A week passed, and already Jayne felt as though she was going stir crazy with boredom. Bobby had pretty much confined her to her bedroom to let her recover, not even letting her read any of his hunting books because he knew she'd end up downstairs surrounded by books and knowing her luck, would eventually trip over one and hurt herself, so she'd ended up with a pile of newspapers and magazines to read much to her annoyance.
Finally though, Bobby decided that the cuts on her head and stomach were healed enough for her to start moving around again, with the strict instructions that she wasn't to go anywhere near any cars and if she wanted to research, she was limited to one book at a time. If she needed any books that were out of her reach, she was to call for him and he'd get it for her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when he left the room, but she knew that he was just trying to look out for her wellbeing, and probably to stop her brothers or worse, her dad, hunting HIM if she got hurt whilst under his watch. She found it frustrating that she was being treated like a child, and so she decided three days later when Bobby was out working on a car to climb up the small ladder and reach up for a book on the top shelf, however after experiencing a shooting pain to her stomach that sent her crashing onto the floor with a few books landing on her, she realised that maybe Bobby was right after all. Fortunately, Bobby didn't hear her fall so for once, she was able to get away without receiving a lecture.
Six weeks after that, Bobby left to go on a hunt, and shut up the scrap yard to the public while he was gone so that Jayne could have freedom. As soon as he left, Jayne made sure that all the devils traps were in place and there was salt along all the windows and doors leading outside. She also placed a shotgun loaded with rock salt by the front and back doors, just as added proportion. Since she was finally allowed to start working on the cars again (something Dean taught her all about), she made sure to take a shotgun and a bottle of holy water out with her so that if a demon or spirit attacked, she could at least hold them off long enough so that she could get back to the safety of the house.
Luckily, five uneventful days passed, but she didn't relax her defence at all. She even added to it when she found anti-possession charms on Bobby's work desk and took to wearing them just as extra precaution. She was just serving up her dinner on the sixth day when she heard a car pull up outside the house. Knowing it wasn't Bobby or her brothers because they would have called beforehand, she grasped hold of the shotgun and holy water before moving to the door. She stood to one side so that she could open it without being seen, and when the person knocked, she cautiously opened the door before stepping into view, throwing some holy water over them and keeping her shotgun aimed at their chest.
"What in the world!? Bob...JAYNE!?"
Jayne's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she registered exactly who she'd just sprayed with holy water. She dropped the shotgun and stepped back to let him in, silently cursing herself for not checking who it was before opening the door. He came in and closed the door behind him, then turned to face her.
"Jayne Mary Winchester, what are you doing at Bobby Singers' house when you're supposed to be at college?"
"Well hello to you too, dad"
She spat the word dad in a mixture of anger and sarcasm, not believing that he had the gall to speak to her like that when he was the one doing the vanishing act.
"Do not take that tone with me young lady. And, answer my question"
"You obviously haven't checked your phone messages then because both Dean AND Sam left you messages to let you know that my room mate was possessed and tried to kill me!"
John stepped back and studied his daughter. He noticed the faint scar on her right arm, and the cast on her left arm, as well as the cuts on her face that had almost healed. He then noticed that she looked thinner than the last time he'd seen her but he also noticed that she had grown. The final thing he noticed was the way that both of her eyes were dull, almost lifeless through apparent lack of sleep, and this worried him.
"You were attacked by a demon? Tell me about it" He demanded.
Jayne almost scoffed but stopped herself, knowing that with her dad, it was never a very good idea. Typical dad, she tells him she was almost killed by a demon but all he seemed to care about was the demon. She sighed and told him everything, but when she started telling him about Chris, her voice broke and she stopped, bowing her head and clenching her fists to stop herself from being too emotional. John moved over to her and wrapped his arms round her, and she sank into his chest, inhaling his familiar scent and hugging his familiar frame. She let herself cry and John continued to hold her, rubbing soothing circles on her back to calm her.
"I missed you daddy" She whispered.
"I missed you too baby girl" he answered, his voice thick with the emotion he felt.
They hugged for a while longer, and when they pulled apart, John brushed her tears away with his thumb before giving her a small, encouraging smile. She gave him a shaky smile back before pulling away and leaning down to pick up her discarded shotgun and propping it back up next to the door.
"Did Bobby put these barriers and traps up?"
Jayne threw him a look over her shoulder in slight annoyance.
"Please dad, don't offend me. Do you really think that I wouldn't have picked up on all of this growing up around hunters?" she asked. "I am a Winchester after all."
"That you are. Well, at least you paid attention, I couldn't ask for more than that."
John watched her as she walked into the kitchen with pride shining in his eyes, glad that from what he could see and what Bobby had told him over the years, she had become quite a skilled hunter. Then again, as she herself had just stated, she was a Winchester after all, so it was in her blood to be skilled at whatever she chose to do in life. John had always hoped that out of the three of his kids, Jayne would be the one to lead a normal life, but he couldn't help but feel happier that she had chosen hunting as it meant that she could defend herself well against virtually anything, and he didn't have to try and hide it from her.
Jayne walked back in a few minutes later with two cups of coffee. She gave one to her dad before moving to sit at one end of the sofa and giving John a look. John took the hint and sat down on the other end of the sofa.
"So, where's Bobby?"
"He's working a job. He should be back in a couple of days though if you want to stick around"
She wished more than anything that he'd say yes, because then she would have rung Sam and Dean to get them to come back to see him. John shook his head.
"Sorry darlin, I can only stay a few hours. I just need to stock up on some supplies and then I'm heading out again."
"Oh. Did you know that Sam and Dean are looking for you?"
"Dean, yes. I knew he'd be looking for me by now, but Sammy?"
Jayne explained to him everything she knew about what had happened to Sam's girlfriend Jess. John sat there, stunned, not believing his ears and thinking sadly about the horror it must have been for Sam to loose somebody else to the yellow eyed demon.
"Son of a bitch" was all he said when Jayne finished talking.
"Dad, why won't you let them see you? They need you right now!"
"You have no idea how much I want them to see me, but I just have to do this hunt on my own. You kids are better off without me."
"How could you even say that dad?! You think I don't need you? You think Sam doesn't need you? And what about Dean, huh? How could you do that to him? He's been worried sick about you and all you can say is 'you don't need me'- how selfish is that!?"
John stood up quickly and slammed his glass down on the table. Jayne jumped but didn't break eye contact with him as he glanced at her sternly.
"Do not take that tone with me!"
"I'm 19 dad! I'm not a child any more! Besides, exactly where have you been for the past ten years of my life? Oh yeah, off somewhere else, dumping me with whoever was the most convenient at that time!"
Forgetting for a moment that she was a lot smaller than him, John reached forward, grabbed her shirt and pulled her onto her feet with such force she let out a small squeak of surprise.
"I will NOT have you talk to me like that young lady! Yes, you may now be an adult, but you are still my daughter! Now, you will NOT tell your brothers I was here, and you WILL go to your room, RIGHT NOW!"
"Why? So you can gather your equipment and leave without a trace again?"
John let her go and clenched both his fists to control his anger.
"Room...now."
Jayne let her shoulders drop and tore her eyes away from his. She turned and ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her and throwing herself on her bed. She buried her head in her pillow and cursed as she felt herself cry. She stayed like that for a while and could hear her dad's footsteps moving around here and there, along with the occasional sounds of things being moved. Once hers tears subsided, she felt extremely worn out and gradually drifted into a light sleep.
John finished loading his truck, and for a while he contemplated getting in and leaving without saying goodbye, but his heart wouldn't allow it, so he moved back into the house and made his way to Jayne's room. He knocked and opened the door but was surprised to find that she wasn't there. Thinking quickly, he moved to the only other place guaranteed to find her; Dean and Sam's room. There she was, lying on the bed nearest the door, which was most likely Deans. Her head was pressed into the pillow and by her breathing he could tell she was asleep. However, as soon as he stepped inside the room, she shot up on high alert, momentarily forgetting where she was. John chuckled, thinking about how some things never change, and then he smiled at his youngest.
"Hey kiddo, I'm heading off now."
Jayne stood up and wrapped her arms round his waist, once again inhaling his scent, the scent that though she'd only really smelt it a handful of times, she knew without doubt that it was her dad, and it made her feel safe and protected. John gave her a hug back and kissed her forehead after he pulled away.
"Please Jayne; don't tell your brothers I was here. Tell Bobby, but not them."
Despite how much she wanted to argue, she saw the look of desperation in his eyes and her will broke. The fact that he was begging her and not ordering her told her he was scared for their safety, and that spoke more words to her than any speech. Knowing that she could never betray him like that, she nodded her head.
"I promise, daddy"
John smiled at her use of the word daddy and gave her one last kiss on her forehead before stepping into his truck. Jayne waited outside until she couldn't hear the engine before moving back into the house, making sure to check all the defences as she did, even though she knew full well that John had probably already checked them and knowing him, had even added to them to make sure she stayed safe and well guarded while she was left alone.
When Bobby returned later that week, Jayne contemplated not telling him about John's unexpected visit, but when he discovered the extra protection charms and noticed that a few of his supplies were running low, she had no choice but to tell him. He was shocked to say the least, but not overly surprised, and when she asked him not to tell Sam and Dean, he gave her an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry; I know John wouldn't want them to know. He was probably pissed that you were here because he doesn't want to endanger you all. I'm not saying he's going about it the right way, but I do think he's doing the right thing by distancing himself from you all."
"Yeah, I know. I just wish he'd at least call once in a while."
"Not his style. He'd rather cut off all forms of communication, that way there's no risks."
"True, I guess."
"Now, you git upstairs and start packing. Your brothers will be coming for ya in a few days so you'd best be ready."
Jayne nodded enthusiastically and rushed upstairs, leaving Bobby to moan to himself as he checked his stocks and find out just how much John had taken.
Just as he promised, Dean arrived to pick her up exactly two months to the day after he'd left Jayne at Bobby's. He barely had time to get out of the car before a blur crashed into him and threw its arms round him. He chuckled softly as he extracted his sister's arms.
"I take it you missed me?"
She kept one arm round his waist and grinned up at him.
"You have no idea."
Bobby overheard and laughed.
"Believe me, the past few days she's hardly sat still for more than a minute, waiting for you to turn up."
Dean laughed and looked down at Jayne, realising with a start that she'd actually grown over the year that he hadn't seen her. With the last hunt and while she was in hospital, he hadn't really noticed her height as he'd been more worried about her weight. However now she had put some weight back on, he suddenly noticed that when she first started college she only just reached his chest, but now she was tall enough that when she lay her head on his chest, she was bumping his chin quite considerably. He spoke his last thought out loud and after giving him a funny look, Jayne laughed and called him blind for not noticing.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don't grow any more; I don't think I could take it if both siblings grew taller than me."
"Dean, I'm 5'8. I don't think I've got much more growing in me. I don't want to be a freaky giant like Sammy thank you"
"Good."
Bobby interrupted their sibling banter.
"Speaking of Sam, where is the idjit?"
"We're on a case in North Dakota, so he's up there researching while I picked Jayne up."
Jayne looked up at him with a worried expression.
"Are you sure he's ok alone?"
"You just get in the car and stop worrying. Sam's fine; he's a freaky giant remember?"
Jayne giggled and while Dean put her bags in the car, she moved over to Bobby and gave him a quick hug and kissed his cheek as she pulled away. Bobby blushed slightly and told her that she was always welcome. She smiled and gave him a wave over her shoulder before jumping into the passenger seat of the Impala. As Dean slid into the drivers' seat and started the car, she closed her eyes and sighed happily. Dean threw her a smirk and she punched his arm which made him laugh, and in turn caused her to pout childishly. Dean laughed even louder before switching his ACDC tape on and driving off, shouting at Jayne to get her ass back in the car when she leant out as far as she dared to wave goodbye to Bobby. She sat back down feeling lighter and happier than she had done for a long time. This time, there was no turning back and no more being left behind. From now on it was just her and her brothers. She felt guilty for not telling them about her dad, but at that moment she was so happy to be back with them, she didn't even care. She was finally free.
Hey all! Just a quick note. I'm thinking of re-writing my other Supernatural fic called Green Eyes, just to tidy it up, put a LOT more detail into it and adding masses of new material to improve it. However, if people feel I should leave it as it is then I will put my ideas aside possibly for another story, although I most likely will end up not using them at all ^^. So, any feedback is welcomed and please let me know if you think it's worth me doing or not!
Lots of love,
Moonwolfe xx
