Hello, everyone! I have decided to continue my story, Starting Over, in this sequel. Please be aware that I may not be posting regularly, as I am in school and that is a priority. However, several people have requested that I continue it, and I have finally got some inspiration to do so. Second Chances will roughly follow the show for now, but of course be AU in the fact that Jess survived and is travelling with them. When and if I decide to part from the storyline, I will let you know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story, and let me know what you think and/or might like to see in future chapters. Thanks!
"So you hunt…ghosts?" Dean had given a very sketchy outline of what the brothers called 'hunting'. Mostly Jess had understood that it wasn't the guided group activity she had thought. It was becoming clearer now how their Dad had gotten 'lost'.
"Ghosts and other stuff. Spirits, poltergeists, evil baddies." Dean nodded.
Jess scoffed. "Vampires?"
Dean gave her a cocky grin. "Haven't met one yet, but if we do, we'll take care of it."
Jess shook her head. "Come on, Dean. This has got to be some sort of joke. I mean, yes, some messed-up psycho tried to kill me, but ghosts? Really? Humans can be psychos, too."
"Don't I know it. But we aren't trying to play you, Jessica. This stuff is real, and it's out there. It's out there, and right now it's after you."
Sam spoke up for the first time since they had piled into the Impala, a warning in his eyes. "Dean."
Dean looked at his brother quietly. "Sammy, she's gotta be prepared."
"No, she doesn't. We are gonna find Dad, kill this thing, and then Jess and I are going back to Stanford and our normal lives. This isn't her fight."
"Yes it is." The sound of her own voice was a surprise even to Jess. Both boys turned to look back at her in surprise.
She cleared her throat a bit nervously. "It is my fight. I'm not letting whatever that… thing was just come in and screw up my life. I want to help, even if I still think you guys are crazy."
Dean grinned at Sam. "See?" He looked back at Jess appreciatively. "Dude, you picked one sassy chick."
Sam glared at him. Jess snorted.
After a pause Sam asked, in a long-suffering tone, "So, where are we going again?"
"Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."
Sam pulled out the map. The coordinates were marked in a big red 'X'. "Look at this."
"Huh?" Dean asked.
"There's nothing there. Just a bunch of trees."
Jess leaned over Sam's shoulder to get a better look. "Why would your Dad send you to the middle of nowhere?"
"He has his reasons." Dean defended. "I'm sure when we find him, he'll have all the answers we need. About this," he nodded to the map, "and about what happened at Stanford."
"Wait," Jess held up a hand. "Your Dad doesn't even know about what happened. Why would he have answers?"
Sam shot Dean a look that quite clearly stated that his brother was a big-mouthed moron. He turned to look at Jess. "We've…seen something similar before. Dad's got some ideas and leads on…this type of… stuff."
Jess sat back. "Wow. I've never heard such a long sentence with such little information."
Sam winced.
Dean took over. "Look, Jess. I know this is all crazy, and you want more information. But we are also trying to protect you, and part of that is not knowing everything. The less you know, the less things that will try to k…come after you."
Jess stared into Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror. She spoke softly, "Things are already trying to kill me, Dean." She saw Sam shudder.
"I know." He was unswayed. "You're going to have to trust us."
