Life's Betrayals / Book Five / Supernatural / The Life Series

My Heart Will Go On

Dad was sitting in his library, at his desk, drinking alcohol.

Sam, Dean and I watched him from the door to the kitchen, whispering.

"Hey, uh, Dad..." I trailed off.

"You three just gonna stand there like the ugly girl at the prom, or you gonna pitch in?" Dad asked. "This so-called Eve, Mother of whatever, ain't gonna gank herself. What's wrong with you three?"

"Dad, you haven't slept in days," I told him.

"I sleep," Dad told me.

"I'm just saying that, you know, taking five might be a good thing," I told him.

"For whom?" Dad asked.

"Look, Bobby, it was—it was tough for all of us, seeing Rufus go like that," Sam told him.

"You think this—" Dad started. "This ain't about Rufus."

"Dad, he wasn't just a poker buddy," I told him.

"You know when I knew Rufus was done for?" Bobby asked. "The day I met him. The only question was, 'Who first? Him or me?' Now, you want to stand there and therapize, or you want to get me some coffee?" Sam, Dean and I exchanged a look. "Make it Irish."

We walked into the kitchen.

"Well, he's doing fantastic," Sam told us sarcastically.

"Yeah, this isn't about Rufus at all," Dean told us sarcastically.

"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked. "I mean, we can't just sit here and watch him poop out his liver."

"Well, we could get him out of the house," Dean told us. "There's a job."

"Really?" Sam asked. "What have you got?"

Dean pulled a newspaper clipping out of his jacket pocket. "Look. Chester, Pennsylvania. Three people got kicked off in the last week, all freaky. Last guy got karate-chopped by his garage door. And there are all blood relatives."

"What are you thinking, family curse?" Sam asked.

"Could be," Dean answered.

I turned toward the library. "Hey, Grumpy—" Dad was standing right there, walking past to get his own coffee. "You, uh... you want to go on a job?"

"I don't want to do crap," Dad told us. "Leave me alone. Just, get out of my house, go do the job all of you." He walked toward the library. "You're driving me nuts."

I raised my eyebrows slightly. "You actually want me to go on a job?"

"If it means you'll leave me alone, yes," Dad answered.

"Dad," I told him.

Dad turned toward us in slight exasperation. "Now. For the love of Pete."

Dad walked out of the room, into the study.

Sam, Dean and I exchanged a look, nodding.

~~~~~

Outside, Sam, Dean and I walked toward my car, getting inside, with me driving.

I sighed. "You know, maybe we should wait till she gets back."

"Ness, she just called from the road, said she'd be here in two shakes," Dean told me. "You really want to sit around and smell him stew in his juices?"

I drove us away, leaving.

~~~~~