Seriously I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Thank you so much Leann Nickerson, carmengmtr, Blondie 20000, Angels-heart 1 and Allison for all the support and feedback! Thank you to everyone who is favoriting this story and following it.
Ok so this is my take on Last Holiday...there is a lot going on here. Again shout out to Wiki Transcripts! I wouldn't be able to get half this done without those transcripts.
Author's note at bottom.
Thank you for reading and sorry so short and sweet with the intro but I'm on my way out but wanted to post this first!
Enjoy (I hope)!
Val
Chapter 36
"So Jo could actually feel Jack had his soul back," Sam said as him and Dean sat down to have their first cup of coffee of the day. As if the past couple of days hadn't been stressful enough, last night they were confronted with Jack getting his soul back.
"They think it's part of their connection because of Michael's grace," he told his brother.
"Makes sense," Sam agreed.
"I hate saying this but this could make things worse," Dean said to his brother.
"How?" Sam asked in confusion.
"What if he can't do it? What if he can't take out Chuck and Amara now that he has his soul back?"
"Let's hope that isn't the case. Cas left earlier to try and track down Amara," Sam told his brother.
"Let's hope he can find her," Dean said as he went over to the fridge and began pulling out the ingredients to make breakfast.
SPNSPNSPN
Jo and Lorna walked into the library to find Sam doing research. "Hey Sammy, have the lights been flickering?" Jo asked as they sat down at the table.
"Yeah I thought maybe you were practicing your control."
"Nope, Lorna and I were target practicing."
"Hmm, maybe Dean blew a fuse." Sam suggested.
"His computer probably had a power surge. Was there any special deals going on Asian Busty Beauties today?"
Sam looked up at Jo, "ummm it's porn Jo not Prime Day."
"Well that's just wrong. They should definitely do some kind of deal. Especially for value customers." She argued on Dean's behalf.
Sam shook his head in amusement, "Dean needs to put a ring on that finger of yours because he's never going to meet another woman like you."
"Yeah not too many woman yanked out of Heaven by an Egyptian God hanging around," Lorna teased.
"That's my girl," Dean said as he came into the library.
Jo smiled as she took in the 'kiss the cook' apron he was doning and the papoose with Ami sitting in it strapped to his back. "I've never wanted you more," she teased.
"Control yourself woman," Dean quipped before turning to his brother. "Have the lights been flickering?"
"Yeah, what's with the apron?"
"Burgers Dude," Dean said. He jumped slightly when he felt Jo grab his ass and squeezed it. "Hey behave," he told her as she gave him a cheeky grin.
They all looked up when they heard a loud clanking sound. Dean pointed up towards the ceiling, "okay you heard that's. I'm trying to cook and the pilot light keeps going out. It's like the third time this week. Between that and the hot water, I thought this place was supposed to be state of the art." He huffed.
"It was, in the 50's," Sam argued as Lorna leaned over to check out what he was looking up. "Hey no backseat researching," he teased.
"Yeah well," Dean said as Jo pushed down on his shoulders so that she could take Ami out of the papoose. "So has Jack come out of his room yet?"
Sam shook his head, "no. I mean, can you blame him? His soul is back. Everything is hitting him. Everything he's done. Everything he has to do. Amara."
"Yeah. Well, I mean Billie said it, to kill Chuck, you gotta kill Amara, too." Dean reminded him.
"Yeah. Cas is still looking but you know what? Say one of his angel contacts does find her. What then?" Sam asked.
"Then we do what we gotta do," Dean said.
Jo kissed Ami as she sat down across from Sam. "Yeah but I get Sam's concerns. He's just a boy."
"Jo, he's a grown man." Dean argue.
"No he may look like a grown man but he's still a child in a lot of ways." Jo said as Sam nodded his head in agreement.
Dean pulled out the chair next to Jo and sat down. "Maybe that's true but this is what he has to do and we have to help him prepare to end Chuck and Amara."
Jo and Sam shared a look before finally nodding their heads in agreement. Dean reached over and placed his hand on Jo's free hand and said softly, "I don't like it either but we don't have any other choice. He's depending on us to have his back."
"He's afraid," Jo murmured.
"I'd be worried if he wasn't afraid." He told her as he squeezed her hand.
They all looked up when the clanking started again and the sudden everything went silent including the fans.
"Oh, come on. Now the air?" Dean snapped as his brother sighed. Standing back up Dean looked over at Sam and said, "alright, let's go."
Sam looked at his brother in confusion, "go where? What are we going to do?"
"Do? Dude, we fought the Devil, I killed Hitler. I think we can handle a few old pipes." The elder Winchester said.
Sam shrugged his shoulders as he got up to follow his big brother. Lorna smirked at her partner and asked, "we are going to follow to watch this? Right?"
Jo snorted, "what do you think." She shifted Ami in her arms as they got up to follow. "Come on Sweetie, let's watch Daddy and Uncle Sammy try to fix the pipes."
SPNSPNSPN
Sam laid down the schematics for the of the bunker showing how the pipes for the water and gas. "The gas and water converge down here. Maybe. It's too bad we can't just call a plumber." He said as Jo and Lorna smirked in amusement.
Dean rolled his eyes at his brother and quipped, " Oh, yeah…'Uh, hey Mario Brothers? Yeah, could you come to the most secretive, secure, supernatural hideout in the world? Great. Thanks. Go, Luigi!'" He teased as he walked up to the control panel. "What is this?"
Sam turned the schematics around a few times before telling his brother, "this is the bunker… grid control center thingy." He turned towards Jo and asked, "do you think you could use your mojo and uhh…fix it?"
Jo gaped at Sam, "I've got some angel grace running through me…I'm not Barbara Eden, I can't exactly fold my arms across my chest and blink to fix things."
Dean turned and grinned at Jo, "you know…"
"No I'm not dressing up in some skeevy Genie costume," she said as she rolled her eyes.
Dean shrugged his shoulders, "can't blame a guy for trying." He said before looking at the console and seeing two buttons that caught his eyes. "Hmmm….of course. Reset. Standby."
"What?" Sam asked in confusion.
"What do I do when, you know my computer has too many pop-ups? Turn it off, turn it back on again. Hmm?" He said as he put his hand on the button that said Reset
Sam, Jo and Lorna all shook their heads vehemently as Sam cried, "No Dean, I don't think that's…"
Dean ignored the others as he hits the reset button. They all winced as the clanking got louder.
"I was gonna say I don't think that's a…" Sam said as he looked up towards the duck work above them. He looked back as his brother tried to shush him before finishing meekly, "a good idea."
The bunker powers back up and the lights come back on. Dean grinned as he clapped his hands together, "victory!" He exclaimed as he went over to his daughter who was imitating his action and was clapping her pudgy hands together.
He reached out and lifted his daughter from a clearly surprised Jo. "Now come on Sweetpea. Time for you to help Daddy make the burgers." The others watched as Dean climbed the stairs out of the room as he continued telling his daughter about how he save everyone from starving to death.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean walked into his and Jo's room carrying a plate with his special bacon double cheeseburger and a beer while Ami happily pulled on her father's hair while in her papoose that Dean had slipped back on.
"Now you let Daddy put his stuff down and then I'll tuck you in for a nap and…" Dean stopped short when he looked over and saw an older woman standing by their dresser folding his Scooby Doo boxers.
"Oh. Hello dear," as she reached in and pulled out another pair of boxers out and began folding them.
"Sam! Jo!" Dean shouted as he turned and walked out of his room and headed towards library.
The woman cocked her head slightly before finishing folding Dean's boxers in her hand and following him out of the room.
Dean stood in the library glaring at the intruder as she walked over to the shelves and ran a finger along and held it up so Dean could see the dust. "oh! How you've lived in this filth is beyond me."
Dean's mouth dropped open in shock at the scolding he was receiving and he snapped, "Beyo…Lady, who the hell are you?!"
The woman gasped in horror, "Language! And with a foundling strapped to you no less." She tsked.
"Foundling! That's it I'm getting my gun!" Dean said as he turned to leave and ran into Jo.
"What's all the shouting about…whoa…who's she?" Jo asked as she skidded to a stop.
"Exactly!" Dean said as he went to step around Jo and head to their room and get his gun only to run into his brother and Lorna both joining them as they straighten their clothes. "Glad you both could join us."
"Yeah, hey. I was…I mean we were researching…uh…" Sam stammered but stopped when he saw the newcomer. "Umm…hi? Dean, What's going on?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "While you and Lorna were 'researching' I was walking into our room to put Ami down and dive into my Dean Deluxe. Any way I look up, and there she is, folding my, uh, underthings.
Sam frowned, "your underthings?"
"Yeah you know my boxers," he said in annoyance.
"Well, if you'd folded them properly to begin with." The stranger told him.
"Your boxers….you told me you folded and put your laundry away thirty minutes ago." Jo huffed.
"I was going to do it…that's not what matters." Dean argued.
"Fine," Jo agreed as Sam eyed the older woman.
"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Sam asked.
"My true name is….oh, it's hardly decipherable in your tongue. Mr. Ganem called me Mrs. Butters." She explained.
The four hunters all exchanged a look of disbelief. "Wait, our tongue? So, what? You're not human?"
Mrs. Butters smiled, "oh, no…no…I'm a wood nymph."
"Okay, well, shouldn't you be in the woods somewhere, nymphing?" Dean asked.
The older woman sighed, "well alas… that is a young one's game. But no, no, I have much more important things to do. And besides, I live here.
"Oh so you're a Man of…umm…you're a Lady of Letters?" Sam asked.
The wood nymph giggled, "oh, God, no. I was never a member, no. No…no…no I was more of a helper. I took care of the cleaning and laundry and the cooking. The Men of Letters, though highly intelligent, were oblivious to the necessities of life. But they were my boys. My family." She explained as she looked at Jo and Lorna, "much like your lady helpers here."
"Helpers," the female hunters cried indulgently.
Dean smirked at Jo and Lorna before turning back to Mrs. Butters. "Well, that's very progressive. Uh, well, we don't want any trouble, so you can just leave."
It was Mrs. Butters turn to look horrified. "Leave? But this is my home. Well, I have worked for the Men of Letters since before the war."
Sam frowned in confusion and asked, "the war? What year do you think it is?"
"1958," she told them.
The four hunters looked at the wood nymph as they all mumbled, "oh."
Dean cleared his throat and said, ""I'm afraid to tell you, but it's 2020."
"It's…but where is Mr. Markham? Mr. Ackers? Where are the rest of the Men of Letters?" She asked sadly.
Dean shrugged his shoulders, "you're looking at 'em. The rest of them are dead."
Mrs. reached up and wiped away her tears. "How?"
"A demon named Abaddon killed them, all of them," Dean explained.
Sniffling she ran a finger along a photo of the Men of Letters hanging on the wall. "Oh. That's why they didn't come back," she said before explaining about putting herself and the bunker in standby mode when the former Men of Letter perform the ritual to stop Abaddon.
The others listened as she finished her story before adding, "I never dreamed it would take this long to be reactivated."
Sam gave her an embarrass smile, "yeah, we really don't totally know everything about this place yet."
"It's been one apocalypse after the other," Dean offered as his form of apology.
"Oh, no. It's fine. I know how busy your work can be. If you're anything like the others, then it has been an age since you've had a home-cooked meal or celebrated the holidays or washed your clothes." She said.
Lorna and Jo gaped at the other woman. "It is anything but fine," Jo said.
"Exactly," Lorna agreed. "Those men took advantage of you.
Jo nodded her head eagerly in agreement, "exactly and," Jo pointed at Dean and Sam. "They are more than capable of taking care of themselves."
"It's worse than I thought," Mrs. Butters cried as she looked at Jo and Lorna. "When your helpers speak to you like that." She wagged her finger at the other women. "You are here to take care of the bunker and to ease the load for the men."
"We're not their helper. We're hunters too," Jo explained before pointing at Dean and Ami. "And we're a couple and that's our daughter."
"A married couple…with a child…in the Men of Letters bunker?" Mrs. Butters asked in shock.
"Well technically we're not married but…" Jo started to explain only to watch as Sam rushed forward and catch a fainting Mrs. Butters.
"Way to go Jo, you broke the wood nymph." Dean said as he helped his brother settle the clearly scandalized woman in a chair.
"Me…watch it or I'll tell her you deflowered me," Jo teased as she went over and grabbed the pitcher of water and filled a glass for the woman.
"That ship sailed long before we met.," he mumbled wincing when she slapped him upside his head.
"Can you two be serious," Sam reprimanded his brother and Jo.
"Yeah…yeah," Dean murmured as watch Jo and Lorna gently pat the other woman's hands as Jo lifted the cup up to her mouth and encourage her to take a few sips.
"Oh dear…oh dear!" She cried. "A woman of ill repute living in sin…with a baby no less."
"Ill repute…look lady…" Jo huffed.
"Jo," Dean said when he saw her dander was up at the comment. She sighed but saw the way he nodded his head slightly at the woman and knew they needed to get some more information from her. Clearing his throat he continued, "you said, that we were on standby mode. So this entire time, we've been operating on what like, half power?"
The older woman looked at Jo again and tsked her one more time before answering Dean's question. "The Men of Letters used my magic to give the bunker an extra oomph."
The hunters eyes all widened when the wood nymph snapped her fingers and suddenly the lights were all brighter, telescope clicked on while other objects began to beep as they turned on.
They all turned when Ami began to clap as she looked down at the map table that had suddenly come to life and multi color lights blinking in clusters.
Sam went over to his niece and lifted her out of her papoose before turning towards Mrs. Butters and asked, "what's that?"
"Oh. The radar of course," she explained as she eyed Ami.
Dean looked at the table in awe. "We have a monster radar?" He asked.
Mrs. Butters nodded her head as she stood and looked down at the table. "The chime indicates something relatively nearby and by the color, it looks to be a nest of vampires…about 50 miles away, 725 Black Drive."
Dean grinned at the others, "we have a monster radar."
The woman smiled indulgently at Dean, "Well, if you boys hurry, I imagine you can clean out that nest and make it back here in time for supper."
"Oh, hell yeah!" He crowed as he kissed Jo on the cheek.
Mrs. Butters cleared her throat and wagged her finger at Dean, "ohh…ohh."
Dean smiled as he quickly amended himself, "heck…heck yeah. You guys can have the next monster that pops up on the monster radar"
Mrs. Butters smiled as she nodded her head. "Alright. I need to tidy up the rooms, start dinner and I should have enough time to make some fresh cookies…snickerdoodle would be nice." She told them as she left the others in the room.
"Okay, let's go Sam. We have some vamps to take care of." Dean said as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them enthusiastically.
"Dean, hold up. How do we know we can trust her?" Sam argued.
"Sam has a point," Jo agreed as she took Ami from Sam.
"Look at her," Dean said at her retreating figure. "It isn't that big of a stretch to think that the Men of Letters wouldn't have found somebody to help out. I mean, they were basically a bunch of uppity, preppy bachelors, you know. So them hiring whatever she is makes sense. Heck it's practically required."
"I think the correct term is enslaved….not hired." Lorna countered.
"Oh come on…she's not human…" Dean argued.
"So that makes it's alright they captured her and turned her into their personal servant." Jo said with a shake of her head.
Dean looked at Jo and Lorna before looking over at Sam who shrugged his shoulders, "they have a point. Besides we still don't know if we can trust what she says."
"Look, why don't you two talk to her. See if she really wants to be here or if she would prefer to I don't know…go back to the woods. Then Sam and I can go check this vamp nest out, alright? If the nest is real, then she's telling the truth, and we know we just caught a serious break, and we have not been catching those lately.
"And if she says she wants to go home or she's lying about this nest?"
"Then we deal with it," Dean conceded.
"What about Jack?" Jo asked as Dean kissed their daughter on her forehead.
"Right, I'll go and fill him in." Dean offered as Sam joined him by the door. "Sam why don't you grab a couple of machetes and I'll meet you by baby."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo and Lorna sat at the table in the library each with a book of lore about wood nymphs. They both looked up when Jack came into the room.
"Hey Jack," Jo said as she grinned as he joined them at the table.
"Hello," he said as he looked at the small pile of books on the table.
"Have you met our ummm house guest?" Lorna asked.
He nodded his head, "not officially but she brought me a sandwich."
"How are you doing?" Jo asked.
Jack shrugged his shoulders, "Dean came to see me before they left."
Jo and Lorna shared a look as Jo reached over and squeezed his hand. "Look we won't push but if you want to talk we're here."
"Thank you," he said as he gave her a small smile. He turned when he heard Ami gurgling happily in her swing. He slipped out of his chair and reset the timer so that it would continue the rocking motion the infant loved.
Jo smiled as she lifted her phone and snapped a photo of Jack squatting beside Ami and asking the child if she was all set. "You're a good big brother," Jo told him.
Jack looked over at Jo and Lorna, gracing the women with a genuine smile. "You really mean that?"
"Of course I do," Jo told him.
Jack nodded his head as he gave Ami a kiss on her forehead before joining Jo and Lorna at the table again. "Do you need help researching?"
"Oh hello you must be Jack," Mrs. Butters said as she came into the library carrying a large tray ladled with mugs of coco and a plate of cookies. "I thought you might like a little snack."
"Here let me help you," Lorna said as she hopped up and took the heavy tray and placed it on the table.
"Oh thank you Dear," the older woman said.
"Mrs. Butters, you don't need to wait on us." Jo insist before tapping the chair next to her. "Why don't you join us."
"Thank you, you're very nice for a woman of loose morals.
Jo rolled her eyes, "can you please stop saying things like that. Dean and I are in a committed relationship and we're raising our daughter together."
Mrs. Butters frowned as she look back and forth between Jack and Jo. "You two…no three," she amended as she shot a look at Ami. "What are you…I can sense your powers."
Jo and Lorna exchange a glance before Jo smiled. "Grace…angel grace. We both were healed by an angel and I was pregnant with Amelia when it happened." She told her, alternating their stories to protect Jack but believable enough for the supernatural being to hopefully accept.
"Oh my. Angels…Mr. Ackers had been trying to find proof of angels before they went to perform the ritual." She told them before studying Jack. "His powers are much stronger."
"His injuries were worse," Lorna replied as she reached over and took a cookie. "Wow these smell amazing."
"They do," Jo agreed as they began chatting with the other woman to distract her.
"So Mrs. Butters Jo and I wanted to talk to you." Lorna said as she lifted the mug of hot chocolate she had brought out for them.
"Yes Dear," she said sweetly.
Jo cleared her throat, "you said you'd been with them since before the war. Did the other Men of Letters capture you?"
Mrs. Butters tilted her head slightly, "well I…I don't really remember but the boys were my family and now you are my family and I will take care of all your needs."
Lorna smiled at her, "well family takes care of each other. We don't expect you to cook and clean by yourself."
"Exactly," Jo said as she nodded her head. "Mrs. Butters…Umm I'm sorry but what is your first name?"
"First name?" She asked in confusion.
"Didn't the others give you a first name?" Lorna asked.
The nymph shook her head, "no…should they have given me one?"
"Well I think it would be nice," Jo told her. "Do you have a name you like?"
The older woman chewed on her lower lip. "I don't know," she admitted.
Jo grinned, "don't worry we can pull up names and you can choose one." She suggested as she opened her laptop and pulled up a baby name site.
Jo and Lorna spent the next half hour helping Mrs. Butters chose a first name while Jack played with Ami.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean and Sam walked into the bunker and stopped short when they saw a Christmas tree fully decorated while Jo, Lorna and Jack all donning reindeer antlers singing "Deck The Hall" while stringing glittery silver garland around the table.
Dean grinned as he practically hopped up and down at the sight before them. He slapped Sam on the arm as Mrs. Butters came into the room with a plate of decorated Christmas cookies.
Mrs. Butters looked up at the returning hunters and laughed, "you're back just in time! I just took the prime rib out to rest."
Dean saw the way Jo smiled and waved at him before turning so he could see Ami in her papoose wearing a tiny Santa hat. He turned to his brother and said, "oh we are so keeping her!"
Sam couldn't help rolling his eyes and chuckling as his brother rushed down the stairs and pulled Jo and his daughter into a hug before taking one of Mrs. Butters cookies. He still wasn't sure how he felt about the wood nymph but he couldn't deny the joy she was bringing to his family.
SPNSPNSPN
"Nora…you gave her a first name?" Dean asked as he flipped the light off in the bathroom before joining Jo as she sat in one of the two arm chairs in the corner they had set up with a small table in between sipping on a cup of peppermint tea.
"She's not a stray puppy Dean. She a being…maybe a supernatural one but a being none the less. They convinced her she was part of their family but used her to basically take care of their needs. They had her believe that's all she's good for."
"Come on Jo," Dean huffed as he poured himself a cup of tea. "She's a wood nymph, instead of killing her they put her to good use."
"So that mean she has no rights? If they told her that providing sex was a way she would be a good helper would that be fine too?" Jo asked.
Dean looked at Jo and winced at what she was implying. "Please tell me they didn't do that."
"No but if that's wrong then why isn't the rest wrong? She can't remember how she got here. For all we know they kidnapped her and convinced her they were now her family so that they had free labor without having to explain the bunker to an actual housekeeper."
"Okay you have a point," he admitted.
"All I know is she believed they were family and now we're her family. I just don't want to use her the way the others used her.
"Fine but if she likes doing things for us then why shouldn't we let her?"
Jo chewed on her lower lip as she nodded her head, "I'm not saying she can't do things for us but she's not our maid. I'm not comfortable with that and neither is Lorna."
"Fair enough," Dean agreed as he cocked his head slightly. "I think a certain somebody is fast asleep. Feeling frisky Ms. Harvelle?" he asked as he gave her a comically wink.
Jo snorted, "smooth talker."
Dean grinned as he stood up before reaching down and pulling Jo up. "Come on you little hussy," he teased as he kissed her.
"Ass," Jo laughed as Dean stool another kiss as he danced them back towards their bed.
SPNSPNSPN
The next several weeks seem to go by in a blur as the hunters took turns hunting all the fuglies the monster radar pointed them towards.
They had even decided to switch up the teams and sometimes Jo would hunt with Sam or Dean would go out with Lorna.
Dean and Jo decided that after their hunt in Texas that they wouldn't go out together again for Ami's sake. Granted the hunters had the upper hand and it seemed like these hunts were all cakewalks but they all had enough experience to know things could go south in a heartbeat.
The weirdest thing since Mrs. Butters(they tried calling her Nora but she seemed to prefer the formality of Mrs. Butters) had come into their lives was her insistence they celebrate all the holidays and birthdays they missed over the years.
It's why when Jo found herself and Sam coming back from a salt and burn to the bunker being decorated with flowers and white lace bunting that she stood at the top of the stairs in shock. She blinked in confusion when saw her Bill, Ellen, Ash, Lorna, Jack, Castiel, Donna, Gabriel, Jody and the girls waiting for them in the decorated room.
She looked up at Sam who was practically beaming at her, "Sam?"
All he said was "look," as he pointed to the doorway that led into room and saw her man…her partner…her lifeline walking towards her wearing a tuxedo…where did he get a tux and damn he took her breath away at how handsome he looked in it…carrying their daughter who was wearing the cutest dress of lavender with embroidered flowers along the hem. She chuckled slightly when he saw the headband with a matching bow.
She swallowed as Sam gently nudged her towards the stairs and gradually made her way down as she met Dean at the bottom grinning up at her as she stood on the last step, "Dean?"
"Well Ash already laid the trail that your Joanna Beth Harvelle-Winchester and you accepted my proposal too…so don't you think it's time we finally have a ceremony and exchange our vows?" He asked.
"You want to get married…today?" She asked in disbelief as she subconsciously began brushing the dirt of the grave her and Sam recently dug up off of her clothes.
"If you'll have me," he teased.
Jo laughed, "of course I'll have you!"
"Thank goodness, you started to worry us," Lorna said with a smirk as she joined them.
Jo looked at Dean and everyone else and chewed on her lower lip as her mind frantically went through her closet and her articles of clothing. She wasn't a girlie girl but even she didn't want to get married(well exchange vows…they always did played fast and loose with the legal system) in a suit she wore to pretend she was a fed.
"Umm…" she stammered.
Lorna grinned at her friend, "don't worry…Dean picked out a dress for you when he went to get his tux."
Jo's mouth dropped open…just when she didn't think he could surprise her anymore he did something else. She couldn't help shaking her and finally was able to get her emotions under control enough to say, "if it's slutty I'm not wearing it."
Dean laughed, "I was tempted but you could probably kick my ass since Lorna kick up your Krav Maga training and she's an expert."
"If I wasn't filthy I'd hug you," she said as she leaned forward and gave him a chest kiss on the lips.
"Come on Mrs. Butters is waiting for us," Lorna said as she grabbed Jo's arm and began pulling her towards the sleeping quarters.
Sam finished coming down the stairs and stood next to his brother. "Dude you out did yourself."
"Thanks but I had help. We were starting to worry you two ran into trouble though…we expected you back an hour ago." The older man said.
"Just my trick shoulder. Jo ended up finishing digging the grave." He explained.
"You're joking right…I can see how our wedding night is going to play out. Me giving Jo a massage to work the kinks out of her lower back and her conking out. No nookie for Daddy tonight," Dean told his daughter who clapped her chubby hands together as Dean mad a silly face for her.
"Nice," Sam said with an eye roll.
"Prude," Dean teased before wrinkling his nose. "Dude you need to shower. I already put your monkey suit in your room. Try not to take too long on your hair Samantha…remember this is Jo's day."
"Haha," the younger hunter said as he took of towards the showers so that he could stand next to his brother as him and Jo finally exchange their vows.
SPNSPNSPN
Jo stares at herself in the full length mirror as Lorna and Mrs. Butters finish with her hair. She couldn't believe she was looking at herself at first.
When Lorna said Dean had picked out her dress she had a moment of panic. She loved Dean to the moon and back but considering he was the one who picked out the slutty black number when they invaded Crowley compound she wasn't sure what to expect.
She certainly wasn't expecting the ivory satin-sheath dress with a pearl embroidered bateau neckline and brush train that started at the end of the v-back that stopped past her shoulder blades and cascaded down to form a small train.
It was fancy and simple all at once and Jo loved it. It was the type of dress she dreamt of when she was younger but then her father died and a fairy tale wedding died too.
Sure as she got older she thought she might meet a man, fall love and maybe get hitched at some court house but not an actual honest to god ceremony and she never thought it would be Dean Winchester who would plan one while she was out on a hunt.
Of course when she found herself bleeding out on the floor of that warehouse oh so long ago it wasn't her life that passed before her eyes it was the "what could have been" that past before her eyes. Especially when Dean had kissed her and she saw in his eyes the same sadness that engulfed her. They both realized they wasted away the time that they could have been together if they both weren't so damn stubborn.
Thinking of that day made her admit the one person she wished was here wasn't. She swallowed the sob that threatened to escape at the thought of her mother.
Then the guilt that always nagged at her and how easily she accepted the alternate Ellen and Bill Harvelle in her life. At first she loved them because it felt natural…that she should love them but gradually she found herself loving them not as her 'parents' but as something different. More than friendship but not really the same way she loved her mother or father, she couldn't put it in words what she felt for them.
She understood now that she was still reeling from finding out the truth when they went to the other dimension and when she saw them that it felt like a second chance with her Mom but now she knew that could never happen.
He Mom…her Ellen…the woman who raised her, loved her….fought with her and eventually fought alongside her. The woman who died with her could never be replaced, even with an alternate version of herself.
"Jo," Lorna said softly when she saw Jo's eyes had glazed over. She knew her friend was lost in her thoughts and she knew it had to be thoughts about either her life before she was pulled out of Heaven or she was reliving some false planted memory.
She was getting used to it…the same way Dean and Sam were used to it. She understood sometimes it was Jo lost in thoughts…sometimes it was her reliving a memory but the worst was when she was hit with the false memories that Gabriel had planted.
The first time that happened she wasn't sure what to do. They had just finished tracking and killing a wendigo. They were back at their motel and as they were getting out of the car they saw a family with a little girl. Jo stared at the little girl for a moment too long…the girl's mother had even picked up on it and pulled the child closer.
She had assumed her friend was missing her daughter and didn't think nothing of it. Then Jo was in the bathroom when she heard the first heartbreaking sob coming from the other side of the door. She knocked but Jo wouldn't answer her and Lorna finally broke the lock to see her friend sobbing as she sat on the floor, her back against the tub.
Lorna's own stomach churned fearing Jo had gotten a message on the discarded phone on the floor that something was wrong with Ami. She had frowned in confusion when Jo cried that the girl they had just saw looked just like her Siobhan.
Lorna had stood there in shock. Jo had told her one night while they were driving back to the bunker about her time in the mental institution…about the fantasy world she created for herself and how Michael use this fantasy world to control her and then how Gabriel built off of the fantasy to plant false memories in her mind.
Lorna knew the name Siobhan...knew the horrible false memories that Gabriel planted (she knew it may have been for the right reasons but she was still pissed on Jo's behalf) and she slowly sat down next to her friend and wrapped her arms around her as she sobbed for a phantom child.
Later once Jo had calm down and they both had taken their showers they decided to grab some dinner. It was while they were sitting at their table, drinking their beers that the other woman blushed as she apologized.
Jo knew it was completely irrational...that the child never existed but the memories were still so real to her at times. It was then she realized when Sam had told her a couple of days earlier not to under estimate Jo she understood how right he was.
So she had told her friend to never apologize for her feeling. Now she knew the signs to know what to look for and didn't want to startle Jo...it was almost like handling somebody walking in their sleep. "Jo," she said again.
Jo blinked a few times before giving Lorna a small smile. "I'm okay," she reassured her friend.
The women looked up when they heard a knock on the door. "Oh I'll get it. I don't want a certain someone trying to sneak a peek at his bride." Mrs. Butters gushed giddily as she went to the door. Jo watched as the older woman opened the door slightly before opening it completely. "Oh well the parents of the bride can certainly come in." She told them with a giggle.
"Oh Honey," Ellen said as she came through the door and saw Jo.
Bill beamed as he nodded his head, "you look beautiful. Dean is a lucky man."
Jo smiled at the compliments before turning to Lorna and Mrs. Butters who had begun to fuss with the back of the dress. "I'm sorry, would you mind giving us a moment."
Lorna nodded her head as she gently yet forcefully guided Mrs. Butters from the room to give Jo and the others some much needed privacy.
SPNSPNSPN
"I'm sorry," Jo said as she sat across from Bill and Ellen. "I know my timing is awful and I do love you both so much," she told them as she wiped at the tears she couldn't stop from coming.
"Don't apologize," Bill reassured her.
Ellen nodded her head, "Bill's right, you don't need to apologize. We were just as caught up in this as you were but you're right we aren't your Mom and Dad any more than you're our Joanna Beth."
"Thank you for understanding," Jo said as she hugged each of them.
Bill smiled as he cupped the younger woman's cheek, "I also will understand if you're not comfortable with me walking you down the aisle. Dean assumed you would want me to do it but now I think you may want somebody else."
Jo smiled sadly, "I guess I always thought my Mom...our Ellen would be the one to walk me down the aisle but now I think there is only one person I want to be with me if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind Sweetheart," Bill told her as he went to stand by his wife.
"We should let you finish getting ready," Ellen said as they started towards the door. "We'll see you soon."
"Thank you," Jo said again as she watched the couple leave and Mrs. Butters and Lorna hurrying back in.
"Everything alright?" Lorna asked.
"Yeah," Jo told her before adding, "everything is how it should be."
SPNSPNSPN
Dean fussed with his tie as Sam stood next to him. Maybe he went a little overboard but he knew this was a celebration he didn't want to skimp on. After Jo and Sam went to get ready he had begun pacing. Finally Donna told him to give her Ami since the poor baby was going to get dizzy. She was right because he never stopped moving until Sam grabbed him and pulled him to stand before the make shift alter where Jody stood waiting to perform the service form them.
Finally he heard the music begin to play and smiled when he heard Jo's faint giggle from the other room when REO Speedwagon's 'Can't Fight This Feeling' began playing. He watched as Lorna made her way down the small aisle to stand across from them before the small group of friends stood as Jo appeared in the doorway.
He swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw that Bill wasn't standing next to Jo to give her away. Instead Jo had Ami settled on her hip and he grinned as his girls slowly walked down the aisle to stand beside him as they started a new chapter of their lives.
SPNSPNSPN
Jack laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. They had celebrated Dean and Jo vow ceremony well into the night before the others left and it was just Dean, Jo, Sam, Lorna, Ami and Mrs. Butters in the bunker.
Sighing he sat up and got out of his bed. Leaving his room he headed out to find Mrs. Butters, hoping one of her smoothies she usually made him or maybe some of the peppermint tea she makes for Jo would help him sleep.
He made his way through the bunker, stopping briefly outside of Dean and Jo room, smiling as he heard the faint laughter coming from the other side of the door. He was happy for the couple and that they found the love and support in each other that they both craved.
He continued down the corridor and blushed when he heard Lorna's voice floating out from behind Sam's door, "a little to the left…no...no my left…oh yeah right there! Oh…oh…ooohhhh!"
He quickly hurried away from the other sounds coming from the room and stopped by Ami's door. Smiling he heard a few soft gurgles and gently opened the door.
"Hello Ami, you can't sleep either?" He asked the infant as she gazed up at him. He chanced a glance at the door that connected the nursery to her parent room and saw that it was closed but he saw the blinking light of the monitor.
"Shhh, Mommy and Daddy are ummm…doing Mommy and Daddy stuff." Jack told the child as he lifted her out of her crib. "Would you like to go with me to find Mrs. Butters?"
Jack continue to chat happily with Ami as they walked out of the room much to Jo and Dean's amusement as they waited until the young man was gone before they both began to laugh at his explanation of what they were doing that they overheard via the baby monitor.
SPNSPNSPN
Jack stood at the entrance of the library with Ami in his arms and frowned as he watched Mrs. Butters hide something in one of the drawers in a wooden filing cabinet.
Schooling his features he smiled as he called out, "Mrs. Butters?"
The wood nymph straightened up and turned around towards Jack, "Oh! Yes, dear?"
Jack shifted Ami slightly as he asked, "I was just wondering if you could just, um, make me another smoothie?"
"Of course. Anything for my boys," she told him cheerfully as she hurried out of the room towards the kitchen.
Jack waited until he heard her footsteps heading towards the kitchen before going over to the drawer and discovered she had hidden an old film reel. Quickly he took the item and slipped it in his pocket as he followed Mrs. Butters to get the smoothie she was making him.
SPNSPNSPN
Jack placed Ami in her pack and play that they kept in the family room before closing the door and pulling out the old reel to reel projector.
Soon he had the film prepped for viewing as he heard Ami's breathing even out and knew the child had finally fallen asleep. "Good dreams," he murmured as he leaned over and kissed Ami's forehead.
He stepped over and flipped the start button on the projector and watched wide eyed as Cuthbert Sinclair former Men of Letters standing with a prisoner tied to two a chair as he spoke about Mrs. Butters.
"Cuthbert Sinclair, Men of Letters, File 5150. As you know, Henshaw was successful in retrieving the wood nymph from the Thule's laboratories. After encountering a Nazi battalion, Subject B, casually referred to as "Mrs. Butters," destroyed upwards of 200 men before she was restrained. Wood nymphs, it would seem, though naturally docile, react violently when home or family are threatened. To that end, I have conducted a series of, uh, experiments designed to show the strange and magical being the importance of our mission. And Mrs. Butters has agreed to join the Men of Letters family for service and security. This… is a member of the Thule." He paused to take off the prisoner's hood before continuing. "Who, after a very thorough interrogation, is no longer of any use. Mrs. Butters, if you would."
Jack's eye widened in horror as the woman who had become part of their family casually went over and ripped the prison's head of with her bare hands before turning to the other people who must have been in the room and asked sweetly, "would anyone like tea or cookies?" before the film suddenly stopped.
Jack reached over and turned the projector off as he huffed, "son of a bitch!"
SPNSPNSPN
The next day every time Jack tries to speak to one of the four hunters Mrs. Butters suddenly appeared. He couldn't wait any longer he decided to find Sam and tell him everything he saw.
He started to run through the map room to find the younger Winchester only to run into Mrs. Butters yet again.
The wood nymph stop dusting as she shook her head at Jack, "oh, slow down, dear. Is everything alright?"
"Uh, yeah. I was just looking for Sam," he told her trying to be a casual as possible.
Mrs. Butters grinned at Jack. "He'll be here any minute. He's got a big date with Lorna," she explained.
Oh, That's, um, nice," he replied dutifully, not fully understanding the importance of Sam and Lorna going on a date…not from the sounds he heard coming out of Sam's room last night.
Jack was so lost in thought he didn't notice how the woman next to him was staring at him.
"Are you sure you're alright? Can I get you some soup or something?" She asked.
He was getting ready to respond when the Winchester he was looking for came into the room wearing slacks, a button down shirt with a sweater vest and a jacket. He was tugging at his collar and whined, "I feel silly. Are you sure I don't look ridiculous? I feel like I look ridiculous."
"Not at all. You look dashing! Let me see. Yes, yes. Ow are you sure I couldn't trim just the ends?" She asked indicating Sam's hair.
Sam gently batted away Mrs. Butters hand, "stop it."
They all looked up as Dean came into the room and took one look at his brother and quipped, "oh, wow. Somebody's shopping at Abercrombie and Bitch."
"Oh! Language!" Mrs. Butters scolded Dean.
Dean pointed to his younger brother, "Well…"
"Don't you listen to him. You look very handsome." She assured him.
"I just want to make this nice since it's Lorna and mine first date," he explained nervously.
"You two have been sexing it up like bunnies…I think it's safe to say she likes you." Dean teased.
"Oh, Dean!" Mrs. Butters huffed before turning back to Sam and pulling out a set of car keys. "Now here. I want you to take one of the old cars from the garage. They're all in tip-top condition now. She'll be very impressed."
"Thanks," Sam said gratefully as he started towards the door.
"Oh Sam, one more thing," Mrs. Butters called to him before lifting her hand to with a large bouquet of red roses. "Have fun!"
"Go get 'em, tiger," Dean teased with a wink as Sam rolled his eyes before he started towards the living quarters to 'pick' Lorna up.
SPNSPNSPN
"I feel ridiculous…tell me again why I let a wood nymph stuck thinking it's still 1953 pick out my outfit?" Lorna huffed as she fussed with the pleats on the emerald, green sleeveless dress.
"Because you look beautiful and Sam's going to love the way you look. Jo reassured her.
"But Jo I'm wearing strappy sandals that match my friggin dress. Last time you and Dean went you wore jeans and t-shirt with steel toe boots looking all bad ass…I look like Doris Day!" Lorna complained.
Jo open her mouth to remind her friend Dean had barely let her put her bag down from the hunt they had just return from and that their date consisted of a couple of burgers and ice cold beers in a cooler while sitting in Baby. Okay then ended having pretty great sex in the back seat but still they hadn't been on a real date for a while.
Jo snapped her mouth shut when she heard a soft knock at the door, "he's here!" She gushed excitedly.
Lorna rolled her eyes, "it's not like he had to travel far…his room is four doors down."
Jo ignored her friend as she rushed to open the door. She grinned when she saw the way Sam stood nervously in front of her with the flowers in his hand. "Oh you look so handsome! Get in here so I can get a picture of you both," she commanded as she pulled Sam inside and deposited him next to Lorna.
The couple watched in horror as Jo lifted her cell phone and began snapping pictures. "Sam I want a picture of you handing Lorna the flowers…so sweet and romantic," she gushed.
"Ummm Mrs. Butters gave them to me," he explained.
"Thank you," Lorna said as she accepted the bouquet.
The couple let Jo snap a few pictures before Lorna thrust the flowers at the blonde and said firmly, "Jo why don't you put these in some water."
Before her friend could say anything else the other woman grabbed Sam and propelled him towards the door. She rolled her eyes when she heard Jo call out for them to have a nice time and to remember to use protection.
SPNSPNSPN
Mrs. Butters tsk at Dean, "You should be nicer to your brother."
Dean grinned at the woman next to him, "Well, now why would I do that?"
The wood nymph rolled her eyes before saying, "boys. You don't deserve it but a made a batch of those rice crispy treats for you. There in the family room. I believed there is a marathon of Rockford Files on too."
Dean's eyes lit up, "awesome! You're the best Mrs. B!" He exclaimed as he kissed her cheek as he rushed out of the room.
Jack watched him go before he gave Mrs. Butters a weak smile and headed towards Dean and Jo's bedroom. He had to tell someone what he saw and well Dean was in a rice crispy treats haze and wasn't gonna want to help him investigate.
SPNSPNSPN
Jo looked up from the book she was reading when she heard a knock on the door. She sighed slightly annoyed. Bill and Ellen had asked to take Ami for a few days and she had intended to have some actual down time….do things like read an actual book with a plot…take some nice long bubble baths(she was pretty sure Dean would join her if she asked) and just spend some time with Dean period.
So the knock on the door after having all of three minutes to herself was a bit annoying but she pushed the impulse to pretend she didn't hear the knock aside and instead called out, "come in."
Jo watched as the door open and Jack came into the room. She took one look at the young man and a feeling of dread ran through her. She quickly closed the book and stood up. "Tell me," she said as she went over and pulled him further into the room and closed the door.
SPNSPNSPN
Jack and Jo found Mrs. Butters in the dungeon. After he had told the huntress what he saw Jo said they should find the wood nymph and speak to her…see why she hid the film like she had.
Jack stood by Jo as Mrs. Butters turned and looked at them as they walked into the room. Jack cleared his throat before saying, "I know what you are."
"And what is that?" The older woman asked.
Jack shot a quick look at Jo who nodded her head as she placed a comforting hand on his back. "I saw the film."
Mrs. Butters stared at both of them, "And how did it make you feel?"
"Feel? I…I don't understand." Jack said in confusion as Jo swallowed as she saw the way the other woman was watching them.
"Ohh, of course you do. You enjoyed seeing that man, well, no, Nazis are hardly men, that dog's death. You relished his pain, didn't you, Jack? And Jo when Jack told you what he saw you felt the same way. If Amelia was old enough to understand she would too. You three are the same."
"Shit," Jo hissed as she realized they had just walked into a trap. She shook her head slightly as Jack argued.
"What? No. Wait. You wanted me to find...was this some kind of test? To…to what? See if I'm blood thirsty? We're blood thirsty? Dangerous?"
"Aren't you? Both of you?"
"No!" Jack and Jo cried at the same time.
"Yes you are, both of you. Sam, Dean and Lorna…"
Jack shook his head vehemently, "no….that's not…they know…"
"We're not bad…we help innocent people….protect them from the monsters." Jo argued
"But who will protect those innocent people from you two and eventually from Amelia?" She snapped.
"You're wrong," Jo argued. "Dean…the others they know we're not blood thirsty….they know…"
"Know what?" She yelled, "How powerful you are? How powerful you've both have become? Because I do. They should be scared of you."
"We would never hurt them." Jack fought.
Mrs. Butters shook her head, "You have before. Haven't you?" She accused Jack before continuing. "Have you ever thought that Sam and Dean keep you here…both of you closed in, secured." She snapped before she turned her attention to Jack, "that they did this because they're scared you'll do to someone else what you did to their mother? Now that I'm here they will never have to worry about you again."
Neither Jo or Jack had time to prepare as Mrs. Butters waved her hand and tossed them across the room and slammed them into the wall.
"What are you doing?" Jack cried as he slowly got up before turning to help Jo.
"What I've always done. I'm protecting my family." She explained.
Jo reached down and took Jack's hand as their eyes both began to glow. They both looked at each other when they felt their powers fade and realized that suddenly they were frozen where they stood.
"What did you do to us?" Jo asked as she knew they were no match for the creature across the room.
"Well," Mrs. Butters said as she handcuffed first Jack and then Jo. "you didn't think those smoothies and the peppermint tea was for your health, did you? I've learned a few things while I was dusting around here. A little yarrow root, some ground jawbone for texture, and, voila, you both are as weak as puppies." She told them before pushing both to the floor.
"Why?" Jack said as he looked over at Jo to make sure she was all right.
"To make the bunker safe again. To get rid of all the monsters, even the monsters closes to home." She said as she turned and walked out of the room and locked them inside as she started towards the kitchen.
SPNSPNSPN
"Oh Mrs. B….I think I had one too many rice crispy treats and need something without sugar to eat. Do you…" Dean smiled as the woman pulled a panini out of thin air. "You're the best!" He gushed as he took the plate.
Mrs. Butters smiled indulgently, "Oh, well thank you. Eat up, dear. You'll need your strength so we can go kill Jo and Jack."
Dean looked up from his sandwich, "Excuse me?"
"I've got them downstairs, trapped," she explained as she pulled out an angel blade.
Dean smiled as he took a bite of his sandwich, "Oh."
"You, Sam and Lorna don't need to be afraid anymore. I will not let what happened to the others happen to you," she told him.
Dean swallowed the bite of the sandwich before putting the plate down and giving the sandwich one last loving glance before turning to the wood nymph and saying angrily, "dammit we had a good thing going so of course, you had to go full Nurse Ratchet."
"Well, I don't know what that means, but Dean, they're monsters. Jack killed your mother, for heaven's sake!"
"Yeah. That's, uh…" He said as he look at the woman across from him. "Tell you what we're gonna do. We'll go downstairs…"
The wood nymph nodded her head in agreement, "right."
"We'll let Jo and Jack go and forget this ever happened." He finished.
Mrs. Butters sighed, "I was afraid you would say that." Dean didn't have time to react before she flicked her wrist and they were transported to the dungeon and he was being shoved through the door before adding, "I'd hoped for better from you Dean. Obviously they infected you. Just like the serpent in the garden..."
Dean stood up as he went to rush the woman but just like Jack and Jo he found himself frozen where he stood. "Hey. Wait. No...no...no...no!"
"Just like Eve seduced Adam." She told him in disgust as she closed the door.
Dean watched as they were being locked in and shouted, "don't!" Suddenly Dean's legs moved and he fell forward as she locked the door. "Son of a bitch," he hissed as he rolled over and saw Jo and Jack as sitting on the floor staring at him.
Dean shrugged his shoulders, "hey guys I'm here to rescue you both."
Jo rolled her eyes, "no offense Honey but this is the worst rescue in the history of rescues."
SPNSPNSPN
Lorna and Sam walked hand and hand into the map room where Mrs. Butters was waiting for them."
"Bit past your curfew you two," she chided them.
Sam gave her a tight smile, "right…sorry. Where is everyone?"
The woman smiled, "well… I have some good news and some bad news…."
SPNSPNSPN
Sam and Lorna stared dumbfounded at Mrs. Butters in shock. Sam schooled his features and said, "so Jack has taken over Dean's mind."
"Yes, and Joanna a has seduced him."
"And they're all downstairs?" Lorna asked wondering how things could have turned so quickly but followed Sam's lead.
"Yes Dear," she told the younger woman.
"Right now? Ready to be killed by us?" Sam confirmed.
Mrs. Butters smiled at Sam, "you were always the smart one. Yes."
Sam nodded his head, "right. Okay…I'm really glad you caught them."
"Oh, it's no trouble," she preened.
Sam returned her smile, "okay well Lorna and I need to get our guns in our rooms and we'll meet you downstairs."
Mrs. Butters clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "wonderful!"
"Yeah, wonderful," Sam repeated as he arched an eyebrow at Lorna who eagerly nodded her head in agreement as they both turned and started out of room.
"Oh Lorna, Dear." Mrs. Butters called out to her.
Lorna stopped and looked over her shoulder, "yes?"
"Maybe you should change Dear. We wouldn't want to get blood on your dress."
"Good idea," she said as she forced a smile on her face before following Sam out of the room.
SPNSPNSPN
Lorna came rushing into Sam's room as she finished pulling her tee shirt over her head while Sam was speaking to Dean.
"Hold on Lorna's here, I'm going to put you on speakerphone." He said as clicked the speaker button on his phone.
"I still don't understand why you didn't call us," Sam said as he put his phone down before shrugging off his coat and yanking his sweater vest off.
"Well, I figured you were practicing your hand to hand combat routines," they heard Dean quipped. Lorna rolled her eyes when she heard Jo snorting in amusement in the background.
Sam glared at his phone, "and that's more important than coming to save you guys?"
"Well it's been a while since you've gone on a date…" Dean said.
"And Lorna put on a dress and everything," Jo piped in.
"Alright, alright. Whatever," Sam snapped wondering if his brother or Jo would ever grow up.
"Okay you two you can make all your lewd remarks after we figure out how to stop her." Lorna said as Sam kicked off his loafers and slipped on his boots.
"I don't know. Try shooting her," Dean huffed in annoyance.
"Right. Of course," Sam said as picked up his gun while Lorna pulled hers out from her back holster and checked the clip. "Wait. Will this even work?" He asked his brother.
"How the Hell do I know? You were the one that was gonna look into this," Dean argued.
Sam shook his head, "no Dean...we all were gonna look into it and then we had Christmas, Thanksgiving and that breakfast for Boxing Day."
"Oh, that was the best omelet I've ever had in my life," Dean sighed into the phone.
"Don't forget the waffles with the warm syrup," Jo shouted into the phone.
Sam and Lorna both shrugged the shoulders as they agreed with the other couple that breakfast was amazing.
"Okay we all got sucked into the amazing meals...cakes...cookies..." Lorna admitted.
"The smoothies were really good too...except for the stuff she added to suppress our powers," Jack added.
"Okay were getting off track...look you two go down to the boiler room," Dean said.
"The boiler room?" Sam and Lorna said at the same time ignoring Jo's 'jinx'.
"Yes the boiler room...look if hitting standby pulled her out of some sort of suspended animation then..." Dean reasoned.
Sam grinned, "Right, of course. Alright. We'll call you back," Sam said as he clicked off his phone as the couple made their way towards the boiler room.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean walked over and looked at the handcuffs on Jack and Jo. "Dammit, I can't believe she uses the damn angel handcuffs on you both."
"What now?" Jack asked.
"We need to figure a way out of this room," Dean told him.
"I don't think Jo has the power to do it but I may be able to tap into my power and..."
"Jack no," Jo said quickly, "that would be like a beacon for Chuck...taping into your powers like that. It's too dangerous."
Dean nodded his head, "she's right. It would be tipping our hand too much."
"I have a job, a mission!" Jack argued.
Dean stared at the younger man in shock, "Jack...stop it...we'll fig..."
"Do you still think I'm a monster?" the Nephilim asked as he cut Dean off.
Dean saw the way Jo was watching him. He had thought that Jack and he were on a little better standing but maybe not. He tried to give Jack a reassuring smile as he spoke to him honestly. "Okay, I'm just going to say this, okay? Just get it out there. Jack. I'm trying, okay? I really am. But what you did, that's not easy to forget. Now I was angry with you, for a while. And maybe I still am a little bit, okay? But I'm not gonna let some evil Mary Poppins take you out. Do you understand?"
Jack nodded his head as he returned Dean's smile. "Okay...so how are we going to get out of here?"
SPNSPNSPN
Sam and Lorna quickly went down the corridor and decided to cut through the map room to get to the main stairway to get to the boiler room since it was the fastest way. They both stopped when they saw Mrs. Butters standing waiting for them.
"Samuel, Lorna? What are you two doing?" She asked.
"Oh umm...we were just...ummm coming to look for you," Lorna said as she gave the other woman a sickly sweet smile.
Mrs. Butters cocked her head slightly and signed, "Oh Lorna...Samuel...I'm not mad. I'm disappointed," she said as she spun two chairs around and the hunters found themselves forced to sit down. "Well you know, when they first found me, I didn't really understand the importance of this place either or of your jobs. But, after Mr. Cuthbert explained it to me, I realized that keeping my family safe was the most worthwhile occupation in the entire world."
"Don't you see this isn't how you do that," Sam argued.
"Oh but it is," Mrs. Butters corrected him. "Yes it is and because you two are my favorites, I won't give up on you. Not yet. That is why I am going to help you both understand just the way Mr. Cuthbert helped me."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo stood back as she watch Dean lining up an archangel blade to try and break the handcuffs off of Jack, "Honey...I don't know about this." She said as she frowned at the men.
Jack shot a look at Jo and saw the concern on her face before turning to Dean and asking nervously, "wait. You're sure this is gonna work?"
"Let's say yes. Okay," he told them with a grin. Dean pulled back and slammed the blade into the handcuffs and winced when Jack went flying backwards into the wall. "Dang it!" he cried as he went over to help the younger man up.
Jack shock his head as he mumbled, "ugh...that hurt."
"Dang! Damn it! Damn it! 'Language' my ass. Come on, pal," Dean said as he reached down to help him stand up. "You alright? Look there's no way those things are coming off without the key."
Jack accepted Dean's help as he stood up, "should we wait for Sam?"
Jo joined them. She shared a look with Dean and nodded her head as he explained, "Sam and Lorna should have been here by now."
Jack swallowed as he realized what Dean was saying, "oh."
Dean smile as he slapped Jack on the shoulder, "but I have another idea."
SPNSPNSPN
Mrs. Butters stood in front of the Sam and Lorna. "Now, lesson one. Jack is Lucifer's son. Therefore Jack is a monster! I've already had one monster take my family from me. I won't have it happen again."
"Jack's not a monster!" Sam argued.
"And what about Jo? Why are you doing this to her?" Lorna asked as she fought against her bindings.
Mrs. Butters sighed, "Jo has the same power running through her. She may not have the same strength as Jack but she been corrupted by the power inside of her!"
Sam swallowed the lump in his throat…the really had underestimated the woman in front of him, "what do you mean?"
Mrs. Butters tsked at Sam, "you five have been keeping secrets…but you didn't realize I could sense everything. I could sense what Jack is and that I could sense Jo shouldn't be here…that she's been risen from the dead. That I could accept…the way I accepted that you and Dean have also been brought back…but the power flowing through her…no she's a monster too….and so isn't the child she bore."
Sam shook his head, "you're wrong Jack isn't a monster…he's a kid and…"
"No! He is not a kid!" She screamed. "He has blood on his hands. I can smell it. Now, Mr. Cuthbert taught me that pain can be a wonderful teacher. Let's see if it can't correct your ways. Ohh. This is going to hurt me a lot more than it is going to hurt you."
Lorna watched in horror as the other woman used her powers to begin to pull of f Sam's fingernails.
SPNSPNSPN
"Dean this is crazy….it's like a bad stunt they would have done on 'Jackass'." Jo said as she followed her companions towards the door.
"It'll be fine," Dean reassured her before saying to Jack. "Alright, now remember, pain is just weakness leaving the body. On three. Here we go. One. Two…"
Jo gaped as Dean drove the angel blade as hard possibly into the cuffs and watched as the reaction caused Jack to fly backwards into the door, causing it to fly off its hinges.
Jack groaned as he laid sprawl across the floor, "owww," he cried as he looked up as Dean rushed towards him.
"Hey. I told you it would work," he crowed before reaching down to help Jack up. "Not so bad, right. Alright…come on. Let's go." He urged as they raced down the hall towards the stairway that would bring them to the boiler room.
SPNSPNSPN
"Please stop it," Lorna begged as she took in Sam's bloody fingers.
"I will once you all understand," Mrs. Butters told her. "Jack may not want to kill you now, but he will. It's in his nature! The sooner you accept this, the sooner we can be done!"
SPNSPNSPN
Dean, Jo and Jack made their way down the stairs into the boiler room. Dean grabbed a hammer from a workbench before stomping towards the control panel and smashing the reset button.
The three looked around as lights powered down and the emergency lights flickered to life as an alarm began to blare.
"Okay that should have done it…let's go grab the damn key and get those cuffs off of you both." Dean said as he tossed the hammer aside.
SPNSPNSPN
The trio stood outside the entrance to the map room, all checking their clips before aiming their guns forward and rushing the room.
The stopped when they saw Lorna and Sam still bound to their chairs. Sam looked up and gave a weak smile, "Dean."
Dean hurried over to his brother as Jo went to Lorna to cut away her binders as Dean worked on Sam's and he asked his brother, "she gone?"
"Yeah," Sam as he accepted Dean's hand and stood up.
Dean grinned at his small family, "it worked…problem solved!"
Sam cocked his head at his brother in annoyance and held his hands up to show him the bloody tips as he said, "yeah problem solved."
"Oh wow…yeah that looks like it hurts." Dean said.
"Dean…I swear…" Sam started.
"Ummm guys," Jack cut in as he looked up and saw the sigils around the boarder of the ceiling began to glow.
The four hunters turned towards Jack who was pointing towards the ceiling.
"Oh shit…" Jo said as she went and stood by Jack.
"Language Joanna," Mrs. Butters reprimanded as she walked back into the room and added, "you have all been very bad!"
Before any of them could pull out their guns Mrs. Butters lifted her arms and flicked her wrists sending the five of them flying across the room.
"Okay," Lorna gasped as she struggled to stand up. "I'm getting sick of being tossed around like a rag doll."
"Ditto," Jo agreed as she slowly got up with Jack's help.
Mrs. Butters rushed towards Jack and Jo crying, "I'm not going to fail. Not again! You thought you could destroy us? Destroy our family?!"
"No," Jack shouted as Jo pushed him behind her and placed her between Jack and Mrs. Butters.
"I wasn't there for them before. But now I am going to stop you both from hurting them!" She told them as she raised her hands towards Jack and Jo.
"No! No! Mrs. Butters please listen to us you can't do this!" Sam said as him and Lorna stood on one side of Jo as Dean stood on the other side of his wife.
"Oh, Samuel, you will thank me…you all will thank me eventually." She reasoned.
"You hurt them, you hurt us." Sam told her.
"Sam's right…you say you're protecting your family…Jo's my wife…Ami's my daughter…Jack they're my family…our family," Dean told the wood nymph.
"No, they infected you! I have to keep you safe." She explained.
"By trying to kill the people we care about?" Sam asked….seeing the small glimmer of doubt clouding the older woman's eyes.
"I….he….they're monsters! That's why Mr. Cuthbert said I couldn't go back to my forest, because of things like that!" She told them.
"No. Mr. Cuthbert used you, okay? He lied to you. Mr. Cuthbert tortured you." Sam said as he took a step towards the woman.
"Real family doesn't use you as a personal cook and maid. Convince you that's all you're meant for." Lorna added. "It's why Jo and I insisted we all help around here…insisted you join us…not serve us."
Mrs. Butters shook her head slightly as she began to cry.
Dean joined his brother as he told her, "he can save the world."
"What?" She asked in shock.
"He can save the world." Dean repeated before adding, "that's why were here, isn't it? Us, the Men of Letters. That's the whole mission, is saving the world. He can do exactly that!"
Mrs. Butters broke down sobbing as the lights came back on and the emergency lights turned off. Finally she looked up and said, "I just… I miss them so much."
SPNSPNSPN
Mrs. Butters waved her hand over Sam's hands and restored his fingernails. "I am so sorry Samuel. I'm so sorry everyone."
Jo reached over and squeezed her hand, "we know."
"It's okay. Really." Jack told her.
The woman smiled at them, "thank you."
Sam look at his brother before asking , "Mrs. Butters, you said Cuthbert convinced you to come work for them but…you just wanted to go back home didn't you?"
Mrs. Butters smiled wistfully, "oh yes I did."
Dean cocked his head slightly and he saw Jo give him a quick head nod. Sighing he asked, "And now?"
"Ohh. I would love to see the… the woods again. See the sun streaming through the trees. Oh, you all would love it. Creeks and animals, snow and… Oh, I'm getting carried away." She gushed.
Jack grinned as he announced, "then it's settled."
SPNSPNSPN
The others stood with Mrs. Butters she placed her suitcase down. "Sadly, without my magic the bunker will revert to standby mode. So…" She explained.
Dean draped his arm over Jo's shoulder. "Yeah well, things were getting too easy anyway. Besides who needs a monster radar? Or whatever that telescope thing is."
"It's an inter-dimensional geoscope," told him as she fixed her hat.
Sam looked at her in confusion before looking over his shoulder towards the telescope and asking, "it's a… what?"
"I looked in it earlier. I didn't see anything." Dean said.
Mrs. Butters paused putting on her gloves as she murmured, "oh that's not good."
Jack stepped forward and handed the wood nymph a photo of the previous Men of Letters he had taken down before the others had come in and gave it to Mrs. Butters.
Mrs. Butters looked down at the photo and smiled, "oh, look what you've done. Oh, I shall treasure it always." She said as she wiped away hers tears and straightened her shoulders. "Well, I guess it's time. It...oh, Dean, eat your vegetables. And Sam… cut your hair. And Jack… go save the world. And Lorna...please try wearing a dress more often. And Jo..." She said as she gave the blonde huntress a smile, "Well Dear...I'm so happy you're no longer a woman of ill repute now that you and Dean are married. Well, goodbye, I'll miss you all."
"Really...you do know what Lorna and Sam are up to...right. Why isn't Lorna a..." Jo grumbled but stopped when Mrs. Butters snapped her fingers. "We'll miss you too and your crazy 1950s ideals." Jo said sadly as Dean chuckled and kissed her temple.
"Nice...throw me under the bus," Lorna teased as she looped her arm through Jo's. "Come on you...we have training to do...we need to work off all that rich food, especially Sam's birthday cake and yours and Dean's wedding cake."
Dean turned towards Jack and Sam, "I have some things I need to do. See you later." He told them before taking off in the opposite direction while Sam and Jack.
Jack looked at Sam, "Dean said Mrs. Butters tricked him by telling him about a Rockford Files marathon and nobody should use Jimbo that way."
Sam snorted, "well I have to agree with Dean on that."
Jack nodded his head before asking, "but who is Jimbo?"
Sam shook his head as he wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulders, "Dean really is slacking on introducing you to classic tv. Come on, it's time you meet Jim Rockford, Rocky, Dennis and Angel."
Jack's eyes lit up, "there's angels in this show?"
Sam laughed, "I'll let you be the judge of that."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo and Lorna smiled indulging as Jack told them about the wonders of Jim Rockford. "And his trailer that he lives in is parked at the beach so he can be near the ocean…and he drives a Firebird! I would love to have one just like him!"
"Don't let Dean hear that…he would be offended on Baby's behalf." Jo told him as she reached up and brushed popcorn out of Jack's hair. "How did you get popcorn in your hair?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders as Jo continued to groom him as Jack took a sip of beer. Lorna gasped when she saw Jo lick her thumb and go to clean some chocolate off of Jack's face. "I think you need a mother hen intervention," she told her friend as she grabbed her hand. "Seriously you were just going to use mom spit to clean Jack's face!"
Jo looked at her friend before looking down at her saliva covered thumb, "oh man…. I need help."
Sam and Lorna laughed as Jo wiped her thumb on her jeans. Jack looked at the couple in confusion. He didn't mind Jo taking care of him. He figured that's what Moms did and that his mother would have done things like that if she was alive. He liked that Jo mothered him.
He went to let the others know this but stopped when Dean came into the map room wearing his apron and carrying a covered cake dish.
"Alright everyone…" Dean said as he joined them..
Sam smirked at his brother as he told the others, "He loves that apron."
"I think he looks sexy in it," Jo purred as she gave Dean a wink and mouthed 'later.
Dean grinned at his wife as he put the cake dish down in front of Jack before continuing, "Now, Mrs. Butters was right about somethings. Like we are busy…sometimes a little too busy. But right now…it's time to celebrate somebody's birthday that we missed because we were to busy to celebrate it when it rolled around originally."
The others watched as Dean lifted the cover to reveal his lopsided masterpiece. A homemade cake cake with sprinkles and Dean's somewhat sloppy "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!" written across it.
Dean blushed slightly as he said, "I made it myself. Obviously. I mean it's…you know…not as fancy as Mrs. Butters makes them but…"
"It's great!" Jack reassured him as Sam reached into his pocket for his lighter to light the candle sitting in the middle of the cake.
Jack beamed as the others sang Happy Birthday to him before encouraging him to make a wish before blowing out his candle.
Jack sat back as Jo began serving the cake and looked over at Dean. "Hey Dean, am I old enough now for my own car?"
Dean shoveled a large piece of cake in his mouth and shrugged his shoulders, "don't see why not."
Jack grinned even wider as he announced, "that's great. I want a tan Firebird just like Jim Rockford!"
The others laughed as Dean's mouth dropped opened before announcing, "we're a Chevy family…no way am I parking a Pontiac next to Baby."
The others laughed as Jack attempted to convince Dean Baby wouldn't mind sharing a garage with a Firebird.
TBC
A/N 1...well Jo and Dean finally exchanged their vows. I hope people liked the song I had Jo walk down the isle to. Yeah I love Bill and Ellen but even Jo with all her emotions that she's still coping with had to acknowledge that they aren't really her parents and couldn't let anyone other than her Ellen actually walk her down the isle...well that is except for Ami.
A/N 2...I wanted Jo and Jack to have a more motherly and son relationship. I hope it actually isn't too weird for people.
A/N 3...Oh I'm a huge Rockford File fan and had to use it here. LOL if you're not familiar with the show you probable didn't get all the references but long before Sam and Dean there was Jim Rockford!
Thank you again for reading!
Val