Welcome to the Family (Wattys 2016)

In Home Protection

He held you close at night. Especially since the attack. It had been a week since you had told him that he would need to testify in the trial and there was absolutely no way that he could sleep with that. What if he said something wrong? What if what he said would let Kyle go free? There was too much pressure on his mind to sleep, so he watched you as you did.

Your breathing was soft and even. It made you look like you were at complete peace with the world which was a rare occasion lately. His arm that was wrapped under you held your waist close to him. The fan next to your side of the bed had blown a stand of hair across your face. Jensen smiled down at you as he moved his hand to move the strand back into its place, when he say the scar on the side of your cheek that hadn't been there a year ago.

Jensen took a deep breath and sat up. Lately, it had been hard. Very hard. It was hard to look at you and not feel like you were a fragile little doll. It was hard to listen to you scream yourself out of your nightmares knowing there was nothing he could do to help you. It was hard knowing that if he would have just stayed with you, none of this would have happened.

He slowly threw the covers off of himself and got out of bed, making sure not to wake you. He made his way down the hall and to the study that he usually went to when he needed time by himself to think. Jensen shut the door behind him before letting out a sigh and closing his eyes. But this didn't help.

He saw the look that was plastered on your face, the look of complete defeat, as he finally broke down the door to get to you. He saw Kyle's laughing face even though there was a pen stuck in his leg. Kyle knew that he had almost one. That he had almost taken you from him.

Jensen had to stop himself from those thoughts. They were consuming him. He decided that he should put the time that he couldn't sleep to good use and walked over the desk in the middle of the study that contained the list of possible questions that prosecution could ask him, courtesy of your lawyer.

He sat down at the desk and read over the same sentence again and again, unable to focus or concentrate. This trial wasn't going to be easy for him. Hell, these past few months hadn't been easy on either of you. He out the piece of paper back down on the desk and sat back in his chair.

His eyes ran over the various objects the covered his cluttered his desk. Most were just pens and scripts from past episodes that had notes scribbled all over them. But then there were the pictures he had of the two of you. There were ones from your trip to Hawaii with his family and the one from your weekend getaway to Maine where you were just able to relax. Lastly, there was the picture of the two from your birthday the last year at the shooting range. Your smile was so bright. There was a light still in your eyes.

Jensen grabbed the picture quickly and opened up one of the drawers of the desk and shoved the picture in it. He didn't want to be reminded of that time when you were happier, when your smile was warm and you didn't get scared at the littlest things.

Once he threw the picture in the drawer, he heard it hit something hard. Something he didn't want to remember he had. He lifted up the picture and slid the plain black case out of the drawer and set it on the desk.

The hospital was cold and uninviting, just the place Jensen didn't want to be. He looked into your room from the hallways window as Gen was sitting with you, comforting you and giving him a chance to stretch his legs for the first time since you had gotten to the hospital.

"Hey man. How's she doing?" Jared asked, walking up to him and handing him a cup of black coffee.

"It's hard to tell. She isn't talking much." He relied in a tired voice.

"Well, hopefully Gen can get her to lighten up. This hasn't been easy for you." Jared tried to ease the tension. All Jensen could do was let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Yeah, dude. I know."

"Hey I'm just trying to help. I don't really know what to do here either." Jared said, looking sad.

"What did we do last time that worked so well. God, why are we even having to talk about how to make this time work? This never should have even happened." Jensen said, getting frustrated and sitting down in a chair on the side of the hallway. Jared came over and sat down next to him.

"We'll get through this brother. We'll do whatever it takes ok?" He consoles.

"I just wish I could have been there to protect her." Jensen said, looking at the floor.

"Why don't we just worry about protecting her this time ok? Do you have anything at the house?" Jared asks.

"What? Like the security system?"

"No. More than that." Jared stops. "Wait, please tell me you have a gun at the house."

Jensen kept his eyes on the floor.

"Come on, man. Hasn't been being Dean Winchester for 10 years taught you anything? Tomorrow, we'll go out and get you one. That way you know for sure your house is protected ok?" Jensen chuckled at the comment.

"I just want her to be safe."

Jensen's eyes stayed glued on the gun case sitting in front of him. He couldn't believe that this is what his life had become. He couldn't believe that he needed to buy a gun to feel safe in his own house.

"Hey, everything ok?" You asked, leaning into the doorframe. Jensen jumped at the sudden noise.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Just couldn't sleep." He replied to you and you nodded.

"I just heard a noise and woke up without you next to me and got a little scared." You whispered over to him.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry." He said standing up. "Everything is ok. I just couldn't sleep. Her, let's go back to bed ok?" He asks as he reaches you and places a hand on your arm. You nod and walk back to your room.

"I promise baby. Everything is going to be ok. You will be safe." Jensen whispers as he pulls you in close and kisses your forehead.