Jewels stood in the doorway of his room, her face lit by an old kerosene lamp, her hair flowing freely. She looked quite fetching in Dean's Damaged Justice Metallica Tour t-shirt with the band members emblazoned across her breasts. John guessed it was the best she could do considering the rest of her clothes were lost in the fire. Propped up on pillows he watched her for a moment then motioned for her to come in.
He'd eaten some soup, the first nourishment he'd had in days, and the empty bowl sat next to the lamp, As she came closer she noticed he'd showered and shaved. He still looked drained, even more so after Bobby's tongue-lashing, and Jewels reached out to feel his forehead. He grabbed her hand, his grip surprisingly strong.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a daughter?"
Jewels sat down on the edge of the bed and continued to hold his hand as she spoke.
"I didn't think you needed to know. You were just someone who was supposed to leave the next day."
Somehow hurt that she'd never revealed her secret to him he told her, "I didn't leave."
"But eventually you would have. I knew you were going, you knew it and the boys knew it, so what was the point?"
The point was that he would have left sooner. He would have never let her help him other than to give them a place to sleep for just that one night. He wouldn't tell her that now because the damage was already done. The fire was just the first of the demonic retributions, payback for Jewels as well as a warning to John. Stop hunting the yellow-eyed demon, let things take their course.
"Bobby tells me you're leaving in the morning," he said squeezing her hand.
She didn't return the squeeze but didn't let go of his hand either.
"Yeah, I figured flying might be hazard to other people's health so he sold me an old Firebird he salvaged. It's got good plates and good tires, gets crappy gas mileage but will still leave most other cars flat footed at the starting line."
John looked at her, sadness in his eyes, and told her, "Jewels, I'm so sorry...about… everything."
"Bobby explained it all to me. He said you really weren't a pig..." she stopped then back peddled, "Okay, he said you really were a pig but that sleeping with Meari wasn't really your fault."
A gust of South Dakota wind seemed to blow through the room and Jewels shivered. John moved over in the bed and, lifting the covers, offered her warmth next to him. She only hesitated for a moment before slipping in beside him, letting him put his arms around her.
Not knowing what kind of crap she'd inadvertently stepped into, Jewels was scared, frightened out of her wits about what the future would now hold for her and her daughter. She felt more alone than she'd ever felt in her life and welcomed his warmth and his returning strength. Along with her trepidation Jewels also felt a sadness that weighed so heavily on her heart that, much to her chagrin, she did the one thing Dean would have chastised her for immediately. She started to cry...and not just like a girl but like a baby.
John pulled her closer and tucked her head under his chin and just let he cry until she was out of tears and hiccuping pathetically.
"I have a cure for those you know," he told her and, lifting her chin and tilting her face toward him, he kissed her.
Then he kissed her again, gently, sweetly and he took her breath away...and her hiccups. John Winchester became a passionate and caring port in Jewels' storm making love to her until she felt safe again, if only for that moment, and then one final time for the road that lay ahead of them. Spent, they lay together listening to the cold winter wind bluster against the side of the two story house and watched as it occasionally slipped through the cracks to move the flame in the lamp as they talked about how things could be.
"You could bring your daughter back, I'd take care of you, protect you both."
"We could be the Brady Bunch...or the Munsters," she suggested and thanked him for his offer but told him, "I couldn't stand it, not knowing if you were coming back every time you left. Not knowing if the mailman was really the mailman or someone trying to take the boys or worse."
She felt like a coward but John understood. He would have taken the chance, taken them in and, even though he barely knew how to protect Sam and Dean as it was, he would have guarded them all with his life. But Jewels had already decided to go home and he would just pray that nothing more would happen to he. He could never again watch a woman he loved die the way Mary had.
"Hopefully Gracie has forgiven me for leaving her with her grandparents for so long and we can get on with our lives. We can wait for you and Sammy and Dean in our little house on the beach. We'll wait until you kill the son of a bitch who's after Sammy and then we can all live happily ever after," she told him then couldn't resist adding, "Unless I get a hot boyfriend."
"You'd do that to me?" John asked laughing softly.
"In a New York minute," she replied with a yawn.
"Go to sleep, Jewels. Sunrise is in a couple of hours."
Jewels was exhausted but she knew if she went to sleep and morning came, as it always did, she'd have to say good bye to Sammy and to Dean. She let out a watery sigh and John pulled her closer and she started to cry once more.
