Room 438, Wednesday

[saltandammo]

The room was looking pretty bare as Dean worked on finishing up the last of his packing. There were two piles: the duffles he was taking with him, and the last load of stuff in boxes he was leaving down at the house in town.

He was trying to avoid looking around himself too much; it was really weird to see this place which had come to feel like

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[darkangelsawyer]

And this would be Peyton leaning on the door frame watching him.

"Hey."

[saltandammo]

Dean turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. "Hey."

[darkangelsawyer]

Peyton smiled back a little wistfully. "So, I heard a rumor you were leaving today and I couldn't let you go without saying goodbye."

[saltandammo]

"I'm glad. Saves me having to track you down before I go," Dean said. "Cause I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

[darkangelsawyer]

"Glad to hear it. So... did you get the CD I gave Sam for you?" she asked. And what did she have in her hands?

[saltandammo]

"I did," Dean confirmed. "Pretty awesome."

[darkangelsawyer]

"Wouldn't have happened without you," she admitted. "Wouldn't have had those couple of weeks with Ellie either."

[saltandammo]

"I'm glad you got that," Dean said earnestly, moving closer. "Really. Family's important."

[darkangelsawyer]

She smiled up at him, reaching out to touch his arm gently. "Yeah. And she taught me a lot in the little time we had - about not selling myself short and that I was worth something and that there was nothing wrong about wanting the fairy tale happy ending if I was willing to work for it."

"I'm just sorry I didn't handle things better with us, 'cause I would have loved to talk with you about some of it." She shrugged and laughed a little. "But that's the way it goes. Maybe you'll end up near Tree Hill or L.A. - when I finally get out there - in your travels and you and Alec can stop in to say hello. I'll take you out to dinner or something."

[saltandammo]

"Count on it," Dean told her with a smile. "You definitely deserve good things, Peyton. I mean, you're pretty awesome. Someone who's not already entangled's going to see that."

[darkangelsawyer]

"Good. You guys always have an open invite." She blushed and ducked her head a little. "Thanks. That's the hope, you know? For someday. But I don't regret hooking up with you. You were always good to me - made me feel special."

"Anyway, before I end up getting really all mushy here..." She might have been just a little teary about saying goodbye. "I know you have a CD player and all, but I also know that your baby prefers cassettes, so..."

She offered a small box with some cassettes in it. "I put my CD on one, made a couple others with mixes of stuff I know you like from my collection."

[saltandammo]

Dean's face kinda lit up at that. "Wow, that's amazingly cool," he said taking the box from her. "I've got a long drive alone to South Dakota so these will definitely come in handy." Impulsively he reached out and pulled her into a bear hug. "Thanks."

[darkangelsawyer]

Peyton hugged him back tightly, burying her face in his shoulder and letting the familiar and much missed scent and feel of him envelop her. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered.

[saltandammo]

"Yeah, me too," Dean said, voice a little husky. See, this was why he hated when people left, even if it was him doing the leaving.

[darkangelsawyer]

Everyone always left Peyton and she hated it. But she was starting to have a tiny bit of hope that maybe it might not always be that way. And that maybe sometimes the goodbyes wouldn't be forever.

"But we'll stay in touch and you guys will come visit," she said bravely. "And, well, there's always my weekly podcasts and you know my webcam's always on if I'm home alone."

[saltandammo]

Dean grinned saucily. "Pretty girl with a web cam. That sounds like it could be naughty."