Thank you Bondie 20000 and C1B12 for your feedback. LOL I know both men are just mush around Jo...but as much as they are big softies with the kids.

So we're finishing up the day...some John and Jo interaction here. I hope people enjoy.

Thank you again for reading!

Val

Chapter 11

"Well we've seen giraffes, rhinos, zebras, bison, bears, wolves, tigers and leopards. I think we've earned an ice cream." Bobby said to the children as he looked over towards the zoo's café.

That wasn't a suggestion he had to make twice as all three children agreed whole heartedly with his idea. Soon all five were making their way towards a picnic table to eat their treats. Bobby and John both turned quickly when they heard Jo cry out in shock as two smaller children collided into her knocking her to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, Tommy and Jimmy what have you done!" cried a frantic mother who quickly went to help Jo up as the twin boys stood to by Jo's side.

"We're sorry," both boys said in unison.

"I'm so sorry," the mother said as she looked at poor Jo and saw the tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, you poor thing," she said as she saw the deep scratches on her knees and hands, not to mention the ice cream stain on her ripped dress.

John got to Jo first and the little girl wrapping her arms around his neck when he knelt down to check her cuts. Bobby held Dean and Sammy back as they both wanted to go to Jo but told the boys to let their Dad take care of her.

"Is everything all right?" The pretty young female zookeeper, who had taught the Jo how to feed the giraffes came running up.

"Just an accident," John murmured as Jo began to cry softly.

"I can't apologize enough," the mother of the two boys said again.

"It happens," Bobby told her trying not to upset the twin boys who both looked like they were ready to start crying too. "Really we'll be fine. You should go ahead and finish enjoying your day." He said as he encouraged the mother and her children to move along.

"Oh, okay but if there is anything I can do..." she said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. "Here let me at least give you money to buy your daughter another ice cream." She said as she went to hand John the money.

"Really that isn't necessary," John said as he stood with Jo bundled in his arms.

"We have a first aid station, why don't I walk you over," the zookeeper said to John.

John looked over at Bobby who nodded his head. "You take Jo. Me and the boys will go and take a ride on the train. I know Jo wasn't really interested in that."

"Okay," John said as he looked at his sons. "You both know the rules, listen to Uncle Bobby."

"Yes Dad. Yes Daddy." Dean and Sam said at the same time.

John looked at the zookeeper and smiled. "Umm thank you for your help…" he paused as he looked at her nametag, "Gemma."

"No problem, it's this way." She said smiling at John.

A few minutes later Gemma was holding the door to the first aid station open for John and walked him over to the desk. "Hey Bonnie, this little lady had an accident." She said to the woman behind the desk.

"Oh, hi Gemma," the other woman said as she flashed a smile towards John and Jo. "Hey Sweetie, what's your name?"

Jo turned to look at the woman and sniffled before saying softly, "Jo."

"Well hello Jo. Our doctor is with a little boy right now, but you and your Daddy can have a seat. How does that sound?"

"Okay but this is my Uncle John, my Daddy died and is in Heaven." She explained.

"Oh umm, I'm sorry…" the woman name Bonnie stammered.

John gave the woman an apologetic smile. "It's fine, really. Are there any forms I need to fill out?" He asked hoping to get through this a quickly as possible.

"Yeah, I mean yes," Bonnie said as she grabbed a clipboard with the forms and a pen attached to it for John to complete.

John took the clipboard and carried Jo over to the chairs on the other side of the room and settled her in one before sitting down next to her. He looked up and saw the two women watching them. He was a little surprised when Gemma came over to them.

"Well I should get going," she said

"I'm sure you need to get back to work," John said.

"Actually, I finished my shift. I was just heading towards the employee locker room when I saw Jo fall." She explained as she crouched down so that she was eye level with Jo who was fussing with her dress. "I'm sorry about your accident Jo, I hope you enjoyed the zoo though."

"I did, thank you," Jo said sadly as she stuck her fingers through a rip in her new dress.

"Oh Honey, I'm sorry about your dress." She said as she realized the little girl seemed almost as sad about her dress as the scraps on her hands and knees.

John stopped filing in the form and patted Jo's shoulder. "Maybe Mrs. O'Brien can fix it."

Jo shook her head and whispered. "It's ruined Uncle John."

John kissed the top of Jo's head before turning his attention back to Gemma and giving her a smile. "Guess I should be thankful that's where her focus is," he said as he nodded towards the little girls bleeding knees.

Gemma laughed, "probable…" whatever she was about to say died on her lips when the door to the examine room opened and a family with a little boy maybe a year older than Jo came out. "I guess you're next..."

"John…and it looks that way," he agreed as he stood up and held his hand out for Jo to take.

"Here let me," Gemma said as she held out her hand for the clipboard.

"Thank you, Gemma," he said as he handed her the paperwork.

"Thank you, Miss Gemma," Jo said as she stood up and winced at the pain in her knees. John quickly scooped the girl up and carried her into the examine room as he gave the young woman in front of them a polite smile.

Gemma watched the big man carry the little girl into the other room. She looked down at the form, smiling as she read his name…John Winchester...and shook her head as she mumbled to herself. "Don't do it Gemma…" She looked up when she heard Bonnie snort in amusement. "What?"

"Nothing," Bonnie said with a knowing smile as she held out her hand for the clipboard.

Gemma squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose at the other woman teasingly. "I have an errand to run," she said as she rushed out the door.

SPNSPNSPNSPN

John was glad Jo had put on a little bandanna around her neck so that the cuts Roy had made the night before were hidden from the doctor as he gently tended to the little girl's scraps.

"You need to keep these cuts clean," the doctor told John as he finished pulling out the last pebble that was embedded in her knee before swabbing it with antibacterial cream and covered it with a bandage.

"Thank you, Doctor," John said as he helped Jo down from the examine table and took her hand in his before leading her back outside towards the waiting room, nodding in acknowledgement towards the woman behind the desk.

John grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open just as the person on the other side had place their hand on the door handle on that side and came stumbling into the first aid station, crashing into John.

"Umppp…" Gemma said as she stared up at John in shock while her hands rested on his chest.

"Are you alright?" John asked as he quickly lifted his hands to steady the young woman.

Gemma blushed a pretty shade of pink as she stepped back slightly. "Yes…yes I'm fine. I'm so sorry I crashed into you."

John chuckled, "Seems to be the day for crashes, huh Jo."

They both looked down when they heard Jo giggle at her uncle. "You're silly Uncle John."

"Well you're just the little girl I wanted to see. I got something for you." Gemma said as they stepped back outside into the warm sunshine and she handed Jo a bag.

Jo grinned as she accepted the bag and gasped when she looked inside. "Look Uncle John," she said as she pulled out a pair of capris and a tee shirt with tiny giraffes on them. "Oh, thank you Miss Gemma," she cried as she threw herself at the woman and gave her a hug.

John looked at Jo and then at Gemma. His natural instinct was to tell the child she couldn't accept the gift but after the past couple of days he couldn't bring himself to deny her the present. He groaned slightly when Jo looked in the bag again and pulled out a little stuff giraffe. The giant grin on her face made John smile.

"I can't let you do this. Here let me give you the money…" John stammered.

Gemma shook her head. "No…no really it's no big deal. They were on final mark down and with my employee discount it was a steal."

"No," John said as he pulled out his wallet. "Let me give you the money…"

Gemma placed her hand over John's to still his movements. "Buy me a root beer float and we can call it even." She said with a smile.

"Can we Uncle John?" Jo asked hopefully and he remember the child barely got two licks of her ice cream cone before the accident.

"Sure, why not." He said as he pulled out his pager and sent a quick message to Bobby to let him know everything was okay and that they would meet them by the car in an hour.

They made their way into the café and Gemma turned towards John. "Why don't I take Jo into the ladies' room to get clean up and change." She suggested, she squirmed slightly at the way he looked at her. She wasn't a fool; the man was sizing her up and judging whether he should let the child go with her.

She looked up when she heard him say 'Christo'. "I'm sorry?"

"Nothing," he said as he gave her a smile and tapped Jo on her bottom. "Baby Girl, you can go with Miss Gemma to get cleaned up and changed. You know the rules," he reminded her.

"Yes, Uncle John," Jo said dutifully as she reached up and took Gemma's hand.

John watched them go before grabbing a table by the door and calling over the waitress to take their order. The waitress was just bringing out their food when Gemma and Jo joined him. John smiled as Jo climbed onto his lap.

"Here you go Kiddo," John said as he passed Jo a cup with a scoop of peppermint ice cream with sprinkles. He watched as Gemma took a sip of her float and sighed. "Good?"

She nodded happily, "the best, they make their own root beer." She explained.

John nodded his head as he began to drink his coffee. He cleared his throat as he tried to think of something to speak to the woman sitting next to him about. Damn he hated small talk. Thankfully she turned her attention to Jo.

"How's you're ice cream?" Gemma asked the little girl.

"Yummy." Jo said as she snuggled closer to John. He watched as she ate a few more bites before she put the cup down. "I'm done."

John frowned. "Done? Jo you barely ate anything." He said realizing Bobby had a valid point about the child's appetite.

Jo shrugged her shoulders. "I'm full Uncle John."

"Alright, but I expect you to eat all your supper later since you only had a couple of bites."

"Okay," she agreed with a sigh. She perked up slightly when she heard John's pager. "Is that Uncle Bobby? Will Dean and Sammy be here soon?"

John looked at the pager, "your uncle and the boys are riding the train again and then will meet us by the car. Hey, there's pinball machine over there. We have some time; do you want to play?"

Jo nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, please."

John dug into his pocket and pulled out a few quarters and gave them to the little girl. "Stay where I can see you," he reminded her.

"Yes, Uncle John," Jo said as she accepted the coins and hurried over to the machine to play.

Gemma smiled at the man across from her, watching him carefully. Slowly she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bandanna, placing it on the table.

John eyed the bandanna before his shot a look over at Jo. How the Hell hadn't he realized Jo wasn't still wearing it. He looked up at Gemma who was studying his reaction.

"Do I need to report anything to the police?" She asked as she took a sip of her drink.

John shook his head. "No, she's safe. Nobody will ever hurt that little girl again."

"Good," Gemma said as she picked up her spoon and began eating the ice cream at the bottom of the glass.

John watched her for a second. "That's it? No questions?"

Gemma smiled. "Well I know it wasn't you or her uncle who hurt her. She adores you both and it's obvious that she feels safe and loved with you, no way you did that to her. As long as whoever did is out of the picture and isn't going to hurt her again is all I care about."

"So, you're just fine with this?" He asked skeptically.

"Yeah, well you're one of the good guys, right?" Gemma said as she looked up into John's eyes, holding his gaze she added. "At least the other hunters I've met were good guys."

John stared at her in shock, "hunters?"

"Hunters," she repeated with a knowing smile on her face as she finished her ice cream.

John stared at the woman across from him and said in a low and dangerous voice, "who the Hell are you?"

TBC