-ELEVEN-

Sam walked into the apartment just before the sun went down.

"Jess? I'm home."
"Just a second!"

He heard giggles from the bedroom, and he stopped.

"Jess, who's—"
"Give us a second, Sam!"

He heard Melinda's voice, and he smiled. He nodded, turning to walk into the kitchen.

"Guess they made up."

He grabbed an apple out of the bowl, running it under some water before he took a bite. A few minutes later, half the apple gone, Jess came into the kitchen. A huge smile was on her face, and she walked right up to Sam and took hold of his shirt, pulling down until he bent enough for her to fit her mouth to his. Sam blinked when she let him go.

"What was that for?"

Jess shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Felt like it."

She turned to leave the room and Sam reached out, catching her and pulling her to him, her back against his chest. Jess let out a laugh as Sam wound his arms around her. He nosed through her hair until he could speak in her ear, his hot breath making her shiver.

"You can't just do that and walk away, you know."
"Yeah, I can feel so."

They both laughed, and Jess leaned her head back where Sam could kiss her. He started to turn her around, to lift her onto the counter, but she gently shoved him back. His confused puppy eyes made her laugh.

"Mel's here, baby. We'll have to let her go before you lift me onto the counter and have your way with me."

Jess turned to walk away, and Sam smiled.

"But I will be able to have my way with you?"

Jess stopped at the door to the kitchen, holding onto the frame and bending over laughing. When she composed herself, she turned back to him, laying a hand on her hip.

"You remember your birthday last year?"

Sam nodded.

"Remember that thing we did? The one that made you start yelling things in Latin until your voice went out?"

Sam's eyes widened, and he nodded slowly. Jess gave him a smile.

"I might just let you do that again."

Sam turned his back to her, gripping hold of the counter and letting out a ragged breath. Jess just laughed as she walked back down the hall. A knock came at the door, and Sam shook his head.

"Sam, could you get that?"

He groaned, pressing a hand to the front of his jeans, trying to get the tightness there to ease. When it finally did, he went to the door, opening it and looking down.

"Shit."
"Good to see you too, Sammy."

Sam turned back inside, yelling down the hall.

"Jess, what the hell is he doing here?"

Jess came running out of the bedroom, squealing and laughing as she ran to the shorter man, who smiled as he caught her in his arms.

"Gabriel, we've missed you!"

He smiled, pressing a kiss to Jess' cheek.

"Not as much as I've missed you, gorgeous."

Jess smiled at him, wiggling her eyebrows until he laughed, reaching in his pocket and handing her a lollipop.

"Watermelon?"

Gabriel held out both of his hands.

"What, is this my first day?"

Jess grinned as she unwrapped the sucker, popping it in her mouth. Sam stood behind her, rolling his eyes. Gabriel leaned around her, looking over at Sam.

"Sorry I don't have one for you, Sasquatch. They ran out of dick-flavored ones."

Jess burst into laughter, whirling around to grab Sam and gently push him into the living room. She came back shaking her head.

"Why do you two hate each other?"

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders.

"Just comes natural, I guess. Where's the other blonde one?"
"Right here."

Jess stepped back, giving Gabriel his first view of Melinda. His eyes went wide, mouth dropping open, and Jess rolled the sucker on her tongue as she snapped a picture on her phone.

"Perfect. Exactly what we wanted. You may go."

Melinda smiled as she walked down the hall, tossing honey-colored curls over her shoulder. She made it to Gabriel, and he opened his arms, taking her into them and dipping her low, catching a kiss from her lips. Melinda laughed as he stood her back to her feet, giving her his arm as they walked out of the apartment, down to his car. Jess smiled from the door, shutting it before going to the living room. Sam was sprawled in his chair, long legs eating up half the floor. Jess took the sucker out of her mouth with an audible "pop." Sam looked over to her, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, don't give me that look."
"That little bastard—"
"I don't understand why you don't like him. What did he ever do to you?"
"Are you seriously asking me that question?"

Jess sighed.

"Sam, it was what, two years ago? Baby, you need to let it go."
"Jessica!"

She rolled her eyes, walking into the kitchen. Sure enough, just as she was expecting, Sam followed her.

"He had everyone in our theatre class thinking I was his boyfriend."
"It was a joke."
"Not to everyone in theatre 101!"

She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"Sam, he—"
"Not to mention the half-naked pictures of me he put all through Camden Hall. And I didn't even live there!"
"Gabe just likes to play pranks is all."

He blew out his breath, pushing his hands through his hair as Jess turned to him.

"Hey."

He turned to look at her, and she smiled.

"You should really be thanking him for all those half-naked pictures."
"Jessica, I was in a towel, just coming out of the showers. And everyone—yes, I do mean everyone—saw the damn things."
"Yeah, and it was one of those pictures that intrigued me."
"I—Really?"

Jess smiled.

"Really. I saw one, piqued my interest over this mysterious—and holy hell, ripped—guy. Next thing I knew, I was staring at you from across the room at the Greek Life mixer."

Sam pursed his lips.

"Huh."
"And the other thing?"

He looked down as she walked over to him, reaching up to take hold of his face, pulling him down to kiss him. And when the taste of watermelon lollipop was swirling through his mouth, she pulled back and smiled.

"No one thinks you're gay now. Especially me."

She gasped as Sam lifted her, setting her on the counter. She smiled at him, eyes dancing. She tucked her tongue in her cheek, batting her eyelashes at him.

"You gonna take me right here?"

Sam swallowed.

"Hell yeah, I am."

He leaned over and kissed her, swallowing her moan, pulling her tank top off and letting it fall to the floor.

Melinda swirled the olive around her martini, as Gabriel sucked down a pina colada. She leaned forward, and he smiled, shaking his head.

"You know what you're doing, baby, don't ya?"

Melinda laughed.

"This is our thing, Gabe. You dress up and look just dashing, and I dress to make you regret ever getting rid of me. And don't even try to pretend like you don't like it."
"Touché."

He nodded, making her smile as he took another swig of his drink. He sat up, leaning forward to meet her.

"So tell me. How's life?"

Melinda smiled.

"It's good."
"Classes going good?"

She nodded.

"Almost done, Gabe. I'm busting out in May."

He grinned.

"I'm so proud of you, babe."
"Thanks. What about you? Made any more millions?"
"Nah, just the ten."

He winked at her, sipping again. His first year at Stanford, in between classes, Gabriel started his own company. In his second year, it really took off. And now, Archangel Enterprises was a world-wide moneymaker. Gabriel smiled at her as he took a bite of the cherry that was perched on top of the dwindling mountain of whipped cream that sat atop his drink.

"Actually, that's a lie. We just made another deal, sure to bring in at least 100 mil."
"Gabriel!"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"What can you do?"
"Share some with us poor peasants, Prince John."

He laughed.

"All you've got to do is ask, Maid Marian, and I'll be your Robin Hood."
"Yeah, 'til I catch you running off with Little John."

He laughed again, holding up his hands.

"One time. You do that one time, no one ever lets you forget it."

Melinda smiled, sipping her martini.

"Speaking of … How's that going? You got somebody?"

Gabriel smiled as he looked at his drink. He spoke gently, his eyes softening.

"There is this one guy. We met at this new cupcake place on Rodeo in Beverly Hills."
"Tell me about him."

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, and Melinda smiled. She reached across the table and took his hand. He glanced up at her and sighed.

"He's a writer. Writes these weird-ass books."
"What are they called? I like weird things."

He laughed.

"It's a series of just ludicrous crap called Supernatural."
"What? You ... You're kidding me, right? I love those books! Wait. Holy shit, Gabe, you've got something going on with Carver Edlund?"

Gabriel sighed.

"Chuck. His name is Chuck. Carver Edlund is his pen name."
"Holy … The man is a genius. The stories are beautifully crafted, and so creative. Two brothers, traveling the country, killing monsters, ghosts, vampires? Not to mention the family dynamic, and oh my God, the angst!"
"Seriously? Two weird-ass, insanely, damn near erotically co-dependent, got-to-be-something-else-going-on-there, 'hunter' brothers who never get caught, always have an Internet connection, and never run out of gas in their car? That would never happen in real life."
"Who cares about real life? I love those books. I'm pulling a friend card and saying you have to get me his autograph."

Gabe rolled his eyes, shaking his head. When he looked to Melinda again, and she had those beautiful blue eyes wide, her pretty pink bottom lip stuck out. She had something akin to Sam's puppy eyes going, and Gabe was a goner.

"All right, all right. I'll do it."

Melinda grinned, leaning across the table to press a smacking kiss to Gabriel's mouth. He laughed, running his hand over her curls, cupping her face.

"I have missed you, little Mel."

She smiled, reaching up and taking hold of his hand, then bringing it to her lips. Gabriel grinned at her.

"So what about you. Any lucky guys in your life?"

Melinda's cheeks went red, and Gabriel smiled.

"Oh, oh. Look at the blush she's got! What's his name?"

Melinda sighed.

"Don't freak out."
"He's not gay, is he?"

Melinda laughed.

"No, honey. I got that out of my system with you."

Gabriel gave her a wink, and Melinda smiled. When she first got to Stanford, the fall semester after Gabriel started in the summer, they met and an instant attraction lit up. But Gabriel was still coming to terms with his sexuality, and dated Melinda as a kind of cover-up. He broke down one night and told her that he was gay, and instead of beating the hell out of him—which she totally could have done—Melinda became one of his closest friends, and his biggest supporter.

Gabriel finished off his drink, motioning to the waitress for another. He looked over at Melinda, as she popped the olive in her mouth, and smiled as he signaled the waitress for Melinda, as well.

"So anyway…"

Melinda smiled.

"Anyway, I don't want you to freak out because my guy … is Sam's big brother."

Gabriel's mouth dropped open, his dark eyes narrowing.

"You're shitting me, right?"

Melinda pursed her lips, unable to fight the smile. She shook her head, and Gabriel leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Having Jess with that enormous monstrosity is bad enough, but to have you with a brother?"
"Gabe, you don't even know the guy."
"He's related to Sam. I know enough."

Melinda smiled up at the waitress as she set their drinks down. Gabe sat fuming in his chair, until Melinda sighed.

"Stop pouting, you big baby."
"I'm not pouting."

Sure, and he wasn't whining, either. Melinda shook her head as she took a sip from her martini before reaching over and stealing the cherry from the top of Gabriel's mountain of whipped cream. He never could stay mad around her for very long though, and he let out a sigh.

"What's his name?"
"Dean."
"Jesus, he sounds like a douche."
"Okay, you have no room to talk about anyone's significant other's name. You were the one who dated a guy named Lucifer."
"Hey, that was a nickname, and we didn't date."
"Okay, you were fuck buddies with a guy named Lucifer."
"What a mouth she has on her."

Melinda laughed, leaning back, feeling the relaxing effects of the gin. Gabriel took a long drink, then sighed.

"Tell me about him."
"No."
"You know you want to."

Melinda smiled. She couldn't stay mad at him, either.

"Okay. First of all, he's not as huge as Sam."
"Good thing or bad thing?"

Melinda shrugged her shoulders.

"Hasn't been a bad thing yet."

Gabriel nodded, silently telling her to go on.

"He's just over six feet tall, maybe 6' 2". Got these incredible green eyes, kind of sandy blonde-ish brown hair. Freckles across his nose. Built like a Greek statue."
"And …?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, and Melinda sighed, smiling. Gabriel laughed.

"That good, huh?"

She nodded, and he laughed again.

"He's gorgeous, but … He's kind, too. He's got issues, of course. Nowhere near the level of my baggage, though."

Gabriel reached across the table and took her hand. He knew about her life, the horrific childhood she'd had. Melinda looked down at their hands as she spoke.

"I told him. A … About Mama and Daddy, my brothers. I was having a nightmare and he ran in to rescue me."
"Before or after the fire?"

She looked up.

"Before. How did you—"
"Seriously?"

Of course he knew. He knew everything. Money can get you whatever you want, and Gabriel had plenty of it to go around.

"Jess called me the day after. I was in Japan, and I tried to get the plane to turn around, to come here. Jess talked me out of it, though. She said there wasn't anything I could do, I'd just be sitting around."

He shook his head, looking to their hands.

"I was worthless at the meetings we had. I was so worried about you. Every time my phone vibrated, I'd get this … I don't know, this pit in my stomach. You remember Jenny Gordon?"

Melinda smiled.

"Yeah, I met her once when I came to see you. Her … What was it, her uncle? Had a thing with my mom before she got with my dad?"

Gabriel smiled.

"Yep. Well, the woman's brilliant. Made her my secretary, but she pretty much runs the shit."

Melinda laughed.

"Jenny called Chuck, sent the jet back for him, and he stayed with me for that week. Actually flew to Japan to … shit, to take care of me."

Melinda smiled.

"He sounds like a keeper, Gabe."

Gabriel smiled, nodding as he looked down at the table.

"Hey, I don't know if Jess ever told you, but I called a couple of specialists to check out your case."

Melinda smiled went soft as she squeezed his hand.

"She didn't, but I had my suspicions."

Gabriel smiled, leaning over to cup her face in his hand.

"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, pretty girl."

Melinda smiled through the sudden tears in her eyes.

"Quit it. You'll ruin my makeup."

Gabriel winked at her, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.

"You want to get the hell out of here?"
"Please."

Gabriel signaled for the check, and soon, they were outside. Melinda was huddled in Gabriel's jacket, her cheeks and nose red from the alcohol and the cool night air. Gabriel had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"So…"

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Where to?"

Melinda gave him a smile.

"Want to see where I work?"
"You work somewhere that's not a part of my company?"

She laughed. For ages, ever since he started the damn thing, Gabriel had told Melinda that she had a job waiting. Anytime she wanted to cash in on it, all she had to do was let him know. Melinda looped her arm through his as they began to walk down the street.

"It's convenient."
"Your job at the Arch will be convenient."

Melinda laid her head on his shoulder, and Gabriel brushed a kiss to her forehead. They walked a little ways, stopping at the end of the street, where the neon lights were glowing, while the crowd was thinning out. Gabriel looked at his watch.

"Ten o'clock on a school night, and this bar's going strong."
"Yeah, about this bar…"

Melinda had learned a long time ago that some things were just easier said in a rush. She turned to face Gabriel, giving him a dazzling smile.

"This bar is where I work. It's Dean's. Well, not technically, but he runs it, and he gave me a job. Oh yeah, and we kind of, sort of live together, too."

She turned on her heel and walked towards the bar. Gabriel stood in the same place, taken aback, and he shook his head.

"Hey!"

He took off running, and he caught up with her at the door of the bar. He leaned in, where he could whisper in her ear.

"You're a sneaky little bitch, aren't you?"

She threw her head back with a laugh as she opened the door, stopping in her tracks when Dean turned his head, face breaking out in a smile as he saw her. The smile fell from his face as Gabriel lifted the coat from her shoulders. Dean looked her over, his eyes meeting hers again. His pupils had nearly burned out the green, leaving only a thin, emerald ring. Melinda swallowed, and Gabriel came to stand behind her again.

"Sweet Jesus. That's Dean?"

Melinda nodded, unable to take her eyes from him. Gabriel gave a low whistle.

"Very impressive. Nice going, Mel."

She nodded again, and Gabriel smiled.

"He looks like he could just toss you up on that bar and ravish you."
"Gabriel!"
"Give a whole new meaning to the term 'rode hard and put up wet.' Although I doubt that cowboy would do that."
"Gabriel, for the love of God!"

Gabriel laughed, laying a hand to the small of her back and pushing her towards the bar. Melinda watched Dean's eyes drift down, narrow, then size Gabriel up before tossing his rag on the bar and walking towards them. She let out a laugh, causing both of them to look at her. Her cheeks warmed and she shook her head.

"It's nothing. Hey, Dean, I wanted to—"

Her sentence trailed off when he walked up to her, laying one hand on the small of her back, one hand behind her head, bringing her lips to his in a heated kiss. Gabriel slid his hands in his pockets, going up on his toes as he grinned. Dean ended the kiss with a soft kiss to her cheek, then pulled back, running his thumb over the spot he'd just kissed.

"Hi."

Melinda blinked big blue eyes at him, and after a moment, she could speak again.

"H—Hi."

Gabriel smiled beside her, clearing his throat loudly. Melinda shook her head, still in Dean's arms.

"Oh, Dean. This is … This is Gabriel. He's a dear friend of mine."
"Yes. Ex-boyfriend, actually. Nice to meet you."

He held out a hand, and Dean let one of his hands fall from Melinda to grip the smaller man's.

"Dean Winchester."
"Gabriel Shurley."

They dropped hands, and Melinda raised an eyebrow at Gabriel. He smiled, giving her a wink. He almost never gave out his actual name. Dean turned back to Melinda, effectively turning his back on Gabriel and blocking him out of their conversation. Gabriel, thankfully, stifled his laughter.

"Mel, I'm going to close up pretty soon. But you know, you two can stay as long as you like."

She nodded, and Dean leaned in to kiss her once more. He turned, giving Gabriel a nod, and went back behind the bar. Once Dean was gone, Gabriel laughed for a long time, while Melinda shoved him into a booth.

"Shut up. Just shut up."
"Melly, that was … I love it. Oh, I just love it so much."

She blew out her breath, and Gabriel continued to laugh.

"Normally, I'm a little more subtle in staking my claim, but that one … Damn, he could have just mounted you right there."
"Gabe! God."

He wiped the tears from his eyes, and Melinda crossed her arms.

"By the way, Mr. Shurley? Where the hell did that come from?"

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, mumbling under his breath.

"What was that?"

He sighed, locking eyes with her.

"It's Chuck's last name, all right? First thing I thought of."

Melinda rolled her eyes.

"I just don't understand why you've got to give fake names."
"It's easier that way. Plus, it's fun."
"You pick the weirdest things, though. What was that one ... Oh, you remember. When we were in L.A. and you were going to the airport. Padaleski or something?"

Gabriel laughed.

"Close enough."
"And I still can't believe you got away with Scherbatsky for so long."

Gabriel laughed.

"Didn't I tell you How I Met Your Mother would be a big hit? You find a show you kind of like, you steal a character's name to pass off as your own, and suddenly the whole world's on the bandwagon and there's nowhere to hide."

Melinda laughed, and the last person walked out of the bar. Dean walked over and locked the door, rolling his shoulders as he walked towards the bar. Melinda smiled.

"Hey, cowboy."

Dean stopped, looking over to her. She gave Gabriel a wink before turning back to Dean.

"Come sit with me for a little while."

Dean smiled, walking over and sliding in the booth beside her, putting an arm around her as he kissed her cheek. Gabriel grinned, leaning over the table.

"Tell you what. It's been a long time, and I feel the need. So … How's about we have some fun?"

And that was how, two hours and two bottle of Jack Daniels later, three very drunk people were giggling in a booth under the stern eyes of Jessica and Sam. Jess sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"This is ridiculous. It is after midnight. I've got class in the morning. You've got class in the morning!"

Melinda shook her head, leaning more into Dean.

"I don't think so. I can miss a couple more."

Her words were slurred, nearly as bad as Dean's, and Jess sighed again.

"I'm surprised at you."

Gabriel widened his eyes, blinking hard once he did.

"Me? What'd I do?"
"This was your idea, wasn't it?"

Gabriel had a shocked look on his face, but both Dean and Melinda were nodding. Jess tried not to smile, but it didn't work. She sighed, looking over at Sam.

"Let's get these two upstairs, and pour this one into the car."
"I can walk, Jessie."
"Yeah, okay. Show me."

Gabriel slid out of the booth, and down to the floor. Jess nodded, and Melinda burst into a fit of giggles. Sam helped Gabriel to his feet, and Gabe threw an arm around Jess.

"On second thought, how often does a pretty girl escort me out?"
"Hardly ever?"
"Hardly ever! Lead the way, my beautiful blonde buttercup."

Jess nodded, looking back to Sam. Sam smiled.

"Apparently, he alliterates when he's plastered."
"I am not plastered, Sammy boy! I am … pleasantly …"
"Plastered?"
"Yes. Thank you, Jess. Pleasantly plastered."

She just shook her head as they walked out the door. Sam turned back to the booth, where Melinda was starting to doze on Dean's shoulder. Dean had a smile on his face, and he looked up at Sam.

"It's been a long time since we did this, huh?"

Sam smiled.

"Yep. What were you, twenty-one last time?"
"Nah, it happened after then. Didn't it?"

Sam helped him stand up, holding him steady as the room spun, until Dean got his bearings. He gave him a nod, and Sam loosened his grip on Dean's arm.

"You think you can walk?"

Dean flipped him off, and Sam just laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Dean stumbled over to the stairs, looking up and giving a muttered "fuck" under his breath. Sam scooped Melinda into his arms, and she curled into him, wrapping an arm around his neck. They slowly made it up the stairs, and Sam slid Melinda's shoes off after he laid her on Dean's bed. Dean plopped onto the edge of the mattress, untying his boots and tossing them against the wall. Sam smiled at him.

"Okay. You good?"

Dean nodded, giving him a smile.

"I'll be passing out shortly, so…"
"All right. Good boy."

Dean lay back on the bed.

"Not a damn dog."

His words were quiet and muttered under his breath. Sam smiled as he walked over, shutting off the light as Dean's breath began to even out. He turned the rest of the lights in the apartment off, checking and re-checking that all the doors were locked before going down to the car.

"Shit."

Melinda took in a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh as she cuddled the pillow closer.

"Shit."

She turned her face closer to the pillow, breathing in deep again.

"Shit."

She propped herself up on her elbow, opening one eye to look at the edge of the bed. Dean was sitting there, swaying back and forth. When he cursed again, Melinda spoke.

"Shit."
"What the hell are you doing?"

He jumped, turning back to look at her, then sighing.

"You scared the shit out of me."
"Guess that's your word for the night."

Dean sighed, turning back around. Melinda sighed, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Dean, what are you doing?"
"I can't get this shirt off. These fucking buttons keep—"

He yawned, and Melinda moved to turn on the lamp on the bedside table. She gave a little groan at the light, then looked over at Dean. She let out a quiet laugh.

"Dean."

He turned to look at her, and she smiled.

"That's your AC/DC t-shirt. It doesn't have buttons."

He looked down, smoothing his hand over his chest.

"Huh. I'll be damned. I could have sworn…"
"You're drunk."
"So are you."

Melinda smiled, going to lie back down. Dean wrestled the shirt over his head, letting out a sigh.

"Much better. I'm hot as hell in here."
"Then take your clothes off. But be quiet, because I'm trying to sleep."
"Careful. Last person who told me that got laid."
"I was the last person to tell you that, dumbass."

Dean laughed, glancing behind him.

"Mel."
"Damn it, what?"
"You should take off that dress. It'll wrinkle."

Melinda smiled, letting out a groan.

"You're right. I hate it when you're right."

She sat on the edge of the bed, working the dress up over her head. She laid it neatly across the chair beside the bed, then slid her bra off, letting out a groan of relief. She reached behind her and grabbed the shirt Dean had just discarded, sliding it on and sighing. It was warm and soft. Dean kicked his jeans off, sliding his socks off, and finally laid back in just his boxers, letting out a breath. Melinda reached up and turned off the light, burrowing under the covers and cuddling the pillow again.

"Hey, Mel."
"Mm-hmm?"
"Who was that guy?"
"Who, Gabe?"

Dean nodded, not realizing she wouldn't be able to see him in the dark. She yawned.

"He's an old friend. We dated for a little while when I first started college. Dean, we told you all this before we started on the second bottle."

Dean nodded again, lacing his fingers together and letting them rest on his abdomen.

"You love him?"

Her eyes flew open. She mulled over his words, wondering how exactly she should process them. Did she love him back then? Certainly not. Well, not in a romantic way. She loved him as a friend, and when he came out to her, that love deepened. Now he was like family to her, and she loved him even more.

"He's like family to me. I do love him, but not in a romantic way."

Not like I love you. She wanted to say it so badly, but she bit her tongue instead, until she tasted blood in her mouth. Dean nodded again, rolling over to face her. She had her back to him though, because she was curled up on her side.

"Do I need to worry about him?"

Melinda rolled onto her back, looking up at him. He'd propped himself up on one arm, and used his other to brush the hair back from her face. Melinda blinked up at him.

"Worry how?"

Dean kept touching her, and her eyes drifted shut. He spoke softly.

"I think you know."
"Dean."

Her eyes opened, locking on his again. She swallowed, shaking her head.

"You can't."
"Mel."
"No."

Her voice was quiet, pain-filled.

"Melinda."
"You don't need to worry about him."

She rolled over onto her side again, pulling the covers around her.

"You don't need to worry about anyone."

She squeezed her eyes shut. Wasn't it supposed to be easier than this? Wasn't it supposed to be all rainbows and sunshine and moonlit walks along the beach? Why did it hurt like this? She let out a ragged breath, and tears welled up in her eyes as Dean's arm came around her. He was spooned up behind her, the warmth of his body at her back. One of his arms was wrapped around her, the other gently brushing through her hair.

"Shh. Go to sleep, baby. I'm right here."

She felt his lips against her cheek, and she leaned her head back. His lips met hers two times, and he snuggled in closer, pulling her closer to him. She let out a deep breath, lacing her fingers with his. Her mind was racing, and her heart was churning, but lying there, in Dean's arms, she drifted into a peaceful sleep.