Summary: AU. Ten years have passed since Dean left the love of his life behind. Now he's come back to set things right, can she forgive him, or are all the memories of their past too painful for her to put behind her? Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters. I only own Grace Singer.

A/N: The title of this story fits for several different reasons. Dean being blind to his cruelty and his cowardice but then realising his errors and being able to see the truth behind his actions, and the other reason is physical and apparent as you read. The town is also fictional. Hope you enjoy, and please, please, please review!

But Now, I See

Chapter One

Dean breathed in the sea air, taking in the blue of the ocean as he pulled up on the cliffs of Jasmine Bay, Massachusetts. His childhood had been here. His life had been here, but as a stupid, terrified kid, he'd left. He'd left because he couldn't take the grief people gave him about his girlfriend, just because she was different. Every time he emailed his brother, Sam, once a month, he asked about her. The most recent email had caught the twenty-nine year old's attention.

She'd had an eye transplant. Finally, after years of waiting, she could see the world that she'd been so desperate to her whole life, and the notion of that was the first thing that Dean had started packing his life up for. And the second? Only two weeks after this, her mother was hit by a car and killed right in front of her.

The only reason Dean wanted to go anywhere near that place was because he knew that she needed someone who could understand the problems she'd had, and because he wanted her back so much. He needed her back in his life, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself he didn't still love her, that truth, that reality still bit back at him. It ate him from the inside out, so the drinking had started to stop himself thinking of her and he lived a low, miserable existence in Lawrence, Kansas for ten years without word to anyone but Sam and his parents. He'd begged them not to tell anyone else anything. Not even the girl he'd loved from the moment he set eyes on her.

Sam had asked him on the phone, "How will she know it's you?"

Dean had simply replied, "She never had to guess it was me approaching her, no matter where I was or what I did. She just knew when I was the one near her."

Surely that same amazing sense would be working. She'd just know. She had a strange gift of knowing who the person was before they got within two feet of her. She had many gifts and talents, Dean remembered. She was capable of many amazing things despite her impairment. He remembered the last thing he said to her before he left. How cruel he'd been to her.

"So what, Gracie? You're just gonna watch me walk away? Oh, wait, I forgot. You can't."

"God, Dean, you stupid son of a bitch!" He snapped at himself, face burning with the shame of the monstrous words he'd used against her.

"Don't bump into the door on your way in."

He looked to the floor, trying to gain control over his emotions as he looked back out to the ocean. He remembered the way she'd just closed the door on him, the way she'd backed out of his life, silent, afraid, and alone. He'd wanted so badly to knock on that door and apologise but he was too stubborn, like his father, and had just left on his own to start a life somewhere else. He wished he'd stayed. Leaving her was the biggest mistake of his life and he regretted every moment he'd lost with her.

Then it hit him that she wasn't the only one who needed his forgiveness. But her father did too. Bobby Singer was like Dean's second dad, and he owed a lot to that man after all he'd done for him and Sam in their lifetime. He'd set Dean on with a part time job, help build Sam's first car, taken care of them when John and Mary had to go out of town for supplies for the store. All that time, Dean and Grace had become so close. He'd always had a need to protect her and stay close to her. He'd always taken care of her needs, like sometimes he'd brush her hair for her, and he helped her put on her coat if they were going out somewhere, he took her upstairs and held her stick for her if she needed him to. He sat by her in class and didn't leave her side, and he did that right up until he left. Bobby had been so hurt when he'd left. Sam had told him in his emails that Bobby couldn't hear Dean's name without becoming tearful or looking upset. But Sam reckoned it was just because he missed Dean so much, and he'd even said that Bobby had told him he understood that Dean had just been a confused and frightened kid at the time, but that he knew how messed up his daughter had been since.

With a sigh, Dean turned away from the scenery and got back into his car, that same Chevrolet Impala his father had given him on his sixteenth birthday. It was full of his possessions, some of them useless and not particularly worth anything to him. John and Mary were going to give him the spare room of their house and he'd be going to work at the store with them. He began the steady drive into town, passing familiar buildings, houses, the park where he and Grace had their first kiss, and he finally reached his parent's house. The place was still that beautiful, typical American home he knew and loved, and he climbed out of the car, only to be met by his mother as she headed down the steps to him.

"Dean!" She cried tearfully, "Oh, God...Baby, you're here..."

She swept him into an embrace, and he wasn't surprised that he began to tear up a little, especially when his father approached with a grin on his face.

"Hey, son..." He said softly, hugging Dean close to him, "It's been way too long. Don't you ever leave like that again, you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Dean whispered, pulling back as he and his parents began to move his things back into his old room.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

"Dean, be careful!" Mary called, pulling her son back carefully, "Be careful, just let Gracie come past, honey."

And there was four year old Grace, auburn hair hanging by her shoulders, her eyes which were so blue despite their damage hidden beneath dark glasses. Her tiny hand held a small stick as she tapped her away past the door, and she turned to the people standing there, smiling brightly. She'd been blind since she was born, some kind of damage to her cornea being the cause of it.

"Hello, Mrs Winchester!" She cried, "Hey, Dean!"

"Hi, Grace! How are you today?" Mary asked, smiling as Grace reached out to touch her ever protruding belly.

"Hello, Sam." The little girl said softly, reaching for Dean's hand, "Dean, Mama made some cookies."

She pulled the little boy into the house, and Dean walked with her, keeping her hand in his as she tapped her way towards the kitchen. He couldn't imagine how tricky it was for her to not be able to see, but he supposed she was used to it, given the fact she'd been blind her whole life.

"One day, Mama said, I'm gonna be able to see the world." She said, "I keep praying to God for that day. I hope it comes soon."

"Me too." Dean replied, "I want you to see me."

With that, Grace stopped and faced him with a slightly disappointed expression on her face.

"Dean Winchester, you've been in my house for less than a minute and you haven't kissed me yet." She told him, tapping her cheek lightly with her index finger.

"Sorry." Dean laughed, leaning down and kissing her cheek before taking her hand as they headed into the kitchen together.

He knew in his heart, and he had known since he first lay eyes on her, that he wanted to marry her. He wanted to be with her forever.

-TBC-

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading so far!

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