Redeemed

Chapter 1: Case #345

[[Dean P.O.V./"Strip Me" -Natasha Bedingfield]]

"I'm just saying Dean, Elena can't just sit around at the bunker all the time.  She's gonna go crazy.  You need to let her go out more, or at least let her help us a little with our cases."  Sam says, taking the last sip of his potato soup. 

Alert, Alert. Sam is actually eating something other than salad.

I shake my head as he says this, taking a sip of my beer.  I place it back on the table, signaling for the waiter to bring us our check.  "I want her safe.  She's five months pregnant, Sam.  She doesn't need to be hunting and putting herself and the baby at risk.  That's stupid."  I say, now finishing my beer.  I scrunch my lips in disgust.  I hate how the last bit of a beer tastes so...warm and gross.  It's disgusting—it's like it's not a beer anymore.  Luckily this case we just finished was an easy run, and a very successful one.

The waiter finally walks over to us, handing us our check.  I look it over, scrambling through my wallet to find the amount of money I need.

[[ FLASHBACK: Elena P.O.V.]]

"Marry me, Elena"

These words slip from Dean's mouth so casually, so comfortably.  I look over at him, my eyes widen as my jaw drops.  I freeze, just looking at him.  He just has this huge smile on his face and once he finally turns toward me he sees my expression and he becomes serious. He begins to explain.  "I've been holding this in my pocket all day..."  He says quietly as he pulls out this beautiful ring from his jacket pocket. 

"It's my mothers engagement ring.  I've kept it since mom died, holding it for the day when I knew that my wife would be standing right in front of me."  He says, slowly starting to bend down on one knee.  I cover my mouth with my hands, tears beginning to well up into my eyes.  Happy tears, of course. I'm so shocked, but at the same time I'm not. I definitely didn't expect this, though. "It's you, Elena.  You're the one.  You're the only one for me, and...I love you so much.  You're having my baby, for God's sake.  I want to be with you forever.  I want you to be my wife."  Dean says, biting his bottom lip as he starts to smile again. 

He looks up at me, patiently waiting for my response.  I'm so shocked and surprised that I just stand there for a moment in silence.  I feel my heart race with happiness as I begin to cry.  Finally, the words escape from my stuttering lips.  "Of course, of course I'll marry you Dean Winchester."  I say as I begin to laugh, tears rolling down my face.   Dean slowly but excitedly places the ring on my finger.  He then quickly gets up and he wraps me in his arms, twirling me around in circles happily.

Oh my God.

We're engaged.

I'm going to marry Dean.

[[PRESENT DAY: Dean P.O.V.]]

"Are you sure you two want to wait to get married until after the baby?" Sam asks, running his hand through his hair. I nod, placing the money on top of the check for the waiter. "Elena wants to wait until then because she doesn't want to be pregnant in her wedding dress. I think that's Caroline talking though, not Elena. I think Elena honestly couldn't care less but Caroline's been telling her to wait until she doesn't have her pregnant belly anymore." I shake my head, laughing just a little. "I think she'd look stunning either way." I say, smiling to myself. Sam nods, laughing at me slightly.

Caroline is pretty much living vicariously through Elena. She's been very involved in the baby planning and the wedding planning.  As I've gotten to know Caroline more, this definitely doesn't come as a shock.

"So, any word on Katherine?"  Sam asks as we get up from our table, slipping on our jackets.  "Well, since Cas lost Cassie, there's been nothing.  All we know is Katherine most likely took Cassie but we haven't heard a thing from Crowley, Katherine, or Cassie since that time.  I'm sure they're all cooking up something horrible, but right now I'm just gonna focus on other things instead of worrying myself sick.  As long as Elena is in the bunker she's safe."  I say, Sam and I making our way out the door and outside to the impala.  "Working cases is a good way to preoccupy ourselves.  And Elena.  You can't force her to stay cooped up in that bunker, I'm telling you, she'll grow to resent you.  It's not good for her."  Sam says again, really starting to annoy me. 

What part of "Elena is five months pregnant" does he not understand? "Sam. No. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep her and the baby safe, period. That's the end of it." I say as I open the door to the car, quickly getting inside. Sam sighs, just shaking his head. I pull out my phone and dial Elena's number, calling her to check up on her.

"Hey!" She says in her sweet voice, immediately making me smile. "Hey baby, we're on our way home. How are you?" I ask, beginning to drive. Sam looks over at me and watches my conversation over the phone. "Feeling pretty good today. Caroline is over right now, she's going through some catalogs for our wedding stuff. We're just hanging out, eating some ice cream. How was the case?" She asks. "Oh it was quick and easy, just like any other case—nothing special. I'll tell you more about it when I get home, okay? Call if you need anything before it get home." I say, smiling through the phone. Elena laughs slightly, "Okay, I love you."

I love it when she says this. Never gets old.

"I love you too." I say before hanging up the phone.

[[One Hour Later/Elena P.O.V.]]

"Hmm I don't know if those are the colors I want, though. What do you think about maybe having the wedding outside? Like in the middle of the woods?" I ask Caroline as I take another bite of my ice cream, resting a hand on my now much larger stomach. My baby bump now looks as if I have half a basketball shoved inside my shirt.

Caroline's eyes light up, "Oh my gosh, like in the Breaking Dawn movie from the Twilight Saga! You know how Edward and Bella have their wedding outside? We could make it look a lot like that if you're thinking of something like that?" She says. I can see the excitement all over her. Caroline is definitely a planner. She loves all of this stuff. I grin, knowing exactly what she's talking about. The Edward and Bella wedding setup is exactly what I was thinking. "Perfect." I say, smiling ear to ear.

I get up from Dean's bedroom floor, technically my bedroom floor also. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna take this bowl to the kitchen." I say, making my way into the hallway and straight to the kitchen. I walk across the kitchen floor, the coldness touching my bare feet. I continue to rest my hand over my stomach. I do this a lot, I guess it just makes me feel like I'm so much closer to the baby.

Sam and Dean have been going on incredible amounts of hunts, just getting one after the other. They've been doing so good. I've enjoyed just hanging out and planning things with Caroline, but I'd really like to go with them and help a little. Dean would never let me, though, considering how protective he is over me right now.

I place the bowl in the sink, deciding not to wash it until later.  Sam and Dean should be home any minute now.  I pull out my phone impatiently, checking to see if I have any texts from Dean.  Surprisingly, I don't. 

I miss him when he leaves for hunts.  He's gone three to four days at a time and it kind of sucks. 

My thoughts are interrupted as suddenly, I hear some sounds coming from the main room of the bunker.  I bet that's Sam and Dean.  I walk toward the main room, calling out.  "Sam?  Dean?"  I pause for a moment, waiting for answers. 

I get none. 

"De—".  Before I can yell again, I'm interrupted. 

"Elena."  A voice says from behind me.