Author's Note: Just wanted thank all of you who are following the story and let you know that I'm off on vacation so there won't be another chapter for a couple of weeks.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dean sighed as he walked out of yet another store, the fourth to be exact, in the past twenty minutes. He'd basically wandered around each one of them, repeatedly asking himself why the hell he'd gotten himself into such a mess in the first place.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he paused on the sidewalk, trying to regroup before attempting store number five. Buying a gift for Leah was something he knew wouldn't be easy, but this was turning out to be far more difficult than he'd ever imagined. Hell, tracking a damned abominable snowman in the middle of the frozen tundra would probably be easier!

A horn blasted, drawing his attention toward not only the street, but the shops that lined the other side as well, and he noticed a small jewelry store. Of course! Why the hell hadn't he thought of that earlier?

"Dumb ass!" Dean blurted out.

Though the remark was meant for himself, a large man passing by took offense and stopped. "What'd you just call me, boy?"

Wonderful! Just what he needed right now, an argument with King Kong. He shook his head and offered up a quick explanation. "Whoa, sorry partner. I was talking to myself. I'm trying to find a gift for my girl."

The tall, bearded gentleman laughed and roughly patted Dean's arm, knocking the younger man off balance. "No luck, right? Been there. I learned the hard way. Go with jewelry, a bracelet or a necklace. And if you did something wrong, make sure it has diamonds. Nothing says I'm sorry like diamonds!" The man said with a wink before walking off.

"Thanks." Dean called after him. "Where were you half an hour ago?" he grumbled as he waited for a lull in traffic so he could dart across the busy street.

Dean entered the small jewelry store and began looking in all the display cases. He could feel his heart pounding as he stared down at the numerous glittery items, wondering how in the hell he was supposed to choose one. He was out of his element here and he knew it. In fact, he was more than willing to admit it.

He saw the middle aged woman behind the counter as she finished up with another customer and he knew he'd have to rely on her good sense and taste, so he hoped she had plenty of both. This was for Leah so it had to be right. It had to be perfect.

Damn, he thought as he scratched at his head, why did this place have to carry so much stuff?

Lisa Burke placed the box containing the diamond ring into a bag for the gentleman she'd been working with and watched him leave the store. She turned her attention to the handsome young man standing by the display case that held the necklaces and smiled at the knitted eyebrows and pursed lips.

Smiling, she walked over and stood across from him, glancing down into the case. Lightly tapping the glass, she pointed at the glistening items.

"Have you ever seen so many gorgeous pieces?" she exclaimed.

Beautiful green eyes snapped up to meet hers and Lisa nearly sighed out loud. She might be nearly 50 years old, but she certainly wasn't blind. The man before her, though no more than in his late twenties, held the sort of good looks that could make women of all ages catch their breath. He smiled at her, a captivating sight that literally made her heart flutter.

"Never!" Dean laughed. "Can I tell you something?" he asked, laying an arm on the counter so he could lean in toward her.

Lisa leaned in as well. "Of course!" she answered, thrilled to feel as though he were letting her in on some scandalous little secret.

"I've never done this before. Bought jewelry for someone. And I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Think you could help me out?" He was hoping the old Winchester charm would have him walking out of there in no time with just the right gift.

Had she not already been more than willing, his deep voice and slight wink would have been the deal clincher. "I would love to!" She held out her hand. "I'm Lisa."

His warm hand wrapped around hers. "I'm Eric." According to his current credit card, at least. "Eric Bloom." Known to rock fans as a cherished member of BOC, but he doubted that was her style of music.

"Okay, Eric. Tell me, who are you buying this for? What's she like?" Lisa asked.

She watched as his eyes lit up and a smile played about his full lips. He was thinking about her, this special woman, and it was touching to see the way his face had softened as he searched for just the right words to describe her.

Dean could see Leah clearly. Every detail of her beautiful face. How to describe her and do justice? She looked good, smelled good, tasted good, but those weren't the sort of things he cared to share with this woman. Besides, he knew that wasn't what she was asking. This was about what type of person Leah was and how she made him and others feel.

"Her name's Leah." he said quietly. "And she's..." he stopped, still unsure of what to say. Then again, it really wasn't that difficult because one word always came to mind. One feeling. One thought. Simply put, Leah was..."She's everything that's good." he said aloud. Yeah, that described her pretty damn well.

"I understand. I think I have just the piece for you. Or rather, for her." She quickly scanned the case, then reached in and retrieved a beautiful necklace which she laid out on a cloth on top of the counter. A thin white gold chain with a small circular pendant that housed not only a few diamonds, but some emeralds, too. It was a bit on the pricey side, though definitely affordable. But she believed with this man it was about the gift, not the cost.

"The circle signifies eternal, unbroken love. And what woman doesn't like diamonds? And of course, this one has the emeralds, which will remind her of your eyes. What do you think, Eric?" she asked.

Lisa could see by his expression she'd hit the jackpot right off. He picked up the necklace and stared at it for a moment and if she were a betting woman, she'd bet he was thinking about the thank you he would receive after delivering the precious item to the lucky young woman in his life.

He looked up at her. "It's perfect. I'll take it."

Quick and decisive. If only all her customers were like that. "I think she's going to be one very happy lady." Lisa said as she laid the necklace in its velvet lined box.

Dean gave Lisa a charming smile as he handed her the credit card, though inside his stomach was beginning to churn. He tried to imagine Leah's face when he gave her the box, tried to picture what her reaction would be when she opened it. Would she like the necklace? He'd never done anything like this for a woman before and even though it wasn't like he was giving her an engagement ring, he wondered what Leah would make of it.

And even more disturbing, he began to wonder what he should make of it.

Leah tried to stifle a yawn born out of boredom as she leaned against an out-of-the-way wall in the accessories department. She'd managed to kill the half hour Dean had requested of her, but he was running over and she was pretty sure at this point that the man was up to no good. The way he'd practically shoved her into the store telling her she should get the blender for Amy was obviously a way of ditching her, but was it really so he could buy her something?

The bad attempt at lying to get rid of her was Dean, but for the purpose of getting her a gift? For no apparent reason? That was NOT Dean and it made her very curious about what he was truly up to. She supposed she'd find out soon enough when he came back for her minus one present.

The temptation to follow him when he left the store earlier had been very strong, but she hated the idea of sinking to that level. She could hardly go sneaking off after him when she wasn't absolutely positive that he'd been lying to her.

No, she needed to take him at his word, because as difficult as that was, it was still the right thing to do. So, she'd just continue to wait and hope he showed up sometime soon. With a gift.

As another five minutes ticked away, Leah's resolve began to falter. She decided it wouldn't hurt for her to wait outside the store rather than keeping herself tucked away in a corner. That way, she could enjoy the cool, fall weather and the downtown scenery and if she just happened to take a short walk while she watched for him, it wasn't really a means of checking up on him.

Leah stepped outside and casually searched the faces of people passing by. A familiar one emerged, and as always, she felt her pulse quicken at the sight. If the sunglasses, worn leather jacket and faded jeans weren't enough to draw not only her attention, but that of every nearby female, the confident air and slightly bowlegged swagger certainly were.

She saw the instantaneous smile that crossed his face when he saw her and she returned it, brimming with pride that this extremely sexy man was, for the moment at least, all hers. The fact that he held no shopping bag in his hands was easily overlooked because it left them free to pull her up against his hard body and greet her with a deep soul-searing kiss.

"Hi." he said, his lips remaining close, his warm breath washing over her.

"Hi." He looked pretty satisfied with himself so she had to ask. "How'd the shopping go?"

Dean patted his coat pocket, enjoying the brief look of surprise that Leah failed to hide. If she was shocked by the fact he'd actually bought something, he couldn't wait to see her expression when she opened the box. "You thought I couldn't do it, didn't you?" he teased.

Rather than deny it, Leah gave in, embarrassed by her earlier doubts. "I admit it; I didn't think you'd actually gone shopping. I was sure you were up to something else."

Lowering the shades, his green eyes glinting in the sunlight, Dean shook his head in disbelief. "I'm crushed, Leah. Honestly, you'd think by now you'd know me better than that." Though his gaze was steady, he was coming off a bit too earnest, leaving Leah to believe she'd been right to question his original plan for disappearing.

"I do, Dean." She smiled up at him. Which means you did something else besides shop, and whatever it was, she thought, I'll find out. Gift or no gift.

TBC