Chapter 7

Jessie woke up a few times during the night, crying out in pain, delirious from the fever. Bobby didn't sleep well, every noise he heard he was up and in the room checking on her, until halfway through the night when Sam promised to stay up and watch out for her so he could get some sleep.

Sam got comfortable on a chair in the room, sitting vigil the rest of the night. He began to doze off just before dawn, even though he tried his best to stay awake. Bobby came in to check on Jessie shortly after Sam fell asleep, but she seemed fine, so he left both of them alone.

Jessie woke up a few hours later, about midmorning. She was feeling damp from sweating all night and all she wanted to do was get out of bed. Her left arm was aching, but it felt a little better than it had the day before. She glanced over at Sam, smiling slightly. She knew he'd spent part of the night watching over her, she'd woke up a few times, noticing he was in the chair. She felt a little strange about it, but she decided to worry about everything later, when she was feeling better. She wasn't really up to worrying about anything at the moment.

She eased herself up in the bed slowly, being careful not to hurt her arm. She was about to set her feet on the floor, when Sam woke up suddenly, watching her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, jumping in surprise. He was barely awake.

She couldn't help but laugh at him, even though she tried not to.

"What's so funny?"

"You are, Sam," she said grinning. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, which only made her giggle.

"I'm glad you find me so amusing," he said slightly irritated.

She climbed out of bed and walked over to him, patting him on the shoulder. "More like cute and adorable."

"And now you're patronizing me."

"No good deed goes unpunished," she said and winked.

He smiled. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"A little sore, but my fever seems to be gone."

"That's good. Bobby was really worried."

"And you too?"

He averted his eyes, surprised by the question.

"It's okay, Sam. I swear I'm not going to bite your head off."

He smiled uncomfortably. "Do you need help with anything?"

She sighed. "Actually, would you get my dufflebag for me, please? I was hoping to take a shower. I feel yucky from sweating all night."

"Yucky?" he teased.

"Yeah, I said it," she smiled. "Now are you going to get my bag for me?"

"Sure."

When she got to the bathroom, she was able to take her shirt and pants off, but she was in too much pain to take off her bra and she had no idea what to do about it. She would feel very uncomfortable asking Bobby to help her, but she would feel incredibly awkward asking Sam or Dean, but what choice did she have? She sighed loudly, waiting for Sam to bring her dufflebag to the bathroom.

When he knocked on the door, she opened it a couple of inches, sticking her head out.

"Is there anything else you need?" he asked while handing her the bag.

She took the bag, looking at him awkwardly. "Uh, actually there is, but, uh..." she stammered. "I can't take my bra off."

"Oh," he said blushing. "You need help with the latches?"

"Uh, no, actually," she said uncomfortably. "It's a sports bra so it's all one piece."

"Oh. Ohhhh," he replied, looking incredibly awkward when he realized what she was asking.

"Okay, no worries, Sam. I'll get it off myself."

"No, I'll help."

She eyed him for a moment, before letting him in the door. She felt very vulnerable standing in front of him with nothing but her bra and underwear on, but it made her feel a little better that he seemed to be feeling uncomfortable as well.

He moved behind her, gently lifting the right side of her bra, while she raised her arm then pulled back, finally getting her right arm loose. It was easier to take off the left side, even though he had to be careful. Once it was off, he held on to it for a moment, before moving to place it on the counter. He accidentally brushed his hand lightly against her back as he did so, causing goosebumps to raise on her flesh. He stared at her back awkwardly for a moment, before excusing himself quickly and left the bathroom.

Jessie stood still for a moment after Sam left, thinking about his accidental touch. She didn't want to feel anything, but she did, even though she tried very hard to deny it. She really did like Sam. He was kind, generous and thoughtful, but she figured that was probably just his nature, he would do the same for anyone who needed help.

Why am I thinking about this? she thought to herself. Once I'm feeling better I'll be back on my own and so will Sam and Dean.

She shook her head a few times and sighed, then took her underwear off and climbed into the shower.

Sam went running down the stairs and into the kitchen looking flustered. He glanced quickly at Bobby, who was busy cooking bacon, then looked away. Dean was sitting at the table watching him with a grin on his face.

"What?" Sam asked defensively.

"Did she bite your head off?" he teased.

"No," he replied averting his gaze.

Dean looked curiously at his brother, smirking slightly, but didn't say anything. He was enjoying himself just watching Sam acting strangely.

Sam sat down at the kitchen table in front of his laptop, opening it up. He needed to find something to keep him distracted from his thoughts. He was still picturing Jessie standing in front of him almost fully naked, her pale skin glistening in the sunlight coming from the bathroom window. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, only not accidentally this time. He wanted to kiss her lips, run his fingers through her hair and make her feel wanted and safe again. He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice his brother calling him, until he slapped him on the back of his head.

"Ow!"

"Didn't you hear me calling you?"

"No, Dean. What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"I asked what you were doing. You were just sitting there staring at your computer screen."

"Oh," he stammered. "I was up most of the night, guess I had the stares."

Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother suspiciously. He had a feeling there was more to his odd behaviour than he was saying.

"She's gotten to ya, hasn't she?" he whispered.

"Shut up, Dean!"

He grinned teasingly, but said nothing.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, then began surfing the web for something to hunt.

Jessie felt better after her shower. Her arm was still red and sore, but it looked much better than it had the night before. She bandaged it up lightly, then put on clean clothes; underwear, blue jeans and a baggy black shirt, leaving her bra off for obvious reasons.

She walked downstairs, pausing for a moment before entering the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was Sam, his face in the computer, then she noticed Dean, who was smiling at her coyly. She looked away then took a seat at the table on the other side of Sam.

"Good morning, Jess," Bobby said, slamming down a glass of water and two pills in front of her.

"Yeah, good morning to you too, Bobby," she said narrowing her eyes.

"Just take them. No arguments." She sighed, then swallowed the pills, while Bobby smiled and walked away.

"Good morning," Dean beamed at her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Dean. Thanks for asking."

Bobby came back to the table, placing a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Jessie. "Eat."

She turned to look at him, smirking sarcastically. "Runny eggs and burnt bacon? Is this what you call breakfast?"

He stared at her seriously, pretending he was offended, before laughing. "Yeah, just the way you like it."

"Thanks, Bobby."

Once she began to eat, Bobby made food for himself and the Winchester brothers. They mostly ate in awkward silence. Dean and Bobby both noticed the tension between Jessie and Sam, though neither would have admitted it. Bobby was hoping it was a good thing, while Dean was just amused.

After they ate, Bobby checked on Jessie's wound, not willing to take her word that it was looking better. But after his assessment, he agreed that it did look much better. She was pleased. That meant he wouldn't be keeping her prisoner for too long. She hated being in any one place for too long.

She helped Bobby with the dishes, then went outside to her car.

She started her car, then opened the hood, looking in. She checked the fluids first, oil, transmission and washer fluid, topping up the washer fluid since it was getting low, then began checking on a few different things. She was leaning, looking under the hood, just thinking, when she saw Dean pop his head under the hood on the other side. She sighed, standing up.

"What?" she asked with irritation.

"I was just coming to see if you needed any help with your car," he replied, both hands in the air slightly as if he was surrendering.

She eyed him carefully for a moment, before smiling. "I'm not sure my girl would like your hands inside her."

He smirked. "Your girl, huh?"

"Of course. All cars are girls. Didn't you know that?"

He laughed. "I bet she has a name like Betsy or something, doesn't she?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Now that would be silly."

"Yeah," he laughed with her.

"Why is it you'd think I need help with my car? Does having the hood up automatically mean something is wrong with it?"

"No."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I just like working on cars."

She eyed him curiously, mulling over something. "I doubt I need help since I did rebuild this engine myself, but you can always watch."

"I like to watch," he grinned slyly.

"Mmmhmm," she said rolling her eyes.

They stood quietly, looking at the insides of the car. Dean was studying the car, quite impressed with it. "Did you add the turbo charger, or did it come with the car?"

"I added it. Only way to out run the cops."

"And you carburated it?"

"Yup. I was sick of figuring out which sensor needed replacing any given day. Too damn much to go wrong. I only did that recently. The engine still isn't tuned right. That's what I was hoping to figure out today, since I can't do much else."

"Do you mind if I have a look?"

She gazed at him shrewdly, thinking for a moment. "I guess it can't hurt."

He flashed her a smile then began tinkering with the engine.

She watched with interest as he adjusted things. The moment her car began to idle perfectly, she smiled. "You did it."

"Did you have any doubts?" he asked.

"No, not really," she replied, then went into the car, turned it off and pocketed her keys. She stood there for a minute, thinking, before walking back to where Dean was standing.

"Thanks," she said awkwardly.

"No problem."

She looked at him a moment, pursing her lips in thought. "I mean, thanks for everything. You and your brother saved my life. I know I haven't made things easy."

"It's okay, Jessie. I kind of understand where you're coming from."

"You do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Losing family is difficult. I know that better than anyone."

"What did Bobby tell you about me?"

"Not much."

"Bullshit!" she said glaring. "The look on your face tells me you know more than what I confessed to Sam." Her voice began to rise as she spoke. "He told you everything didn't he? About my parents, my sister, my grandfather. Did he tell you what happened to him? Did he?"

"Jessie..."

"No, Dean, you answer my question!"

"He told us about him."

"Did he tell you how I killed him?"

He looked uncomfortably but said nothing.

"He did, didn't he? He told you how he'd been bitten by a werewolf the day he told me everything about my heritage, his legacy. Then he told me what was going to happen to him. He explained how I had to shoot him because he couldn't do it, because he needed time to explain everything. How would you feel if you had to kill the only family you had left in the world? Tell me how you'd still want to live and be happy. Tell me how that wouldn't haunt your every waking moment."

Dean grasped a hold of her arms firmly, gazing into her eyes. "You're right. I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like. But you can't go through the rest of your life hiding from everyone."

"Really, Dean? When's the last time you opened up to someone? Huh? Don't think I can't see that haunted look in your eyes."

"You're right," he said, releasing his grip on her arms. "But do you know what I have that you don't?" She shook her head. "I have Sam. If it wasn't for him...then I'd probably be more like you."

She stood still, thinking about what he said for a moment. She knew he was right, but it wasn't so easy to let go of eight years of pain and heartache. She just couldn't let someone in so easily.

She swallowed hard. "Thank you, Dean...for your help with my car," she said, slamming down the hood of her car and walking back into the house.

Jessie went upstairs, grabbed her laptop and flopped on to the bed with it. She turned it on, waiting impatiently for it to boot. Once it finally loaded, she began surfing certain news sites, looking for something to hunt. She'd been upstairs a couple of hours before she was disturbed by someone knocking.

"What?" she called irritably.

"Can I come in?" Bobby called as he partially opened the door.

"Yeah."

He walked in the room hesitantly, shutting the door behind him, then sat at the end of the bed. He looked uncomfortable, not knowing what to say.

Jessie could tell this was going to be a serious discussion, so she set aside her laptop and waited.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I shouldn't have told Sam or Dean anything."

She stared pensively for a moment. "It's okay, Bobby. I don't blame you."

"You don't?" he asked with surprise.

"No. I think you were right. I can't go through life like this, not any longer."

"Do you mind if I ask what changed your mind?"

She was quiet for a moment. "It was you, but also Sam and Dean. It's gonna be tough, but, you were right. Grandpa wouldn't have wanted me to live like this. I just wish I knew how to stop."

He smiled supportively. "It's not going to be easy, darling. Nothing in life worth doing is."

"You're right, Bobby. Thank you."

He smiled lightly, stood up from the bed, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I'll always be here for you if you need me."

She nodded lightly, watching him leave the room. She sighed, once he closed the door behind him, and picked up her laptop, setting it on her lap. She was going to do more surfing, but she couldn't keep her mind on it. She was busy thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days.

What she'd told Bobby had only been a partial truth. She wanted to feel better, learn how to let go of things, but the truth was, she had no idea where to start. The only thing she could do, was try to let people help her when they wanted to, like Bobby, Sam and Dean. She hoped the rest would come with time. She'd been so lonely for so long, and it wasn't until she met the Winchesters that she'd realized it.

Jessie came out of the bedroom shortly after her talk with Bobby. She sat in the livingroom, surfing, and talking with Bobby, Sam and Dean. She was trying her best to be normal, not that she knew what normal was, but she was trying. It was getting late when she decided to go in to town.

"I'm gonna head in to town and grab something to eat for us. What do you all want?"

None of them could quite agree on what they wanted.

"I'll go grab pizza, wings and salad. Is that okay with all of you?"

No one disagreed, so she grabbed some cash from her dufflebag, grabbed her car keys and walked outside. It was already beginning to get dark.

"Hey," Dean called from behind her. "Why don't you let me drive? You said you wanted a ride in my car once, didn't you?"

She turned around, grinning. "Yeah, sure."

He smiled. "Get in."

Jessie climbed into the car and put her seatbelt on, before looking around. She was pleased to see that the interior of the car was just as well maintained as the body of the car. She turned to look at Dean, who was grinning at her strangely.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just watching you appraising my car."

She smiled sarcastically. "I forgot. You did say you like to watch."

"Ha, that's funny," he replied with a grin.

"So, why did you want to drive me to get food? Was someone worried I couldn't handle it by myself?"

"No, that's not it. I just wanted to give you a ride in my baby."

"Really? That's all?"

"Well, that and I wanted to apologize to you for earlier."

"Dean..."

"No, let me continue. I don't often apologize, so..."

"Dean, really, it's okay. It wasn't your fault at all. It was mine. I overreacted."

He was quiet, not sure what to say and it seemed she had nothing to say either. He decided to keep his mouth shut so he didn't upset her further.

When they arrived at the pizza place, Jessie went in to order, while Dean stood outside by his car waiting. When she came out, she looked at him impatiently.

"They said they're busy, it's gonna be more than half an hour."

"I don't mind waiting."

"Okay," she said then walked back in. She was back out only two minutes later.

"Do you want to go for a drink while we wait," he said, pointing to the bar next door.

"No, not really. I shouldn't really be drinking while I'm taking the antibiotics."

"Okay."

She walked closer to him, leaning up against the car right beside him. "You can grab a drink if you want. I don't mind waiting alone."

He turned to face her, gazing deep into her eyes. He reached out, brushing away a few stray hairs.

"Dean..."

"I'm sorry," he said, jerking his hand away.

She smiled, pursing her lips in thought. "Look, I know that it was me that kissed you that night, not that you stopped me. But I haven't, uh, well, forget it," she stammered.

"No, what were you going to say?"

"I don't want to read more into your actions than I am," she answered awkwardly.

"I wanted to kiss you. Is that clear enough?" he said with a smile. "Now tell me what you wanted to say."

She began blushing slightly, looking away. "I haven't been that close to someone in over eight years."

"You mean you haven't..."

"No, nothing. That kiss we shared was the first kind of contact I've had like that since my boyfriend died."

He was trying really hard to keep how he felt from showing, but he did manage to grin slyly, which didn't seem to impress her very much. He knew she'd kept her distance from people, but he didn't think it meant she hadn't had sex either, and now that he knew, he was finding it hard not to be excited by the prospect of being her first in a long time. He knew he shouldn't think that way, but he wasn't thinking with his brain any longer.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't push."

She moved her face closer to his, placing her hand on his arm. "What if I said I wanted you to kiss me?"

He wasn't sure if it was a smart thing to kiss her, for so many reasons, but he could sense the need in her eyes and he couldn't resist. He just knew he had to take this very slow.

Dean put one arm around Jessie's waist, pulling her closer, while his other hand gently caressed her face. He brought his lips slowly to hers, kissing them slowly and softly.

She grasped him by the shoulders, kissing him back just as soft and slow, she didn't want to push herself too far, it had been too long and she was afraid of what he might think she wanted. All she wanted at the moment was a kiss and a tender touch.

After a couple of minutes, she pulled back, gazing into his eyes. She felt a bit awkward, unsure what to say. He was the one who broke the awkward silence, smirking slyly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"What, you need a compliment?" she teased.

"Of course. Was I a ten or what?"

She laughed teasingly. "Out of a hundred?"

"Ha, ha," he laughed sarcastically.

"I thought I should be honest," she continued to tease.

He grasped her around the waist, pulling her close again. "Maybe I need to show you again."

She wanted to pull away, but as she looked into his eyes, she couldn't. It had been a long time since someone had looked at her that way, desiring her. It had been way too long and she felt unable to fight it. She kissed him, much more passionately this time, losing herself in the moment. It was Dean this time that pulled back a minute later.

"Maybe we should check to see if the food is ready."

"Yeah," she answered breathlessly. "I'll be right back."

She was only inside the pizza place for a couple of minutes, when she came out carrying three pizzas, two boxes of chicken wings and a box of salad. Dean spread out a blanket on the back seat, where she placed the food carefully, then got in the car.

"Why did you get so much food?" he asked curiously.

"I like cold pizza for breakfast."

"Oh," he said and laughed.

She watched out the window as he drove out of town, heading back to Bobby's. He'd put some music on, but she barely noticed it, she was too busy in her own head. She couldn't get the kiss out of head, but what was disturbing, was all she could think about was Sam. She knew she had a huge problem, but she had no idea what to do about it. If she admitted to herself that she liked Sam, then she would begin feeling vulnerable again and she didn't think she could handle that. But if she messed with Dean, who she didn't feel anything more than a sexual attraction for, she might ruin any chance she might remotely have with his brother. She had no idea what she was going to do, but she had to decide soon before she messed everything up. Things had been way simpler when she spent her time pushing people away.

A/N: So, what do you think so far? Would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks for reading!