Chapter Seven
One month later, Dean and Aurora still hadn't talked about the fact that his kiss woke her. They were alone in the bunker as Sam and Zoey were in Salem for the time being. Aurora had started hunting with Dean on minor cases, proving her usefulness as a partner. However, when they weren't on a case, things were awkward, to say the least. Dean swore that the witch set the whole thing up and true love didn't exist, but Aurora wasn't so sure. He was waiting on a call from his dad to let him know everything was alright, but his phone wouldn't ring. It was well after one in the morning and he finally gave up on the call. Making his way to his bedroom, he heard Aurora tossing and turning in her room. He paused, pushing the door open to check on her. She whimpered, pulling her blanket closer to her and, without hesitating, Dean stepped inside. "You okay?" He whispered, brushing her hair out of her face.
She jumped at the touch, hitting her head on the headboard. "I'm fine." She answered shortly, but Dean saw through the lie.
"Really? What was the nightmare about?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." He challenged, sitting down on her bed.
She pulled her knees up to her chest, playing with her hair. "It was about the night Castiel and Gabriel brought me here." She took a deep breath. "Have you ever watched someone you love die without being able to do anything about it?"
He nodded. "Too many times to count."
"It's a horrible feeling, standing there frozen to the floor, while their life flickers before your eyes." She continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "My whole family, in one night, was gone, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it!" Tears fell onto the blanket and Dean reached out, taking her small hand in his own. "The worst one was my brother." She glanced up at Dean. "He was only four. The sweetest kid ever, and the shapeshifter-it looked like Dad and Tyler didn't know any better. He wrapped his arms around its legs and the shifter put a bullet through his head. He never knew it wasn't Dad."
"I'm sorry." Dean said finally, squeezing her hand. "I'll let you get back to sleep."
He was at the door when he heard it. "Stay, please."
He turned around and laid down beside her. She rested her head on his chest and fell straight asleep. He followed suit soon after.
"Dean? You here?" His dad's voice seemed too far away to be real, but Dean still woke up.
He glanced at the blonde beside him, curled into his chest like they were a couple. He carefully moved her arms and got out of her bed, going to see his dad. "Morning, son." John said lightly. "Sleep well?"
"Time?" Dean asked groggily.
"Almost ten."
Dean's eyes fully opened at that. He never slept in past eight, unless he was sick. The two went to the kitchen and got two beers out, sitting at the table. "How'd the case go?"
"Typical. Garth managed to get himself knocked out ten minutes after finding the demon." John chuckled. "He's good, though, when he's conscious. How's Sam and Zoey?"
"Good. They're in Salem right now." Dean took a drink of his beer.
Light footsteps brought both men's attention to Aurora. "Morning, sleeping beauty." Dean smirked. That was his new name for her after the fairytale incident, not to mention she looked a lot like the fair princess from the movie, or so he'd heard.
She yawned, walking past him to make a cup of coffee. "Why do you drink so much?"
"Because I hate my liver." He retorted, not able to resist the urge to check her out. "I'm going to die one day anyways."
"If you want help with that, I'd be glad to do it for you." She replied, although there was a lightness to her tone as she sat down.
"Dad, that's Aurora Philips." Dean introduced quickly, taking another sip of beer.
"Oh. I seem to remember you wanted her gone."
"She's nicer now."
Aurora's leg bumped his under the table. "You must be John. I've heard a lot about you."
"Not all of it good, I'm afraid." He smiled at her. "It's good meeting you, but I must be getting to bed. I'm exhausted."
After he left to go sleep in Dean's room, Aurora spoke. "I'm sorry about last night. I just…needed someone to talk to."
"It's nothing to apologize for. I know where you're coming from, so if you need to talk again, hit me up." He flashed her a grin. "Just don't literally hit me."
Suddenly, his phone rang. "Hey."
"Sam, he's on the phone with me! Quit trying to call him!" Zoey yelled, causing Dean to grin. "Sup, Prince Charming?"
"Nothing, Maleficent." He smirked, knowing that he'd probably get hexed or hit for that. "How'd the voting go?"
There was a tussle on the other end and Sam's voice in his ear told him Sam was probably holding the phone out of Zoey's reach. "Dude, really? She calls you once and you pick up? I've been trying you since seven this morning."
"Um, I like her more. And you might want to give her back the phone before she hexes you or makes sex off limits."
"That'd suck." Sam agreed. "Talk to you later, bro."
"Dean! I won!" Zoey cheered. "You're talking to the new Minister!"
"Hey, that's awesome!" He finished off his beer. "Congratulations, Z."
"Thank you. Now, I have to meet my advisors and blah, blah, blah. Stay out of trouble."
They hung up, and Dean caught a glimpse of Aurora disappearing through the library doors. He didn't realize he had been staring at the doors for a couple of hours until John tapped him on the shoulder. "You like her, don't you?"
"What?" He sputtered, turning around to face his dad. "That's completely ridiculous."
"Is it?" John countered, sitting down.
Dean sighed. He knew his dad was right, but there was no way he would tell her.