Rating: PG-16 Adult situations
Cassie and Missy settled into a routine. They both had jobs at the college; Cassie worked in the library while Missy was an assistant for one of the professors. Missy was still in college also trying to get her second teaching degree. They were very busy but made a point to make time to relax. They had friends over for movies at least once every weekend. Generally they hung out with other women friends because they didn’t want to be tempted into being unfaithful to Sam or Dean. It helped that the guys phoned them frequently. Cassie had college guys hitting on her at work all the time even though she was pregnant, they liked that she was friendly and helpful. Sometimes she felt drawn to men that were available to spend time with her but she loved Dean, he had her heart in a firm grip.
Cassie began to see the other Dean around campus immediately after Dean left town. The apparition would show up in the library almost every day; generally he sat reading and if she noticed him he would smile but he never approached her. It was more than a little disconcerting at first. Cassie started to feel Dean was some how producing this other person to watch over her. She wasn’t sure about mentioning to him because it was comforting to her once she got used to it and she wondered if she brought up he might subconsciously stop doing whatever it was. She really hoped it corresponded with Dean’s thoughts of her because it would mean he thought of her often. That in itself was what every wife dreamed about. The other thing she wondered was could other people see him like the first time at the restaurant? If so what if someone thought he was stalking her; what would she say if that happened? She tried not to think that way most of the times instead enjoyed seeing someone that looked so much like the person she missed desperately.
They walked in one night after being gone all day and her cell rang.
“Hello?”
It was Dean who said he was worried because he had called several times and she hadn’t picked up.
“Hi Baby, I was at work then we went straight to the movies and we just got home,” she said while Missy waited patiently to speak with Sam.
Dean asked about the baby and let her know how much he missed her. She told him she would call him back when she was ready for bed so they could really talk; then she gave the phone to Missy so she could speak with Sam.
Cassie went in for her shower thinking about Dean, wishing he was with her. Once she was in bed she phoned him back.
“Some times its worse when I talk to you just hearing your voice makes me eager to touch you. When do you think you will be back?” she asked sadly.
He echoed her emotions while he let her know she was always on his mind, she smiled at that, but he didn’t know when they would be home. She told him she was considering a home birth and she wanted him to train and study with her midwife when he got back. Dean was quiet for a while.
“Dean?”
“I think it’s a good idea if you feel up to it,” he finally said as he tried to hide is emotions while he thought about the birth of their baby.
Cassie was glad he seemed eager to be involved.
“So what are you wearing tonight?” She asked ready to move on into their intimate conversation.
“What I always wear to bed, nothing,” Dean laughed ready to play the game that helped get them through their time apart.
The next morning Cassie realized it was time for her to buy actual maternity clothes since all of her things where too tight.
“Missy.”
Missy came to the room thinking Cassie needed some help.
“We have to go shopping this weekend; Missy rolled her eyes.
“I told you you couldn’t get away with wearing regular clothes for much longer.”
“Yea, I know. You’ll go with me right, I don’t want to look frumpy,” Cassie insisted.
Missy agreed to make time to help her best friend do the think she had begged her to do for weeks.
Sam was surprised to hear Cassie wanted to have the baby at home.
“It is totally her she likes things done the natural way, why are you surprised?” Dean asked.
“Are you really okay with it?”
“Yes, Cassie says it’s healthier especially for people our age, I mean what’s more natural than having a baby, right?”
Sam nodded.
“I guess.”
Dean was thinking about their baby a lot lately, he wondered how big Cassie had gotten in almost two months. They really needed to go back he hated missing this time with her it was beginning to bug him. Sam could tell he had begun to be easily irritated.
It was two weeks later on a weekend when Cassie received a visit at home from her apparition Dean. She knew it was him mostly because he rang the bell. She let him in but she just stared at him; the last time she had been this close to him had been almost two years ago at the restaurant. He sat down on the sofa before he said anything he still had the comforting effect on her but it was creepy now after seeing him around all the time.
“Cassie, Dean is hurt pretty bad but he’ll be okay, it’s not good for you to be stressed so don’t worry, okay.” he said as she went into his arms.
She cried into his shoulder for a few minutes before she remembered who he was.
“I’m sorry,” she said jumping up.
Missy came to the room holding the phone.
“It’s Sam,” she said handing Cassie the phone.
Cassie bit her lip, the apparition was gone.
“What’s up?”
Sam sounded upset he told her Dean was badly hurt; he had been stabbed and lost a lot of blood, they thought he might die.
“Sam he is going to be okay,” she said calmly.
Sam insisted it was really bad; bad enough that he had tried to get John to come to the hospital. Cassie told him what the apparition had said and that seemed to settle Sam’s mind a bit.
“When?” Sam asked.
“He was just here,” She said after telling him to have Dean call as soon as he felt up to it.
When Dean finally called the next day Cassie was convince he was still watching out for the baby by keeping her calm. Dean sounded strong and told her he was coming home after he got out of the hospital. She was glad he was better and ecstatic he was coming home to her.
He showed up a week later while Cassie was in the shower. He didn’t want to scare her so he waited in the bedroom. He lay on the bed with his broken leg propped on a pillow. Cassie came out and had to blink twice; she assumed since he was in her bed it was the real Dean besides he was hurt.
“This is how you welcome your baby home?” Dean asked with a smile.
Cassie wet her lips.
“Hi baby,” she said hesitantly going over to kiss him.
He patted the spot beside him on the bed.
“I won’t bite,” he added as he looked at her curiously as he pushed her hair back behind her ear.
Finally she lay beside him with her head on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat in silence for a while; neither of them saying much. He ran his hand over her hair inhaling one of his favorites scents before he kissed her head.
“Are you okay,” he asked concerned about her silence.
“Dean, the apparition has been around a lot since you left; it’s weird I feel I like I cheated on you somehow.”
Dean smiled, “Don’t worry about that I’m starting to think it’s my gift.”
“Yea?”
Dean didn’t understand any of it but he had to admit he still had no desire to see it himself. He did see how it would be more than a little strange for someone who hadn’t spent much time around the supernatural to be a little freaked about the situation.
“You don’t have to avoid asking about the baby, Dean.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Before I kind of accused you of only being concerned about me because of the baby; I was wrong for feeling that way,” she said emotional now.
“But everything is fine, right?”
She nodded as she sat up so he could put his ear to her tummy and run his hand over it while he kissed it. Then he explained about the encounter that almost killed him. They were ambushed by Meg and her friends. It was Sam that got him out in time to get help.
“Yea I owe my little brother my life, again,” he said with his crooked trademark grin.
“Then we both owe him; we should name the baby for him,” Cassie said inspired.
“If it’s a boy he will be Sam?” Dean said.
“And Jessica for a girl,” Cassie added.
Dean thought it was a great idea but they would keep it as a surprise for Sam.
After being around a few days Dean noticed Cassie wasn’t being careful on the stairs and he was concerned that she needed to slow down but he knew he couldn’t say anything because he didn’t want to be critical. Fortunately he kept an eye on her because he was able to catch her when she did trip on the stairs despite the cast on his own leg.
“Thank you,” she said as she looked sheepishly at him.
“Slow down, please,” he said as she nodded.
She tried to take her time from that point on. Sam signed up for classes at the college because he missed going to school but Dean got a job as a mechanic. Neither of them knew how long after the baby was born they would stay around but where learning to enjoy their lives in the moment.
After more than a month Dean showed up at the library the day he got the mechanic job to tell Cassie and was a little surprised at the way she was dressed. He thought she showed a bit too much cleavage for the job she was performing but again he held his tongue.
“Hi Baby,” he said when it was his turn in line.
She smiled at him and asked him to wait for a moment. When she got a minute she walked with him to the sitting area.
“What’s going on?”
He told her he got the job and she was glad for him knowing he was tired of just hanging around the house with nothing to do while she was at work. Dean’s eyes were drawn to her bosom so he told her how he felt about her breasts being so obviously displayed. She didn’t take it well.
“I’m sorry if you find them offensive,” she replied emotionally.
“They don’t offend me I love them I just don’t want everyone else loving them,” he insisted.
He wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings but he never thought of what other men might think when they saw her until today.
“So I should wear turtle necks all the time now?”
He shook his head, this wasn’t going well and he didn’t want her upset at work.
“We should talk about this later, okay.”
Cassie agreed as she walked back inside not looking back.
Dean felt bad he hadn’t meant for it to come out the way it had. He thought she was beautiful but he really didn’t want all the college kids looking at her assets. It seemed wrong to him. She was his wife, damn it. Funny how all of a sudden he wanted to be her owner when it meant someone else may see and desire her. He spent most of his time driving the country while she stayed behind trying to build a life all the while hoping he would take some time off to be with her. He had behaved like typical male who felt like she was his property. Cassie would hate it; she wasn’t his slave but his beautiful wife that he loved with his whole heart. He sat and watched her work a few minutes but realized if she saw him she would only be more upset and he didn’t need her stressing with the baby and all. He ran into Sam and Missy on the way to the car.
“Dean?”
Hey Sammy,” turning to give him his best smile.
“What’s up?”
Dean told Sam about the fight with Cassie; Missy disagreed with Dean’s thoughts on Cassie’s clothing.
“She didn’t want to look frumpy, Dean, she a vibrant young woman she needs to feel good about herself, especially now. It has to be hard to have a good outlook when you feel big even though you know it’s only your baby that’s adding the weight. She thought you would like it,” Missy said knowing she had told Cassie’s secret.
Dean confessed until today he had enjoy her showing a little skin.
“She’s a beautiful lady you are just going to have to love her enough to accept her decisions even if you don’t agree with them,” Sam said.
Sam suggested he work on finding a way to make this up to her.
That night Dean volunteered to massage Cassie back since it was aching from her standing a lot that day.
“They should have allowed you some down time,” he said as he gently massaged her.
“It didn’t hurt then,” she said without expounding.
After a few minutes he stopped to face her.
“I’m sorry about earlier; I was just being possessive it wasn’t because I didn’t think you looked nice.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure, I like that your body is changing and so is your style even though it’s been a bit sexy,” he said nodding as he kissed her.
“It’s kind of fun to have a blossoming figure,” she replied.
He pulled a bag out of the closet and handed it to her. She smiled being the lover of gifts that she was. She removed an olive chiffon maternity top with short tulip sleeves and a v-neck out, then a pair of low cut sexy maternity jeans. Dean smiled at her expression. It was priceless.
She hugged him before she could get any words out.
“I loved this blouse when I saw it before, thank you for both of them.”
“You’re welcome, Baby.”
Dean told her how the lady at the store remembered her from when she and Missy had shopped there.
“She thought you were beautiful and not just because of your baby glow, she thinks you should model,” he said.
“No way.”
Dean nodded.
“How would you handle my receiving that type of attention?” she teased him.
“I would have to get used to it,” he confessed.
He laughed while she tried her presents on then she looked in the mirror on the closet door.
“How do I look?”
“Delicious,” he said.
He loved to talk to the baby something he never dared dream about all the years he was ghost hunting. He never thought he would marry let alone have children; Cassie had changed his entire outlook on life. She enjoyed it when they took time to just be together and talk about their baby. It didn’t happen every night so it was a special time for them. He was still getting used to seeing the baby’s foot or hand when it pushed up against her stomach. She told him it was an amazing feeling that she wished he could share. Dean agreed and was a bit jealous that he would never be able to experience it because he was the man but being the protector was something he took seriously.
When Cassie and Dean went to shop for baby furniture it was the first time that they had done anything for the baby together since the sonogram months ago. Dean was proud to be looking for cribs with Cassie. He couldn’t stop smiling and Cassie noticed.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” she smiled.
She wore her new outfit for shopping and Dean noticed how much attention she received but he wasn’t upset instead he was proud to be holding hands with the beautiful mom to be. While they were at the mall Dean bought her a few more outfits that include dresses since he loved her long legs.
They decided on all pine furniture, while the nursery was painted in yellow with white trim. Teddy bears where the theme since they were neutral. They bought a crib, changing table and a rocker before going to lunch. Cassie was satisfied that was all they needed to buy since Missy and their other friends were giving her a baby shower the following month. Dean had begun his home birth research and was practicing breathing with Cassie at home. Everything seemed to be falling in to place despite what had happened to him.
Then Dean received a call as they were leaving the shopping center from John’s phone number but it was Missouri on the line.
“Dean your father is in the hospital and you need to come,” she said.
Dean looked at Cassie as he asked how his Dad was doing and told Missouri he would call her back.
