Bobby

"I don't see the point of this Bobby…" Jane's comment was greeted with a book to the back of her head and she reached back to rub the spot, shifting in her chair. "What the hell?"

"The point is, I'm not always going to be around." Bobby didn't bother pointing out the obvious concerning her MIA husband and brother-in-law, they were never around anymore. They were so busy that they hadn't been back to the house in months, though he had gone to see them once, when they were dealing with a trickster. He had left Jane home for that, not that she had been overly inclined to go anyway. "And you need to be able to protect yourself, so say it again."

Jane stifled a groan and closed her eyes, beginning to recite the Latin he had made her memorize over the past few months, teaching her how to perform an exorcism. Ever since that night in February with Meg co-opting Sam's body and beating the crap out of them all, Bobby had gotten rather… weird. Good weird, but weird. He insisted on teaching her "self-defense", which wasn't martial arts, or basics on how to take down an attacker.

No, he was giving her the crash course on how to be a hunter with the constant reminder she was never to actually go out hunting. She was to learn the knowledge and only apply it in the event she was in danger, or to keep herself out of danger.

"Better." He nodded his approval. "Now do it again."


"Dead man's blood?"

"Used to…" She had to think on this for a second. Her head was filled with fun facts, and this was just another one. "Not kill vampires but weaken them, it's like a poison."

"And how do you kill them?"

"Off with the head."

"No, you don't kill them, you run."

Jane slapped herself in the face. "Fine, if a hunter is to kill a vamp, he would chop off its head. If I were to even hear of a vampire in the area, I relocate to Tibet."

"Smartass." He cleared his throat, toweling off the last of the freshly washed dishes. The only room in the house she was allowed to touch besides her room and the bathroom was the kitchen, and only because she was a damn fine cook. She had to leave the rest of his mess alone.

"Bobby, can I ask you a question?"

He just grunted.

"Why are you teaching me all this?" She got the gist of what he had said before, he wouldn't be around forever, not that she was planning on spending forever in this house, but still.

"Because you need to know, Jane. Someday you're going to be on your own again and you know what's lurking out there, you need to be prepared, just in case." He stepped away from the counter and removed his hat briefly, running fingers through his hair before replacing it. "You about them, they know about you. I'm just trying to give you a fighting chance."

She winced at that, he made it sound like she didn't have long. "Did you teach Sam and Dean?"

"No. John did." Now he was abrupt, even more so than usual. "They had it hard, Jane, especially Dean." He dropped down at the table, not even batting an eyelash when she procured them each a beer. He was getting used to her waiting on him whenever he ventured into her domain. It was… odd, but… it was also homey. He had to remind himself to stop being used to it because it was temporary.

Yeah, right.

"What do you mean?" She kept her voice quiet, trying not to sound to pressing but it seemed like he was in a talkative mood about something other than saving her ass.

"John raised him to be a hunter, be a soldier, and he was always taking care of Sam. Sam was… well, he didn't have a normal, easy life, but it was more normal and easier than Dean. He had a lot of responsibility placed on him, Jane."

She just nodded, already aware of how protective of Sam Dean could be. Sometimes it was as if Dean hated Sam as much as he loved him, and that could have been resentment.

"He's a little wild."

"Understatement."

"Yeah, well," He took a chug from the bottle. "Doesn't excuse him for dragging you into this."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Don't be an idjit, woman. If he would've left you where he found you, at that bar in Texas, you'd of gone on with your life the way it should've happened. You'd be none the wiser about any of this."

"Maybe. I am mildly psychic, that could have eventually kicked out your whole normal theory."

"Maybe, maybe not. Point is Jane, Dean knows what this life is like. Hunters die young, and if not, well… look at me."

"You're not so bad."

He scoffed. "You just don't know me that well."


"You planning on stopping in anytime soon?"

"Eventually, I did just get out of prison not too long ago. I'm feeling the need for a conjugal."

Bobby mimed strangling Dean, wishing he could through the telephone. "Dean, don't you think you've messed her up enough?"

Dean was silent.

"Bobby?"

Apparently Dean had handed the phone over. "Hey Sam, he throwing a fit?"

"He just stormed into the bathroom. What'd you say?"

"Nothing… You boys all right?"

"Yeah." Sam didn't sound all right though. "We had a run in with a Djinn last night. It messed Dean up pretty bad."

Bobby didn't know whether to ask what happened or feel a bit bad for his prior comment. He decided on neither. Obviously Dean was alive and fine. "Kill it?"

"Yeah. It's just… it had Dean trapped, in this little fantasy life I guess. He's hurting I think, he got… he got to have a normal life, even if it was fake."

Now that was cruel and Bobby did feel bad, not that he was admitting it outside his own head.

"How's Jane?"

Change of topic, that was good. "She's fine. I'm keeping her busy."

"With?"

"Training."

Sam laughed, sounding incredulous. "Really? Why?"

"Sam, do you really think she's going to be here much longer? One way or another, this has to end, and if she's alive afterwards, she'll go back to her life."

Sam was quiet for a long moment, and Bobby almost asked if he was still there before the young Winchester broke his silence. "Don't tell Dean that."