The Cynical Prince

'He came just for me.'

When I awoke, there was a miserable pain in towards the front of my head. I felt a hand grasping my own and I had lost all sense of time. My heart raced and the only name that came out of my lips broken my heart to hear aloud. "Andrew?"

I opened my eyes to the painful sunlight pouring in through the white shades of the hospital window to see Dean sitting next to me looking slightly sullen. His hand slipped from mine and tears fell from my eyes as I realized I had made a horrible mistake.

"I'm sorry, I-" Dean hushed me, placing a finger on my lips and smiled feebly at me.

"Don't. I assume that's Tagan's father?" I nodded my head slowly realizing just how much it hurt. I grasped it seeing I was attached to a heart monitor.

"What happened?" I asked looking at Dean knowing he was the one who saved me in the alleyway. He was always there to catch me when ever I would fall...or trip.

"Not much. He just banged you up pretty bad. You have a concussion and need to take it easy. The doc will give you pills for the pain and said you can go home as soon as you feel good. Tagan was really worried about you." I looked at him shocked. Tagan came here? He met Tagan?

"You saw Tagan?" He smiled at me and nodded his head.

"He's beautiful, just like his mother." I blushed and looked down at the hospital sheets. I hadn't been called beautiful sincerely by anyone since Andrew's death. Only Tagan would call me beautiful but that's only because he loves his mother. Just then, the doctor came in smiling at me with a prescription bottle in hand. I preyed that was for me.

"Nice to see you're awake, Mrs. Sparks." I smiled at him waiting for him to tell me I was going to be let go. Please tell me I was going to be let go!

"Well, how do you feel?"

"Good. Can I go home?" He chuckled and nodded his head handing me the pills.

"These are for you, take them once a day with a large meal. Come back to me with in the week so we can do a check up, see how your head is doing okay?" I nodded my head and watched the doctor walk out of the room. I looked at my bag in the corner and stood up going to it to go change when I the pain rushed at me causing me to lose my balance and nearly fall, Dean being there to catch me.

See what I told you?

"Thanks." Dean smiled at me and helped me to my feet. I grabbed my bag and went into the bathroom to change. I quickly did so and then signed my papers and Dean took me to his car to drive me home.

"I really appreciate all this. You really didn't have to stay with me all this time you know." I smiled at him as he walked me up to my apartment. I realized that walking up the stairs took a lot more out of me now that my head kept spinning every other flight.

"I made a promise to Tagan that I would bring you home, safely." I smiled to myself knowing that Dean never breaks any of his promises. If he ever did it was only because he really had to and he hated to. He was always on time, always the person you could count on so when he wasn't around when I did need him I found it very out of character but I guess I learned to get over it just as he did. We all had to grow up sometime, but something just never change it seems.

"I see. Well, he won't be home for another hour, and either Steph or Chase will be picking him up." Dean furrowed his brow walking into the apartment with me as I opened it up to my small one bedroom apartment with a very tiny kitchen.

"Chase? From Richmond Chase?" I chuckled and nodded my head plopping myself down onto my couch and flipping on my tiny TV. Dean closed the door behind him looking stunned and sat on the loveseat placed off to the side of my couch.

"He and Steph are the godparents of Tagan. Andrew's family was Christian so we had him baptized." Dean nodded his head and removed his own jacket from himself as I did also. It was extremely hot in my apartment the building being timed to turn on the heat one hour before kids came home from school and then again around eight o'clock.

"They have keys to get in?" I nodded my head looking up at Dean who stared at the TV blankly.

"You don't have to stay." Dean looked at me, eyebrows raised.

"So, you want me to leave?" I laughed and shook my head stopping suddenly realizing it hurt.

"Ow, no. I just feel like a burden to you." Dean rolled his eyes sitting up in the loveseat.

"Don't, because you're not. Let's get you something to eat so you can take your pill." I sighed taking the bottle out of my pocket. I contemplated just taking one now and one after I ate. I knew I shouldn't and was about to go for it when Dean snatched the bottle from my hand.

"Still a pill junkie huh?" He teased as he glared at me. I glared right back, forgetting that he knew my history with my well-known substance abuse with over the counter and prescription pills. Sure, I never did it to get high I only did it to take away my constant migraines (yes, they were that bad) but he knew I would OD eventually.

"Well, old habits die hard." He chuckled and nodded his head pulling out his cell phone.

"Chinese?" I smiled nodding my head as I took his phone and dialed a number for it.

I forgot how comforting it was having him around; Dean always took care of me. Even when I didn't want him to. When I was younger, it always felt wrong, because I had Andrew taking care of me too. Andrew even put a roof over my head at one point, but I knew if I was in a jam I could run to Dean whenever. Day or night, rain or shine. He was like the mailman. Didn't matter what was going on outside, he'd still be there.

I couldn't help but think how Dean seemed to show up in my life just at the right time. It was like he just seemed to know exactly when I needed someone the most.

Did he?