The Search for John Winchester

22) Devil's Trap

"What did you idgits do this time?"

"Honestly, I have no clue," Nico shrugged. "He called me and I came to him, and he was already passed out by then. By the looks of it, this dumbass used his powers too much. Call Dean or something. I was in the middle of a date with Will." Nico blushed lightly, and shadowtravelled away before Bobby could say anything.

Bobby sighed, and looked down at Percy. He'd known the demigod for a long time, since his first quest. They'd stayed the night there one night.

Bobby pulled out his phone and called Dean, "Your boyfriend is lying on my couch."

There was a clear sigh of relief from the other end of the line, "Good. How are they? Did everything go fine?"

"Well, Percy's conked out, and Nico looked a little pale, but they'll be fine. What were you idgits doing this time?" Bobby said, absently putting a blanket over Percy.

"Nico?" Dean questioned. "What was he doing there? How'd he even get there? And what about my dad?"

Bobby froze, then said, "Nico shadow travelled him and Percy here. John isn't here."

Dean was silent for a moment, then said, "Bobby, we'll get there in — I'm getting another call. I've got to go. We'll be there." He hung up, not saying anything else.

Bobby looked from the phone, then to Percy. He could remember when Percy had been so much smaller. It had been on his first quest when he met him, with Annabeth and Grover. Bobby has watched several demigods grow and fall, and he thought Percy and Annabeth's fall was the worst. They'd started so bright-eyed, ready to face the unknown of their quest. They'd stayed the night of their way back home, too, and had looked so different. Then there was the third quest, with Zoë, Bianca, Grover, and Thalia. They'd stayed just after Bianca had died, and each one of them had looked terrified. Bobby didn't even want to talk about his fourth adventure, with the Labyrinth. They'd looked so relieved to be out of that maze for just a moment, and Bobby hated watching them walk back in. Then there was the first war.... Bobby had fallen asleep while heading there to help. When Percy had shaken him awake, the area was a wreck, and they were dragging bodies away. Bobby had searched for Percy when he went missing, and he'd helped get metal for the Argo ll. Annabeth had ranted to him about the curse Athena had given her, and then after Tartarus... he didn't hear from anyone for a while. It was Grover who had contacted him and told him about Annabeth. When Percy came by to stay for a night after his parents died, Bobby realized it was then that Percy had stopped being the bright-eyed kid he was. He was still bright-eyed, but it was marred with this knowledge that Bobby or even the gods just didn't possess. He couldn't help but consider Percy just as fallen as Annabeth.

Percy woke with a groan, shutting his eyes against the bright light. He heard someone talking, but just elected to ignore it. A water bottle was pressed into his hand, and he sipped at it, opening his eyes as the pain disappeared.

"Oh, hey Bobby," Percy said simply, hardly glancing around. "I guess Nico brought me here, huh?"

"Yup," Bobby said, watching the color return to Percy's face. "You mind tellin' me what the Hades is goin' on? Oh, and the brothers are on their way."

Percy sighed and explained everything to Bobby, starting with John disappearing (the first time, anyway), and ending with passing out in the forest. Bobby nodded his head, silent save for when he butted in with a question.

***

By the time Sam and Dean had gotten there, Percy had been bouncing off the walls. Bobby was long since used to ADHD demigods, so he'd handed the son of Poseidon a rubix cube, and he hardly looked up when Dean sat beside him.