We finally get Bobby to the rescue! Reviews bring me joy :)
Sophie was better in the morning. At least a bit. They made good time on the drive and got to Bobby's a little after one o'clock. Dean helped Sophie out of the car and grabbed Louie out of her duffle. She tucked the stuffed sheep under one arm, squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.
"Sophie?" The older man's brow furrowed as he opened the door, "What are you doing here? What happened to you?"
"We'll explain," Dean assured him.
"It's good to see you Bobby," Sophie said with a genuine smile. She relaxed palpably when they got inside.
"You look like you've been through the wringer," Bobby said, "What can I do to get you comfortable? You rest. Dean can fill me in on why you two are here."
"A couple blankets and a book would be great," Sophie said, "Some tea if you have it."
"Of course," Bobby assured her, "Dean why don't you find her a comfortable spot while I get some books and some tea. You still like folklore, right Sophie?"
"I do," Sophie nodded, resting her head against Dean's arm. She'd improved a lot in the last day and a half. But she was still utterly spent.
"I've got a great new book on Ethiopian mythology," Bobby said with a smile, "And I'm gonna dig up some tea bags for you too."
Dean got Sophie settled on the living room couch, tucking every spare blanket he could find around her.
"Warm enough?" He asked.
Sophie nodded.
"I have peppermint or chamomile," Bobby said, depositing a thick, leather bound book and a mug of hot water on the side table.
"Peppermint," Sophie said, taking the tea bag he handed her, "Thank you."
"Now you just get some rest," Bobby said, "Dean and I will be over in the kitchen. Holler if you need anything."
Bobby ushered Dean into the kitchen. Then shut the door and pinned the younger man against it.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Bobby growled.
"I can explain," Dean said, "I promise Bobby. I can explain."
"You better," Bobby stepped back and started pacing the short length of the kitchen counter.
"She recognized our name when we were working a case in Ontario," Dean said, "And like the idiot I am I heard about her meteorology degree - and to be very blunt I saw her freakin' body - and I asked her to come with us. Sam just about murdered me. But turns out that girl is the best researcher I've ever met. One thing led to another and suddenly let's reevaluate this on a daily basis to see if she's slowing us down turned into wow we've never killed this many monsters in a month."
"And when did you two start…" Bobby made a noncommittal hand gesture.
"Couple months ago," Dean said.
"And does she come on hunts with you?" Bobby asked, "Is that how all this happened?"
"Kind of," Dean said, "She has seizures. And migraines. Bad ones. So she comes with us. And my word that woman terrifies me. She used to do judo and now she bakes for a living and we taught her how to use a bat and…wow. She took the arm off a leshy last month. Saved Sam's life."
"Still doesn't explain why she showed up on my doorstep with a bloody lip," Bobby put in.
"I'm getting there," Dean assured him, "We had a werewolf hunt go all kinds of wrong and she got mauled. So the three of us holed up in Regina, Saskatchewan so she could heal up over the holidays. And man, I gotta tell you, it was good. Things were great. I've never seen Sam quite as happy as he was on Christmas morning. That was his first real Christmas and then…"
Dean trailed off.
"And then?" Bobby prompted.
"And then our dad showed up," Dean said simply. Bobby stiffened.
"What did he do?"
"We told him she was our new researcher," Dean said, he felt his throat constricting. Could he actually get out the words?
"And?"
"And he decided we weren't teaching her to hunt properly. And he beat her with his belt," Dean took a deep breath and swallowed hard, "Made me hold her while he did it. He was grabbing for some rock salt shells to fire at her when Sam clocked him in the jaw. We left him in his truck on a back road."
"So that explains why she looks like death warmed over," Bobby sighed, leaning back against the counter, "And the bloody lip?"
Dean went to explain, but then he heard a crash from the other room.
"Sophie?" He called, wrenching open the kitchen door and rushing into the living room. It was just a focal seizure, thank god. She was slumped back on the couch, unconscious, mug of tea shattered on the floor beside her. But she wasn't convulsing. Everything was going to be fine.
"What the hell?" Bobby shouted as he followed after Dean.
"Quiet Bobby," Dean shushed, "I don't want her to wake up scared."
"This happen often?" Bobby asked.
"It's the stress," Dean said, "She'll be fine. She had a bad one after my dad…"
Dean swallowed hard and trailed off.
"Anyway," he said, "She bit through her bottom lip."
"I'm gonna kill him," Bobby muttered, stalking back into the kitchen, "I'm gonna strangle him."