Chapter Thirty-Five

Kaitlyn and Kelsey walk through the girls department looking for two new dresses for Kelsey, one for Christmas Eve at home and one for Christmas Day at Kaitlyn's parents. Kaitlyn pulls a gray short sleeved dress. She shows it to Kelsey. "What do you think?" she asks.

Kelsey looks at it and smiles. "I like it," she says. "Can that be for home?"

"Of course." She lays it over her arm as they continue to look. "You could always do something a little fancier for Christmas Day if you would like." She looks at Kelsey. "My mom always loves to dress up and that's always been our time to."

"Okay." Kelsey beams up at Kaitlyn before moving to the next rack of dresses. "Can I get a present for Daddy?"

"Of course you can. We'll look while we're here."

Once they find another dress for Kelsey, they head over to the women's department to start looking for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn smiles when she sees Kelsey pulling out a black and white dress.

"You should wear this on Christmas," Kelsey says.

Kaitlyn nods. "I like it." She finds her size and pulls it off the rack. "Now I'll find one for home and then we'll try them on just to be on the safe side."

Kelsey nods as she moves to the next rack. "What are you getting for Daddy?"

"I have a few ideas." Kaitlyn smiles. "First and foremost, the man is getting a gun safe." She laughs softly at Kelsey's giggle. "I also figure I should get him some new t-shirts because I have taken quite a few."

"Why?"

"Because they're comfy to sleep in."

"I know Santa isn't real, but can we go see him anyway?" She looks up at Kaitlyn. "Maybe with Daddy?"

Kaitlyn nods. "Absolutely. We'll talk to Daddy tomorrow and see when would be a good time to go."

"I get to call Seth and Roman uncles, right?"

"I would think so." Kaitlyn pulls a black dress off the rack. "What do you think?"

"I like it." Kelsey smiles. "Let's go try them on!"

"I'm right behind you."

"So it's Uncle Seth and Uncle Roman." Kelsey takes Kaitlyn's hand as they walk toward the dressing rooms. "Would it be Aunt Paige and Aunt Eve?"

"Well, that one I think you'd have to ask them about. I would be okay with it and so would your Daddy. But Paige and Eve have to make that call."

Kelsey nods. "And can I call you Mom?"

Kaitlyn sucks in a deep breath as she looks down at Kelsey. She stops them from walking and pulls the young girl into a hug. "I would be honored to have you call me Mom."

"Good." Kelsey hugs Kaitlyn tighter. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." She kisses the top of her head. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go try these on."

After they try the dresses on, both loving each of them, they head to another department to look for a gift for Dean. Kaitlyn lets Kelsey go through things so she can choose on her own. She wants this gift to be something special between Dean and Kelsey. Of course she'll help her if she asks.

It doesn't take long to pick a few things out and they're heading to check out. Kaitlyn smiles at Kelsey as they set everything on the counter. "I think we did pretty well," she says.

Kelsey nods in agreement. "I hope Daddy will like what I got him."

"I'm sure Daddy will love everything." She smiles at the woman at the counter. In the matter of minutes, they're heading back outside into the cold. Kaitlyn takes Kelsey's hand as they walk quickly toward the car.

Kaitlyn starts the car and shivers. She's about to turn and say something to Kelsey when her phone rings. "And that would be Daddy," she says with a smile.

"Can I talk to him too?"

Kaitlyn nods. "Sure." She pulls her phone out of her purse. "Hello?"

"Hey, Baby," Dean says.

Kaitlyn frowns a little. "You sound weird. What's wrong?"

"Nothing serious." He lets out a soft laugh. "You know me well. Where are you?"

"We just got back to the car from shopping."

"Good, go home."

"What? Why? I was going to stop for dinner."

"I know. But snow storm is going to hit and I don't want you two out in it."

"Okay. I'll order a pizza then."

"Perfect. If it gets as bad as they're saying, I may be late getting home."

"Just be careful. God, I hate this weather. You know I won't be able to sleep until I know you're all safe."

"I know, Baby. Keep the scanner on tonight."

"Okay. Kelsey wants to talk to you."

"Put her on. I'll text you in a little while to let you know how we all are."

"You better. I love you."

"Love you too."

Kaitlyn hands Kelsey the phone before she shifts and puts her seatbelt on. She has to wonder if Dean is being overly cautious right now. But if there wasn't a storm coming in he wouldn't be saying anything. She pulls out of the parking lot and heads toward their favorite pizza place. Kelsey puts the phone back into Kaitlyn's purse.

"He said to get extra breadsticks," she says.

Kaitlyn laughs softly. "Of course he did. This place is a regular place for all of us. Best pizza in town."

Kelsey smiles. "I like pizza."

"Me too."

Kaitlyn is pulling back out onto the street when the snow starts. She lets out a soft breath, hoping it doesn't get bad until they get home… no, until Dean gets home. She hates the thought of him being out in this weather. Who knows what could happen on a night like this.

Kelsey sets the pizza box on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch. "Mom, I don't remember which button to push to switch to the DVD player."

"Okay. I'll be there in just a second."

"Okay."

Kaitlyn sits down beside her and points to the button on the remote. "That one."

"I'll remember one of these days."

Kaitlyn smiles. "No problem, sweetie."

Dean locks the door behind him after finally getting home. Leaning down, he unties his boots and kicks them off. He shivers as he pulls his coat off. He undoes his gun belt as he walks into the kitchen and puts it up on the refrigerator. He smiles when he sees a note hanging on the fridge door.

Pizza was amazing. Thought about hiding it so you couldn't have any, but after the night I'm sure you had I won't do that to you. Plenty of breadsticks left for you as well. I hope work wasn't horrible.

Hurry up! Eat, shower, and come to bed.

Love you – K

Dean laughs softly. He walks into the bedroom and looks at Kaitlyn. "Are you still awake?" he asks softly.

"Like you really need to ask," she mumbles. She rolls onto her back.

He chuckles. "I just wanted to see what smart ass remark you would have."

"I hate when you have to work in weather like this."

He nods as he sits on the edge of the bed. "I know. But I'm fine. Seth and Roman are fine." He leans down and kisses her softly. "I'm going to go eat and shower. Don't go anywhere."

"Like I would go out in this weather." She pouts at him. "Hurry up."

"Yes, dear." He kisses her softly. "I won't be long." He stands up and heads back to the kitchen. He's sitting down with his food when he sees Kaitlyn walk out of the bedroom. He waves back as she heads to the bathroom.

Kaitlyn stops at the table after walking out of the bathroom. "How's dinner?" She moves behind him and rubs his shoulders.

"Amazing." He lets out a soft groan as she continues to rub his shoulders.

"How was work?"

"Not too bad." He takes a drink of his pop. "Nothing horrible happened, so I say that's a good night."

"Any bad accidents?"

"No. A few accidents, but nothing serious. Only had to send one person to the hospital and that was only for minor injuries." He reaches up, taking Kaitlyn's hands, and pulling her arms over his shoulders. He turns his head and kisses her. "Did you two find dresses?"

"Yes." She kisses his cheek. "We both found two." She presses her lips to his jaw. "I think you should skip your shower."

"Yeah?" He licks his lips when Kaitlyn licks at his neck. "And why is that?"

"I'm sure you can figure it out." She slides her hands down Dean's chest as she kisses his neck. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Dean turns his head and kisses Kaitlyn. "Go on in. I'll be there in a minute. Let me clean up in here."

"Okay." She pulls his bottom lip between her teeth. "Hurry up."

He licks his lips as he watches her walk back into the bedroom, an extra swing to her hips. He lets out a low whistle before cleaning up his mess. After cleaning himself up a bit, he walks into the bedroom. He closes the door, smiling when he sees Kaitlyn sitting Indian style on the bed. He tosses his uniform shirt toward the hamper before leaning down and taking his socks off.

Kaitlyn shifts to her knees as Dean approaches the bed. She reaches out and pushes his undershirt up his torso. "It's been too long."

Dean nods as he tugs his undershirt off. "I know, Baby." He cups her face before leaning down and kisses her. He's about to push Kaitlyn to lie down but instead pulls away. "This is weird."

Kaitlyn frowns at him. "Weird? Dean, since when is sex weird for you?"

"No, not the sex part. Obviously not the sex part, Kaitlyn. We've done that plenty of times. I'm talking about the fact that Kelsey's right next door." He sighs as he drags a hand through his hair. "I just… it's weird."

Kaitlyn sighs a little as she nods. "Okay."

"Baby, I'm sorry. I just…"

"No, it's okay." She smiles sadly at him. "Let's get some sleep." She moves to lie down in her usual spot. She watches as Dean changes into his shorts before climbing into bed with her.

He pulls her into his arms and sighs. "I'm sorry, Baby. I promise it won't always be like this." He kisses her softly.

"It's okay." She curls up against him. "Night, Dean."