In Which Beth gets home

[Cowritten with failuretotrust. Set in the future!future!crack.]

It was late and she was tired. Everything seemed quiet as she let herself in the front door and closed it softly behind her. She sighed, breathing in that feeling that came with going "home". It was a great feeling. She moved down the hall and listened at Maddie's door. Everything was dark and quiet, so she peeked in and smiled at the sight of her daughter sleeping. Then she continued down the hall, knocking slight as she pushed the bedroom door open, not wanting to scare Dean.

"Honey, I'm home," she said softly.

Dean was stretched out on the bed, somewhere between sleep and awake. He knew that he should be sleeping, but he was still trying to figure out what they were going to do with Ben and Lisa. He knew that there wasn't much he could do to get Ben to stop resenting him, but Dean wanted to at least try -- though that might be easier said than done. When he heard Beth's voice, he didn't open his eyes, just let a slow smile stretch across his face. "Hey. How was your trip?"

( *** )