Harper Ross had been hunting with the Winchesters and Jo for about four weeks before the accident that told secrets and changed everything.
They'd met hunting the same poltergeist, and she and Sam had hit it off. Jo was already with the Winchesters, having met up again about a year after losing her mom in Carthage. They'd invited Harper back to their base and she'd just stuck around.
The truck comes out of nowhere, slamming into the impala, and sending it down a steep hill until it rolled to a stop.
All of the hunters are out cold, but Harper wakes up first.
She immediately notices the sharp pain in her gut. Looking down she sees the shard of glass lodged in her abdomen. She winces as she begins to pull it out, and gasps sharply when it finally pulls loose. She's extremely thankful that she isn't human.
Oh, no.
Harper turns to look at Sam and begins to shake him gently. "Sam? Sam!" He stirs and she breathes out in relief. "Sam, you have to get up. Come on, Sam."
"Harper?" He mumbles, then groaning and reaching for his head. When she sees what he's tentatively touching, she feels sick with the fear of losing him.
"Okay, okay, Sam. You're okay, you'll be fine," she repeats over and over, convincing herself and him. His head wound doesn't look as bad up close, there's just a lot of blood. "Okay, stay with me, Sasquatch."
"Mmh," he groans not moving.
She tries to open the car door, but it's stuck. She begins kicking it with all of her supernatural strength. Her eyes turn gold, she bares her fangs, and growls with frustration. She kicks it one more time with all of her strength and by the grace of whoever is watching over her, it gives.
The door swings open and she tugs on Sam's arm. "Come on, Sam. It's time to get up now."
She pulls him out of the car because he can hardly help her anyway. Once again she's overjoyed about being a werewolf.
"Okay, Sam, you need to stay awake, okay? Stay with me."
"Harper, are you okay?" He asks slowly.
She smiles at him, "Yeah, Sam. I'm fine."
He reaches for the wound in her abdomen. She'd forgotten about it, and the pain has mostly faded. It's soaked in her blood.
"Don't," she says quickly. Leaving him sitting against a tree a few feet away from the car. "Okay, I'm gonna go get Dean and Jo out now." She turns back to try and get the other two hunters.
"Dean? Jo? Wake up," she says when she nears the car. She feels for Jo's pulse and thanks every god or deity she can think of. She shakes Jo, and the huntress slowly wakes. "Welcome to consciousness, Jo."
"What the hell happened?" She asks slowly.
"We got slammed into and we took a fun roll down that little hill."
"Holy shit," Jo mutters staring at the "little" hill. It's a steep slope the whole long way to the bottom.
"Okay, I need you to push on the door so we can get it open and get you two out, okay?"
Jo spins to look at Dean who's covered in blood and broken glass. Fear grips her heart as she manages to say, "Yeah, okay."
"One, two, three!" The pair manage to open the door after a few minutes.
Jo stumbles out of the crushed Impala, putting all of her weight on her left leg. Almost immediately she turns and tries to wake her boyfriend. "Dean? Dean! Dean, wake up! No no no no no!" Still supporting herself on the car, she spins back around and looks desperately at Harper and that's when she noticed the blood. "Holy shit, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," she tries to brush past Jo and drag the older Winchester brother out of his beloved car.
"Harper, is that your blood?" Jo asks completely serious.
She considers lying, but knows that it would only create more panic over Sam's state. "Yeah, but it's just a scratch."
"How-?"
"Just let me help him, okay?!" Harper snaps.
Jo wants to ask more questions, but she's more concerned about Dean. Her mouth drops open when Harper pulls Dean from the car without much difficulty. "How did you-?"
"-Jo, please. Just give me enough time to help you, and then I'll explain everything."
She drags Dean over to where Sam is slumped against a tree, motionless. Jo limps over to check Dean for injuries, and her heart drops when she finds a huge knot on the back of Dean's head. "No. No! No, please! Dean?! Dean! Wake up, you have to wake up!" She's full on panicking and there are tears streaming down her face. "You promised you wouldn't leave me," she whispers, curling into his motionless side and laying her head on his chest listening to his fading heartbeat. "I love you," she whispers.
Harper begins shaking Sam again, trying to wake him up. "Sam! Sam, please!" He doesn't respond, and she sits back on her heels. "Okay, okay," she breathes. Walking over to Jo, she asks if she's okay.
"I- I don't- I can't tell," she whimpers, her hand resting on her abdomen, fear in her eyes.
"Jo, honey, what is it?" Harper asks slowly.
"I can't tell…" she trailed off, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. "The baby," she whispers. For now, that's her biggest concern. She's completely ignoring the shooting pain in her right leg, but Harper notices the blood and she can see a little of the bone.
"Damn it, Jo. Okay, don't move a muscle! I'm going to get help, okay?" She stood quickly to find help.
Hours later Harper sits by Sam's hospital bed, holding his hand. She had flagged down a car and they had called an ambulance. They stitched up the gash on his head, and for now Sam is stable, but he's still out cold.
A tear slips down her face as she watches Sam's face for any sign of life. She runs a hand through her chin-length wavy brown hair, her eyes fearful.
She knows that Dean has recently been stabilized and that Jo is no doubt near him. She has been examined and the baby is okay. They had tried to give her a separate room after setting her leg and putting the pins in, but, even in her groggy drugged state, she had started shouting demanding to be in the same room that Dean would end up in. Eventually they gave in to her.
She smells Jo before she knocks on the doorframe. Harper turns to see that she has wheeled herself in.
"Jo," she starts weakly. Her voice sounds tired and defeated and fearful. "What are you doing in here?" She notes the tear tracks on Jo's cheeks, and how she seems just dead tired.
She smiles sadly, "Dean's not going anywhere, and I wanted to talk to you. And check on Sammy."
"He's the same…" Harper trails off.
"Harper, how did you get out unscathed? And what about the blood on your shirt? You said it was yours. And I saw the state of the car, how the hell did you get that door open on your own 'cause there's no way Sam helped you? And-"
"I didn't get out unscathed." Jo starts to interrupt her, but she continues. "I woke up with a huge shard of glass stabbed into my abdomen. I was bleeding pretty badly, but I was healing easily seeing as it was glass, not silver. I pulled it out, and it slowly healed up. I kicked out the door with some difficulty, but with the extra strength it was possible. I had to basically carry Sam like I did with your boyfriend, except he did help a little bit," she smiled sadly down at Sam's basically lifeless form. "I'm sorry," she whispers, tearing up. She's still staring at Sam, and Jo can't decide who she's apologizing to.
"Harper," she says softly. She's pretty sure what Harper means, but she needs to be sure.
A sob escapes her, and it shakes her whole body. Jo takes the broken girl in. She's thin, like Jo, but a good bit taller. Her hair is chocolate brown and her eyes are ice blue and full of pain. She's plain, but pretty. And she's obviously in love with Sam Winchester.
"I-I- I'm a werewolf. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she completely breaks down, sobbing and apologizing again and again. Jo's heart breaks for the woman.
"How long?"
"Years… years… I-I have control. I've never ever hurt anyone that didn't deserve it and I have never eaten a human heart, I swear." She falls silent for a moment. "I'll leave. I'll disappear, I promise, just- just let me stay until he wakes up, please." Harper gasps when Sam's hand tightens its grip on her own. "Sam?" she whispers. She sounds completely broken. "Sam?" she sounds so hopeful, yet there is so much fear and pain in her voice.
After a moment, Jo speaks carefully, as if Harper might shatter, "Harper, you don't have to run." The girl in question spins to face Jo. "I won't tell the boys. I trust you. Don't screw this up, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course. Thank you, Jo."
"Hey, no chick-flick moments, alright?"
Harper just laughs, "Yeah, you're right." Looking back at Sam, she asks, "So you think they'll be okay?"
Jo laughs, "Yeah, they are the Winchesters after all."
"I'm gonna hug you, okay?" Jo laughs and nods, but when Harper stands to cross the room, Sam holds her hand tighter as if asking her not to leave him. She looks back at him, willing him to open his eyes, to say something. "Please, Sam," she begs quietly.
"Harper?" Jo softly questions.
"He tightened his grip on my hand twice now, so why won't he just open his stupid eyes?" Her voice is almost empty. Jo knows that she's emotionally spent for the day and that both of them need sleep.
"I'm going back to Dean…. Get some sleep, okay?"
"Mmmh," comes the werewolf's noncommittal response.
"Hey, I know for a fact that Sammy will be glad that you slept some."
"I'll try," she lies with a small smile.
"Yeah," Jo smiles back knowing the lie well.
A little while after Jo left, at about three in the morning, Harper does, in fact, nod off. She's curled up in the chair by his bed, still holding his hand. They stay like that, unconscious and sleeping fairly uncomfortably, for the rest of the night. The crash had happened at five that night, and she had been up all day before that. Her body and mind were completely exhausted.
Sam opens his eyes to the bright room around nine that morning, he realizes that he's holding someone's hand and smiles when he sees her 5'10 form curled up in the chair next to him. The position she's in looks uncomfortable and his mind is jumbled so he gently wakes her.
"Harper?" he asks softly. He's surprised that the one word wakes her.
Sure enough, her eyes fly open in shock. "Sam?" she asks breathlessly. She's staring at him, trying to memorize the way he looks when he's awake. The tears build in her blue eyes, and suddenly Sam realizes that she'd been through a lot in the last few hours and he realizes that it's because of him.
"Hey," he soothes, still holding her hand as her tears spill over.
Harper shoots up and throws her arms around him, so Sam pulls her up into his lap and holds her close. She buries her head in his shoulder, and he kisses the top of her head softly. After a few minutes, Harper is calm enough for rational thought and that's when she looks up at him.
They move closer slowly, and then when their lips are only seconds from meeting Harper moves away, getting off of the bed. "I'm going to get a nurse and tell 'em you're up," she says softly.
"Is Dean-" he starts, sensing that she wasn't going to want to approach the topic of what just happened any time soon.
"-Jo's with him. He's still out." She says quickly before darting out to find a nurse.
Two days of examinations, praying that Dean would wake up, skirting around Sam, and pent up energy follow sluggishly.
It's afternoon when Jo wheels herself into Sam's room, her face lit up happily. She nods at Sam, who immediately tries to get up. Harper stands quickly, holding him back with a hand on his arm. He turns to her, his eyes full of excitement. She only lasts a few seconds, before looking down so she doesn't meet his eyes.
"Nurse says to take it slow," she mumbled, her voice completely void of emotion. Sam's shoulders drop a little. He wants her to talk to him again, to get excited and laugh. She's been so distant with him since the almost kiss.
There have been a few times she's gotten close to him, showed more emotion, but she quickly hides in her shell. Everytime she pulls away, it hurts Sam almost physically.
He's going to get her alone eventually, but now isn't the time. Taking her advice, he gets up slowly. She walks just behind him while he makes his way to his brother's room.
"Sammy?"
Sam visibly relaxes at the sight of his brother awake. "Hey, Dean."
"Wow, looks like you were almost as bad off as I am," as he says this he looks at the stitches on his brother's head. He glances at Harper for a moment and notes the lack of injuries. "You alright, Harp?"
"I got lucky," she looks him up and down, "unlike your ass. You'd still be in that car if it weren't for me… and Jo. You're welcome, asshat." She smiles at him.
He grins back. "Thanks."
Sam makes his way over to his brother's bed, and just hugs him. He has been worried the past few days.
"Whoa, Sammy," Dean laughs, hugging back. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just worried, is all." He pulls back.
The room is silent for a moment before a nurse threatens to drag Sam back to his room, and Harper trails along behind them almost like a dog would follow its person. Jo hopes that Dean can't see it too.
Now that Dean's awake Jo knows that she has to tell him, but just thinking about that makes her feel sick. Harper has been giving her sharp looks for the whole damn day, and is minutes from forcing Jo to say it.
Dean can see that something is wrong, but whenever he asks Jo panics, says she's fine, and darts away from him with one excuse or another.
Finally Harper catches Jo's arm and drags her down the hall.
"Tell him!"
"No."
"The hell not?!"
Jo's head drops, and she whispers, "I can't, I can't lose him."
Harper softens, "Jo, he loves you. He's not going to leave you."
"You don't know that. How could you? He- he doesn't want kids." A tear slips down her cheek. "He won't want it," her voice breaks as she says this.
"Jo, look I may not have been around for long, but I can tell that Dean Winchester loves you completely and totally."
Jo looks up at her, fear plain on her tear streaked face.
"Just tell him the truth."
She nods. It's time.
She walks back down the hall with Harper watching her the whole time. Jo pauses outside of Dean's door, uncertainty clear on her face and she rests her hand on her still flat stomach. One hand on the doorknob she takes a deep breath before stepping in the room.
"We need to talk."
"Jo?"
She's shaking and she feels like she can't breathe. In one breath she says, "Dean, I'm pregnant and I'm keeping it."
Silence.
Silence.
His face splits into a grin, "Marry me?"
No, she must have misheard that. "What?"
"Will you marry me, Jo?"
"Because I'm pregnant?"
"Because I love you."
She grins, "Yeah, Dean. I'll marry you."
He looks relieved. She's about to cry.
She wraps her arms around his neck and buries her face in his neck. His arms instinctively go around her, and once more he revels in how well they fit together. They hold each other tight fearful and excited about their future.
She cries into his shirt and he laughs at the muffled complaint about hormones.
He smiles as he breathes in her scent, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"
"I have a pretty good idea," she smiles looking up at him.
He grins at her letting the idea of marriage roll around in his mind. He'd been wanting to ask her for weeks, months even.
"Holy shit," Jo says suddenly.
"Hm?"
"We're getting married and we're having a baby."
"I know."
"I never thought…"
"Me neither. I almost don't believe it."
She laughs softly, "I don't either."