That's When We Uncover [Jensen Ackles + Misha Collins | Cockles | mxm]

Chapter Four

After dinner, Jared and Gen stumble upstairs, a little inebriated and more than a little excited to spend some quality time together.

"Babe, I'm so exhausted," Dani giggles against my neck, leaning on me for support as I walk her up to our bedroom.

I kiss the top of her head and wrap my arm snugly around her shoulders.

"Almost there," I murmur as we traverse the dimly-lit hallway. "I'll run you a bubble bath-"

I'm cut off by the sound of a long, high-pitched wail drifting from JJ's bedroom door. Dani sighs, wearily rubbing her forehead.

"Misha," she calls out irritably.

Almost immediately, the faucet in the kitchen shuts off and Mish comes bounding up the stairs, drying his hands on his shirt.

"I've got her," he assures us knowingly, before slipping into JJ's room. I hear his muted voice murmur, "I'm here," before the door closes behind him and JJ's sobbing subsides like magic.

I ease Dani down on our bed and head over to the bathroom, where I fill the tub with hot water and rummage through the cabinets for the perfect scent.

"Babe, what would you like in your bath," I inquire, scanning the labels on the bottles of high-end products lining our shelves. "Tangerine, lavender, ylang-ylang, cedar, jasmine, grapefruit, sandalwood, cinnamon, mint-"

"Rose," Dani calls out, so I extract the supplies and set to work drawing the bath the way I know she likes it.

I pour in luxurious, moisturizing body scrubs and lotions, and enough salts and essential oils to rival any of her spa experiences for glorious de-stressing.

I decide to sprinkle in rose petals for aesthetic appeal and to enhance her skin and mood. Inhaling the naturally-calming scent with satisfaction, I drop the organic petals under the running water when the tub is halfway full and allow the stream of water to disperse them.

"C'mon," I whisper into Dani's hair as I lead her over to the bath and undress her. "Just relax." She's been carrying two other little humans around with her for months, and I can't imagine how draining that might be. She deserves this treat. "I'm going to head downstairs for a bit; don't wait up for me, okay?"

Dani sighs contentedly as she sinks into the hot bath, reclining against the edge and shutting her eyes. Her belly protrudes over the surface of the water and she strokes it absentmindedly while toying with a pink rose petal floating on the water.

"I want you to come bed with me," she pouts. I run my hand lovingly down her glistening forearm, shaking my head.

"I have some things I need to take care of," I insist, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Just go to sleep without me, okay?"

When Dani relents, I leave her soaking in the tub and retrace my steps downstairs. Misha's probably still in with JJ; I can see the pile of dirty dishes he's been working on stacked by the sink.

Determinedly, I walk back to the pool room and carry the remaining dishes and glasses inside before swiping down the table and collecting all the garbage.

Then I set to work on the pool, plan formulating in my head as I go. Tonight I have muted lighting and a romantic atmosphere in mind, so I make sure the ladders are well-lit for safety and adjust everything else to a minimum, until the pale moonlight drifting in through the glass ceiling is virtually all that pierces the veil of darkness in the massive enclosure.