( little dog girl. )

His face was solemn at her assumption. Cas and Sam were the two people in the world with whom he could never get away with an easy lie. In this case, he didn’t even want to. With Drew, it was harder. He wanted his brother to believe that everything was fine, because the alternative hurt his heart too much to think about. Cas and Sam were different. It hurt watching them realize that his body was deteriorating sooner than any of them had believed it would, but they were able to push past that to lift him up. “Yeah,” he answers, his voice barely above a whisper. “The first tremors started right before the wedding. I haven’t even held Nikki in weeks because I’m so afraid I…” He didn’t finish his sentence. She understood the sentiment without him saying the words.

Hope swelled in his chest as he watched Cas push through the pain to make a monumental amount of progress. Sometimes he was still stunned that she loved him; she was awe-inspiring and he was just Jackson. His grin was so wide that it made his cheeks ache, but he didn’t mind. She was incredible. He was the luckiest man in the world. “You can do this,” he echoed.

Lip listens to Cas explode in a way that he hadn’t witnessed since Nic died. When she finished, he couldn’t do much except shake his head. “No,” he said simply. “I don’t believe that, baby. Because I know you. You do not have a hateful bone in your body. And this…this is something that can be fixed.” His hands are shaking in his pockets, and part of him is so angry at his best friend for not fighting when she had the chance. Oh, how he would kill for that chance. “You have to do this,” he continued. “You have to, so that I have some hope. Because I…Cas, I can’t fix mine.”

He welcomes her lips against his. They had been distant from each other in the past weeks, and it was a blessing to have her lean into him for help again. He keeps eye contact with her as his forehead presses against his wife’s, his soft smile more genuine this time. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispers. Jackson savors the sweet moment with his wife for just a few seconds longer before pulling away. “Now…go again.”

Lip has to chuckle to himself. “Baby, anyone that is in your position would be more than a little pissed off. You don’t have to make excuses for yourself.”

He tries very hard to keep his face passive. Usually, she was the optimist and he was the realist. It didn’t feel right to have those roles reversed. “You can. The doctors say you can, and they don’t ever know you. I do. If anyone is going to get through this and come out the other side, it’s you. You just have to be vigilant. Think about Allie. She got sloppy after her injury, she ignored the therapists, and she has defecits. But you’re not Allie. You are Abigail Peterson and you are my wife. You can do anything you put your mind to. Now fight.”

Lip watches her, still impressed by her level of determination. His hands are shoved deep in his pockets as he approaches to hide the tremors from her. He puts on an easy smirk as he kisses her cheek. “Never seen you snap at anyone before, baby.”

Watching his wife struggle in front of him was one of the most difficult things that he had ever done. He shifts from foot to foot, the brace on his leg still not completely comfortable. When she pushes the trainer away, he limps over to her. “Hey…” he trails off, pushing through the sadness to give her a weak smile. “You’re doing great.”

You won’t be. There are things that the doctors can do, surgeries that can fix it. You’re going to fly again, Cas. I know you will. We’re strong, both of us; this won’t keep us down for long.