My Own Hero

Danneel

-JENSEN'S POV-

I was fuming by the time Scarlett coaxed me away from the table. It turned out, not only my ex-wife, but my daughter had shown up to the convention and I hadn't gotten to see them. Not only that, but from the whispers and talk I caught bits and pieces of throughout the day, a lot of people had seen them get escorted out, including some of the other cast members.

"Those no good-" I began.

"Jensen," Scarlett cut me off firmly. "Breathe with me."

She took one of my hands and placed it over her heart, taking deep breaths as she did so. Pretty soon, I found myself matching the rhythm until our hearts were beating in synch with each other.

"Alrighty," she said after a moment. "Feel better?"

"A little," I admitted.

"I'll take that."

She let go of my hand and it fell to my side once more.

"What would I do without you?" I asked her.

"Crash and burn," she smirked.

I groaned, putting my face in my hands.

"I walked into that, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did."

"Remind me why I like you again?"

"The first time we met I called you a douchebag. For whatever reason, you liked that," she shrugged.

"I don't deserve you."

"Damn straight."

I chuckled at her response, pulling her closer in a tight embrace. She hugged me back, her hands fisting in the back of my shirt.

"So can we go back and enjoy dinner, or are you going to get mad at everybody again?"

"I think I'm good."

"Okie dokie."

"You say that a lot," I observed as we made our way back to where everyone was still eating.

"And that's not the line."

"I wouldn't be saying the line either way because you are a her not a him."

She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and I winked down at her as we took our seats.

"All good?" Jared inquired tentatively.

"All good," Scarlett nodded, and dinner resumed like nothing had happened.

***

"Daddy!"

Scarlett stopped talking mid sentence while I turned to see the little girl in pigtails and a dress running at me full speed. Scar and I had decided to take a walk in a nearby park during our break, and apparently it was a poor decision.

"J Bird," I greeted my daughter, gathering her in my arms.

"Sorry, she saw you and I couldn't hold her back," Dani said, walking over.

"It's fine," I mumbled, focusing my attention on the toddler I was holding instead of the woman who had come with her.

"Daddy, who that?"

"That's Scarlett, princess."

"She my new Mommy?"

Dani bristled at the question. Scarlett had been silent since JJ had run up to us. She had seemed super uncomfortable up until that point, and then she was glancing nervously at me, both her and Dani waiting for my response.

"No, baby, she's not," I spoke softly.

"Why not?"

I swallowed hard, unsure what to say to the young girl. Luckily, Scarlett came to my rescue. Again.

"I'm just your daddy's girlfriend," she told JJ.

"Gewlfwend?" JJ's brow furrowed.

"Mm hm."

JJ was silent, face scrunched in concentration as she thought through the new information.

"You wuv my daddy?"

"Yes, JJ, I love your daddy very much."

"Can we talk for a minute?" Dani cut in then, looking straight at me.

"Um... Sure," I nodded, handing JJ over to Scarlett.

As they walked off a bit to give Dani and I some privacy, I heard Scarlett talking quietly with my daughter, asking her different questions and smiling as the toddler responded animatedly.

"What?" I asked, the question coming out harsh.

"I messed up, Jay," Danneel began. "JJ needs you in her life."

"Yeah, well, you should have thought of that before you denied me time with her."

"Look, I get you're angry, but I just want to figure this out."

"Angry? Angry doesn't cut it, Danneel," I growled.

"Will you just calm down and accept my apology?"

"You don't get to tell me what to do. As I've said way too many times before, we aren't together any more."

Danneel glared at me, but I refused to back down.

"I get that, Jensen. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry and I think JJ should spend more time with you."

"What about Scarlett?"

"I was wrong about her..."

"Seriously?"

I couldn't believe it. She was actually trying to make things right. It seemed way too good to be true, especially after the things she had said about Scarlett and I in the past.

"Yes, seriously," she insisted in a tone of voice that suggested she thought it was a stupid question. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did to her."

"Where's the catch?"

"Why does there have to be a catch?"

"You really expect me not to think there's a catch after everything we've been through?" I scoffed.

"Look, if you're going to be that way, I can take JJ back and find a sitter for a few hours."

"What?"

"I'm meeting up with some friends in town. I was going to leave her with you for the next few hours, but if you don't trust me-"

"No, no. Hold on," I cut her off. "You can leave her with me."

"Okay then. I'll text you when I'm finishing up."

"Dani," I called out as she started to walk off.

She turned back, and for the first time since she and JJ showed up I really took in her appearance. She was wearing a dark green dress and strappy heels and had her makeup done. The dress made her auburn hair look brighter and she had it pulled back in a simple twist. She was beautiful, but it didn't appeal to me like it used to.

Now I couldn't help comparing her to a certain brunette that looked a lot better in the color and didn't need a ton of makeup to bring out her natural beauty.

"Thanks."

She smiled, a bright, familiar smile that was a bit duller after so many hours making my girlfriend laugh and smile.

"You're welcome, Jay."