So it's been forever. My computer crashed, taking the other 10 or so chapters I had ready with it. I've been grieving the loss and finally got to the point of rewriting some of the chapters. I'm working on a couple more now. Hope you like.

Britt walked into her office to find Dean casually leaning against the desk.

"Hey, you're early," she said with a smile.

"I know," Dean said. "I was bored."

"Bored or anxious?" Britt asked, sitting at her computer.

"Both," Dean answered as he turned to sit in one of the chairs at Britt's desk. "I'm so ready to get this damn thing off."

"Well, it looks like my next patient cancelled, so I can work you in now," Britt said. "But remember, it's barely been six weeks, Dean. I want to make sure everything is healed properly before we take off the cast," she warned.

"I know," Dean admitted. "I've never left a cast on as long as the doctor said so this is new for me. I'm a little impatient."

"Don't tell me stuff like that," Britt teased. "I don't even want to know how little you've followed doctors' instructions in the past."

"You're probably right," Dean said with a smirk as he popped a Reese's cup in his mouth.

"Dean!" Britt exclaimed. "I keep those hidden! How did you know I had them?"

Dean laughed. "You need a better hiding place," he said with a shrug.

Britt pretended to glare at him. "It's a good thing I love you," she said as she walked around the desk and held Dean's crutches. "I don't share my Reese's with just anyone."

"I love you, too," Dean said, and gave her a kiss once he was up on his good foot. "Carry my shoe?" he said with a smile as he handed her the mate to the running shoe he was wearing.

A few minutes later they were settled in an exam room. Dean's leg had been x-rayed and Britt was pulling up the scans as Dean got on the table and worked the leg of his jeans up over the cast.

Britt turned to face him. "Feeling optimistic?" she asked teasingly.

"If you don't take it off, I might do it myself," he retorted.

"We'll see about that," she replied. "Give me a couple of minutes to look at the x-rays." She squeezed his hand and turned back to the computer.

Dean fidgeted nervously as Britt studied the screen, zooming in and out on parts of the scans. As far as he could tell, everything looked like it was in the right place, but of course he couldn't see the small stuff that Britt looked for.

Finally Britt turned around. "Everything is healing nicely," she began.

"But not enough, right?" Dean said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Normally I would recommend leaving it on for another week to ten days, but I'm willing to make an exception," Britt said with a smile. "There are a few conditions though."

"Anything," Dean said eagerly.

"First, I want you to stay on the crutches for another week. I don't want you putting your full weight on it yet, so you can work into it."

"I can handle that," Dean said. The crutches were annoying but not nearly as much as the cast.

"Second, I want you to promise that you'll tell me if you're having any pain and I want you to take it easy. I know you're eager to be free, but you have to be careful," Britt warned.

"Done," Dean said. "I don't want to end up back in another cast. Anything else?"

Britt thought for a moment. "Just one more thing," she said. "Move in with me."

"Seriously?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Seriously," Britt said. "I want you with me where I can look out for you. I want you with us. I want us to be a family."

"Okay, I guess we need to set that wedding date," Dean said, taking her hand.

"We do, but I don't want to wait," Britt said. "Move in today. I don't want to live another day apart."

Dean swallowed an unexpected lump in his throat and nodded. "Today," he agreed, pulling her in for a kiss.

Dean hobbled out of the office with a smile on his face. After removing the cast, Britt had insisted that he go pick up Caylee and tell her about their decision. He was nervous about how she might feel about him moving in so soon, but Britt was sure the little girl would be elated.

Dean opened the door to his truck and slid the crutches across the seat. He loved his Baby, but he had to admit that he loved his new truck almost as much. Sam had bought one several weeks ago and, after the strep throat debacle, he insisted that Dean drive it. Dean had gone and bought a similar one that afternoon. He still drove Baby, but the truck was more practical, especially as often as Caylee rode with him. He glanced at the pink booster seat that had become a permanent fixture in his backseat and smiled.

He arrived at Caylee's school and walked slowly towards the office. He was heeding Britt's warning to take it easy. He could tell that the leg was weak and it was still a bit painful to put pressure on it. He walked on it, but there was a lot of weight still on the crutches.

"Hey Angie," Dean said as he walked into the office.

"Hey Dean," Angie, the school secretary, greeted him brightly. He and Sam had been frequent visitors to the school in the last few weeks. With Britt and Cara working, one of them usually picked Caylee up from school. "Are you visiting or signing out today?"

"Signing out," Dean answered. "Britt gets off work early today and we thought we'd enjoy the afternoon together."

"That sounds great," Angie said with a smile. "Britt came by earlier in the week and updated the records, so you're now officially cleared to sign Caylee out." The school staff knew Sam and Dean, but it was a policy to call the child's guardian when someone not on record was signing him or her out. Britt never minded, but this would definitely make things easier.

"That's great," Dean said. Britt hadn't mentioned it to him, but he smiled to himself.

"Yeah, she added you and Sam both. You can sign your part today and I'll catch Sam the next time I see him," she said as she slid a folder across the reception desk. "Just sign next to your name."

Dean scanned the paper and found that his name had been listed under Britt's in the Primary Contacts section as Caylee's father. Sam was listed with Cara as Caylee's uncle and aunt.

Dean tried to hold in the happiness he felt at that small recognition. He was so ready to be Caylee's dad.

He signed his name and passed the folder back to Angie. He also filled out the sign out sheet on the desk.

"Want me to get one of the teachers to walk her up?" Angie offered.

"Nah, I need the exercise," he said with a smile. "I've got to get this leg back in working order."

"I understand that," she agreed. "Take care and don't overdo it."

"Thanks Angie," he said as he walked out of the office.

He walked down the hallway to Caylee's classroom. One of the teachers and a little boy were just going back in the room.

"Look, it's Caylee's daddy!" the little boy said excitedly, pointing at Dean. The teacher smiled apologetically and guided the child in the room.

"I'll let Ms. Katie know you're here," she said. Dean nodded.

A minute later Caylee came busting out the door with Ms. Katie on her heels.

"Dean! We painted today! I painted the 'Pala and a butterfly and Uncle Sammy and a cupcake and a cat! It's in my backpack so I can show you and Mommy! Jacob said you were my daddy. Ms. Katie let me be the line leader today and I did a really good job. You got your cast off!" Caylee rattled out in seemingly one breath.

"Wow," Dean said with a laugh. "You had a busy day, didn't you?"

"Uh huh!" Caylee said, grinning.

"I meant Ms. Katie," Dean said with a wink at the teacher.

"It was a very active day," Ms. Katie said with a smile, "but every day is an active day. Caylee was a fantastic line leader. She took it very seriously."

"That's my girl," Dean said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Is it okay if she leaves a little early today?"

"Absolutely," Ms. Katie said. "We were just about to settle down for rest time and then a story. We'll see you tomorrow, Caylee."

"Bye Ms. Katie!" Caylee said with a wave as her teacher went back in the room.

Caylee skipped happily at Dean's side as he made his way down the hallway.

"Where we going?" she asked.

"I thought we'd go get some lunch and then go home to see Mommy. She's getting off early today and we have a surprise for you," Dean told her.

"A surprise?" Caylee repeated, her eyes wide with excitement. "Is it cupcakes?"

Dean laughed. "No cupcakes," he said. "Maybe we can pick some up to take with us."

"Okay," she agreed with a grin. "Is your leg all better?"

"Your mom checked it today and it's much better. She took off the cast and in about a week I can get rid of these," he said, gesturing with the crutches.

"I'm glad your cast is gone," she said sweetly. "It was smelly."

He laughed again as they got to the truck. Caylee climbed in and buckled herself up as Dean slid in and put his crutches in the passenger seat. He drove to their favorite sandwich shop.

Once they had ordered he decided to tell Caylee the big news.

"When I went to Mommy's office this morning we talked about some things and made some big decisions, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with them," he started. "You know that Mommy and I are getting married."

"Uh huh!" Caylee nodded excitedly. "Mommy's ring is beautifuller than Aunt Cara's!"

"Right," Dean said with a grin. "Weddings take some time to plan, but Mommy and I would like for us to start being a family now. We want to live in the same house. Would that be okay with you?"

"Are me and Mommy going to live at Uncle Sammy and Aunt Cara's too?" Caylee asked innocently.

"No," Dean smiled. "I'd like to move into your house with you. What do you think about that?"

Caylee got up and came around the table and got in Dean's lap. She faced him, remembering that he needed to see her face, and spoke sincerely.

"I want you to live with us, but won't Uncle Sammy be lonely?" Her big green eyes were full of concern for her uncle.

"Madilyn will be here soon and Uncle Sammy and Aunt Cara will be busy," Dean explained. "And we'll be right next door so we'll still see them a lot."

"Okay," Caylee said, satisfied. "Then I want you to live with us!"

"Great," Dean said with a grin. "Mommy is going to help me move my stuff today when she gets home."

Caylee nodded and got a serious look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, stroking her face.

"Back at school, Jacob said you were my daddy," Caylee said softly. "I liked it."

"I liked it, too," Dean told her.

"So if we're going to be a family now, does that make you my daddy?"

"Only if you're okay with that," Dean assured her. "Why don't we talk to Mommy when she gets home?"

Caylee nodded. Their food arrived, and just like that, she was out of his lap and back to her seat. She talked nonstop through the meal and Dean wouldn't have had it any other way.

Later that afternoon Caylee was watching TV and Dean was resting his leg. Britt came in from work and dropped her stuff.

"Hey," she greeted them with a smile. She gave Dean a kiss and settled next to him on the couch. "How's the leg?" she asked.

"Tired," Dean admitted. "Feels good to be mobile again, but it's not up to par."

"I'm glad you're taking it easy," she said. "I'll get you something to ease it off."

"Mommy!" Caylee said, realizing her mom was home and available to hear about her day. "Today was so much fun! I was the line leader and I painted a picture and Jacob said Dean was my daddy and Dean said we're going to be a family!"

"That sounds like a great day," Britt agreed as she kissed the little girl's forehead. "Why don't you go get that picture so we can see it?"

"Okay!" Caylee agreed happily. She ran off to find her backpack.

"I talked to her at lunch," Dean said. "At first, she thought the two of you were moving in to Cara and Sam's house with me. Then she worried that Sam would be lonely. Once we cleared that up, she was good with me moving in."

"I knew she would be," Britt said. "She adores you."

Caylee came back in the room with her picture. Dean and Britt oohed and aahed over it despite the fact that it was pretty abstract. There was a black blob that Dean guessed was the Impala.

"Is Dean my daddy now?" Caylee asked Britt.

Britt pulled Caylee up into her lap. "Dean and I are getting married and he'll officially be your daddy then, but that doesn't matter. I think Dean is already your daddy in your heart." Caylee nodded. "I think Dean probably agrees that we just want you to be happy and to know how much we love you. You can decide when you're ready for him to be your dad."

Caylee thought a moment and climbed over into Dean's lap. "I'm ready now," she said with a smile as she kissed his cheek. "You're my Daddy in my heart."