A Whiter Shade of Pale Ch. 19

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Author's Note: To avoid confusion between stories, this story is the one where Sam is 13 years old and was stabbed outside their motel room by a man who was drunk. _

Previously: Loading their duffle bags into the trunk of the Impala just a few moments later, John wasn't surprised when he saw Dean climb into the back with his brother instead of taking his usual shotgun position. Dean's protective feelings of his baby brother were in hyperdrive now and would stay that way until Sammy was completely well once again.

Glancing into the rearview mirror approximately an hour or so later, John wasn't a bit surprised to see his youngest leaning against Dean and slumbering peacefully with Sammy's head resting comfortably against his big brother's shoulder. He knew the pain medicine he had given his young teen before they left would knock his son out and he was grateful that Sam would have a reprieve from the stomach pain if only for a little while.

Focusing his attention back on the road as he drove down the interstate, John once again gazed out his side view mirror to check for any signs that they were being followed. He was pretty certain they had made their getaway good, but there was that tiny sliver of a chance that somehow they had been noticed, and he couldn't chance that stupid assed detective catching him unawares.

"Dad, is something wrong?" Dean questioned with a low voice so as not to wake his slumbering brother. "I mean, you keep looking out the side view mirror like you're expecting someone."

"No, there's no one following us Ace," John replied with a tight smile as he chanced a quick look at Dean before turning his attention back to the road. "I'm just a little paranoid I guess."

"Can't blame you there," Dean informed his Dad knowingly as he shifted gently to ease the strain off his aching butt. "That detective sure seemed to have a grudge against our family for some reason. You think he might follow us or even show up at Bobby's place later on?"

"I don't know, Ace. I sure hope not, but with Winchester luck…" John's voice drifted off leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken.

"Things always seem to come back and bite us in the ass," Dean supplied, caring his fingers through Sammy's hair in a calming motion when his baby brother began to squirm about. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to wake up and be in pain before they made it even halfway to Bobby's place.

"Exactly," John replied with a sigh as he scrubbed a hand across his lower jaw. Damn, but he wished that things were different; that his boys could have had the life they deserved instead of the one they lived now.

~~Supernatural~~

Pulling out a clean set of sheets from the hallway closet, Bobby carried them to the room that John's boys would be sleeping in after they arrived and stripped the old bedding off. Sure, the bedding had rarely been used over the past year or so, but he didn't want to chance anything, knowing that the youngest Winchester was still recuperating from a serious knife wound to the gut. No way was he going to be the cause of Sammy getting a serious infection and being hospitalized again just because he had been too damned lazy to change the sheets. He loved the kid too much for that to happen, even if Sammy did have a lame-brained idjit for a father.

Tucking the edge of the sheet under the bed, Bobby wondered if he needed to place a few calls to find out if John Winchester's fears about being followed by the police detective were warranted. Usually, officers of the law weren't allowed to work outside of their own jurisdiction, but that didn't mean the cop wouldn't take things into his own hands. He'd known a cop or two in his own time who refused to leave things alone. Hell, hadn't he had Sheriff Jodie Mills on his own behind for years, blaming him for stuff he hadn't done. Just because he was known as the town drunkard for more years than he cared to admit, didn't mean he was guilty of every damn bad thing that happened in his small little town.

Deciding that he needed to play it safe for the boys' sake, Bobby decided to place a few calls to some friends in high places and cash in the markers owed to him. At least then he would have advanced warning should that detective decide to show his face at Singer Salvage. Sure, he knew Caleb and Joshua were on their way from the calls he made earlier, but a little added insurance never hurt anything.

Thinking about the boys, Bobby couldn't help but smile knowing how much those two always livened up the place when they were around. No way would he admit it aloud, but he had really missed the rugrats being underfoot since he and John had had their falling out a few years back. Of course, he probably couldn't call them rugrats now since Dean was nearing eighteen and Sam had most likely turned thirteen by now.

Shaking his head to free himself of the reverie he was currently entrenched in, Bobby finished the job he was doing and then exited the small bedroom to make his way downstairs again. He needed to go to town to pick up some groceries. Sammy was sure to need some soup if his stomach was still unsettled, and if he remembered correctly, Dean could eat him out of house and home all by himself with the healthy appetite the boy had.

Checking the salt lines to make sure they were still intact and that the sigils and wards hadn't been disturbed, Bobby pulled his keys from the front pocket of his jeans and made his way out the door. Climbing into his two-toned Chevrolet, he hoped and prayed he would make it back before Joshua and Caleb arrived knowing that the two of them would find his good stash of liquor and possibly drink it dry.

~~Supernatural~~

Sitting on the front porch at Bobby's house just a few hours later, Caleb and Joshua supped on their bottles of beer which had been laced with holy water as they chatted with the grizzled older hunter.

"So, what's going on with John and his boys?" Caleb questioned as he glanced towards Bobby with a quizzical look on his face. "All you said over the phone was that John and his boys might require our help."

"Well, I guess the first thing you need to know is that John could be coming in hot with the law on his tail," Bobby answered as he scratched his fingers through the stubble adorning his lower jaw and chin area.

"What the hell has that stupid bastard gone and done this time?" Joshua asked heatedly as he clenched the amber colored bottle of beer in his meaty hand.

Actually, it's not what you're thinking Josh," Bobby voiced as he started to explain what had happened. "John is actually innocent of any wrong doing this time, well except for that temper of his. Turns out little Sammy was hurt pretty badly through no fault of John's and the police ended up getting involved in the situation."

"What happened? Is the kid okay?" Joshua asked with alarm, nearly dropping the bottle of beer from between is fingers as he thought about the youngster who had captured his heart so many years ago.

"He will be given time, but for now, you need to know that the little man was stabbed in the abdomen by some drugged up twit at the sleazebag hotel they had been staying in for the night when John got into an argument with the scumbag and Sammy tried to help his Dad," Bobby answered as best he could. "Turns out the dimwit who did the stabbing got himself killed a few days later and somehow, during the course of the investigation, the nincompoop detective investigating the case got it into his head that John was guilty of the killing even though John was with his boys at the and plenty of witnesses to prove it.

"And now John is on his way here with the boys, and could have that moron of a detective following him, right?" Caleb questioned, leaning forward to scratch Rumsfeld who had just come up onto the porch to sit at the hunter's feet.

"Exactly" Bobby answered before taking a long swig from the long necked bottle of beer in his hand.

"Let him show up. We'll teach him what happens when you mess with one of ours," Joshua voiced strongly as he slammed his bottle down onto the arm of the chair. "Ain't nobody else hurting that kid or his family if I have any say so about it."

"That goes double for me," Caleb replied forcefully as he glanced from Joshua to Bobby and then back again. John could be an ass at times, but he was family as far as they all were concerned and family takes care of their own.

TBC. Sorry, I know it's a short chapter, but hopefully you enjoyed it anyway. It's been way too long since I have posted the last so I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer.

CC, I know this isn't the story you were hoping for on your special day tomorrow, but I hope this chapter makes up for it if even in the tiniest of ways.