Sam, Bobby, and Dean arrived at Liz's apartment and rang the bell. When the buzzer opened the door, Dean muscled past his brother. "Age before beauty."
"That puts me first, idjit!" Bobby pulled Dean backward and headed up the stairs.
Dean looked at Sam and grinned. He stopped for a second, blocking Sam from walking up. "Just want you to know that I think you're doing something good." He adjusted Sam's collar. "Just remember, open the doors for her and pick up the tab, and no kissing on the first date - don't want her to think you're easy."
Sam frowned. "Dean, either go up or get out of the way."
Dean grinned and turned around to go up the stairs.
Sam took a deep breath and cleared his throat, ascending the steps behind his brother.
Bobby was already in by the time Sam reached the top of the stairs. Liz was handing Bobby a piece of paper, explaining that her cellphone number, the number to the restaurant and the number to the ice cream store were on it.
"Why do I need the number to ice cream?"
"It's next door to the restaurant. Just in case the restaurant doesn't answer."
"So if you, Sam and the restaurant don't answer, you want me to call the ice cream shop and have them run next door?"
"Too much? It's my first time leaving her!"
This was enough to pull Sam out of the doorway where he stood, transfixed, when he saw her.
Her dark hair was swept to one side and she was wearing makeup, but not a lot. She was wearing a royal blue dress started in a V-neck, cinched at her waist and flared out to her knees. Her feet were encased in nude heels that weren't terribly high. To Sam, she was stunning.
Liz turned to look at Sam, dressed in a blue-grey button-down and dark jeans, smiling as he approached.
"You're beautiful," he said.
Her smiled widened. "You're not so bad yourself. Did you cut your hair?"
He ran his hand through it. "Just a trim."
"I tried to talk him into get rid of it all—" Dean started.
"Don't you dare!" she frowned at him. Then she smiled up at Sam. "I love your hair. And I like the trim. It's curling at the ends. Suits you."
"Should we go?"
She nodded. "Let me get my purse." She stepped back to the kitchen. "Dean, you know where everything is. She's been fed and should be good for another hour. There are extra diapers in her closet, I set out extra clothes, towels—"
Bobby looked at Sam. "Sam, will you get her out of here before it turns into an entire night of just gettin' instructions?"
"Yeah, you crazy kids, go have a good time. Curfew is at midnight," Dean grinned.
Liz took a deep breath and nodded. She moved to Bobby to give her daughter a kiss, then took another deep breath and walked out with Sam.
#
#
"So, where did you go to college?"
Her eyebrows rose, tearing a piece of bread off the small loaf in the basket between them. "How did you know I went to college?"
Sam grinned. "You told me."
She tilted her head. "I did?"
"When you told me about breaking your 'pinkie toe'."
"Oh!" She looked at the bread. "I guess I did." She put the bread down. "I went to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia."
"I went to Stanford. Pre-law."
"English, with a concentration Folklore and Mythology."
His eyebrows rose. "So not so far from The Life."
She nodded. "In contrast, law is very far from The Life." She put the piece of bread in her mouth.
He took a deep breath. "At the time, I wanted to get as far from it as possible."
She grinned and leaned forward, swallowing. "So did I, but I figured a degree in Folklore and Mythology would be easy, given how I was raised."
He chuckled. "I see. Did you finish?"
She shook her head. "No. Mom and Dad," she looked down at her fork. "They died in a vamp nest and Sean kind of lost it. I left school to be with him. Helped him hunt the nest." She shrugged one shoulder. "Never went back. You?"
"Ah, actually, got my Bachelor's and was lined up to start Law School, but Dad went missing and I left to help Dean." He smiled up at the waitress who delivered their drinks. "And never went back."
They ordered their food and spent the rest of dinner talking, getting to know each other more. At one point, he reached across the table - almost hesitantly - and covered her hand with his.
She smiled at him and turned her hand in his.
He smiled back at her.
After dinner, as they emerged from the restaurant, Sam took her hand as they walked down the street to Dean's Impala.
"I'm surprised Dean let you take his Baby instead of my car," she said as they approached the car.
He smiled. "It was easier. Mary's car seat is in your car. If, for any reason, they needed to take her somewhere, it makes more sense for them to have your car. I think he was more amenable because yours is also an Impala."
She chuckled. "Yeah, a babier version of Baby."
Sam's smile widened slightly as he looked down at her. When they reached the car, he opened the door for her, then moved to the driver's side.
"I told him I could get him a car seat for this car," she said, scooting across the bench to sit closer to him.
Sam chuckled. "I can just see him trying to pick up some woman at a bar and getting her to his car, seeing a car seat in the back." He started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.
Liz chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. "She would ask if he had a kid, and he'd say it's for his niece." Her eyebrows rose. "And if she was on the fence before, she'd probably ravish him in the front seat." Then she laughed at Sam's surprise.
"So, you're saying we should have been traveling with a baby seat for years now?"
She laughed and shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe."
The dimple played on his cheek as he smiled. "Good to know." He put his right arm over her shoulders as he steered with his left.
"'Course," she smiled in a way that exposed her own dimple, nestling a little closer. "It wouldn't work with me."
His eyebrows rose. "Oh, really?" he laughed. "Why not?"
She looked at him. "I'd want to see pictures."
"Ah, proof. Skeptic."
"That's me," she laughed.
"Maybe we need to get Dean some pictures, then."
"Of course. You know, it probably won't be long before he starts volunteering to take her to the park."
"'Cause women flock to a man with a baby."
She shrugged again. "I don't know why. I think it awakens a genetic memory or something." She flushed. "There's just something sexy about a big, strong man holding a little baby in his arms. Especially when he knows what he's doing."
Sam looked at her, moving his index to touch her cheek, lightly. "Good to know."
She tilted her head. "Didn't I tell you that already?"
It was Sam's turn to feel warm. "Well, you said you thought I was, but I didn't know it was a general consensus thing."
Liz laughed out loud as Sam pulled the car to a stop in front of her place.
He had to moved his arm from her shoulders in order to put the car in park and remove the keys, but then he turned to look at her. He put his arm up on the back of the bench seat and reached his hand out to touch her hair as it draped over her shoulder.
She looked up at him and bit her lip. "Sam?"
Distracted by the way she bit her lip and the way it was making him feel, he responded. "Hmm?"
She tilted her head, her expression changing. "What are you thinking?"
His eyebrows rose. "What?"
She smiled again. "What were you thinking just now - not what you think you should have been thinking, I want to know exactly what you were thinking?"
His eyes dipped, his smile seeming embarrassed. "Oh, ah," he chuckled. "How do you know I was thinking of something to tell you instead of being honest?"
"Because I know you're probably thinking about propriety and I don't think what you were thinking was 'proper'."
His eyebrows rose. "Wow! Lizbeth Quinlan: Straight Shooter."
"And this surprises you why?"
He turned to face her a little more and used his arm around her to pull her a little closer. "I guess it doesn't."
"So what were you thinking - and don't think I didn't notice how you tried to change the subject. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking about how beautiful you are and how I'd like to kiss you."
"Beautiful?"
"How do you do that?"
"Is 'beautiful' the word you were thinking?" she grasped his knee, digging her fingers into it.
He jumped. "Okay!' Sam laughed. "No. I wasn't thinking beautiful!' He sobered and put his hand on hers. "But I do think you're beautiful."
"And what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking you are so sexy it's distracting and how I just want to spend hours kissing you."
She bit her lip with a smile and leaned toward him, easing up the pressure of her fingers on his knee. "Now, was that so painful?"
He touched his left index finger to her cheek. "Excruciating," he growled, pulling her closer, capturing her lips with his own.
She responded without hesitation and moved her hands into his hair.
When he pulled back from her, kissing her twice lightly before looking into her eyes. "I hope you don't mind that my first instinct is to try to be proper."
She smiled and touched his cheek. "I don't at all. I just needed you to know that, after my last relationship, I need honesty."
He frowned. "Of course."
"Despite what he wrote in that letter, Jackson never told me that he didn't want to have kids." She dipped her head, looking at his chest. "He said that he couldn't see himself as a father 'any time soon'." She scoffed. "But that isn't unusual. I mean, did you think of yourself as a father before Mary was born?"
He smiled.
"Oh!" she gasped. "There I go again! Confusing wishes with reali—"
He put three fingers on her lips.
Her blue eyes were wide as she looked up at him.
"No. I didn't see myself as a father before Mary. I do, now. And I don't mind that you think of me that way. I'm honored that you do, in fact."
She relaxed. Then she smiled and lifted one eyebrow.
He tilted his head. "I never thought of this. It seems like an effective way to get you to stop talking."
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she poked him in the side with her index finger, making him jump and move his hand. "You're evil!" she pronounced.
"Good thing you're a hunter, then," he chuckled.
She bit her lip. "There's another, more effective way to get me to stop talking."
He smiled, looking down at her lips. Then he leaned forward to touch his lips to hers again, enjoying her cool fingers on his cheek.
When he released her again, he looked at the time on his phone. "Should we go inside?"
"I'm torn," she smiled. "Between wanting more of this and wanting to check on Dean and Bobby alone with Mary for the first time for any stretch of time."
He smiled and kissed her lightly. "C'mon."
He opened the driver's side door and reached for her hand, helping her out of the same side. When she straightened, he pressed her against the car and kissed her deeply. She grasped his shirt and released a throaty groan.
He pulled back and took her hand, leading her silently to the door of her apartment, where she unlocked it and led him up the stairs. Halfway up, she turned to look at him.
His eyebrows were up when he dragged his eyes from her chest to her face.
She smiled and cupped his face, leaning into him to kiss him.
He responded by putting his hand on her waist and kissing her back.
When she pulled back, she smiled and dipped her chin. "I couldn't help myself."
He smiled and touched her hair. "I thought you were going to scold me for watching your, uhm,…" his eyes moved downward, then back up. "… as you climbed the stairs."
Her jaw dropped and she laughed. Turning to resume her climb, she asked. "Like the view?"
His eyes moved to her hips again. "Absolutely."
She laughed and turned to look at him, touching his cheek. "Good," she whispered, biting her lip.
He pulled her to him again and kissed her.
A light filtered down the stairs from the door above, but then the stairwell darkened again.
They stopped kissing and, with his hands still on her waist, they turned to look up the stairs.
She looked back at him. "I guess that's our cue."
He smiled. He touched her lips with his again, lightly, removing his hands.
She turned around, taking his hand as she resumed ascending the stairs. Upon arriving at the top, she tested the door without using her key.
Bobby was there, frowning at them, as Mary cried in the other room. "Good, you're here! We can't get her to stop crying."
Liz frowned. "Really? Dean can't get her to stop?" she moved past Bobby and into Mary's room where Dean was gently bouncing her, singing Led Zeppelin just loud enough to be heard over her cries.
"Oh, it's Dean's fault she's like this," Bobby groused, looking up at concerned Sam. "He decided to take his 'fun uncle routine' all the way and got her overstimulated."
Liz took Mary from Dean and put her on the changing table.
"I just changed her," Dean said.
Liz nodded. "Good." She opened the blanket Mary was wrapped in and began to re-wrap it in such a way that Mary looked like a burrito, with no room for her arms and legs to move. Then she turned to Dean and placed the baby in his arms again. "White noise," she said, softly. "Ssshh-ssshhh-ssshhh…"
Dean began to repeat after her, and she guided him to sway slightly, swaying with them.
Mary began to quiet and was soon asleep.
Dean's green eyes met Liz's smiling blue eyes. "That was amazing."
Liz tilted her head to the crib with a smile and Dean walked Mary over and put her in the crib.
They walked out of the room, where Sam and Bobby expressed the same wonder.
"When she gets overstimulated, the movement of her own body upsets her as much as anything. Swaddling her confines her and white noise gives her a sound that her brain doesn't feel the need to figure out. Both are very calming." She smiled, walking the men back to the grand room. "Of course, it won't work at all if she's at all hungry, dirty, too cold, too warm, or gassy."
She looked at them. "I've had to learn a lot in the past five and a half weeks."
"Well, it's impressive!" Bobby said. "And now that idjit will know what to do for the next time."
"Yeah. You gotta show me that burrito thing," Dean nodded.
"Uh, me, too!" Sam added.
"I will," she nodded.
"So how did it go?" Dean asked.
Liz smiled and looked up at Sam, who glared at Dean.
"Are you kidding me?!" Bobby looked at Dean as if he'd lost his mind. "God, how your brother hasn't stabbed you in your face yet is beyond me!" Bobby looked at Liz. "Lizzy, I'm sorry! We'll be leaving now."
Liz chuckled. "Okay."
Sam followed them to the door, but paused as they moved down the stairs. "Liz," he started as she stepped toward him.
"I had a really great time," she said, touching his arm.
He smiled. "Me, too," his hands touched her hips as he bent to kiss her. Their kiss was gentle and sweet - and interrupted by Dean yelling up the stairs.
"Sam! You comin'?!"
He groaned and pressed his forehead to hers. "I am going to stab him in his face one day."
She smiled at him. "Nah." She touched her lips to his lightly. "Maybe in the heart, but never in the face."
He chuckled. "You're probably right." He kissed her again. "Good night, Liz."
She touched his face. "Good night, Sam. See you tomorrow."
He nodded. "See you then."
#
#
It was a warm Monday afternoon, a few days later, when Liz leaned against the driver's side front corner panel of Baby as Dean worked under the hood. He looked over at her ever slimming form.
"Hey, there, Liz."
"Hey, Dean. You just reminded me that I need an oil change."
He grinned, straightening as he grabbed a towel to wipe his hands. "I can do that."
"Brought you a beer." She held it out to the side.
He stepped over to where she was and accepted the beer. "Thanks."
She nodded, taking a sip from the other bottle she held. "Dean, do you remember when you said you'd be willing to sacrifice for the sake of my libido?"
Dean choked and put his hand to his mouth to keep the beer from escaping. He swallowed. "What?!"
"I was complaining about how hard it was being pregnant and you were being nice. And you said that, if you had known me when my second trimester started, you would have helped out."
Dean's eyebrows furrowed over widened eyes as he looked down at her. "I remember the conversation," he said, cautiously.
She nodded. "Good."
He looked around, then back at her. "Why?"
"I need a favor."
His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline and his green eyes widened. "What?! Uh…" he frowned, drawing his eyebrows together and looking down at the ground in front of him. Then looked at her with one narrowed eye, clearly trepidatious. "What kind of favor?"
She bit her lip and looked over at him. Then her eyebrows came together and surprise registered on her face. She straightened and tilted her head, looking at him. "Are you okay?"
He swallowed. "Well, it depends on the favor you're going to ask."
Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled. "Babysitting, you nut! Oh, my god! Relax!" She laughed, pushing his shoulder enough to move him a little.
Relief covered his face. "Oh! That!" He brought his eyebrows together over laughing eyes. "Of course!"
"Did you seriously think that I started dating your brother but would come to you for that?"
He chuckled. "Well, I might have been worried for a second." He took a swig from the beer. "Maybe a nano-second."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Wait." Dean's eyebrows rose. "Does that mean you're going to Sam for that?"
Her face flushed again, not looking at him. "Maybe."
He grinned, putting his beer to his lips. "Well, good. It'll be about time that he loses his virginity."
Liz spit out the beer she'd just brought into her mouth. "WHAT?!" she started laughing and looked at him to find him laughing. She pushed his shoulder again. "God, you're such a nut!"
Dean grinned and nodded.
She chuckled and took another swig of beer, shaking her head again.
"So, when's the big date?"
She shook her head. "We're supposed to go out on Friday."
Dean frowned. "Why wait so long?"
She groaned. "Because Sam thinks it's best if we take our time." She leaned her head back against his shoulder. "We went out last Friday, as you know. We see each other practically every day. But he wants to wait until Friday to have another date."
Dean grinned. "Well, he needs to understand that you're in dire straits."
"Right?!"
He chuckled. "So, how are we doing this?"
She straightened and turned to him, smiling. "You've always been my favorite."
He smiled as his eyebrows rose. "Oh, I seriously doubt that." He chuckled and patted her leg. "But I'm good at being your second favorite."
She grinned. "So, I was thinking about picking him up for dinner. You come over kind of early to stay with Mary, then I'll go pick up Sam. We'll go to dinner - will you be okay with staying with her all night?"
His eyebrows rose. "All night? Wow, Liz! Am I gonna have a brother when you're finished with him?"
She smiled, widely. "I can't promise anything."
Dean laughed.
She sobered. "I don't know if I will be able to stay away from her all night, but just in case, can you stay?"
He put his arm around her. "I got you, Liz."
She hugged him. "Thanks, Dean. So this evening could end right after dinner, a little while after dinner or around breakfast."
"If I know my brother, it will last as long as you want it to ."
"Yeah?"
"You don't know he's crazy about you?"
She looked up at him. "'Crazy'?"
He frowned. "Hell, yeah! Ask him!" He looked across the scrapyard where Sam had come out of Bobby's house with Mary in his arms. "I've always wanted him to have kids. You know, a normal life?" He didn't meet her eyes as he continued. "Even if he never has a kid that is biologically his, he'll never walk away from her. None of us will."
She smiled. "And if that 'normal life' means no more hunting?"
Dean shrugged. "Then he stops hunting."
"Maybe we all could…"
Dean looked down at her then. He frowned, then nodded again. "Maybe."
She scoffed and said, "Yeah" like it was a far-fetched idea. Then she straightened. "Well, I'd better get back to her."
"Let me get her. You go make out with Sam - then bring your car over here so I can change your oil," he threw his towel at Baby, then began to walk toward the house as Liz followed him.
"Make out with—?! Dean!"
Dean's shrug involved his shoulders and his entire face. "What? Give him a preview of coming attractions."
"You are incorrigible."
"That's pronounced 'uncle'."
"Nut!" She caught up with him and grabbed his arm.
They arrived at the foot of the steps going up to Bobby's porch, grinning.
"What are you two up to?"
"Makin' plans, Sammy!"
"Dean agreed to babysit on Friday."
"And Liz said I'm her favorite."
She laughed out loud at Sam's look as she climbed the steps and looked at her sleeping daughter in his arms. "What is it about the Winchester men that keeps Mary content?"
Sam grinned at her. "She must know she's safe and loved."
She grinned up at him and rose to her toes.
He dipped to touch his lips lightly to hers. When they pulled back, his blue-green eyes caressed her face in a way that warmed her to her core and made her wish it was Friday.
"Oh, get a room!" Dean grumbled, climbing the steps. "C'mon, Mary, let Mom and 'Dad' get mushy without us."
Sam's eyebrows rose, and he handed his charge to his brother, who took her inside. Sam took Liz's hand, then. "How'd your doctor's appointment go?"
She smiled. "Only good news. Totally cleared to resume all normal activities. No more light duty."
He smiled down at her. "Good. I know the limitations have been hard on you." He took a step down from the porch.
She pulled his hand so that he didn't go any further. She stepped closer to him. "Yeah, well, I have no patience." She put her arms on his shoulders and moved even closer.
He put his hands on her waist. From where he was standing on the first step below her, they were almost eye level as she moved even closer to him. He moved one hand from her waist to her cheek. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit."
He closed the distance between them by leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers.
She pressed against him, kissing him back as her hands wove into his hair.
His hand on her waist moved up to her back and held her tightly against him as his mouth explored hers.
"Aw, jeez!" Bobby grumbled from the door. "Get a room!"
They broke apart and she giggled as he pressed his forehead against hers and smiled at her. Finally, he took her hand and guided her down the stairs back to her car, where Sam pulled open the back door.
Her eyebrows rose. "This does not constitute 'a room'."
He smiled. "No, but it is a semi-private location that I can use to hold you without the peanut gallery weighing in."
She grinned. "You're such a sweet talker!"
He grinned back at her and waited for her to get in, then moved to the other side and got in next to her, pulling her to him and recapturing her lips with his in the privacy of her backseat.
#
#
"Dean, I need a favor."
Dean lifted his head from where he was reclining on Bobby's couch. "You, too?"
Sam frowned. "What?"
"Nothing. What?"
"You're babysitting on Friday at Liz's place, right?"
Dean's eyebrows drew together, and he folded his arms across his chest as he closed his eyes. "Liz told you I was."
"I wondered if you'd put flowers in her bedroom for me."
Dean's eyes opened, and he moved his head to look at his brother sitting at the desk, eyebrows furrowed together and raised. "What?"
"Just pick up some flowers from Johnson's or the market down the street and put them in her room." Sam didn't look at his brother.
Dean stared at Sam.
Sam glanced at Dean, then frowned. "What?"
"You makin' your move on Friday? I'm not staying in the apartment while you finally lose your virginity, Sam!"
Unlike Liz's response to Dean's joke, Sam's eyebrows dropped and he frowned at Dean, wordlessly.
Dean chuckled. "Okay. Fine. I'll get some flowers. But are you sure you're not moving too fast?" he asked, resisting the urge to smile as his conversation with Liz replayed in his head.
Sam's eyebrows rose. "I don't know. Maybe it's time…"
Noticing a tone in his brother's voice, Dean sat up and looked at him, serious. "What are you thinking?"
"After Jess," Sam started and stopped, then started again. "After Jess, I never thought I'd meet someone who could make me feel like that again. And with Liz, it's different, but I can see myself happy."
Dean frowned. "Is it because of Liz or Mary?"
"Good question," Bobby said from the door.
Sam looked at Bobby, surprised. "What?"
"It's easy to see you love that kid, Sam. Hell, we all do. But you gotta look inside yourself and ask if it's Liz you want or Mary."
Sam tilted his head, clearly confused. "It's both! If not for Mary, Dean and I might not have met Liz. And, yeah, of course, I love Mary. But if Mary wasn't in the picture, I think I'd feel the same for Liz."
"You think?"
"Well, Bobby, it's like Dean said, it's still a little early. I've known her for almost four months now." He dipped his head, grateful that his hair could partially cover his face. "Though it seems like much longer."
"Probably because you've spent so much time together, just talkin'," Bobby nodded.
Dean frowned. He looked at his hands. "Listen, and I know a little about this, when you get with a woman with a kid, it can't be about you. Taking care of that kid is a first priority, but you gotta know how you feel about the mom. It's not fair to the kid if you don't."
Sam looked at Dean, knowing that he was talking about Lisa and Ben, the mother and son that Dean had tried, and failed, to build a life with. He nodded.
"Other than that. Yeah, I'll get your flowers."
Bobby frowned at Dean and curled his lip. "Flowers?"
Dean shrugged. "He wants flowers. Think he's tryin' to be romantic or something?"
"Aw!" Bobby said, looking at Sam. "Going full girlfriend mode, huh?"
Grateful the serious talk was over, Sam chuckled. "Something like that."
#
#
Liz smiled at Sam as she drove. "I hope this doesn't violate your sense of propriety, but I wanted to take you out. Plan everything out and maybe surprise you a little."
Sam's eyebrows rose and he shook his head, his hair falling forward. "Not at all!" He looked forward. "I'm curious. Does Dean know?"
"He knows that I'm taking you out and that it might be a late night."
"He has all the appropriate phone numbers?"
She flushed as she smiled. "Is that sass?"
"Just making sure he has the ice cream shop's number, if needed."
She glanced at him and tried to frown, but failed. "I could take you back to Bobby's," she threatened softly.
He chuckled. "So, where are we going?"
"Ever had tapas?"
His eyebrows rose. "Really?"
She chuckled. "Well, it has an American twist."
"So lots of sharing plates," he nodded. "Works for me. Great way to try new food."
The restaurant was small and had an intimate feel with tables for two and four, dark woods and bronze fixtures. There was a bar along one wall with a mirror behind shelves of many different liquors and a glass door that Sam could see contained multitudes of wine bottles.
For a moment, Sam wondered if he shouldn't have worn his Fed suit instead of dark jeans and a button-down, especially given Liz's wrap dress and sandals. Then he looked at the other patrons and saw that most were dressed more casually.
The hostess took them to a table for two in a corner of the restaurant.
Sam tilted his hand when he saw the arrangement. The two chairs were on adjacent sides of the table. He glanced at her and she smiled at him.
He pulled her chair out and she sat down, then he sat in the other chair. The hostess handed them menus and told them their waiter, Julio, would be out shortly.
"I don't know what you think of wines, but they have a flight thing that allows you to try six different wines."
He nodded, looking over the menu. "Let's do that, then, and then what?"
"Well, they have an assortment of small plates. I figure we pick four or six and share them."
He nodded again. Then looked surprised. "Sliders?"
She smiled at him behind the menu. "I told you it has an American twist."
Julio, a young man with an accent, came to take their order and they placed their entire order.
Sam kept one of the menus, just in case, and set it on the side. Then he took her hand in his. "So you told Dean it would be a late night?"
"I said it might be."
"Why?"
"Uhm…" she bit her lip and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I reserved us a room across the street, if you're interested?"
His eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. "What?"
She shook her head. "If you're not interested, I can cancel the reservation. Not a problem."
He leaned toward her. "Liz, it's not that I'm not interested. I am! I don't know if we need a hotel room…"
She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, pulling her hand from his. "Listen, if we had a 'normal'" she used her fingers to make air-quotes around the word, "relationship, maybe living with each other, with a kid and we had 'normal'" again with the finger quotes, "jobs, I'd be on maternity leave and you wouldn't have made it to work on Tuesday."
He frowned at this seeming change in subject. "Why not?"
She tilted her head and looked at him. "I found out I was cleared on Monday. I would have come home and…" she grinned, looking to the side. "You wouldn't have made it into work on Tuesday."
His eyebrows rose. "Really?"
She bit her lip and shrugged one shoulder.
"And you waited until today to say anything?"
"You said we should take it slow."
He leaned in a dropped his voice. "And I meant that, but it's been, what nearly eleven months for you?"
She nodded. "How long has it been for you?"
Sam dipped his head. "A long time."
She smiled. "Well, I'd be willing to help you out if you're willing to help me out."
He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Deal."
She smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that." She flushed. "That's why I asked Dean to stay with Mary late tonight."
He tilted his head. "How late?"
She shrugged a shoulder. "Until breakfast if we want it."
His eyebrows almost met his hairline. "Breakfast?"
Her eyebrows rose, and she straightened. "I mean we don't have to stay out… I told him we could come home immediately after dinner, a little while after dinner or around breakfast. Anything in between."
Sam reached for her hand again. "You know, we could just go back to your place. If it's going to happen, it can happen there as well as a hotel room."
"First, 'if'?" she asked with her eyebrows raised.
"'When'?"
She chuckled. "But you're not going to want Dean sticking around while you're gettin' lucky and if Mary wakes up with just you and I there, we'd have to stop whatever we might be doing to tend to her."
Sam looked thoughtful, then nodded. "I guess you're right." Then he smiled and chuckled.
She looked curious. "What?"
He leaned toward her and glanced around the room, which caused her to lean toward him. His breath traveled across her cheek and ear as he spoke.
"Should we get the food to go?"
She laughed, then turned her head to look at him.
He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her softly when her lips were within reach. She touched his chest until he pulled back.
Just in time for Julio to bring their flight of wine.
#
#
After dinner, he took her hand, and they walked across the street to the hotel. Once there, they checked in and then, hand in hand, walked to their room. She opened the door and walked in. He followed and reached for the light switch.
"Leave the lights off," she said softly.
He frowned at her. "But I want to see you," he said as he turned on the lamp.
She shook her head, smiling in a way that told him how nervous she was. "It's not a pretty sight."
He frowned deeply and put his hands to her waist, pulling her closer. "Why would you say that? You're beautiful."
She flushed. "Not under all this. Post-pregnancy body. Stretch marks, still carrying some weight…"
He took her hand and led her to the bed where he sat on the end and looked up at her. "Show me."
She pulled up to her full height. "What?!"
He reached out and took her hand. "Remember when you said that you needed complete honesty from me? Well, I need that, too." He tilted his head to catch her eyes, his eyebrows drawn together. "Now, I think you're beautiful and sexy and very desirable." His eyes moved down the length of her body and back to her face. "I can't imagine anything changing my mind. But I want you to be comfortable with me, no matter what. So, show me."
She tilted her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you for real?"
He lifted his chin and looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"
She frowned. "Of course."
"I mean, really trust me?"
"Yes!"
He smiled at her. "Then show me. Trust me, Lizbeth. Show me." His eyebrows drew together and rose. "Please."
She swallowed, then nodded and stepped back, pulling her hand from his. She untied the ribbon from her dress on her hip and allowed her dress to open, pulling it back to sit on her shoulders. She looked upwards as she waited for his scrutiny.
He reached for her hips and pulled her closer.
She frowned until she felt his lips on her belly.
"Sam?"
He looked up at her. "I need to tell you something and I need for you to hear it, Lizbeth."
She frowned, but nodded, placing her hands lightly on his shoulders.
"First, you are as beautiful as any woman I've ever known. More."
She scoffed, then stopped when she saw his look.
"Second, how can I think these things you're worried about are anything but beautiful? They are evidence of a beautiful woman who had a baby despite being totally alone. You shouldn't think of them as imperfections; and they're not scars. They're badges. Badges of accomplishment. You brought a life into this world, Liz! And, whatever you might think about them, I think you're perfect. As perfect as your daughter."
He put his hands on her hips and pulled her close. He pressed his lips to her middle.
She felt emotion bubble up from her chest to her eyes and breathed deeply, blinking furiously, as her hands moved into his hair as he lightly peppered kisses along her belly.
He pulled from her and looked up to see a glaze in her eyes. In a fluid movement, he stood, wrapping his arm around her, under her dress and pulling her leg up to his hip as he did, lifting her off her feet. As her dress fell from her shoulders, he turned and lay her on the bed, his lips finding hers as her head touched down on the pillow, moving his arm from behind her to touch her face as he kissed her.
She clung to him, half afraid this incredibly sweet man wasn't real and would disappear if she let go.
He pulled back, supporting himself on his hands on either side of her shoulders and looked down at her, his hair framing his face as his eyes searched hers.
She reached up and took a lock of his hair between her fingers. "Sam," she whispered.
His hand touched her cheek. "I've changed my mind about the hotel."
Her eyebrows rose, then she smiled. "Really?"
"Yeah. Because I'm gonna take my time and show you exactly how beautiful I think you are."
She bit her lip and moved her hand from his hair to his cheek. Then she grinned. "Bring it," she whispered, rising to meet him.
#
#
She lay on his chest, tracing his anti-possession tattoo, lazily, when he spoke.
"Do you really want to stay until breakfast?"
She lifted her head and looked at him. "Do you?"
He smiled at her. "If you really want to."
She tilted her head. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Do you?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "How is it you know me so well?"
"Tell me."
"I want to. I want to rest for a little while and then…" she pinked, biting her lip and looking downward at his chest. She took a deep breath. "But I also feel like I'm neglecting Mary."
He smiled. "Then we go home. We'll send Dean back to Bobby's and I'll stay with you until after breakfast - but at your place."
She looked into his eyes and found them looking at her with a gentle smile. She reached to touch her lips to his. When she pulled back, she looked at him again.
He smiled. "But in a little bit," he said, pulling her to him again as she laughed.
#
#
It was after midnight when Sam and Liz returned to her apartment. Just as he had the week before, he kissed her thoroughly as soon as they were out of the car - and again in the stairwell.
They entered the apartment and found Dean feeding Mary as her blue eyes searched his. He was singing "Simple Man" as he swayed through the grand room.
"Observe:" Liz whispered, looking up at Sam, then back at Dean, who looked at them. "The domesticated Dean."
Dean chuckled. "Not quite. But for my girl, here, I'll pretend."
Sam smiled.
"You kids missed curfew," he added. "Things not go well?"
Liz smiled and looked up at Sam, a blush entering her cheek.
He smiled. "Dinner was delicious, Dean," he said, firmly.
As Mary finished the bottle, Dean lifted her to his shoulder. "Oh, I wasn't asking about dinner."
"Dean," Liz warned and walked over to him. "Here, I'll take her." She took the blanket from his shoulder, the child from his hands, and the bottle and walked into Mary's bedroom.
"So…" Dean's eyebrows bounced.
"So, I don't need a ride back to Bobby's. You can go ahead without me," Sam smiled at his brother, knowing his brother wanted so much more information than he was going to get.
"Okay, then!" He leaned forward. "The flowers are in the bedroom, as requested," he whispered.
Sam nodded. "Thanks."
Dean nodded and rubbed his hands on his jeans, looked back toward Mary's bedroom, and grabbed his jacket. Shrugging it on, he smiled. "Guess I'll be on my way."
As Dean was leaving, he turned to look at Sam, glancing behind him toward the hallway containing the bedrooms, then back at his brother. He put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and raised the other hand to level at him. "Listen. Have fun, but make sure you use protection."
"Dean!"
Liz's voice made Dean's eyes widen even as Sam was knocking his hands away with a look.
Both Sam and Dean turned to look at her, holding an empty bottle with an incredulous look on her face as she shook her head.
"There's no line with you, is there?"
Dean looked upward, thoughtfully, then back at her with a smile. "Haven't found one yet."
"Haven't—get out!" She pointed to the door, trying to frown, but failing. "Nut!"
"Okay, but I'm gonna want details…" he looked up and Sam, who was clearly unamused, then to Liz, raising his eyebrows and pointed at her. "Juicy ones."
She laughed and shook her head as she walked into the kitchen with the bottle.
He grinned. "Good night, kids!"
Sam pushed his brother out the door, then closed it behind him. Then he turned and walked into the kitchen.
She was washing the bottle Mary had just finished when he found her.
He took a moment to admire her: the musculature of her calves disappearing under the hem of her dress, the curve of her hips and the perfect shape of her ass, her small waist and the gentle breadth of her back. He admired the tone of her shoulders and arms. And the fact that she'd swept her hair up into a clip on the back of her head gave him an idea.
He moved closer to stand behind her. "Hey," he whispered into her ear as his hands touched her hips.
Her intake of breath indicated that she'd not heard him come in. She smiled and looked up at him. "Hey, there."
He widened his stance and bent his legs slightly, so that he was closer to her height and leaned down to press his lips to the skin at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
She gasped, softly, at the sensation, and her hands stilled.
He smiled against her skin and moved his lips to her ear, then down to her neck again. He used his tongue to trace a line to her spine and up to her hairline. As he worked, he noticed her hands come out of the water and grasp the edge of the sink as she rose to her toes to get closer to him. He released her hips and put his hands over hers, weaving his fingers with hers.
She moaned softly, encouraging him to continue. Her grip on his hands tightened when he returned to her earlobe.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear as he moved back and used her grasp on his hand to pull her around to face him, then he released her hands and captured her face in his hands, taking possession of her lips, bending her back over the sink, slightly. His tongue touched her lips and they parted for him.
Her hands snaked up his chest and into his hair, clinging to him as she responded to his attention.
He pulled from her and pressed his head against hers, looking down at her body. His green-blue eyes had darkened when they met hers, which were now more grey than blue. "Mary asleep?"
"Yeah," she whispered.
He kissed her lightly, then looked down at her body. "You know," he said, moving his hands to her waist. "I really like this dress." His long fingers untied the dress, allowing it to fall open.
She smiled. "You do, do you?"
"Oh, yeah."
She reached up and kissed him as she took his hand and brought it to cover her breast. "Then I should get one for every day of the week," she whispered.
He closed his eyes, allowing the idea to sink in as he enjoyed the feeling of her. He growled and captured her lips again, kissing her in a way that she felt it in her core. Then he pulled back and bent, picking her up.
She gasped her surprise but smiled as he turned and carried her to her bedroom, taking her turn at attacking his neck.
#
#
Sam woke to find Liz wasn't in bed with him. He frowned and looked around the room. Across the room, she was wearing his shirt as she fed Mary, smelling the flowers Dean had put in a vase on the table by the window.
"What time is it?" He rose to his elbow and pushed his hair from his face, looking at her.
She turned to look at him with a smile. "About 4:30. She's sleeping a little longer at night."
He smiled. "Soon, she'll be sleeping through the night."
Liz nodded.
"I like you in my shirt," he smiled, sitting up more.
She grinned. "As much as you like my dress?"
"Almost as much as I like you out of both."
Her eyebrows rose and her smile widened as she flushed. "Good to know. Does that mean I can raid your closet?"
His eyebrows rose. "What?"
She shrugged. "Big, soft flannels are comfy."
"Only if you model them for me," he chuckled. "But then I'll probably give them to you, and what will I be left to wear?"
Liz looked down at Mary, pulled the bottle from her and set it on the table as she began to burp her daughter. "You look pretty good in a t-shirt." She looked at his exposed bare chest. "Or without one."
Sam felt the heat rise to his face. He cleared his throat. "Why don't you bring her over here?"
Liz shook her head. "I intend to take this little girl back to her bed as soon as she—" Mary released a burp. Liz laughed. "Change her and set her back to sleep. Then I will come back and join you."
"Not done wearing me out?"
She shook her head and shrugged one shoulder as she headed for the door. "I told you I'd be insatiable."
He grinned after her and settled back in the bed to wait for her return.
#
#
Sam emerged from the bedroom, hair damp from showering, dressed in last night's clothes - without the flannel she was wearing, again. He moved into the kitchen to find her cooking. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple.
"What's for breakfast?"
"Eggs and bacon."
"Bacon?"
She grinned. "Uncured, so no sulfites, and you should always have a high-protein meal after a good workout."
He chuckled. "Well, don't tell Dean. He'll be miffed that he can't get me to eat bacon, but you did."
She grinned, looking up at him from the pan. "Of course, because I'm cuter than he is."
"Mmm, yes, you definitely are." He touched his lips to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, remembering her reaction from last night - or was it this morning?
She inhaled deeply and leaned back, just the way she had last night.
He smiled. "You're going to burn the bacon," he rumbled into her ear.
"Yeah, but who cares?" she moaned.
He chuckled and straightened. "Do you really want your apartment to smell like burned bacon?"
She picked up the pan and moved it from the burner to the back of the stove. Then she turned in his arms. "No. But I really like the neck thing you do."
He grinned down at her. "I thought you might." Then he looked down at her chest covered by his flannel and then back to her eyes. "Anything else?"
She reached up to put her hands behind his neck and rose to her toes. "Oh, so much more!" She whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
He kissed her back, then looked into her eyes. He groaned and pressed his forehead to hers. "If we keep this up, the food will go bad and I may never leave."
She grinned. "So my diabolical plan has succeeded? I mean, not the food part, of course."
He chuckled, lightly kissing her nose. "Why don't we eat, then we'll discuss your diabolical plan?"
"Oh, so you're hungry."
His eyebrows rose as he smiled. "Yes. In more ways than one, but food first."
She laughed and pushed him away as she returned her attention to the stove. She began to make the eggs and moved the bacon to a paper towel.
Sam stepped back and leaned on the opposite counter, watching her. "Can I do something?"
"Uhm, well, you can pull out two dishes from the cupboard over your shoulder and in that drawer you're standing in front of is a key I would like you to have."
He'd straightened and was in the process of turning to get the dishes when his hand stopped. He looked in the drawer and found the key sitting alone in the drawer. "What's this to?" he asked.
"Well, I figured it would just make it easier for you to have a key so you can come and go as you like. If I'm at work, for example, and you wanted to come to spend time with Mary, you wouldn't have to go to the store, find me, get the key, like you have before."
He turned to look at her, eyebrows raised. "You're giving me a key to your place?"
She lifted a shoulder, then glanced at him, moving the eggs from the heat. "Too soon?"
"Well, yeah, I guess, but I'm not objecting." He moved to her and grabbed her face, pressing his lips to hers. "Thank you," he murmured.
She smiled and touched his arm. "You're very welcome. Anytime…and Sam?"
He nodded. "Yeah?"
"I mean any time," she smiled.
The smell of the bacon and eggs cut short his kiss this time. "Maybe after breakfast?"
She laughed, pulling from him. "Plate?"
A couple hours later, breakfast eaten and cleaned up, another visit to the bedroom, and Mary fed and placed in the playpen in the living room, Liz walked Sam to the door.
He touched her cheek. "I'll call you."
She smiled. "I'll be waiting."
He kissed her lightly, fearing that if he went too far, he'd never leave.