"Well, I'll be damned," breathed Dean, still staring at Jo like he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

Jo was about to say something in response when she remembered what she was hunting. She couldn't be sure that Sam and Dean were really themselves. She pulled out her phone and turned on the camera, grateful that her actions were partially obscured by shadow. She pointed the phone at the two men to note, with relief, that neither brother's eyes flared on camera. She stepped into the light and offered them a small smile. "So, I guess neither of you guys shed your skin lately."

"No kidding," snapped Dean, before snatching the phone out of her hand. Jo rolled her eyes as he scanned her with the phone for a moment, before handing it back to her, his look of suspicion fading.

"So, wait…" said Sam slowly, realization dawning on his face. "You're working the same job as us?".

"Looks like it," confirmed Jo in a friendly enough tone. "You two read about the three mysterious deaths – "

"- of people who killed their spouses in a happy marriage with no apparent motive, and then committed suicide? Yeah," Sam nodded, "That's got shape-shifter written all over it."

"It is," said Jo, "I pulled the security tape on the second victim, Jane Sheppard – she killed her husband after-hours at the convenience store where he works, and there was a camera flare."

"Nice," Dean interjected, looking rather surprised. "So, you're a hunter now?".

"Pretty much," Jo replied evenly. She got the feeling that he couldn't believe it, and while rather annoyed, she reminded herself that she was supposed to stay indifferent. Dean was not a part of her life anymore, not that he had really been part of it to begin with. This was nothing more than a chance meeting that wasn't going to change anything between them.

For a few moments, nobody said anything. The awkwardness in the air was obvious, but Jo had no idea what to say in order to dispel it.

Thankfully, Sam stepped up to the task. "So, uh, you guys wanna grab something? There's a diner just across the road."

"Sure," Jo agreed easily enough. The three began walking out of the alley, and Jo was pretty sure she heard Dean snarking at his brother, "Nice one, Sammy."

As it was pretty late and none of them was particularly hungry, they decided to just order sodas and a bowl of potato chips. The silence was still rather grating, and Jo decided she had to break it somehow.

"I haven't seen you guys in over a year," she said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Sam mumbled awkwardly. "Listen, you're probably not too psyched about seeing me again. I am so sorry about what happened in Minnesota, I tried to fight the demon but I just couldn't – "

"Sam, it's fine," she assured him, while thinking how weird it was that their least uncomfortable topic of conversation was something so horrible. "You were possessed, there was nothing you could have done. It must have been just as awful for you as it was for me."

Sam nodded as a look of understanding passed between them. After a beat, he turned the conversation back to the task at hand. "Anyway, the shape shifters we killed in St. Louis and Milwaukee were – "

"Dude," said Dean through a mouthful of potato chips, "The shape-shifters I killed. Don't steal my thunder, yeah?"

Shaking his head disbelievingly, Sam continued. "They both liked to frame the people they impersonated, and sometimes kill them as well. So I guess this one's just following the MO."

"First time I'm hunting one of those things, but it does make sense, so I'm gonna take your word for it," said Jo, before taking a last sip of her soda. "I think we should go back to the alleys, I wasn't done sweeping them yet."

"Well, look at you two putting the hunt together," Dean said with mock enthusiasm, "Didn't know you were BFF's."

"Hey, what's up with you?" said Sam in irritation.

"Nothing, it's just that last time I checked, the three of us don't hunt together, do we? That ghost in Philly was fun and everything, but you and I sort of work alone. No offence, Jo."

"Dean, we're working on the same case, so it kinda makes sense to do it together, you know? It's not like we haven't worked with other hunters before."

"Save it, Sam," Jo interrupted, shooting daggers at Dean with her eyes as she crossed her arms. She thought she'd managed to stop caring about Dean, about what he said and thought about her, but she was wrong. The second he showed up, it was as though their time apart had never taken place; his attitude towards her stung just as much as it had last time. Damn it. "Dean doesn't want me to work with you guys because he thinks I'm some half-assed hunter who can't look after herself, and might even get you killed. And you know what? That's fine. Don't do me any favors."

Jo's retort was followed by one of the loudest silences she had ever heard. Dean evidently couldn't take the anger in her eyes, because he eventually looked away. She exchanged looks with Sam, who was pretty lost for words.

Dean ended up being the one to break the silence. "I'm, uh, actually pretty beat, I'm gonna head back to the motel. Pay you back later, Sammy." Without further ado, he stood up and strode out of the diner, leaving Jo and Sam to continue looking at each other awkwardly.

Dean was barely out of the diner when he stopped in his tracks and kicked a street lamp in frustration. He didn't know what was wrong with him; it's wasn't as though he never acted like an asshole, but he usually did it for kicks, not to take out his anger. And why was Jo making him so angry?

He rolled his eyes at himself as he realized. It was the same reason he hadn't called her despite his promise in Duluth, the same reason he'd been unsuccessfully trying to get himself to forget her for over a year now. She got to him in a way no girl had before. He cared, which wasn't something he could afford. Working with Jo on the shape-shifter job would make this mess worse; it was out of the question. Frankly, all he wanted now was to retreat to the Impala and get the hell out of this town. Problem was, Jo and his brother insisted on working together, and he'd sooner let the shape-shifter give him a Colombian necktie than tell them the truth about why he was against the idea

"Dean."

He turned around to find Jo unexpectedly standing there with a questioning look. He considered what to say, and decided it would be better to apologize; lashing out in anger again would only highlight the fact that something was bothering him.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said," he muttered. "I didn't mean to be such a douche bag, it's just that Sam and I are sort of lone wolves, you know? Working with other hunters just makes a mess out of everything."

"It's fine," smiled Jo. "I get it. But there's something I need to show you."

His eyebrow arched in slight surprise. "You mean, about the case? Where's Sam?"

"He's paying the bill, he'll be right out. C'mon."

Curious, Dean followed her into another dark alley. He looked around, but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. "So… what are we looking for?"

"Take a closer look over there," said Jo, pointing at the far wall. Dean stepped forward to examine the wall, but didn't get very far before a harsh blow landed on the back of his head. What the - ?

He collapsed, his skull throbbing painfully. The last thing he saw before passing out was "Jo" grinning triumphantly as her eyes glowed yellow.

Tbc…