" What do you know about demons ? " Bobby asked, John raised a brow and gave the older man a look which clearly asked 'are you crazy', although he said
" Not much, pretty much what my mom used to talk about on a Sunday after church "
" Well they're real, and they're here and now "
" Okay, if you say so, not to sound rude here or anything but where you dropped on your head a lot as a baby ? " Bobby laughed
" No, look I know this sounds crazy, but they do exist, so do a lot of other things, werewolves, ghosts, raw heads, shape shifters " John snorted interrupting Bobby
" Vampires ? " he asked sarcastically,
" No, think they're extinct, but you can never be to sure, gotta learn about um even if we think they don't walk amongst us anymore "
" Bobby you can't be serious about this, I mean come on, you expect me to believe that crazy shit ? "
" Whether ya believe it or not John I'm telling ya the truth, and ya need to know about it. I been hunting demons all my life, that's how I met Mary's mother was hunting a damn shape shifter " he gave a low chuckle " Turns out it weren't no shape shifter after all just some dang fool who'd seen too many evil twin movies, but the point is I seen a lot of stuff. There are things out there in the dark and hell even during the day that can take yer life and rip it apart "
" You are serious ? " John asked as he put his glass down on the table
" As a heart attack. I know it sounds crazy, when my daddy told me about the 'family business' I thought he'd lost his marbles, but he took me on my first hunt and….well….lets just say that night I became a believer. At least let me prove to ya that I'm telling the truth "
" How'd you plan on doing that ? "
" I got a hunt not far from here, a spirits been scaring a family half to death and last week a repair man was killed when he was trying to repair the garbage disposal, poor bastard near on lost his arm, bled out before the emergency services could get there "
" It could just have been an accident, maybe he forgot to turn of the power " Bobby shook his head,
" Nice try kid, but he weren't no rookie, this guy was a pro, been on the job 20 years, ya don't make mistakes like that when you been doing it as long as he had ". John took a deep breath and let it out slowly,
" Okay, I'll come with you, but if you can't prove anything I want you to get some help " Bobby laughed out loud, John gave him a puzzled look
" What's so damn funny ? "
" Kid, if you knew how many times someone's said that to me, dang if I had a dollar for it I'd be Donald friggin' Trump by now "
" Oh, right, and Mary ? She knows about this ? " Bobby nodded his face loosing all signs of amusement now
" Had to teach her to keep her safe, the Singers aint exactly blessed with luck John, I wanted my girl safe, she knows her stuff but chooses not to follow the hunt. I was sure for a long time that Daniel was a demon "
" Is he ? " John asked, " because that would explain a lot " Bobby grinned
" You got more potential than I thought kid " John gave a smirk and rolled his shoulders, and raised a questioning brow,
" Well ? Is he ? "
" Nah, he's just an idiot with delusions of grandeur ", Bobby slapped John on the shoulder " We'll leave in the morning, its only a few towns over shouldn't take us more than a couple of days tops "
" What about Mary and the boys ? I can't leave them alone, what if Daniel comes looking for um here ? "
" I'll call a friend of mine to come over and watch out for um for yer if yer that worried "
" I don't trust a lot of people when it comes to my family Bobby, who did you have in mind ? "
" His names Jefferson Blake, he's a fellow hunter and a good man, yer can trust him, known him a long time, we grew up together "
" Can I at least meet him first ? " Bobby grinned widely at him
" Sure yer can, I'll call him now " with that Bobby stood and left John alone with his thoughts.
A part of him wanted to believe Bobby, sure he'd never actually seen anything for certain, but his mother was always ranting on about demons and the like, and he'd seen some things in Nam that he just couldn't explain no matter how hard he thought about it or tried. But Real life honest to God demons ? He shook his head and went to find Mary, she was in the parlour with Sammy bouncing him on her knee singing silly songs, he leant against the door jamb watching her
" Rollie, polie into town knocking all the children down, I know teddy bear " she sang, Sammy giggled as she leant him backwards as she sang.
" Did he tell you ? " she asked
" He did, and you knew about all this ? "
" Yeah, since I was 13. My mom brought me here to meet Bobby and after we'd been here a week a demon attacked, I've never been so scared in my life, this isn't a life I wanted for you John or the boys, I want so much more for you and them. Hunting is a hard life which is why I chose not to live it fully, its countless travelling, living from hand to mouth "
" Bobby seems to be doing okay " John interrupted her
" I know he does John but he has a home base, we don't have that anymore " John hung his head, guilt consuming him, it was his fault that they had no home now and no matter how he looked at it he just couldn't see past that,
" John ? If you could go back, back to holding that gun on the Bennett's would you change what you did ? " Johns head snapped up, although he felt guilty that was the one thing he had no qualms about what so ever. They deserved to die for what they'd done to the boys, for what they were going to do to Dean,
" Hell no, they deserved what they got "
" Then why do you feel guilty ? "
" Because its my fault we have no home now, we have no home base as you called it. Its my fault that the boys won't have that stability " Mary stood bringing Sammy with her, she placed a hand on his face, green eyes meeting that dark chocolate brown of his own,
" They have us John, we'll find somewhere else to build a home, but the boys will always have us " he smiled despite the melancholy that had descended on him
" Yeah you're right there " clearing his throat John spoke again " So Bobby wants me to go on a hunt with him, but I want you and the boys safe, so he's asking some guy called Jefferson Blake to keep you all company "
" Jefferson ? Wow I haven't seen him in years "
" You know him ? "
" Oh yeah, I know him, real charmer, nice guy though. He and Bobby have known each other since he was knee high to a grasshopper " John snorted at Mary's terminology,
" What ? Its how Bobby describes him ",
" Can I ask you something ? " he asked
" Sure, go ahead "
" Why don't you call Bobby dad if he's your real father ? "
" Cause I respect Bobby, I love the man, but calling him dad, I'd feel like I was lumping him in the same boat as Daniel and he's worth so much more than that " John grinned and pulled her to him kissing her softly on the forehead,
" Mary Winchester you're a big softie " she scowled playfully at him
" Well don't tell anyone I have a reputation to up hold as a hard ass " he laughed " Hey , I can be scary when I want "
" I know you can Mare , I been on the receiving end of your temper a few times, your tempers worst than mine " she laughed at that, the two sat on the couch snuggled up Sammy now sat happily on the floor playing with the bear that Dean had brought from the bedroom.
Jefferson arrived two hours later, he was a couple of inches shorter than John with blonde hair that had flecks of grey running through it and bright blue eyes. He came straight over to Mary and pulled her in for a warm hug,
" Still as beautiful as ever I see, when you going to leave that grease monkey you shacked up with and make an old mans dreams come true " John coughed loudly
" I would be that grease monkey, and in answer to your question when hell freezes over " Jefferson laughed loudly, he walked over to John slapping his hand into his in a warm handshake
" I can see why she likes you, she said you were a handsome devil but she didn't do you justice. Mary, no wonder you hid him all this time " Mary snickered into her hand as John blushed suddenly becoming very uncomfortable
" Behave Jeff, you only just met him, can't you think with your above brain for longer than 5 minutes "
" I was thinking with my above brain " he pouted, then grinned and winked at John who moved behind Mary, she giggled
" Don't worry jar head I'll protect from him "" I thought he liked you, you never said he was gay " she raised a brow
" Does it matter ? Besides Jeff's not fussy he always says someone as gorgeous as him should be shared with all "
" So he's….he's… " Mary rolled her eyes
" He's bisexual John " she grinned at his blushing cheeks " He always did have good taste though " she laughed when his blush deepened.
" So hound dog what you hunting down this time ? " Jefferson asked as he sat on a comfy chair, Sammy began to make his way over to the new comer,
" Disgruntled spirit, killed a repair man who was fixing a waste disposal unit, got to salt and burn the sucker before it gets anyone else " Jefferson nodded and picked up the baby who was pulling his way to standing clutching to his leg, Sammy giggled happily
" Ah a good old salt and burn " he eyed John up and down then gave a very dirty grin " Wouldn't mind watching him dig up a grave, all sweaty and muscles rippling "
" Jeff keep it in yer pants and leave the boy alone, even if he did swing that way I'm sure he'd go for a model that didn't remember when Methuselah was young "
" Hey I'm younger than you "
" By a year Jeff, no matter which way yer look at it yer getting old "
" Am not " he said, they all laughed, a sleep tousled Dean joined them rubbing at his eyes, he spied Bobby and made his way over climbing on the hunters lap he snuggled into him, Mary gave a small gasp and nudged John who was stunned at how easily Dean had accepted and trusted Bobby, Bobby stroked a hand through his soft blonde hair,
" You had a good nap Dean ? " Dean nodded and turned sleepy eyes to the new comer burrowing into Bobby his thumb snuck into his mouth
" Who's that ? " he asked, Jefferson gave a small wave
" Hey handsome I'm Jefferson, I'm staying with you and your mom while your daddy and Bobby go ghost hunting "
" Jeff " Mary said in a warning tone
" Ghosts ? " Dean asked his eyes wide, John knelt in front of him
" You think you'll be okay helping your mom to look after Sammy champ ? "
" Yes daddy, I'm a big boy " as if to prove this Dean removed his thumb and gave John a bright smile, John grinned back at the small boy
" Good boy, knew I could count on you . We won't be long we'll be back before you know it "
" Are you going to get the ghost daddy ? " he asked wide eyed
" Yeah son, we are "
" Cool, you're like a superhero, like batman " John smirked
" Would that make Bobby Robin ? " he asked, Bobby shot him a glare but straightened his face when Dean looked to him a small frown on his face,
" No, cause Bobby's old, so he can't be Robin. He can be Alfred though cause he's old and they have the same hair " Jefferson laughed at the stunned look on Bobby's face
" I aint that old kid " he said tickling Deans side, Dean laughed then went over to his brother
" Come on Sammy time for a snack, you want some apple ? "
" Mmm, mapple " Sammy copied " Lub De " the baby said as he cuddled into his brother, Dean hugged him back just as hard
" I love you to Sammy " the two boys went into the kitchen to eat their snacks Mary on their heels to help if needed.
" You got two fine boys there John, you must be very proud of them " Jefferson said as he watched them go into the kitchen, John grinned happily
" Thanks, I am proud of um, they're good boys " Bobby moved over to a door and motioned John to join him,
" There's something I want to show you John, tools of the trade you could say " he led John into a room after unlocking it, Johns jaw dropped. It was packed with all kinds of weapons, guns, machetes, a flame thrower, flare guns, wooden steaks. Then there where flasks that looked like they had water in them, rosary beads, crucifixes and knives. John wished he had more eyes to take in the vast array of weaponry
" Damn Bobby, this is amazing. Err why do you have a bag of salt in here ? "
" Keeps out evil and repels spirits, this " he said picking up a flask of water " This is holy water, damn useful to, works on demons, spill some on one and you get an instant reaction. I'm going to get a friend of mine to teach you Latin, you need to learn exorcisms "
" Are you shitting me ? Exorcisms? Really ? Like pea soup spitting exorcisms ? "
" You know they don't actually do that, they'll try and take you with um but they don't actually spew out pea soup, I'm going to give you a crash course in hunting, then we'll hit the road ".
Three hours later Johns head was spinning from all the information Bobby had given him about hunting, he didn't even know how he'd ended up in Bobby's truck and off to fight the spook that had killed a man. Death by garbage disposal it made John shudder, just what had he gotten himself into here ?
They arrived at a house that to John looked perfectly normal, in fact it looked very much like the house he and Mary had just left behind in Lawrence. He looked to Bobby and studied the mans profile he looked perfectly calm,
" You sure about this Bobby? It looks so…so…. "
" Normal ? " John nodded " Just cause it looks like normal don't mean it is, sometimes it's the things that look normal that are the worst, how you think they'd get by us if they didn't ? "
" Guess you got a point there, so how do we play this ? We go in and say what ? "
" Just follow my lead, there's a reason we're wearing suits ".
A moment later they were stood in the living room of the house,
" Ma'am if you could just tell us what happened it'll help with the insurance " Sheryl Watkins looked to the two men in her living room, fidgeting her hands nervously
" I already spoke to someone only yesterday "
" Its just for clarification ma'am, my partner and I where in the area and we were asked to check it out, so if you wouldn't mind " John said
" I don't know, I mean I know the power was off he did it himself I was in there with him and then….and then… " tears rolled down her cheeks her breath hitching in her chest, John moved forward and guided her to a seat
" Its okay just relax, take your time " she nodded and gave him a grateful smile, he patted her arm gently, she took a deep breath and continued,
" At first the radio came on, we where both stunned he checked the power again he said sometimes residual power could stay in the sockets and that may have been what had caused the radio to come on, then he just started screaming and there was all this noise and there was so much blood it was everywhere. I couldn't move, I just froze if I'd gotten there sooner maybe I could have saved his life "
" Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault " Bobby said " Has there been anything else strange that's happened ? Flickering lights, scratching sounds ? "
" How…how did you know about that ? "
" Lucky guess " Bobby said " We'll be in touch ma'am give you an update of how the case is going "
" Okay thanks ".
As they left John undid his tie letting it hang loosely around his neck,
" So what ya think ? Casper the not so friendly ghost ? " Bobby chuckled but nodded
" Yeah I'd say for damn sure we got ourselves a spook, think I know who it is an all, previous owner was murdered, took um years to sell the house, Miss Watkins was the first owner. We'll go to the cemetery tonight and salt an burn the bones of Isaiah Reynolds "
" What if that doesn't work ? "
" Then we got more research to do, but I looked into this before hand, everything points to it being Reynolds, he died a violent death most often that's what your standard haunting's are especially if they turn violent, they're stuck in that last moment of death, if we burn the bones there shouldn't be anymore trouble "
" How will we know for definite ? "
" We'll come back tomorrow and check it out, I'll bring an EMF with us check it properly "
" Shouldn't we have done that today ? , I mean what if we burn this poor bastards bones and it really was just an accident " Bobby sighed heavily and ran a hand through his greying hair
" John trust me, I know my job and I been doing this longer than Dolly Parton's been having plastic surgery ",
" Okay Bobby, guess I just want to cover all the bases ya know, it's the marine in me, I want to make sure we check every possibility " Bobby smirked,
" And here's me thinking you was just being a pain in the ass " John shot him a glare and climbed into the truck " We'll go back to the motel and get some rest we head out at midnight "
" Yes sir " John mock saluted
" Smart ass ".
They went back to the motel John grabbed a shower and changed into some sweats and an old USMC shirt he had, and climbed in bed. Bobby was already sleeping his even breaths soon had John joining him in a deep untroubled sleep.
John awoke at quarter to twelve and started to get dressed, he shook Bobby gently,
" Come on old timer time to wake up, we got work to do " Bobby threw the covers off and dressed even before his eyes where open properly,
" Come on lets get this done " John followed behind the hunter smirking " An yer can wipe that smirk off yer face as well "
" I wasn't doing anything " he said innocently
" Course yer weren't I'm older John I aint stupid " he chuckled at Johns indignant huff
" Was not " he said quietly, Bobby gave a smirk of his own,
" An for that I'll let you dig the grave " John rolled his eyes as he climbed in the truck once more. The journey to the cemetery was silent, Bobby handed John a shovel and led the way to the grave,
" Okay, start digging " he said pointing to the grave,
" Your just going to sit and watch ? " John asked as he began to dig, Bobby smirked
" That's the idea, I'll do the hard bit the salting an burning that is " John rolled his eyes again making Bobby laugh,
" Always wanted me a kid brother, think you just filled them shoes Johnny boy "
" Dude, that's sick that'd make me Mary's uncle " Bobby laughed, after a while John hit something hard " Think I'm there " Bobby tossed him the salt and gas
" Pour that on liberally then light the sucker up " Bobby ordered, John did as he was told, climbed out of the open grave and threw a lit match into the casket. The glow from the flames giving his face an eerie glow, he watched the flames in fascination until they burned away, they filled the grave back in together
" How soon till we know for sure its worked ? "
" Like I said we'll head there again tomorrow check it out we'll know for sure then, but now, how about some grub and some beers ? "
" Sounds good to me ".
They headed back to the motel loaded down with pizza and beer, John felt at ease with Bobby and in some ways the man was very much becoming like an older brother, John could see him becoming a guiding influence in his life and he felt safe knowing the man had his back. The next day they broke into the Wilkins house after Sheryl Wilkins left for work, they moved through the house quickly checking for signs of the spirit of Isaiah Reynolds, but there was none the spirit had been dispatched.
" Told ya it were him " Bobby said as they climbed back in the truck
" Yeah, yeah you where right, think we can get back to Mary and the boys now ? " Bobby snickered
" You know you did great back there kid, you're a natural you know. Think you're going to be damn good at this "
" So what's next ? " Bobby shot him a side ways glance,
" Possible wendigo in Minnesota , you wanna maybe check it out ? "
" What about Mary and the boys ? "
" I got a cabin up there in the woods and that friend of mine who I want to teach you Latin lives in that area, we could all go there together, Jim lives on a nice farm think Dean would like it "
" Okay, so Minnesota it is then ".
A/N; So this was a lot longer than I usually do but I'm not altogether happy with it, let me know what you think, Daniel returns in the next chapter and he's none too happy that Mary and the rest of the Winchesters are gone. Anyhow leave a review, just want to say thanks again to all of you who have reviewed you really make my day xxxx