Until You're Mine

Gabrielle held tightly, her knuckles going white as the plane touched down, the entire cabin shook.

She let out a deep breath, finally opening her eyes.

But she felt someone breathing on her neck.
She turned to her right, grimacing at the man who had watched her intently, much like he had done since the flight took off in Miami an agonizing two-and-a-half hours ago.

If this man was any indication as to how her trip home would be, well...she wanted back on the next flight to Miami. Now.

"Maybe we should get a cup of coffee-" the man began, resting his chin on his palm, his hazel colored eyes flickering from behind his thick black glasses.

"No." Gabrielle said quickly.

The man went quiet but he kept staring occasionally licking at his cracked, chapped lips, making her shift in her seat, but like some sort of blessing from above the 'fasten seat-belt' sign went off.

Pulling at the belt from around her midsection she grabbed the bag sitting at her feet before taking off down the aisle.

She walked down the long breezeway, her bag swinging in the crook of her arm but the second she stepped through the doorway into the bustling airport she saw her mother, who was practically prancing she was so excited, but that's what happens when you go six years without coming home.

But her little brother Greg was graduating high school and it was something she couldn't hardly miss.

"Gabbi!" her mother squealed as tears ran down her face. She hated being called that, and her mother knew that.

Gabrielle sat down her bag, opening her arms as her mother hugged her tightly. She continued to squeal, her grip only getting tighter. Gabrielle wanted to fight it, but the familiar scent of her mothers Chanel No. 5 drew her in, comforting her. A wave crashed over her, she felt safe much like she had as a little girl.

"Hi Mom..." Gabrielle muttered as her mother finally let her go. She couldn't help but smile, "I've missed you..." she muttered, tucking a stand of her curly chocolate colored hair behind her ear.

"Oh sweetheart, you have no idea..." her mother mumbled, taking Gabrielle's hand into hers, "Let's go get your bags..."

Gabrielle heart ached, knowing what her family had gone through.
She knew her not coming home had hurt her family.
She knew it tore at her mothers heart.
She knew it brought tears to her daddy's eyes.

But her family understood what her coming home did to her.
How it broke her heart.
How Gabrielle ached at the thought of him and the heartbreak he had caused.

Gabrielle watched out the window of the SUV.
It was dark, but she knew the neighborhood like the back of her hand.
A warm familiar feeling washed over her body as the the two story traditional Southern style home came into view. It hadn't changed one bit, and after all this time...well it still felt like home.

She never let herself miss Dallas.
But as she unloaded her suitcase from the back she realized just how much she did.

"Where's daddy?" Gabrielle asked as her mother unlocked the door, pushing it open but the smell of cinnamon stopped her in her tracks. She smiled, it still smelled the same.

"Daddy's on the night shift, since he made Colonel he takes care of all big accidents-" she said, laying her keys on the table beside the door, "and Greg is at a concert with some friends. I figured you could get a good nights rest before they got home..." Gabrielle nodded, "are you hungry? I can fix you somehting-"

"Actually-" she said, glancing at her watch, it was 11:19. Her plane being so late had really thrown everything off, "it's pretty late and I'm a little jet lagged. So I am going to head to bed."

"I think that's a great idea, all your sheets and blankets are fresh out of the washer," her mother said, "you should know one thing-" Gabrielle stopped, glancing down at her mother.

"Yeah?" she asked, watching as her mother nervously shifted.

"he's in town..."

Gabrielle's heart sank as small bumps covered her skin.
A chill ran down her spine.
She swallowed hard, managing a nod.

"Gab..." her mother began.

"Yeah?" she asked, not bothering to hide the tears in the corners of her eyes.

"He didn't marry Danneel." her heart began to beat rapidly, so much so she was sure it would beat out of her chest. She thought for a moment.

"Goodnight mom..." she mumbled before hiking up the stairs, dragging her suitcase behind her.

She came to face the door of her childhood bedroom, and much to her surprise it hadn't changed one bit. Every picture, every poster, every sticker...still exactly the way she had left it. She smiled, running her fingers over the pictures, such wonderful memories all welcoming her home.

She pushed the door open, flipping the light switch letting the light illuminate the room which much like her door hadn't been changed at all. Dragging her suitcase in she pushed it over, letting it lay on the floor.

She bent down sitting on her knees, unzipping the hard shell suitcase.

She sat, digging through the piles of clothes grabbing at a pair of sweatpants and tank top.

She finally wiped at the tears as she pushed her tired body up.

But she stopped as something unusual caught her eye.

A light shined from the inside of her childhood tree house, the one her father and grandfather had built so long ago. Walking over to the window she stopped, watching for a moment but she watched as a shadow moved in the flickering light, which looked like someone was desperately beating at it.

Someone was inside.
Someone who had likely been in there before.
After all, they knew about that old lantern and they obviously knew you had to hit it to get it to stop flickering.

She thought for a moment.
Something, thought she wasn't sure what it was was telling her to go.
Even thought she knew in her heart who it was.
She wasn't quite sure why, but Gabrielle couldn't fight it.
She couldn't fight whatever force from within was telling her to go outside.

She crossed her arms over her chest, her coral colored sundress swished back and forth as she walked slowly down the stairs, she pulled at the sleeves of her beige sweater letting the ends cover her fingers. Her feet hit the cool wood floors and she moved quickly slipping out the back door much like she had as a teenager. Being sure to close it slowly she didn't make a sound.

She smiled as her feet fell into the green grass, the blades sticking between her toes but she walked over, standing at the bottom of the ladder. She thought for a moment, but she began to climb. She stopped for a moment just before she could see into the tree house, she wasn't hardly sure if she was ready for this moment, but it was too late for her to turn back now.

She hoisted herself up over the edge, crawling in, but as she looked up she caught a glimpse of his smile, and she was left speechless.

"You came..." there he was, Jensen Ackles. The love of her life. The man who had left her for Los Angeles, the man who had left her for some starlet. The man who had broken her heart, leaving the shattered pieces for her to pick up.

His hazel-green eyes cut through the fluorescent light.

Gabrielle was quiet, taking a seat against the wall of the tree house as she pulled her knees to her chest.

She had expected to feel angry, to feel hatred, to feel betrayal...but she felt...comfortable. It was a surprise, even to her and quite frankly she wasn't sure what to make of it.

She glanced up, finally looking at him.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment..." Jensen mumbled.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're just going to pretend?" Gabrielle almost whispered, playing with the edge of her sleeves.

"Pretend what?" Jensen remarked, like it was some sort of surprise.

"Like nothing ever happened," Gabrielle finally snapped, her eyes burning into his, "like you did nothing wrong," she scoffed, "like you didn't ruin me, ruin us-"

"You were the one who told me to leave!" he defended.

"Because I was mad!" she huffed, "Not because I stopped loving you! And since when does leave constitute forever?" she snapped, her brows furrowing, "Or better yet," she piqued sarcastically, "since when does leave mean oh hey go take a job on some TV show without talking to your girlfriend? I must have missed that translation!"

Gabrielle watched as Jensen's eyes flickered, his face falling as tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

"And since when the hell does it mean go fall in love with some other girl?" Gabrielle sniffed as she too began to cry.

"Look," he sniffed wiping at his nose, "I screwed up, royally and I have spent the last two years trying to figure out how I was going to fix it, but no amount of 'I'm sorry's', no amount of flowers, fuck...even the biggest diamond ring..." his voice trailed off as he scratched nervously at the back of his neck, "but nothing seems adequate...fucking nothing."

"For starters," Gabrielle began, "you shouldn't have waited so long..."

His green eyes bored into hers, he scooted closer moving slowly, making sure she would allow it.

He reached up, wiping the tears away before placing two fingers under her chin lifting to make her eyes meet his, "I promise...I promise, I won't stop trying, not until you're mine. Not until there's a ring on your finger...a baby in your arms..." he hesitated, praying for some sort of reaction, she just bit at her lip, "I won't stop..."

"Jensen don't-" his eyes went dull, tears once again welling in his broken eyes, "don't make promises you can't keep..." Jensen just shook his head.

"I meant every word, G. This is it for me, you are it for me..." his voice shuddered, Gabrielle hesitated for a moment but Jensen leaned in, finally connecting his lips to hers. Their hearts began to beat fast as butterflies filled their stomachs.

Gabrielle pulled away, her forehead against Jensen's. He pulled away, reaching up he pressed a soft loving kiss to her forehead before pulling her closer, wrapping her tiny body in his strong arms.

"Forever?" Gabrielle muttered, playing with the button at the end of his sleeve before looking up. Jensen nodded softly.

"Forever G..."