TV Buddies (Dean/Dinah log)
Dinah hadn’t been out of the house a whole lot since the incident with Murphy. She’d tried to call Dean to thank him for his help with the rescue, but he hadn’t returned the call. She knew things hadn’t exactly gone well, and she wanted to at least talk to him after the tension that had happened between him and Harry during the planning session before the rescue.
She had already wanted to stop in and check on the shop and when she was done with that, it was easy enough to just head to the door leading upstairs and knock. While she still had a key, since she was the landlord-she definitely wasn’t going to let herself into Dean’s place. For one thing, that would be really inappropriate, and for another, she didn’t even want to know what she might be walking into. No, better to just knock.
----
Dean wasn’t that bad. Well, he could be, but he wasn’t usually. He clicked the pause button on the dvr thing and walked over to the door, brow raised in slight question at his landlady. He probably should have returned the calls; it might have made whatever ass ripping he was about to get a little easier, or non existent. He stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping back and letting her in.
“How’s Jake?” He didn’t let her talk first. No, he’d start the conversation off with the kid. The kid was why they had all gotten together in the first place. Well, Dinah and the kid. Plus, it would maybe remind her that he wasn’t a bad guy, not exactly. He had helped after all.
----
It wasn’t an easy question to answer, but she should have prepared for it nontheless. Dinah’s expression tightened and she took a minute to respond as she stepped inside.
“He’s... as well as can be expected.” she frowned and took a deep breath to regain control of her emotions. “How are you and Sam? I called to thank you and make sure you two were okay, but you must have missed that message.”
Yeah, she was going to give him the easy out on that one. He’d gone into the lion’s den for Jake, so one dodged phone call was easily forgiven.
----
“Going rough for you.” The older Winchester didn’t question that. He knew it would be tough; he’d had to deal with Sam...hell, he’d had to deal with himself. It was never easy dealing with life after torture. He motioned for her to take a seat.
“Sam was a dog, who lived on the couch. I, no, he will have it cleaned.. There were werewolves, or werecreatures, whatever the fuck they’re called. Not anything Sam and I’d ever met.” He started toward the kitchen, keeping his face away from her - yeah, whatever had started the were-mess hadnt’ been like anything they’d met. Funny, that the nightmares had shifted from one thing he certainly didn’t want to another.. “Want a beer?”
He hadn’t turned the tv off. In fact, he’d somewhat forgotten it, and there on the screen was Dr. Sexy kissing one of the neurotic types that worked in the hospital. Dinah showing up sort of trumped caring about Dr. Sexy.
“So, yeah, we were dealing with that shit I guess. Sorry not to call you back. Having a Great Dane as a brother can be a little distracting.” He was at the fridge now, and looked back at her, waiting for her answer on the drink.
-----
Dinah sat down and watched Dean head to the kitchen.
“Well, I never really thought it was going to be a walk in the park for his recovery. I know what the Joker’s capable of.” She didn’t exactly get into how well she knew what the Joker was capable of, but it was possibly evident from her tone.
“And a beer sounds good.”
In fact, a beer had sounded good a lot more often lately, what with everything that had happened. She hadn’t had anything to drink since going out for drinks with Karrin, but yeah, a beer would be nice right about now.
Dinah shook her head slightly as Dean explained what had happened to Sam.
“Okay, first of all-with what you did for Jake-you kind of get a free pass when it comes to little things like returning a phone call or even wrecking a couch,” she said with a small smile. “And I know about the werecreatures. I ended up turning into a bird myself. But Sam got the cure, right? He’s not still a Great Dane?”
Possibly not the weirdest question she’d ever asked, but most likely close. The freeze frame on the TV caught her eye then, and Dinah tried not to raise an eyebrow.
“And what are you watching?” she asked, though she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to know the answer.
----
“He was. He’s not anymore.” Dean left it at that. He grabbed two bottles of beer and headed back to the couch to settle down beside her. He set his bare feet up on the coffee table as he handed one of the unopened bottles to her. “There was some cure, yeah. Beat to all hell how, his turning into a dog and the cure.” He shrugged, unsung heroics - what a crock. “Glad you’re not a bird anymore.” He guessed she wasn’t.
“It’s called Dr. Sexy M.D.” He didn’t sound at all apologetic, glad that there was something else to talk about, to focus on.. He’d faced the only person he was worried about knowing that he liked the show, and Sam hadn’t given him too much shit about it. Plus, it was a good show, dammit. Everyone was allowed a guilty pleasure. This was his; most people probably thought it was porn, or sex, or drinking - those just filled the void. The show was something else.
----
Dinah wasn’t quite sure whether to laugh or grimace. It definitely sounded like a porn title. She cleared her throat, now feeling more than a little bit awkward and thinking she probably should have called first.
“Well, if you want to, uh, get back to that... I probably should have called before stopping by. I just wanted to thank you-and Sam-for what you two did for Jake.”
----
“Okay.” Dean shrugged and grabbed the remote to start the show back up. The bit it was on, certainly suggested that he was watching porn, but not even Dean would be so vulgar as to watch porn in front of someone he wasn’t dating. Actually he tended to keep his porn to just himself. He didn’t mind people knowing he looked at it, but there were somethings a man did in private.
“Hey, we’d do it anytime. A kid doesn’t deserve to be put through shit like that.” He looked over at her. The scene changed, and the people were definitely doing something in surgery, it wasn’t even porn. The doctors were talking rather heatedly over a body, and Dean for a moment turned his full attention to this part, not the makeout part before, but this.
-----
Dinah had already started to stand up when Dean started up the show again. Now she was definitely in a hurry to get out of there before things got even more awkward. She hesitated for just a minute as the scene changed to something that... didn’t really seem to be porn at all. She did her best to hide the little sigh of relief, and instead looked over at Dean, who was now watching with rapt attention.
She swallowed a little laugh as the scene ended and a commercial came on.
“Um. I actually also wanted to apologize to you,” she said, not worried about talking over the commercial break and still quite relieved that she hadn’t walked in on... well, what she’d thought she’d walked in on.
“I didn’t realize that you’d have a problem working with pixies, or with Harry. I... well, that’s not how I would normally run team operations. There’s usually more time to make sure everyone is okay with working together and time for the team to build some trust. It was messy, and it’s most likely why everyone ended up getting so badly hurt.”
Even if they had all been magically healed at the end-and she still didn’t quite understand why, she hadn’t forgiven herself for leading everyone into such a bloodbath. She might have been the one who had been closest to death, aside from perhaps Batman-though it was just as possible that he hadn’t joined them outside because he didn’t play well with others-but all the same, everyone had been in bad shape at the end of the rescue. And as far as Dinah was concerned, that wasn’t a successful mission and she’d pretty much failed when it came to leading the people who’d trusted her into that.
----
Dean paused the program, even if it was on a commercial. He didn’t care about commercials, but this felt more like talking time than show watching time. His feet set on the floor as he took a very long pull of the bottle of beer. He slowly set it on the coffee table and turned to look at her.
“Your boyfriend has some problems. I have some problems. Let’s just say, I haven’t met a magic type who wasn’t out for his...or her own. The pixies are a fucked up bunch. They take first borns back, do deals on taking them too, and they don’t give ‘em back.” His hand lifted before she could say anything. “Don’t lecture me about him being different, he’s not from my world. But, I don’t give a shit who you are, when you got that kind of power...it corrupts. Surprised the Cowboy Bob didn’t ask for our souls or some shit.”
Dean smirked. “And your boy had a real hard-on for him too. Never seen someone that damn happy to meet a holy type. Lemme tell you, it’s all disappointment if you expect them to be magnanimous and love and peace and crap.” Yeah, Dean knew big words.
----
Dinah sighed. At least this cleared up the source of the tension, though that still didn’t make her happy about it. She knew that Harry had had issues with fairies as well, though she’d just taken for granted that the pixies could be trusted, as Harry seemed to trust them. She wasn’t going to argue with Dean when it came to the fairies.
“I won’t argue with you,” she said. “I will say that I trust that Harry’s not just in it for himself, but I’ll leave it at that. As for the healer, I didn’t invite him. I don’t know who did, but...”
Without thinking, her hand touched her side, where the bullet wound should have been.
“I’m glad he was there.” She shrugged, and then took a few steps toward Dean and leaned over to give him a slightly awkward hug due to the angle. She pulled back a moment later and took a few steps back.
“I won’t ask you two to work together again, but I want you to know that I appreciate you doing it for Jake. For me,” she added.
----
“Dinah, power corrupts, even if it’s not absolute.” Yeah, Dean knew proper quotes too. He sighed, giving her an awkward hug in return. “He wasn’t just any old healer, Dinah. He either thinks or really is God. Yeah, that man was God. He had more power than any angel I’ve ever known. And, the way Harry went all fanboy on him...he’s in for a world of disappointment cause that guy isn’t going to live up to his expectations.”
Dean leaned forward again to grab the beer bottle to drink from it again. “Glad the kid’s safe though. If you want, I can stop by sometime. It’s okay if not. You know you look like shit.”
He wasn’t saying it to be mean. He was smiling softly as he said it. He motioned for her to sit back down. “You can watch the rest of this with me.”
----
Dinah did take a seat when it was offered, not really sure what to make of the talk about angels and gods-no, make, that God, capital G. She took a healthy pull of the beer.
“I... I don’t really know what I believe when it comes to the whole God thing,” she said weakly.
But Dean definitely didn’t strike her as the bible-toting type, and yet he was talking about God and angels as if they were just... facts of life.
She raised an eyebrow at the comment about her looking like shit and self-consciously brushed her hair back with her hand, as if that would somehow improve things.
“Gee thanks,” she responded. “A girl does like to be complimented,” she said with a small smile of her own.
----
“Angels, God, demons, they all exist. So does Lucifer, and all that. Maybe not here, well, here I guess they exist too if Jesse is real.” Dean shrugged, putting his feet back up on the table again, relaxing into the couch to watch the rest of his show.
“You’ll always be hot, but you look like hot shit right now. You haven’t been resting or eating much, I’ll bet. Not that I blame you. You’ve got a kid to worry about. Just sit here and watch the show.” Dean patted her thigh, but it was nothing more than just that - a pat. He wasn’t trying to hit on her. He set the beer down on the table again, as he got up.
“I got some leftover Chinese. You’ll eat it. I can get more later.” It wasn’t a request or a suggestion. He hit play, so that the commercials could play while he got the food. He did love dvrs sometimes. He was back on the couch, open cartons on the table with the small packets of soy sauce and a pair of unused chopsticks.
He didn’t say anything. Just claimed his bottle of beer, took a sip, and let the show play.
----
Dinah smiled. Alfred had fussed over her eating too, but it was hard to eat all that much when she didn’t feel hungry. Worrying seemed to have chased away her appetite. All the same, she got the message about the Chinese food and dutifully helped herself to some of it.
Once she’d eaten enough, she rested against the back of the couch, now sucked into the storyline of the show.
“Wait, wasn’t Dr. Sexy making out with the other nurse-what was her name-in just the last scene?” she asked, frowning as she tried to catch up to the storyline.
----
“No, that bit with the nurse was a flashback. He was in love with her, but now he’s in love with Dr. Piccolo. Or he would be if she could just let go of her obsession over some other doctor. They can’t love each other because they’re too caught up in their careers and not getting hurt.” Dean shrugged as he saved the episode they’d just finished and pulled up the next one in the queue.
“It’s based on a book. Books. Though, in the book Dr. Sexy lost his wife when a tornado touched down on their ranch, back when he was a country doctor. In the show, they didn’t have him married, just right out of some relationship with some school marm. They broke up in the show.” Dean shrugged again, taking a sip of beer. He hadn’t really had much since they’d watched the rest of the episode.
----
Of all the things Dinah might have expected, finding Dean watching a night time soap-even one that seemed to be pretty addicting-was not one of them. A slow amused smile spread across her face as he recapped the plot, though she did her best to follow it.
“Huh. So which is better-the books or the show?”
----
“I like them both. The shows are easier to catch because they are usually on syndication somewhere. The books just take up space.” Dean shrugged once more. He didn’t start the next episode. He just sat there beside her, waiting for the laugh. He knew it was coming because only lonely women or stay at home moms watch this. And women who like Dr. Sexy. But, it really was a good show.
“Feeling better?” He looked away from her to the tv, eager to start the next episode, but he wasn’t going to just start it. It seemed rude. He didn’t want her to feel like she was taking time away from the show, honestly.
----
Dinah nodded.
“A little.Thank you,” she said softly, her voice a little bit raw.
It was good to just sit, to just be distracted for a bit. And it meant a lot that he seemed to understand that. It was also nice to spend time with someone who wasn’t an alternate version of someone she should know, or the boyfriend whom she was currently not exactly speaking to, or her boyfriend’s female best friend... yeah, it was nice to have a break from all of that.
She glanced at the DVR queue and then back to Dean. No, she wasn’t going to laugh at his addiction. People certainly had stranger guilty pleasures.
“Mind if I stay for the next one?”
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“Sure. This one’s kind of weird. There’s a ghost. Yeah, not sure why there’s a ghost on a show like this. Guess they thought it would pull in all the Twihard types, ya know?” Dean gave her an understanding smile, just a soft pat on the thigh before he settled in to watch the next episode.
The older Winchester was attracted to the woman beside him; he wouldn’t say he wasn’t. But, he was also aware enough to know that it wasn’t the right time and place. He also understood that she needed a friend who wasn’t going to judge, much, and who was just cool to be around. For all his screwing around, he was pretty damn good at being just a friend. Murphy and Jennifer had no doubt found out some of that, even if most of the time they spent with Dean was in the more carnal area of getting to know someone.
----
Dinah laughed and raised an eyebrow.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t sparkle,” she joked. Yeah, even she was aware of the Twilight series and the craziness it brought.
She frowned, thinking about how many other people who were fictional characters somewhere had been brought into the City.
“You don’t-god, you don’t think any of them might end up here, do you?”
It was possibly a strange question, but given that it was coming from a comic book character, probably not as strange as it could be.
----
Dean looked over at Dinah, then laughed. He couldn’t help it. Vampires weren’t his favorite bad things; he’d rather kill them than get to know them. There was really only one he could think of he didn’t mind, and that was a just barely thing. Plus he’d been one, not that he’d share that little fact with Dinah if he didn’t have to.
“I hope not. That would be...painful. Then again, it feel kind of nice to hunt the little dweebs down and rid the world of them forever.” He could almost hear Fred’s voice in his head, telling him that death here doesn’t mean death out there, or wherever it was people came from. She’d be very adamant that what happened in the City stayed in the City, just like Vegas only without the added fun of casinos and the mob.
“Never got to see why there was a ghost. Always hoped the chick was crazy. Rather have a crazy chick than a ghost on a show that doesn’t need ghosts.” He shrugged.
----
“Painful is right. Some things really should just stay fictional,” Dinah agreed with a laugh.
She grew quiet as the show started, though the conversation about vampires reminded her of something. Once the commercial break came on, she glanced over at Dean.
“Speaking of vampires... there was one hanging around outside the shop a few weeks ago. You should probably be sure to bring your gear if you’re going to be leaving or coming home after dark. Might want to make sure Murphy knows to bring her sword if she’s coming over at night too.”
Yeah, she knew about him and Murphy. She wasn’t going to pry, but she did want to make sure they were both safe, especially since she didn’t trust Eric even if he had claimed that vampires from his world didn’t feed on humans anymore.
----
Dean’s brow raised slightly. He didn’t like the sound of that; he didnt’ like anything that dealt with vampires. Sure, there were some that didn’t deserve to be ganked, but most...He sighed softly, turning to look at her. The show was definitely set on pause; they could wait to be watched.
“What vampire?” Yes, he ignored the Murphy issue for now. They couldn’t have that conversation quite yet. “Did it do anything?” He leaned in as if he could see anything that might have happened to her.
-----
Dinah shook her head as Dean leaned in to inspect her.
“Not really. He claimed that vampires where he was from didn’t feed on people.” It was obvious from her tone that she didn’t quite believe the vampire about that.
“He said a few things that could have been taken as... threatening,” she shrugged. “Got to my phone before I could get it out of my purse to call for help.”
She sighed, still frustrated that she hadn’t somehow been prepared for it. She was supposed to know what was lurking in the City and be smarter than that, and yet she’d been defenseless against that vampire.
“From the way it sounded, he was planning on returning at some point.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t take care of him. He just... caught me off guard.” She frowned thoughtfully. “And if he was telling the truth and he doesn’t feed on people, then is it really the right thing to do to kill him?”
Vampires weren’t supposed to pose moral issues. She hated that the rules in regards to them kept changing, that she was never ahead of the game when it came to some of the more supernatural things that filled the City.
----
“Threatening?” Dean leaned back, taking her ‘not really’ for what it was worth. He was still watching her very closely, his hands resting by his side for now, but he certainly seemed tense. He didn’t like the idea of it. Some vampire near his friend when she wasn’t ready.
“What did he say? Where’s your phone?” His lips were pursed slightly. “Did he get any of your information? What did he look like? It wasn’t that Lestat fucker, was it? Sam met him.” Yeah, his own little brother had met the so call brat prince of vampires, or whatever the hell the guy called himself.
“Why the hell did vampires where he’s from stop feeding on people? They run out?” He was already working through how much he wasn’t liking this idea.
----
Dinah wasn’t happy that Dean was now up in arms, and she was still frustrated that she hadn’t just taken care of things herself. If she couldn’t even protect the neighborhood around her own building, than what good was she really? She really didn’t want to hand over her phone. Those texts were... embarrassing, to say the least. Not to mention frustrating.
“He said his name was Eric. And sorry, I should correct myself. He said that where he’s from, the vampires only feed on people who offer their blood, but they supposedly don’t kill them. And apparently there’s some sort of blood substitute drink for vampires.”
She took a deep breath before answering the rest of his questions.
“He was tall, blonde. He knows I own the shop, since he saw me coming out of it. Said something about returning to buy flowers. Memorized my phone number after he took my phone. I don’t think he was the type of vampire that you and I faced the first time I met you.”
The first time he’d saved her ass, but she figured that went without saying. She sighed heavily.
“Which makes four-or possibly five-I think I’ve lost count-types of vampires I’ve run into here.”
----
“Yes, it’s called cow blood.” Dean’s jaw tightened, not liking the guy’s name already. Eric. “They feed on humans. There isn’t a single one that doesn’t want human blood, unless they’re some sort of fuckin’ Bunnicula.” Once more, he showed just how odd his personal knowledge was.
“Change your phone. Change your contacts.” The description certainly did not calm the hunter. “How tall? Taller than me?” Dean knew that Harry was taller, that Sam was taller, and the guy Dean was thinking about was certainly taller than he. “Did he do anything to you?” Yes, he’d asked that question already, but he had to know. “Did he touch you, try to do anything, did he say anything at all? Did you get a picture of him? Tell me everything you said.”
----
“No, not cow’s blood. He said it was some sort of synthetic blood.”
She realized that she was going to have to take out her phone now, though the picture wasn’t going to show anything since the vampire was just a blur in the picture.
Dinah reached into her purse and retrieved her phone.
“He was about Sam’s height, give or take an inch. Pale, but of course they’re all pale. Blue eyes.”
She found the picture and then held out her phone with the picture of Eric on the phone.
“He didn’t do anything to me except take my phone. Kissed me on the cheek and took a picture of that with my phone, not that you can see him in it. He was too fast for me to stop him.” She sighed. “I’ve been a little busy to change out my phone, but I’ll do that. It would stop the bizarre text messages. He mentioned that he owns a vampire club-Fangtasia.”
----
Dean looked at the blur on the phone. It didn’t show anything other than a slightly surprised Dinah - it wasn’t the good kind of surprised either. He didn’t like the idea that some asshole vampire was kissing his friend. Well, he’d have to deal with it if Dinah were to fall in love with some asshole vampire, much like she had some dickweed wizard, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. He really didn’t think Dinah would fall for a vampire, not after what she’d seen in the City.
“Fangtasia. Text messages? You have his number with the texts?” Dean probably should have asked as he was already working the phone to get to the texts. “Change your number and your phone. If this damn thing has a chip, just leave it. Or destroy it. Get a brand new phone and number, got me? Actually, get one that isn’t associated with you or the shop.” The hunter was thinking of ways to keep her safe and unmolested in all senses of the word.
“Murphy met this asshole?” His search for the moment forgotten. “You mentioned her; she met this guy?” Yeah, he wasn’t connecting it to the sleeping with.
----
“Hey,” Dinah touched his shoulder. “Relax. I’ll take care of the phone. Promise.”
She looked over at Dean, trying to make sense of his question about Murphy. She frowned.
“Actually, Murphy doesn’t like me all that much. She’s Harry’s best friend,” she said by way of explanation.
She realized that getting into the whole reason why she thought Murphy might have a problem with her might potentially cause even more issues, particularly since Murphy and Dean were seeing each other.
“She didn’t see the vampire. I just figured...” she was a little flustered now as she realized that she should have let Dean volunteer the information instead. “She mentioned you two were seeing each other, so I figured she’d be coming here after dark some nights. And I wanted to make sure you were both on your guard.”
----
Dean’s brow lifted. He seemed a little relaxed a little when she seemed willing to get her phone changed out. It was the shared “fact” that he was “seeing” Murphy that bothered him, not more than the vampire, but somewhat.
“She’s never been here.” Dean said matter of factly. “Look, I’ll let her know. She doesn’t like her bestie’s best girl then?” He settled back on the couch, shaking his head. “Either you remind her of one of Harry’s exes or she’s got it for Harry. Don’t worry; if she’s got it for the freakish Ent, I’m cool.” Yes, that was a LotR reference. He’d never admit it.
“Hmm. Explains why we never go back to her place - chicks are usually really into that. Thought maybe she was married, and that would have been a no-go.” He coughed, realizing he was probably talking about something with someone who did not need or ever want to know any of this.
----
Dinah grimaced. This was so not a line of conversation she’d meant to lead them down. Of course, she raised an eyebrow as he continued talking about thinking she might have been married.
“She’s not married, and this is probably a conversation we shouldn’t be having.” She shrugged. “Whatever is going on with you two, I don’t want to get blamed for causing issues if I do confirm your theory about her having a thing for Harry. So let’s just say that she’s not a fan of me and leave it at that, okay?”
She was doing her best to keep the hurt out of her voice, since this was still a sore subject all around.
“And you do know that you’re allowed to have visitors, right? I mean, you live here, so if you want to have some woman over, it’s fine. And probably not my business.” She made a face. “Sorry for bringing it up. I just... want to make sure that you and whoever else may or may not be hanging out here-are staying safe.”
----
“Listen, her having the yen for your big man isn’t really going to be a stopper to something other than you know, her saying she’s not into the sex. So don’t worry about it. It’s not love.” Dean shrugged. “I know it sounds crass, but sometimes that’s all people are looking for. Plus, what woman would be stupid enough to fall for me?” His smirk hid the pain because there were many times he’d asked himself that very question, especially when Lisa came into the picture.
“I’m an egotistical asshole.” He smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I’m not really worried about visitation rights, landlady. I’ve never had a place that was all my own.” He wasn’t lying. “Other than Sam hogging the couch as Scooby-Doo, I kind of like it that way.” No one was there to hear him when he was really having a hard time of it.
----
Things began to click and the way Dean had seemed to have a thing with Jennifer too suddenly made a whole lot more sense. Dinah tried very hard not to make a face-she wasn’t a huge fan of the whole sleeping around thing, particularly since that had been Oliver’s way of handling women before they’d met. And for a short period while they were together, for that matter. Definitely a sore spot.
“Possibly more than you’d think,” she said. “Some women tend to hide their feelings, even if it seems like it’s something casual. So, just be careful that no one gets hurt.”
She finished off the last swallow of her beer.
“And that’s the last time I’m giving you unsolicited advice when it comes to women.” she smiled then. “Promise.”
----
Dean actually laughed. Not at what Dinah had said about no one getting hurt, but at not giving him anymore advice about women. He’d yet to meet a woman who wasn’t willing to give advice about other women at the drop of a hat. It was what they did.
“Sweetheart, I don’t think you could do that if you tried.” He smiled at her, softly. “Look, I don’t hide anything from either of them. Murphy and Jen, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not going to. I’m not going to tell either of them that I love them or whatever morons do if I don’t mean it. Maybe if I were younger, but that’s more shit than I need right now.”
He gave her a wink before looking at the tv. “Plus, I think if I can work it, I could get a pretty hot threesome out of it.” He smirked, knowing that was certainly not what she wanted to hear.
----
Dinah rolled her eyes.
“Okay, that was way more information than I needed. Lesson learned about bringing up your lovelife, or sexlife, or whatever you call it. Though, I’m going to laugh if either one of them kicks your ass when you suggest that,” she said with a smile.
She was relieved to hear that he was being honest, since that meant that she didn’t need to worry about violating the female code by not volunteering the information to either woman.
----
“Yes, you women have this odd need to kick my ass. I mean if you want to touch it, you just have to ask.” Dean’s eyes never left the tv screen as he fastforward through the commercials. He continued to smirk.
“You can watch the rest of this one, but you might want to get home before it gets dark. I know you can take care of yourself, but for now, just worry about Jake and yourself, got it?” He glanced at her, the smirk gone. “Plus, next time, fuck with the vampire’s hearing. Scream. Highest note you got.”
----
“Tried that the first time I ran into the vampires. Didn’t do a whole lot,” Dinah said, her frustration evident.
After all, the scream was the last resort in her arsenal, and having that not work against them was extremely frustrating.
“Then again, since different things work or don’t work depending on the type, maybe it’ll work on some of them.” She shrugged.
She didn’t argue about getting home, especially since she needed to get back to Jake anyway.
“Just do me a favor and don’t go to Fangtasia without me. If Eric is going to pose a threat to anyone coming in and out of my building, then I want to help get rid of him.” Her Black Canary persona was more than obvious in the last statement. No one messed with her friends, or her workers, or her customers if she had anything to say about it.
“Plus, I’ve already been invited.” He certainly had invited her, and mentioned fishnets, which she would be more than happy to break out if he even tried to hurt anyone.
----
“Keep trying. It’s bound to work on their hearing. Don’t worry about knocking them down or something, just delaying their reaction.” Dean shrugged. He smiled softly, understanding her need to help, to protect, but if she hadn’t guessed it, the hunter wouldn’t take someone into battle unless he had to. Really, he didn’t have to, not yet.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He gave her a wink. “Now, can we watch this? I know you got things to do and all.” The subject was dropped, just like that. He hit play, and the Seattle Mercy Hospital sign filled the screen.
----
Dinah wasn’t stupid. She knew a brush off when she heard one. She glared at Dean, but let the subject drop for the moment. If he was going to try to go it alone, then she would just have to do some research of her own on Fangtasia. She wouldn’t go into the lion’s den by herself, but maybe if she had Fred listening in on a comm-link...
She settled into the couch to watch the show, once again enjoying the brief distraction from everything.
When it was done, there was a little pang of disappointment, but she definitely had to focus on reality again.
Dinah stood and took the garbage from the take-out into the kitchen, depositing it into the garbage can. She still knew exactly where everything was, so it was sort of second nature to clean up after herself.
She returned to the living room and gave Dean a small smile.
“Thanks again,” she said. “It was nice to take a break for a little bit.”
She was glad that she didn’t really have to elaborate on what she was taking a break from. Even if he didn’t know everything, he knew enough to understand.
----
Dean stood as she started cleaning up. He knew it was time for her to go, and he knew it probably wasn’t something she wanted to do. There was a lot of stress out there, but he also knew she’d go because she’d want to help Jake, to see her boyfriend, and to save lives.
“No problem. Get home safe, Legs. And, if you need me, well, you know...” The hunter motioned ever so slightly to his phone on the coffee table. “See you later, right? Oh, and stay out of Fangtasia, really, you don’t want to poke the dog with a stick. Certainly not one that wouldn’t mind biting your left off.”
----
“So it’s okay for you to go, but not me?” Dinah asked. She shook her head. “I’m not exactly the type to stay at home and let the menfolk fight my battles for me. My building, which means it’s my job to protect those within it.”
She put her arms around him for another hug.
“At least take Sam if you’re going to go check it out,” she said.
----
“Yeah, but you got a kid at home.” Dean didn’t mind using that as leverage. He’d do whatever he could to keep her away from danger. Plus, Eric was his to kill as far as he was concerned. He held her close for a moment, just hugging.
“Okay, I’ll take the big lug along.” He probably wouldn’t, but that was another story. He really didnt’ need the vampire getting the idea that Sam tasted good. “Drop by sometime; we can watch more tv.”
----
Dinah pulled away from the hug and smiled, her expression a little more relaxed.
“I think I just might. Take care of yourself, Dean. I’ll see you soon.”
With one gentle squeeze of his shoulder, she turned and left.