"Hi, Jo."

"Hey."

I didn't know what I was expecting, I know it wasn't a damn call (plus 'I'm sorry for being a dick' was a pipe dream), but that dream, that hope was crushed in a matter of seconds.

It was blaze of omens, demons that weren't really demons, and magic freaking rings and then he was gone, not even a damn goodbye and it was back to normal. No calls, nothing but the news of death, life, and everything I would never be apart of.

(he'll never see the tears I spilled for him, the ones I wish I could take back)

"Let him go, Joanna, it's been such a long goddamn time since he cared about us."

"I know, I just wish I could."

Instead of dishing out more motherly advice, rather her usually style of 'just get the hell over it', she let it go knowing that the part of my heart he had broken with only two damn words was still very much in pieces.

(Sammy-boy and his black eyes were just as much to blame)

-

"Hey, your still here, where's Sam?"

I expected him to be gone, running for the hills the moment the job was done and awkward hello was over and done with, but here he was waiting on my door step. At least my door step of the moment before I did a Winchester and split.

(only the dust behind me and a few forgotten promises)

"He left. Sam's gone, and I don't know what to do next. Jo, I don't have a damn clue."

Before I could say 'he'll be back, your brothers for god sake', even if I hope he doesn't come my way anytime soon, the brave and smartass face he always puts on finally cracked and all that was left were tears and every punch Sam had thrown his way.

(when he finally tells me everything it makes me hate the evil son of a bitch even more)

I didn't say a world, didn't bring my own tears and broken-heart into the mix (one was enough for this pity party), I just wrapped my arms around him like I wished he had done for me years ago and it was finally my turn to be the strong one.

(his heart was broken and I wasn't going to walk away like he did, I was going to better then he ever was)

-

"Thanks for being there for me, Jo, I know I wasn't there for you all these years and I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry we didn't give it a try, we could have been something, something special."

At the beginning I expected maybe a sorry, a look of pity and a hasty goodbye but yet again he surprised me not just with finally showing me something more of himself but also with the words I wanted to hear each day, each day in someway that I was thinking of him.

(and now maybe he'll finally think of me)

"We could have been a lot, Dean, but that doesn't mean we still can't. You, mister, just have to call every so often, and with Sam going all dark-side on you, you'll need all the help you can get."

Before I could stop myself, take a good long look at the pieces he had crushed without a second thought, I was already welcoming him back into my life with open arms but this time it wasn't the same man before me, it was someone new, someone better.

(someone I could love even more, be hurt by more but love nonetheless)

"Expect a call very soon, Jo, and this time I'll make sure to keep my promises. It's a date."

"Yeah, a date."