you were the shadow to my light

"I'll make sure that this never happens again." Dean promised, clearly serious as his voice gave him away. "I really do think we should just take easy cases for now, until we're all comfortable with going back to the big bad guys." He explained. "Cause next time, we might not be so lucky." He sighed, kissing Alice's head. "And that's what scares me the most." He blinked slowly, just relishing in the feeling of Alice in his arms. Dean, usually big bad hunter Dean, was nothing more than a scared little boy with Alice - and that was made even more apparent during the time she was away.

"Drama queen." Rosie laughed, wrapping her arm around Sam's middle. "I'm here now, and I'm really not going anywhere." She promised, getting comfortable. "Hey, next month, I would've been with you guys for five years." She reminded him with amusement. "Best five years of my life." She confessed, fighting off her exhaustion to speak to the man that made her whole, after pieces of her were ripped away, causing her to feel incomplete, until Sam came and changed that.

Alice watched him for a long moment before she nodded slightly. "If you think that would make it easier, then that's what we'll do," she promised quietly, because even she was a little nervous about facing big cases so soon. She wasn't all that eager to jump into risking being away from Dean again. Her expression softened and she rested her head back down, lifting her hand to draw patterns into the skin of his torso. "I know what you mean. I don't want to go through that again, I don't want to be away from you like that again."

Sam rubbed her back gently as he held her close to himself, nodding slightly. "I still can't help but to worry, though," he murmured quietly, "After everything we just went through... I mean, can you really blame me?" He watched her, but offered a smile to her words and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he nodded his agreement. "It's been the best five years of my life, too." And, at this point, he was looking forward to every moment he ever got with her again; he'd make sure to cherish them even more than he already had.

Dean nodded silently, unable to bear the thought of Alice being torn away from him. He swallowed thickly at the thought. "You know, I'd like a good, old fashioned, ghost busting. Or a weird possessed item - like a book or something." He chuckled at the thought, staring at the ceiling. "At least then we can relax and do it in like, two hours." He grinned. He loved the bunker, really, he did. There was peace and quiet and a chance for some normality - but getting out into the world and saving people was what he lived for. The fact that Alice was by his side through it all was more than incredible, and he never told her, just how much it meant to him. Biting his lip, Dean glanced down at Alice, relaxing under her touch.

"I don't blame you one bit," Rosie smiled, shifting so her hand rested over his heart, sighing slightly. "Hey, here's to sixty more years of fighting the good fight with you." Rosie smiled, closing her eyes as she rested in Sam's warm embrace. She never did like to linger on the past, to think about how awful her life was before Sam, and Dean, and Alice came in and turned a life that Rosie wished she never had to a life that Rosie was thankful for. If it wasn't for her hardships, she would never have Sam. Kissing Sam's shoulder once more, Rosie went silent, just cherishing the moment.

"Weren't you complaining when I talked about hauntings before?" Alice joked lightly as she peered up at him, arching an amused brow, before she settled back down to relax, her eyes closing over, her hand stilling. The longer she was silent, the easier it was to hear Dean's heartbeat and she breathed out in relief with the sound she'd missed, before she curled up against him. "Night, Dean." Her voice had softened, not wanting to disturb the peace between them.

Sam watched her for a few long, silent moments, and rubbed her back, pulling her closer to himself, just wanting to enjoy having her in his arms again. "I love you, Rosie," he reminded her quietly, not wanting to disturb her in case she was beginning to drift off. Relaxing on the bed, he closed his own eyes, feeling his exhaustion begin to creep up on him. He wasn't too fond of going to sleep, worried that he'd wake and find that this was a dream, that Rosie was still stuck elsewhere, but his exhaustion was getting the better of him.

Dean's heartbeat remaind calm, consistent in it's rhythm. Dean murmured a soft goodnight into Alice's hair. He was afraid of falling asleep, frightened that he was going to wake up the next morning and she would be gone, but Dean reminded himself that the witch was dead, gone, and unable to put a drift in between them. As his breathing evened out, Dean fell asleep, his grip on Alice relaxing slightly, but not moving, desparate to hold her, even in his dreams.

Rosie woke up the next morning, stretching her legs before sitting up, bringing her hair down from the bun she usually wore to bed. Shaking her hair, Rosie couldn't resist looking back at Sam, smiling fondly to herself. He looked so peaceful when he slept, away from the dangers that their lives offered. Standing, her feet hit the cold floor of the bunker, and she shuddered in protest. Walking to Sam's side of the bed, Rosie leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. "Hey," she whispered.

Alice stirred when morning came and she had surprisingly gotten a pretty nice rest overall. When she opened her eyes, she found her head was still resting on Dean's chest and she lifted her gaze to watch him for a moment before she leaned up to kiss his cheek and lifted her hand to cup the other side of his face, her thumb running over the skin there. She'd missed waking up to him, but she tried not to move too much or disturb him too much.

Sam gave a noise with the feeling as he began to wake, and he blinked several times, his brows furrowing as he took in his surroundings. Seeing Rosie there, he relaxed and shifted to draw her in close to himself. "Hey," he murmured quietly, breathing out with relief that he'd woken and she'd still been there. "I was almost afraid that, when I woke up, you'd be gone." He hated admitting it, but he'd truly been worried about it.

Dean, instinctively, began to stir when he felt Alice’s hand against his cheek. He hummed out in satisfaction as his eyes fluttered open. Feeling Alice in his arms, as a whole, he grinned. “Good morning.” He murmured, his grip on her tightening, afraid to let go, in case he was still dreaming. “How did it feel sleeping back in the bunker?” He teased, moving one hand to smooth her hair lovingly.

“Good morning,” Rosie smiled softly. “Aren’t you a beautiful sight to wake up to?” She genuinely meant it. There was nothing better than waking up next to Sam. He was truly ethereal, his hair dishevelled and he was at his most vulnerable, which was so unusual for Sam, because he was always on guard.

Alice smiled slightly as she watched him. "Good morning," she murmured in return as she watched him. "I never thought I would have missed this damn bunker so much." Grinning jokingly, she shifted to lay back down, resting her head back on his chest as she breathed out a sigh of content. "I really missed sleeping in your arms."

Sam watched her, shifting to rub her back gently as he nodded. "Good morning to you, too," he told her quietly, offering a smile as he took her in. "I'm so glad you're actually here." Leaning over, he kissed her forehead before he let himself relax, and he lifted his hand to stroke her cheek gently. "Really, I can't imagine a better way to wake up."

“This bunker is a gold mine,” Dean grinned, straightening out her hair, being gentle as can be. “I missed having you in my arms.” Dean confessed, closing his eyes. He knew they had to get up, they had a full day of training today — he and Sam always wanted to act like a punching bag to make sure the girls were up to their standards, but he just wanted to cherish this moment a little bit longer. “I love you.”

Rosie raised an eyebrow at Sam, giggling. “Are you going soft in your old age, Sam Winchester?” She teased, pulling his hair gently to relax him. Pressing a soft kiss to the side of his neck, Rosie straightened out again. “Training day.” She grinned, digging through her clothes to grab a pair of sweatpants and a sports bra, shedding herself of her clothes from the previous night.

Alice smiled as she watched him, leaning into his touch when she felt him messing with her hair. "I missed being in your arms," she admitted quietly, "I missed your eyes, your touch, your kisses, your smile, your warmth, your scent." She listed them off quietly before burying her face against him and breathing him in for a moment before relaxing again. "I love you, too, Dean."

"I'm being honest," Sam said with faint amusement as he watched her and he sat up a bit as he watched her while she moved, grinning to himself, unable to help it. "You know we have all day to train. We don't have to jump straight into it. We'll have to have breakfast first too, and then breaks in between."

Dean smiled. "I missed that raspberry shampoo you always use." He confessed. "And that perfume you always buy. But most of all, I missed having my soulmate next to me. That was the best night's sleep I had in a while." He smiled, kissing the top of her head gently, rubbing Alice's back to soothe her. "Breakfast?" He offered with a grin. "Or, cuddle a little more? Your choice." He laughed a hearty laugh, knowing which one Alice would prefer.

Rosie rolled her eyes playfully, sitting at the edge of the bed on Sam's side. "Yes Dad," she laced up her sneakers. "Do we still have that uh, smoothie blender thing?" She raised an eyebrow at how silly she sounded, shaking her head. Looking at Sam, she couldn't help but to admire how he supported himself on his elbows, how perfectly sculpted he looked. She smiled, shaking her head. "So, Hercules -" she looked at him with a smirk. "You coming to help me in the kitchen, or are you gonna be lazy a little longer?"

Alice grinned up at him as she processed his words. "Soulmate, huh?" she asked in a hum before she leaned up to kiss his jawline for a moment, "I really like the sound of that." It was the first time she'd heard it out loud, but she'd thought about it before, in the past, several times. Watching him, she hummed as she thought about the options. "I'm completely interested in the whole cuddling idea."

"Of course we do. You think we'd get rid of it in just the day you were gone?" Sam asked with an arched brow, his tone joking despite the circumstances they'd had to endure. He watched her for a few moments before he chuckled slightly. "Well, if you're absolutely going to to go to the kitchen, I'm coming with." Because he didn't want to lose sight of her, not so soon after only just getting her back.

"I love the sound of it." Dean grinned. To him, Alice had always been his soulmate, the one he loved more than anything. Hell, the first person, apart from Sam, Dean had introduced Alice to, was Bobby Singer, the Winchesters adoptive father. Dean had spent a long time wanting his approval, in the absence of his own father. "Yeah, cuddling sounds good." Dean smiled, his eyes closed in content, his chest rising and falling steadily as he relaxed.

Rosie tied her hair up into a ponytail. "I was hoping you did, I hate kale smoothies, they're so gross." She sighed thoughtfully. "Come on then," Rosie smiled, standing up and offering Sam a hand to get up. Once Sam was on his feet, Rosie picked up a discarded t-shirt and threw it at her boyfriend with a laugh. "I'm starving."

Alice grinned up at him, happy to hear it, and nodded slightly. "I do, too," she murmured before she rested back down, relaxing as she curled up against him. She was so relieved just to be there with him again, hopeful that they wouldn't have to go through something like that again. She wasn't sure she could handle being separated from him again.

"Well, you don't have to actually drink them," Sam said with amusement as he watched her before he climbed off the bed and caught the shirt she tossed him, tugging it on. "Let's go, then." Shifting, he held out his hand to her, smiling as he watched her, happy to just take her in in this moment, since it'd felt like far too long since they could just relax.

Dean stayed silent, just enjoying the feeling of having Alice in his arms. He had thought of proposing before, of course he had, but he just... never went along with it. He just couldn't overcome his own fear - everything good, especially for Dean and Sam, came to an end sooner rather than later, and Dean honestly didn't believe he could endure such heart ache. His eyebrows furrowed at the thought of it. "I'm going to protect you with everything I have." He said finally, his eyes opening.

"I love days like this." Rosie smiled, accepting Sam's hand, squeezing his within her own. "Days where we can just, you know, have a day off, relax, be a proper couple." She followed Sam to the large kitchen of the bunker, letting go of Sam's hand. Reaching for the pop tarts, Rosie popped two into the toaster, sitting on the counter top, appreciating the cool surface.

Alice had been enjoying the silence between them, relaxing while she could, though Dean's voice caught her attention eventually, and she lifted her gaze to look up at him. "Dean, you do know that I can kick ass pretty well just by myself, right?" she murmured quietly before she shifted to push herself up on her elbow, leaning over him a bit. "I know you can protect me, I know you will, but my safety doesn't ride on just you. I can protect myself, too."

Sam smiled slightly as he watched her, enjoying the view he had of her, before he moved over to the blender to get his kale smoothie ready. "I do, too," he told her honestly, "Especially since we don't get them often." They rarely got them, usually swamped with cases or caught up in some form of supernatural drama. But, at least they did get moments like these, days like these, even if they were rare. "We should enjoy these times while we can, every chance we can."

"I know you can, you've kicked my ass before." Dean laughed heartily at the memory. "Remember the night we met?" He raised his eyebrows with a grin. "You held a damn knife to my throat because you thought I was a vampire. You scared the crap out of me." Dean kissed Alice's lips softly, smiling against her. "I think you will be the one protecting me." He smiled, getting up out of bed suddenly, the talk of self defense reminding him they needed to get up and get to work.

Rosie stayed silent, trying to disguise the smile on her face. She watched Sam closely, committing his mannerisms to memory. She laughed at the thought of the both of them sharing domestic bliss, shaking her head at the thought. Although, when Rosie was a little girl, her biggest dream was to have a family of her own, she realised that her family was right there, in the bunker. She found a father figure in Bobby Singer, a brother in Dean Winchester, a best friend in Alice, and a soulmate in Sam. She cleared her throat as her poptarts popped up.

Alice laughed quietly in response. "What did you expect to happen when you were skulking around in the middle of the night?" she asked with a broad grin as she watched him, "I mean, come on - how was I supposed to believe that a guy as hot as you was sneaking around without nefarious intentions?" She winked teasingly but watched as he stood up before she climbed to her feet, too. Tugging off Dean's shirt that she was wearing, she moved to find some training clothes to change into.

Sam looked over when he heard Rosie laugh and he arched a brow, amused slightly. "What's so funny?" he asked with a fond smile as he watched her. He enjoyed peaceful mornings like this with her; it gave him an idea of what their life could have been like if things were different for them. But, he really wouldn't change their lives as they were - they were happy, and they loved each other. That was all he really needed. Looking to the kale smoothie, he focused on blending it before pouring it into a cup.

"You nearly killed me!" Dean laughed, grabbing some sweat pants and an Iron Maiden t-shirt which had been worn so much, it was beginning to wear down. "Then Bobby convinced me to talk to you, and the rest," Dean tugged on his t-shirt, grabbing Alice's hand to pull her closer to him, pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead. "Well, that's history, huh?" The eldest Winchester grinned. "We need food."

"Nothing." Rosie beamed, a genuine smile. Looking at the green smoothie, Rosie pulled a face of disgust, sticking her tongue out in a gagging motion. Ushering Sam to her with her finger, offering him some of her breakfast, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist. "I'll trade you a poptart for a kiss, I think that's fair." She smiled down at Sam, the only time she was ever taller than him was when she was sat on the counter tops.

Alice grinned up at him, taking him in for a few moments as she recalled their meeting in full, and she tilted her head slightly in response. "Right," she murmured as she watched him. "Who knows where we'd be if none of that had happened?" Shifting, she finished changing before she gave Dean's hand a squeeze. "Right, food, let's go eat."

Sam chuckled quietly in response and nodded. "That does sound fair," he admitted with a grin as he moved over to her, pressing his forehead to hers. "Although, I feel like I'm definitely winning twice in this deal." Smiling with amusement, he rested his hands on her hips and moved to kiss her gently but lovingly, shifting closer.