Just a little AU adventure for Dean and Jo, because I ship them a lot! Set after Born Under a Bad Sign.


Dean tugged at his leather jacket's sleeve nervously. He couldn't believe he was nervous. This was Jo, for fuck's sake. No reason to be nervous around Jo. That is until Sam nearly killed her while possessed by a demon and now he felt the need to go back and make sure she was OK. With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself out of the impala, shutting the door behind him and walked towards the bar Jo worked at.

He walked into the quiet bar, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He quickly glanced around the bar before standing by the counter. There were a couple of other patrons seated in booths but there was nothing to set off his Spidey sense, alerting him to possible danger in this place.

Nodding once, he turned to the barman and ordered a beer. As the beer was being poured, he asked if Jo was working today. The barman smirked and yelled out Jo's name. A moment later, she appeared from a back room and instantly smiled when she saw Dean.

"What are you doing here, Dean?" she said brightly as she approached him. He paid for his beer and smiled back at her, knowing that the cheeriness was a mask.

"Just thought I'd swing by as I was in the area." He took a long sip of his beer, feeling acutely aware of her eyes on him.

"Is Sam here?" He shook his head in reply and watched as a noticeable wave of relief washed through Jo. She leant her elbow on the counter next to him, now with a genuine smile on her face.

"Did my mom send you?" She asked as one of her eyebrows rose up. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

"No, I'm here on my own free will." He held up one of his hands "I swear scout's honour." They both laughed. Jo reached over the bar and grabbed two shot glasses.

"Pick your poison, Dean. Whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila?"

"Sorry but I'm just gonna stick to the one beer. I gotta meet up with Sammy and get back on the road." If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn he caught Jo looking disappointed. Before he could question it, she put the glasses back and shrugged.

"I get it. No problem." She flashed him a not-so-genuine smile as she leant against the counter again. He finished his beer and made eye contact with her.

"I just wanted to make sure you were OK after everything with, you know, Sam." The not-so-genuine smile of Jo's stayed in place despite Dean mentioning his little brother's name. It was obvious to him that even if she wasn't OK, she wasn't going to tell him about it.

"I'm fine Dean. You almost sound as bad as my mother." Jo pushed herself away from the counter, taking his empty glass with her as she went behind the bar. Dean looked down, feeling awkward. He could hear her loading up the dishwasher, keeping herself busy, almost like she was now avoiding him. He knocked on the counter a couple of times, catching her attention.

"I'm just gonna go and hit the road. I'll see you around Jo." Dean turned and headed out of the bar without waiting for Jo's reply.

After Dean had gone, the bar stayed quiet all night but Jo found ways to keep herself busy. She ignored Karl's comments at how the place had never looked so clean before and when there was nothing else to clean, she finished the crossword in the paper left behind by one of the regulars.

She tried to stop herself from analysing every single second of Dean's surprise visit but her mind seemed to want to work against her. She couldn't understand why he suddenly decided to drop in and see her if her mother hadn't told him to. It just wasn't like him to do that. Well, at least he didn't have Sam with him.

She shuddered at the thought of seeing Sam again. She knew that the Sam who tied her up wasn't the real Sam but it still had his face, his voice. And while using his voice, he had said some pretty hurtful things. She couldn't forget that, no matter how much she knew she could forgive him for it.

She absent-mindedly chewed at a fingernail as her thoughts went back over Dean's visit for the thousandth time. It was almost like he wanted to talk to her about something. But if that was true, then why didn't he stick around for a little longer? She thought about calling him but she knew she wouldn't get an answer from him that way.

Unless she called him about a case. That was local. And she needed his help on it. She bit her lip as she started to root through her bag, looking for her cell phone. She didn't even know if there was a case nearby for them to look into. Once she had her cell in hand, she paused.

First, find the case. Then call Dean.