The bunker was quiet. Only the soft hum of the air vents filled the silence. You laid curled against Dean, your fingers lazily tracing the freckles on his arm as his chest rose and fell beneath you. “Can I ask you something?” you murmured into the space between his collarbone and the curve of his neck. “Always,” he said, his voice low, relaxed. You hesitated. “What do you think you’d be… if you hadn’t grown up hunting?” Dean was quiet for a long moment. “A firemen,” he said finally, like it had always been there, tucked inside him. You pulled back just enough to look at him, eyes adjusting to the low light. “Yeah?” He nodded. “I used to think about it all the time as a kid. Before we got too deep in the life. Something about it just… made sense.” You studied his face, the way his jaw tightened just slightly. Like there was more. “Because of the fire?” you asked gently. Dean’s eyes flicked to yours, and something in them softened. “Yeah. That night… I remember more than I ever admit. I was four. But I remember Sam. Just this little baby screaming. I didn’t think. I just grabbed him and ran.” You reached for his hand, lacing your fingers with his. He squeezed back. “I didn’t save Mom,” he said, barely a whisper. “But I saved Sam.” “Dean,” you whispered, shifting closer, brushing your thumb over the back of his hand. “You were four. You saved your brother’s life. That’s… you don’t hear stories like that, because they don’t happen. Not unless the kid’s name is Dean Winchester.” He smiled faintly at that, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “After that, I used to think if I ever got out… if I could choose my life. I’d run into burning buildings. I’d be the guy on the other end of the rescue. Sirens instead of shotgun shells.” You rested your head on his chest again. “You still save people. Just not the way the world sees.” Dean exhaled slowly, the tension in his chest unwinding as he wrapped his arms around you. “I’d want to have a Dalmatian too,” he added after a beat. You laughed against his skin. “Of course you would.” “And I’d name him Zeppelin.”