~*****~
My nose crinkles at the thick, yellow tea I'm bringing back to Sam and Dean. "Well, shall I dim the lights for you chuckle heads?" I ask.
"Only if you sync up Wizard of Oz and Dark Side Of The Moon." Dean retorts sarcastically.
"Why would we do that?" Sam asks.
Dean and I share a disappointed look. "Dude, what did you do during college?" Dean asks.
Dean attempts to take a sip, but I slap at his hand. "Not yet--" I hiss. Sam holds out the little yellow packet from his pocket.
"What is that?" Dean asks as I sprinkle some of it into his drink.
"Bobby's hair."
"We have to drink Bobby's hair?" Dean asks irritably.
"That's how you control whose dream you're entering." I explain. "You gotta drink some of their, uh... some of their body."
"Oh... Well, guess the Hair of the Dog's better than other parts of Bobby." Dean rationalizes.
"Bottoms up, boys." I chirp. "I'll be watching over you two, so don't worry about things on this end." They down the drinks immediately and I try not to recoil from the smell. Almost immediately, they fall backwards onto the bed, their glasses thudding against the ground. "Wow. That shit works fast." I hum. Not even five minutes into the dream, both Sam and Dean bolt upright, breathing heavily. "Oh my god-- what happened?!"
"I-- I think Bobby's awake." Dean mentions. He gazes down at the cup. "That's a hell of a roofie."
"Shut up." I urge as I grab the Impala keys. "Let's go!" Sam opens his mouth. "Save it for the ride!" I bark.
"Sometimes, I think she likes Bobby more than she likes us." Dean mentions as I start up the Impala. I shoot him an irritated glare. "I get it-- Start driving, speed demon."
~*****~
It was a relief to see him awake. It really was. "Hey, Bobby?" Dean hummed after what felt like an eternity of silence. "That, uh, that stuff-- all that stuff with your wife.... That actually happen?"
I let my gaze flicker up to Bobby, my throat drying. Dean and Sam had recounted everything that happened during their dream walking experience. It was horrible what happened to Bobby. "Everybody got into hunting somehow." Bobby answered.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Bobby retorted quickly. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost in there... or dead." Dean shifted a little and swallowed. "Thank you."
I hum with a smile before getting back to reading through Bobby's case notes. "So, uh, stoner boy wasn't in his dorm." Sam's voice rings out. "My guess is he's long gone by now."
"He ain't much of a stoner." Bobby mentioned.
"No?" I scoff
"No." Bobby huffed. "His name's Jeremy Frost-- full-on genius-- 160 I.Q. Which is saying something, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head." Bobby held up another photo. "Here's father of the year. He died before Jeremy was ten."
"Looks like a real sweetheart." Sam hums.
"Injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand." Bobby explained. "He hasn't dreamt since."
"Till he started dosing the dream drug." Dean states. Bobby hummed in response. "How did he know how to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?"
Bobby shrugged. "Hey, he was rooting around in my skull. God knows what he saw in there."
"Yeah, how'd he get in there in the first place?" I ask. "Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair, your DNA, something?"
Bobby sighed. "Yeah... Before I knew it was him, he offered me a beer. I drank it. Dumbest friggin' thing."
Dean fumbled a little. "Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that dumb." Dean immediately said.
"Dean..." I sigh irritably. "Please, tell me you didn't."
Dean whimpered. "I was thirsty."
"That's friggin' great. Now he can come after either one of you." I scold.
"Well, now we just have to find him first." Dean expressed.
"We better work fast... and coffee up." Bobby instructs. "'Cause the one thing we cannot do is fall asleep."
~*****~
Two days had passed, and neither Dean nor Bobby had gotten any sleep. Meanwhile, Sam and I were free to sleep, seeing as how we weren't the idiots. "I mean, this Jeremy guy's not a friggin' ghost! Where the hell could he be?!"
"Dean, you sure you don't want me to drive?" Sam asks nervously. "You-- You seem a little... caffeinated."
"Well, thanks for the news flash, Edison!" Dean barked.
I shook my head and fought back a chuckle. My cell started ringing. "Please tell me you got something, Dean's a little irritable right now." I mention.
"The strip club was a bust, huh?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah." I sigh.
"That was our last lead." Bobby sighs.
I grimace. "Guys, that was the last lead." I mention.
"WHAT THE HELL, BOBBY?!" Dean bellows.
"Smack him for me." Bobby snapped. I reached forward and clipped the back of his head.
"Sorry, sorry-- I'm just-- I'm tired." Dean expressed.
"Well, who ain't?" I hiss. "What's Bela got?"
"What do you got, Bela?" Bobby asks. It's silent for a moment. "She's got nothing."
"Great..." I sigh. "Well, now I gotta deal with the temper tantrum. Bye, Bobby." Bobby hums in response before I end the call. "Bela's got nothing."
Dean slapped the steering wheel with a frustrated grunt. I grasp onto the front seat in an attempt to stop myself from tumbling over with how reckless Dean was driving. "All right, that's it-- I'm done!" Dean bellows as he pulls to a stop on a side road.
"What are you doing?" I snap.
Dean leaned back against the seat. "Taking myself a long overdue nap."
"What?" I snap.
"Dean, Jeremy can come after you!" Sam expresses.
"That's the idea." Dean sighs.
"Excuse me?"
"Come on, guys. We can't find him, so let him come to me." Dean huffs.
"On his own turf-- where he's basically a god?" I ask angrily.
"I can handle it." Dean sighs.
I grumble irritably. "Not alone, you can't." I say softly. I reach into his hair and tug out a few locks. Dean gripes in pain, but I ignore him. "Sam, go in with him." I express.
"No, he's not!" Dean snapped.
"Why not?" Sam asked. "At least then, it'll be two against one."
Dean hesitates for a moment. "'Cause I don't want you digging around in my head." Dean says.
"Too bad." I hum. "Bottoms up, Sam." I order as I tug at Dean's head and start raking my fingers through it.
"That's a dirty trick." Dean mentions sluggishly. I chuckle and keep raking my fingers through his hair until he's passed out. With both boys sleeping soundly, I lean back against the seat and keep watch.
~*****~
I flinch upwards from the light nap I'd fallen under when Sam and Dean shot upright, gasping for breath. "What happened?" I asked urgently.
"Jeremy's dead," Sam said breathlessly. "I took care of it." I give a breathy sigh of relief.
"Thank god." I sigh. "Are you all right, Dean?"
Dean didn't answer me for a while. "You wanna drive, Sammy?" He asked softly. Sam nodded and got into the drivers seat while Dean climbed into the back with me, and curled his body over mine. It doesn't take long for him to doze off against me, his hands clutching tightly.
"Sam, what happened in there?" I ask quietly.
Sam doesn't answer me. We remain silent the way back to the hotel. Dean doesn't speak after he wakes up, and I give him the space he needs. I try to go see Bela and thank her for her help, but she's already gone. I return to the hotel room and try her cell, but she doesn't answer. Sam and Bobby enter the room. "Hey, you guys seen Bela?" I ask curiously. "She's not in her hotel room, and she's not answering her phone."
"She must have taken off or something." Sam hums.
"Just like that? That's a little weird." Dean says.
"Yeah, well, if you ask me what's weird, it's why she helped us in the first place." Bobby hums.
"She said she wanted a trade-- my blood for help." I explain. "Plus, she said she owed you one for saving her life in Flagstaff."
"That thing in Flagstaff was an amulet. I gave her a good deal. That's all." Bobby mentions.
"Well, then, why did--" I cut Sam off as I barrel to the safe.
"No, no, no--" I start chanting as I pry it open. It's empty. "The colt!" I exclaim. "That bitch stole the colt!"
"Damn it!" Bobby growls.
"Pack your crap." Dean growls.
"Why? Where are we going?" Sam asks.
"We're gonna go hunt the bitch down." Dean states. I nod and grab at our bag and start stuffing everything inside. "Hey, Sam, I was wondering--" Dean trails off as we toss our bags in the trunk of the Impala. "When you were in my head, what did you see?"
Sam hums. "Just Jeremy. He kept me separated from you. Easier to beat my brains out that way, I guess. What about you? You never said."
Dean quickly shakes his head. "Nothing. I was looking for you the whole time." Sam and I share a confused glance before getting into the car with Dean. I leaned over the front seat as Dean cleared his throat. "Sam... I've been doing some thinking. And... well, the thing is... I don't want to die." Dean says. My lip wobbles as I gaze at him. "I don't want to go to hell."
Sam nods after a moment. "All right, yeah. We'll find a way to save you."
Dean nods and swallows through a knot in his throat. "Okay, good." He hums in a trembly tone. I slump back into the seat and start picking at my jeans.