Dean drove Riley's truck towards Muskie's Lounge in the neighboring town of Ventura. It was only about 5 miles up the highway on route 18, but he suddenly remembered something. It dawned on him that this was the first time he'd driven her truck since last year, when they'd brought her from Bobby's house to the bunker the night she'd showed up there from college.
Dean remembered her sass when she'd shoved a finger in his chest and called him a liar when he informed her of Bobby's passing, despite his gun pointed at her. The sad memory made him smile the tiniest bit. He snuck a glance over at the brunette in the passenger seat much like he had several times the night they met, her gaze out her window at the passing scenery.
A few minutes later, Dean turned into the gravel lot and pulled his car into a spot up front before shifting into park. His hand stayed on the gearshift for a few seconds before his fingers grazed the keys in the ignition to shut off the engine. Riley saw Dean hesitate before pulling the keys out and jingling them a bit, somewhat nervous. She watched him open his mouth to say something, then close it when he changed his mind. Dean's eyes were focused on the cedar sided building in front of them, his jaw working for a few seconds before he finally spoke."Ry?"
"Yeah?"
Dean closed his eyes for a second, not wanting to piss her off when they'd just gotten her back. "It's not that I don't trust you..." His soft words trailed off.
Riley understood. He didn't want her to take off while he was inside. "Take your keys, Dean. I'll be right here." His green eyes met hers and she smiled the tiniest bit before he pushed open his door to get out.
It was only a minute or so before Dean was back out the front door with a paper take out menu and he slid back into the driver's seat. Riley slid over the bench seat some over to peer at the menu items. Her mouth watered; she'd been on a diet of cheap pantry staples for three months and she longed for some real food.
"It's Friday..." He murmured as the shared the menu between them. "Fried walleye for ten bucks. Comes with a baked potato, slaw and a roll." Her stomach growled loudly and he smirked. "That's what I'm havin'. Wanna share some hot wings?"
"Sounds good to me." Riley settled back against the seat and watched Dean call the restaurant on his cell phone and place their order. They were quiet in the car for several minutes as they waited for their meals, each lost in thought.
"It's actually really beautiful out here." Dean's voice brought Riley back from her daydream as they sat out on the back porch, facing the lake. They were sitting in the Adirondack chairs with mugs of coffee in the drink holders. His strong hands had pulled her bare feet into his lap and rubbed them, his eyes on the smeared sigil, drawn with permanent black marker on the top of her left foot several times over the last few months. "I can see why Margie and her husband spent time up here."
"Dean, why'd you stay?"
"Hm?"
"Why did you stay here?"
His brow wrinkled. "What are you talking about?"
"Why are you staying here with me?"
"Because I wanted to." He sounded confused. His green eyes held hers and she sighed tearfully. "I stayed because I remember what it was like. I did a lot of shit... I'm not real proud of, Ry."
Her chocolate gaze dropped to his lap, where his strong hands held her bare feet, his calloused thumbs were smoothing over the arch of her left foot. His knuckles were scarred and no doubt had an immeasurable amount of blood on them, but she trusted them completely. "I don't know if I want to know..."
Dean's sigh was telling. "I don't wanna tell." Riley nodded.
"I trust you, Dean."
He nodded. "I know you do." They fell quiet for a few minutes before Dean spoke again. "When I saw you'd taken your lamp, there were so many times when I wanted to see if you'd respond."
That made Riley bite her lip. "I kept it in my bag until the other night... I was so scared to reach out to you." His thumbs stopped rubbing for a few seconds.
"You have no idea how incredible it felt to see lamp pop back on and know that you were alright." Dean murmured. A cold breeze blew in off Clear Lake just then, making them both shiver and she pulled the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders. Their eyes met for a few seconds before he patted her calf. "I'm freezing. Let's go inside."
He rose and held out a hand for Riley to take.
spnspnspnspn
Their leftovers from dinner were in the fridge and Dean watched Riley check both doors to make sure they were locked before she unplugged her cellphone from the charger and turned it back on for the first time since she'd left the bunker. She dialed a number and held it to her ear, her eyes moving to Dean where he was half sitting on the arm of the sofa. His eyes were on her and she dared a tiny smile before he picked up.
"Hey... its me." Pause. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You should have stayed overnight."
Sam, Dean realized.
"We had dinner." Pause. "Me too. Yeah... I love you too Sam." She thumbed off her cellphone and Dean watched her set it back down on the arm of the recliner.
"You two certainly got close while I was gone." Dean commented nonchalantly and for some reason, his comment made Riley blush.
"Dean, I was a freaking mess after you left." She moved to turn on the lamp on the end table in the corner. "I didn't eat, couldn't sleep..." Riley paused, remembering. "He was so good to me, even when I was a brat." A sad smile tugged at her lips. "He told me you'd kick his ass for not taking care of me for you." That made his green eyes twinkle.
"I would've done it too."
"I'm so glad you're home, Dean." Her whisper spoke volumes to the way she felt about everything that had happened in the last year.
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly and she could have sworn his eyes got misty before he spoke. "I'm glad you're still you."
Riley nodded. "I'm gonna go change and brush my teeth." The conversation was getting a bit too emotional for both of them and she needed some space between them right then.
He straightened. "Sounds good." Dean changed in the bathroom after a quick shower while she waited. He brushed his teeth before coming out with his worn clothing to put in his bag in the tiny bedroom and she slipped inside the bathroom, closing the door and he heard the shower water turn on.
He was looking out the window next to the sofa a few minutes later when she came out wearing his old tshirt and some pajama pants. Dean couldn't help the smile on his face. She patted his arm as she walked by and he turned to watch her sit on the sofa, curling her legs up under herself.
Dean sat on the arm of the couch and looked over at her for a few seconds before he spoke. "Hey Ry?"
"Yeah?"
A few more seconds ticked by. "Where is it?"
"The Mark?"
"Yeah." The tshirt she was wearing had short sleeves and it wasn't on her forearms. Dean watched her stand up in front of him and pull the soft cotton up and push the waistband of her pants down a few inches to reveal her left hipbone.
Dean's warm hands moved to her hips instinctively and his right thumb smoothed over the Mark, giving her goosebumps. Riley watched him study her skin before he looked up at her through his dark lashes. "Just another ugly scar, hm?"
Dean saw right through her sarcasm and the casual way she lumped the Mark of Cain right in with her self inflicted scars. His brow wrinkled as she stood there in between his knees and he pulled her a little closer to his body, smoothing her tshirt back down, a frown on his features. "You know damn well that's not true."
Her lower lip trembled the tiniest bit. "Right." Dean pulled Riley into his lap and settled her onto his thigh, hugging her close to him, feeling her tense up just a bit.
"Stop Ry." Dean whispered into her hair. "Why would I think that, hm? Is that would you see when you look at me? At my scars? Just all the guilt, the pain I've endured and the pain I've undoubtedly caused? Is that all you see?"
Riley bit her lip, the night he'd forcefully taken her from the bunker flashing back to her right then. "You know it's not, Dean."
"Then why do you think that's all I see when I look at you?"
Because that's all there is, she wanted to say.
Dean waited for her dark eyes to meet his, her hands in her lap. "Ry, Sam needs you. I need you. I don't care about whatever crap you carry around as long as you don't carry it alone. None of our hands are clean and nothing is black and white." He saw her throat work to swallow. "Sweetheart, tell me you hear me."
"I hear you." She whispered and he nodded.
spnspnspnspn
Dean stood in the doorway of the only tiny bedroom as Riley pulled back the covers some and looked up at him. "Where do you want me to..."
"With me." The brunette answered without hesitation. He pushed off the doorway and moved inside the bedroom. He'd left the little light on above the stove and he could see her climb into the full sized bed first, against the cedar wall and Dean settled in next to her. "I missed you so much."
"That's because you like to put your cold ass feet on my legs when I'm sleeping," Came his teasing reply. "Don't even lie."
"You're an oven."
"You're an icicle." Riley moved into him, sighing when his heavy arm moved to her waist. Her fingers gripped his tshirt and she breathed in his scent, not caring if he was awake or not this time.
"Dean?"
"Yeah?"
"You kissed me."
"Yeah?"
"Why did you kiss me?"
"Because I wanted to." Was his reply and Riley felt him kiss her forehead. "Go to sleep. I'm right here, babygirl."
Her eyelids fluttered closed and her breathing was deep and even within a couple of minutes, nestled against Dean's chest. Riley's fingers clutched his soft tshirt even though the rest of her was relaxed.
6:04 am
Riley's eyes flew open and she sat up, gasping for breath. She didn't immediately recognize her surroundings and her heart was pounding in her chest. Margie's cabin. The bedroom. I'm in the bedroom. She tried to slow her breathing for a moment before another thought stuck her. For the three months that she'd been there, Riley had never once slept in the bedroom. She'd always slept on the worn couch, never feeling right about sleeping alone.
Why am I in here? She thought as she swung her legs over the side, pausing for a second.
Dean.
Sam.
They'd come for her.
Her dark eyes moved to the empty bedspace next to her and her hand reached out to touch the sheets next to her, expecting the warmth from Dean's body to be there. Instead, she'd come up empty, the coolness of the fabric chilling her to the bone.
No.
This cannot be happening.
Riley stood up from the bed quickly, feeling lightheaded for a couple seconds. She took a few careful steps to the bedroom's door and peered out into the main living area. It was still dark outside, not a hint of sunrise as of yet on the horizon out the couple of east facing windows in the living room above the sofa. The little light above the stove was still on and the cabin was quiet and there was no sign of Dean, who'd insisted on staying with her.
Her dark eyes frantically scoured the empty sink, praying to see the three coffee mugs the three of them used yesterday. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she found that the sink was empty and water marks had dried on the stainless steel. Riley whirled around to look at the kitchen table where the boys had sat down the evening before. The two kitchen chairs were pushed in neatly and Riley held in a sob.
She took a few steps to her left, to the doorway of the bathroom and peered inside, the tiny nightlight showing her one lone toothbrush on the countertop, the pink one she'd brought from the bunker. Dean's bag and belongings were nowhere to be seen. Riley's fingers gripped the bathroom's cedar door frame as her next thought hit her like a shovel to the face.
Fuck, she realized. I'm hallucinating.
spnspnspnspn
Good evening, my lovelies!
Ahh, love me a cliffhanger.
But only when I'm the one leaving it there, of course. ;)
Shout outs to SaphyraBlu13, (I love that you swooned lol) ButterflyAlley, EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester, jloh217 and Momma2Leos for your reviews! I wish you knew how much it makes me smile when I read these. :)
Have a great week y'all!
CitrineMama