Reckless and Brave

CIII. (103) Closer to the Heart

[My Heart Will Go On]

Bobby was at his desk drinking. The siblings were watching him from the door to the kitchen.

"Say something." Sam whispered.

"No. You." Dean whispered back.

"No. You." Holly and Sam said.

The three of them did rock-paper-scissors. Sam picked paper, Holly picked rock, and Dean, as always, picked scissors. Sam looked down, stunned.

Sam cleared his throat. "Uh..."

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

"Bobby, you haven't slept in days." Dean said with concern.

"I sleep. What are you, my wife now?"

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

"For whom?"

Sam sighed. "Look, Bobby, it was--it was tough for all of us, seeing Rufus go like that."

"You think this--This ain't about Rufus."

Holly shook her head. "Bobby, he wasn't just a poker buddy."

"You know when I knew Rufus was done for? 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?" The siblings exchanged a look. "Make it Irish."

They walked out and Dean said with a frown, "Well, he's doing well."

Sam glanced at Bobby. "Yeah, this isn't about Rufus at all."

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

Holly's eyes flicked to Sam. "We could try getting him out of the house. There's a job."

"Really?" Dean asked. "What've you two got?"

Sam pulled a newspaper clipping from 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 these are all blood relatives."

"What are you two thinking, family curse?"

Holly shrugged. "Could be."

Dean looked back at Bobby who had walked up behind them. "Hey, grumpy. You, uh--"

Bobby frowned. "I don't want to do this crap. Leave me alone. Just, get me out of my house, each of you. You're driving me nuts."

"Bobby."

"Now! For the love of Pete."

Sam took the newspaper clipping from Dean.

They walked to their car, a black Mustang with two brown stripes. Dean put his bag through the window and they got in. Dean started the car.

"You know, maybe we should wait til she gets back." Sam suggested.

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

"Yeah, yeah. Drive."

The siblings drove off to the crime scene.

When they arrived, they started investigating the scene. They looked around with flashlights. Dean turned on his EMF meter. "Not a bleep."