Chapter 39

Dean rubbed her back and held her tight. "I'm so sorry, honey," he whispered over and over, his own eyes wet.

"I'm okay," she managed to get out. "I'm just a little emotional. I just had my hopes up for a second and it was been a crazy day." She stopped crying and just rested her head on his chest.

"Can you get me out of here? I think I sleep better in the Impala then this hospital. I want to leave this city as fast as we can."

Dean kissed her head and reached for the pamphlets on the bedside tray.

"I'll get your bag so you can change. I know this isn't a great time to bring this up, but we do need to decide on these before we go. Then we will leave. I do want a family but the doctor says you need a few months to heal."

Jo laughed at his discomfort and took the pamphlets from him as he left the room.

It took a lot longer than Dean thought it would to get Jo out of there, but three hours later she was sound asleep in the Impala using Scorch as a pillow. Dean glanced in the rearview mirror and just about crashed when he saw Gabriel in the back seat eating Reeses Pieces.

"We found another tablet in Indiana. I know you would rather not go back there, but Sam and Sarah really need to get the one they have to Kevin ASAP. I can even help you out and transport your car and everything in it to just an hour away from the tablet. It is at a magic store. We have managed to put a repelling spell on it so only you or Jo would be able to see it when you get there."

Dean rubbed his temple.

"If we are the only option then….Son of a Bitch!" Dean exclaimed mid sentence when he noticed the countryside he was driving through was completely different and Gabriel was no longer in the car.

He found the nearest motel and checked in so he and Jo could rest before getting the tablet tomorrow and going on the run. He carried Jo in and a laid her on the bed. He crawled in and Scorch jumped onto the bed, settling himself at their feet. Ember and Lava lay on the floor at each side of the bed. Dean wrapped his arms tenderly around Jo and fell asleep listening to the sound of her breathing.

At a club twenty minutes away, Luke was relaxing. He had arrived a day ahead of time for the rodeo. He was still ticked about losing out on Jo again. To punish her in his mind, he had spent the past several weeks hitting on anyone that appeared to be her opposite. He saw a brunette that fit the bill at the end of the bar with some friends. He approached her with as much swagger as he could muster. He thought she must be trying to forget someone too and he had her back at his hotel sooner than he had hoped. When they had finished and she was picking up her clothes, she found a picture on the floor. She picked it up and took it to Luke.

"Do you know her?" she asked him.

"She is my ex girlfriend," he answered her.

"She must have meant a lot to you if you have kept her picture this long after her death. It seems I get to try to live up to her memory, again," she said testily.

"What do you mean? She isn't dead. I saw her just a few weeks ago. Do you know her?" he asked.

"I never met her, but my ex was a good friend of hers. I think he had a thing for her because of the way he talked about her and the way everyone else talked about the two of them, but I thought she was dead."

"Was your ex's name Dean?" Luke asked her.

"Yes. Why?" she asked.

"The last time I saw Jo she was pretty cozy with him," Luke said.

"He made me forget all about him so he could go after her?" Lisa said.

"There is something we could do about that," said Luke.