Long Time

by DMartinez

Post season 2. Spoilers from Season 3 were utilized but I was Kripked! still, I like it. Dean finally meets the woman of his dreams but is in no condition to do anything about it.

9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Fifty. Fifty. Dean gripped the bag and shoved his knee into it. Fifty. Fifty. He took a break and paced the newly organized garage. He'd slipped out of Carmen's apartment while she was talking to the cop. Then he'd needed a place to focus his energy. There was a lot of shit in that damned garage. He'd managed to get it cleaned and everything put in a way that wasn't in his way and without throwing away things that weren't broken. The following day, David the cop had stopped by for his statement. It was quick. Twenty minutes of the cop asking questions while walking around the garage and examining its contents. He mumbled something about it being too bad about Dean's eye or the academy would snatch him up.

"Hey man?" Dean knew that voice; his rather lethargic, but nonintrusive, landlord.

"'Sup?" Dean called out before flipping the garage door open with his foot.

"Package came up front." The hippie tossed it to him and glanced around. "Hey man… I've got a garage."

"You'll get it back in fifty days."

"Another month's rent. Alright." He nodded to himself and made his slow way back to the main house.

Dean waved him off and sat with one of his throwing knives to open the box. He rolled his eyes at the Hello Kitty! cell phone. Sam really was trying to torture him.

"A pink IPod and a Hello Kitty! phone," Carmen's voice floated over his head. "I wonder if someone is trying to send you a message."

"It's Sam and the message is for me to stop sitting on my ass and get back to work." Dean snorted but pulled the phone out and plugged it in while hunting for the phone number in the papers that had accompanied it. He had planned to ignore her but the aroma caught his nose and wouldn't let go. "What's that?"

She held up the casserole pan and set it on the nearest flat surface. "My mother thinks I owe you dinner for saving my life. She's quite smitten with you… and impressed that a whiter-than-white boy speaks better Spanish then her own kids." She held up her hands. "Her words, not mine. Also, her cooking, not mine."

Dean couldn't hold in the smile as he fiddled with the phone. Absently, he pulled his hood over his head. She sighed heavily. "I brought your clothes back, too."

"Keep 'em. Looked better on you, anyway." Dean shrugged.

She took in his bare feet wrapped in tape and the tape around his knuckles. "What does that do? The tape?"

"Traction, mostly. Helps to stiffen for hard blows, though." Another shrug.

"Like that thing you did that sent that guy falling backward."

"Yeah. Your body kind of remembers what position it should be in. It's why I practice." He tossed the phone onto a shelf to let it charge up. "My body… is missing some pieces now."

"I think it's helping you regain elasticity, too." She took the bag in both her hands and circled it. "My sister thinks you're the Devil."

"Oh?" Well, that was kind of amusing.

"But it doesn't matter. Mom is so grateful to you for saving my virtue; she's added you to her list of candles to light on Sunday." She stared up at the ropes holding the bag in place. "She wasn't too concerned with my virtue when I was dating Andre Iverson, though."

"Let me guess, the one boyfriend of yours that she liked?"

"Yahtzee." She turned to him. "You want to put that away and we can take a walk?"

"A walk?" Dean frowned but nodded, taking the still-warm and mouthwatering dish upstairs to put in the nearly empty refrigerator. He took a moment to put on his socks, shoes and a clean shirt. Dean led the walk, making sure they didn't start down a street he didn't know or looked like it had something to hide. "So, we're walking but I think you wanted to do something along the lines of talking, which I have to admit that I suck at."

She took his arm to make sure she kept pace. "I wanted to know why. I'm really grateful and everything. Given everything you've been through already… Why stop and help me? Why put up with my nosiness until 3 a.m.?"

He shrugged. "Didn't occur to me not to."

"You didn't even know who it was. Just some dumb girl in an alley."

"Like I said…" Dean bit off the words when he heard his tone. "Look… it's hard for me to tamp down a lot of my instincts. That's one I haven't mastered."

"Like what else?"

"I don't know. Just stuff I'm used to doing." Dean stopped to face her. "I don't know how not to help, okay? It's just what I do. I help people."

"Hasn't anyone ever tried to thank you before?"

"It's not really high on anyone's list of priorities."

"Ritchie!" a woman's voice called out.

Dean didn't even think. His eyes scanned the area. A toddler chased a ball down the incline toward the street. He sprinted, catching the boy mid-stride before a car whizzed by, sending his hood off his head. Scared, the boy screamed. His panicked mother raced to them. "He's okay."

"Yes, thanks to… Oh my God." Her hand went to her mouth. "Dean?"

Dean shifted uncomfortably as he tried to place the blonde and her son. Then he felt a breeze through his hair. He reached back and yanked the hood over his head. Then he was tackled. Then it clicked as the little brunette lifted her face to look at him. The current residents of his old house. "Hey Sari."

"They didn't come back. Just like you said." She whispered breathlessly. Big brown eyes shining up at him. Dean knelt so he could hear her. "Not even the fire lady."

"Yeah, I know." Dean nodded. "You been taking care of your brother?"

"I try."

"Good." He nodded again then got to his feet again. "Jenny…"

"You okay?" She stepped forward to peer into his hood but he turned his left side away. "What happened?"

"You know. I do what I do and… sometimes I win and sometimes I don't." He shrugged. "I have say, though… that this time, winning kind of sucks."

"Are you staying in town?"

"Yeah."

Jenny shifted Ritchie on her hip. "Did you hear about Missouri?"

"Just the other day."

"After the way she… I had kind of expected to see you and your brother around."

"Had we known… we might have been."

"Where is Sam?"

"On the road." Dean smoothed his hood down. "After what happened to me… I decided to just sit still for a while." He felt her body near to his and cleared his throat. "I hadn't really thought to look anyone up."

"He also didn't bother to find out where he'd landed." Carmen held her hand out. "I'm Carmen."

"Jenny and this is Ritchie." Jenny smoothed down his hair now that he'd calmed down.

"I'm Sari." She took up position at Dean's hip and didn't seem inclined to leave it. In fact, she seemed to think it was her duty to hold his hand and keep Carmen at bay.

"I'm serious, Dean. If you need anything, just let me know." Jenny offered him a smile even though her four-year-old was getting heavy. "It's the least I can do."

"You want to thank me after I trashed your kitchen?" Dean spun Sari in a few careful circles.

"Dean… you did more good than harm and you know it." Jenny flicked her eyes to Carmen. "I'll make you and your girlfriend dinner this week."

Both of them choked at the same time. It was Sari who saved the day. "She's not his girlfriend, Mom."

"Well, whichever. We'd be happy to have you." Jenny bit her lip and then added. "I found some more of your family's things in the attic. Nothing useful to you but… sentimental."

"Oh yeah?"

"She found your Chris-ten-ing gown," Sari spoke the word carefully. "And Sam's toys."

"Gross. He was a baby so you know what that means." Dean knelt to Sari's level. She scrunched up her nose. "Baby drool." He tugged lightly on her ponytail. "You hold the fort, okay? Keep an eye on your brother and make sure you don't drive your mom crazy."

"Okay." She nodded and then leaned in. "Don't marry her."

He swallowed thickly. "Why not?"

"Wait for me."

"Okay. You got it." Dean let her kiss his right cheek before straightening. "Maybe I'll take you up on that dinner later on. It seems I'm spoken for."

Jenny leaned in to hug him. "Don't mean to burst your bubble but she's been engaged nine times this week alone."

"Mom…" Sari whined but let Dean out of her reach.

"It was nice to meet you, Carmen. And to see you again, Dean. We should go before the skies open up." She cast her gaze to the darkening sky. "Come on, Sari."

Dean waved them off and stood hunched in his hoodie until Carmen took his arm to begin the trek back to his place. She let all the questions go for about two blocks. "So… you've got a savior-complex, huh." He shrugged. "If I buy you a cape, what color do I buy it?"

"Black."

"Batman, huh."

"You know your superheroes."

"Just the ones they make into movies." She bit her lip and slid her eyes to watch his face. "You're going to stand that little girl up, aren't you?"

"She'll understand someday."

"No, she won't. She worships you for whatever it is you did for her family. Learn to take a compliment or just a 'thank you', Dean. You'll keep more friends that way."

"Why do you care?" he blurted out. "I don't even know you, really… and you're in my face about things that even my brother leaves alone."

"Blame your brother for it." She opened her mouth to say more but the wind blew cold and a moment later, the skies opened. She let out a shriek as a sheet of rain drenched her. Dean grabbed her hand and they ran the remainder of the way. To his amazement, he was actually laughing when they stumbled up his stairs to his door. She pulled her wet hair out of her face. "Oh my God… where did that rain come from?"

"You okay?" He caught his breath as he stripped out of his hoodie. "Felt like you nearly tripped."

"Nearly turned my ankle but it's okay."

"Hit the shower before you catch cold." Dean turned to look out the window but he couldn't even see the street from his window. "I don't think you're going anywhere for a while."

"I hate this freaky weather." She grabbed a towel from the bathroom. "Do you have a heater in here?"

"Nah, hadn't planned to be here that long."

"Then you take first shower. You catch a chill and you've got more to worry about than a cold." She rubbed the towel over her hair. "I'll get us something hot to drink." When he looked like he was going to protest, she waved a hand at him. "Go."

Dean mumbled a thanks and got his clothes together. Hot water over his cold bones. He carefully inspected his scabs in the water. Ignored any condition south of the border because he did not have time to soothe that ache. It had been too damn long since he'd had that kind of relief and there was a soaking wet, smoking hot nurse in his apartment. Then he stepped out of the shower and cleared the fog from the mirror. "And me with half a Kruger-face."

"Dean? Did you say something?"

"I'll be out in a minute." He dragged a towel over the right side of his body, then a smooth chamois over his left arm, left shoulder and the left side of his face. Just like every day. Boxers, jeans, T-shirt, hoodie and his glasses. He stepped into the apartment in a cloud of steam. "Give it about ten minutes and there should be enough for you."

"Maybe in a minute." She pulled the casserole dish out of the oven. "Got some hot tea and Mama's casserole."

Dean sat down in his designated chair and blinked at her while she served him something dark red, gooey and awesome-smelling. "Your mom thinking of leaving your dad any day soon?"

"She says every day." She flashed him a smile as she set the dish on the table. "You like molé?"

"Molé?" The fork hovered in front of his face. It smelled damn good but… experience was a bitch. "Sweetheart…" He set the fork down. "There is no God damn reason for peppers and chocolate to be in the same bite. Or peanut butter or cinnamon or raisins."

She laughed as she took a bite. "Where did you taste molé?"

"El Paso, I think…" Dean frowned at the memory. Both he and his dad had been sick as dogs all week.

"We're not from anywhere near there… I don't think, anyway. Try it." She sipped her tea. "Mama's casserole is combination enchiladas and chicken molé. If someone handed her a bar of chocolate while she was making it, she'd chuck it at their heads."

"If I get sick, you're paying to have my stomach pumped." Damn, it smelled good. He picked up his fork again and the bite actually made it into his mouth in an explosion of goodness. "Seriously, I'll rub her feet every night."

"I'll pass on the compliment."

Dean rolled the smoky flavors over his tongue then sipped his tea but it was missing something. "You know what would go good with this?"

"What's that?"

"Whiskey."

"Not bourbon?"

"Nah. The bourbon was Ellen's. I try to stay away from the alcohol cause of this." He shrugged his left shoulder.

"How are you doing with that?" She swirled some cheese and rice around her fork. He lowered his gaze to the table and hitched his shoulders. "Physically, you seem to be fine and I don't want to overstep…"

"It is what it is." His head snapped up at a vibration in the floor. He picked up his gun from behind the table. Cocking it, he leveled it at the door. There it was again. Someone coming up the stairs. Rising, he twisted his body out of the seat, putting himself between Carmen and whatever was coming through the door.

"Dean!" a voice called from outside.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, man. Let us in."

Dean stepped forward and twisted the knob, uncocking the gun and resting it on his shoulder. "You can't warn a guy he's getting company."

"Don't you aim a fucking gun at me, Winchester." Ellen slurred and stepped into the apartment of her own recognizance. She swung around and faced Dean, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Smells good in here."

"Are you drunk, Ellen?" Dean snorted and tucked the gun into the back of his pants.

"What's it to you?" She eyed him, her hands dropping to her sides like lead weights. "And take that fucking hood off before I smack you. You ain't got nothing that'll scare Ellen Harvelle." Sam shut the door behind him and looked to Dean with a helpless expression. "I've squashed hunters twice your size and ten times as mean looking and that's with… whatever's going on there." She eyed Dean again. "What did I say about that fucking hood?"

Dean pulled the hood off and tried to keep his back to Carmen. "You okay, Ellen?"

"I'm dandy, Dean." She pulled him into her arms. "It sure is good to see you, though." She planted a firm kiss on his mouth before spinning him around and shoving him back into his seat. "We interrupted dinner. Sorry about that but Samuel over there didn't want to drive and he wouldn't let me drive either."

"Where's your truck?" Dean asked the both of them.

"Tell him, Ellen." Sam slid his jacket off.

"It's in a ditch," Ellen told Dean with a sigh, as if it was normal for her truck to be in a ditch.

"Tell him how it got there, Ellen."

"Well…" Ellen leaned on the counter. "I drove it there."

"You want to tell him why?"

"No."

"It's Jo's birthday," Sam filled in the blanks for Dean.

That's all that needed to be said. Dean's head hung still for a minute. "You guys remember Carmen."

"Hi." She waved at them both.

"Oh, hey." Sam reached over to take her hand. "We were caravanning around and when I realized what Ellen had done… and with the weather… didn't mean to interrupt."

"Interrupt what? We were just eating." Dean snapped his head to his brother. "You look like road kill and coming from road kill, that's pretty damn bad."

"Water heater's full by now, right?" Carmen pointed to the bathroom.

"Yeah. Shower sounds good. I'll… help you with her in a minute." Sam waved her off.

"Um… Ellen? Are you hungry?" Carmen tried to help. It was clear the woman was distraught even if she was putting on a tough façade.

"Actually, that sounds good… and smells good."

Dean gave up his chair and took his plate to the counter behind Carmen. Carmen served Ellen a plate and some tea. Ellen ate quietly for a bit. "This is good. Never did get the hang of cumin." She looked across the table at the two of them. "When did you two kiss and make up?"

"Don't know about any making up but saving a girl's life gets him free food."

"He managed to do that while he was all busted up? Good for him." Ellen shoved another forkful into her mouth. "What in the hell is up with this rain?"

"We got drenched earlier. Bad day to take a walk, I guess." She turned her head to look at Dean, who had taken the opportunity to finish his dinner.

"Sam could barely see to drive in this shit." Ellen made a noise in her throat. "Sweetie, you gotta tell me how to make this."

"Well, when I land a husband, I'll let you know. Mama's keeping it a secret until then."

"Dangerous thing to do." Ellen's eyes narrowed to a slit but she kept eating steadily. "Mama's gotta tell her girls everything. One or the other could be gone in the morning. Always said I'd never tell my Joanna Beth the secret of my chili if she went hunting. It's extra paprika to the chili powder and I spice venison dry before I add water." Tears flavored her voice but Dean didn't see any more or less moisture to her eyes. She laughed dry and raw and nothing but Ellen. "Maybe I should've told her."

"Jo would have run off, anyway," Dean finally offered. "Never met her dad but I expect that Jo was all the best of you and all the worst of him."

"You'd be right… least I hope…" Ellen finished her plate and handed it to Dean for trash. When he wandered near her again, she gripped his arm. "I gotta ask you. Turnabout is fair play, Dean. Did you ever fuck my daughter?"

Dean took a breath. "No, and not that she didn't try, either."

"Too bad." Ellen stared at the kitchen sink. "Mouth like yours… the younger of us should've had a go round."

"Okay, now I know you're drunk." Dean snorted back a laugh.

"She would've been 25, today, Dean."

"I know."

"She ran straight in, you know. Never looked back. Never doubted what she was doing. She had faith. Real faith. I don't even have that." She clung to his arm until he knelt to be eye level with her. "And that one over there. She's listening to every word we say and she's not running away, Dean. If you don't kiss her, I will."

"I would pay money to see that, Ellen." He tipped his head toward the bed. Gave her a broad smile. "There's a bed. Go to it."

"Don't you use that Winchester grin on me… Never cared much for tits, anyway." Ellen sighed and sniffed. "You drink all my bourbon?"

"Bar's closed, Ellen."

"I know it. I know it. I gotta sleep it off but I'm not ready to sleep yet."

"Should I go?" Carmen asked from where she was putting cups in the sink.

"You crazy? It's raining cats and dogs out there, honey," Ellen tsked at her. "Not too bright, huh…" she told Dean. "But I heard you like 'em that way. Dumb and willing."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I've nailed some of this country's finest college graduates." Dean started to get up but she yanked him back down. "You don't believe me? Ask Sam."

"Why in the hell do you say things like that, Dean Winchester? I am fully aware of your reputation and ways with women. Someone would think you're trying to turn someone off with the crude shit that comes tumbling off your tongue."

"You're one to talk."

"I married the love of my life. I gave birth to a child I can't hold anymore. I buried more men than I can count. I've had my share of dirty bangs in the bar, in cars… I can't tell you the last good fuck I had and you're probably the only 29-year-old that I've kissed since I was 27 myself… I can't tell you what I've put aside… but I can tell you every moment of the last day that I saw her, Dean. I've lost enough that I don't give a shit what I sound like anymore." She gripped him behind the shoulders and leaned her forehead against his neck. "You pull your Dean-shit on everyone and laugh it up but you're leaving me, too. What do you got?"

"Fifty days."

"That's it and then what do I do with the memory of Dean Winchester? Pack it up with my Bill and my Joanna Beth. Shove it aside with my John and Caleb." She inhaled long and deep. "And I gotta be there to watch Bobby and Sam fall apart. I'm the one that'll have to hold it together for them because those men… those surly men love you."

"They won't fall apart. No so long as they have a lady of your caliber with them."

"You fucking Winchester men and your deals with devils." She sobbed. "Where are you when I need a deal? When I need something? When I need my Joanna Beth back?"

"Hey Ellen?" Dean held her as tight as she would let him. "If I could have, I'd've done it for her, too… might've been nice. Two grateful Harvelle women, catering to me. One for experience and one for teaching."

She snorted. "You're a crude son of a bitch, Dean."

"What'd he say now?" Sam leaned in the doorway to the bathroom, rubbing a towel over his head.

"He's just cheering her up." Carmen allowed Ellen a moment to get her face under control. "Hungry?" While Sam's back was turned, Dean used his shirt to dry Ellen's face. Together, they stumbled over to the bed in the next room. "So, Sam…"

"Yeah… after the hospital, I figured…" Sam poked at his dinner but his eyes kept sliding back to his brother and Ellen. "What's going on?"

"A few nights ago… I was attacked and Dean came to the rescue. He ran off before I could thank him properly… and then my mother decided she was going to make him dinner and that I'd be the one to bring it to him." Carmen nodded to herself. "I got rained on and that's why I'm wearing his clothes."

"You don't have to explain anything to me." Sam chuckled to himself. "A few months ago… I'd probably be a little more indignant about it." He cleared his throat. "What's disturbing me right now is where Ellen's hands are."

"Dean's a flirt but… there's nothing but friendly kisses there." Oddly, that felt good to say out loud.

"Still, that weirds me out, too."

"I think she's the only physical contact he's had since it happened." Carmen mused aloud. "Dean doesn't like to initiate touch and… I'm sorry but the man I've encountered doesn't match the one that you were telling me about while he was sleeping."

"Trust me. If I'd lie about Dean, it'd be to make him look good. He can look bad all on his own." He scoffed a little. "Frankly, I'm surprised he's improved her mood so much. Sensitivity is not Dean's forte… but then… Ellen's not just any woman."

"You can say that again."

Ellen leaned her head on Dean's shoulder where they were slouched against the wall on the bed. One hand on his thigh and the other on her own. Wallowing in the buzz still circling her brain. "Dean… how do you do it? Wake up knowing that it's… one day less?"

"Carefully, until I find where I left my glasses." He slipped his arm around her middle, anchoring her body to him in case she started sliding to the floor.

"Why haven't you kissed her, yet, Dean?"

"She kissed me."

"But you didn't kiss her back?" She felt him shake his head into her hair. "Well, Dean… that's just not like you."

"Well, I'm a lot scarier than I used to be."

"That's bullshit. You're cuddled up with a middle-aged, widowed mother in mourning. That slip of nothing over there is putting up with your bullshit and sticking around for what? If I'm not mistaken, there was a fancy little car in the driveway that probably belongs to her. If she's just grateful you saved her a beating… she'd've dropped off Mom's casserole and been done with it." Ellen patted his hand around her waist. "Wasn't nine months ago we had to go hunting you down cause you went on a bender in New Orleans. Couldn't keep your dick in your pants and now what… pretty girl wants to show her appreciation and you're hiding under hoods like a twelve-year-old." She tsked him. "You even thought to pay a ten dollar hooker to take the edge off?"

He erupted in laughter and it felt good. Sam's digs never hit home like that… like the kid was afraid to run Dean off if he hit too close to a nerve. "Yeah… you gonna give me the ten dollars?"

"For God's sake, Dean… You got fifty days left. Live 'em. Don't cut yourself off and get bitter before the Hellhound comes."

"New Orleans… Good times…"

"What was that girl doing? The one with all the beads. I thought she was going to tip over."

"You should have seen what she did to get all those beads." Dean laughed softly and grinned to himself.

"I'm all ears and it had better be worth it."

Sam shook his head at the raucous laughter in the other 'room'. Half of him wondered what was going on and the other half didn't want to know in the least. "At least I brought her to the right place."

"I haven't seen him smile so much in one evening than I have in the last hour," Carmen marveled. She shook her head. "I don't know what I'm doing. It's your fault."

"My fault?"

"You painted me this picture of a handsome hero who drew the short straw. This happy-go-lucky guy who just stepped in a big pile of shit." She sipped her tea while Sam helped himself to a third helping. "I had this picture of the guy we'd see when he woke up and then he was silent and that just… I don't know… strengthened my mental image."

"Then an asshole showed up and you thought I was nuts." Sam laughed to himself.

"He told me that the reason he was an asshole was because he had a dream of me about a year ago." She grinned as she recalled the expression on the side of Dean's face that he had allowed her to see. Sam lifted his head to say something but he didn't know what to say or to ask her. "That he got knocked on the head and had this… I don't know… Wizard of Oz dream. His own perfect little world that vanished when he woke up. That I was in it and he didn't think he'd ever meet me… God, it kind of sounds like a cheesy pick up line now. He could have made it up."

"Perfect little world?" Sam swallowed thickly. "Did he say who all was in it?"

"You and me and your mom…"

"Oh my God…" Sam whispered and turned to look at his brother… laughing to mask the pain. "It wasn't a pick up line."

"Oh no?"

"No… he… usually goes a lot more blatant with his lines."

"I feel stupid, is what I feel. It's pretty clear that he's not interested and I keep bugging him. I don't want to say that I feel sorry for him but it sucks what's happened to him and he's alone. You come and go… the same with Ellen… and maybe I'm just suffering the glare of having been rescued like a damned fairy tale."

"I think you scare him." Sam cleared his throat. "I think you need to trust me that he's interested. If he really wanted you gone, he probably would have made you disappear."

"I don't know what I want from him and you're right. He could have told me to fuck off already. He could have told me he expected to get laid for saving my life… for which I would have totally racked him and gone running. By the way…" She looked to the younger Winchester brother. "How many languages does he speak?"

"Four conversationally, that I know of… and can read about two others and recognize a half dozen more." When she seemed to want more, Sam shrugged. "I've heard him use Spanish, Portuguese and French to pick up chicks. Latin pronunciation sucks but he knows it written and spoken. German pronunciation is spot on but he can't understand what he's reading. I know he can differentiate about four dialects of Hindi but I couldn't tell you if he could read them."

"Wow… I thought he was just spouting off." She smiled into her cup and shrugged. "His Spanish is better than mine. I mostly just use it to curse. He… talked to my parents…"

"Wow. He met the parents. It's serious. Is there a China pattern in the future?"

"Funny." She screwed up her mouth. "But God… if my mother had her way. She'd have me married and pregnant by the end of the week."

"To that low life?" Sam pointed to where both Dean and Ellen were laughing so hard, they ceased to make sounds.

"You should have heard her. 'Mi hija. He's such a nice man. Very strong and handsome on the one side. Too bad about the scars but the children won't have those. And he speaks Spanish and did you see how he jumped the fence. Ooh! Muy macho.' I wanted to vomit on her shoes." She rolled her eyes at the memory and shuddered at how persistent her mother could be.

"How… um… Have you seen him in public?" Sam's forehead creased with worry.

"He hides." Carmen's smile faded. "He panics if the hood comes off. Mom thought it gave him character. My sister said he looked demonic but… today… a little girl just hugged him and kissed him like she didn't even see them."

"A little girl did?"

"Um, some friends of his that we ran into today."

"Dean has friends here?"

"They asked about you. Jenny was the mother."

"Sari and Ritchie were the kids." Sam nodded. "I can't believe I forgot about them. How did they look? Happy?"

"Yeah. I suppose they did. Jenny kept trying to get Dean to commit to having dinner over there… and uh… Sari made him promise not to marry me because she had dibs."

Sam laughed out loud at that. "Sari… yeah…"

Carmen flicked her gaze to the window. "Looks like it's letting up. I should get going." She put her cup in the sink and grabbed her clothes. "Hey Dean… I'm gonna go."

Dean sat up and flicked his eyes to Ellen before getting up. "I'll walk you down."

"You don't have to."

"I left my phone downstairs anyway."

"Oh man… did you get it already?" Sam burst out laughing.

"Yeah… in all its Hello Kitty! glory." Dean rolled his eyes and threw a punch at his brother. He followed Carmen down the stairs. It still rained lightly but nothing too bad. He popped his head into the garage and yanked the phone and its cord from the wall. He flipped the door down and stepped around the Impala to the little Cobalt beside it. "So… um… thanks for dinner. Sorry I wasn't better company."

Carmen nodded as she unlocked her door. "So… uh… give me a call when you're done with the dish… I'll swing your clothes back around, too." She grimaced as she realized that every visit to Dean's apartment had resulted in her leaving with some of his clothes.

"Call you?" Dean frowned. Had he heard that right?

"Here." She took the ridiculously cute phone and punched her phone number in.

"Um… hey, listen… about all the lesbian action stuff I was going on about earlier… I was just trying to get a laugh out of Ellen."

"I know."

"It's just… I spent a good deal of time being a jerk to you and…" Dean didn't know what he was trying to say. "I… uh… don't know a whole lot of people anymore… you know? Cause I move so much… For once, it'd be nice for a girl to have nice things to remember about me."

"Okay…" She stepped into him. "This time… when I kiss you… at least pretend you like it."

"I…" Dean thought about turning his head away but that could contradict what he had just said. He let her draw his head down, let her lips smooth over his. He let out a breath and natural instinct kicked in. His hand slipped around her back as he nudged her mouth open. Tamping down the urge to throw her down on the hood of her car, he had to put some space between them. "How was that?"

"Much better." She let loose a breath into his shirt. "I'll… I'll talk to you later, Dean. Goodnight."

"Night, Carmen." He stood there until she'd gotten in her car and turned it around the corner. His heart pounded out a beat. Fifty. Fifty. He jogged up the stairs and found his houseguests perusing his rentals. Ellen winked at him. "So you were watching."

"Had to make sure we didn't screw up your night." She snorted and settled on the bed once more. "I like her."

"I thought you said she was the mother of all bitches." Dean checked his salt lines as he shut the door behind him.

"Eh… she put me in a bad mood that day."

"When did you call her that?" Sam laughed and tossed the movies aside.

"After she yelled at your brother for not letting other people take care of him… which he deserved but she doesn't know him like we do." She patted the bed. "C'mon, sparky. Bed time."

"You know… it's really disturbing the way you two…" Sam couldn't even put it into words. And it weirded the hell out of him the way it seemed that his brother and Ellen Harvelle would be sharing a bed. "You know what? I don't want to know."

Dean settled himself on the bed, arching his back to remove the gun from his jeans. He just slid it under his pillow. He stared at the ceiling with Ellen's back to him for a long moment. "Ellen?"

"I'll be okay in the morning." This time it was Ellen's turn to be comforted. "I miss yelling at her." She rolled over to rest her head on Dean's shoulder. "I keep calling out her full name… just hoping she'll pop up somewhere and tell me to cut it out."

"I didn't figure she liked that much."

"I wanted grandkids, Dean. I never thought for a moment that I wouldn't have them eventually."

"Tell you what… I'll give you my kid. You can spoil the hell out of him."

"Dean." Sam spoke from across the room but never finished his protest. It was the same old fight and he didn't want to waste the time he had left. Eventually, Ellen babbled herself to sleep. A few moments after that, Dean was snoring but Sam stayed up and stared at the ceiling… trying to find the right pieces to save his brother.

TBC