Papa Bear

Strawberry Milkshake

A pile of Emerson's favorite books clutter his couch, pages dog-eared, spines pressed into the gaps between leather cushions, and a feather tucked between the pages of an Emily Bronte. The strands of yellow and sapphire silk are meant to replicate the elegant plummage of a peacock but Emerson always giggled about it looking like Superman's suit. The feather is attached to a worn bookmark by a fraying ribbon, serving at her fidgeting toy while she reads, sometimes in total silence, sometimes to him while he cooks or works.

"What's with the books, man?"

Dean spares a glance over his shoulder, eyes flicking from a confused JW to the pile of books and dissolves into a soft laugh. "Emmie."

"Emmie?" JW's confusion is resolved by the squeak of door hinges, the thump of a heavy bag hitting the ground, and the shuffle of sneakers on tile.

She appears in the doorway of the kitchen, jeans and an old Princeton sweatshirt, despite her attendance at Brown. "Hi Papa Bear."

"Hi Emmie."

JW recognizes her from glances of the background on Dean's phone. The faces of a young boy and a young girl smushed against Dean's cheeks, small arms flung around his neck, Teri's arms around his shoulders. Emerson, he thinks her name was, if he remembered Dean correctly.

"Mom's still in England for work." Emerson easily lifts herself up onto the counter beside Dean, who is poring over papers, hoping to find something - JW isn't sure what, but it must be something important. "Grandpa Chris picked me up at the airport."

"You should have called me, Eme." Dean's reprimand is gentle, a playful reminder of his availability.

"I started to but Grandpa Chris called to see if I was home." Emerson pulls a paper from the bottom of the stack. "He took me and Chris to lunch."

The paper in her hand looks suspiciously like an application for a marriage license. Teri's handwriting, her legal name and Dean's scrawled across the page.

"So, is Mom going to be a legal Cain?" Emerson teases.

"Yes and no. Hatcher is her union name but legally she will be Teri Hatcher-Cain." he taps her nose and moves around her to tuck a book into the corner underneath the cabinets. "You will still be Emerson Tenney. Though, you are welcome to add Cain to that mouthful if you wish."

"I'm good with Tenney, but I can still call you Papa Bear?" Emerson's brown eyes spark with humor.

"You will, anyway, little girl." Dean teases, ruffling her hair.

"Always." Emerson giggles, looking down at the paper. "What about your other name, Tanaka?"

"I took Cain legally when Dad adopted me." he shrugs, "Tanaka is connected to someone I have no memories with."

"Papa Bear." Emerson sighs.

"It's true, Eme. I don't have memories with my biological father." Dean informs her but still manages a bright smile up at the girl. "Just think, you have me and you have Jon."

"My boyfriends are so screwed." Emerson sighs, but it's all in jest.

Dean's eyes still darken, though a touch of humor is in the twitch of his mouth, an amused smirk scratching at him. "I have a baseball bat and a license to carry."

"Get a suit, slick back your hair, and we'll call you Cain. Dean Cain." Emerson can't help but tease him a bit. She's seen enough photos to know there's a certain been there, done that with the James Bond thing. "Though I don't think Q ever gave Bond a baseball bat. He wouldn't even give him a pen, as I recall."