first off, thank you all so, so much for the great reviews and for sticking with this story, it took a long time for me to write, and i'm sorry. i'm glad everyone enjoyed it :) i realized while writing this story, that i wouldnt be able to give the series proper closure with just one story, so keep your eyes peeled, cause there will be a 5th and final installment of the 'shadow stalker' series coming out in april. :) it'll be called 'a door in the dark'

so thank you all once again :D as always, let me know what you think.

AND OVER AGAIN

Chapter 21

Bobby sat in the corner of the hospital room, his mind lost as he listened to the steady beep and hum of the monitors and machines. The doctor had assured them Dean would be fine, but that didn't lessen the weight in Bobby's soul one bit. Even if the young hunter pulled through, he would still be far from ok. Dean had been in the hospital over a week now, the boy barely alive when they'd brought him in-- and the memories of that first day still made Bobby ill. Dean was weaker than he had ever seen him before, an infection having run ramped through the young man's body as a result of the botched surgery.

Bobby still couldn't believe he'd missed all the classic signs of infection, couldn't believe Dean had managed to hide something so serious from them all. But then, Bobby thought, wanting to kick himself, he hadn't really been paying enough attention-- and lord knew, if Dean was hiding something, it would take a master to figure it out. It was like trying to find a treasure while blindfolded, and Bobby sworn then , that he would never overlook the young hunter again. Dean was hurting, the older man could see that now, and all he wanted to do was help him.

It was more than that, though, and he knew it. The incident at the warehouse shook Bobby to the very core. He had never dreamed Sam could act that way, had never imagined the true magnitude of the power inside the youngest Winchester. But now he knew, and that changed everything. The small Winchester family had become his own, and now he was being forced to watch it shatter, knowing that it may prove impossible to put back together. He had known the boys since they were children, and while he'd had more than a few falling outs with John, the three men were still the closest thing to family he'd had in a very long time.

"Bobby?"

Bobby turned at the voice, John standing in the doorway. In the week since they'd brought Dean to the hospital John was more distant than Bobby had ever remembered him being, and that was saying something. The senior Winchester loved his kids, Singer had never doubted that for a second, but he just wasn't all that good at showing it. But then, Bobby couldn't really blame him. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one, and the way Mary died, though he'd never witnessed anything as terrible first had, still shook Bobby-- and lord only knew what it had done to John.

"Yeah, Johnny?"

"Can I speak to you?" John signaled toward the hall.

"Sure." Bobby turned back toward the bed, casting an eye on Dean and Sam.

The scene was much the same as it had been, Dean asleep in the bed, battered and bruised but thankfully alive, while Sam slept in a chair by his side. The youngest Winchester hadn't moved since his brother was brought in, and Bobby knew Sam wouldn't give up his vigil until Dean was cleared to leave. Bobby sighed, those boys meant too much to each other, and he was afraid that, one day, it was going to be the death of them.

"What's up?" Bobby asked after pulling the door closed.

"I need you to watch out for them, Bobby."

Bobby wanted to get mad, hell, he wanted to start swinging at the man before him, but the look on John's face and the sound of his voice made him stand down. John was broken, it was obvious to anyone with eyes, and that simple fact was almost too much for the seasoned hunter to bear. After all, he'd seen his friend through a lot of hard times, but Bobby knew, this was going to be the hardest time of all for John Winchester.

He wasn't an idiot, he'd seen Sam at the warehouse, had heard the words that were meant for John-- and while he tried to tell his old friend that it wasn't really Sam talking, Bobby knew it was just a lie. They were Sam's words, Sam's anger, Sam's power, and Bobby was still trying to come to terms with the entire event. He knew Sam didn't really want to push his father away, knew the boys needed their dad, but damn if he knew how to make them all see it. Hell, even Dean had kept his mouth shut about it all. Though Bobby guessed that was more because of exhaustion than anger.

He could see it written all over the young man's face, and it had been there since they were young. Holding together the Winchesters was a job fit for an army, and Dean was doing it all alone. He was a strong boy, stronger than many men Bobby had met, but everyone has a breaking point, and Dean had finally reached his. So now, instead of standing against the tide, instead of fighting the inevitable, he just laid silent, letting Sam take over the helm.

"He didn't mean it, John," Bobby began, though he knew it was in vein. Once a Winchester makes up his mind, there's no turning back.

"Yes he did, Bobby, and I can't blame him. I've screwed up too many times. Just, please, I need to know you'll be there for them."

"You know I will."

"Thank you, for everything, Bobby." John shook his long time friend's hand, Bobby nearly crumbling beneath the weight the senior Winchester was placing on his shoulders.

Bobby watched John as he disappeared down the long hall, the world around him stilling in that moment. Everything he'd known for the past two decades was crumbling away, and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to piece it back together.

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Sam hadn't let Dean out of his sight since the warehouse, basically living in his brother's hospital room. It didn't take long for the staff to give up on throwing him out, and his father had never once shown his face-- the only person that had told him to get some food and rest was Bobby, and even he seemed half hearted about it. And so he stayed, listening to every beep and hum of the monitor, making sure his brother would indeed be ok.

A part of Sam wanted his father there, he couldn't deny it, but an even greater part of him knew he couldn't have the older man around. Dean had taken too much weight onto his shoulders at far too young an age and it had finally succeeded in crushing him. No, Sam needed to pull Dean back together, then he could work on his father. The younger Winchester wanted to scream, every fiber of his being wrapped around the reality of what had become of his family.

He'd killed a man with the powers in him, and he had nearly done the same to his father. But what made Sam sick, what made his heart ache, was the fact that he had let that power, that anger overshadow Dean, and he'd nearly lost his brother because of it. No, for now this was the way things had to be. Dean had given up everything for him, had walked away from his own life to keep watch over his little brother, and Sam knew it was time to return the favor. If there was a place for John in the future, then so be it, but at that moment in time, there was only enough room in Sam's battered soul for his brother-- and lord knew, Dean needed someone to save him.

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The Iblis stood outside the old hospital, oblivious to the rain as it watched the black truck drive off into the night. It had underestimated the family-- but now it knew what fighting the Winchesters really meant, and next time, it would be ready.