Title: You Know
Summary: She was old enough to be his mother. Maybe that was part of it. Dean/Ellen one-shot
Rating: T
Warnings: None, unless you hate the thought of Dean and Ellen getting together :)
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
A/N: I was already in the middle fo writing a Dean/Ellen story when AHBL2 premiered, and after that hug, i ahd to write one with a happy ending. It's been bugging me for about a week now, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Please review, becuase I'd really like to know what people think. Thanks!
She was old enough to be his mother. Maybe that was part of it.
Mothers provided safety and comfort and warmth, and maybe, somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he'd thought that she would help him. Maybe she could make him feel safe for a while.
All he'd wanted was someone to spend time with. He didn't like being alone, but that was what he'd been since Sam had saved him and left for Stanford. He hadn't known where to go, hadn't known where to turn. Sam had moved on, both of his parents were dead, and he wanted someone to tell him that everything was going to be all right.
He'd headed to the Roadhouse, stepped through the clean new door, breathed in the scent of fresh pine, and seen her behind the counter. He knew she was old enough to be his mother, knew that she missed her daughter, knew that she had that maternal instinct that made her want to care for those that were lost and scared and alone.
He figured, later on, as they lay in bed, that that was the whole reason for it. He'd needed comfort, and she had offered it. It had kind of snowballed from there.
He realized later on, after waking up from a light slumber, that he loved her. He needed her. She'd been gone when he rolled over, her clothes no longer on the chair where they'd fallen, and he was scared. One more person he loved had abandoned him.
He called her name and she answered and he was surprised by that. She was making coffee, waiting for him to wake up. She took his hand and smiled and they talked and he felt safe.
It didn't take long for Dean to realize that everything he'd ever wanted could be found in her. He could have something to come home to after a hunt, someone to come home to. He could have that safety and warmth and comfort and love that had eluded him for the majority of his life. Maybe, with her, he could be happy.
o0o0o0o0o
He was young enough to be her son. Maybe that was part of it.
Sam had saved Dean's soul and then left him all alone in the world. The man that showed up at the Roadhouse wasn't the man she'd remembered, the one who'd embraced her with strong arms in Bobby's salvage yard. He was broken and scared and lost.
He looked at her with haunted eyes, eyes full of fear and rejection. She turned the sign on the door around, stating proudly that the bar was closed. It had elicited a spark of hope in his eyes, and she'd clung to that.
She couldn't fix her own child, couldn't give Jo what she'd wanted, but maybe she could make up for that with Dean. She listened to his story, let him cry in her arms, and things had just kind of snowballed from there.
She wasn't sorry for it, didn't regret it. She felt bad about being the first to wake up, though, because the sound of desperation in his voice when he'd yelled her name was more than enough to break her heart.
She called back and he rounded the corner, stepping out of the hallway, relief showing itself on every inch of his face. He was nervous, though, and she couldn't blame him for that. He hardly looked at her as she handed him his coffee, her hand slipping over his.
When he finally did look up she almost wished he hadn't. He was back to looking lost and alone and afraid. She would never forget what he said, the way his voice cracked and his eyes watered. "If you don't… you know… then just tell me, because I'd hate for you to be miserable."
She knew what he meant, knew why he couldn't say it. He'd told her earlier that day, told her that he was afraid to admit to loving anyone. Everyone left, whether he told them or not, so he didn't see any point in making the hurt that much worse by knowing that they knew.
It didn't seem right to her that someone like him should be afraid to love, so she'd smiled and told him that she loved him. He brightened instantly, his eyes shining, and she'd melted.
She wasn't surprised a bit when he'd blown through the Roadhouse a week later, walked up to the counter, and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled, they kissed, and he'd seemed satisfied.
o0o0o0o
She was old enough to be his mother. He was young enough to be her son. The same could be said about Anna Nicole Smith and her husband, or Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Neither of them saw a difference as they stood in the small church, Sam and Jo on either side, both shaking their heads and glaring.
"You know," Dean whispered, leaning in close, "there's still time to back out. You don't have to do this."
"I want to," Ellen replied as the preacher began to speak.
By the end of the day, Sam was disgusted, Jo was pissed, Dean finally felt safe, and Ellen had fixed her second husband.
So, what do you think? Remember, if it's OK for celebrities, it should be OK for fictional characters. That's my defense, anyway...