"If beauty is all in the eye

Of the beholder then I

Wish you could see

The love for you that lives in me

And you would know you have my heart

If you could see, what I see?

That a treasure's what you are

If you could see, what I see?

Created to be the only one for me

If you could see, what I see?

I know there are days

When you feel

So much less than ideal

Wondering what I see in you…"

Geoff Moore and the Distance "If You Could See What I See"

The boys were out when a knock came at the door. Abigail frowned and set the towel down from drying her wet hair. Gun in hand, she opened the motel door a crack. "Jo!" Throwing the door open fully, she pulled the blonde girl in for a hug. "Honey, what are you doing here?"

"I got a little banged up on a hunt," Jo admitted. Abby pulled away and observed her more closely.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I'm psychic. I pinged your phone," she sighed at Abigail's arched eyebrow. In their world, you really could be psychic, so best not to joke. "A ghoul, nothing too horrendous. But it got the jump on me. I knew I should have checked out that noise more closely," she chastised herself. Abigail returned with the first-aid kit and a wet rag and began playing doctor.

"Rookie mistake," Abby teased her friend, "but you'll get it next time."

"That's just it. It's probably high-tailed it by now. This one is flighty."

"I'll help you. We'll track it down and take care of it together."

"What's with this 'I'? Aren't you still with the Winchesters?"

"Yeah, but with the apocalypse and everything else, they won't focus on much else. I'll go with you as soon as you're rested and have taken a shower. There is no way I am getting in a car with you smelling like that." Jo pretended to waft some stench toward Abigail.

"Oh, speaking of those boys, I heard a certain Winchester stole your heart." Abby rolled her eyes, slight smirk creeping into vision. Jo laughed, "so it is true. Well, as best friend I have to keep your interests in mind."

"No, Jo-"

"Yep." The blonde popped the p. Abigail groaned, imagining Dean tied to a chair while Jo shone a light in his face during interrogation. "Is it the one I'm thinking?"

"It's Sam." She laughed and Jo nearly fell off her seat from shock then tried to recover.

"Not to say that he isn't fine, but I don't think he's quite right for you, sweetheart."

"Good, because he isn't. I wanted to see what you would do. It is Dean." She smiled involuntarily at his name. Like the supportive girl friend she was, Jo squealed and wrapped the arm that was not half-wrapped around Abby's neck.

"Oh, girl! I am so happy for you! No boy is ever going to be good enough for you, but he's about as good as they come."

"Maybe you can have Sam and we'll be sisters."

"We already are sisters. And I love him, but Sam's not my type. Hey, if you and Dean ever break up, can I have a shot at him?" Jo teased.

"Sure," she laughed, "but depending on how bad the breakup is, I might have killed him."

"You would, too." Abby appeared mildly offended at the comment. "Tell me everything."

Abby blushed but she did love having someone around with whom she could be a girl. And this person was Joanna Beth Harville, no less. "He's surprisingly a good cuddler. One day I had a hangover-yeah, yeah, I know- so he cut my waffles and fed me breakfast. Whenever he wakes up at night, he always checks on me and will give me a kiss on the temple or the nose. If I try to get out of bed early, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me back. But if he wakes up first, he either watches me until I wake up or he will try to crawl out of bed without waking me up. When we're holding hands, he drags his thumb along my palm-" she took Jo's hand to demonstrate, "-which gives me shivers. And he is super protective. If someone is looking at me, he puts his arm around me or gives me a little kiss or does this cute thing where he rubs his nose along my cheekbone. I know, it's so cute. He is adorable-but also kind of scary-when he's jealous. I'll sometimes catch him looking at other women, though, but he doesn't do it often." Jo had been about ready to die while Abby was describing Dean's quirks and the sweet, small details of their relationship. But when she heard the last statement, Jo narrowed her eyes.

"That no-good, slimy-" she stopped at the look on the older girl's face.

"I think it's because we're not having sex. I love him for giving that up. It's a sacrifice for him, I know. I'm afraid he's going to get tired of me and waiting or he'll realize I'm not worth it. Jo, I'm afraid he's going to leave me." When she said that, she started crying. The hand that came to cover her mouth did little to hide the cries. Jo immediately sank to the ground before her and cradled her sister.

"Oh, honey, no. And if he does, I will kill him myself. I swear. But no, he is nothing like your last boyfriend. Dean has his baggage but if he uses that against you then he really isn't worth a damn." She pulled a tissue from her pocket. "The fact that he even agreed to that in the first place shows how much he wants to be with you." After a few minutes, Abigail began to calm down.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed.

"For what?" They shared a smile. "You must love him alot to be so scared."

"I don't-I never- Dean- what?" She stuttered. Jo raised an eyebrow to say you sure about that? Abigail felt her face heat up.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Jo reversed the roles. When Abby pointed out her arm, she waved it away. "I'm fine. Really. Let's not look like a disaster when those boys arrive."

"What do you mean, no?" Abigail demanded. Dean stood across from her with arms crossed. She mimicked his stance.

"I don't want you going on a hunt. There's too much going on and we need you here."

"What about Jo?"

"She can go home or stay here, I really don't care. But you're not running off with her for some weekend getaway while we're here trying to stop the freakin' apocalypse!" She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"You are not the boss of me. I promised Jo I would help and that is exactly what I am going to do."

Jo seemed uncomfortable when she returned. "Look, Abby, I don't want to come between you two. Forget it."

"We can pull this off," she argued. Abby was fuming inside and wanted an excuse to get away for awhile. Jo glanced uneasily in the direction of Dean. "Come on, we can go and be back before the boys realize we're gone," she persisted. "I'll have your back and you'll have mine." Jo nodded, the gears spinning in her mind.

Jo decided it best not to bring up the argument between the normally-happy couple. Abigail was still blowing smoke from her ears when they slipped into Jo's truck and pulled away. It had been tricky to slip out of bed without waking Dean. But she had done so and closed the door quietly behind her. It was not far, a couple-hour drive. They listened to the radio and small-talked until Abby asked, "Does your mom know where you are?"

Jo pursed her lips. "She wasn't happy about it. She thinks I'm taking care of a ghost." Abby gave a pointed look. "I hate lying to her, but she never lets me go. I'm not a little kid anymore." Abby was sympathetic, knowing Ellen and how protective she was of her only daughter.

Jo parked the truck at a cemetery and the two shared a look before climbing out. "This is it's nest." Abby drew her machete from her bag and followed Jo into the dilapidated building. They found the ghoul nursing a wound. But it was not as damaged as it let on. There was still plenty of strength and speed left in the tank. Jo was thrown like a rag doll; Abby was bashed against the wall. The struggle was short-lived. While Abby lay on the ground and held it at bay at arm-length, with one clean cut Jo chopped off the head. The two girls then had the task of disposing of the body and the head. In an empty grave, they dumped the remains and lit a fire. Whoever was going to be buried in that hole the next day would have some company.

They were standing side-by-side when angry boots were heard from behind. They flipped around to come face-to-face with a furious Dean Winchester. Abigail's heart dropped into her stomach. He took a firm hold, thumbs digging into her bicep. "What do you think you're doing?" Dean pushed his face close to hers. Abby wrenched herself free from his grasp.

"What does it look like? You're a little late, we just finished." The tendons flexed in his jaw. Abigail held her ground, glaring back into his eyes with just as much vigor. Sam stood a few feet back.

"Dean, drop it. They're alright."

He turned on his brother. "You stay out of this! We are not finished," he pointed a finger at Abigail. "And clean the blood off your shirt." She looked down. In the first hints of dawn, she could make out the blood splatters covering her front. It was dried into her hair and on her face.

Jo and Abigail used water bottles rolling around the floorboards of her truck to clean themselves up as well as permitting. Jo approached the brothers, who were discussing something in low tones. "Dean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

He sighed and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about it. I was worried." He had thought something had happened to his girls, to two of the women he most valued in life. Jo was not whom he had a problem with right now, anyway. She gave Sam a hug and Abby walked her to her truck, gave a bone-crushing embrace.

Jo climbed into her truck and leaned out the window. "Better fix your relationship, that's too good to throw away. I think he loves you." Abigail wasn't sure how to take those wise words from Jo.

"Bye, Jo. Love you." They kissed each other's cheek the way they learned from French movies when they were little, an old joke between them. Abby stepped back and watched Jo's truck spit out fumes as it roared away. She sighed and knew the blonde was right: this needed to be resolved. She wasn't very good about keeping a level head in an argument, though. And being yelled at only set Dean off more. Do it for Jo.

"Hey," she said when she approached the Impala. "Can I talk to you?" Dean followed her a short distance away. He waited for her to speak first. "Maybe you were right about the ghoul and we shouldn't have gone. But I wasn't going to leave Jo. And you have no right to talk to me like that. I am not going to follow you on a leash. Dating or not, it doesn't matter: do not boss me around again." Having said her peace, she crossed her arms and waited.

"You scared me. I woke up and you weren't there. With the world about to end, I need to know you are with us."

"Of course I am!"

"I need to know you're safe. I thought the angels had kidnapped you."

"We talked about this. You can't always protect me."

He drug a hand across his face. "I know. But you're my girlfriend. It's my job to be worried about you." That was sweet.

"Your job is to not say yes to Michael."

"First and foremost, I am concerned about you and Sam. I don't really care what happens to me after that." Her throat tightened. Her frustration was replaced by a new anger.

"You should be! What will we do if you die? Or worse? You know Sam will do anything to bring you back. And I'll help him." The pain on his face was evident. That was not what he wanted to hear and she knew it. "You have to take care of yourself. You're stupid if you think it's noble to sacrifice yourself. You need to look out for yourself for me, if nothing else." She turned away to hide her eyes that were smarting. Dean didn't see why she couldn't understand. His first instinct had always been to protect Sam. His father had drilled it into him from an early age. And now he had the desire to protect someone else, too. She faced him so he could see the tears in her eyes. "I must not mean enough if you don't care about yourself."

"Abby," he caught her arm. "I love you." He said it. Dean had not intended to. His eyes widened, as did hers. But she showed no other signs at hearing the confession.

"No! You cannot say that to someone then not care about yourself! How am I going to feel if something happens to you? Quit trying to be selfless and think about that for a minute."

She then stomped to the Impala and slammed the door after crawling into the back, furiously wiping tears away.

The car was silent. Abby claimed the backseat, not wanting to trade when Sam offered shotgun. Much of her anger had dissipated, but she was offended that Dean thought so little of himself. She wanted him to see what she saw. What scared her was that Dean really would put her or Sam before himself. And one day that would be it. He really was too good, because she was selfish and didn't want Dean to go.

They had driven most of the day and about 100 words had been exchanged, most of them from Sam. When they pulled into a convenience store, Abby slipped inside to pay for gas. She silently lifted the nozzle and selected the grade. Only the best for Baby. Dean returned from stretching his legs and watched her leaning against his car and talking. He couldn't hear from this distance but it made him smile to see his girls getting along.

"Hey," he announced his presence. She was replacing the hose.

"Hi." They watched their feet shuffling the ground for a minute. The tension was palpable.

"Abs, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You can take care of yourself." He watched her with pleading eyes, wanting to move past this so he could hold her again. After a moment she nodded and breathed, "okay." But there was something more bothering her than what he apologized for.

"You don't think your worth it." She took his hands and clasped them between her own, pressed her forehead to them. She wanted him to understand that she saw a man who was lovable beyond his faults. Someone who offered her something new. It hurt her that he didn't value himself above the "family business", than the dirt on his boots. So for now, she would love him enough for both of them. She realized with a start what she had admitted to herself. Jo was right. It kind of scared her: they hadn't been together a year. Shouldn't people be dating for years before saying those three words to one another? But she knew how she felt, whether or not they were moving too quickly. Abigail met Dean's green eyes. "I love you." Dean offered one of his rare special smiles and pressed their foreheads together. He had craved hearing that for a long time, but didn't realize until he actually heard it.

"Really?" he teased in a husky voice.

"Hmmm." She smiled and pressed her lips to his, gently.