Chapter One

Kaitlyn Bonin hasn't always gotten along with her step-brother. Maybe it's because they were both teenagers when their parents married. She still hasn't figured it out. She never had to. At the end of the day, she knew Seth would be there for her when she needed him. She knew she could go to him if she had a problem. From the beginning, she always had him; despite the arguments they had, most of which were nonsense. Along with Seth she had his best friend, Roman. It's nice to have someone she could go to. The third member in Seth's little clan, Dean, was a little different. Kaitlyn has never once gone to him for anything. Sure he was there with Seth and Roman, but she wasn't completely comfortable with him alone; not with her issues anyways.

Glancing at the clock, she notices that it's time to head down to the gym for the assembly. She looks back at her class. "All right," she says. "Line up. It's time to head down." She smiles as she watches her kids move quickly to line up by the door. "Are we ready?" She walks over and opens the door. "Bobby, lead the way. Keep quiet, stay in line, and stay to the side of the hall."

Kaitlyn makes sure her door is locked before she follows her class down the hall toward the gym. "Bobby, when you get to the gym, stop outside, okay?"

"Yes," Bobby answers from the front of the line.

She walks up to the front of the line, smiling at Bobby. "Follow me." Once she gets them settled, she walks over to the other teachers who have already arrived. She smiles at Eve as she leans against the wall beside her.

"Your brother is one of the cops coming, right?" Eve asks.

Kaitlyn nods. "I believe it's him, Roman, and Dean. I don't know if there are any others coming." She glances over at the entrance to see Seth, Roman, and Dean walk in. "Well, it's those three for sure."

"Whoa," Eve says. "Yikes, you didn't tell me they looked like that."

Kaitlyn laughs a little. She sees Seth gesture over toward her before they start over. She waves at them as they approach. "Hey."

"Hi." Seth kisses her cheek. "Are you ready for dinner tonight?"

Kaitlyn groans. "No. You'll be there, right?"

"Yeah. We're going to be a little late though."

"What?"

Seth chuckles. "Relax. We'll be there. I wouldn't leave you alone with my crazy sisters."

"Good." She looks at Eve. "This is Eve Torres. She teaches one of the third grade classes. Eve, this is Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose."

Eve smiles. "Hi," she says.

"Nice to meet you," Roman says. He leans in, kissing Kaitlyn's cheek. "Hey, Little Bit."

"Hi." She smiles up at him. "I can't believe I let you call me that still."

"Give it up, you love it."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, keep reminding me of that fact." She looks at Dean. "Hey, Dean."

Dean nods at her. "Hey, Kait."

"All right, we just came over to say hi. We need to go over to Mr. McMahon now."

"Go before you get detention or something."

"Because I didn't have enough of those when I went here."

Kaitlyn laughs as she watches the three of them walk away. She turns back toward Eve just before Dean is looking back at her. "There, now you've met them."

"I have. Now why was it different with Dean?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Roman greeted you like he was your brother. But with Dean it was just a quick, awkward hey."

Kaitlyn shrugs. She hadn't really noticed it; maybe it's because it's how they've always been. "It's just completely different with him. I don't know why."

"Could it be because you two like each other?" Nattie chimes in.

"What? No." Kaitlyn shakes her head as she glances over toward Dean once again. Okay, she can't deny that he's made her nervous in the past. But was it the nervous of attraction? No, it couldn't be. Could it? She frowns at the thought. Does she actually have feelings for Dean and just never realized it? No, of course not. It's not possible.

It isn't long before the assembly is beginning. The guys start by talking about the everyday safety. Kaitlyn wishes she didn't have to hear this once again, but she knows she has to be here. It's not that it isn't good information, but she's heard it numerous times over the years. When Dean starts talking, however, she finds herself paying extra attention. She watches as he moves around as if he's unable to stay still. They finish up with their presentation before turning to questions. Kaitlyn watches as they each take turns answering. She frowns when she sees Mark Patterson raise his hand. He's the troublemaker in her class. She just hopes he doesn't ask something inappropriate.

"Yeah, right here in the green shirt? What's your name?" Seth asks.

"Mark."

"Hey Mark, what's your question?"

"What's with your hair?"

"Mark," Kaitlyn says loudly.

Seth laughs softly as he waves her off. "We work undercover a lot. In the situations we're put into, we have to do our best to look the parts. I thought it was just going to last for one or two shifts. But my boss told me to keep it until further notice. You don't tell the boss no." He shrugs. "Nothing too exciting about the reasoning behind it."

Dean grins as he gestures to a young blonde girl in the front row. "Go ahead, sweet heart."

"I'm Claire. My question is have you ever been scared?"

Dean looks over at the others. "Great question. Roman, want to take that one first?"

"Thanks," Roman says. "I think if an officer says he hasn't been scared on the job at some point in time he isn't telling the truth. We all have our moments, some worse than others. One for me, I was involved in a situation that involved hostages. I wasn't necessarily scared of something happening to me, but I was scared we wouldn't be able to get ahold of the situation before it turned bad. Seth?"

"The one that comes to mind is recently actually." He glances over at Kaitlyn knowing she hasn't heard this one yet. "I was out undercover trying to catch some bad guys buying drugs. So I was on the street while these two were parked waiting for my signal. A car pulls up and three guys get out. Just the way they were looking around I knew it wasn't going to be good. They ended up jumping me before I could get a chance to do anything. One pulled a knife and was actually holding it to my neck. It was a scary moment for me. But these two showed up before it got any worse."

"That was a crazy night altogether," Roman says. "Dean, what about you?"

Dean sighs. "I was on the job for a week when I went on a call for a man on the top of a building wanting to jump. I was one of the cops that went up to talk him down. I was able to get him to talk to me. After forty minutes of just talking with him, he finally agreed to come down. But when he turned to step down, he slipped. I managed to grab hold of him. It took another couple minutes for him to stop struggling to get him up."

Seth squeezes his shoulder, remembering that night very well. "Any more questions?"

Dean nods at him as he turns away for a moment. He makes the mistake of looking at Kaitlyn as he does. The look on her face nearly breaks him. It's a looks he's never seen from her.

Kaitlyn looks at Eve after the guys finish. "I'm going to go say goodbye."

Eve nods. "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on your class."

"Thanks." She walks over to the guys. "Seth." When he turns, she hugs him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to worry you." He kisses the side of her head before they pull apart. "I'm fine."

She nods. "You better be." She looks at Roman and Dean. "How about you two?"

"I could use a hug," Roman says.

She laughs softly as she hugs him. "Like I could say no to that." She looks at Dean as she steps back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says. "I'll meet you guys outside." He walks away before anyone can stop him.

Kaitlyn looks at Seth. "Did I say something?"

"No," Seth says. "That night was just rough. He doesn't talk about it much. He's going to be fun tonight. We'll see you at dinner."

"Bye."

Kaitlyn wrinkles her nose as she pulls into the driveway. Great, her stepsisters are already here. Why they needed to be here so early, she has no idea. She climbs out of her car. After grabbing her bag from the backseat, she heads inside. She can hear the sisters the moment she steps into the front hall. She rolls her eyes as she stats up the stairs.

"I'm home," she calls out. She hears Becca say something, followed by her and Anna giggling, but doesn't really pay attention to what's said. She walks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She really needs to look into getting her own place. She can't handle this much longer. She sits down at her desk and pulls the papers she has to grade out of her bag.

"Kaitlyn," Shelly calls up. "Come down here please."

Kaitlyn sighs. "Great." She stands up. "Coming." She walks downstairs, seeing her mom standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"We could use some help down here."

"I have papers to grade."

"You can do that after dinner."

"Mom, I have a lot of papers to look over. Becca and Anna can help out."

"They don't live here, you do." Shelly raises an eyebrow at Kaitlyn.

"Fine."

Kaitlyn is pulling plates out when she hears Seth calling out from the front hall. She sets the plates down before walking out. "Don't you ever come this late again."

Seth raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Your sisters are sitting in there watching me do everything. But of course my mother won't let them help."

"Why?"

"Because they don't live here."

Seth snorts. "Your mother is nuts."

"Don't have to tell me twice." She sighs. "I have to go finish."

"We'll follow."

"Not with those guns you won't," Shelly says as she walks down.

"They're going on top of the fridge just like every other time."

"They better be."

Seth, Roman, and Dean walk into the kitchen. Seth unfastens his holster before putting it on top of the fridge. "Becca, Anna, I see you're doing nothing as usual."

Roman laughs softly as he places his holster on top of the fridge. He walks over to where Kaitlyn is standing. "You okay?" he asks softly.

Kaitlyn nods. "Yeah," she answers. She looks at him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." He watches her closely.

"Why are things different with Dean?" she asks so only Roman can hear her.

"What do you mean?"

"I can go to you and Seth when I need someone. But with Dean…"

Roman grins. "Well, I think I could give you a couple of answers."

"I want the truth."

"They both are."

"Okay."

"One is Dean doesn't open up much. To me and Seth yeah. But we can also beat it out of him."

"And two?"

"Sure you want to hear this one?"

"Yes." Kaitlyn watches him closely. "Roman, tell me."

"When you think no one can see, you're looking at him. When he thinks no one can see, he's looking at you."

She frowns. "That's not true."

"It is true. You know when I first noticed it?"

"When?"

"Your senior prom. You and I were standing getting our pictures taken by the fire place here. He was off in the corner watching your every move. And then when we were getting ready to leave, I saw you watching him."

Kaitlyn chews on her bottom lip. Is she really looking at Dean? When Roman laughs softly, she smacks his stomach. "It's not funny."

"You don't realize you're doing it, do you?"

"I guess not."

"Kaitlyn, can you bring the hors d'oeuvres out?"

Kaitlyn sighs. "Coming." She turns to walk to the fridge, but Roman stops her. "Ro…"

"We can get them."

"She said Kaitlyn," Becca chimes in.

Seth snorts as he pulls the tray of meat and cheese out. "Becca, grow up. Kaitlyn, we'll take care of this." He kisses her cheek before heading into the living room.

Kaitlyn sighs when she hears Becca and Anna muttering to each other. She isn't sure what either of them said, but she can guarantee that it was insulting her in some way. She looks over when she hears Dean groan.

"I think the two of you are just lazy," he says before walking out onto the back deck.

Kaitlyn looks at Roman, surprised by Dean's outburst. He's never done anything like that, at least not here. "He okay?"

Roman nods. "Yeah, just having a day."

"Is it because of the question?"

"No. That didn't help, but he was already having a day before that. I'm going to bring the crackers out." He grabs the basket off the counter and heads out to the living room.

Kaitlyn lets out a soft breath as she walks around to the door. She steps outside, making sure to close it tightly before walking over and sitting down next to Dean on the steps. He looks over after a moment.

"Your sisters are spoiled brats," he says.

"Stepsisters." Kaitlyn nods in agreement. "And yes they are. So why'd you come out here?"

Dean lifts his hand, revealing the cigarette in his left hand. "Figured your mom would shoot me if I smoked in the house."

"You would figure correct."

"God, today sucks. You know, I haven't had a cigarette in almost two months before this."

"Really?" She watches him. "You don't have to finish it."

Dean brings the cigarette to his lips. "Easier said than done sometimes." He pulls the pack from his pocket and holds it out to Kaitlyn. "Do me a favor, hold on to those. That way I'm not tempted to smoke the entire pack."

Kaitlyn is taking the pack from him, their fingers brush together causing her stomach to flutter. She licks her lips. "Okay."

"Thanks." He puts the butt of his cigarette out before tossing it into the coffee can that is sitting there.

"I need to get back in. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looks at her. "I'll be in shortly."

"Okay." She smiles sadly at him before starting toward the door.

"Kait, wait." Dean turns to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"You don't deserve what they put you through."

She smiles a little. "Thanks." She heads back inside.

Kaitlyn stands up after she finishes eating. She knows she's going to be told to clear the table. She glances at Seth as she grabs her plate.

"Kaitlyn…" Shelly starts.

Seth clears his throat as he stands up. "Give me your plate," he says looking at Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn looks at him. "Seth…"

"No, I got it."

Kaitlyn is surprised when Roman and Dean stand up as well to help Seth. "I can…"

"Nonsense," Roman says winking at her.

"Now who's lazy?" Becca asks. "Can't even do your job."

Dean snorts. "Do either of you even work?"

"Jonathan Dean," Shelly says.

He holds his hands up. "Right." He turns and walks out of the room.

Kaitlyn jumps a little when the front door slams shut. She sighs as she looks at Shelly. "It wasn't his fault, Mom, and you know it." She follows Seth and Roman into the kitchen. "God, I need to find somewhere else to live."

"I've been telling you that since you graduated," Seth says. "We'll help you look."

She nods. "Thanks." She gestures toward the front hall. "What about him?"

"He's gone," Roman answers. "He took his gun, so he left."

"Don't worry," Seth says. "He'll be fine."

Kaitlyn walks Roman and Seth out a short time later. She hugs both of them before they head down to their cars. "Careful going home," she calls out after them.

"We will," Seth calls back. He smiles up at her as he climbs into his car.