Found My Place A Ruby and Dean Winchester roleplay/fic Rating: R (for miscarriage and blood)
Word Count: 6,502
So I’ve debated posting this for God knows how long because it’s triggering to some, and emotionally draining (to me) because I love these characters so much.
gankingmonsters & I have/had an AU (totally human Dean/Ruby ship) that we plotted for months on, and this ended up being one of the most heartbreaking moments they had. This is just one of the bumps in the road for them.
(( trigger warnings: blood, miscarriage, mentions and flashbacks of both. reading warnings: This was written between two mun/mods as a roleplay. It’s still relatively easy to follow, but each new paragraph is when character switches happen. ))
Something tickled in her nose and something else prodded at her hand, then a steady and entirely too annoying beeping sound finally pulled her awake. The room was bright as she opened her eyes and it sent pain signals to her brain so she kept her eyes closed. Holding them shut tight she braved the light again, feeling scratchy sheets that weren't her own and a dull ache on the side of her head. "Mm..." she groaned, the sound reverberating in her head. Then she saw him sitting there, head down, and his fingers entwined with hers. He looked... scared. Maybe even a little pissed. "D-Dean?"
He raised his head from where he had been going everything that he'd learned in the last twelve hours, still trying to compartmentalize and wrap his head around all the facts. He was sure that things were bordering on surreal what with the trauma and the sleep deprivation. There was no way he was going to sleep if Ruby might die. He swallowed thickly, thumb rubbing over the back of her hand, "How you feelin'?" he croaked, his throat dry with disuse.
Ruby shook her head slowly. "Weak... drug the fuck out," she groaned. Ruby hadn't felt nearly this bad since... since a bout of alcohol poisoning put her in the hospital for three days. The beeping sound still went off in slow intervals and she realized the tickle in her nose was an oxygen tube. "What.. what the hell am I doing here? What happened?"
Dean nodded, sure that she didn't feel the greatest. He'd only been in the hospital a few times, and he had hated it. Damn anesthesia always made him so sick. But at her question, he felt the tears automatically rise and he had to clear his throat and close his eyes before he was able to even try to answer her. "You're... in the hospital." He tightened his grip on her hand and took a couple of deep breaths through his nose, "You passed out yesterday and started hemorraging. You -- we -- the baby's gone."
Ruby's face twisted watching a flood of emotions wash over his face. She was hoping it wasn't just some medication she might be on, making her vision wavy and blurry. Then she saw a tear, just one, roll down right beside his nose. He choked out an explanation and for a minute she swore she'd heard him wrong. "A... what? Baby? What baby?" her voice went from confusion to panic, the sudden sprint for information as her brain searched for any plausible explanation and at the moment not finding one. "Dean what the hell are you talking about?" Her hand jerked away.
He let her yank her hand away from his, her eyes narrowed and suspicious. Instead of getting defensive, he followed the doctor's advice and stuck to the facts. "They weren't sure how far along you were - they guessed about eight weeks." He explained and rubbed at the traitorous tear before folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.
There was no way. She would have known. She always kept up with that stuff. She didn't know any woman that didn't. But now here was Dean, spilling off cold hard facts at her and here she was, laying in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm and an oxygen tube attached to her face, feeling weak from apparent blood loss and she still didn't want to believe him. "They- they're wrong," she said, trying her best to sit up, her blanket falling from her chest to her stomach, eyes wide with disbelief and pain. "This isn't funny Dean. Why am I here?" Her voice broke, hoping maybe if she asked again his answer would change.
Dean shook his head, standing to try and keep her in bed, "Look, they told me I could only stay if you were calm... I -- I'm not family so it was only because of the nature of the visit is why they let me stay." he tried to explain. "You were pregnant, Rubes... But now... now you're not." He shoved his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes painfully. "Your mom is in the waiting room. I -- I have to go, but I'll send her in on my way out."
Pregnant? No way. Not a chance. They were always safe. Always used condoms. And they'd never failed them, ever. Ruby tried to breathe, the beeping behind her quickening as her heart rate raised. "Dean I... I didn't know. You know that right? I swear I didn't know!" Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. He wouldn't even look at her. "Babe, come..." the door shut, "... back.." her word trailed after him.
Dean gave Mrs Cutler a nod as he walked through the visitor's lounge and out of the hospital. There was no way he could go back to their apartment right now, even if Cas had sent him a text telling him that he had cleaned up and blessed the house of any evil. Dean didn't believe in the same things that Castiel did, but he appreciated the sentiment of his actions. Dean made his way to his car, sitting in the spacious suv for an indeterminate amount of time, just going over everything. When he finally started up the car and drove, he followed the route back to his parent's house.
"Mama I didn't know! And he wouldn't even /look/ at me! It was so clinical. Just "you were pregnant and now you're not". It didn't even sound like him..." she sobbed deeply into her moms shoulder, the hushes and hair strokes were gentle but didn't do her much good. "Mama I need him. I need him. And he just walked out. I don't.. mama I didn't mean to. I didn't know..."
Meanwhile, Dean was doing almost exactly the same with his own mom. "She looked so disgusted when I told her," he sighed, shaking his head once he had gotten all the intense sobs out into his mother's shoulder and moved onto staring across the living room at no particular spot while taking sips from his tea, at Mary's insistence. He was worn as thin as tissue paper and he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to emotionally handle everything. "She's gonna be in the hospital a few more days. Can I stay here? I can't -- God, ma. That face she made." He shut his eyes and felt the cup being taken from his hand, his mother's arms once more wrapped around him before she shooed him upstairs to take a nap in his old room.
Ruby cried herself to sleep for the next two nights. The first night she hemorrhaged again, cementing the diagnosis in her mind and making everything more real. The doctor kept her an extra night just to be sure it wouldn't happen again. On her fourth awake day, her mom was helping her pack up her belongings and keeping a watchful eye on her as she shuffled around the room. She hadn't said much more since her tear fest, and her parents couldn't blame her. Her dad tried to make her smile a few times but his attempts came up short. She wondered if he'd even be home when she got back, and a small part of her even hoped he'd show up and at least check on her, but so far, nothing. She was losing hope fast.
Dean received regular updates via his mom, whom got all her information from chatting with Ruby's mom. For the most part, he kept to himself -- doing odd jobs around the house that his dad hadn't gotten around to doing. He hadn't even complained when he cleaned out the gutters of soggy leaves from two years of seasons. Finally, though, he knew the day came when he had to suck it up and decide just what the fuck he was doing; but only because that's exactly what his mother told him when she'd handed him his first cup of coffee for the day.
Ruby hadn't heard from Dean since he left her at the hospital. She couldn't blame him, though she still didn't know if he believed that she honestly didn't know she was pregnant in the first place. The doctors told her when she got home that she needed to rest, recuperate and not do any heavy activity for the next couple of weeks to avoid another hemorrhage episode. She tried, spent the first day back at the apartment just laying in bed, mostly crying once she realized he wasn't coming home. The next day was no better, but by Day 3 she's started packing. Odds and ends, little knick knacks that would go unnoticed if you weren't looking for them.
He had been told that Ruby hadn't left their apartment, not even for food. Which didn't help his anxiety as he jingled the keys in his hand, making his way up the stairs. His lungs hurt with the deep breath he took before he unlocked the door and walked in.
She heard the door open and her heart dropped to her toes. Of course he walked in in the middle of a crying spell that she hadn't been able to stop, brought on by packing up a picture of them from one of their first dates. She tried to dry her eyes but the evidence was still clear on her face as she turned around to face him.
Dean had to clench his jaw shut, or else he was liable to say something tearfilled and something totally emasculating. "Hey," he finally said, hands fisting into his jeans pockets, his eyes falling from her tear stained face to the hardwood floors.
A slow nod and Ruby bit her lip, watching his face for any emotion she may be able to read. He looked smaller with his hands in his pockets like that, like he was still doing everything he could to shy away and it broke her heart. A broken and nearly muted, "Hey," dropped from her tongue and she put the box she was carrying down on the counter.
"So..." He looked up from the floor long enough to take a glance at the boxes and her face one more time. "Since you're... packing," he sighed and jutted his thumb over his shoulder, "I'm gonna... go get my things, too." He chewed on his lower lip before he nodded and walked to the bedroom.
"No.." she stopped him. "You don't have to leave. I just... you've been gone, so I figured... I dunno..." Ruby wasn't sure where she was going with this train of thought. "I mean... you should stay, keep the place. I just figured you might not want me around anymore. So..." she trailed off.
"You actually think I can stay here?" Came out before he was able to stop it, and he immediate regretted the snap to his tone. "Sorry. I've.... I've been gone because I can't be here -" his eyes drifted to the kitchen where Castiel had found Ruby in her own blood. remembering it almost made him sick and he had to turn away again, "Look, I'm not telling you to stay; all I'm saying is that I can't."
Ruby found herself flinching at his tone, making herself smaller and wrapping her arms around herself. She watched his eyes, realized he'd looked at the place on the floor where she'd collapsed and saw his face go green. She'd done the same thing the first day back home. "Can't?" she asked. "Or won't?"
He sighed and turned back to her, his arms stretching out wide at his sides, "Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Rubes? Huh?" He walked further into the room, his foot falls loud. He might've been stomping, though. "So go ahead, tell me that this is all my fault - that I fucking neglected you or that I didn't take better care of you. G'head and say it, because its not anything that I haven't told myself over and over in the past week."
"You're fault?!" Her face twisted in disbelief. "How is any of this /your/ fault Dean? I don't recall you being the one bleeding out on our kitchen floor. And I'm pretty sure your body didn't reject a pregnancy. Don't fucking turn this around on you, cause that's not how it is and you know it."
"And this is all on you? Why? Because you somehow knew that neither if us were ready for this?! You didn't know the moment you got pregnant! You didn't even know you missed any of your fucking periods, Rubes...." So he was working up for a fight and it didn't look pretty. "Which," he folded his arms over his chest, frown drawing his face together, "how didn't you notice, huh? Or were you just keeping it from me?"
"You're fucking joking right? Had you not noticed how busy I've been? How very little time we've had together lately? Fucking hell, I'm at work more than at home! So no, I didn't notice. It's not like I was expecting it not to come." She propped her elbows on the counter and dropped her face into her hands. "I can't - I can't believe you think I'd just hide something like that. What kind of fucking monster do you think I am Dean?"
"Did I call you a monster? No! You're human, Ruby! You're human and you probably fucking thought that --" he nearly staggered, his knees almost bucking with the epiphany. "You never wanted to marry me, did you? It's why you never gave me an answer. " his voice was suddenly shot, croaking out of him while he leaned against the doorway. "You -- you were so standoffish that night. The only time you even looked at me... was when we -- why? Why couldn't you just tell me?"
"No that's... Dean, that's not true. Not at all!" She wanted to move, go to him and make him look at her, make him listen, but her feet felt cemented to the floor. "I just... I told you I wasn't ready to take that step yet. Hell we haven't been together but less than a year now. This is still new to me. I'm still finding my place in your life." The weight in her chest just got heavier. "Do I even have a place anymore?"
"How can you even ask that?" He sniffled and ran his hand down his face to try and wipe away the tears. It didn't work, other than to just smudge the water around. "I wanted to marry you, Ruby. I shopped for rings for weeks -- I put my heart on the line and you just... You acted like it was nothing, Rubes." He sighed and shook his head, thumping it back on the door jam, trying to breathe through the sobs bubbling up in his chest. "I'll always love you, Ruby. I wasn't lying about that." He admitted softly, towards the ceiling.
Her legs couldn't hold her anymore, and huge sobs came from her chest, tears spilling onto her shirt as she sunk to her knees. "Dean I didn't mean to act like it was nothing. I know how big that is. And I hated myself for not saying yes. And every time after that I kept hating myself for not saying it. You understand what it's like to be ready, to jump into something so huge. I didn't understand. Not then. Not the last time you asked, even if I did act like it was no big deal." She pressed on the bridge of her nose with fingers from both hands. "I wasn't gonna say nothing again... not the next time...."
"I guess we'll never know, though, will we?" He rhetorically asked before he pushed himself into the bedroom, forcing himself to start packing his essentials into the duffel he kept under the bed.
She watched him walk down the hall and pull the duffel out from under the bed, random objects and clothing being pushed into it hurriedly. All she could do was watch, her world falling to pieces around her. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, leaning against the cabinet beside her. "I'm so sorry..."
"I'll... be back for the rest of my stuff." He twisted the duffel's handle in his fist, once he was done packing what he could fit, and he hand his hand on the doorknob. "Is there anything else you want to say?" He asked, the both of them being able to read the subtext of ' this is the last time we're going to see each other'.
Final words. That's what he wanted. He really was leaving forever. "Just..." she paused. "I love you Dean. Take care of yourself okay?"
Dean's body went cold before it flamed up again, his muscles loosening. Boring his lip, he dropped the duffle on the floor, turning to where she was crumpled on the floor. "I still love you. More than you can even imagine. But this hurts, Ruby. No way Hell could I have handled it, but its what I've wanted - and... I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted, too."
Ruby looked up at the thud and listened, face twisting in confusion. "You obviously didn't hear me. Or you chose not to listen." Slowly, she made her way to her feet. "I do want it. I want all of it, all of you. Forever. Until I take my last breath I just want you and everything that comes with you." She took a deep breath. "I - if I had known about the baby... I would have told you. I swear." Her lip trembled as she spoke. "And it wouldda made no difference on the fact that I was just dying for the next time you asked if I'd made up my mind yet."
His chin wobbled, and he'd deny it if anyone would've said the noise that came out of him was a whine. But that's exactly what it was. "That's good to know." He nodded, walking slowly towards her, his voice in a lower timbre than normal. "Lemme hold you. Please?" He offered his arms out, much less demanding and intimidating than before.
She took the chance, knowing if she put it off in any way he'd surely be gone and out that door, and effectively gone from her life forever. She moved to him steadily, willing her knees not to buckle as soon as she pressed her face into his chest. Then all she could do was cry, disgusting sobs from way down deep in her chest that dragged unsure breaths out with each one. One hand fisted in his shirt and the other wrapped up around his arm to the back of his shoulder and she hung on for dear life.
He buried his own face in her hair, breathing in deeply to try and keep himself together as she fell apart. Holding onto him for dear life, he felt like they were attempting to stay afloat in a hurricane and he rubbed his hand up and down her back, murmuring soft nothings.
As the sobs slowed and the slow swaying rhythm they'd found themselves in had ceased, she finally dragged her face up to look at him, bringing her hand up to wipe at the tear streaks on his face. "Stay? Please stay." she whispered.
"It hurts so bad, Rubes. I mean --" his eyes found the kitchen one more time before they shut tightly, reopening to watch her. "How do you do it? How can you stand it?"
"Denial?" she tried to make her tone light, joking, but failed. "I just... I didn't see it. I don't remember any of it. And to be honest I haven't gone anywhere near that spot since I came back. I just.. I cant."
He sighed and nodded, understanding her inability to see it from his perspective. "It was awful, Ruby. Has Cas -- he said he sent flowers, but I wasn't sure if he came to visit, too. Did he?" He decided to try and move off of the subject, give his raw nerves a break.
Ruby pointed at the large arrangement of colorful flowers on the corner of the kitchen counter. "They came in the day before he came over. He re-checked the floor, made some food and wouldn't leave until I drank like four bottles of water."
Dean's smile was bittersweet, "Yeah, I knew he was a good man." He trailed over the colorful flowers, remembering when he had told Castiel that Sunflowers, Iris and Tigerlillies were some of Ruby's favorites. Obviously he hadn't forgotten.
"He is," she agreed, "I'm glad you have a friend like him."
He softly swept his thumb over Ruby's cheek, "He's your friend, too. When I came in... He was praying for you, you know."
The thought made her smile. "That sounds about right. Sounds very Cas. I'll have to tell him I appreciate it the next time I see him. He didn't tell me that himself, but why would he, ya know?"
Dean nodded, shrugging, a gentle smile on his own face, "I don't know what I would find if I had lost you, too." He whispered, burying his face in her hair again, holding her close.
She hugged him back tightly pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Hey, look you didn't lose me okay? I'm right here, so you shouldn't even have to think about that. I'm here okay?" She stroked his hair, while her other hand rubbed small circles at the top of his back.
He nodded, pulling back to look deeply at her. The emotion he felt welling up, having her this close and the turmoil they were going through - "Promise you didn't know?" He asked one lady time, understanding if she told him any different.
Ruby nodded, meeting his gaze as a show of truth. "I promise I didn't know. I can only imagine how much worse this would be if I did."
"Kay." He nodded, "I believe you." Unsure of just what was acceptable, he brought his hands to cup her face, and landed in until he almost kissed her before he stopped, waiting for her to close the remaining space between them, if she wanted to.
When he stopped her eyebrow raised. She knew what he wanted, but she took her chance to lighten the mood even more. "Did you get lost?" she reached up and tapped her lips. "Destination: 2 inches. Bring it home Winchester." She leaned in anyway and kissed him, a smile woven into the kiss.
Her spitfire attitude made him smile into the kiss, too; it let him know that she was still there, still the same girl he had fallen in love with over the course of his life and that she still loved him as much as she had before the miscarriage. "One day." He breathed across her lips, promising. "I'll ask you again, one day."
Her heart swelled at the promise, and an even larger one hung in the air now. Even without a ring, without a big white dress and tuxedo, or flower petals sprinkled down an aisle, they were gonna make it to forever. You never let anything come between you and your best friend, unless that thing was love squirming it's way into your life. "I'll wait forever if I have to," she promised back.
He felt himself laugh - the first time he'd had the urge to in days - and rubbed their noses together, "I'm almost tempted to hold you to that." He tilted again and gave her a chaste peck. "You gonna hate me if I say we have to find a new place?" He knew the non-sequitur might give her rhetorical whiplash, but he had to ask.
Ruby grinned. "No. I... I think it's best if we do." She looked back at the kitchen, a flash of imagined pictures going through her mind of the blood, of her laying in it. Of an end of a life she never knew existed. "Can we go now? Start looking? I want to sleep with you again and I know you won't stay here."
His eyebrows raised at her forwardness. "Uh - I - do you think that's a good idea? I mean, didn't the doctors-?" There was no way that they cleared her for sex already. Really, he didn't know anything other than what information the doctors gave him. Maybe he needed to do some research. Once it stopped hurting, anyway. "And you need to rest."
She popped him on the forehead. "Not sex you idiot. Sleep. Cuddle, curl up in blankets like a nest and watch tv until we fall out. /Sleep./ It's been over a week, damn near two since... then. I haven't slept a full night. I'm lucky if I get an hour or two at a time. I need you back."
Dean rubbed his forehead where she'd hit it. Oh. Well... if that was the case... He smirked, "You just like using me as a pillow." He teased before he gave her tubs a soft poke. "Would you be up for looking though the internet postings at my parents? And if anything stands out... we can go check it out, yeah?"
"You're my favorite pillow," she admitted, smiling. "Will they mind if I stay too? I can pack up a bag real quick If you need to call them." She was excited about finding another place, and maybe not forgetting, no never forgetting what happened here, but putting it behind them. They needed a fresh start.
Dean shook his head, "Ma was just tired of seeing me mopey. Plus I still have tons to do for her - and she needs a buddy to watch shows with. She turned me into a 'Desperate Housewives' junkie." He sighed dramatically before he bent to pick her up in a bridal carry. "This alright? Am I hurting you?"
Ruby let out a hoot of laughter at his admission. "That's rich. Very rich." Then a squeak and she was in his arms, hands wrapped around the back of his neck. "It's fine. Nothing I can't handle," she promised, kissing him quickly.
"Tell anyone and I'm releasing that drunken picture of you giving me a lap dance." He threatened and kissed her back, settling her on the bed once they had made it to the bedroom. He pulled her suitcase from the top of the closet. "You stay there, I'll pack." He ordered, finger pointing at her.
"Nuuu not that one. I wont say a word I swear." She buried her face in his neck, chuckling on the way down the hall. She sat where he placed her, knees pulled up just a little, watching him get her stuff packed up. "Can I get my stuff from the bathroom at least?" she asked, hesitating before standing.
He gave her a careful once-over before a succinct nod, and he turned back to the closet, "You... okay in jeans, or are we going with cute sweats for now?" He asked from being nose-deep in her pajama drawer. A cursory glance as to what she was currently wearing made him do a double take, surprised. Those were /his/ sweats. And that was /his/ tanktop.
"Jeans are a little... uncomfortable right now. Sweats are fine." She answered, not noticing his looks and walking into the bathroom to gather her toiletries, including the entirely too large and uncomfortable "necessities" the hospital gave her to take home, hence her asking for sweatpants.
"That's my stuff." Even to him, his tone was weird. She was wearing his clothes... she only ever did that when he was out for more than a couple of days. And when he came back, she always smelled like him, opting to spray herself with his cologne and burrow in his baggy clothes. Which meant... she really did miss him. "You're wearing my clothes, Rubes." He clarified, still stunned.
She stopped in the doorway of the bathroom, staring at him blankly before looking down at herself. "I... yeah. I just... you weren't here. I told you I needed you here. This was the best I could get." Maybe he hadn't noticed the white t-shirt she'd pulled over his pillow that also belonged to him, the one she chose to sleep on until he decided to come back. And he'd only just missed her wearing his hoodie, the one she'd stolen from him years before in high school that she still sprayed his cologne on when the scent wore off or was washed away in the laundry.
That solidified it for him, watching her shuffle around in his clothes, around their house that they had picked things out for; decorated their home. Theirs. She loved him. He'd questioned it plenty of times inside his own mind, just happy to be home once he was there... but he had never receieved such a big, solid, bright sign before. He must've been blind. And now, 'I love you' seemed so little in comparison to how he felt. He didn't think that there were enough words to describe how he felt. So instead, he just nodded, swallowed down the tears and gave her a wobbly smile, "Oh."
Ruby watched his face, internal dialog happening in every change of his expression. She hung the bag from her shoulder and walked to him. "What? You want em back? I can wear my own clothes to your parents if it's a problem baby." She was obviously oblivious to what was going on in his head.
He smiled, the strength of it building. "No, it's fine." God, he'd missed her nicknames. Missed the stability it represented. "Here, lemme get your bag for you -" he reached out for it, trying to keep her load as light as possible.
"I'm not gonna break Dean," she put her hand over his when he reached for the strap, keeping his hand where it fell. "I'm still me. Still strong and bossy and hard headed. And fully capable of carrying a bag with a toothbrush and some pads. Okay?"
He sighed. Dammit. Still fuckin' stubborn. "Alright, alright." He squeezed her shoulder gently and turned his hand over to link their fingers, "You okay to make it to the rig? I still have my bag and yours to carry."
She nodded, taking his hand and linking his fingers with hers. "I'm good..." she leaned up and kissed him softly, a little longer than a peck. "I promise." They walked out of the bedroom, and she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter before going into the living room and letting his hand go so he could grab his duffel.
He made sure to lock up after them and to call the elevator for Ruby - no way was he about to make her walk down even a flight of stairs. "Did you want to stay at your parents? I didn't even ask."
She pursed her lips and gave him her best "not on your life" face. "No, no I want to stay with you. Even if we have to squish into that little double bed at your mom's." The elevator opened and they stepped on, then there was the jolt that always made her stomach flip and they were headed to the first floor of the building.
He had to give her a soft smirk. Things always felt more strained at her parents for him... He suddenly began to wonder if it was the same for her. He easily slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, his bag at his feet while he watched the floors light up on their way down. "We could always get a hotel room, too." Dean gave her the option, opening the front door for her.
She suddenly felt like she couldn't give a right answer. She walked out the door and towards the truck, jerking on the handle and tossing her bags into the floorboard. "Why are you freaking out about where we're gonna stay? I'm totally cool with wherever you want to go babe. Like I said, I just want to go where you go."
"I'm not freaking out." And just like that, they were back to their normal bickering. Twenty minutes after kissing and making up - literally - they were back to this song and dance. He had to give a laugh as he settled in behind the wheel. "I'm giving you the option, because I realized that I just up and chose where we were staying."
"Oh and it's totally out of character for you not to go control freak, right?" she goaded. "I'm guessing you already have some stuff at your moms, so unless you want to have to run all over town to get your things..."
"And there's the real Ruby," he linked their fingers together once he started driving. "Bitchy and ready to call me on my shit." He gave her a quick wink, smirking. "You complain about my bed, and I'll boot you to Sammy's room to sleep all by your fuckin' self."
"Someone's gotta keep you straight Winchester." She raised their hands to her lips to kiss his knuckles. "Maybe I'll take his room anyway. His bed might be softer."
"Bitch." He affectionately called her, grinning at the feel of her lips once he stopped at a red light. "You wouldn't abandon me to a cold bed and you know it."
"Ass," she retorted, returning his grin. Her thumb rubbed lightly over the swell of his knuckle. "You're right. I definitely need my space heater back... unless your moms got one of those electric blankets..." she trailed off, giving him a teasing side glance.
He met her teasing glance with a glare of his own, "Uh huh. And who'll be there to give you cuddles? Sammy's stuffed Elephant, Mr. Grey?"
"Is that stupid thing still in there?" she asked, a little shocked. "Jeez I'm surprised he didn't take it off to Stanford with him and make Jessica let him include it in their décor."
Dean snorted, surprised at her obvious distaste for the animal. "Would you be nice? It was like, his only friend when he had chicken pox. Even Dad stayed away from him."
"Yeah so did every kid in the neighborhood and someone I still ended up catching them, and I was the ONLY one. That was such bullshit." She recalled that time with a look a disgust. "I've never been so miserable and I was so pissed at him."
Dean snickered, "But you looked so cute, little flakes of oatmeal still on you from your bath and trying not to scratch..." He trailed off, making the turn to lead them down their parent's street.
She laughed at the memory. The oatmeal bath was the only thing that made her feel better, and that's when she found out she was allergic to something in calamine lotion. Of course that was her luck. "You told me the oatmeal was my skin peeling and that it was all going to fall off. I was terrified to scratch. You were fucking evil."
He howled, braking to park them on the street, his shoulders shaking from the force if his laughter, "I totally forgot about that." He wiped under an eye, trying to reign in his giggles. "You got me back pretty good for it, though."
"Did I? God I don't even remember what I did?" his laughter was contagious. "I just remember being super pissed for a really long time because I thought I was gonna be ugly."
Dean's smile turned down a few watts and he looked over her face, "No, you're beautiful. Always was." He sincerely told her before he caught the motion of his mom hurrying or of the house to the truck. "Get ready for coddling." He murmured, watching her approach Ruby's side of the truck.
The door was flung open and she was enveloped in Mary Winchester in less than three seconds. "Hey Mama," she said, giving Dean a 'help-me' look over her shoulder but hugging her back.
"She wanted to come here, rather than get a hotel." Dean informed his mom, the cooing doubling. "And she even agreed to watch your shows with you - but ya'll are saving Desperate Housewives for me. " He picked up the bags, giving Ruby a nefarious wink as he slid out.
Mary backed out of her door and Ruby climbed out slowly, grabbing her purse and her other bag before Mary grabbed her hand and closed the truck door. Ruby raised an eyebrow at him, a silent "i'll kill you in your sleep mister" and then a reassuring smile at Mary when she was asked if she was feeling any better. "I'm getting there Mama. Don't worry over me okay?" She knew her request was futile.
Dean heard the scoff from Mary, even if he was almost to the door. "That's like asking a bird not to fly, Rubes." He threw back at them before he dropped both bags inside the door. "Hey, do you want coffee or tea?"
"Yeah I know," she said, leaning her head on Mary's shoulder. They walked into the house together and Ruby answered, "Tea sounds good. Coffee will just keep me up all night and apparently I need to get better rest."
Dean nodded and yawned, feeling the need for a nap, even if it was only noon. Maybe once they started looking, or a little sleep before dinner. He turned the stove on under the kettle and moved to bring their bags up to his room while Mary led Ruby into the living room.
Mary was probably the nicest woman in the whole world, but she was also pretty curious. Liz, Ruby's mom, had given her the barest of details while Ruby was in the hospital and now she was asking for Ruby to fill in the blanks. Ruby was happy to oblige, but more than glad to see Dean come back downstairs.
"Ma. Easy." He reminded and chuckled as he gave both girls kisses to their cheeks; Mary's considerably more pink than it had been. "Well, when stubborn men like you, 'don't want to talk about it', I have to get my information from a respectable source, Dean." Mary lectured before she waved a hand at the playful glare he sent back over his shoulder from the kitchen.
Ruby chuckled, smiling after him as he went to the kitchen. She went back to answering Mary's question. "They just told me to rest. I need to talk to John about coming back to work though. He seems hesitant to want me anywhere near the shop," she confided. "To be honest I was more worried about Dean and than me, but we had a come-to-Jesus meeting earlier and I think we're gonna be okay now. Thanks for letting him, and now us, stay here. We'll be out of your hair soon. We're gonna start looking for a new apartment today."
