The Way We Were (A Jeffrey Dean Morgan Story)

Chapter 36

Charlie and I had woken up early the next morning. Comic Con was over and it was time to go home. I had packed our bags the night before so that we didn't have to rush around in the morning while getting ready. I let Charlie sleep in the clothes she wa going to wear on the plane so all she had to do was brush her hair and teeth when she got up.

I placed our bags by the door and did a final walk through of the room making sure that we didn't forget anything. Charlie stood by the door with our bags. She was sleepy. I could tell. I mean so was I, but I knew we could sleep on the plane at least. I walked up beside Charlie and grabbed her hand.

"Ready to go, baby?" I asked her as I grabbed her suitcase. She nodded and hugged her stuffed cat to her chest. "Alright, let's go," I said as I opened the door. I jumped as a figure was in the doorway. "This will take some getting used too," I mumbled as I put a smile on my face. After the incident at the panel, the boys had permanently parked a security guard in front of my door to make sure that no unwanted guests appeared.

We followed closely behind the security guard and made our way into the elevator. We rode it downstairs in silence. The elevator dinged and we stepped out and followed the security guard again. He lead us to a room and opened the door. Inside was a lot of the cast members and some of the Comic Con crew members.

I saw Jensen and Jared sitting in some chairs in the corner and made my way over to them. Rob appeared out of nowhere with a smile and cup of coffee in his hand. "Hey you," he said as he offered me the cup in his hand. I took it gratefully and took a cautious sip. Charlie ran off and jumped into Jared's lap where she snuggled into his chest and most likely went back to sleep.

"I'm heading out on an earlier flight than most," Rob said while taking a sip of his coffee. I popped an eyebow at him. "Oh, yeah?" I asked him. He nodded. "Yeah, I have to get back earlier before I head out to film some new things," he said. I smiled. "That sounds exciting," I told him. He nodded and reached out to give me a hug.

"It was good to see you, Ronnie Jean," he said. I embraced him warmly. "You too, Bob-o. We need to keep in touch more often," I said. He smiled and squeezed my shoulders as he pulled back. He left me standing there and went to grab his luggage. I made my way over to Jensen and Jared and sat in a chair across from the both of them.

"Good morning, boys," I said as I sat. They both mumbled their good mornings while scrolling through their phones. Charlie was still curled up in Jared's lap, but she was now munching on a donut. "Hey, everyone. We need to be heading out in about thirty minutes," announced one of the managers that was running around.

I looked around the room and noticed that a very important person was missing. "Has anyone seen Jeff?" I asked. Both boys looked up from their phones and looked around the room with me befre meeting my eyes. "Hm, no," Jensen said before staring back down at his phone. Jared followed suit.

As if right on cue, the door to the room we were in busted open. There was Jeffrey, with a pair of jeans and a tshirt on. He had a beanie cap on his head with his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. His suitcase was in tow and he had his leathher jacket thrown over his shoulder. He looked like a hot mess.

His eyes danced around the room before landing on mine. He put his nose to the ground and made his way towards us. He plopped down in the chair beside me. His arm came around to the back of my chair and started playing with my hair. I looked over at him with a smile and offered him my coffee.

He took it and took a huge sip of it before resting it on his knee and sitting back in his chair. It was quiet between all of us. I think we were all trying to recover from the weekend. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Jeffrey asked me softly. I nodded and he stood up while pulling me with him. Jensen and Jared looked over at me and I shrugged as Jeffrey pulled me away from everyone.

He pulled us over to the corner of the room away from everyone. "What's up?" I asked him as we both leaned against the wall facing each other. "I'm not heading back to Rhinebeck quite yet," he told me. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Oh?" I asked him. He reached out and took my hand.

"I have some things I have to take care of in Los Angeles before I can head back," he said. "Oh, okay," I said. Jeffrey squeezed my hand gently. "How long are you going to be gone?" I asked him. He shrugged. "A couple weeks at most," he said. I nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Charlie. She thinks that we're all sitting next to each other on the plane," I said.

Jeffrey smile softly. "We actually are sitting next to each other on the plane," he said. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion again. "How is that possible? If you're going one way and we're going another?" I asked him. He smiled and squeezed my hand again. "Come with me," he said softly.

It wasn't a question, but it wasn't a demand either. "Jeffrey, you know we can't. I have work and Charlie has school," I said. She was already missing tomorrow because I figured she would be tired from flying back today. "I've already talked to your boss. He was grateful to let you have some of that vacation time you never use," he said.

I smiled. "You sneaky bastard," I said with a chuckle. Jeffrey smile. "As far as Charlie goes, I don't think she'll be missing out on a lot. It will only be six days of school since she doesn't go every day," he said. I looked down at our feet. "I'm not gonna force you, Ronnie, but whether you go with me or go back to Rhinebeck you'll still have some vacation time. Your boss said he didn't want to see you for two weeks," he said.

I rolled my eyes and looked back up at Jeffrey. "You are very sneaky, Mr. Morgan," I said as I reached forward and pushed his chest lightly. "We need to tell Charlie," he said. I nodded and hollered out to Charlie who was still sitting in Jared's lap. She hopped down and ran over to us with a chocolate smile on her face.

"Yes mommy?" she asked as she hopped up in Jeffrey's arms breaking us apart. "Jeffrey has something to tell you," I told her. She looked over at Jeffrey and patted his cheek. "What is it, daddy?" she asked him. I watched the look in Jeffrey's eyes change as soon as she called him daddy.

"So, Daddy, isn't going back home right now. I have to do a few things somewhere else first," he said looking down at her. Charlie frowned and looked up at him with her puppy dog eyes. He looked over at me with a sad look in his eyes. Charlie knew what she was doing. She was already pulling at his heart stings.

"Don't go getting upset," he said while rubbing her back gently as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Do you wanna come with me?" he asked her. She shot up quickly and looked over at me. "Can I momma, please?!" she asked me. The excitement was bright in her eyes. "Yes baby you can, I'm going too!" I told her.

She jumped down from Jeffrey's arms and hugged me. "Thanks Momma! I gotta go tell Uncle Jensen and Jared," she said while running back over to them. Jeffrey chuckled and reached forward to bring me into him. He wrapped his arms around my waist as mine went around his shoulders.

"Thank you," he whispered in my ear before pulling back and smiling. "I guess we need to get our tickets changed," I told him. Jeffrey's smile widened. "I already did that too," he said. I punched his shoulder lightly. "You are a sneaky bastard," I told him. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine while pulling me back over to the boys.

Jeffrey plopped back down in his chair and pulled me down in the chair beside him. "Guys we have about ten minutes before we have to head out!" called a different manager. I watched as security started taking our luggage from us. The boys grabbed their carry ons and I grabbed mine and Charlie's.

Jensen and Jared stood up and stretched their lanky selves while putting on their jackets. I stood up and grabbed Charlie's jackets helping her get into it. I zipped it up and placed her hood on the top of her head. Jeffrey stood up and offered me my coffee back but I shook my head. He took a final drink before tossing it in the trash can and shouldering his backpack.

"Alright everyone, let's load up!" a crew member yelled out. I grabbed Charlie's hand. Jeffrey's hand reached out for mine. I figured that we were riding together with the boys to the airport. Jeffrey stopped and looked back at me with a confused look on his face. I looked down at Charlie who was in her own little world.

I looked back at Jeffey and he popped an eyebrow at me almost like he was questioning with his look. I reached out and grabbed his offered hand. He smiled and pulled me a little closer to him almost like he thought I was going to let go before looking forward and following everyone out of the room with us behind him.