"You stupid asshole! Why did you get me into this? I'd rather be tortured by a djinn than endure this any longer!"
26 hours of labour and lots of screaming insults later, Jo gave birth, much to their surprise, to two baby girls. They named the eldest Mary and the other Ellen. The doctor handed Ellen to Jo and Mary to Dean and as the babies opened their eyes for the first time, Dean and Jo smiled at each other. A tear strolled down Jo's cheek and Dean wiped it away.
"We did good, Winchester," Jo said, stroking Ellen's face. She leaned down and kissed her forehead as she held her close.
There was nothing else in the world that Jo cared about more at that moment. A connection bonded between her and her child, as with Dean and Mary. Dean sat down on the bed and held Mary out. "See, Mary? That's your mommy." He smiled and choked back a few tears.
Jo adjusted Ellen and held her upright to see Dean. "And that is your daddy." Jo and Dean locked eyes and in that second of pure joy, they were truly happy. All the years of hunting and every horrible thing that came along with that life faded away with a simple coo from both Mary and Ellen.
The door creaked open as Sam and Bobby walked in, carefully stepping forward, trying not to get yelled at again.
"Is the coast clear yet?" Sam whispered. He walked slowly past the divider and with the yes from Dean, swung the curtain open. A smile instantly hit Sam's face when he saw two babies, instead of the prospected one. "Twins?" He exclaimed, "Can I hold one?"
Jo sat up in the hospital bed and held out Ellen carefully. "Of course, Uncle Sammy." She giggled and Sam took hold of Ellen and brought her close to his chest.
"She's so beautiful," he said, "Your mom would be proud."
Jo had been thinking that all day. Her mom had died hunting some vamps when Jo was about five months pregnant. She would have traded anything to have her mom with her today, but she had Dean and Sam and Bobby here with her and that's what counted. She caught herself in a moment and snapped out of it quickly, as Sam handed Ellen back to her.
"She's amazing, Jo, really. I couldn't be happier for you and Dean right now." Sam said as he struggled to let Ellen go.
"Thanks, Sam. That really means a lot to me… To both of us," Jo said, looking over to Dean smiling. She smiled as well, but her mind was postponed to…
EIGHT MONTHS AGO:
She ran into the 7/Eleven as quickly as she could and slid down the aisle to the tampons and condoms and pregnancy tests. She grabbed three of different brands and made her way to the cashier.
"This all for you ma'am?" The guy behind the counter asked.
Jo mumbled a couple words, trying not to make it obvious it was her, Jo Harvelle. They lived in a really small town where everyone knew everyone and she sure as hell didn't want anyone blabbing she was pregnant to her mom. I mean I may not be… She thought. She didn't want any unnecessary drama with her mom at this point. They fought about the Winchesters as it was and if she knew Jo was pregnant with Dean's kid, well, she'd be dead meat.
She threw some cash at the guy and grabbed her tests, making a quick way to her car outside. She put the tests in her satchel and placed it in the passenger side seat. As soon as she pulled into the Roadhouse parking lot, she swung around back and turned the car off. She placed her hands high on the steering wheel and rested her head between them. Choking back a tear, she got out of the car and walked to the door to her room. She opened the door quietly and snuck into the bathroom. Pulling out the tests, she used all three and started pacing back and forth. The box said it would take three to five minutes to give results, but she needed to know now. What if I am? Do I tell Dean? Do I… take... care of it? So many thoughts and questions circled her mind. She looked at her watch and with all pacing and thinking, seven minutes passed. She picked up all three and one had a pink plus, one had a smiley face and one had a pregnant.
"Shit!" She screamed. She didn't care if anyone heard her. She would make up an excuse. But what was she going to do? She had to be at work in 10 minutes and she could not face her mother. Her mother had the insight of psychic when it came to her. She would know something was wrong. But despite her situation, she had to go and she knew it. She changed out of her ratty Led Zeppelin t-shirt and baggy jeans and into a black tank top and her favorite pair of jeans. They made her ass look great and even if she didn't want to admit it, she kinda liked when guys hit on her.
She swung the bar doors open and sashayed her hips back and forth, attempting to look her normal, spunky self. As she walked behind the bar, she grabbed her apron and walked over to the first customer.
"What can I get you?" She asked, staring the guy down.
"Uhh, just a beer, thanks."
She filled up the glass and placed it on the coaster. "There you go."
The bar wasn't full yet and her mother wasn't in sight, so she pulled out her phone and dialed Dean's number. She had to call him… She had to. As her thumb hovered over the call button, she realized that this kind of news wasn't the kind to share over the phone. No regrets, she pressed the button and held the phone to her ear. It rang twice and the he picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Dean… Umm, I was wondering if you could stop by the Roadhouse for a bit. If you had the time, of course."
"Yeah, we are kinda runnin' by there anyways. What's the emergency?"
"I'd rather talk about it in person, if you don't mind."
"Umm, okay. We'll be there in about," He paused, "Two hours? And have some beer and food waiting, if you don't mind. We just had a rough hunt."
"Yeah sure. See you soon then."
She hung up and closed her eyes. She was so deep in shit now she didn't know which way was up. What if he gets mad? What if he just walks out? The questions were overwhelming and she needed to get her mind off it. Just her luck, a group of hunters walked in and took all the stools.
"What can I get you boys?" She asked with a little twang. She placed her hand on her hips awaiting their answers. They unanimously answered whiskey straight up and she obliged.
Before she knew it three hours had passed and the bar was as busy as ever. And then he walked in. It was almost as if a wave hit her, like she could feel Dean's presence or something. She turned around and the smiled was wiped from her face.
"Hey Jo."
She started trembling a little and replied, "Hey Dean."
"Where my beer?" He laughed, sitting down on the stool in front of him. Jo handed him a beer and wiped the overflow on her apron. "So what's the big deal?"
"Can we go in the back?" She asked. She really didn't want the whole bar hearing she was pregnant.
Dean got up from the chair and took a long swig from his mug. He walked over the where the bar ended and let Jo walk in front of him. He couldn't help it… he checked out her ass.
Once Dean had walked into the storage closet, Jo slammed the door shut and locked it.
"Oh that's what you wanted," Dean said, thinking he knew her intentions. He walked over to her, grabbed her ass and smashed his lips against hers. She melted against him, but she knew she couldn't do that now. She had to tell him and it had to be now.
"Stop, Dean." She said, pushing him away. "There's something I have to tell you."
Dean straightened his jacket and looked Jo in the eyes. "Okay, what is it?"
Jo crossed her arms and uncrossed them nervously. "I… uhh… umm…"
"Jo, just spit it out," Dean laughed, "It can't be that bad."
Jo closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. As she let it out, she blurted it out. "I'm pregnant, Dean. And it's yours. I took three tests today and they were all positive and… and… I'm just really scared."
Dean fell into the chair behind him with a look of complete disbelief. "Are you sure? I mean that it's mine?" Jo looked at him kind of angrily, receiving his comment as if he implied she slept around. "I didn't mean it like that, I mean it's just been like two months since we… Well, you know."
"You're the last person I had sex with, so yeah I'm sure it's yours."
Dean stood back up, shook his head and wiped his face with this hands. "So what do you want to do? I mean do you want to… keep… it?" He walked closer to her and placed his hand on her hips. "If you do, I'll be here for you."
Jo looked up in Dean's eyes with a sense of relief. She did not expect that answer from him. He is Dean Winchester, after all. She didn't peg him as the kid-type person. But with what he said… the feeling deep down inside her urging her to keep this child was starting to surface.
"Now that I think about it, I do have half a notion to keep it. I mean, only if you're okay with it." She said.
"It's your decision, Jo." Dean said, bringing her close into an embrace.
Jo responded with wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. Even though she'd decided to keep it, she was still deathly scared. She had to face her mother still and she was more scared of the disappointment rather than the initial anger and rage. She squeezed Dean a little before breaking the hug to tell him that they still had to tell her mother.
"Dean," she started. She wasn't sure exactly how she was going to tell him they had to face Ellen because Dean was a little intimidated by her and knew he would freak out. "I still have to tell my mom. Can you come with me?"
Dean's eyes grew to the size of bowls before replying, "Oh shit Jo… Your mom is going to murder me." He ran his hands through his short hair, took a deep breath in, "But yeah. I'm partly to blame so I guess I should man up."
"Okay well let's go get this over with, shall we?"
Jo walked to the door and unlocked it, opened it to the world of the Roadhouse. She looked back at Dean once more before proceeding through the doorway and going behind the bar to get her mother.
"Mom, can you come with me for a second? Ash can take over for a second."
Ellen placed the two shots of tequila in front of the eager customer and dropped her rag on the counter. "Yeah honey. What's the matter?"
Jo didn't say anything. Instead, she just walked back to the storage room where Dean was waiting. Once her mother had walked in, she closed the door and locked it the same as before.
"Mom," Jo paused, shaking her head, "We have something to tell you." She backed up into Dean's arm and it automatically wrapped around her. She looked up at Dean and back at her mother before saying, "I'm pregnant."
Ellen face when from the normal smile to a look of more disbelief than even Dean's had been. She crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. She managed to mutter the word "what" before turning into the Ellen Dean had feared. She uncrossed her arms and walked straight at Dean, pushing him down into the chair. "What did you do, boy?" She screamed, forgetting they had customers on the other side of the door.
Jo stood in front of Dean in his defense. She stared her mother in the eyes. "It was both our fault, Mom. He's not the only one to blame!" She turned around and grabbed Dean's hand, pulling him up. "It was a about two months ago and, well… you know."
"How long has this been going on? Hmm?"
"It was just once, okay?" Jo scoffed. She did not want to explain the details of her sexual encounter with Dean with her mother.
Ellen stepped back, the shocked look still stricken across her face. "I just… I don't know what to say." She sat down on the stacked boxes of beer behind her and buried her face in her hands. She walked up to Dean and looked straight into his eyes, "He better be there for you. Or so help me God…"
"Mom, relax, really. Dean already said he would be, if I decided to keep it." Jo breathed in deeply, "There's no need to worry."
"No need to worry, Jo? Really? No need at all? I worry about you everyday and for damn well good reason!" She stood up and went to Jo. "And what do you mean 'decide to keep it?' Of course you're going to keep it. You'll not think of the alternative, you got me?"
Jo's face went from a reserved I'm-trying-to-keep-it-together look to a complete look of anger. "I'm 28 years old, Mom. I make my own decisions!" She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Dean followed her, hoping to calm her down somehow. She wasn't anywhere in the bar, so he headed to the back where he knew her room was. The door was cracked and slamming and crashing sounds were coming from inside. He opened the door and saw Jo packing her suitcase with all of her belongings. She looked up at Dean, her eyes filled with sadness and anger. Her gaze lasted a few seconds before returning to wadding clothes and shoes and everything she owned into the large black suitcase on her bed.
"I just wanted her support. That's all. She couldn't even give me that." Jo's eyes were welling up with a thousand tears she repressed. She slumped against her bed, letting the tears stream down her face. She brought her knees up, wrapped her arms tightly around her shins.
Dean slowly walked over and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her and bringing her close to his chest. "You have me, if that's any consolation." She lifted her head and rested it against Dean's chest. "And if you want, we can leave. We can leave tonight. Never look back, start our own life."
Jo nodded, and stood back up. Grabbing the remainder of her things, she zipped up the bag and slid it off the bed. "Let's go then."
Jo had thought of leaving so many times, but she was actually doing it this time. She was leaving her mom and Ash and the Roadhouse for real this time. She wasn't just driving to the next town and staying the weekend to freak out her mother. She was running off with Dean, and they were going to raise this kid together. She was finally going to be able to follow her own dreams. In one split second, however, she thought how much it would break her mother's heart for her to leave like this. But then she thought of the countless times her mother demeaned her and her opinions and choices. That was all it took to pick up her bag and leave her key on the nightstand.
"Let's go."
Dean took the bag from her and Jo closed the door behind them and walked over to the Impala. The creaky door of the old car was comforting to her for some reason.
"Are you sure about this, Dean? I mean, don't feel like you have to or anything."
Dean rested his arms on the roof of the car and replied, "Yeah I'm sure. And I do feel like I have to. I mean after all, I did get you pregnant. But I gotta say, one of my best decisions. To stay with you, not knock you up." He chuckled.
They closed the doors at the same time and Dean started the engine. The rumble grew louder as he backed out of the Roadhouse parking lot and onto the main road. Jo looked back once more to see the Roadhouse grow smaller in the distance. She rested her head on the bench and both hands on her abdomen.
"We're really gonna do this, huh?" Jo said, smiling as she looked over at Dean.
"Hell yes we are. And this baby is gonna have both mom and dad. And we'll be kickass." He was, of course, referring to the loss of his mother at an early age and the loss of her father at an early age. "So, uhh, I guess I'll get a job at a garage wherever we stop?" Dean said, "I can't offer much. High school dropouts aren't exactly the prime candidates for a CEO or anything."
"As long as we have each other, we can do whatever we want." Jo slid over on the bench, and wrapped her arm around Dean's shoulder. Resting her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and soon enough fell asleep. Dean kissed her head and punched on the accelerator into the night.
FASTFORWARD BACK TO THE FUTURE:
"Jo, you okay?" Dean asked.
Jo snapped out of her daydream quickly and replied, "Of course I'm okay. Look at our beautiful babies." She smiled weakly. The fact that she hadn't made up with her mother before she died was really getting to her. She should be here right now, holding one of the babies, laughing and smiling along with the rest of them.
"You're missin' Ellen, aren't you?" Bobby piped in. Other than goo's and gaa's, that was the first thing he'd said all morning. And it hit the nail right in the coffin of Jo's thoughts.
"Yeah," she started, "I just really regret not talking to her before… well, you know."
Dean passed Mary off to Sam and sat down next to Jo, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. "It's normal to feel that way. But what matters now is that we have two healthy, beautiful baby girls, and we have to protect them."
A few hours had passed, and Sam and Bobby had to get back to South Dakota to Bobby's house so they could continue with their hunt. It was dark outside, and Jo had fallen asleep, finally. Dean was sitting in the chair beside the bed holding Mary. He had requested to keep her a little longer when they came to take them back to the nursery. Something about Mary connected Dean to her and he was mesmerized at the sight of her. Holding her close, he moved to the rocking chair and started rocking back and forth. Picking a steady rhythm, he began to hum the tune of Hey Jude.
"You know what, Mary? My mom, who was named Mary, too, used to sing this song to me when I was a little baby. PS, that's who you're named after."
Hey Jude
Don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.