They worked with Garth on their next case. He salted and burned the bones of who he thought killed a boy in the woods, but when a second victim popped up, he called Dean.
Garth's EMF detector seemed to be acting up. It wasn't detecting any EMF, but Dean would come in after and his EMF would go nuts. Garth worked on it in the motel room as they talked. When they went to the next victim's house, Garth used both his and Dean's and neither detected any EMF.
Sam and Lily had stayed at the motel to do some research. When Dean and Garth got back, Sam filled them in on what they found out. Garth dropped his EMF reader and it made a noise. Dean it took it and turned it off.
"I'm concerned that Bobby might be haunting you," Garth said to Sam. "I brought it up to Dean, and he shot me down."
"Garth! Leave it alone," Dean said.
"It's okay," Sam said.
"No, it's far from okay."
"I've already tried contacting Bobby." Dean's face gave away his surprise. "When that beer disappeared, I pulled out a talking board."
"Without me?"
"You know, I figured, why drag you in... when it's something I could just put to bed myself."
"And?"
"And if he was there, I'd have told you."
"You could have told us you tried," Lily said. "You know Dean was thinking Bobby was around."
"Well, he's not," Sam said.
When the guys split up to cover a few potential victims, Lily opted to stay behind at the motel. She would be there to do some quick research if they needed it, or try to get to one of them if they needed back up. They returned late that night. They had taken care of the monster, and they all needed sleep. Garth passed out on a stool with his head on the bar-height counter. Sam fell asleep sitting up in a chair. Dean had sprawled across the bed and drifted in and out of consciousness. Lily tried to clean up after the guys a little, but she heard Dean call her name in a whisper. When she looked over, he was still on his stomach across the bed, propping himself up one one arm.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Trying not to leave the place a total mess."
"We'll do that tomorrow. Come here."
He moved to lie correctly on the bed, still on top the covers, and held his arm out for Lily. As she lay down with her back to him, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"You've got me really messed up, you know that?"
"How?" she asked.
"I've been finding it hard to fall asleep if you're not next to me."
Lily smiled and ran her hands over his arms. "Well, I'm here now," she said, "and I guess you'll just have to take me with you wherever you go."
"That could work."
The next morning they all saw Garth off, then went back into the room for their things. Sam and Dean were arguing again over whether or not Bobby could be around. Sam eventually convinced Dean that it was just because they wanted him back so badly that they were seeing such weird things.
A few days later, Dean got a call from another hunter, named Annie. She said she had some of Bobby's old books and wanted to know if the boys wanted them. She told them where she was working a case, and they were pretty close. They agreed to meet for lunch the next day. Annie didn't show. That made the guys worried.
They tracked down her motel room and started looking over her research until they found the house she had been investigating. They checked it out, and found her phone, but not her. They dug up some more information on the history of the house, then went back to the motel. Lily sat cross-legged on the bed with the laptop, while Sam sat at the table with papers about the house. Dean was in the shower. Lily heard the water turn off, then Dean called for Sam. Sam walked over to the open bathroom door.
"Tell me you wrote that," Dean said.
"Uhhh... no. No, I didn't."
"Well, then, who's there?" There was no response, so Dean shouted. "I said, who's there?!"
Lily got up to see what all the commotion was about. She walked up behind Sam just in time to see letters slowly being formed on the steamy bathroom mirror. They spelled "Bobby."
They struggled with the fact that Bobby really had been with them the whole time, and they linked it back to Bobby's old flask, which Dean kept on him at all times. Sam and Dean practically mowed Lily over as they left the bathroom.
"We gotta go," Dean said.
"Where?" Lily asked.
"Back to that house. Bobby said Annie is trapped inside."
Sam grabbed his weapons bag and was out the door. Lily stared back at the mirror. The steam was gone, and it had taken the name with it.
"We're not crazy, right?" she asked. "We all saw Bobby's name there?"
Dean put his hand to the back of her head. "Yeah, sweetheart." He quickly kissed her forehead. "We all saw it." He paused a moment, staring into her eyes. "Don't get mad..."
"That doesn't sound promising."
"I want you to stay here."
"Dean..."
"There's something really weird with that house. I don't like the feel of it. We've already got Annie stuck in there. I don't wanna be worried about you too."
Lily nodded. "Okay. Just come back in one piece."
"I'll do my best."
When the guys finally got back, their heads were down and their faces stern.
"You find Annie?" Lily asked.
Dean just nodded slightly. Sam was the one who answered. "We found her body."
"Guys... I'm so sorry."
"We found someone else, too," Dean said.
"Who?"
He pointed behind Lily, so she turned around and saw Bobby.
"Hey, kid," Bobby said with a smile.
Lily's eyes went wide. "Bobby?" Without thinking, she ran to him to throw her arms around him. She almost fell as she passed through him, and he flickered slightly.
"Sorry, kid. I wish I could hug ya, but..."
He held his arms out, letting his condition speak for itself. Bobby was dead. A ghost. He wouldn't be hugging anyone. Lily stared at him and tried to smile, but her eyes quickly filled with tears. Dean walked over to her and put an arm around her.
"It's been a long night," Dean said. "I think we all need some sleep."
They got ready for bed, and Bobby disappeared. Lily sat in the chair by the window, just staring into the room, wondering if Bobby was there watching them. Sam was already asleep, and Dean lying in bed.
"Lily, come on... we gotta hit the road early."
She silently stood and walked to the bed. Dean lifted the covers for her. She snuggled into him and he wrapped his arms around her.
"I can't believe Bobby's still here," she said. "You were right... the whole time."
"Of course I was," Dean said with a grin.
"Did you guys get to really talk to him yet? How did he get stuck here?"
"We'll talk on the road tomorrow, okay? We need sleep."
Dean kissed her head and she let out a sigh. "I love you, Dean."
"I love you, too."
Lily's eyes were heavy, but she couldn't fall asleep. She slipped out of Dean's arms and got out of bed. As she walked toward the small table by the window, she looked around the room.
"Bobby," she whispered. "Are you here?"
Bobby flickered as he appeared in the middle of the room. Lily sat down, her eyes glued to him.
"I'm here."
"I don't know if I should be happy you're here or not. What happened?"
"I chose to stay."
"Why?"
"You really gotta ask? I had to help you and the boys."
"Dammit, old man... I really wish I could hug you." Bobby just smiled at her. "How long have you been around? The whole time?"
"Far as I can tell. It was weird at first, but I was around."
"Were you... around when I was... when we lost the baby?"
"I was. Sorry about that, kid."
Something occurred to Lily then. "Are you in the room when Dean and I... I mean..."
"Don't even say it," Bobby cringed. "You two are like rabbits, sometimes. Thankfully there's enough range on that flask that I can leave the room whenever you two are alone. I don't even wait to see if anything starts."
Lily blushed and looked away. "You remember, before you died, you figured out that I was in love with Dean?"
"I do."
"Do you need an update on that, or do you know how that turned out?"
Bobby smiled at her. "I know. I also know you haven't told Sam yet."
Lily glanced over at Sam sleeping. "He has to know... on some level, he has to realize."
"He may know you love Dean, and he may have figured out that Dean loves you, but he'll never know you've admitted it to each other unless you tell him."
"Bobby...," Lily started.
Dean rolled over in bed and grunted. It startled Lily, and Bobby flickered before disappearing, leaving her staring at the now empty space. Dean leaned up on his elbows.
"What are you doin' up?"
"I couldn't sleep. I was talking to Bobby."
Dean sat up. "Where is he?"
"I don't know, he just disappeared."
"He must have lost his concentration." Dean adjusted the pillows, then motioned to Lily. "Come back to bed."
Lily returned to where she had been before in Dean's arms. Her mind was calmer after talking to Bobby, and she soon fell asleep.