Author's Note: I'm out of town for training for my new job and on a shared computer. I didn't have time to do my usual read through after putting the document in Document Manager. Let me know if you catch any issues with grammar or formatting. Thanks.

Chapter Ten

Liz put her chin on Dean's chest and smiled. "I don't know if I told you this," she said as she lazily ran her fingers across his chest, "but I think you're incredibly hot."

Dean laughed happily. "You're not too hard on the eyes yourself, Liz."

Liz leaned a cheek against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "We'll make beautiful babies, Dean," she told him mournfully. "So beautiful that you'll forget that you ever didn't want them."

"Hey," he said to get her attention.

She looked up at him, still a little sad. "Yeah?"

He pushed the hair that seemed to be constantly falling into her face behind her ear. "If you want to make beautiful babies, then we'll make beautiful babies." A leer came onto his face. "In fact, we can start right now."

Liz laughed gaily as Dean grabbed her under her arms and dragged her to eyelevel.

He rubbed their noses together. "Who wouldn't want to make babies with you?" he asked in earnest.

She smiled and traced his jaw with her fingertips. "I like you."

"I like you, too," he replied with a content smile.

When Dean came awake, he discovered that he had dried tear tracks down the side of his face. The memory was lingering, and he tried to push it to the back of his mind as he got up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a black undershirt and headed to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face to remove all evidence of his tears.

When he was done washing his face, he stared at his reflection in the mirror and realized with a start that he looked old. Thirty-four was practically ancient in hunter years, especially considering how long he'd been in the business, and he was looking every bit of it.

Dean angrily flicked water at the mirror so that the droplets distorted his reflection then took a moment to prepare himself for the moment when he had to face Liz. He had intended to find her when he awoke and have it out with her, but now that he was actually up, he decided to find Bobby instead.

He figured that Bobby would be in the basement, so he headed toward the entrance in the kitchen. He ran into several people in the living room who all wanted to offer him congratulations and ask him how he was doing. He broke away from them as quickly as he could and couldn't help up but think longingly of when Bobby's house was an empty wreck. Now there were people everywhere, and it drove him crazy.

He finally made it to the kitchen and found that Bobby was at the table, no trip to the basement needed.

"There you are, Bobby," Dean said. "Have you seen Liz?" He walked into the room and pulled up short when he realized Liz was sitting at the table with Bobby.

He stared at her. "Oh" was all he said, suddenly at a loss for words.

All conversation ceased when Dean came into the room. Bobby was at the counter cutting up various food items, and he threw them into the blender while Liz turned to Dean.

"Is there something you need?" she asked.

Dean shook his head. "I just need to talk to Bobby for a minute."

Liz glanced at Bobby then back at Dean and shrugged. "You can have him. We're done here."

"Liz," Bobby said with a warning to his tone, "aren't you forgetting something?"

Liz rolled her eyes at him. " Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere until I get your stupid smoothie." She peeked at Dean then looked away when he noticed her staring.

Bobby poured the contents of the blender into a cup and handed it to Liz. She looked at the drink with a disgusted face. "Breakfast of champions," she quipped, then tipped the glass at Dean. He stared at her silently as she took a drink. She grimaced but forced herself to swallow.

"Don't leave a drop," Bobby instructed.

"I won't," she promised. She averted her eyes as she walked past Dean.

Dean watched Liz leave then faced Bobby. "What was that?" he wondered.

"Vitamin shake," Bobby replied nonchalantly. "Liz hasn't been taking care of herself like she should. I'll make you one if you want."

Dean glanced after Liz. "I think I'll pass," he said dryly.

Bobby watched him. "I thought you wanted to talk to her," he said.

"I thought I did, too. Then I saw her and realized I don't know what to say."

Bobby motioned for Dean to take a seat. "How about you start with 'hi' and work from there?"

"Hardee, har-har, Bobby."

Bobby shrugged. "You gotta talk to her sometime."

"I do not. I've got my apartment in town. I can stay there until she leaves."

"No, you can't. You're not allowed off my property without a lot of firepower and protection around you."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "You should know by now that I'm not good with commands, Bobby. I'll do whatever I want."

"Then let me put it another way. You don't want to leave my property without some serious firepower protecting you."

Dean looked dubious. "I don't?"

"You don't," Bobby insisted. "Tom's got it in for you, and he might actually get you if you leave right now."

"I can't stay here forever."

"You won't have to," Bobby promised. "Just bear with me until I figure something out."

Dean clenched his jaw unhappily. "I'll stay here for now," he conceded. "I can't make any promises about how long that'll be."

Bobby nodded. "That's good enough. Now's all I got to work with anyway."

Dean glanced in the direction Liz had left. "Where was she headed?"

For a moment, Bobby looked young as a grin broke onto his face. "I sent her to run with the girls."

Dean whipped back around to stare at Bobby, mouth agape. "MY girls?"

Bobby nodded.

Dean shook his head in amusement. "You must be at least a little mad at her, too," he said.

Bobby's grin widened. "Maybe I am," he said.

XXX

Liz found Dean's trainees stretching in front of the house. She walked over to them and fell into step with their warm-up routine.

Katy noticed Liz immediately and walked over to her, arms crossed in front of herself. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Bobby told me that you girls have a morning run," Liz explained. "He suggested I join you so that we can get to know one another."

Katy rolled her eyes. "Great. You can run with Aly. She brings up the rear, so it should be a pace well-suited to you."

Liz glared at Katy. "Thanks," she said dryly.

A girl stepped up to them, an unhappy look on her face. "You're such a bitch, Katy," she said. The girl turned to Liz. "Hi, I'm Aly. Katy's a bitch. You can ignore her. She thinks she's the queen o' us all, but she's really not."

Liz laughed. "Good to know."

"She's in love with Dean, so she kind of hates you by default."

"I see. She told me they're kind of an item."

Aly rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, in her freaking dreams!"

Katy looked offended. She pulled Aly's hair. "Shut up!" she yelled.

Aly threw up her hands. "Give me a break, Katy. Get over it. I mean, not that Dean's not hot, and not that I would kick him out of my bed, but you take it to a whole other level."

Katy stomped off to start running. She took off and the other girls fell into step behind her. Liz matched Aly's leisurely pace at the back. Before long, another one of the girls dropped back to run with Aly and Liz.

"Hey," the girl said. "I'm Madison. I met you last night. I don't know if you remember."

Liz looked apologetic. "Sorry, I was a little out of it last night. It'd been a rough day."

"It's okay. So, Liz—can I call you Liz?" At Liz's nod, Madison continued. "Great. So Liz, you've, like, totally done it with Dean. How much of a rock star are you?"

Liz laughed. "I'm not really sure how to respond to that."

Madison waggled her eyebrows at Liz. "You don't have to say anything. I've already decided that Dean's an amazing lover. I don't care what the reality is."

Soon several of the girls were crowded around Liz. Katy and a few of the girls kept pace far enough ahead that they were clearly leading but could still hear what Liz was saying.

All of the girls were curious and had a million questions.

"Tell us about something awesome you've done," Shaniqua requested. "Tell us about a hunt that was particularly gruesome or something like that."

Liz tried unsuccessfully to hide her amusement at everyone's enthusiasm. "I can see why Dean likes you guys so much," she said. "You're a lot of fun."

Brooke waved away the compliment. "I'm with Shaniqua. I want to hear about bloody, disgusting hunts."

Liz mimed having her arm twisted behind her. "Okay. Well, let me think for a second." She ran along for several steps while she thought. "Okay. Well, there was this one hunt that my partner and I stumbled upon when we were down in Texas several years ago. Girls were disappearing and turning up mutilated. Alex and I spent two weeks looking for whatever was doing it. Nothing was making sense. We couldn't figure out what had an MO like this. We looked and researched and wrung our hands. All the while, more bodies were piling up."

Madison's eyes were wide. "So what was it?"

Liz smiled at the girls' anticipation. She thought of the hunt, and her smile fell. "Well, it turned out that there was nothing supernatural about the case at all. It was just a sick bastard who liked to dominate and rape girls then kill them."

Madison's eyes were as round as saucers. "What'd you do?" she asked breathlessly.

Liz looked around at the girls. "I castrated the bastard and left him for the police."

"Seriously?" Aly wanted to know.

Liz smiled. "I guess you'll never know," she said and picked up her pace. She was soon even with Katy.

When Liz pulled ahead of her, Katy increased her pace, refusing to let Liz outrun her. She struggled to maintain the fast pace. Liz grinned at her and sped up even more. Katy pushed herself to catch up but soon had to fall back.

Liz reached the end of the run with Katy a minute behind. Both of them were breathing hard as they glared at one another.

When Liz had caught her breath, she walked over to Katy and clapped her on the back. "Good run, Katy. Do you want to help me with something later today?"

Katy was curious enough that she was willing to listen. "I don't know. What are you doing?"

Liz shrugged. "Making a church grim."

"What's that?"

"You'll find out if you want to help."

"Whatever," Katy replied. She tried to keep her cool but was obviously excited by the prospect of helping Liz. "Can Fran come, too?"

Liz thought about it. "No, I need the rest of the girls helping Bobby with something else."

Madison made it to the finish line in time to hear the last of their conversation. "Really? What are we going to be doing?"

"Building a protective barrier around the property using charms."

Madison clapped her hands excitedly. "Dean never lets us do fun stuff like that. You rock, Liz!"

Liz was starting to look visibly tired. "I'm gonna grab a nap. I had a late night."

Madison's face lit up. "Oohhh. You the woman." She nodded her approval.

Liz rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Not that kind of a late night," she said.

Madison gave her two thumbs up. "Whatever you say. Just remember that you're super fly."

Liz shook her head in begrudged amusement while Katy rolled her eyes and walked away in a huff. Liz watched her walk away with a sigh. She would need to deal with Katy later, but first things first: she needed to get some sleep.

XXX

That afternoon, Katy searched out Dean and found him in the living room. There was an empty alcohol bottle in the floor at his feet and another partially empty bottle in his hand. He was leaned against the couch cushions and seemed to be asleep.

"Dean?" Katy asked hesitantly.

His eyes popped open, and he turned his head toward Katy. "Yeah?" he slurred out.

Katy's eyes were wide and uncertain. "I've been talking to some of the girls, and they agree with me. It doesn't matter that Liz is trying to win us over; we're on your side. We decided that we're not going to go to battle with her after what she did to you."

"Yes, you are," Dean told her. "You all will, or you can get the hell out."

"But…"

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but Liz is…" He fumbled with the right thing to say. "Liz…well, I've gotta believe that there's a good reason she did what she did, and when we find out what it is, you'll all understand why she had to go away. Until then, you will respect her. No buts."

"But…"

"None, Katy."

Katy looked at the floor. "Okay, Dean. Sorry."

Dean watched Katy for a moment. "What's she trying to do to win you over?" he wondered.

Katy seemed to realize that she'd said too much. "Well, um, I'm supposed to help her make a church grim or something like that."

"A church grim? What's that?"

Katy shrugged. "I don't know. It sounded like it's gonna be cool, though. Everyone else is gonna help Bobby build a magical barrier around the entire property."

Dean capped the bottle he was drinking from and stood up. He staggered toward the hall without saying anything else to Katy.

Katy hurried after him. "Dean! Dean, are you mad at me?"

Dean wheeled around. "Did Liz say where she was going?" he asked angrily.

"She said she was going to rest."

Dean nodded and went to the room Liz was using. He slammed the door open and walked into the room. It was empty.

He turned around and nearly ran into Katy. "Stay here," he commanded and shoved past her. She only waited a moment before following after him.

XXX

"What do you think you're doing?" Dean demanded.

Liz finished giving instructions to the hunter who was helping her then walked over to Dean. She took a whiff of him and waved in front of her face to clear the air. "Whew. Have you been drinking?"

"That's beside the point," Dean insisted. "What do you think you're doing using the girls to do your dirty work? I'm in charge of training the girls, and I say they're not ready for whatever it is you're doing. If you want their help in the future, ask me first."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Well, Bobby thinks they're ready. Talk to him if you've got a problem. Personally, I think the girls would benefit from feeling like they were doing something that actually mattered for once. You can't keep them smacking around in a dojo forever. Things are about to get serious, and they need some experience before they do."

"They're my charges. Mine! I get to decide what they do next in training."

"Whatever you say, sir," Liz mocked with a smirk. She looked behind Dean and grew severe. "You're late, Katy," she snapped. "Go find Eric and get your instructions."

Katy avoided looking at Dean as she scampered past him.

Dean glared at Liz. "Fine, the girls can help you, but I'm staying."

Liz shrugged. "Whatever you want to do." She walked back to the man she'd been talking to when Dean first came up. "We about ready, Rob?" she asked.

Rob nodded. "I think so."

Liz glanced over at Dean then pretended to be looking at something else when he noticed. "Well, let's get started then," she said.

"Okay. I'll bring it now. Everything's in place."

Liz nodded her approval. "Good."

The man left, and Dean stepped closer to Liz. "What exactly is a church grim?" he asked her.

She looked at him. "They protect churches."

Dean thought that was hilarious. He laughed and motioned around himself. "Do you see any churches around here?"

Liz raised an eyebrow. "What do you think I'm building?"

Dean's mouth fell open. "You're building a church on Bobby's place? That's insane."

"Well, it may be, but Father Patrick already consecrated the grounds. He'll be back to bless the building when we raise it tomorrow."

"You got a preacher to agree to consecrate Bobby's property?" Dean couldn't help but be impressed.

Liz smiled. "Better yet, I called in a favor, and the Vatican itself arranged for a priest to be here. It pays to have friends in high places."

"That it does."

Rob pulled up in a work truck with a large box in the back. Barking was coming from it. Liz hurried over and helped Rob unload the box. A large black dog glared out from the holes in the side of it. The dog was snapping angry at having been locked in a cage for hours.

"Take it over to the hole," Liz told Rob and motioned for Eric to send Katy back over.

Katy was ashen-faced when she rejoined Liz. "I talked to Eric. I'm not sure I can do this," she told Liz.

"You can," Liz disagreed. "I know that you can."

"What are you doing, Liz?" Dean demanded to know. He looked between Katy and Liz. "What's going on?"

Liz ignored him. "Are you really not going to do this?" Liz asked Katy.

Katy looked like she was about to cry. "I don't think I can," she said. "I'm sorry."

Liz's face softened. "It's okay. I'll do it," she told her. "You can go find Bobby if you'd rather help him."

Dean grabbed Liz and made her look at him. "What are you about to do?" he asked.

Liz shook him off and jumped into the hole. She helped Rob and Eric lower the box into the hole and took the knife that they passed down to her.

The dog's angry barks turned to growls then faded to whimpers.

Liz reemerged, hands covered in blood. "Start covering the hole!" she commanded Rob and Eric. "We have to start burying him while he's still alive!" She grabbed a shovel and started pushing dirt into the hole.

Katy hesitated for a moment then grabbed a shovel and helped Liz and the two men bury the dog. Dean stood back and watched them all with an expression that said he thought they'd lost their minds.

When the hole was covered, Liz sat down on top of it and chanted something in Latin. When she finished, she collapsed back on the mound of dirt and heaved a sigh. She turned to Rob and Eric. "Do you guys think you could handle things without me for awhile? I'd like to take a shower if I could."

"We got it," Rob replied. "Some of the other hunters are going to come and help us. We should get the frame up in a couple hours, tops."

Liz sat up. "Good. Come and get me when it's done."

XXX

Liz stopped in the door of her room. Dean was sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for her. "Hey," she said and walked into the room. She stopped a few feet inside and shifted uncertainly.

Dean took her in. She was freshly showered, hair still dripping. "Hey," he said.

"What's up?"

"You mean why am I in your room," Dean replied.

Liz shrugged. "Well, yeah."

"You killed that dog."

"I did," she agreed. "I would have preferred not to, but that's how you make a church grim. You're more important to me than a dog."

"So that's part of the battening down the hatchets that's been going on, huh?"

"Yeah."

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "Okay."

Liz walked to the bed and cautiously sat down beside Dean. She made sure to keep some distance between them. "We're going to Ellen's bar tonight," she told him. "I asked Bobby, and he agreed that it would be okay if you went."

Dean smiled sardonically. "Thanks for your permission, Liz. I didn't know I needed it."

Liz nervously played with the hem of her shirt. "Can I tell you something?" she asked.

Dean just stared at her, so Liz took that as permission to continue.

"This isn't going to be fair to you, and I'm sorry about that. I just thought you should know that I'm faking it. I'm not cool, calm, and collected or anything even resembling that. I just seem that way. I have very purposely not touched you even though every molecule in my body is rebelling. It takes all my efforts just to keep up with the conversation when I'm talking to you. I'm a wreck when you're around."

Dean considered her for a moment. "Well, isn't that special, Liz?" he told her, putting as much spite as he could muster into it. He left the room without giving her time to say anything else. He waited until he was out of sight to lean against the wall and take several deep breaths. When he stood back up, he realized his whole body was shaking.

XXX

Liz and Dean stayed on opposite sides of Ellen's bar that night. Someone always seemed to be with Dean. Liz tried not to watch him, but her eyes always drifted back to him.

Dean kept the drinks coming to keep himself busy. Hunters swarmed around him, and he was glad for the distraction. He kept stealing glances at Liz and was glad that she was looking at him. Until she wasn't. A girl and guy he didn't recognize entered the bar, and suddenly Liz's attention was drawn to them.

Liz sighed in relief when Cassie and Alex showed up.

"I gotta say, Liz, this bar took us forever to find. We weren't sure we were ever going to get here," Alex told her.

Liz was nervous with anticipation. "And Marisa?"

Cassie snorted and shook her head in disgust. "We left the bitch where you said. Our intel informs us that she's safe and warm in her bed. Hope you're happy."

Liz shot an annoyed look at Cassie. "I am. It's good to know you can follow instructions."

Anger flashed on Cassie's face. "It's good to know that I can follow instructions!?!" she balked.

"Ladies, ladies," Alex interrupted. "Can't we keep the cat fights to a minimum? I love watching two women duke it out as much as the next guy, but I find this place severely lacking in mud pits and you girls way overdressed. That's really all that would make it worthwhile for me right now."

It was Cassie's turn to look annoyed. "Why don't you go away, Alex?" she suggested.

Alex laughed. "Why don't you?"

"So the honeymoon's over between you two, huh?" Liz observed.

Alex put his arm across Liz's shoulder. "Come on, Lindsey, dance with me. I've had drama, drama, drama for the last three days. I need to blow off some steam."

Liz pushed his arm off of her. "I hear your hand's good for that."

Alex laughed. "You would know," he teased.

"Asshole," Liz replied, but she was fighting a smile.

"If you want to talk hand jobs," Alex continued, "you know how I appreciate what yours are capable of." He leaned into her personal space. "I'm sure they would be capable of other things I would appreciate."

Liz rolled her eyes. "You are such a perv," she said and shoved him out of her space.

He was unfazed. "And you are so dancing with me. Come on, you know Cassie's just talking crap that can wait."

Liz threw an apologetic look Cassie's way as she let Alex lead her to the dance floor.

Cassie rolled her eyes and went to get a drink. She ordered and started to find a table when Dean tapped her on the shoulder. He nodded toward Alex. "Who's that jerk?"

Cassie sized him up then followed his line of sight to Alex. "That's Alex. He's all right. He and Linds were partners for a while before I hooked up with her."

Dean turned his attention to Cassie. "And you are?"

Cassie looked annoyed at Dean's tone. "Cassie Strider," she said and stuck her hand out for Dean to shake it.

Dean just stared at her. "You're Cassie Strider? The Cassie Strider? You were Liz's partner?"

"Who the hell is Liz?"

Dean pointed at Liz with the hand that held his drink. "That's Liz Barrister. The woman you knew—Lindsey the nurse or whatever—doesn't exist and never has."

Cassie took a moment to process what Dean had told her. "Huh," she said. "That explains a lot actually."

She watched Liz as she crawled onto the small stage in the corner. "What is she doing?"

Dean glanced at Liz then rolled his eyes. "If I had to guess, I'd say she's getting ready to serenade us."

Cassie laughed. "Lindsey doesn't sing," she insisted. "In the four years that I've known her, I've never heard her so much as hum."

"Well, you're about to be proven wrong. Liz sings and dances and kicks ass with the best of them."

Cassie shrugged carelessly and turned her attention back to Dean. "So you're Dean Winchester then? You're what all the fuss is about?"

"I'm Dean Winchester," Dean verified.

"So, I take it you were more than just a one night stand."

Dean snorted angrily. "Is that what Liz said?"

Cassie smirked. "I only know about you at all because I got her drunk."

Dean watched Liz thoughtfully for a moment while she danced with Alex then glanced at Cassie. "She's my wife."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Your wife?" Cassie jerked her head to look at Liz. "That explains even more. What it doesn't explain is what you did to make her leave."

Dean glared at Cassie. "I didn't do anything," he insisted.

"Sure you didn't."

"You know what?" Dean replied angrily. "Screw you!"

Cassie shrugged. "You know, you're right. I don't know why Linds left you, but even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Lind—Liz doesn't do things without thinking them through first. If she left you, she had a reason, and it was a good one at that."

"I'll let you know when I find out," Dean replied and stumbled to his feet. He walked to Alex and pulled him away from Liz.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said and punched him in the face.

Alex was knocked to the floor and looked up at Dean from where he landed. His eyes were wide with shock.

Dean glared down at him. "That's my wife you were dancing with," he said and walked away.

"Dean!" Liz yelled and crouched beside Alex. "I'm sorry, Alex. I—" She trailed off when she noticed Dean heading toward the door. She left Alex without another word and followed after Dean, jogging to catch him. He reached the door and stepped into the parking lot with Liz a step behind him.

"Dean!" she called, grabbing him to make him stop.

Dean shook her off and wheeled around. His look of anger was so strong that Liz took a step away from him.

"Don't you dare come out here and scold me! Don't you dare pretend that that wasn't exactly what you were hoping would happen! You were trying to get a reaction from me, and you did. You should just be glad I don't hit girls, or that guy might not have been the only person I hit tonight."

Liz glanced away guiltily. "Alex is an old—"

"Shut. Up. Liz. I don't want to hear about you and Alex."

Liz met his eyes. "There's no—"

Dean grabbed her and jerked her against him. "I said shut up!"

"Sorry."

"Liz." His voice was full of warning.

Liz stared at him. Her eyes drifted down to his lips and back up again. They were both breathing hard as they stood there, bodies pressed together unsure of what to do next.

"Dean—"

What Liz was going to say next was lost as Dean kissed her. He turned her arms loose, grabbed her butt, and jerked her pelvis against his body. Liz took advantage of having her arms free to run them in Dean's hair. Dean picked her up, and Liz helped him by wrapping her legs around him and locking her feet together.

They didn't break their embrace as Dean stumbled to the Impala and sat Liz on the hood. He stepped away from her and took a deep breath. When she tried to kiss him again, he grabbed a handful of her hair and held her back.

"Don't," he told her and turned her loose.

She watched him curiously as he pushed her until she was lying on her back on top of the hood.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms until they were straight out at her sides. He pinned them there for a second then stood up. Liz sat back up. Dean glared at her and pushed her back down.

"You don't get to touch me, Liz. The moment that you try to, I'm going to walk away. Understand?"

"That's fine. You'll still be touching me," Liz replied. She leaned forward in hopes that Dean would kiss her again when she saw someone rushing toward Dean. She shoved Dean to the side and rolled so that the attacker missed her and hit the car. She winced at the sound of metal on metal. The Impala was surely scratched.

Dean saw the damage to his car and got mad. "You scratched my car, you asshole!" he yelled and got the guy in a headlock.

The man broke free from Dean and held up his knife. The two men were so intent on one another that they had forgotten Liz. She used that distraction to stab the attacker in the throat. She twisted the knife to make sure she'd severed the man's jugular then pulled the knife back out and let the man's body drop to the ground.

Dean's eyes were wide with shock when Liz looked at him. She rolled her eyes then squatted beside the man and used his shirt to clean her knife off.

"You killed him," Dean said.

"Boo hoo," Liz replied. "I wouldn't cry too much for him. He's burning in hell just like he always wanted."

Dean watched Liz as she searched through the man's pocket. "You're different," he said.

"You noticed, huh?"

Dean just watched her.

Liz looked up at him and sighed. "I've had to do a lot of things in the last five years that I never thought I'd be capable of," she told him. "We can talk about that later, but right now, I just want to get rid of this body and go to bed. Can you go get Bobby for me?"

Dean nodded. "Sure."