In the story, italics represent characters' thoughts.
Supernatural, Jo, Dean and Sam are owned by Eric Kripke and crew, CW, etc. The only things that belongs to me are the fictional Mrs. Pettijohn and story idea.
Jo's Impala Adventure
"Dean, Sam," Jo spoke up, holding two empty tin cans in front of her. "I need to get you guys some more food and medicine, so . . ." Jo trailed off hesitantly, "may I take the Impala?"
"No!" Dean rasped weakly.
"Yes," Sam relented feebly.
Jo grinned cheekily. "Great, thanks Sam."
Sam waved her off and grinned weakly. "Just be careful, Jo."
Dean struggled to push himself up on his elbows. "You'd better not wreck my baby, Jo!" he hissed after her.
Taking the keys from the worn round table, Jo blew Dean a kiss. "I love you too, Dean," she shot back at him as she closed the door behind her.
Dean scowled. 'Smart a' . . . his thoughts trailed off as his stomach gurgled. "If only I was one hundred percent," he groaned as he made a beeline for the bathroom.
"Idiot - worrying more about that stupid car than me," Jo huffed, as she stormed off toward the Impala. But Jo was nervous as she pulled out onto the highway. She swallowed hard as a car came up on her tail. Anxiously, Jo looked in her rearview mirror and saw that one car had now become dozens creeping along behind her. 'So what if I'm doing 35 in a 45 mile zone. One dent and I am dead. I have to protect the merchandise.' But as the cars zoomed past her, she released her death grip on the wheel and heaved a sigh of relief. Soon after, Jo smoothly parked the Impala inside the Publix parking lot. 'I traveled two whole miles,' Jo thought excitedly as she entered the grocery store. 'Sam will be so proud of me and Dean won't kill me,' Jo thought as unlocked the Impala, dumped the grocery bag on the floor, buckled up and started the car. 'Maybe he will even kiss me for not destroying his car.' Jo's smile flipped upside down. 'On second thought, no. He'll just kiss the Impala, ecstatic it came back in one piece.' She checked and double checked the side and rearview mirrors of the Impala, then began backing out. Jo let out a sigh of relief and shifted the gearshift on the column to drive, ready to move ahead. The relief was short lived however, as she glanced out the passenger side window and screamed. A long, square Cadillac was backing up toward the Impala. Jo panicked and honked the horn. Her heart raced as she threw the car into reverse but to her consternation, she had no room to back up without hitting the car parked behind her. The Cadillac monopolized the space in front of Jo and she had nowhere to move ahead of the Caddy. The car was too close for her to move back into her space so Jo honked the horn again, loud and long. Suddenly, Jo let out a scream as she heard the screech of metal accompanied by the shattering of glass.
Dean jerked up in bed, his forehead drenched in sweat. "Something's wrong, Sam. I can feel it."
"What, you inherited my visions?" Sam joked.
Dean frowned. "Course not, but something just doesn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it though."
Sam shrugged, "Don't worry. Jo should be back any minute now."
Jo's legs and arms felt like jelly, as she cautiously opened the car door to survey the damage.
A well - endowed slender woman exited the car. "Oh my, I didn't even notice you were there," her voice creaked.
"So, I noticed," Jo responded dryly as she flicked open her cell to phone the police.
With a shaky hand, Jo dialed Sam and Dean's number next, praying that Dean wouldn't be the one to answer. Jo studied the damage to both cars as she waited for one of the boys to pick up their cell. She grimaced at the blend of white and black paint on both cars. The Caddy's tail lights were broken, glass littering the pavement. A relaxed voice broke Jo's concentration. "Sam?" Jo gripped the phone tighter, her voice laced with tension.
"Jo, are you ok?"
"Uh, I'm fine but the Impala . . . it's been in an accident."
"You're kidding, right?" Sam asked. Panic churning his stomach, Sam sat up straighter in bed.
"No," Jo sighed, "I was hit while backing out of the parking lot."
Sam anxiously stole a glance over at Dean, who was moving around restlessly in bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Dean tossed aside the covers and huffed, "I have to get up, I can't stand just laying around in bed anymore!" He glanced over at Sam's pale face and froze. "What's wrong, Sam? Did something happen to the Impala?" Dean asked, his voice dangerously low, almost a growl.
Sam nodded faintly. Dean paled and his jaw muscle twitched. "Let me talk to her," he said, his voice eerily calm. Dean stretched out his hand as Sam hesitantly handed him the phone.
"Sam?" Jo asked in concern when nothing came out of the phone except dead air.
"Jo, what did you to my car?" an angry voice hissed on the other line.
Jo retorted, "I didn't do anything to your car, Dean. Someone hit me!" she hissed back. "I have to go, the police are here."
"Jo, Jo!" Dean yelled but the phone went dead. Dean slammed his hand down on the nightstand and his eyes flashed as he looked over at Sam. "Jo won't have to worry about demons killing her, because I will!"
Jo slammed the phone shut and turned a wan smile to the deputy. "May I see your insurance information, registration and license, please" Jo dug her license out of her purse. She opened the passenger door and retrieved Dean's registration and insurance information from the glove compartment and handed them to the deputy. The officer surveyed the damage and said, "Well, being the smash up effected the right passenger side of your vehicle, chances are, you won't be held liable for the damages, Ms. Harvelle."
"What!" the well - endowed woman yelled. "I didn't see her - and I looked!" She shook her wrinkled fist.
"Calm down Mrs.," the deputy said, looking down at her partially filled out report, "Pettijohn," she finished. As Mrs. Pettijohn left to obtain her vehicle information, Jo moved to close the passenger door. Jo winced as the damaged door hit against the door frame, making it awkward to close. Jo opened the door again and knelt down to inspect the damage more closely. The dent was only external and didn't push through to the door's interior, thankfully.
Ms. Pettijohn walked back to the officer, a sheepish look on her face. "Here's my license and registration, but I'm afraid I don't have any insurance."
Jo's jaw dropped and she stared at the older woman. "Oh no," Jo groaned. She rubbed a hand over her eyes in weary concern. 'Forget demons, Dean is going to be the one to do me in.'
The deputy shot a look of sympathy at Jo. "Well I'm afraid then Ma'm, that I am going to have to give you a citation for not having insurance."
The woman's white curly hair bounced around her face in anger. "What! That's not fair."
"Actually, that's the law," the officer said with a straight face as she handed Ms. Pettijohn her report and ticket. Ms. Pettijohn stormed off toward her now rear-end wrecked Cadillac.
"After just having breast implants and my waist whittled down to the size of Barbie, my hubby's Caddy repairs are going to have to wait," she huffed, as she stalked to her car. "These babies need to be paid off first," she muttered to herself.
When Jo got into the Impala, she leaned her head back against the seat and couldn't help but howl with laughter. 'Ms. Pettijohn really needs to work on speaking quietly.' Shakily, Jo double-checked her mirrors before leaving the parking lot, then cautiously made her way back out onto the highway. As she pulled into the parking lot of the motel, both Sam and Dean left their room and walked toward her. Jo noted the tense but sympathetic look on Sam's face, while Dean's walk and face reflected anger and anxiety. Jo took a breath and walked to meet them. Dean brushed past Jo to look over his baby.
Sam stopped and gently took a hold of Jo's shoulders. "Are you sure you're ok?"
She searched his worried eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure. At the moment I'm most concerned about Dean . . . and what he'll do to me," she said softly. Jo turned and watched Dean's face grow red as a beet when he saw the passenger side.
Sam put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite, mostly."
"Uh Dean," Jo said softly.
"What?" he snapped, still running his hand over the damaged paint job and dent. He opened the door and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the dent didn't go through to the inside. But, when he noticed the door didn't close right, he scowled and bit back a curse. "Air rushes through the door when you drive doesn't it?" Dean asked. Jo nodded awkwardly. Sighing, he ran a hand over his eyes.
"Dean, the other driver didn't have insurance," Jo rushed out in a single breath.
Dean jerked his head up at her. "So what, I don't care. I wouldn't use her insurance anyway. No one's touching this car but me. But it's going to take days to find the parts and fix her up - my poor baby," he mumbled.
"Come on, let's give Dean some alone time with his baby," Sam said, stifling a grin. Jo glanced back at the loving strokes Dean gave the Impala's hood, with envy.
Noticing her look of frustration, Sam asked, "So, what happened?"
Jo grinned widely, thinking of Ms. Pettijohn. "Sam, have I got a story for you."
5 days later:
Jo hadn't seen or heard much from Dean. Most of his time was consumed in salvaging parts from the nearest junkyard to repair the car. And the rest, Jo figured, was, he was mad at her. Jo decided it was time to talk. She took a deep breath and made her way to the prone figure under the car.
"Dean, can we talk?"
"Not now, Jo."
"Well, why are you under the car, instead of next to it?"
"Checking the oil and making sure the rest of her is ok," he retorted.
"Dean, I'm sorr . . ."
"It's not your fault," he said gruffly, cutting her off. I believed you when you said you weren't at fault, I was just angry, very angry. But it helped too, when Sam filled me in on the remaining details. And I have to admit, that Ms. Pettijohn sounded like a piece of work. If she had been younger, I wouldn't have minded checking out her bodywork as well."
Jo crossed her arms. She could just imagine the wicked smirk on Dean's lips, and how much she really wanted to slap it off his face. She took a deep breath in an attempt to control her rising anger. "Fine," she said through gritted teeth, "if we're done here, I'll just head back . . ."
Dean heard the irritation in her voice and slid his body halfway out from underneath the car. "Just hang on a minute will you. I'm not finished, I just got side tracked."
"I'll say," Jo muttered.
"Anyway," Dean cleared his throat, "I've been mad and just didn't want to talk about it. And keeping busy helps me work off steam, so . . ."
"I forgive you Dean." She wondered if Dean heard the smile in her voice that matched her face, because he scrambled out from underneath the remaining width of the car to face her. Jo's breath hitched in her throat at how close he was standing to her. Even with the grease and oil smudges on his arms, hands and face, he was handsome. Jo was tempted to rest her hands on his chest, over his oily sweaty t-shirt, but she refrained and kept her hands at her side. Instead she looked up at him. "Dean, you really care more about what happens to the Impala than me, don't you?
'Her hair smells so good,' Dean took a step back. 'Like oranges and citrus.'
Jo put her hands on her hips. "You're not listening to a word I'm saying are you?"
"Huh, sorry Jo." An image of Jo inside an orange and white creamsicle costume, loomed in his head . 'What's happening to me, she's supposed to have little to nothing on,' he thought, disturbed and annoyed at himself. 'It must be Ellen. She's enough to scare anyone away from having deliciously evil thoughts about Jo.' Another thought nagged at him. 'Or maybe it's because I actually respect Jo. He shook his head and grinned arrogantly, 'Nah.'
Jo's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, "Dean, what are you thinking about?"
He swallowed hard. 'Uh oh. Yeah, that's right, go ahead and tell her your popsicle fantasy - that will go over well.'
"Dean?" Jo waved a hand in front of his face in exasperation. He refocused his eyes on Jo and shot her an apologetic look.
Jo's face relaxed and she took a deep breath. "Dean, if I had been rear - ended, then would you have cared more about me or the Impala?"
He smirked, "What do you think, Jo?"
She frowned, pain flickering in her eyes, "The car."
Dean's eyes softened, troubled that she actually believed he would choose the Impala over her.
He looked down at her pain-filled face. "You," he said softly. "But I'd be sorely tempted to choose the Impala," Dean warned quickly as he knelt down and scooted back under the car.
Jo smiled brightly and said softly, "That's good enough for me." She walked back to the motel room with a light heart and an extra bounce in her step.
From underneath the car, Dean could see the change in her demeanor as he watched Jo walk back to the room. He smiled then frowned slightly. "Sorry baby, he said quietly, caressing the underside of the car, "you knew another female would come between us sooner or later."
P.S. Fictional story, except for actual accident itself, which is loosely based upon an incident that actually happened to me. However, the personality, name, vehicle and certain parts of actual incident, have been fictionalized for creativity, humor and to 'protect' the 'other party.' :)
Within the show, it is not realistic for Jo to use Dean's registration, insurance and license, considering he is dead and wanted by the law. But, I wasn't interested in working out those details. This is just a stand - alone fun story. I hope you enjoy. :-) I am also considering making a sequal or two - I would like to bring some growth to Dean's character and his relationship with Jo.
Thanks.