Author's Note: Thanks for the continued reviews. I'm pretty close to finishing off the new ending, so I should be able to keep updating regularly. Looks like it's going to be about 8 chapters in the end.

The next morning the three hunters checked out, loaded their gear into their vehicles, and prepared for the short road trip.

"Stay close to the Impala, I don't need you getting lost," Dean counseled Jo. She gave him a decidedly sarcastic smile.

"Gee Dean, an hour long drive in my native state, following one road almost the whole way? I'm so glad you're here to guide me." She turned and opened the door to her truck.

"Yeah, well….you're welcome," he offered as a comeback. Cringing at his own lameness he climbed into the Impala next to his brother. Sam was just staring at him.

"What? God, blink or something." An infuriating grin spread over Sam's face. "Shut up," Dean snapped.

"I didn't say anything."

"Well don't think at me in that annoying tone of voice."

"I didn't say anything," Sam repeated.

"So I wanted to make sure we stayed together, so what. I know she knows how to get there; there's nothing wrong with making sure we get there at the same time. I mean, we didn't pick a specific motel, what if we got to town at different times and ended up driving all over trying to find each other. Huh? What then Sammy?"

"I. Didn't. Say. Anything." Sam was now looking anywhere but Dean, and Dean could have sworn his brother was trying to smother laughter. He cranked the radio and pulled out of the parking lot. Jo followed close behind and it wasn't long 'till they were on the Interstate heading straight for Lincoln.

--

The three converged at a motel near the downtown portion of the city, only a short drive away from where the shop was located. Hauling their duffel bags with them they went into the small, cramped lobby and requested two rooms.

"Sorry," the old man behind the counter wheezed, "only got one room left." Dean hesitated, but before he could make up his own mind Jo was telling the man they would take it. When they got to the room Dean and Sam looked at her awkwardly.

"What?" she asked confused. "Did you really want to waste more time looking for another motel? I'll sleep on the floor; it's not a big deal."

"I'll take the floor," Dean said quickly.

"Of course you will," Jo shook her head at his ridiculous and unnecessary chivalry.

The three dropped the issue of sleeping arrangements in favor of stowing the gear they wouldn't need for the first errand of the day. Leaving Jo's truck behind, they all drove together in the Impala. The section of town where the shop was located was an older area called the Haymarket. Dean, after finally figuring out all the insane one way streets between their motel and their destination, parked the Impala in an lot under a bridge and plugged the meter while his companions looked around.

"Interesting place," Sam said. The three walked down the street, gazing at the old fashioned brick buildings as they went. It took them several minutes but they finally found the building in which Fair Bijou was located. They reached the shop and by unspoken agreement split into two groups. Jo headed off to speak to a sales clerk while Sam and Dean went to the front register, to the woman there that Dean recognized as the owner from a photo on the store's website.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the friendly, portly woman asked.

"I certainly hope so ma'am," Dean said, laying on the charm. "See, my brother here, he's looking for a gift for his girlfriend, over there," Dean pointed at Jo, who was speaking pleasantly with a girl her own age, while Sam stepped on his foot, "and he saw this one necklace on a woman at a restaurant the other day that would be just what he's looking for. We were told it was sold here. It's some kind of amulet with this symbol carved on it" Dean handed her a piece of paper with a sketched version of the mystery symbol.

"Oh yes, a lovely necklace, isn't it? So exotic," she said with a wink. "But I'm afraid I'm out at the moment."

"Oh really? That's a shame. Sammy here really wanted one." Dean leaned in conspiratorially. "He says it's for his girl, but me personally, I think he wants one for himself." Sam was now grinding his heel into Dean's foot, but he nodded at the saleswoman with a sheepish grin.

"Oh dear, I do hate to disappoint you like that. That particular item is made by a local craftswoman named Sheryl, a sweet elderly thing. She only makes a few at a time. I'm not set to get more in for another month I'm afraid."

"Oh no. A month? Gosh, we're only going to be in town for another week." Dean pretended to mull the problem over for a minute. "Say, do you have a phone number for Sheryl? We could call her up; see if she'd be willing to make a special order."

"Well sure, she left some business cards with her last batch. Let's see, where did I put those…" While the friendly owner turned to search through the drawers behind her Sam turned to his brother. I'm going to kill you, he mouthed silently.

"Don't worry Sammy," Dean said out loud, "we'll get you that necklace yet." He clapped Sam on the back and grinned evilly. You can try, he added silently. The brothers turned back to the woman as she turned around.

"Here we go." She handed Dean a small business card. "Since the young man seems so set on having that necklace for himself would you like to look at some other jewelry selections for the young lady?"

"Oh that's OK, thank you ma'am. I'm pretty sure she knew when we came in here Sam was going to get it himself. She's used to it." With a wink to the owner and his brother shooting daggers at the back of his head Dean turned and headed for the door. "Go grab your woman Sammy, we've still got that pottery shop you wanted to check out." Aware the owner was still watching, Sam lumbered awkwardly over to Jo.

"Come on…sweetie. Time to go." He gestured vaguely toward the door. Jo looked at him bemusedly.

"OK…dear. Sure thing." She turned back to the sales clerk she'd been speaking with. "It was lovely talking with you." They three walked out together, and Jo only barely managed to suppress her snort of laughter.

"Sweetie?"

"Don't ask," Sam grumbled under his breath while Dean grinned to himself. Shouldn't have laughed Sammy.

"OK, awkward pet names aside, I didn't get much. Clerk's never seen or heard anything out of the ordinary and thinks her boss is a Saint. Tell me you got more." Dean tossed her the card. "That's certainly more." They climbed into the Impala while Sam filled her in more completely and Jo handed the card back to Dean. "So what's the plan, we going to call her up and ask her if she's a demon?"

"I thought something more subtle, like paying her a visit so we can look around her house for more evidence."

"Great idea Sammy. Only one problem. We don't have an address." Dean threw the car in reverse and pulled out of the slot while he talked.

"I think I can track one down using this phone number. I'm going to have to go to the phone company though."

"Great, where is it."

"You know Dean? I think I can handle this one on my own. Wouldn't want you telling them about my jewelry fetish, now would I?" Dean smirked as his brother continued. "Let's go get lunch for now; I can drop you and Jo off at the motel on the way to the phone company afterwards. You guys can entertain yourselves for an afternoon, right?"

--

Dean and Jo were sitting in silence cleaning their weapons; Sam had dropped them off only a little while ago, saying it might take him as long as a few hours. Dean kept throwing glances at Jo when she wasn't looking. She was back to being melancholy and stiff, and Dean was back to worrying about her.

"Stop looking at me like that," she said without looking up from the knife she was sharpening.

"I'm not looking at you like anything."

"Bullshit Dean."

"Fine, you want me to stop? Tell me what happened to you. You were fine in Idaho, so it must have been since then."

"Why are you pushing this," she snapped, putting the weapon down. "I said I wasn't ready to talk about it, why isn't that good enough."

"Because I'm worried about you!" he snapped right back. "OK? And it sucks, because I'm not used to worrying about anyone but my brother, and I don't like that I keep thinking about you and whether or not you're OK. All I know is that every instinct I have is telling me that something is wrong, and I want you to trust me enough to tell me what it is, because I care about you and I want you to be happy again." Dean sat back, surprised he'd let himself say so much. Jo was looking at him with a very different kind of gleam in her eye now. Before Dean could process what the look meant she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. She'd leaned back again before Dean had time to react.

"Thank you for worrying about me." With that she got up to take her pile of sharpened knives and return them to her bag. Dean sat stunned, the feel of her lips still tingling along his. Without giving his brain time to over-think things he stood and walked over to her. He spun her around and crushed his lips to hers. She reacted with the same heat, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his while his hands roamed her back and tangled in her hair. Dean's brain continued to be a foggy haze as her hands pushed his over shirt off his shoulders and began to pull his T-shirt over his head.

"Wait, wait." He gasped weakly as Jo ran her hands over his bare stomach.

"Shhhh," she breathed into his neck, and Dean lost all ability to think. He held her face in his hands and kissed her as he backed her against the wall. He pinned her there and pulled her black tank top over her head, leaving her in only her bra and jeans.

"You know, I'm not sure this is what Sammy meant when he told us to entertain ourselves."

"Dean," Jo said, reaching behind her to unhook her bra, "let's not talk about your brother right now, OK?" And with that she dropped the garment, and any self control Dean might have had stashed away vanished as it hit the floor.

--

Afterwards Dean lay on his back with one arm wrapped around Jo as she snuggled into his side. They were both silent, each lost in thought.

"So," Dean ventured, "that was fun." Jo snorted.

"Very smooth, and not awkward at all Winchester." He grinned down at her and she pushed up to give him a lingering kiss. Dean pouted when she stood up.

"You got somewhere to be?"

"No, but unless you want your brother walking in on us stark naked we might want to start cleaning up."

"Oh. Right." Dean watched her walk towards the bathroom, admiring the view as she went. Having sex with Jo had been extremely satisfying, but he hadn't failed to notice she'd once again dodged answering his questions. He got up when he heard the shower turn on, and by the time she came out again Dean was fully dressed and was finishing wiping down his favorite pistol. She'd taken the time to blow dry her hair so Sam wouldn't wonder why she was wet. Walking over to the table to pick up a rag and fiddle with it she smiled down at him but before he could say anything they heard a key in the lock.

"Glad he wasn't any earlier," Jo said with a wink. Dean gave her a brief grin before putting on a blank mask for his brother's benefit.

"OK, I have an address. And you do not want to know what I had to do to get this, believe me." Sam stripped off his jacket as he talked, throwing it over a chair back before looking up at his two current roommates. "So, you two do anything interesting while I was gone?"

"Oh, you know," Jo said breezily, leaning on hip against the wall, "we just cleaned our weapons. Making sure we don't have any misfires or blockages." Dean was quick to turn his snort into a cough. Sam narrowed his eyes at them, but Dean just stared back with innocent eyes.

"Uh, OK. Great. Are you guys ready to go then? This lady's house is just on the edge of town. She's actually out in the country just a bit, not many neighbors around. I don't think we need to wait for nightfall."

"Great," Dean said sincerely. "The sooner we figure out what the hell is up with these necklaces and this symbol the sooner we can find this dick and kill it."

"You have such a way with words."