Lily waited a little over a week before calling Bobby. She was still trying to wrap her head around everything Dean had told her, including the fact that he missed her, yet left her behind again.
"How you doin', Bobby?"
"Judging by the tone of your voice I'd say you know my situation, so you can imagine how I'm doin'."
"Sorry, Bobby."
"Not your fault. Whatcha want, kid?"
"Just called to talk."
"If you're lookin' to give a pep talk, you got the wrong guy. I don't need a pep talk. I need legs that work."
"Bobby..."
"Why don't you call Sam. I just got off the phone with him. He could use a pep talk."
"Why? What's up?"
"He and Dean decided to go their separate ways. Sam's outta the game."
"You're kidding?"
"Do I kid, kid?"
"Why did they split?"
Bobby didn't answer, and Lily realized he may be wondering just how much she knew.
"Does it have something to do with the demon blood?"
"What demon blood?"
"Bobby, Dean told me everything in River Pass. It's how I knew about you, too."
"And you're just calling now?"
"I wanted to give you some time."
"Well, thanks for that."
"Seriously, Bobby. Is it the blood?"
"Partly, yeah."
"He's doing it again?"
"No... but it's like he's jonesin' for it. Said he felt like it was interfering with the job, and Dean agreed."
"Dean felt like Sam was a distraction?"
"I guess you could call it that."
"Well, nice to know it's not just me."
"Huh?"
"That's the same thing Dean told me... he couldn't afford the distraction."
"Give Sam a call. He'd probably like to hear from you."
"No. If he's really out then I'm not gonna be the one that ends up pulling him back in. You call me if you need anything, Bobby."
"You got it, kid."
Lily kept working. She alternated solo jobs and working with Ellen and Jo. It was during one of her solo jobs that she got the call from Bobby. Ellen and Jo were dead. Bobby told her how it happened, and Lily got angry.
"I should have been there, Bobby! You called Ellen and Jo in. Why didn't you call me?"
"I was gonna. I wanted all hands on deck, but Dean was already upset over getting Jo involved. When he found out I was gonna call you he almost flipped. Made me promise not to."
The tears were streaming down Lily's face. "Damned Dean Winchester. Who gave him the right..."
"Listen, kid," Bobby interrupted, "you know how he is. He feels like this is him and Sam's mess, and they need to be the ones to clean it up. He don't like askin' for help. And he don't like puttin' people he cares about in danger."
"What about Ellen and Jo?"
"Dean's devastated. He don't show it, but I can tell. He's blamin' himself, as usual."
In the months that followed, Lily stopped asking about Dean and Sam. Bobby was determined to keep his promise. He would not tell her anything about the plans to stop the apocalypse.
Bobby called her in on a few jobs he worked. He finally reached a point where he had moved past the fact of his wheelchair enough to hit the road when needed. She learned a lot working side-by-side with him. She was grateful for those jobs. Hunting solo got very lonely. She had lost her dad, lost Ellen and Jo, and, if she was honest with herself, she had lost Dean too. It didn't matter what his reasons were, he just would not speak to her.
She missed him. And she was mad at him. He was driving her crazy and he wasn't even around. But it was the news she got in May that shattered her. It had been a while since she heard from Bobby outside of the occasional text to let her know he was still alive, so she was relieved when he called her. The feeling didn't last.
Sam was gone. He had said yes to Lucifer and managed to gain control long enough to throw himself, and the devil, into the pit.
"Dean's out," Bobby said.
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's out. Sam made him promise to go find Lisa and live a normal life."
"Lisa?" All the feeling went out of Lily's body.
"It's a woman he met..."
"I know about Lisa." She closed her eyes. "Dean kept his promise?"
"I couldn't believe it myself, but, yeah." When Lily didn't say anything else, Bobby spoke again. "Why don't you fly out here for a few days and keep an old man company?"
Lily smiled. "That sounds like a plan, but I think I'll drive. Get my head cleared."
"Alright, kid. See you soon."
Lily took a side trip to Cicero. Dean was so close... just a few hours away... and she never felt further. She found the house and parked on the opposite side of the street, far enough away so she wouldn't be seen, but close enough to see people come and go. She was there about an hour when Dean walked out with a young boy. She assumed it was Ben. Dean went around and tossed something into the bed of the truck in the driveway while Ben climbed into the cab. A moment later, a woman came out: Lisa. Dean held the passenger door of the truck open. They kissed, and Lisa climbed into the cab. Dean shut the door and walked around to the driver side. They were soon out of the driveway, and headed down the street, away from Lily. She sat in her car, head down, hands gripping the steering wheel, defying the tears to fall.
"I should have told him." She looked up at the house and put the car in drive. "Goodbye, Dean."
She turned the car around in the nearest driveway and headed for the highway, making her way to Bobby's.