Fic: "Chosen Family" - SPN/Veronica Mars
"Chosen Family"
By halfway2home
Disclaimer: I don’t own “Supernatural” or “Veronica Mars.” Eric Kripke and Rob Thomas would be your guys. The title comes from a song of the same name by Leona Naess.
Rating: PG-13 for a little cursing.
Summary: Dean/Veronica. He begins to realize that maybe he had to lose it all to get it back.
Author’s Note: This is the third and last part in my Dean/Veronica “Begin Again” series. This series would not exist without the support of the wonderful rubykatewriting!
I. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes
II. Edge of the Ocean
III.
Dean knows he has to go. He reads the papers, sees the mysterious, unexplained events, and he knows he has to go. It’s ingrained in him to follow the hunt. Be he doesn’t want to leave Veronica behind. They’ve been living together for six months and Dean’s begun to learn some things about Veronica:
1.) She always thinks she’s right.
2.) She loves Italian, but he’s still not sure where all that food goes.
3.) She has nightmares about things that have nothing to do with anything supernatural.
4.) But perhaps most importantly, she can handle herself pretty well and she knows how to use a gun.
So when Dean tells her he needs to go, he follows it with a hopeful, “Come with me.”
“Oh sure, my dad will love that,” she replies sarcastically. “‘Hey dad, I’m going on the road with my boyfriend to fight evil.’”
“And petty crime,” he adds. “I’m sure we’ll run into some small time crooks for you.”
She smiles widely. “Like you?”
“Hey, I do it for the greater good.”
She pauses and he can see the wheels turning in her head, thinking it over. “Okay,” she says finally.
“Okay?” He wasn’t expecting this to be so easy.
She nods and sits down beside him, hanging her legs over his lap. “Okay. I only have a couple more weeks of school left and I could use a break from Neptune. Let’s do it.”
Dean stills into speechless shock. He thought he’d have to convince her and break out all sorts of points and arguments about the benefits of doing this. He even considered bribing her with Italian food. But in the end, it turns out to be as simple as, “Okay.”
---
When Dean opens the door, he’s surprised to see Keith standing there. Keith doesn’t come over often. He doesn’t have much reason to since he sees Veronica at the office and he calls all the time, but Dean also suspects that it has something to do with the fact that Keith doesn’t really trust him.
“Veronica’s not here,” he says.
“I know,” Keith replies and Dean opens the door wider, inviting him in. He watches as Keith surveys the room slowly, eyeing the boxes stacked around the room. He and Veronica decided to put her things (he doesn’t really have much in the way of possessions) in storage while they’re gone.
“So I take it this is a long trip,” Keith observes.
Dean shifts uncomfortably, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I thought Veronica talked to you.”
Keith smirks, letting out an amused laugh. “She did, but she was a little vague on the details like where you were going or when you’d be back.”
“We’re just going to see where the road takes us,” Dean tries to explain without saying too much.
Keith nods, heading back in the direction of the door, and Dean thinks that he’s going to leave now, but he stops and turns around to look at him. “Veronica is a smart girl. She’s been through a lot and she’s come out strong.”
“I know.”
“But she’s not indestructible. She’s only human.” Keith looks him in the eye as he places his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You take care of her.”
Dean can only nod in response.
“She’s all I have,” Keith continues.
“She’s all I’ve got too.”
---
“Are you serious?” she exclaims, rifling through his tape collection. “AC/DC? Black Sabbath? Wow, you really are old...er.”
Dean turns to look at her briefly, fingers beating against the steering wheel as Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to play. “I’m not,” he grimaces, “old. I just have taste. Those are classics.”
“Aww,” Veronica coos, leaning forward over the center console, “are you finally feeling your age?”
“Shut up,” he responds with a pout. “What would you prefer? Some angry chick music?”
“That’s a cliché.” She smiles broadly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Kind of like you.”
“You are so lucky that I need to get laid tonight,” he replies, shaking his head, “or your ass would so be on the side of the road right now.”
Veronica places her hand on his arm and says with assurance, “Oh, you are so not getting laid tonight. I can’t do it in good taste with someone who listens to Black Sabbath.”
“Ouch, that hurts.”
She reaches for the volume knob, turning down the music. “My ears agree.”
In the end, she stays in the car and they both know it has nothing to do with getting laid.
---
“I really don’t think this a supernatural case, Dean.”
“I’ve been doing this a little bit longer than you have,” he replies tersely, looking at her pointedly over his shoulder as they tiptoe down a dark hallway. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Sometimes it’s just people, Dean,” she replies sadly. “People who suck. Not vampires that suck your blood or demons that suck out your soul. Just people.”
He stops abruptly in the middle of the hallway and she almost crashes into him. “You don’t believe me,” he says, turning around. “You think I’m crazy.”
“I don’t think your crazy,” she replies adamantly. “I do think you really want to shoot something because you think it turns me on and I’m worried that someone’s going to get hurt.”
Dean smirks, chuckling lightly. “Oh, someone’s going to be sore tomorrow, alright.”
“Keep talking and the only thing sore is going to be your hand,” she replies unamused.
But for once, she’s wrong because Dean’s not crazy and he shoots a spirit at the end of the hallway with rock salt, saving a family in the process. As soon as they get back into the Impala, which he thankfully parked beside a large tree, its branches obscuring the view inside, Veronica practically assaults him, climbing over the console and onto his lap. Before he can even comprehend what’s going on, she’s talking off her shirt and --
Sweet Jesus, she’s not wearing a bra.
“My hero,” she whispers against his ear.
---
They’ve had sex in at least ten different cities. Dean lost count sometime after Jacksonville, Illinois.
He likes to think of it as mapping their relationship, of leaving a good memory in every place they visit. This way, he figures, instead of just remembering the three girls who were killed by two wendigos in the woods of Minnesota, he’ll also remember the look in Veronica’s eyes later that night when he gripped her arms as she straddled him and told her she was his family now. It’s a good memory to have, especially since things get pretty messy with those wendigos the next day.
He’s trying to hold down one of them when he hears the gunshot go off behind him. He snaps its neck and the thing goes limp. Behind him, Veronica’s laying on the ground, covered in dirt, the other wendigo in flames beside her, shot with the flare gun he gave her. There are cuts on her face and her jeans are torn, revealing a nasty gash on her leg.
“Fuck, you’re hurt,” he swears, crouching down beside her. He immediately takes off his jacket and presses it against her open wound, stopping the blood.
“I’m fine,” she replies, picking out the twigs and leaves stuck in her hair. “Nothing a few stitches won’t fix.”
He’s supposed to take care of her. He promised Keith. He promised himself he’d protect her. “Dammit it, I shouldn’t have brought you with me.”
“Dean, I’m fine,” she says reassuringly, gripping his arm as he lifts her up. She grazes her other hand over his face, fingers sliding around the cut above his eyebrow and he winces. “You’re bleeding too.”
He reaches up, touching the cut, and then brings his bloodied fingers in front of his face. “Yeah,” he nods.
“But we’re both going to be okay.” She looks down at the burning wendigo and smiles lightly. “I killed that bastard good.”
“Yeah, you did,” he replies, smiling proudly.
But his plan isn’t foolproof because no matter how many times they have sex in Minnesota, Dean still can’t get the picture of Veronica lying hurt on the ground out of his head.
---
Veronica holds his hand the entire time they’re in Lawrence, Kansas.
---
They go back to the diner where it all began and Veronica asks him what he would have done if she hadn’t come into the bar that day.
“Probably gotten really drunk and done the first hot chick that came into sight,” he answers and it’s the truth, but he’s so glad it never came true.
“Oh, that’s sweet,” she replies, rolling her eyes.
He reaches across the table, taking her hand into his, and says, “I would be miserable without you.”
She looks down at the table, smiling sheepishly. He’s made her blush and he feels damn proud about it.
“What about you?” he asks.
“Oh, you know, I probably would have gotten a ride from the tow truck guy, who would have won me over with his innate charm. Then we would have run off together, after he left his wife, of course, and had five kids.”
“Thank God I saved you,” he says, smiling, but he’s got this picture of Veronica in his mind in a nice home, surrounded by kids, a dog running around, and the smell of burnt food. It makes him smile even wider.
All Dean has ever wanted was a family. One by one (first his mom, then dad, and finally Sammy), that hope has been ripped away from him. Until now. Now he’s got Veronica, and he thinks that settling down may not be so bad if it means he gets to wake up next to her every morning.
“We should go back to Neptune.”
“What?” she asks, looking up with surprise from her food. “This was your idea.”
“I know, but I’m starting to think it’s not fair. It’s not fair to your dad to take away his only daughter from him.”
“You’re worried about what’s fair to my dad?” she replies, stunned. She pushes her plate towards the middle of the table, sitting back against the booth. “Okay, now I’m worried.”
He leans across the table and says, “I’m serious, Veronica. Maybe it’s time to stop. I mean, I can still go out every once and a while and hunt, but it’d be nice to have some place to come home to.”
---
They go back to the same motel they stayed at before. It’s part nostalgia, part the result of the town being so small it only has one motel.
Dean’s almost asleep when he feels a breeze pass through the room and reaches for the blanket, pulling it over his bare back and shoulders. He slides closer to Veronica, who is curled up on her side, facing him. The blanket has fallen to her waist, so he tucks it under her chin and lays his head down on the pillow, sideways, as he sprawls out on his stomach. He stares at her as his eyes begin to drift closed again.
“Wow, Veronica got herself a fine piece of ass.”
Dean sits up immediately, looking around the room frantically. That’s when he sees her. There’s a girl in the corner, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.
“Who are you?” he asks, getting out of the bed. His left arm immediately reaches for the gun lying on the nightstand.
“Oh, I approve,” she replies with delight as she looks him up and down, taking in his boxer-clad body. Her eyes shoot to where his fingers are clutching the handle of the gun. “Relax. I’m a friend.”
“You’re not my friend,” he replies angrily.
She rolls her eyes. “Duh. I’m a friend of Veronica’s.”
“You’re Lilly,” he says, realization dawning on him. She smiles widely like that’s all the answer that he needs. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugs. “Can’t a girl check up on her friend?”
“Not when she’s dead.”
“Rub it in why don’t you?” she replies, flicking her hair dramatically. “Your brother approves, by the way.”
“Sam?” The word comes out a half-whisper, half-gasp. Dean’s heart is beating so fast, he feels like it might crush his ribs and break free.
“Got any other brothers?” she asks without waiting for a reply. “He prefers not to watch, but he approves.”
Dean smirks. “And you do like to watch?”
“Hey, it gets boring in the afterlife with nothing to do.”
Suddenly, the stories Veronica told him about Lilly’s sexcapades seem tame.
“How is…” He breathes in deeply. He’s been dying to know. He needs to know that it wasn’t in vain, that’s he’s in a better place now. They both need a little peace. “How’s --”
“He’s fine.”
Dean nods. Behind him, Veronica shifts in the bed, the sheets rustling, and he turns to look at her. They all need a little peace. “And Logan?”
“Charmed his way into whatever is up there, the bastard,” Lilly replies with an annoyed smile.
Dean turns back to look at her. She still looks as young as the day she died. “You know, I could help you…move on. Find some peace.”
Lilly laughs and it’s so cold and harsh, he steps back abruptly, bumping into the nightstand. Suddenly, she’s standing right in front of him like she’s jumped time and space. Her palm grazes his cheek and it’s just as cold as her laugh.
“Silly boy. I’ll never be at peace,” she says, smiling wickedly, and then she kisses him, sucking all the air out of him and replacing it with a terrifying chill.
He sits up in the bed, his eyes flying open. His whole body is shivering. Veronica rustles beside him, blinking wearily. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” she asks, her voice thick with sleep.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies shakily. “Just a dream.”
“Are you sure?” she asks and he doesn’t blame her. He doesn’t believe himself even as he reassures her that he’s okay.
“Go back to sleep. It’s only six a.m.,” he says, sliding his palms over her hair. “I’m going to go for a walk and get some breakfast.”
She hums lightly, closing her eyes, and he kisses her softly before getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes. It’s freezing outside, but the cold only warms him after his dream. He goes to the convenience store down the street and pours two cups of coffee, fingers wrapping around the flimsy paper cups until they’re scalding hot.
When he gets back to the room, Veronica’s not in bed and the sound of the faucet running in the bathroom fills the room. He places the coffee and food on the table. He hears the door to the bathroom open and looks behind him to find her leaning against the doorframe.
“Hey, I got coffee and pastries,” he says, gesturing at the table. She nods solemnly and Dean knows this is not a good sign. Veronica always has something to say about everything. Sometimes, it drives him nuts because they’re both too sarcastic and jaded for their own good, but right now he’d give anything for her to talk because her silence is unnerving.
“What’s going on?” he asks concernedly.
She holds up a small, white stick at her side and says, “I’m pregnant.”
Dean can’t speak because for the first time in his life, his family is growing instead of diminishing. He’s not losing anyone. He’s gaining and it feels good to be on the blessed side of life for once. He begins to realize that maybe he had to lose it all to get it back.
“Say something, Dean.”
He just smiles.
She lets out a deep breath, the hint of a smile forming around the edges of her lips. “Let’s go home.”
He doesn’t need any convincing. “Okay.”
End
IV. Hospice
By halfway2home
Disclaimer: I don’t own “Supernatural” or “Veronica Mars.” Eric Kripke and Rob Thomas would be your guys. The title comes from a song of the same name by Leona Naess.
Rating: PG-13 for a little cursing.
Summary: Dean/Veronica. He begins to realize that maybe he had to lose it all to get it back.
Author’s Note: This is the third and last part in my Dean/Veronica “Begin Again” series. This series would not exist without the support of the wonderful rubykatewriting!
I. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes
II. Edge of the Ocean
III.
Dean knows he has to go. He reads the papers, sees the mysterious, unexplained events, and he knows he has to go. It’s ingrained in him to follow the hunt. Be he doesn’t want to leave Veronica behind. They’ve been living together for six months and Dean’s begun to learn some things about Veronica:
1.) She always thinks she’s right.
2.) She loves Italian, but he’s still not sure where all that food goes.
3.) She has nightmares about things that have nothing to do with anything supernatural.
4.) But perhaps most importantly, she can handle herself pretty well and she knows how to use a gun.
So when Dean tells her he needs to go, he follows it with a hopeful, “Come with me.”
“Oh sure, my dad will love that,” she replies sarcastically. “‘Hey dad, I’m going on the road with my boyfriend to fight evil.’”
“And petty crime,” he adds. “I’m sure we’ll run into some small time crooks for you.”
She smiles widely. “Like you?”
“Hey, I do it for the greater good.”
She pauses and he can see the wheels turning in her head, thinking it over. “Okay,” she says finally.
“Okay?” He wasn’t expecting this to be so easy.
She nods and sits down beside him, hanging her legs over his lap. “Okay. I only have a couple more weeks of school left and I could use a break from Neptune. Let’s do it.”
Dean stills into speechless shock. He thought he’d have to convince her and break out all sorts of points and arguments about the benefits of doing this. He even considered bribing her with Italian food. But in the end, it turns out to be as simple as, “Okay.”
---
When Dean opens the door, he’s surprised to see Keith standing there. Keith doesn’t come over often. He doesn’t have much reason to since he sees Veronica at the office and he calls all the time, but Dean also suspects that it has something to do with the fact that Keith doesn’t really trust him.
“Veronica’s not here,” he says.
“I know,” Keith replies and Dean opens the door wider, inviting him in. He watches as Keith surveys the room slowly, eyeing the boxes stacked around the room. He and Veronica decided to put her things (he doesn’t really have much in the way of possessions) in storage while they’re gone.
“So I take it this is a long trip,” Keith observes.
Dean shifts uncomfortably, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I thought Veronica talked to you.”
Keith smirks, letting out an amused laugh. “She did, but she was a little vague on the details like where you were going or when you’d be back.”
“We’re just going to see where the road takes us,” Dean tries to explain without saying too much.
Keith nods, heading back in the direction of the door, and Dean thinks that he’s going to leave now, but he stops and turns around to look at him. “Veronica is a smart girl. She’s been through a lot and she’s come out strong.”
“I know.”
“But she’s not indestructible. She’s only human.” Keith looks him in the eye as he places his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You take care of her.”
Dean can only nod in response.
“She’s all I have,” Keith continues.
“She’s all I’ve got too.”
---
“Are you serious?” she exclaims, rifling through his tape collection. “AC/DC? Black Sabbath? Wow, you really are old...er.”
Dean turns to look at her briefly, fingers beating against the steering wheel as Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to play. “I’m not,” he grimaces, “old. I just have taste. Those are classics.”
“Aww,” Veronica coos, leaning forward over the center console, “are you finally feeling your age?”
“Shut up,” he responds with a pout. “What would you prefer? Some angry chick music?”
“That’s a cliché.” She smiles broadly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Kind of like you.”
“You are so lucky that I need to get laid tonight,” he replies, shaking his head, “or your ass would so be on the side of the road right now.”
Veronica places her hand on his arm and says with assurance, “Oh, you are so not getting laid tonight. I can’t do it in good taste with someone who listens to Black Sabbath.”
“Ouch, that hurts.”
She reaches for the volume knob, turning down the music. “My ears agree.”
In the end, she stays in the car and they both know it has nothing to do with getting laid.
---
“I really don’t think this a supernatural case, Dean.”
“I’ve been doing this a little bit longer than you have,” he replies tersely, looking at her pointedly over his shoulder as they tiptoe down a dark hallway. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Sometimes it’s just people, Dean,” she replies sadly. “People who suck. Not vampires that suck your blood or demons that suck out your soul. Just people.”
He stops abruptly in the middle of the hallway and she almost crashes into him. “You don’t believe me,” he says, turning around. “You think I’m crazy.”
“I don’t think your crazy,” she replies adamantly. “I do think you really want to shoot something because you think it turns me on and I’m worried that someone’s going to get hurt.”
Dean smirks, chuckling lightly. “Oh, someone’s going to be sore tomorrow, alright.”
“Keep talking and the only thing sore is going to be your hand,” she replies unamused.
But for once, she’s wrong because Dean’s not crazy and he shoots a spirit at the end of the hallway with rock salt, saving a family in the process. As soon as they get back into the Impala, which he thankfully parked beside a large tree, its branches obscuring the view inside, Veronica practically assaults him, climbing over the console and onto his lap. Before he can even comprehend what’s going on, she’s talking off her shirt and --
Sweet Jesus, she’s not wearing a bra.
“My hero,” she whispers against his ear.
---
They’ve had sex in at least ten different cities. Dean lost count sometime after Jacksonville, Illinois.
He likes to think of it as mapping their relationship, of leaving a good memory in every place they visit. This way, he figures, instead of just remembering the three girls who were killed by two wendigos in the woods of Minnesota, he’ll also remember the look in Veronica’s eyes later that night when he gripped her arms as she straddled him and told her she was his family now. It’s a good memory to have, especially since things get pretty messy with those wendigos the next day.
He’s trying to hold down one of them when he hears the gunshot go off behind him. He snaps its neck and the thing goes limp. Behind him, Veronica’s laying on the ground, covered in dirt, the other wendigo in flames beside her, shot with the flare gun he gave her. There are cuts on her face and her jeans are torn, revealing a nasty gash on her leg.
“Fuck, you’re hurt,” he swears, crouching down beside her. He immediately takes off his jacket and presses it against her open wound, stopping the blood.
“I’m fine,” she replies, picking out the twigs and leaves stuck in her hair. “Nothing a few stitches won’t fix.”
He’s supposed to take care of her. He promised Keith. He promised himself he’d protect her. “Dammit it, I shouldn’t have brought you with me.”
“Dean, I’m fine,” she says reassuringly, gripping his arm as he lifts her up. She grazes her other hand over his face, fingers sliding around the cut above his eyebrow and he winces. “You’re bleeding too.”
He reaches up, touching the cut, and then brings his bloodied fingers in front of his face. “Yeah,” he nods.
“But we’re both going to be okay.” She looks down at the burning wendigo and smiles lightly. “I killed that bastard good.”
“Yeah, you did,” he replies, smiling proudly.
But his plan isn’t foolproof because no matter how many times they have sex in Minnesota, Dean still can’t get the picture of Veronica lying hurt on the ground out of his head.
---
Veronica holds his hand the entire time they’re in Lawrence, Kansas.
---
They go back to the diner where it all began and Veronica asks him what he would have done if she hadn’t come into the bar that day.
“Probably gotten really drunk and done the first hot chick that came into sight,” he answers and it’s the truth, but he’s so glad it never came true.
“Oh, that’s sweet,” she replies, rolling her eyes.
He reaches across the table, taking her hand into his, and says, “I would be miserable without you.”
She looks down at the table, smiling sheepishly. He’s made her blush and he feels damn proud about it.
“What about you?” he asks.
“Oh, you know, I probably would have gotten a ride from the tow truck guy, who would have won me over with his innate charm. Then we would have run off together, after he left his wife, of course, and had five kids.”
“Thank God I saved you,” he says, smiling, but he’s got this picture of Veronica in his mind in a nice home, surrounded by kids, a dog running around, and the smell of burnt food. It makes him smile even wider.
All Dean has ever wanted was a family. One by one (first his mom, then dad, and finally Sammy), that hope has been ripped away from him. Until now. Now he’s got Veronica, and he thinks that settling down may not be so bad if it means he gets to wake up next to her every morning.
“We should go back to Neptune.”
“What?” she asks, looking up with surprise from her food. “This was your idea.”
“I know, but I’m starting to think it’s not fair. It’s not fair to your dad to take away his only daughter from him.”
“You’re worried about what’s fair to my dad?” she replies, stunned. She pushes her plate towards the middle of the table, sitting back against the booth. “Okay, now I’m worried.”
He leans across the table and says, “I’m serious, Veronica. Maybe it’s time to stop. I mean, I can still go out every once and a while and hunt, but it’d be nice to have some place to come home to.”
---
They go back to the same motel they stayed at before. It’s part nostalgia, part the result of the town being so small it only has one motel.
Dean’s almost asleep when he feels a breeze pass through the room and reaches for the blanket, pulling it over his bare back and shoulders. He slides closer to Veronica, who is curled up on her side, facing him. The blanket has fallen to her waist, so he tucks it under her chin and lays his head down on the pillow, sideways, as he sprawls out on his stomach. He stares at her as his eyes begin to drift closed again.
“Wow, Veronica got herself a fine piece of ass.”
Dean sits up immediately, looking around the room frantically. That’s when he sees her. There’s a girl in the corner, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.
“Who are you?” he asks, getting out of the bed. His left arm immediately reaches for the gun lying on the nightstand.
“Oh, I approve,” she replies with delight as she looks him up and down, taking in his boxer-clad body. Her eyes shoot to where his fingers are clutching the handle of the gun. “Relax. I’m a friend.”
“You’re not my friend,” he replies angrily.
She rolls her eyes. “Duh. I’m a friend of Veronica’s.”
“You’re Lilly,” he says, realization dawning on him. She smiles widely like that’s all the answer that he needs. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugs. “Can’t a girl check up on her friend?”
“Not when she’s dead.”
“Rub it in why don’t you?” she replies, flicking her hair dramatically. “Your brother approves, by the way.”
“Sam?” The word comes out a half-whisper, half-gasp. Dean’s heart is beating so fast, he feels like it might crush his ribs and break free.
“Got any other brothers?” she asks without waiting for a reply. “He prefers not to watch, but he approves.”
Dean smirks. “And you do like to watch?”
“Hey, it gets boring in the afterlife with nothing to do.”
Suddenly, the stories Veronica told him about Lilly’s sexcapades seem tame.
“How is…” He breathes in deeply. He’s been dying to know. He needs to know that it wasn’t in vain, that’s he’s in a better place now. They both need a little peace. “How’s --”
“He’s fine.”
Dean nods. Behind him, Veronica shifts in the bed, the sheets rustling, and he turns to look at her. They all need a little peace. “And Logan?”
“Charmed his way into whatever is up there, the bastard,” Lilly replies with an annoyed smile.
Dean turns back to look at her. She still looks as young as the day she died. “You know, I could help you…move on. Find some peace.”
Lilly laughs and it’s so cold and harsh, he steps back abruptly, bumping into the nightstand. Suddenly, she’s standing right in front of him like she’s jumped time and space. Her palm grazes his cheek and it’s just as cold as her laugh.
“Silly boy. I’ll never be at peace,” she says, smiling wickedly, and then she kisses him, sucking all the air out of him and replacing it with a terrifying chill.
He sits up in the bed, his eyes flying open. His whole body is shivering. Veronica rustles beside him, blinking wearily. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” she asks, her voice thick with sleep.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies shakily. “Just a dream.”
“Are you sure?” she asks and he doesn’t blame her. He doesn’t believe himself even as he reassures her that he’s okay.
“Go back to sleep. It’s only six a.m.,” he says, sliding his palms over her hair. “I’m going to go for a walk and get some breakfast.”
She hums lightly, closing her eyes, and he kisses her softly before getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes. It’s freezing outside, but the cold only warms him after his dream. He goes to the convenience store down the street and pours two cups of coffee, fingers wrapping around the flimsy paper cups until they’re scalding hot.
When he gets back to the room, Veronica’s not in bed and the sound of the faucet running in the bathroom fills the room. He places the coffee and food on the table. He hears the door to the bathroom open and looks behind him to find her leaning against the doorframe.
“Hey, I got coffee and pastries,” he says, gesturing at the table. She nods solemnly and Dean knows this is not a good sign. Veronica always has something to say about everything. Sometimes, it drives him nuts because they’re both too sarcastic and jaded for their own good, but right now he’d give anything for her to talk because her silence is unnerving.
“What’s going on?” he asks concernedly.
She holds up a small, white stick at her side and says, “I’m pregnant.”
Dean can’t speak because for the first time in his life, his family is growing instead of diminishing. He’s not losing anyone. He’s gaining and it feels good to be on the blessed side of life for once. He begins to realize that maybe he had to lose it all to get it back.
“Say something, Dean.”
He just smiles.
She lets out a deep breath, the hint of a smile forming around the edges of her lips. “Let’s go home.”
He doesn’t need any convincing. “Okay.”
End
IV. Hospice