Lies We Tell ~ Dean Winchester

XI.

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Erin

I slammed my fifth book closed in frustration. Bobby glanced up from his book as I added mine to the discard pile. So far none of us had found anything that would clue us in to why a demon would need an empath.

It was the middle of the night. Sam had fallen asleep, his long frame stretched out across the floor taking up most of the room with a book in his hand. Dean was in the chair beside me, his head resting on his arms as he snored softly. At some point his knee had slid sideways so it rested warmly against my thigh under the table. Despite everything that was going on, I found it strangely comforting. I let my walls dip and the peace coming off the brothers as they slept was like soothing background music as I read.

"He drool'in on that book?" Bobby called gruffly from where he was reading with his feet up on his desk.

I turned to Dean. His thick dark lashes rested against his freckle dusted cheeks. It was the most relaxed I had ever seen him. He looked almost boyish when he slept. It was a sharp reminder that while he was my age, he had been forced to face so much of what Jack had protected me from. At twenty-five he had faced more than most hunters twice his age.

I leaned closer so I could get a better view of his mouth. I swallowed as I remembered the kiss out in the scrap yard. It had been better than I could have imagined, and I had a pretty vivid imagination. I looked back up at Bobby, feeling a little guilty for ogling Dean in his sleep. Bobby didn't seem to notice.

"No drool," I reported.

"Best take it before he does," Bobby advised. He shifted, leaning back in his chair and took a sip of coffee. We were on our third pot and my stomach was already raw and tied up in knots from the acidity. I glanced towards the kitchen, wondering if Bobby kept any tea in the cupboards.

I gently pulled the book out from under Dean. He shifted and grumbled in the back of his throat but he didn't fully wake up.

Bobby cleared his throat, glancing down at Dean and Sam first, as though to reassure himself they were sleeping.

"You know," he said thoughtfully. "I ah, well Jack was like a brother to me. We fought together in Vietnam and again when we got back," Bobby said gesturing with his book. "Jack taught me almost everything I know about fighting monsters and demons..."

I could feel hints of what Bobby was feeling but I wasn't exactly sure where he was going with it. He was wary but also curious. I was guessing he wanted answers. I just wished I had them to give.

"The thing is...Jack was one tough son of a bitch, I have a hard time seeing him volunteer to raise a teenage girl. Not when he could have dropped you at the nearest shelter."

I looked down at the book in my hands. "The only time Jack ever offered me any explanation was shortly after my family was murdered. He told me that I had been lucky, but the job wasn't finished yet," I fidgeted as I remembered how terrifying Jack had been the night I met him, covered in gore after saving my life. It had been the first time I met a hunter. "I guess at the time I had assumed he meant his job of hunting the demon, but now I'm wondering if it was the demon's job he was referring to," I said tangling my fingers together. "He never said another word about it, just kept me with him. He opened his house to me and let me make it a home. I hope for both of us," I added.

I had never doubted Jack's sincerity. He cared, it would have been impossible for him to hide it otherwise, but as I had told Dean I couldn't read minds. Which meant Jack could have been keeping a lot from me.

Bobby leaned back thoughtfully. "I suppose as an empath you would know better than anyone," he allowed.

I pressed my lips together as I glanced at Bobby. There was something about him that seemed almost fatherly and he genuinely cared for the brothers. Trusting him was a risk for me, but Dean trusted him and I had decided sometime along the way that I trusted Dean.