Story Notes:
Ok I know I am so behind on the other fic, Paved with Good Intentions I am adding this one because I have a tickle in my mind that says I can finish it this week. Wish me luck on that.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Athens, Ohio
Cassie hurried back to her room. She couldn’t believe she had finally met him. She couldn’t think, maybe she was only hoping he was the one. His green eyes and darkly blonde hair were not what she had imagined. His overall presence was what had drawn her. He was confident and knew all the lines to get a woman to do what he wanted she thought. It hadn’t turned her off to him though instead it had somehow seemed right. They had flirted at the bottom of the stairs on her way to her psychology class. He had met up with her again near the library. He wanted to take her out and she had said yes, his name was Dean Winchester and it all seemed so innocent.
Cassie almost ran into her roommate who was coming out of their room.
“Sorry,” she said as she moved to grab the door so Hannah could get out.
Hannah’s dark blue eyes met up with Cassie’s brown ones while they stood on the threshold. She could tell when her roomie was distracted or flustered. She knew something was up before she went back inside the room.
“Spill woman,” she said as she sat down on Cassie’s neat bed.
The room could be in a shambles but Cassie’s bed with be neatly made up and somehow orderly despite all else. Hannah thought it had to be a sickness to be so organized. Her own bed looked as though she might still inside of it most of the time, it was rumpled and the pillows stacked as though her head lie on them.
“What do you mean? I forgot my laptop I need to run over to do some research before the library closes,” Cassie said while she hurried to pick up her things.
Hannah grabbed her arm, “Don’t lie to me, you aren’t good at it,” her friend said.
Cassie had told Hannah about meeting the ONE from the time they moved in together. The other woman had not taken her seriously so she stopped talking to her about it. This wasn’t going to be the moment for her to start again she decided.
“No really I’ll be back, later,” Cassie said before she left the room.
Hannah decided to let things go; she would see Cassie later she figured before she too went out the door.
---
At the library, Cassie logged on her computer as she sat near the back. She hesitated because she wasn’t sure she wanted to do the search. In the back of her mind, she considered just letting her own senses guide her. In the past she wanted to know as much about any guy as she could before she went out with them. All the time she would search one certain thing and all the time she was disappointed. None of her relationships would get past that one missing ingredient. She bit her lip before she closed the computer. She wouldn’t look she would go on blind faith that she had the common sense to decide on her own, she would let her own gift be her light.
Dean went to the motel to get changed to find that his father had returned. He was sure there would be a fight but he was still essentially injured enough to avoid hunting. John looked up as Dean came in the door and dared to smile at him.
“Hey son,” he started.
“Don’t Dad, just go ahead and bitch at me. I can’t help it takes time for bones to heal,” Dean said before he grabbed his duffle to put on the bed.
John watched his eldest and he knew it was his own fault Dean was behaving badly with him. Too many times he would complain that Dean was just screwing around instead of getting things done.
“No, Dean, I’m sorry if I give you that impression at times, but I know you have to heal,” he said as he watched while Dean pulled a newer pair of jeans from his bag. They looked a little wrinkled but Dean hung them over the chair and spread them out with his hands.
“Maybe you could iron them, might be easier,” John suggested with a slight smirk.
Dean rolled his eyes at him, “They will be fine,” he said before he went into the bathroom and closed the door. His shoulder still ached and he hoped the hot shower would loosen it up a bit. He caught sight of his image in the mirror and was surprised at the array of scars he saw. He wondered if Cassie would flinch if they made it that far. His body was a map of pain and suffering that was his life. He shrugged, no other woman had seemed to mind, he thought before he stepped in and under the spray of water.
John was gone when Dean came out. Dean saw that his father had left him a bit of money and some protection. Dean laughed to himself, it wasn’t unlike his father to try to make up for a particularly bad fight by disappearing and let him go off on his own for a while. It had been a week but the last one had been epic.
{Flashback}
John had thrown the motel room door open before he went to the car to pull Dean out. He was mostly bruised but his father insisted that it was his own fault for being careless. Dean had been thrown of a building by a ghost and there was no way he could have anticipated that before they had gone inside. It had been dark and both had been overly tired, it was John’s fault they hadn’t waited.
It had been after he tried to walk around the room that he realized his shoulder had been dislocated again. His father helped him with it before he tried to storm out but Dean stopped him. “Where the hell you going? You always run away when I need you……”
“The hell I do, if I hadn’t been there you carelessness would have cost your life you sniffling coward,” John said before he realized what had come out of his mouth.
Dean punched him in the mouth with his good arm and shoved him against the door. “Don’t you ever call me that,” Dean said as he held back tears. All his life he had done with the elder man had asked he could never truthfully call him a coward. He had no right.
John had pushed back, but he knew he was wrong, he didn’t know how he could hurt the one person who would put up with his ways. He had left in the end because it was best for them both.
{End flashback}
At the pizza place that night Cassie was chatty but straightforward. She needed to be herself to get a feel for Dean. He seemed eagar to hear her talk so much that he was quiet most of the time that he wasn't making jokes.
There was heat betwen them it was intense from the start and eminated from Dean then Cassie felt something like a shock. She tried to ignore the way she was feeling, but it was almost uncomfortable but it felt good.
"So I want to travel and write, you know, investigative reporting," Cassie said before she took a new bite of her slice of pizza.
Dean like the sound of her voice as she went on about her ambitions. She seemed innocent despite being in college but something about her ......it was something he couldn't but a finger on as she smiled. It was a twinkle, that was just behind her eyes, he considered as he watched her play with her pizza.
He could feel the heat that was their attraction, it had come suddenly from the moment they met.
"Sounds like a noble cause," he said before he leaned back with his arms over his chest. It was a protective movement that he realized had come too late. He was already falling for her. Her long hair and eyelashes; the cadence of her voice had him on edge for her next word.
He cleared his throat.
They needed to leave the place before he embarrased himself and said something romantic and out of character when he was feeling amorous in various parts of his anatomy.
Cassie stopped talking, maybe she was over doing it. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, sorry just a tickle, I think its the smoke in here," he said.
Cassie began to eat quietly and Dean missed the sound of her voice. He hadn't meant to make her self conscious.
"I don't read much," he began to say but she interrupted.
"When is your birthday?" she asked with curiosity in her eyes.
Dean didn't hesitate, "January 24th," he replied with a smile.
He didn't know why it was important but she smiled at his answer then went on to explain how she ended up in Ohio despite being from Missouri.
--
At the car, Dean went around to help her in but she didn't realize he was going to be the gentleman so they crashed into one another.
"Sorry," he said before she pulled him close into a kiss.
She had wanted to kiss his pouty lips all night. Her hands went around his neck before he pushed her against the car door. She moaned into his mouth and replied in kind. They pulled away breathless and longing for more.
Cassie didn't want it to stop but they were in a public place, so with a few words they pulled apart and got in the car to go to the hotel as fast as possible. Cassie giggled as they almost didn't make it to the bed. She had never given in so easy to a man but Dean was different. He didn't try to hide what he wanted and she was no better. She took off his shirt as he reached under her short skirt for her panties. He ached with need and his pants hit the floor mere moments before she straddled him; though they made time for protection, it was a short ride to satisfaction. They both laughed when they were done.
"I.........wow....that was good," Cassie said with a sly smile.
Dean flipped her over so he lay on top of her, "That was just a sample," he said with a smirk.
It was the start of Dean finding his Destiny, the person that would be there for him when no other could take the heat.
--------
Three years later
Dean had returned from hell several months before and with the Angels on his case to give his permission for Michael to possess him he needed time away from everyone. Castiel and his calls, Sam and his sorrys as well as promises to stay away from Lucifer were getting to him. .
"Sam I am going to see Cassie," he said in the quiet car, "do you want to go to Bobby's or are you riding with me?"
Sam was stunned to hear Cassie's name. Dean hadn't talked about her in a long time; as far as he recalled not once since his return from the pit. Sam figured something was up and he needed details.
"Cassie? You never mention her ever so what is going on?"
"I just did, where you sleeping?" Dean said with a smirk.
"DEAN."
"I want to surprise her okay."
The explanation wasn't working for Sam there was way more to the story. Dean was random that was true but not so much with Cassie. Cassie meant something to Dean like no one else ever had; if he was going to her there was a damn good reason.
"Fine you won't tell me than I will go with you."
Dean sighed. "No I'm dropping you off," he said with a sigh, "don't need you there running my party," he said half heartedly.
"Okay but tell me when was the last time you saw her?"
Dean was quiet for several moments, "the last time was when I went away for a while in early October, you know before we met up with Samhain."
He said it but it was a lie he had to do it to protect Cassie from a brother he could no longer count on and despite all odds even trust.
Dean didn't look at Sam he figured he was trying to get the time right in his head. It had been a quick visit at taht time but things needed to be taken care of. Dean was afraid to totally trust his brother in some areas but this one area he couldn't trust him at all.
Sam couldn't quite get the timing figured out but out of kindness to his brother he asked to be dropped off at the nearest rental car location. No reason for Dean to go out of the way to Bobby's; besides it saved them both time in the long run.
"Thanks, Sam, I owe you. I'll call when i arrive," Dean said with a smirk before he left Sam standing outside the Budget rent a car location near the airport in Des Moines.
"Don't worry about it," Sam said before Dean drove away.
TBC