In-Air Comfort

Comfort in Family

Despite setting up a bedroom of her own next door and an air mattress on the floor, Destiny ends up in bed with you and Dean by morning, every day that week. You're loving it, but Dean's really missing his privacy.
As you lay in bed waiting for someone else to wake up you let your thoughts run. Despite your whole conversation in the park, nothing has really changed since you came home. To his credit, Dean hadn't been on a hunt but you can tell he's struggling. He's never done the domestic thing for this long before and with a child cock-blocking him too, he's had no way to destress. Even sleeping you can see the tension in his shoulders. The sentiment was great, and you still want to get out, but you don't know how much longer he will last. He needs an outlet. Sometimes that would be the car, but she's in tip top shape.
Unable to lay there stewing in your own depressive thoughts any longer you carefully get up, wrap a dressing gown around yourself and pad out to the kitchen. As you enter the room you notice the oversized Winchester already sitting at the table with a coffee and his laptop.

"So get this," he says as soon as he notices you.

"Sam..." you pour yourself a mug of coffee and sit opposite him. "If you're gonna offer a case, just don't."

He nods and shuts his laptop. "You okay?"

You shake your head. "The prospect of getting out seemed good when he said it, but now that we're home it feels like a fantasy."

"You've only been back a week. Give it time. Destiny hasn't even settled yet."

You take a sip of your coffee and then say, "you should tell Dean about the case. He needs to get out and do something. I'll stay here with Destiny."

"Are you sure?"

You nod. "I'm holding out hope that we'll get out. I've been looking for places, but in the meantime, Dean needs a few days away with his brother to let off steam. He loves me and he's great with Destiny, but it's a lot for him. You just make sure he comes back in one piece, alright?"

Sam nods. "Always."

"As for you, that goes without saying. Dean would never let anything happen to you."

"Yeah, but he also has a wife and daughter to consider now."

"Even so, if it came down to a choice between saving you and sacrificing himself he'll always make the same choice. That's who he is. He's loyal to a fault, Sam. I love him for it, I do. It just scares me is all. I don't want to lose either of you, you know that."

"But you're in love with him."

You nod.

"He's not the only loyal one," Sam says before standing up and taking his laptop to his room to start to pack. Leaving you alone once again. You sit there in the silence for a while, while you finish your coffee and then get up to prepare breakfast for your family. You get a heart out to warm a little and then you make pancakes and bacon for your husband. If he's going to go out on a hunt he needs a decent breakfast first.

Once everything is ready and served you go back into the bedroom. You find Destiny sitting up looking sad so you sit down beside her and wrap her up in your arms.

"You wanna have a girls day today? We can go out and get some more stuff for your room and maybe some new clothes?"

She nods. You look over as you feel Dean stir.

"Morning ladies," he says sleepily.

"Morning, handsome," you say. "Breakfast's ready. Also, Sam's looking for you."

"I'm finally able to sleep in peacefully and you people insist on getting up early."

"It's almost 10 o'clock."

"Really?" He questions.

"Yep. Hurry up, your bacon will be greasy and cold." Not thinking, you slap his ass and say, "move your ass, Winchester."

Almost unbelievably, Destiny apes your actions, slapping his ass and copying, "yeah, move your ass, Winchester."

You gasp and put your hand over your mouth to muffle your laughter. Dean sits up and looks directly at Destiny. You bite your lip, scared of his reaction.

"Only she gets to slap my ass," he says firmly pointing at you.

She instantly tears up and apologises, "sorry, Dean. I didn't mean..."

"Come on, don't cry," he says softly. "Come here." He opens his arms up for her but she shakes her head and stays still.

She then looks between you both teary-eyed before getting up and scurrying out of the room. You look pointedly at Dean.

"Come on, it was just a bit of fun. She was finally warming up and starting to feel comfortable enough to have fun."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset her. I just...boundaries, Y/N."

"I'll go talk to her. Just get up, get dressed, eat and then talk to Sam." You stand up and leave in search of Destiny. Luckily she only went into the room next door. You find her cowering and crying under her bed. You sit down on the floor beside the bed and keep her company, not pushing her to talk, just letting her know you're there and that she's not alone.

Eventually she says, "Dean doesn't like me. I want him to like me. I don't want him to hurt me like my dad. I want to be good. Why doesn't he like me?"

You sigh, unsure how to answer any of her questions or alleviate her anxiety.

"I can go live with Gertie..." she says sadly.

"Only if you want to," you say. "But you do have a home here. I want you here, so does Dean. He does like you, he just is having trouble adjusting. I promise he won't hurt you, not physically anyway. He just needs to realise he can do this his way, he doesn't need to be like his own dad."

"What was his dad like?" She asks as she crawls out from under the bed to sit in your lap. You rub her back gently.

"He, John Winchester, was a man with a big heart, like Dean. But he lost his wife, Dean's mother, and then he struggled to handle it well. So he never gave the boys the childhood they deserved. He trained them to hunt. He did raise them to be good men too, but they just missed out on that empathy and parental love."

"So, now Dean struggles a little with showing it. But he lives deeper than many. His heart is massive. You just have to look a little harder to see it sometimes. But he's working on it."

You sit there cuddling her into your arms. Little do you know Dean has been standing outside the fort the whole time listening. Your ability to comfort her while also making him fall deeper in love with you never ceases to amaze him. He knocks quietly and then comes in. He sits on the edge of the bed just beside where you're sitting and places a hand on your shoulder. You look up at him and smile.

"I'm sorry, Dee. I was a little harsh back there. Y/N did it so you thought it was okay. And mostly that's a fine way to judge, but there's some things that she can do that you shouldn't. But you couldn't have known that either, so I shouldn't have been so harsh about it." You help her crawl into his lap. He smiles at her as he wraps his arms around her. "Honestly, it was pretty funny. But we all have boundaries." She nods her head and cuddles into his chest. "I'm sorry I scared you."

She looks up at him with sad eyes. "Dean? Do you like me?"

"Of course. It's a big adjustment is all. From the time I was your age my dad told me about other creatures out there. Dangerous ones. He included vampires, werewolves and all that and told me they couldn't be good. But now I know better. But it's still hard to believe is all. But you, you're good Dee, and I know you can continue to be with the right support and self control, which we're gonna help you with."

She tears up again, but this time they're happy tears. "I'm sorry about your dad," she says.

"It's alright. He did his best. He just didn't have a woman as amazing as Y/N here to keep him on track after my mom died. We're gonna get through all this as a family, okay? It's a long road, but it's worth it," he says as he glances between you and Destiny. You nod and smile.