SPN: Turn Back the Clock, chapter 8 [T]
Fandom:
Supernatural
Title:
Turn Back the Clock, chapter 8
In which Bobby and Sam discover some new things.
Author:
lt_indigo
Pairing(s):
background Destiel
Warning(s):
none
Disclamer:
Never mine.
Word count:
2,137
Author's note:
The first 'time' for ' Five Times Gabriel Tried to Trick Dean' takes place during this chapter.
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Missouri wasn’t surprised in the slightest to hear that they were planning on leaving the next morning, and she set about making them some snacks for the five hour trip north. She enlisted Ellie’s help as sous chef and they both ended up bossing Sam and Dean around to fetch this ingredient or that, or stir a batter because Missouri’s arthritis made it hard these days (and Dean made a mental note to ask Cas if he could fix that when he got a minute).
Dean wondered if he was imagining the odd looks that Ellie kept giving Sam - kind of squinting sideways when he wasn’t looking. He wondered what she was seeing - was it the demon blood or something else? Was there something of Lucifer left behind after all? Dean had wondered if there had been something left over in Sam that had let Lucifer in to torment him; a thing that Cas had moved into himself; a thing that had destroyed Cas. Was it still there this time around, sitting like a cancer in his brother’s head? Had God overlooked something because Dean hadn’t known what to tell Him? Or was he being completely paranoid?
There was a conversation going on, and Dean belatedly realised that Sam was trying to coax Ellie’s hunter creds out of her. It was a conversation Dean had had with her during the clean-up after the vamp nest a week ago, but she wasn’t being quite as forthcoming with Sam as she had been with Dean, and Dean couldn’t think why. She was feeding him bits and pieces of her past - that she was from a hunting family, that she had grown up in the life, that she had taken out her first vamp at thirteen - but not once did she mention the connection to Gabriel, or her mojo, or explain how she had ended up in the US.
He chimed in, adding how they had taken out a whole vamp nest between them, tactfully omitting her use of grace (because he could do tact), and getting a grateful look in return. And together they told the quick story of the ghost hunt. This seemed to appease Sam, because they never worked with anyone except Bobby. They had adjusted to Cas’ presence because he was Cas, but having Ellie along full time would just be weird if Sam didn’t trust her. And if Sam didn’t trust her, Bobby sure as hell wouldn’t.
“Oh, crap.”
Three pairs of eyes turned to him as he pulled his cell phone out. Sam and Ellie looked concerned, while Missouri merely looked unimpressed and gave him a rap across the knuckles for swearing even as he hit the speed-dial.
“Sam says he owes you money,” Dean greeted Bobby cheerfully. He grinned unrepentantly at the string of cursing coming from the other end of the line, then handed the phone over to Sam.
“Hey, Bobby,” the kid said, suddenly looking like a gawky teenager again. It never ceased to amaze Dean that Sam could still pull that even now he had filled out. “A couple of hours?... Yeah, I know. I’m sorry… Long enough that they’re nauseating instead of disgusting, but I don’t know if it counts because of the whole time travel thing… What do you mean… Dean?”
Sam held the phone out. “Think you might have forgot something.”
Oh, yeah. Dean hadn’t told Bobby, had he? He’d still been trying to work out what to say to Cas last time he had seen Bobby.
“Hey Bobby.”
“‘Time travel thing’?” Bobby parroted in that tone of voice that demanded an explanation, along with ‘what the hell have you gone and done now?’ and strongly implying that Dean was a dumb shit for even trying to hide something from him in the first place. Dean had really, really missed that tone of voice.
“Can I tell you tomorrow?”
There was a pause, and Dean was pretty sure it was to cover any measure of joy that might have crept into Bobby’s voice at hearing that they would be at his place, under his feet again so soon.
“Sure, I guess. Pick up some groceries on your way: I don’t earn enough to keep feeding you both.”
“Sure thing, Bobby.”
“You going to be debauching that angel under my roof? Because I’m pretty sure that’s a sin - I don’t want my house getting smote.”
Dean could feel himself blushing. “Bobby, no, it ain’t…”
“You holdin’ out on him, princess?” Bobby was as much of a jerk as Sam was.
“Jeez, Bobby. Cas probably ain’t even going to be there - he’s got stuff to do in Heaven. But… you got clean sheets for the spare room? You even got the spare room any more, or is it stuffed with junk?”
“Junk, my ass,” Bobby grumbled. “That’s all stuff you and your brother have ditched here. I ain’t got time to go through your crap, boy. Why?”
“We picked up a third wheel,” Dean said, giving Ellie what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “She’s kind of awesome on a hunt.”
Bobby snorted in what sounded like disbelief. Dean could understand that, because hunters weren’t, as a breed, particularly trusting. Especially of each other. Bobby was the best connected hunter of anyone, and that was pretty much because he would run phones or research for just about anyone so they would owe him one further down the line.
“We took out fourteen vamps together, Bobby: she’s good.” He could feel Sam’s eyes on him and belatedly realised they might have left that improbably impressive total out when telling the story earlier.
“She can help you clear your crap out then,” Bobby grumbled. “Give me a call when you’re near.”
“Don’t I always?”
“No.”
Yeah, that was probably true, and while Dean knew it was to make sure Bobby didn’t have any guests who might ask questions about them or be poking around in the wake of a hunt, he couldn’t resist:
“You got a lady friend you need to kick out?”
“So what if I have?” Bobby growled at him. “Ain’t any business of yours.”
No, but it could be: how less surly would Bobby be if Dean happened to nudge Jody Mills at him a bit earlier rather than later? Right now she was still grieving for her husband, but it could happen, right? And hopefully not over a bucket of spilled borax this time.
Dean still kind of remembered Bobby being married to Ellen, and how much happier he had been when the five of them had been a proper family. Jody was the same kind of strong woman Ellen had been: she would be good for him. Why couldn’t Bobby have a bit of happiness in his life? Jody had been awesome with the Leviathan; she had really come through for them. She was one of them, and exactly the kind of woman Bobby needed.
“Okay, Bobby. You kiss Tori Spelling goodbye, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
There was an indignant splutter at the other end of the line, and Dean grinned as he hung up the phone. He knew he should feel bad for using info Bobby wouldn’t ever remember giving Dean, and especially for using info obtained under a curse, but damn it felt good to tease and laugh again. This was just another blessing from God, literally. Dean could have it all for once: he had his brother back, his angel, and Bobby, and he had even managed to reconnect with Missouri and realise that they had always had someone else on their side, had they ever bothered to ask her. He had a family, and they were kind of awesome.
.oOo.
Cas visited him in a dream that night and they got to spend some of the quality time together they should have had in the waking world. Cas was awesome to hang out with when they didn’t have the pressure of saving the world over them: he actually managed to relax and unwind some. He moved and laughed more easily than he did in the real world, and Dean thought that might be because while he was seeing Cas’ familiar Jimmy-shape, that was only because it was how his brain interpreted Cas. What he had here was a projection of Cas’ mind - his true self - rather than a non-corporeal being trying to move an alien body.
There was no pressure in a dream, either; Dean could just be himself rather than having to look out for Sam, or Ellie, or for the next thing that wanted to kill him. They could just hang out. When they didn’t feel like talking (and neither of them was exactly a chatterbox) Dean could fish while Cas lay on the pier beside him and read the Vonnegut books that Dean had memorised years earlier. And when it was time for Cas to leave, they could kiss without being mocked by Sam.
Dreamwalking always made for an abrupt awakening, but for once Dean really didn’t mind that: he closed his eyes and fell asleep again almost instantly.
.oOo.
Gabriel was a pain in the ass, Dean remembered, and he was sure she only visited to make things awkward. Dean had stumbled into the kitchen after a particularly harrowing nightmare about Cas and the Leviathan to find her shovelling strawberry pancakes into Ellie’s mouth and confusing the hell out of poor Sam. Maybe they should have mentioned the whole ‘Gabriel’ thing last night after all?
The only good thing was that the torture didn’t last long: apparently Gabriel had absolutely no desire to spend four hours cooped up in a car with them. That declaration had been made with an eye-roll that merged seamlessly into something sincere as she lay a hand over Missouri’s as she went to collect the plates.
“Later,” she declared after a weird moment, and fluttered off.
Sam rounded on him. “Gabriel’s alive?”
“Uh… yeah. He… she is.”
“Don’t you boys be saying anything unkind about her,” Missouri said swiftly and firmly. “Gabriel might have her issues, and I know you boys have some kind of unfinished business, but I haven’t felt so good in years.”
And suddenly, Dean remembered that he had asked Cas about Missouri and her arthritis last night. Cas had promised he would see to it. If Gabriel gate-crashing their breakfast was the best way of helping Missouri sooner rather than later, suddenly Sam’s confusion wasn’t quite so annoying after all. Sam could live with his confusion a little longer: it wasn’t going to get them killed anytime soon.
Sam had that thoughtful expression. “I guess it explains where you found Ellie,” he said finally with a shrug.
“Yeah. Gabriel was a tool and left her here. Poor kid’s been stranded here since you took your swan dive.”
Sam frowned. “So, has he taken her back home, or…?”
Dean’s phone beeped to alert them about the arrival of a new text message. Bobby never texted, and Cas couldn’t; only Sam ever texted Dean these days, so Sam’s confusion was warranted. Dean pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
“Ellie,” he told Sam. “She’s out at the cemetery and can we swing by on our way out of town?”
Sam looked completely confused now.
“Safe place to mojo out and back to Heaven,” Dean informed him as his phone beeped again.
And can you grab my stuff please? *sigh*
And say thank you to Missouri for me?
“You boys better hustle,” Missouri said firmly. “You can’t keep that poor girl waiting out there for too long in this heat.”
Dean flashed her a grateful smile and darted off upstairs to make sure there was nothing still lurking in any of the guest rooms. He collected up Ellie’s meagre wash kit and tucked it into the cheerful knapsack Missouri had loaned her before heading back down to the kitchen, to find Missouri and Sam packing a paper bag with food and drinks.
“Now, don’t you boys be losing my number this time,” she scolded. “And tell Ellie she can call me any time too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dean said, ducking his head in shame, because he was still torn between wanting to keep Missouri here as a cool aunt and making sure she was safe by never contacting her again, thus ensuring she didn’t end up on anyone’s radar and get killed because of it.
“Don’t lose my number,” Missouri repeated firmly, glaring at Dean. “Sam, you make sure that Dean remembers that.”
Sam nodded in that enthusiastic-puppy way he had. Devious woman, because Sam would like that they had a second home and someone that cared about them. That was a normal thing to have, and Sam liked normality. Maybe one of these days he would be lucky enough to get it.
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Missouri wasn’t surprised in the slightest to hear that they were planning on leaving the next morning, and she set about making them some snacks for the five hour trip north. She enlisted Ellie’s help as sous chef and they both ended up bossing Sam and Dean around to fetch this ingredient or that, or stir a batter because Missouri’s arthritis made it hard these days (and Dean made a mental note to ask Cas if he could fix that when he got a minute).
Dean wondered if he was imagining the odd looks that Ellie kept giving Sam - kind of squinting sideways when he wasn’t looking. He wondered what she was seeing - was it the demon blood or something else? Was there something of Lucifer left behind after all? Dean had wondered if there had been something left over in Sam that had let Lucifer in to torment him; a thing that Cas had moved into himself; a thing that had destroyed Cas. Was it still there this time around, sitting like a cancer in his brother’s head? Had God overlooked something because Dean hadn’t known what to tell Him? Or was he being completely paranoid?
There was a conversation going on, and Dean belatedly realised that Sam was trying to coax Ellie’s hunter creds out of her. It was a conversation Dean had had with her during the clean-up after the vamp nest a week ago, but she wasn’t being quite as forthcoming with Sam as she had been with Dean, and Dean couldn’t think why. She was feeding him bits and pieces of her past - that she was from a hunting family, that she had grown up in the life, that she had taken out her first vamp at thirteen - but not once did she mention the connection to Gabriel, or her mojo, or explain how she had ended up in the US.
He chimed in, adding how they had taken out a whole vamp nest between them, tactfully omitting her use of grace (because he could do tact), and getting a grateful look in return. And together they told the quick story of the ghost hunt. This seemed to appease Sam, because they never worked with anyone except Bobby. They had adjusted to Cas’ presence because he was Cas, but having Ellie along full time would just be weird if Sam didn’t trust her. And if Sam didn’t trust her, Bobby sure as hell wouldn’t.
“Oh, crap.”
Three pairs of eyes turned to him as he pulled his cell phone out. Sam and Ellie looked concerned, while Missouri merely looked unimpressed and gave him a rap across the knuckles for swearing even as he hit the speed-dial.
“Sam says he owes you money,” Dean greeted Bobby cheerfully. He grinned unrepentantly at the string of cursing coming from the other end of the line, then handed the phone over to Sam.
“Hey, Bobby,” the kid said, suddenly looking like a gawky teenager again. It never ceased to amaze Dean that Sam could still pull that even now he had filled out. “A couple of hours?... Yeah, I know. I’m sorry… Long enough that they’re nauseating instead of disgusting, but I don’t know if it counts because of the whole time travel thing… What do you mean… Dean?”
Sam held the phone out. “Think you might have forgot something.”
Oh, yeah. Dean hadn’t told Bobby, had he? He’d still been trying to work out what to say to Cas last time he had seen Bobby.
“Hey Bobby.”
“‘Time travel thing’?” Bobby parroted in that tone of voice that demanded an explanation, along with ‘what the hell have you gone and done now?’ and strongly implying that Dean was a dumb shit for even trying to hide something from him in the first place. Dean had really, really missed that tone of voice.
“Can I tell you tomorrow?”
There was a pause, and Dean was pretty sure it was to cover any measure of joy that might have crept into Bobby’s voice at hearing that they would be at his place, under his feet again so soon.
“Sure, I guess. Pick up some groceries on your way: I don’t earn enough to keep feeding you both.”
“Sure thing, Bobby.”
“You going to be debauching that angel under my roof? Because I’m pretty sure that’s a sin - I don’t want my house getting smote.”
Dean could feel himself blushing. “Bobby, no, it ain’t…”
“You holdin’ out on him, princess?” Bobby was as much of a jerk as Sam was.
“Jeez, Bobby. Cas probably ain’t even going to be there - he’s got stuff to do in Heaven. But… you got clean sheets for the spare room? You even got the spare room any more, or is it stuffed with junk?”
“Junk, my ass,” Bobby grumbled. “That’s all stuff you and your brother have ditched here. I ain’t got time to go through your crap, boy. Why?”
“We picked up a third wheel,” Dean said, giving Ellie what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “She’s kind of awesome on a hunt.”
Bobby snorted in what sounded like disbelief. Dean could understand that, because hunters weren’t, as a breed, particularly trusting. Especially of each other. Bobby was the best connected hunter of anyone, and that was pretty much because he would run phones or research for just about anyone so they would owe him one further down the line.
“We took out fourteen vamps together, Bobby: she’s good.” He could feel Sam’s eyes on him and belatedly realised they might have left that improbably impressive total out when telling the story earlier.
“She can help you clear your crap out then,” Bobby grumbled. “Give me a call when you’re near.”
“Don’t I always?”
“No.”
Yeah, that was probably true, and while Dean knew it was to make sure Bobby didn’t have any guests who might ask questions about them or be poking around in the wake of a hunt, he couldn’t resist:
“You got a lady friend you need to kick out?”
“So what if I have?” Bobby growled at him. “Ain’t any business of yours.”
No, but it could be: how less surly would Bobby be if Dean happened to nudge Jody Mills at him a bit earlier rather than later? Right now she was still grieving for her husband, but it could happen, right? And hopefully not over a bucket of spilled borax this time.
Dean still kind of remembered Bobby being married to Ellen, and how much happier he had been when the five of them had been a proper family. Jody was the same kind of strong woman Ellen had been: she would be good for him. Why couldn’t Bobby have a bit of happiness in his life? Jody had been awesome with the Leviathan; she had really come through for them. She was one of them, and exactly the kind of woman Bobby needed.
“Okay, Bobby. You kiss Tori Spelling goodbye, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
There was an indignant splutter at the other end of the line, and Dean grinned as he hung up the phone. He knew he should feel bad for using info Bobby wouldn’t ever remember giving Dean, and especially for using info obtained under a curse, but damn it felt good to tease and laugh again. This was just another blessing from God, literally. Dean could have it all for once: he had his brother back, his angel, and Bobby, and he had even managed to reconnect with Missouri and realise that they had always had someone else on their side, had they ever bothered to ask her. He had a family, and they were kind of awesome.
.oOo.
Cas visited him in a dream that night and they got to spend some of the quality time together they should have had in the waking world. Cas was awesome to hang out with when they didn’t have the pressure of saving the world over them: he actually managed to relax and unwind some. He moved and laughed more easily than he did in the real world, and Dean thought that might be because while he was seeing Cas’ familiar Jimmy-shape, that was only because it was how his brain interpreted Cas. What he had here was a projection of Cas’ mind - his true self - rather than a non-corporeal being trying to move an alien body.
There was no pressure in a dream, either; Dean could just be himself rather than having to look out for Sam, or Ellie, or for the next thing that wanted to kill him. They could just hang out. When they didn’t feel like talking (and neither of them was exactly a chatterbox) Dean could fish while Cas lay on the pier beside him and read the Vonnegut books that Dean had memorised years earlier. And when it was time for Cas to leave, they could kiss without being mocked by Sam.
Dreamwalking always made for an abrupt awakening, but for once Dean really didn’t mind that: he closed his eyes and fell asleep again almost instantly.
.oOo.
Gabriel was a pain in the ass, Dean remembered, and he was sure she only visited to make things awkward. Dean had stumbled into the kitchen after a particularly harrowing nightmare about Cas and the Leviathan to find her shovelling strawberry pancakes into Ellie’s mouth and confusing the hell out of poor Sam. Maybe they should have mentioned the whole ‘Gabriel’ thing last night after all?
The only good thing was that the torture didn’t last long: apparently Gabriel had absolutely no desire to spend four hours cooped up in a car with them. That declaration had been made with an eye-roll that merged seamlessly into something sincere as she lay a hand over Missouri’s as she went to collect the plates.
“Later,” she declared after a weird moment, and fluttered off.
Sam rounded on him. “Gabriel’s alive?”
“Uh… yeah. He… she is.”
“Don’t you boys be saying anything unkind about her,” Missouri said swiftly and firmly. “Gabriel might have her issues, and I know you boys have some kind of unfinished business, but I haven’t felt so good in years.”
And suddenly, Dean remembered that he had asked Cas about Missouri and her arthritis last night. Cas had promised he would see to it. If Gabriel gate-crashing their breakfast was the best way of helping Missouri sooner rather than later, suddenly Sam’s confusion wasn’t quite so annoying after all. Sam could live with his confusion a little longer: it wasn’t going to get them killed anytime soon.
Sam had that thoughtful expression. “I guess it explains where you found Ellie,” he said finally with a shrug.
“Yeah. Gabriel was a tool and left her here. Poor kid’s been stranded here since you took your swan dive.”
Sam frowned. “So, has he taken her back home, or…?”
Dean’s phone beeped to alert them about the arrival of a new text message. Bobby never texted, and Cas couldn’t; only Sam ever texted Dean these days, so Sam’s confusion was warranted. Dean pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
“Ellie,” he told Sam. “She’s out at the cemetery and can we swing by on our way out of town?”
Sam looked completely confused now.
“Safe place to mojo out and back to Heaven,” Dean informed him as his phone beeped again.
And can you grab my stuff please? *sigh*
And say thank you to Missouri for me?
“You boys better hustle,” Missouri said firmly. “You can’t keep that poor girl waiting out there for too long in this heat.”
Dean flashed her a grateful smile and darted off upstairs to make sure there was nothing still lurking in any of the guest rooms. He collected up Ellie’s meagre wash kit and tucked it into the cheerful knapsack Missouri had loaned her before heading back down to the kitchen, to find Missouri and Sam packing a paper bag with food and drinks.
“Now, don’t you boys be losing my number this time,” she scolded. “And tell Ellie she can call me any time too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dean said, ducking his head in shame, because he was still torn between wanting to keep Missouri here as a cool aunt and making sure she was safe by never contacting her again, thus ensuring she didn’t end up on anyone’s radar and get killed because of it.
“Don’t lose my number,” Missouri repeated firmly, glaring at Dean. “Sam, you make sure that Dean remembers that.”
Sam nodded in that enthusiastic-puppy way he had. Devious woman, because Sam would like that they had a second home and someone that cared about them. That was a normal thing to have, and Sam liked normality. Maybe one of these days he would be lucky enough to get it.
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