Chapter 2

John Winchester climbed the few steps up to the back door of Bobby's house and made his way inside to find his youngest boy sitting at the kitchen table drawing.

"Daddy," Sammy shouted as he hopped up and hugged his father around the waist.

The hunt had kept him away from his boys for over two weeks. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and to fall into bed for some much deserved sleep. But first he needed to see his boys.

"Hey son," John said as he patted Sam's head. "Where's your brother?" He asked as he glanced around the kitchen.

Sam pulled away from his father and rolled his eyes. "He's outside with his girlfriend."

John quirked an eyebrow at that comment. Two weeks and his little man had a girlfriend. "Girlfriend?"

"Yup and they're both so gross." Sammy said in disgust. "Jo wakes up crying every night and Dean goes over and picks her up and brings her over to his bed and tells her it's ok to cry. The worst is when Jo tells Dean that she loves him and he doesn't even tell her shut up or anything. I swear Daddy, he whispered once that he loved her too but when I said something he said he didn't say it and told me to shut my damn pie hole."

John reached down and gave his son a quick swat on his bottom making the child look up pitifully at his father.

"No cussing young man." John said.

"I was just repeating what Dean said." Sam whined as he reached behind and rubbed his sore bottom.

"Don't care, you know better than to repeat a cuss word." John told him firmly.

"Yes sir." He murmured.

John leaned down and gave his youngest a kiss on his forehead before asking. "So where's that brother of yours?"

****

John stood leaning against one of the old cars in Bobby's junkyard and watched Dean encouraging the cutest little pitcher he had ever seen to throw him a fastball.

He was actually impressed when the little girl had thrown the ball towards his son and whistled when he saw the ball hit the mark perfectly at a speed he guessed to be around ten miles per hour by the sound when the ball made contact with Dean's mitt which he even had to admit was impressive for a 6 year old girl.

The noise caught his son's attention and he looked up towards his father. John was shocked when Dean broke out into a huge grin and ran over to him to actually give him a quick hug.

"Hey Dad, did you see how good Jo's getting! I've been training with her every day and she's a real quick learner for a girl!" He exclaimed proudly.

"I saw." John said to his son. He watched as Jo ran up to join them and shyly looked up at the hunter.

"Hi Mr. Winchester." She said softly.

"Hello Jo, that's quite a fastball you got there." He told her.

"Want to see her curveball? It's awesome! Oh and I've shown her how to throw the football and she has a real pretty spiral! You want to see that too!" Dean asked excitedly.

John Winchester gapped at his son. His Dean wasn't exactly quiet but he hadn't seen him this animated in a long time. He had to admit it was refreshing to see his boy actually behaving like a normal ten year old.

John wanted nothing more than to head inside and crash but instead he smiled at the two children and heard himself saying, "Let me see that curveball sweetheart."

John spent a half an hour taking turns playing catch with Jo and Dean and he was pretty impressed by the little girl's athletic abilities.

"Dad, isn't that the prettiest spiral you've ever seen?" Dean asked as Jo threw the football to the older Winchester.

"It sure is," he agreed but he had a sneaky suspicion that Dean was also talking about Jo by the way his son kept on sneaking glances at the adorable little girl.

Finally he caught the ball and put it back on the ground and asked, "Dean why isn't your brother out here playing with you two?"

Dean looked up into his father's eyes and John could see he was afraid that he might be in trouble. John gave him a reassuring smile. "You're not in trouble son, I just want to know what is going on is all."

Dean visibly relaxed and told his father. "I asked him but he says he's not gonna play with Jo. He's mad because she better at pitching than him. I told him he needs to practice like Jo does and he would get better but he said he wasn't going to practice if Jo was going to be there."

"I see." John said as he realized his youngest didn't seem to like to share his big brother's attention with the little blonde girl.

"That's not fair to Jo, is it sir? To tell her she can't play because Sammy doesn't want her to?"

"No it's not." He agreed.

Jo ran over to join the two Winchester and John smiled down at the girl as reached out to take Dean's hand and saw that his son not only didn't bat it away but actually took a hold of her hand.

It was then that he saw that the little baseball hat she had been wearing had come off and John noticed the girl's long blonde hair had been cut into a pixie.

"Thank you for playing catch with us." She said as she graced him with a grin.

"My pleasure," he said as he reached out and tapped his finger on her nose playfully. "You cut your hair?"

The girl blushed as she looked down at her shoes. "I fell asleep with bubbles gum in my mouth and Uncle Bobby had to cut my hair."

"Yeah but now it's not getting in the way when we play ball so it cool right." Dean said as he nudged her with his shoulder.

John could see the little girl wasn't sure how she felt about the loss of her long locks and tried to reassure her. "It's very becoming Sweetheart."

"Dad, can I have some money to take Jo for an ice cream?" Dean asked hopefully. Sighing softly he glance towards the house and added, "I'll ask Sammy too."

John looked at his son and knew the kid figured he would only have a chance for the money if he included his little brother but John decided that it wouldn't be so bad if Dean got to be spoiled just a little bit for a change.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it towards Dean. "You two go, Sammy was finishing some milk and cookies when I got here and that's enough sweets for him."

The boy looked at his father in shock. He never got to go for anything like an ice cream without Sammy tagging along. Smiling he reached out and and took the money. "Thank you Dad."

"Don't be gone too long and both of you behave yourselves." John told them seriously.

"Yes Sir." Dean promises before looking down at his companion. "Come on Jo, lets go."

"I have to go to the bathroom first and wash up, I'm all dirty." She said before letting go of Dean's hand and running towards the house, not giving the boy a chance to argue.

John chuckled when he heard Dean mumbled "women". Shaking his head and looked at his grubby son he said. "It wouldn't hurt if you use that hose over there to wash your hands and face."

Dean looked up at his father's face. "To go for an ice cream?!"

"You are escorting a lady." John teased, reminding him of the lesson his mom had taught him.

Dean stood there and sighed. "Fine but do I have to change my shirt?"

"Nope just get some of that mud off of yourself. Even I would wonder what kind of parent would let a kid go into town with that many layers of dirt on them." He said as he followed his son and held the hose for him as he washed the mud off his face and hands.

John realized a little late that they didn't have a towel for Dean to use and let the boy use the hem of his tee shirt for the deed.

Looking at his son he decided he looked a little better for wear than before. "Son were you playing in mud?" He asked as he brushed some off of the child's shirt.

"Mound washed away last night and I had to build it up again." Dean explained as he wiggles away from his father's hands that were trying to smack the dirt off of him.

He stopped squirming when the back door open and Jo ran out. Not only had she washed up but she had taken time to put on a sundress and brushed her hair.

The child really was too cute for words. Looking down he saw his son standing there with his mouth opened watching as she ran towards them.

"Dean, close your mouth." He said as he rested his hand on the boy's back.

Dean quickly snapped his mouth shut as Jo joined them.

"Ready." She announced as she reached for Dean's hand again. "Come on Dean." She urged as she tugged on his hand but the boy didn't budge.

Dean looked up at his father and John was surprised to see his boy was actually frozen in place with a look of fear on his face. "Jo I need to speak to Dean before you go."

Reaching out he grabbed his son's arm and pulled aside. "Boy what is wrong with you?"

"Ummmm..." He stuttered.

"Dean!" John hissed.

"Dad," he whispered. "She looks nice."

"Ok and that's a problem?" His father asked in confusion.

Blushing Dean looked up and asked. "Am I going on a date?"

"Jesus Son," John said softly realizing how terrified he was and tried to reassure him. "It's not a date. She's only 6 years old. Look little girls just like to dress up. You're just taking a buddy for an ice cream."

Glancing back towards the girl in question Dean looked back at his father. "Are you sure? I never heard of having a girl for a buddy before."

John smile, "positive. You play ball with a buddy don't you and you and Jo play ball together so that makes her a buddy. Now get going." He urged the boy as he pushed him back towards Jo.

He held back a laugh when Jo reached down and dragged a still nervous Dean towards the road into town chatting away about what kind of ice cream they should get.

"Don't think I'm paying for the wedding." He heard the gruff older hunter say as he walked past John who barked out a laugh as he turned towards the house to finally take the well over do shower and catch up on some sleep.

****

"So I guess you don't want to play anymore ball today since you put on a dress?" Dean asked as they turned up the road back to Bobby's.

Jo looked over at Dean and shook her head. "My arm kinds hurts." She admitted softly.

"Oh," Dean mumbled. Chewing on his lower lip he added. "I guess I could do some training with Bobby."

"I'm going to have a tea party, do you want to come?" Jo asked excitedly.

"Bobby not going to let you make tea, you and Sammy aren't allowed to touch the stove." Dean reminded her.

"It's make believe tea." She explained before adding. "Molly, Jasper and Tuttle will be there."

"That's your doll, stuff penguin and stuff turtle." Dean said as he looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Doesn't sound like much fun."

Jo sighed, "You could try. I play the games you pick."

"Yeah but that isn't a game." He reasoned.

Shrugging her shoulders she nodded her head. "I guess it's not a game boys like to play."

"Hey we could get Sammy and see if he wants to play hide and seek." Dean suggested.

"Can't I promised the others we would have a tea party." She told him.

Now it was his turn to sigh. "Fine, I'll go and see Bobby and you have your tea party."

****

John made his way into the den to begin researching for his upcoming hunt. He stopped short when he saw Jo sitting on the floor passing a plastic tea cup to a doll.

"Molly would you like a cookie too?" The little girl asked the doll as she held out an empty plate that he assumed where the cookies she was offering the doll.

"Ohhh I didn't know you were on a diet, silly me." Jo giggled.

"I didn't realize you were entertaining." John said as he walked into the room.

Jo smiled as she looked up at the man who entered the room, "Hi Mr. Winchester. This is Molly, Jasper and Tuttle. Everyone this is Mr. Winchester, Dean and Sammy daddy." She said, making the necessary introductions.

"I wanted to get some work done." He explained, hoping she would understand and leave the room.

"That's ok, you won't bother us." She said as she poured a cup of tea for the stuff penguin.

John opened his mouth to explain what he had meant but decided to leave the girl be since she was playing quietly.

Putting his journal down he grabbed the book Bobby left for him and started flipping through the pages. He was so lost in his research that he didn't hear Jo approach him.

He looked up though when he saw the small toy tea cup and saucer placed on the desk next to him.

"I made you a cup of coffee." She explained proudly.

"I thought you were serving your guests tea?" John asked as he put the book he was reading down.

"Daddies drink coffee," she explained.

John went to respond to the child but stopped when she climbed up onto his lap. "What are you reading?" She ask as she settled in.

"Ummm, it's a book I need for work." He explained, a little uncertain about the little girl sitting on his lap.

Dean hadn't done that since he was five and Sammy didn't do it very often anymore either since his brother told him only babies sit on their father's lap.

"Ohhhh." She said as she reached out to touch his journal.

John snatched the book out of her reach and tried to distract her before she started asking him questions. "You didn't offer me one," He said nodding towards the plate of imaginary cookies.

"Oopsy." She cried as she scampered off his lap to retrieve the plate before climbing back up.

John took a pretend cookie and looked at the little girl. "Wouldn't you like to color with Sammy in the other room?" He asked hopefully.

He needed to get to work on researching but the child seemed to be determined to stay with him instead.

"No thank you. Sammy says he hates me and I have to stay away from him." She explained as she tried to hide a yawn.

Great another thing he would have to speak to Dean about. He knew it was his job to keep Sammy in line while he was gone. How much had Bobby been letting him slide on?

John was getting ready to suggest that Jo go outside and find Dean when he realized she had rested her head on his chest and had fallen asleep.

"Thank God." He mumbled as he stood up and carried her into the other room and laid her on the couch to take a nap. Now maybe he could get some work done.

*****

John looked up from cleaning his gun when he heard Dean enter the room. "Son."

"Sir." Dean said as he moved closer. "Can I help?"

"You can get started on the riffle."

He watched as Dean carefully checked the chamber to make sure there wasn't a round inside before he began his task. He could tell his son wanted to talk to him so he waited for the boy to start talking.

"Dad how much older were you than Mom?" Dean asked as he kept his head down, a faint blush on his cheeks.

John coughed as he tried to hide his smile. "I was six years older than your Mom."

"Oh." Dean said. Ducking his head even further he asked his father quickly. "Do you think Jo's gonna be real pretty when she grows up?"

John couldn't help chuckling. "Oh that girl is gonna be a heartbreaker when she grows up." He told him,

Dean smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "I think she'll be really pretty."

John looked at Dean as he began cleaning the weapon in his hands and figured he needed to explain some things to his oldest.

"Dean put the riffle down for a minute, we need to have a talk."

"Sir." He said, mentally going through the past couple of weeks to try and remember if he had done anything to get into trouble for.

"For crying out loud Dean, you're not in trouble." John snapped at the look of fear on his son's face. He softened his features when he saw the child jumped slightly and quickly gave his father a 'yes sir'.

"Dean, we need to have a talk about Jo."

"Jo?"

He swallowed as he went over the information he got today. He had assumed Sammy had been exaggerating what he had seen but then Bobby had confirmed that Dean definitely had taken to protecting Jo a little more than he felt was healthy for either child. He even admitted that he had found Jo sleeping in Dean's bed a few times. He just didn't want to make a big deal out of it and make them think they were doing something wrong.

"Son, you do understand that Jo is only six. That's an awfully big age difference between you both at this time."

Dean looked at his father in confusion. "Huh?"

"What I mean is Jo is still a little girl and she feels things a bit differently than you do." John shook his head when he saw his son seemed even more confused. "Look remember a couple of weeks ago when Jo kissed you and you said it made you tingly all over."

Dean's grin at the memory made John practically blush. His little man was growing up fast. This was getting awkward and John decided the best approach was to be blunt.

"Well that's because your body is gonna start changing soon and you're going to notice girls a lot more and that's fine but Jo isn't at that stage...nowhere near that stage." He reiterated firmly before continuing. "She's just a very sweet and affection little girl and hasn't realized yet that her saying 'I love you' or giving you a hug or a kiss makes you feel something stronger than what she feels."

"You mean she doesn't really mean it when she says that stuff." He asked sadly.

"No son, that's not what I'm saying." John told him. "It's just when she says it she means it as a friend...she doesn't know any better. She's too little to understand that giving you a hug or a kiss makes you feel…extra special. Do you understand what I'm trying to explain."

"I guess I understand." Dean said as he reached down to pick up the riffle again. He looked up hopefully and asked. "But when we're older, it could happen, right? She could feel the same way?"

"Dean that's a long way from now and you can't rush something like that or rush Jo to be older than she is. Trust me there will be plenty of girls out there that you will like over the next few years, especially when you're a teenager."

"Not like Jo." Dean whispered to himself. He knew his father would say he was too young to feel the way he did but Dean knew that someday he and Jo would be together and he was willing to wait for that day.