"I wish you'd tell me what was bothering you, babe." CJ mumbled as she got ready for their desert running adventure. Dean only glanced back at her, eyes scanning up her exposed legs to where her shorts cut off. "Too short?"

"Just right, darlin'." He praised, licking his lips while she rolled her eyes. "And nothing's bothering me, Christina. Trust me."

"I never said that I didn't."

"Well for the last two days you have this inability to take my word for what it is. I'm fine."

"Dean, let's face it. You always lie to me about stuff like this. I can read you better than you think I can." She argued, hands on her hips as she glared at him. "We have to be honest with each other if this is going to work out."

"And we are honest with each other. Some things are just better when left alone." Dean stated simply, placing his hands on her sides. "This, according to Adam, is one of those things. Just let us handle this."

"You don't trust that I can handle it?"

"You'd go ballistic and I just want you to keep your stress levels down until I'm here with you for two whole months, alright?"

"I appreciate how much you care about me, Dean." She mumbled, smiling when he leaned in to rest his forehead on hers.

"So you're not upset?"

"No, I'm not."

"Kiss me then, baby." He requested, smirking when she rolled her eyes. "Prove it."

"You're ridiculous." CJ laughed, her eyes not leaving his. The loving look in those blue eyes made her want to melt every time they were focused on her, and it would never get old. Ever.

"I'm a man in love. Now kiss me, wench, I'm not getting any younger." He teased, closing his eyes and puckering his lips. CJ couldn't deny him, especially when he was being so adorable, so she did as he requested and planted her lips on his in a gentle kiss. She wasn't at all surprised when he picked her up so that she had to wrap her lags around his waist and feel the growing erection in his shorts. "You do such amazing things to me, baby."

"Damnit, Dean." She whispered, letting him peck her lips while pressing her into the doorway of the closet. "Eleven days."

"I can't wait that long, baby. One time won't hurt, right?"

"I can't risk getting an infection because that'll set back my return date. Eleven days, Dean. You can do it."

"I need to be inside of you."

"Dean, I'll make it worth your while tonight. And for Christmas it's going to be amazing, I promise."

"Are you going to bring out the handcuffs again?" He asked as he set her down, taking a moment to adjust his shorts before going to grab a tshirt.

"And other things."

"Did you get a sexy little outfit?" When she only bit her lip, he grinned and rubbed his hands together in excitement. "I am the luckiest guy in the world. I don't think I say it enough."

"As long as you know it, then you don't have to repeat it." CJ commented, pulling a tshirt over her head and heading for her shoes. "Blue?"

"Blue. You look good in anything, but I like you best in black and dark blue."

"Favorite colors?"

"Black isn't a color, darlin', but essentially."

"I wish I could tell you my favorite colors." She mumbled, sitting down on the floor to slide her shoes on.

"You tend to have more shades in our closet than actual colors."

"Shades of a color?"

"Grey is mixture of white and black but mainly considered a shade than an actual color."

"But what is black, if it isn't a color?" CJ asked, looking at him as he sat down across from her to put his shoes on. He had to admit that the natural curiosity in her eyes was the most adorable thing, and he had to lean over to press his lips to hers to take advantage of how cute she was.

"Black is the absence of color, and white is all of the colors combined."

"But when you mix all the colors on a paint tray you get a gross greyish brown thing?"

"I don't have an answer to that question. Tie your shoes."

"How do you know all this?"

"I took art in high school and that stuck with me." He mumbled, light blush on his cheeks at the admission as he finished tying his shoes. He'd never told anybody about taking art in high school, and he'd never admit that he actually wanted to be in the class. "Can't draw a perfect circle to save my life but damnit, I can draw squiggles and flowers pretty well."

"That's pretty neat, Dean. You should draw one for me some time." She suggested, standing and holding her hands out to him. He didn't need the help up, but he placed his hands in hers and pulled her down into his lap to hold her close. The little yelp and giggles that followed made the slap to his shoulder more than worth it while she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "Love you."

"Love you, too." He whispered, her birth father's words swimming through his head as he held her just a bit tighter. They were going to last, not because he wanted to prove Chris wrong, but because what they had was true love if such a thing existed. At their high points and low points, they'd always have each other and the beautiful little girl that they made together with a little bit of help from Seth. "So much."

"We should get going soon, babe."

"I know. Just let me hold you for a moment. I like how this feels."

"You and me?"

"It's like we fit together." Dean mumbled, remembering what Adam had said about them completing each other. The negativity in his head began to slowly die off while he held her close and focused on how right it felt to have her in his arms. The way she lightly held his arm in her hand and swiped her thumb across his skin repeatedly made him smile. "Ready?"

"Mhm."

Dean was impressed. Not only did his girlfriend keep pace with him despite not having a good cardio workout in about eight months, but she didn't complain once about the heat. He expected the heat to be a problem for the Canadian, but instead she soldiered on and patiently waited for their water breaks without complaining or begging for a quick break. There was a newfound admiration and respect for her toughness, and he learned to never worry about her.

"So." CJ started, looking over to where he sat beside her in the sand and admiring the way the setting sun made his sweaty skin glisten. "This is how you stay level?"

"Yep." Dean nodded, meeting her gaze while her pulled her into his side. "It's nice out here, ain't it?"

"Beautiful." She agreed before taking a drink of her water. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

Dean only nodded, kissing her slightly damp hair while looking out at the setting sun. He felt truly at peace in that moment, shutting his eyes for a couple minutes and just blocking out everything around him except for CJ leaning against him and breathing in sync with him. The voices had been muted and he didn't have a single thing trying to bring him down. Everything was perfect to him.

"Ready to head home?" He whispered, opening his eyes to see that she had fallen asleep, his phone in her lap. He couldn't help but smile, pocketing his phone before moving her into his lap and standing, leaving their water bottles behind so he could carry her to his car. After buckling her in, he put his hat on her head to block out the sun before grabbing their water and tossing the bottles into the backseat once he was settled in the driver's seat. He unlocked his phone to see that CJ had posted a picture of them relaxing after their run with the caption: 'Probably the most attractive trainer in history. #roadtoreturning #desertrunning'

So he decided to one-up her and took a picture of her curled up in the seat with his hat on, obviously fast asleep and captioned it: 'Fast asleep after the hardest day of her training so far. #day1toreturning -DA'

He then set his phone in the cup holder and buckled up, letting out a yawn while he started the car. It'd be a long road to her return, but he knew that he'd have her ring ready by WrestleMania 31. He was too good of a teacher and she was too good of a student for it to be any longer.

Thank you to Claire Moxley, Syd, NikkiMoxey, Sammie94, UntilNeverDawns, ChelleLew, Deanambrosesmile, and Sarcastic Nightmare for reviewing the last chapter!