shit," Rae mumbled. "Does this mean I have to start talking to her?"

Dean shook his head. "Dunno, kiddo. According to the current librarian, Elly here and Miss Grimmault were best friends."

Rae rolled her eyes. "So it's supposed to be fun when it's not easy?" She sighed. "You have a strange idea of fun there, Gramps."

Bobby chuckled. "This from a girl who likes reading the dictionary."

"Well," she protested, "words are interesting."

"What's wrong with reading the dictionary?" Sam demanded.

"Okay, okay," Dean held up his hands, "let's not go there. Back to the library chick." His eyes darted to Bobby. "You know Bobby, you've never met Miss Grimmault. Maybe you could talk to her."

"Yeah, and you're about the same age, too," Rae piped in, grinning. Dean nudged her to shut her up, before she could go any further.

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Bobby might have to shoot Dean. Or strangle him. There had to be a way to inflict some serious pain without killing the boy. Was this Dean's way of telling him he needed a date?

Bobby sat in the coffee shop Sam recommended, waiting for Rae's bitchy English teacher to arrive. Dean set up a blind date with her through the librarian up at the school. He shifted uneasily in his chair, wondering how the hell he could bring up her deceased best friend without making it too obvious he was not interested in dating.

A woman near his age walked in, hair short and perfectly coifed, dress pressed and sharp, intelligent eyes that scanned the shop. When her gaze settled on him, a thin frown creased her face and Bobby regretted not wearing the new ballcap Dean bought for him. She approached him, stopping just at the edge of the table. "Bobby Singer?"

He jumped to his feet. "Yes, ma'am. Miss Grimmault?"

"It's Judy," she replied, sliding into the chair opposite him.

"Can…can I get you a coffee or something?" Bobby asked, taking in those warm, dark eyes. Why didn't Dean mention what a looker she was?

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Dean checked his watch. Again. Four hours? How much coffee could they drink, anyway?

"Relax, Dean. It's Bobby." Sam admonished, eyes glancing over the laptop at him. "He'd call if there were any trouble."

"But what could take four hours?" Dean demanded. "I mean, he's meeting the bitch. They couldn't possibly have that much to talk about. I figured thirty, forty-five minutes tops to get the information."

Sam rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the laptop. A deck of playing cards landed with a pop on the table. Looking up, he saw Rae's smiling face. He took the cards out of the box, nodding to another chair and started dealing. Rae sat down, watching his well-practiced hands. The three of them were in a large discussion over when it was best to bluff when Bobby came in.

Dean jumped to his feet, relieved the old man appeared fine. The odd grin on Bobby's face was slightly disconcerting, though. "Bobby? How'd it go?"

"Fine. Fine." Bobby's head bobbed, his eyes sparkling.

"The librarian, Bobby? What did you find out?" Sam asked, standing near Dean's elbow.

"Oh, right. The librarian." Bobby made his way into the kitchen, taking a seat on a barstool at the counter. Rae retrieved a beer from the fridge for him. Bobby grinned at her and popped the top off before continuing. "Dean was right, Judy and Elly were best friends. It seems Elly was seeing someone right before she died, but she wouldn't tell Judy who."

"Uh," Dean sank back down to his seat at the table, "who the hell is Judy?"

Bobby cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable. "Miss Grimmault."

"Go on, Bobby." Sam shot him a warning look, so Dean clamped his mouth shut. Four hours, huh? Bobby was a dog!

"I'm starting to think Rae's little friend might be right. Judy thinks our librarian was seeing a married man, too." Bobby took a swig of beer. "But she doesn't know who."

Dean sighed. "Back to square one."

"Not entirely, Dean. Now we know Elly was murdered and she was seeing a married man. Maybe if we can solve her murder, her spirit will be at rest," Sam suggested.

"Okay, Monk. Where do we start?" Dean demanded.

Sam shrugged. "Well, we could always trying asking her."

Dean stared at his brother, wide-eyed. "You're really losing it. You know that?"

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Okay, it was official. Sam was crazy. His brother needed to be locked in one of those rubber rooms so he couldn't hurt himself. Here they were, on a Saturday night, watching the school and waiting for nightfall. Sam kept saying how they were lucky it would be a full moon tonight so they could see better. Dean figured he could see well enough, he could see that Sam lost it. Past tense. Probably no getting it back.

He thought maybe he spotted that guy, Sarah's ex, tailing them from the apartment. After sitting behind the library for a couple of hours and no sign of him, Dean thought maybe it was just nerves getting the best of him. Rae sat in the back next to Bobby, practicing her Latin. Bobby's Latin was impeccable, Dean often wondered if he taught Dad at some point. Sam read through some books looking for an appropriate summoning spell they could use at the site of the haunting rather than over the grave, since there wasn't one.

Dean rubbed a hand over his steering wheel, wishing the sun would sink already so they could get on with this stupid plan. Talk to a ghost. He shook his head. It didn't get any more desperate than this. All the hair on the back of his neck stood out and he had the distinct feeling of being watched. Dean looked cautiously around.

"Dad?" Rae's voice broke from her studies. "Is someone out there?" A glance in his rearview mirror told him the she looked as worried as he felt.

"Dean?" Sam asked from beside him.

Dean shook his head. "Not sure." He got out and checked the gun tucked firmly in his waistband before checking the area. Nothing. Probably just nerves. It had been a couple of months since they had to do anything like this, maybe he was slowing down.

He sat back down behind the wheel, slamming his door closed. "Nothing," he said with a shrug.

"Didn't seem like nothing," Rae mumbled from the backseat. Dean silently agreed.