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His breath began to fog as he passed the city limits, and Garth smiled as he took off the battered old gimme cap and set it on the passenger seat.
"You know they’re not just going to hug it out, right?"
Garth glanced over and sighed as his smile slipped a little. ”Yeah, I know. But at least the idea’s out there now. That’s gotta count for something.”
There was a snort from the passenger seat. ”You have actually met those boys, right?”
Garth ran a hand through his hair. ”Yeah, I know,” he said, glancing at the man beside him. Well, at the ghost. ”But it never hurts to try.”. His breath plumed white as he spoke, and he shivered. ”So, you good now?”
"Yeah." But it maybe sounded like a little bit of a stretcher to Garth; he pulled off on the shoulder and put the El Camino in park as he turned to face his passenger. Who was settling the tattered cap on his head. Garth had to admit it looked a lot better on him.
"Bobby," he said, "They’ll be fine. I’ll keep an eye on ‘em, don’t you worry."
Bobby sighed. ”Yeah, kid, I know you will. It’s just…”
"You miss them."
Bobby shrugged. “‘Course I do.” He tugged at the bill of the cap and swallowed hard. ”Uh, what you said back there, to Dean, about me not just belonging to the two of them, I mean, I knew about you, figgered that the first time this old hat pulled me back. But you said ‘all of us.’” His mouth twisted a little at one corner and he rubbed the back of his neck. Garth blinked; he hadn’t known a ghost could blush.
"Well, you did, Bobby," he said. "You got no idea how many people showed up for your service, cause you were tied to Sam and Dean, but…"
"There was a service?". Garth’s heart clutched at the surprise in Bobby’s voice.
"Well, yeah, a bunch of us figured it was something that needed to happen. You gotta know how much we all cared about you," he said. He really wanted to reach out and squeeze Bobby’s arm, but, well. Ghost.
Bobby snorted again. “Cause I’m such a lovable son of a bitch. Right. I was just good with books. Pretty sure that’s all anybody but the three of you gave a damn about.”
Garth frowned and blew out a long breath through his nose. “You listen to me, Bobby Singer,” he said, his voice harsh. “You weren’t there. I was, and I’m telling you, there were hunters there I’d never even heard of, and every single one of ‘em had a story about you. Pretty much every one of those stories were about how you’d saved their bacon or helped them out of a tight spot. And there wasn’t one of ‘em that didn’t get choked up while they were talking, either. So don’t you say another word about how you weren’t important.”
Bobby was staring at him when he stopped talking, mouth hanging open and eyes a little too wide. Garth looked away, swallowing around the lump in his throat.
"Son of a bitch," Bobby said. "You’re serious."
"You’re damn right I am." Garth crossed his arm over his chest and glared.
Bobby lifted his hands. ”Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a bunch, Jesus. I just never thought…” He passed a hand over his chin, smoothing his beard. ”Well. I reckon I’ve got some rethinking to do when I get back…there.”
Garth knew better than to ask where exactly “there” was. That only got him a squinty glare and, “That’d be above your pay grade, kid.”
"And speaking of getting back there…"
"Already?" Bobby shrugged. "Shoot," Garth said, his face falling. "Well, I guess if you gotta, you gotta. But you’ll be back, though?" His voice only wobbled a little at the end, which was better than the last time.
"Yeah, kid, I’ll be back. Sooner or later," Bobby said. He took the cap off and held it out. "As long as you keep this old thing in one piece. Deal?"
"Deal," Garth replied. He looked down, not wanting to watch Bobby vanish. "I’ll be looking forward to it."
The air in the car began to get warmer, and Garth closed his eyes. “Bye, Bobby.”
"See you around, kid," Bobby said. "And… You’re doing me proud." There was a soft thud as the hat dropped onto the seat, and for a split second, Garth felt a phantom hand ruffle his hair.