CJ was laying in the backyard, Bear laying beside her and Olivia bouncing around in her little chair thing designed to help strengthen her leg muscles while keeping her occupied enough for the young mother to shut her eyes for a few minutes. The weather was nice and she wanted to tan, so she threw on her bikini, put Olivia in some sun-friendly clothes and sunscreen, and told Dean where they'd be. Her boyfriend seemed a bit occupied with his phone, so she wasn't sure that he had actually heard her make her announcement, but he knew that there was only a handful of places where she could actually be so she wasn't worried about that.
She was more worried about him.
Her boyfriend hadn't been focused lately. He was trying hard to make it seem as though he wasn't bothered by whatever was on his mind, but she knew. How could she not notice the fact that he hadn't been sleeping and was on his phone more than usual? He barely knew how the damn thing worked, yet he spent most of the day with it in his hand. He was hiding something from her. Any other woman would assume that he had a mistress, but she knew better. Dean loved her and Olivia too much to even risk losing them by having an affair.
Her reassurance was came in the form of her boyfriend still being his adorable, lovely self with her. If he was cheating, he'd become detached, right? She felt that way. Another sign that he was doing something other than cheating on her was the fact that he unplugged the land line from the wall. He didn't even know their home phone number, so there was no way that he was avoiding a mistress because she wouldn't have gotten that phone number. At least not from him.
Something had given her an eerie feeling and she sat up, looking over her sunglasses around their large backyard. Bear was now alert as well, signalling to her that she wasn't just being paranoid. Something was off, and it wasn't just in her imagination. A low warning growl left her dog and she quickly picked up Olivia and pulled Bear into the house in time for something to fly over their back fence and a loud pop! to go off.
"Dean!"
"What's up?"
"Somebody threw a firework into our backyard!" She informed, trying to keep calm for her daughter's sake. She was scared, but being wrapped in her boyfriend's embrace was certainly comforting. "What's going on?"
"I wish I knew, sweetheart." He whispered into her hair, watching as something else flew into their yard. This time it wasn't a firework, but what looked like a note tied to a rock sitting beside where his daughter was just sitting. He was more than just upset, but he needed to be strong for his girlfriend. "Why don't you and Olive go get dressed and head to the grocery store? Just get out of here while I take care of this."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet." He admitted, rubbing her back gently. CJ could tell that he was worried, but she didn't want to leave him alone. She couldn't leave him alone because she knew that if she and Olivia weren't in his line of sight then he'd be worrying himself about them.
"I think we should stay here. I don't want to be anywhere without you right now, Dean."
Dean sighed, but nodded his agreement. He only wanted his girl to be comfortable, and he wasn't going to force her out of the house if that wasn't what she wanted. Being honest, it wasn't what he wanted either.
"Go get dressed. I might be calling the cops in a minute."
"What's going on, Dean?"
"We might have a stalker." He wasn't going to tell her that it was his mother, not yet. This wasn't handling things the way she mot likely wanted them handled and this would definitely lead to her taking this issue into her own hands, which was what he definitely didn't want, and being upset with him- another thing he really didn't want. He was trying not to rush this in order to give his mother time to back off before the courts needed to be brought into this, but he was obviously being too nice now. She was the only person who had some kind of problem with him that couldn't deal with him at work since she was banned from WWE events, and the fact that she had the nerve to possibly harm his daughter was enough to send him over the edge. He was done playing nice now.
"We could have a stalker and you were going to send me out into the world?" She asked, look of shock on her face as she stared up at her boyfriend. Sometimes he amazed her.
"Now that I've thought it through a bit more, I realize that it was a stupid idea." He admitted, nudging her in the direction of the stairs. "Please go put on clothes, though. Seth should be back from his run soon and he'll sit with you while I'm on the phone and everything will be okay."
"Dean..." She sighed, looking up at him with a worried frown. "What the hell is going on? Don't lie to me."
"I'm not doing too good a job of handling this, am I?"
"You're doing your best, and I appreciate that so fucking much, but I think its time you let me help you." She spoke softly, reaching up to stroke his cheek as the front door opened. They looked to see that it was only Seth, but the younger man quickly caught on that there was something seriously wrong.
"Guys?"
"Stay with them, please." Dean requested, kissing CJ's forehead before kissing Olivia's and heading out to the backyard. Seth just looked to CJ, knowing the worried look in her eyes too well, and gently pried Olivia away before she forgot that she was holding her and let her temper get the best of her.
"Babe, what's going on?"
"He's handling it." She sighed before turning around and heading up the stairs, Seth quickly following behind her but going to the nursery to change Olivia out of her bathing suit and into actual clothes. Then he went into the master bedroom, getting there just in time to watch her pull on jeans. It had been a while since he had the pleasure of just watching her in just jeans and a bra, but he felt like she shouldn't have been enjoying it so much. She was still Dean's girlfriend, regardless of whether or not he was allowed to kiss her every now and again. "Sethie, I'm scared. I don't like to admit these things, but I'm left with no choice now. I'm fucking terrified, our daughter was almost hurt, and he still won't tell me everything that's going on."
"Oh, sweetheart." Seth spoke softly, laying Olivia down in the center of the bed so he could hold CJ in his arms. "You have every right to be scared. Dean and I are scared, too, so you're not alone. But you need to trust that we're going to take care of you and the little one. You're safe with us."
"What if something happens to either of you? What the hell am I supposed to do then, Seth? I can't just-"
"Hush, sweetheart." He silenced her, feeling her tears on his shoulder. "Nothing is going to happen to either of us."
"How can you be so sure? Its not like we're all together twenty-four seven."
"We will be, though. Nobody is going anywhere alone anymore. We'll talk to Dean and work out the specifics, but that's how everything is going to have to be until everything is worked out." Seth decided, rubbing her back but being careful of the bruises that were there from her match with Chris. "Alright?"
"Okay." She agreed, looking up at him and smiling when he brought a hand up to wipe away her tears before gently pecking her lips. "I should probably put on a shirt."
"Yeah, before I forget just how far I'm actually allowed to take things with you." He whispered with a smile, kissing her one last time before heading towards the bed to lay with Olivia. He moved her to lay on his chest, gently rubbing her back as he watched CJ pull a shirt over her head before she joined them in the bed and laid her head on his chest beside Olivia's. He had to admit that not having Dean there made the bed feel empty, but he wasn't going to voice that and make her feel worse. "It'll be okay."
"We have to talk to Paul about this if we're all going to be sticking together from now on, Seth."
"Yeah I know, and we will do that tomorrow morning. We've gotta talk to Dean first."
"I know. I should go get him." She decided, looking to Seth for approval of her idea. He only shook his head, knowing that wouldn't be the smartest thing for her to do. "No?"
"No. He'll come up to be with us soon." Seth assured, not knowing if that would actually be the case but knowing the last thing Dean needed right now was his train of thought being interrupted by her. Her intentions may have been nothing but pure and good, but Dean needed the silence right now while he was dealing with whatever happened. "Just relax, please."
When Dean had finally gotten a hold of whoever was issuing the restraining order against his mother, he had to calmly explain what had happened and the evidence he had that it was his mother and needed multiple reassurances that the order would be issued ASAP. He wasn't expecting to be accused by the chick for trying to abuse his star power to get it done faster, but when he mentioned his daughter almost getting hit by a lit firework that had been thrown into his yard she seemed to shut the hell up and get to typing. It was then that he went upstairs and froze in the doorway when he saw the sight before him. CJ and Olivia, his girls, sleeping on Seth much like they slept on him every night.
He assumed that every other man in their right mind would be jealous of the fact that there was another man in their bed with their girlfriend and daughter. But not him. Was he supposed to be jealous? Was he supposed to be so nonchalant about all this? He was still that territorial and overprotective man, right? He would still knock a man's teeth down their throat just for looking at CJ and Olivia wrong, so why was he so relaxed about Seth technically encroaching on his territory? Why did he not care so much?
What the hell is going on with me? He asked himself, heading for the closet and trading his jeans and tshirt for a pair of shorts and a wife beater to go running in. He knew that he probably shouldn't be running alone with the fact that he had a stalker in his mother, but he believed that the fact that their neighborhood was now officially gated meant that she wasn't in the neighborhood. He didn't know how she threw the rock and firework into the backyard, but thinking about it had him developing a headache and that wasn't what he needed right now.
So he left, not sure where he was running to but knowing that he needed to not be inside thinking. He needed to be out in the sun and fresh air to clear his head and calm himself down. He needed to figure out what was going on, and once he figured it out he had to stop thinking about it. He needed this.
But he knew CJ would probably be pissed, but that was a bridge he'd cross when he got to it. He knew she'd need explanations and he couldn't explain himself to her until he knew what the hell was going on.
Three hours later had CJ half awake and figuring out what they were going to have to dinner. Seth was still asleep with Olivia and she didn't want to wake him, but she hadn't seen or heard a peep out of Dean. This had her more worried than she was before she had taken her nap, and frantically searching every inch of the house for her boyfriend with no success. She then went back to the bedroom, where Seth was trying to calm down a fussy Olivia.
"Dean's gone."
"God damnit." Seth whispered, standing and handing the fussy infant over to her mother before pulling on his shoes and digging his phone out of his pocket. He called Dean's cell phone number, but shut his eyes in frustration when they heard Dean's phone ringing from his pants pocket on the floor. "He's out on a run."
"Why didn't he take his phone? Its getting dark out, Seth, and-"
"I know. Just don't worry because I'm gonna find him." He assured, kissing her forehead before she pulled away and headed towards the door. "Just stay in the house, and I'll drive around until I find his dumb ass."
"Alright." CJ sighed, apprehension obvious in her tone as she carried Olivia down the stairs with Seth hot on her heels. "This is the last thing I really need right now."
"I know, and I'll remind him of that fact plenty one I find him. You just try to relax and take care of the little one." He requested, watching as she adjusted Olivia on her hip. The fact that CJ looked like she was about to cry was enough to piss off Seth at Dean's nerves to just leave. Their lives could very well have been in danger, but he was going to just leave without bothering to let anybody know. No note, no text left behind for them to read, he just left. "Okay?"
"Okay. While you're out, you should probably pick up something for dinner."
"What are you hungry for?"
"I'm not." She answered simply and honestly, knowing that honesty was the best policy and especially right now. "My stomach just turned off or something. But just pick something up and I'll make sure that I eat tonight."
"Alright. But if you decide that you want something just shoot me a text, alright?"
"You got it." She walked him to the door and watched as he intentionally grabbed the keys to her car rather than Dean's. "And Seth?"
"Yeah?"
"I lo-uh.. Thanks for going out and looking for him." She quickly caught herself and covered, not missing the slightly disappointed look on his face as she did so. But, just as quickly as she had recovered, he did as well and gently cupped her cheek in his free hand before kissing her softly. Another one of those breathtakingly gentle ones that made her melt on the inside and she hated him for it right now.
"I love you, too, babe." He whispered, secretly enjoying the way she blushed at his words. "I'll call when I find him."
"Be careful out there."
Seth could only nod, winking at her before he kissed Olivia's cheek and headed out the door. He didn't like leaving her home alone, but he heard the door lock behind him and nodded his approval despite her being unable to see it. He then got comfortable in the driver's seat of her pretty little BMW, having to adjust the seat back a bit but he'd remember to put it back, and started the ignition. He wasn't even going to drive slowly among the streets in search of Dean, he was headed straight to the bars because he knew Dean Ambrose better than Dean knew himself sometimes.
After being gone an hour, he had already been to the five seediest bars in Vegas. Not one of them recognized him by a picture nor did they recognize him by the clothes he was most likely wearing. He had ruled out strip clubs because those weren't of any real interest to Dean once he had become "Family Man" Ambrose, and was smarter than to allow the media to plan any seeds that would put doubt of his true love for CJ in the minds of the fans. They had gotten to the point where even the fangirls had stopped sending CJ hate for the two to laugh at and Seth knew that Dean would never jeopardize that or his relationship with CJ.
But he was grateful for this wild goose chase because it had actually given him time to think. Just by himself, not having to worry about anyone asking what was on his mind, because he certainly couldn't tell CJ that he was wondering why she was afraid to tell him that she loved him. Sure he had messed up and, while he was making excellent strides in redeeming himself for his sins, he understood to an extent why she would hold back. But he couldn't help but wonder if it was a fear of Dean overreacting to information he already knew, or if it was a fear of him straying again like he did the last time. He'd have to ask Dean, and he knew that he'd get his answer because Dean would answer any question if he was drunk enough.
Where the hell are you, Dean? Seth asked himself, looking down both sides of the sidewalk as he drove slowly. While he had enjoyed the time to think, he needed to find Dean and pick up dinner for CJ. As far as he knew, she hadn't eaten since breakfast and she needed to eat something soon. That, and he needed to get them home to the girls and give CJ some peace of mind.
A familiar hunched over state of hopelessness had him pulling over beside the bench Dean was sitting on while nursing a bottle of something Seth hoped was strong so he could dump it out and bitch slap Dean with the bottle.
"Seth?" Dean slurred and the two-toned haired man sighed as he snatched the bottle and tossed it down the street. "Believe it or not, I was drinking that."
"What the hell is wrong with you, huh? Scaring CJ half to death and forcing her to worry herself sick over your ass. Is that what you wanted?" Seth asked, pulling Dean to his feet and pushing him towards the car. "If you don't get in on your own I'll knock your ass out and drag your ass home."
"She's pissed, isn't she?" Dean asked once Seth was in the car and driving towards a restaurant that CJ liked that he had already called in an order for..
"Well, you scared the appetite out of her and showed that you don't care if she worries herself sick over your dumb ass, so I'd say that she is more than just pissed." Seth explained, looking over to see that Dean was leaning his head against the window. "She was close to tears, Dean. What the hell were you thinking?"
"How long have I been gone?"
"At least four hours, asshole."
"Fuck. I didn't mean to-"
"It really doesn't matter what you meant to do, because obviously we're not in as much danger as you have us thinking that we're in." Seth interrupted, looking over to make eye contact with Dean. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I saw you guys sleeping and I wasn't as bothered as I felt I should have been by it so I went on a run to clear my head. But I started thinking that maybe you're the better guy for her. You don't have a crazy mom-"
"I don't?" Seth asked, chuckling as Dean rolled his eyes.
"She's not as bat shit nuts as my mom is." The blonde defended, running a hand through his hair. "But I dunno. I got to drinking."
"Yeah, I can tell." Seth snapped, not meaning to snap at Dean but being beyond aggravated with him was wearing on his nerves. "Fuck, Dean, she was ready to start crying when I told her I was going to go hunt your ass down."
"Fuck me." Dean whispered, pulling at his hair as Seth parked in the parking lot. "Why are we here?"
"CJ asked me to pick up dinner. Stay put."
When CJ heard the door open she had to have jumped at least three feet in the air in surprise. Was Dean home without Seth, or was there an intruder? If there was an intruder then she had to be wary, and she silently directed Bear to sit beside Olivia and stand guard as she went to see what was going on.
"Relax, babe, its us." Seth called and CJ turned into the entry hallway with a small smile on her face-one that quickly faded when she saw the condition Dean was in. Three steps had her in front of the majority father of her child and pulling him down into a longing kiss. Both Dean and Seth were surprise by this, but more surprised by the slap that followed.
"You heartless asshole." She scolded, pushing him away from her. "How could you just leave like that? I needed you here with us, yet you go out to where you were possibly in danger and didn't bother to take your fucking phone while you were getting drunk!?"
"You're going to wake the baby, CJ, and I'm certain you don't want that right now." Seth spoke up, gently pulling CJ into his arms. "I picked up Thai food since I know that's your favorite."
"Thank you, Seth." She whispered before pulling away from him. "You were supposed to call."
"Shit, I was. I wasn't even thinking, babe." He excused, knowing that his mind was everywhere but remembering to call her. "Get your appetite back?"
"Just a bit." She whispered, taking the bag from his hand and going into the kitchen. "Thank you, Sethie."
"It was my pleasure."
Dean didn't know what to do other than stand by and watch the two move around each other to get food on their plates. Seth had whispered something into her ear that was funny, because CJ let out a small laugh and told him that he was terrible. He felt so out of place, maybe because he was still drunk, but he didn't like feeling so out of place in his own home.
"Are you eating, Dean?" CJ asked and he nodded while scratching at his neck.
"Yes, please."
They ate in an awkward silence, it was more awkward on Dean's end than Seth and CJ's. They ate quietly and hummed their approval of what they were eating. Dean was trying to figure out where he was sleeping, because he was certain that he wouldn't be allowed to sleep in their bed with her. But he didn't know if he'd be landed on the couch like all the cliches, or if he'd be allowed to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms. He'd rather sleep with her, but he wasn't deserving of that. Not after what he had done.
CJ had abruptly stood, taking her plate to the sink before getting Olivia and taking her upstairs. Dean immediately stood to follow, and Seth said nothing but continued to eat because he had nothing to say, really. It wasn't his place to intervene in their relationship right now. He did his part in bringing Dean home and verbally tearing Dean a new asshole on the way, now it was time for him to fix his mess. Once he had finished eating, he slowly made his way up the stairs and into the guest bedroom that his suitcase was in and changing into some pajama pants.
"...what the hell do you want me to say, Dean?" He heard CJ ask through the wall, and he found himself pressing his ear to the wall to listen closer. "You fucking left!"
"I know, Christina, and I get that it was a fucked up thing to do. But I had to go out and clear my head."
"So you get drunk, because that's totally mind clearing." Her sarcasm was strong tonight, an Seth was proud that she wasn't taking Dean's shit and letting him get away with what he had done. "Dean, I don't even want to look at you right now, I'm so mad."
"What am I supposed to do, CJ?"
"Go to sleep, sober up, and we'll talk about this in the morning." Her statement was followed up by a door slamming and Seth heard Dean curse himself before another door was shut. It was then that Seth felt safe enough to go out to the bathroom to brush his teeth and did so while listening closely for any signs of Olivia stirring. He then went downstairs and turned on the TV, looking for something to watch. Anything, really, seeing as he wasn't going to be able to sleep being on such high alert due to security reasons. It looked like a random, late night showing of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the only thing on that he was even remotely interested, and he just felt lucky that it had barely started because that meant that he had plenty of time before he had to go on search of something new to watch.
He tried not to zone out, he really did, but he was tired and stressed so the TV lulled him into a space of not really sleeping, but he was still getting some rest, and it was a wonderful half hour or so. But it all came to an end when he felt a head on his arm and hot tears on his bare skin. Nothing would wake Seth up faster than CJ crying, and he instinctively pulled her closer so that she could cry it out. He had a feeling about why she was so upset and certainly didn't blame her for needing the comfort, but he knew that there was no way he'd be able to sleep now.
She needed him more than he needed to sleep.
Yay, quick updates! I don't know how I'm managing it, but I'd rather not jinx it so you can believe that I've been knocking on wood to keep the streak alive.
Thank you to ItReignsJustice-619, Imagineer1392, Dixiewinxwrites12, calwitch, and meredith757 for reviewing the last chapter! Love you guys!