Once they were out of the house Sophie was like a whole different person. Her scent permeated the car and Dean could tell she was really starting to relax.
"It's a pretty car," she said.
"You like it?" Dean asked.
"I don't know much about it," Sophie admitted, "But it's pretty. Different."
He'd taken the Impala today. Figured he should save his boring GMC work truck for once he felt more confident she already liked him.
"I'm glad you like it," Dean said, "You don't have to stay way over there you know."
He gestured at her position tucked up against the passenger side window.
"One of the perks of this thing being old is you can get as close as you want," he kept his voice light. Made sure it sounded like an invitation rather than a command.
She stayed still a silent for a long moment, then moved to sit close to him.
"So where are we going?" Sophie asked.
"Home," Dean said, "Chicago. Naperville, specifically. It'll be about two hours still. You good?"
"Yeah," Sophie said, voice bright, "I am. Now."
"Now?" Dean prompted.
"Sonny wasn't a bad guy," Sophie said, "It just…it's a very broken system. And it was wearing on me."
"I believe that," Dean said.
"Especially because…" Sophie bit her lip and trailed off.
"Whatever it is I want to know," Dean prompted, "We've got what…thirteen days to decide if we want to spend forever with each other. That doesn't leave a lot of time for avoiding difficult subjects."
"In that case," Sophie said, "You should know why I got turned down so many times."
"Go ahead," Dean encouraged, "No judgement. Promise."
"Really?" Sophie sounded skeptical, "No judgement?"
"I'll elaborate later," Dean said, "Now talk."
Sophie pulled her long braid over to the opposite shoulder, and Dean caught a glimpse of a black claiming bite on her neck. His chest constricted at the sight. She'd been mated. And her alpha had died.
"Carson and I got together before I presented actually," Sophie said, "We were in college. And I had this huge crush on him. He was an Alpha. And I knew…even before…there was no way I was an Alpha. So whatever happened we figured it'd be fine. And we started dating. And about a year after I presented Omega he took me. Things were good. We finished Schoo, got jobs, moved to Virginia. It was…kind of perfect. We were gonna have babies. And then we were driving back from a late dinner for his work. And a drunk driver t-boned the car. And he died."
She fell silent.
"And that's how you ended up at Sonny's?" Dean asked.
Sophie nodded.
"They gave me six months to grieve," she said.
Silence fell for a long moment.
Dean fought to keep his emotions under control. Anger roiled beneath the surface.
"It was the best from a set of bad options," she said, "My family's from northern Michigan. So it wasn't horribly far away. My mom came and visited constantly. But…there's not a lot of room to be you. Even in a best case scenario like that. The goal is to be appealing and generic. Plus the…assaults…were…"
"We don't have to talk about that right now," Dean said, flexing his hands on the steering wheel.
He'd get upset if they talked about it. And the last thing he wanted was a wave of angry Alpha pheromones upsetting her.
"Okay," Sophie agreed, "But there's one other thing you should know."
"Which is?" Dean asked.
"The accident," Sophie said, "Left some lingering effects. I hit my head pretty hard. I have seizures now. And I lost part of the vision in my left eye. I take a lot of medication. And if I get really really tired or really really upset I still seize sometimes. Oh, and I can't drive."
"All okay," Dean assured her, "All completely okay."
"You're sure?" She asked, looking up at him, "Oh…I do also get motion sick more easily. And sometimes get motion sick when I wake up because my vision isn't compromised when I dream…"
"That's…trippy," Dean wasn't sure how else to reply.
"That's an understatement," Sophie agreed, "Where are we going first?"
"Well," Dean checked the GPS on his phone, "Before, when you were with Carson, where did you buy your clothes? Your makeup? I want you feeling and looking like yourself."
She chewed on her bottom lip and didn't reply. So he changed tactic.
"How comfortable are you being out in public?"
"Lately?" Sophie replied, "Not very. What with the vision loss and the seizures and then of course the generalized dehumanization of being a ward of the state…"
"I will take you somewhere with a personal shopper then," Dean offered.
"Okay," Sophie agreed brightly.
"I want you relaxed," Dean said, "How else are we gonna know if this is a good fit. So, we'll get you clothes, fix up your makeup how you want it. Then coffee, a miscellaneous stop of your choice, and dinner. Deal?"
"Yes sir," Sophie agreed.
"Please don't call me that," Dean sighed, exasperated.
"I won't," Sophie said, "Promise."