Kiss Me Goodbye

Chapter 18

So here she was sitting on the bed, Dean holding her hands sitting near her, the same picture that they drew before she had left with Matt that evening. She had calmed down a little bit, but then again she remembered the awful night, she placed her head on Dean's shoulder and started to weep.

"I'll kill him." He announced thinking that Matt had done the unforgivable.

"No don't. I'm just crying because I'm tired." She explained leaving the temporary shelter of his embrace. "I'm feeling really dirty. I need to take a bath." She removed herself totally from the bed, walked into her closet, selected some items, turned off the light switch and headed to the bathroom as if Dean wasn't there.

"I don't want Garcia suspicious." She threw behind her back.

But as she started to close the door, Dean's foot stopped it. She looked at him surprised.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me what happened."

"I can't tell you now. I really just want to take a bath right away. Please." She begged her eyes starting to water again. He allowed her the temporary reprieve.

"I'll wait for you till you're done with your bath, then I expect a full account of what happened this evening." He said not leaving any place for negotiations.

Christiana just nodded her head and closed the door after he removed his foot.

A bubble bath was just the thing to make her relax. It always did her a world of good. As she lowered her body into the warm water she tried to relax her muscles.

But as she relaxed, the events of the evening that she was trying to keep out came back rushing in and she saw every mistake and took in every touch amplified it and lived it again. So instead of relaxing in the hot water she cringed and cried the tears she had suppressed when she was with Matt.

She remembered the kiss, the ring that was still on her finger that she removed immediately and threw to the countertop with disgust, and she cried harder. She remembered the groping and the touching and she felt violated again.

Then she remembered his request. It was the only thing that she sort of liked in this whole evening. Yes she liked it because it allowed her even if it were for a short while to live her ultimate fantasy.

She was scared from Dean's reaction when he got the news. But what angered her the most was that Matt dared suggest something so... lowly even for him.

She hurriedly finished her bath, rubbing herself raw and not bothering to relax anymore.

Once she dried herself up and redressed she brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth with soap until she was exhausted.

With a yawn she picked the ring up knowing that she should wear it so that she wouldn't forget it and doom her act to perdition when next she saw Matt.

Her eyes were puffy and she was dead on her feet but she knew that she still had to face Dean. She could still hear him pacing at the bathroom door.

How will she face him with the news? But more importantly, how will he react?

Tia isn't a coward. She thought and with that resolve she left her sanctuary to face whatever came next.

When she stepped out of the bathroom she was received with a bear hug as she started turning off the light.

Dean heard her cry and he was trying to console her as best as he could. If only he knew how much it meant to her to have his support.

He might be just doing his job but to her it was these small gestures that made the difference. These small details changed her life. He changed her life.