Through His Eyes

VII

Tia was shaking violently in Dean's arms. That was a very bad idea. He shouldn't have done it, but he wanted to prove a point: That Tia couldn't get around without him. Looking back on it now, that was petty and really mean. He felt horrible. Tia's trembles and whimpers made him feel worse. He buried her face in her hair as they made it outside. "Shh," he soothed. "It's okay. I got you. I won't let anything happen to you."
"I'm not sure about that anymore," Tia replied menacingly as she fought out of Dean's arms and landed on her feet. "My eyes might not work but my legs do, thank you very much."
She held her hands out as she tried to make her way to the van. She hit the passenger window. Roman was leaning on the front of the car with Seth, waiting for them. He saw Tia and opened the backseat door for her. She nodded a thank you in the wrong direction and climbed inside but Roman said, "You're welcome," all the same.
Dean sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Never again. He occupied the backseat with Tia as Roman took the driver's seat and Seth called shotgun. Tia scooted as far from him as possible and looked out the window at a view she would never be able to see. Dean slumped in his seat, deflated.
"How long until we hit Corpus?" Tia asked Roman.
"About three hours," Roman replied as he adjusted the mirror hanging between him and Seth. He looked dead at Dean. "But we're gonna stop halfway there to get something to eat."

About an hour and a half later, they stopped in San Antonio. Roman put the car in park in front of a gas sector at Zip in Go and took the key out after cutting the engine.
"I'll fill the tank," Seth volunteered.
"I'll get the food," Roman said before turning around to Dean and Tia. "You guys'll be alright in here."
Dean nodded.
"Can I come with you Roman?" Tia asked.
"Sure, baby girl."
"I'll come too," Dean chimed in.
"That's okay," Tia said. "Roman and I got it."
Dean leaned back in his seat, frowning. Roman shrugged his shoulders at his friend in sympathy before getting out of the car, opening the door for Tia. He grabbed her hand and helped her out before slamming the backseat door closed and walking to the convenience store.
Dean leaned his head on the headrest and sighed loudly.
"Hang in there, buddy," Seth told him as he pumped gas into the car.
Some people would think that Tia was being over dramatic about what Dean did, but he didn't. He basically told Tia that with her blindness, she was inferior and needed him without using words. Tia had every right to treat him this way. This was a very sensitive thing for her to deal with. He stretched across the backseat and closed his eyes.
About 10 minutes later, the backseat door opened and Tia climbed inside with a plastic bag in her head. Dean pretended he was asleep as Roman slipped back into the driver's seat and handed the plastic bag in his hand to Seth, who dug around in it for a snack. Tia set her bag on the floor before finding Dean's head and laying it on her lap, stroking his hair. Dean liked how she scratched behind his ear every now and then. Tia leaned down until her lips were basically touching his nose.
"I know you're not really asleep," she whispered.