Thank you C1B12 and Danae for the feedback! Don't worry C1B12 Dean is definitely going to continue to be open and honest with Jo as well as with Sammy...I just think he's seen how keeping secrets and lying hasn't worked out for him and I think Dean has learned from this.
Author Note: Okay so we have a bit of a time jump. I'm somewhat following the show chronologically but the amount of time that has occurred between events may differ.
Chapter 7
Sam gently rubbed the nipple of the baby bottle along Ami's lips. Jo had started to pump the second day after they got back to the bunker so that him and Dean could help with her feeding. Well Dean actually fed her; she still didn't take the bottle from him as easily as she did when Dean had her.
"Come on Ami...Baby Girl you're making me look bad." He murmured softly.
"Don't blame her...you don't need any help looking bad." Dean teased.
"Well some of us aren't sleeping in Jo's room and getting to do her nighttime feedings." Sam argued.
Dean smirked at his brother. Yup he was sleeping in Jo's room, in Jo's bed. Granted they weren't doing anything more than cuddling and kissing but they were sharing a bed and he took it as a win.
It started during the third night after they brought Amelia home. He had been running back and forth between his room and Jo's when he would hear the baby crying. It was on the third night and his fourth visit that she mumbled to just get his butt in the bed and get some sleep.
For a little over a week they would go to their separate rooms at night but after the first time he would go in to check on Ami she would tell him it was silly to run back and forth and to get into bed.
Then one night after he had given Amelia her bath and he laid her down, when he turned to leave, he saw his pajama bottoms at the foot of the bed. He looked over at Jo who just smiled and said they were being silly; they both knew he would end up sleeping in there with them.
Gradually his clothes found their way to the dresser drawers and closet. His toothbrush and toiletries were taking up space in the bathroom next to hers and he remembered looking in awe at the pictures Jo had brought over from his room to find a new home in their room.
The words were never actually spoken but the room was now their bedroom. He really hadn't been sure until they had taken Amelia for her 6-week checkup and she was cleared to go into her crib in the nursery.
They had put her down for the night and left the door between the rooms open.
Jo had smiled and sat at the foot of the bed. "So, are you turning in?" She asked
"Sammy thinks he's found a case for us." He explained.
"Okay while I think I'm going to take a bath since the doctor gave me a clean bill of health." She said as she looked sideways at the bed before adding shyly. "I'll probably still be up so you don't have to try and be quiet when you come to bed."
He had smiled and nodded his head. "I don't think we'll be very long." And just like that it became official.
"So, guess who slept four hours straight?" Dean asked as he sat down.
"Aren't you a big girl letting Mama and Dean get some quality sleep." Sammy cooed and smiled when Amelia finally latched onto the nipple and began drinking from the bottle.
Dean grinned. "Yup when we woke this morning and realized that she had slept straight through after her 2:00AM feeding we got a little excited and kinda made out like teenagers."
Sam looked over at his brother and the wisecrack that was on the tip of his tongue died when he saw the silly grin on his brother's face. "I'm happy for you two."
"We're still taking it slow and we still need to have the talk but part of me thinks she's more open to the possibility of us."
"Good." Sammy said as pull the bottle back to see how many ounces she had taken. "Four ounces Ms. Ami," he said as he put the bottle down and moved to burp her.
"You know that case we talked about. I'm not sure about leaving Jo and Ami alone."
Sam looked over at Dean. They had finally started looking for a job recently and he knew Dean was dragging his feet, but it needed to end. "Dude it's been over three months. We already passed on four cases to other hunters. We need to get back on the job."
"I know but I don't think it's a good idea to leave them here alone." He argued.
Sam could understand where his brother was coming from and decided to suggest had been going through his head since he started looking for a case.
"What about Jody? She's on the way and she's itching to get her hands-on Amelia and has asked me at least a dozen times when she gonna meet Jo."
Dean looked at his brother and sighed knowing he was right that they needed to get back out there. "We need to ask Jo."
"Ask Jo what?" The woman in question asked as she put a shopping bag down and unzip her coat.
Over the last month Jo had started going out on her own after Dean's offered for her to choose a car from the garage to drive.
It was nice having that freedom and today she had taken Dean up on the offer for a Mama Pampering Day and accepting one of the credit cards Dean explained a friend of theirs had set up for them. She ended up going for a mani-pedi after she had done a little shopping to pick up some clothes since she lost most of the baby weight and everything, she owned was too big.
Then when she was leaving the nail salon, she saw the hairdresser across the street and decided it was time for a change.
Dean looked up at Jo as she pulled off her gloves and hat. His mouth dropped opened when she removed her hat and he saw that instead of her usual long blonde locks she now was spotting a blonde pixie with purple highlights.
Sam frowned at the look on his brother's face and turned his attention to where he was looking and saw Jo's new hairstyle.
"Wow Jo. You look amazing! That cut really suits you." Sam told her as he shifted the baby in his arms. "Doesn't it Dean." He urged his brother to say something nice.
Dean swallowed as he nodded his head quickly. It did look good on her. Actually, he thought it looked sexy as Hell on her but wasn't sure how to say it without it coming out either weird or pervy.
Jo lifted her hand tentatively to her hair. "Do you really like it? I had no intention of getting highlights, but the girl talked me into them."
Dean reached out and tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful," he said as he finally found his voice before leaning forward and kissing her cheek.
Jo blushed but gave Dean a happy smile. "Ask me what?" She repeated, trying to ignore the way her heart was beating fast as Dean watched her.
Sam quickly explained about the hunt and about her staying with Jody while they're gone.
The brothers had thought she would argue that she was more than capable to stay alone. Instead she surprised them by grinning and saying she would love to meet the infamous Jody and thought it would be good for Ami to get out of the bunker and spend some time in a regular house.
"Alright then." Sam said. "I'll call Jody and make sure she okay with this." He said as he handed Amelia to Dean.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting you to say yes so fast." Dean admitted.
"Don't be angry. This place is amazing and I'm grateful to be here, but I miss windows." She told him.
Dean smiled and nodded his head in understanding. "No, I get it. The bunker takes some getting used to."
"Just a little." She teased him as Sam came back into the room.
"Well it was a unilateral chorus of yes as Claire and Alex are both home." He said laughing.
"I guess I need to start packing." Jo said as she grabbed the bag off the table. "Oh Dean, I picked up a couple packages of boxers for you since they were on sale."
"Thanks." He said as he bounced Amelia.
Sam smile as he watch Jo kiss the top of her daughter's head before turning and brushing a kiss on Dean's cheek.
"So that went well." Sam said.
"Hey Sammy, do you miss windows?" His brother asked.
Sam looked around the room and figured why Jo was so eager to say yes. "I guess the bunker doesn't scream happy carefree childhood home, huh."
"Kids should have windows so that they can see the sun when they wake up and the moon before they fall asleep. They should be able to run around barefoot on the grass in their backyard." Dean said as he cuddled Amelia closer.
Putting his hand on his brother's shoulder he looked him somberly in the eyes. "We are going to win this battle Dean and then this little peanut is going to have that home."
"Damn straight we are and damn straight she will have that home." He agreed as he decided to head down to start packing his gear for their first hunt since Jo and Amelia came into their lives.
"Dean," Sam called out. "Don't forget to pack your new underwear."
Dean stopped and shot his snickering brother a dirty look. "Shut it Samantha!"
"Jerk!" Sam shouted at his retreating back and laughed when he heard his brother call "Bitch" over his shoulder.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean sat in the rocker in the nursery and rocked Amelia as she took her bottle. "Now young lady I expect you to be on your best behavior and charm Jody while you're staying with her. You're also going to meet Claire and Alex too and those girls are important to me. Don't worry, you're my number one girl but we need to keep that between us, okay."
He gently pulled the bottle from the child's mouth and put it on the table next to him as lifted Amelia to burp her. He grinned when she gave him two hardy burps. "I also expect you to take care of your Mama and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."
"So, are you putting Ami in charge?" Jo asked as she leaned against the door jam.
Dean nodded his head. "Well she is the most responsible of all of us." He teased with a smirk as he stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of Jo.
Jo reached up and trailed a finger along her daughter's cheek. "Why don't you put her to bed while I take a bath."
He smiled knowing she was giving him some special time with Amelia. He was
gonna miss the little bundle in his arms something fierce. "Okay."
Jo returned his smile before turning back into their room and heading into the bathroom.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean was already in bed when Jo came out of the bathroom. She was wearing his Metallic tee shirt and a pair of pajama shorts.
Jo stopped and stared at Dean. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to have the discussion she had been dodging.
Sitting up he took a deep breath. "Jo, I can't go on this hunt without doing this."
"I know." She said as she went over to the desk on the other side of the room. Slowly she opened the top drawer and pulled out a familiar leather-bound book.
He watched her in confusion. "Dad's journal?"
"My Dean's." She clarified as she sat down on the bed.
"He kept a journal?"
"John encourage it." She explained.
"Okay."
"He used it for everything. A date book, contact list and a history of his hunts." She told him as she began going through the pages before stopping when she flipped to a dog ear page. "L. Braeden, Cicero, Indiana."
Dean didn't say anything and watched as she flipped some more pages. "June 4 and 5...LB in C, July 20...LB in C, Aug 30 LB in Indy...guess they decided to change it up that time. Those dates are from 2008 and continued at least once a month all the way up to two weeks before everything happened."
"Jo." He said softly. He remembered thinking her reaction when he told her Lisa's last name was strange, but he never expected this.
She shook his head. "I asked him once because I had seen the name repeatedly. He told me L was short for Lee and he was a fellow hunter that he worked cases with since they worked the same territory."
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Don't...you have nothing to apologize for. I said it the first night we were here. You're not him and you will not apologize for his sins." She told him firmly.
He could see that she had been thinking and going through her history with her husband over the past three months and had obviously made some observations about their life together.
"I'm not apologizing for him. I was saying I'm sorry because you've been hurt." He explained.
"Thank you for that then." She said as she reached for his hand. Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eyes. "I always had a sneaky suspicion that he probably hooked up with other women while out on the long hunts. Blowing off steam but this...he had an affair with this woman for over ten years. She meant something to him."
Dean stared at her and for the life of him he couldn't find any words to say to her. Hell, even he hadn't expected this.
Jo sat up straight then. Her resolve final. "I know you need to tell me your history and I'll listen but once you finish telling me then we put it away. No more ghosts between us. We deserve better than that...both of us do."
Dean nodded his head in agreement, and he began telling her about the women he felt she had a right to know about.
As hard as it was, he told her about Lisa and his time with her and Ben. He told her about the angel Anna, about Lydia. She held him as he finally cried for the daughter, he never had a chance to know and about watching his brother killing Emma. Finally, he told her about Charlie and how his "little sister" gave her life for him.
He explained about the Mark of Cain and how he eventually became a demon. He blushed but told her about the women he used during that time and how he treated them as nothing more than whores. He finished as told her about Amara and the connection he felt towards her...never quite sure how much of that was free will or her pull due to her being a powerful primordial entity.
He finished by explaining about how Amara giving them their mother back. He told her about Jack and how the boy became a son to him.
He didn't bother talking about Michael and that final battle because Cas had told them that the first night. Instead he told her about how much he had grown to love Jack.
Jo cup Dean's cheek as he finished and asked the question she dreaded. "Were you in love with Lisa?"
"I feel like I should say I was in loved with but honestly I was lost, and I had promise Sammy I would go to her, have that apple pie life we talked about." He confessed before adding. "I'm not saying I didn't have feelings for her though because that would be a lie. I did have feeling for her. Just never the way she really wanted. Sometimes I think it's was the chance to be a dad to Ben that drew me to her more than anything else. No, I was never in love with her, but I did care about her."
Jo sighed as she took in everything, he said in. "I think I understand, and I get why you wanted to share everything with me, and I want to do the same. I need to explain to you why I was so adamant about why I couldn't hunt."
Dean swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded his head encouraging.
"Remember when I told you I handle a few salt and burns?"
"Yeah."
Jo took a deep breath. "The last one that I handled I was pregnant. I started bleeding while I was digging the grave to get to the bones. I know I should have stopped but the ghost was torturing children, so I continued and finished the job. When I told Dean how I lost the baby I never seen him so angry and he made me swear while I was in the hospital that I would never hunt again."
"Oh Sweetheart." He murmured as he pulled her into a hug when she started crying.
"It wasn't just him. John and Sam didn't speak to me for over a month, they were so disappointed in me. It was my Mom who finally talked to me. She insisted that I had to accept that I wasn't meant to be a hunter and that I was more useful taking care of Bobby and being there for Dean. That I was now a married woman and I had to put my marriage first and put away my hunting fantasy." She told him.
Dean shook his head. "That was bullshit."
Jo smiled. "I know that now, but I didn't back then. I thought she was right. I was 19 years old and what did I know other than what my Mom and husband told me."
Dean swallowed his anger. He tried to remember what his brother had told him. As mess up as their relationship was, she did love her family.
Jo cocked her head as she watched his reaction. "Dean, I loved my husband... I still love him but I'm not a fool, I know things weren't all sunshine and roses between us. We had grown apart, but I also know that he did love me and he loved our Siobhan as well as wanting Amelia. I will make sure that Amelia knows about her father. About how her father, her grandfather and her uncle all laid down their lives for her because they love her."
"Jo I'm not trying to replace..."
"I know." She reassured him as she leaned forward and kissed him. "I know that. Please Dean, I need to say this."
"Okay."
"I want Amelia to know how incredibly lucky she is to be blessed with two fathers who love her. To have not one but two Uncle Sammy that would do anything for her. I want her to know about both her sisters Siobhan and Emma and I want her to know about her brother Jack. I want Amelia to know about all of her family."
Dean stared at the woman in front of him speechless. Jo smiled as she continued. "I need you to know that I'm ready to start to move on, to let myself fall in love with you. I want to be able to open my heart to you completely Dean."
Dean stared at Jo and did the one thing that felt right to him. He reached out cupping both of her cheeks with his hands and gently pulled her closer and kissed her. When they finally pulled apart both were breathing heavy.
He pulled her closer as he laid back down. "We don't have to if you're not ready." He told her as he ran his hands along her back.
Jo smiled. "I know. I'm sure Dean I want to make love with you."
He groaned as Jo hooked her leg around his hip as she pulled him down for another kiss.
That was all the reassurance he needed as they let themselves get lost in each other.
TBC
Author Note 2: I hope people enjoy this chapter! So I needed the time jump so I could finally get these two crazy kids together. Ohhhh Lisa did kinda make an appearance in the story, just not the way I think people were expecting but I hope people liked it. Thank you again for reading and remember feedback helps keep the creative juices running :).