"Yeah, definitely."
"Really?" I ask, shocked.
"I told you I wanted to fix myself, and I'm committed to that. I don't want to lose you, Brook. Having you in my life, I'm starting to think maybe I could have a real future, like a wife and kids and all that. I never thought I could have that."
I softly smile. "You'd make a great dad someday. You're already like a dad to Jake and you're really good at it."
"Yeah, I let him get kidnapped and now he's missing," Dean says, rolling his eyes.
"That wasn't your fault. And like you said, you taught him what he needs to know to find his way back. He's coming back, Dean. I know he is."
"I wish he'd hurry up because I can't take another day of this. I want to rip all these tubes out of me and go find him myself."
"They'll find him," I say, running my hand up and down his arm. "Just give it time."
"How do you do that?" he asks, lying back on the pillows.
"Do what?"
"Calm me down like that? I was starting to get really angry, thinking about how long it's taking the cops to find him, and then I hear your voice and feel you touch me, and I'm able to calm down."
"I guess we're good for each other that way. I calm you down and you let me get angry."
"I make you angry?" he says with a smile.
"Not all the time but sometimes. And when you do, I can let it out, and I know you'll still love me if I do."
"I love you no matter what."
He's not just saying that. He really does. He doesn't have conditions for loving me. I don't have to look or act a certain way. He loves me for me, and that's not something you just give up.
Dean has a lot to work through, and it may not always be easy, but I'm going to stay by his side. I'm not giving up on us.
Chapter Sixteen
Dean
"Hey, man, wake up," I hear Danny say.
I open my eyes and see him and Kendrick coming in my room. "What time is it?"
"Five." Danny sits on the chair by my bed while Kendrick takes the one in the corner, sliding it over beside Danny's. "They said you've been sleeping all afternoon. They're bringing in your dinner soon so we figured we could wake you up."
"You didn't have to come." I push myself up, which still hurts like hell. It's my fractured rib that hurts the most. It'll take awhile to heal. "Don't you guys have a party to get to?"
"Not until later tonight." Danny puts his feet up on the bed. "Where's Brook? I thought she'd be here."
"She was here after lunch. I fell asleep after she left."
"Is she coming back?" Kendrick asks.
"Probably. Why?"
He shrugs. "No reason."
"He wants you to ask Brook to get her friend to go out with him," Danny says.
"Shut the hell up!" Kendrick says to him.
