We'll be fighting in the streets/ With our children at our feet

[wayward_dad]

[Timed to just after Sam's debut.]Cautiously opening up the door of his hut, John looked left, then right, and then left again. The boys were out of sight, which meant the coast was clear. He hadn't wanted to interrupt the things they needed to say to one another away from him, and so he bade his time inside, murmuring softly to Terpsichore while

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[steel_singer]

The knock was so loud and sudden, Bobby just about jumped outta his goddamn skin. John's voice was unmistakable, and Bobby wasted no time gettin' to the door and flingin' it open. John Winchester didn't go around bangin' on people's doors for no reason.

"The hell's goin' on, John?" Bobby said gruffly, frowning as he glanced between John and Cori tucked in her sling.

[wayward_dad]

There was no time to waste on greetings and insignificant pleasantries, so John shoved those to the wayside just as he shoved his way inside Bobby's modest hut. Adjusting the baby in the sling, he drove his foot backwards, the sole of his thick boots connecting with the door and sending it flying to slam shut.

"Sam's back," he said grimly. And the world goes to Hell. Literally, was left unspoken but hung there between them all the same.

[steel_singer]

Bobby's eyebrows shot upward. "Sam's back?" he echoed, slightly incredulous - not because of the fact that Sam was back, but from the grim way John was deliverin' the news. "I'd think you'd be happy to see your boy again, at least. What else happened? Did he say somethin'?" When was he from?

[wayward_dad]

It wasn't that John wasn't happy to see Sam again. That wasn't the issue here.

The issue was what Sam had said and what was going on where he came from. John was tore up inside about that, knowing what was to come and that there wasn't a damned thing he could do to change it, change any of it.

"He's from the apocalypse, Bobby. The real damned deal -- and he started it," John said shortly, growing silent to let the gravity of that sink in.

[steel_singer]

Bobby sure as hell wasn't expectin' that. "He what?" he exclaimed gruffly, taken aback. "How the hell did that happen? We didn't stop all the seals from bein' broken? How the hell did Sam start the goddamn apocalypse?"

[wayward_dad]

"No, you didn't stop the seals from being broken." The sharpness of John's tone stung the air of tranquility that had washed over Terpsichore. At the sound of it, her lips pursed before quivering, and then finally her tiny mouth opened and a frightened wailing began.

"Sonuvabitch," John swore, then switched the sling from one side to the other, pacing and bouncing the baby at the same time in hopes she would calm down. Almost as an afterthought, he muttered at Bobby over his shoulder, "Lilith was the final seal; Ruby pulled a fast one on Sam."

[steel_singer]

"God damn," Bobby mumbled, passin' a hand over the lower half of his face. He hadn't known Lilith was involved in the whole mess, but it wasn't difficult to connect the dots...kinda. "So Lilith was after Sam," he said, half to himself. "And he killed her. How'd he manage to get her? The knife?"

Ruby, well - that was a different story. Bobby'd actually started to believe she was really on their side, 'specially after she'd been on the island. But he knew as well as any hunter that demons lie.

[wayward_dad]

Swallowing hard, John ground his teeth together as a momentary act of releasing pent up tension before replying. He didn't want to start Cori, who had just begun to calm down, off on another fit.

"Didn't say." Pivoting toward Bobby, John's head shook from side to side with regret and self-disgust. "Didn't exactly get to interrogate him, Bobby. He was too busy trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to him. Can't blame Sam for that; you remember how it was when you first showed up."

That didn't mean John didn't feel like an ass for not pressing the issue.

[steel_singer]

Yeah, Bobby remembered; he remembered tryin' to catch his breath as he held the Colt out to Sam, remembered there suddenly bein' all kinds of snow. Sam was one of the first people he'd seen on the island. Seemed strange now, lookin' back on it.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, givin' a short nod. "There's time to find out what all happened."

[wayward_dad]

"Time to find out," John echoed. Letting out a snort, John shook his head. This was a big damned mess.

A beat, and his frustrations came rushing out before he could clam himself up. "But what the hell good is it gonna do, Bobby? What can we possibly do or figure out here that's gonna help them -- help you -- if this fucking place ever sends you back where you belong? What's the goddamned point?"

[steel_singer]

"Fuck if I know," Bobby replied flatly. "Hell, who knows. We ain't got the pressure here of havin' to hit the ground runnin' so maybe we can take the time to dig deeper, do the research and get real answers." He was spoutin' bullshit and they both knew it. Maybe there was a slight chance Bobby was right, but it wasn't likely.

[wayward_dad]

But it wasn't going to matter; that was the real bitch about it. That was what was pissing John off so much. Yeah, they could research until the cows came home or the island made pigs fly, but in the end it was work for nothing. It was knowledge that wouldn't mean anything.

It was pointless, and John Winchester had never felt this backed up against a wall before.

He didn't like it.

"Yeah," he said, mouth turning downward in a scowl. "Then we'll kick back and have a coconut drink with one of those little umbrellas to celebrate -- and Gilligan and the damned professor will show up with a bamboo radio that helps get us off the island, we'll all go home, and the apocalypse'll never end up happenin'. Sounds real plausible, doesn't it?"

[steel_singer]

"I know, I know," Bobby said, understandin' John's frustration. "Ain't any point. Ain't no point in bein' frustrated about it either, but sure as hell doesn't stop us from feelin' that way."

[wayward_dad]

"Christ," he muttered, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth John realized how ridiculous it was, coming out of his mouth. A snort escaped his lips just as Terpsichore balled up her hands into tiny fists and began to wave her arms around restlessly. Like even she could feel how crazy and topsy-turvy everything had gone in the last hour or so.

"I know, kiddo," he added gravely, drawing her closer against his chest. "Can't help how we feel, even when we ought to."

[steel_singer]

Hell, the whole thing was a goddamn mess. Bobby's expression softened as the baby started to fuss. "I'm guessin' Dean knows?" he asked. "What about Jess?" In some ways, he knew, this was probably hardest on her.