WEEK AT BOBBY'S
Chapter 5.
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To Bobby's big relief, Sam was doing a lot better than the previous night. When the Winchester brothers finally left the bed in the late afternoon, Sam's eyes were a bit red-rimmed and his nose bright red but the kid was smiling and his fever had come down. After a healthy breakfast consisting of the precious Lucky Charms, Bobby ignored the research he'd promised to do for a fellow hunter and made sure the brothers got into some warm clothes before he led them outside – with Ranger following suit.
"So, Dean." Bobby said as he guided the boys towards his outdoor garage workshop. "Do you like cars?"
"Yeah." Dean said, his hand safely closed around Sam's. "I think dad's car is pretty cool!"
"Of course you do." Bobby snorted. "Did your daddy ever show you how it looks like under the hood?"
"A few times." Dean answered.
"Oh yeah? So you know how the engine works then?" Bobby asked but Dean shook his head.
"Not really." Dean said.
"Well, let's do something about that." Bobby said as they walked inside the garage. "This is my workshop. When I'm not busy with everything else, this is where I fix cars."
"You're a mechanic?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, when I have time to be." Bobby said and came to a stop in front of one of the cars he'd been working on recently.
Bobby reached down and lifted Sam up on a little table next to the car where he was sure he would be able to keep an eye on the kid. Bobby had learned from experience that three-year-olds (or one three-year-old in particular) were very curious and the older hunter didn't want Sam to hurt himself on the sharp tools he kept in the workshop.
"Is there anything your brother likes to play with?" Bobby asked Dean when he figured that the youngest kid would soon get bored.
"He likes books." Dean said and Bobby raised his eyebrows.
"Books, huh?" Bobby said. "But he can't read yet."
"He likes the pictures." Dean said. "Sometimes he also pretends like he knows what the words are saying."
"Smart brother you've got yourself there." Bobby commented and eyed Sam who was currently playing with the Velcro loops of his sneakers.
"He is." Dean said and smiled proudly. "He actually knows how to spell too."
"Sure he does." Bobby said, not really believing it but humoring the kid nonetheless.
"He does." Dean insisted, looking right through Bobby's act, and then turned to his brother. "Sam."
The three-year-old looked at his older brother and Dean held Sam's look.
"Spell 'Sammy'." Dean told the young kid and Bobby watched as Sam lighted up as if Dean had given him a present.
"S-" Sam started and Dean nodded encouragingly. "-A-M-M-Y."
"Good job, Sammy!" Dean praised, making his younger brother grin happily, before he turned to look at Bobby with a smirk. "See? I told ya!"
"That's.. That's quite impressive." Bobby said and took off his cap to scratch his hair before putting it back in place. "What else can he spell?"
"That's it." Dean admitted. "I haven't taught him to spell anything else yet. He's only three."
"You taught him that?" Bobby asked though it was a stupid question. Who else than Dean would have taught Sam how to spell his name?
"Uh-huh." Dean confirmed with a nod of his head. "Next time I'll teach him how to spell 'Dean'."
"You're a good brother, Dean." Bobby told the eight-year-old who beamed by that statement.
Bobby then started flipping through the few books he kept on a shelf in his workshop - in hope of finding something for Sam to be occupied with while he taught Dean a few things about cars. The books were mostly about tools and cars but Bobby ended up choosing an encyclopedia that contained a lot of pictures. The salvage yard owner knew that it probably wasn't the most ideal reading material for a three-year-old, but he also knew that Sam wouldn't be able to understand what it was anyway so he guessed it wouldn't harm.
"Here Sam." Bobby said and placed the big book in front of the youngest Winchester brother. "You can look in this if you want."
"Okay Unca Bobba." Sam said with sparkling eyes and shot the older hunter a bright smile before he started turning pages in the book.
Satisfied with the fact that Sam was now kept occupied, Bobby found a stool for Dean to step up on so that the boy could easily see what Bobby was going to show him.
"This is a Ford Fairlane from '63." Bobby told Dean and patted the hood of the car a couple of times before popping it open. "And this is what the engine looks like. It's a 2.8 L. straight-six engine."
"What does that mean?" Dean asked.
"It means it has six cylinders." Bobby explained and pointed at the parts while speaking. "A cylinder is the space within a piston travels. This is a piston; it provides the driving force of the engine and it moves up and down when the car is on. When the piston is on the down stroke it draws fuel, and on the up stroke, when the piston reaches the top of the stroke, it ignites the fuel and that is when the engine fires – that is where the power comes from."
Dean followed every move Bobby made, with eyes wide of fascination. The eight-year-old was a very good listener and Bobby continued to explain the different car parts to the kid.
"This is a carburetor." Bobby said. "It mixes air and fuel. It basically consists of an open pipe through which the air passes into the inlet manifold of the engine. I'll get back to the manifold later."
"What happens when the air and fuel mixes?" Dean wanted to know.
"Well, the carburetor's job is to mix just the right amount of air and fuel so that the engine runs properly." Bobby explained. "If there isn't enough fuel mixed with air, the engine will either not run or it can be damaged. If there's too much fuel mixed with air, it can run very smoky or even waste fuel. You following?"
"Yeah." Dean said.
"Good." Bobby praised and ruffled Dean's hair, before glancing towards Sam who was still situated on the table with the encyclopedia.
"What's that?" Dean asked and pointed into the engine.
"That's the oil pump." Bobby explained. "It lubricates the bearings and also assists in cooling the engine."
"Is it important?" Dean asked and Bobby smiled.
"Most parts are, Dean." He said.
Bobby and Dean both turned their heads as Sam suddenly giggled – apparently amused about something he'd come by in the encyclopedia.
"Should I be worried? Do you think he needs a doctor?" Bobby asked and Dean laughed a little.
"No, Uncle Bobby." Dean grinned. "You're silly."
"Oh well, I've been called worse." Bobby said with a wry smile and shrugged his shoulders.
They stayed in the garage for almost the entire afternoon, and Bobby was quite impressed by the fact that neither one of the brothers seemed to get bored. Dean was a fast learner and the kid was absolutely thrilled when Bobby had asked him if he'd wanted to help him fix the car. Sam apparently found the encyclopedia so interesting that he kept starting over every time he'd reached the last page. Dean had been right when he'd told Bobby that Sam sometimes pretended that he knew exactly what the words in the book said; the three-year-old read aloud every now and then and what he said was all a mix of balderdash to Bobby, but Sam seemed careless and happy so who was he to take that contentment away from the kid?
"Can you hand me the wrench?" Bobby asked and held out his hand.
"This one?" Dean asked and put it into Bobby's hand as the man nodded.
Bobby fastened a bolt and then turned to Dean. "Now it's your turn." He said, making the oldest Winchester brother's eyes widen.
"Me?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I want you to try it out." Bobby said. "It's quite easy. Come on."
Bobby handed over the wrench to Dean and pointed towards a loose bolt in the engine.
"This one needs to be fastened." Bobby told Dean. "You just need to turn it with the wrench again and again until you can't turn it anymore. Okay?"
"I'll try." Dean said and Bobby helped him place the wrench the right way before Dean began the task he was offered.
"You're doing well." Bobby said as Dean kept going.
In the end, the bolt was fastened and Dean beamed brighter than the sun when Bobby admired his work.
"You're gonna be a great mechanic someday, boy." Bobby said and gently patted Dean's back.
Some sniffles from the table behind them, made Bobby turn his attention to Sam who had all of a sudden started crying. There weren't any wailing – just soft cries and Sam was rubbing at his eyes as tears made their way down his cheeks.
"What's the matter, Sam?" Bobby asked and wondered with concern whether or not Sam had gotten hurt after all or if perhaps his ears had started hurting again.
Sam didn't answer. He just continued crying softly and Bobby lifted him off the table before crouching down in front of him.
"You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Bobby asked Sam as Dean crawled down from the stool to get closer to his brother. Sam shook his head and Bobby sighed. What now then?
"You wanna tell me about it?" Dean asked and Sam nodded.
Bobby stepped a little away so that Dean could figure out why his younger brother had started crying, but Bobby wasn't far enough away to not being able to hear what Sam had to tell.
"What is it, Sammy?" Dean asked and Sam looked up at Dean with big teary eyes.
"Assidant." Sam revealed with quivering lips.
"You had an accident?" Dean asked and as Sam nodded, Bobby now noticed the wet spot on the kid's pants. "It's okay, Sammy, you don't have to cry. We'll fix it. Okay?"
Sam nodded once more and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, before Dean grabbed the younger boy's hand and turned to Bobby.
"I'm gonna give Sammy a bath." Dean said.
"You could need one too, Phantom Blot." Bobby said, taking in the oil stains on Dean's face and hands. "Why don't you go get ready for the bath, then I'll start on dinner in the meanwhile?"
"Okay, Uncle Bobby." Dean said and led his younger brother inside.
Bobby quickly cleaned up in the garage, walked back inside his house, filled up Ranger's food bowl and put the lasagna in the oven that he'd prepared while the boys had been asleep in the morning, before he walked upstairs to check up on the Winchester brothers. Bobby stopped up by the half-open door to the bathroom and silently peeked inside.
It always warmed Bobby's heart when he saw how Dean interacted with his younger brother, and this time was no exception. Dean was keeping Sam occupied in the bathtub by lining up little green toy soldiers on the edge of the tub, telling Sam to 'shoot' them. Every time Sam made a shooting sound ("Bam!"), Dean yelled "I'm hit!" and pushed a toy soldier into the water, making Sam laugh heartily. Dean also made sure that Sam got clean and, by the time Bobby stuck his head inside and announced that dinner would be ready soon, they were both clean and dressed.
"Let's get some food into you two." Bobby said as they walked down the stairs. "You hungry?"
"Yes!" Dean and Sam both exclaimed and Bobby chuckled.
Bobby didn't mind if John's hunt took a little longer than expected. He was treasuring every moment he spent with the boys, feeling happier than he'd been ever since his Karen had passed away. And for the first time in a long time, Bobby felt like he had a reason to leave his bed in the mornings.
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TBC.. - I think I'll make one more chapter of this..
Please review! ;)
-Elisa.