Chapter 21

By the time Dean walked into the kitchen, Leah had already left for work. Somehow he'd manage to avoid the big confrontation twice now. When he'd slipped into bed the night before she'd been sleeping soundly. Or she'd been pretending. Either way, he wasn't about to complain about the extra time he'd been given.

Sam, who was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper, looked up when he heard his brother enter the room. Shoving the paper aside, he waited as Dean poured himself some coffee and then joined him at the table.

"Why is it, Dean, that you manage to get more sleep than anyone else?" he wondered aloud.

Dean shrugged as he sipped his coffee. "If you need more sleep, don't get up so early."

Sam grunted. "I got a better idea. Don't wake me up at odd hours any more! I'd like to get one decent night's sleep."

Dean was about to share an impolite finger gesture with his brother when he noticed a box of donuts on the table. There was a note stuck on the lid so he slid it toward him and read over it. Leah. She hoped he had a great day and here were his favorites. Maybe he'd luck out and nothing would change. Leah wasn't the clingy type and although she was a very caring, giving woman she wasn't really overly sentimental. With things looking up, he grinned and flipped open the lid, snagging two of the sweet treats.

"So, what the hell was that all about last night?" Sam asked.

So much for lucking out. But then, his brother would be a lot easier to deal with. "Man, what's up your ass this morning?" he asked around a mouthful of donut.

Sam frowned. He couldn't believe that after wanting to run out on Leah in the middle of the night, Dean could be so cavalier this morning. He sat there for a minute, unsure of whether or not it was even worth initiating that conversation. After all, Dean didn't want his help and he and Leah were adults who could handle their own problems, right? Absolutely right. But he knew it wasn't quite the normal situation for his brother and he couldn't deny that he felt bad for him. The relationship Dean had with Leah was new territory for the guy and even if he didn't want Sam's help, deep down Sam believed he'd appreciate it.

Leaning back in his chair, Sam crossed his arms and decided to jump right into the heart of the problem. "What's up my ass? Well, let's see Dean. Other than being unable to have a single uninterrupted night's sleep anymore, let me think. Oh yeah, there's my older brother wanting to disappear in the middle of the night to avoid his girlfriend and then acting like it's no big deal the next morning."

Shrugging, Dean took another bite of his donut, then said, "It is no big deal, Sam. I was bored."

"At two in the morning? Right, and I'm an elf." He saw Dean's eyebrows shoot up so he hurried on before the snide remark could follow. "Listen, whatever is going on with you and Leah is normal, Dean. I know you don't do normal, but maybe it's time you tried. It is Leah we're talking about here. You already know her, you're comfortable with her. Maybe you should just quit worrying about everything and go along for the ride. You might like it."

Dean stared across the table for a minute, angry words formed and ready to fly, but he really didn't feel like another 'deep' conversation this morning. It was bad enough he might have to go down that road with Leah later on.

He stood up and grabbed his coffee cup. "This is my problem, Sammy, and I'll deal with it."

So much for 'talking', Sam thought. Ah well, no surprise there. Still, he couldn't resist one more attempt to get Dean to realize things weren't as bad as he was making them out to be.

"That's just it, Dean. You don't have a problem."

Grabbing another donut from the box, Dean said. "Yeah, well the way I see it I've got more than one now. Add annoying kid brother to the list." He headed for the living room, a grin suddenly appearing on his face. "Oh and Sammy." he called over his shoulder. "Get some sleep dude, you look like crap!"

Dean rested his head against the cool glass of the window as he stared at the front door of Leah's office building. After spending the entire day thinking about what Sam had said (hadn't he made that same mistake not too long ago?) Dean figured he might be acting a little immature about the whole situation so he'd decided that when Leah got home from work, he'd be ready to deal with whatever happened.

Only he'd waited and waited and she didn't show up. So now he was parked outside her office wondering what the hell that meant. Was she working late because she had to or...or because she was avoiding him.

'Okay, Dean. The only way to do this, is just do it. Call her.' he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his cell phone. An image of Leah in that little blue thong crossed his mind and he smiled. Yeah, calling was definitely the right thing to do. He hit her speed dial number and waited for her to answer.

Leah saved her report and turned off the computer. Everyone in the office had taken off nearly 2 hours before which gave the small building a rather grim quietness. Sometimes she preferred to hang around after hours, though, getting her work done with no distractions and tonight was one of those nights.

She also needed some time to think about Dean. When he'd taken off the night before, she'd thought he was gone for good. She'd half expected him call Sam and tell him to pack up his things for him and grab a cab to meet him someplace. One of the sweetest sounds she'd ever heard was that Impala pulling back into the drive an hour later. Still, she had no idea how he was going to act around her now that he'd told her he loved her. Would he regret it? Would he act uncomfortable? Funny thing was, she wasn't sure how she should act around him.

A soft clicking sound from the hallway caught her attention so she went to the door and peered out. One of her co-workers was standing just outside his office. He looked up and seemed surprised to see her as well.

"David? I didn't realize you were still here." Leah didn't know him very well and felt a little uneasy being alone in the building with him.

David closed his cell phone and walked over to her. He was tall and handsome with short blond hair and light blue eyes. More than a few of the women in the company had shown an interest in him since he'd started the job a few weeks earlier.

He gave her a charming smile. "I didn't know you were here either, Leah. It's nice to see someone else putting in some extra time. Looks like we have something in common."

"Oh, I don't make it a habit, but sometimes it is easier to get my work done this way. Anyway, I see you're about to leave so I won't keep you."

He leaned against the wall. "You're not. I've been wanting to speak with you so this works out well. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me one night? In fact, it's only," he glanced at his watch. "seven. How about tonight?"

Before Leah could answer, her cell phone rang. "I'm sorry. I have to get that. Please, don't let me keep you." She went into her office and grabbed the phone off her desk, hoping David would leave in the meantime. As she flipped it open and said hello, she turned to find him standing just inside her office door. Another wave of uneasiness hit her.

It was Dean on the phone, his deep voice sending a pulsing heat straight through her. "Hey little bit." he said. "I'm right out in front of your building. I was thinking we did it on your desk at home, maybe I could come in and we could do on your office desk. How 'bout it?"

Leah laughed, relieved to know he was so close. "Dean! I'd really like that, but someone's here with me right now. I was about to leave anyway."

"So get rid of her and then I'll come in."

"He's getting ready to leave right now. Why don't..."

"Whoa, he?" Dean interrupted. "You're alone in there with a guy?"

"One second, Dean." She smiled at David. "I have someone out front waiting for me, David. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "Okay. But you never answered me about dinner. Since you're busy tonight how about tomorrow night?"

"What did he say? Did he just ask you out?" Dean's voice boomed through the phone. Leah jerked it away from her ear and tried to cover it by pressing it into her shoulder.

She smiled at David. "Thanks for asking, but I'm seeing someone."

"Hearing him, too!" he teased. "I understand." David started to leave, but turned back. "Did you say he's right out front? If you're ready, we can walk out together and lock up the building."

"Sure, okay." She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the office. Putting the phone back to her ear, she told Dean, "I'm on my way to the front door now."

"He with you?" Dean asked.

"Yes. It's not a big deal, Dean, really." As they got to the door, she could see Dean pacing back and forth outside. "Here we are. I'm hanging up the phone now."

She slipped her phone into her pocket and followed David out of the building. Dean grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. "Why's he alone in there with you?"

David turned to face the couple. "I wasn't in there with her. I was in there doing some work and actually had no idea she was still here." He stretched out a hand to Dean. "David Manning."

Dean glared at the man for a moment before accepting his hand. "Dean Winchester."

"Leah's a beautiful woman, Dean. You can't blame me for asking her out, now can you?"

Dean smiled at him. A smile that Leah knew was anything but friendly. "Well now that you know she's not available, you can't blame me when I beat the hell out of you if you ever ask her out again. Can you?"

For a split second, David's blue eyes went as black as night, but neither Dean nor Leah caught it in the cover of darkness. He smiled easily at Dean, the expression far from matching his words. "I'd be careful about who I threaten if I were you, Winchester."

A chill ran down Leah's spine. It was the third time she'd gotten a strange feeling from the man. Dean had an odd look on his face as he stepped closer to David. "It wasn't a threat, pal. It's a promise. Stay away from her."

David eyed Dean briefly before turning his back to him. Taking Leah's hand in his, he said, "Have a nice night, Leah. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he walked away, leaving the two to stare after him.

When he was finally out of view, Dean drew Leah close. His eyes were intense as he stared into hers. "I want you to stay away from him. You understand me?"

"I can't. I work with him." She knew Dean was dead serious, but what could she do? She saw David practically every day. His office was right down the hall from hers.

"I don't care. The guys an asshole and I don't want him bothering you. Just keep your distance."

"Okay."

Better to agree and appease Dean. She would do what she could. After all, the guy gave her a creepy feeling, too. But she was going to see David throughout the course of the day and she might even have to work with him on occasion. There was nothing that could be done about that. Of course, Dean wouldn't understand because he didn't live the same kind of life she did. When it came to work, she did what needed to be done to keep her job.

Besides, there was probably nothing to worry about anyway.

TBC