Chapter 11

Jessie stood inside the house watching the security cameras for awhile. There was no sound, though if she'd wanted to turn the sound on she could have, but she wasn't a snoop. She just wanted to make sure Sam and Dean were talking, and not killing each other. Once she was satisfied they were talking–and not just fighting–she went upstairs and began to change the sheets and pillowcases on all of the beds.

A few tears fell as she changed the sheets in her grandfather's old room, just as they always did. The house was her only sanctuary from the craziness of the world, and it was the only place she'd ever felt safe since she was ten. It was the only place she could be herself, her old self. But she was worried what bringing the Winchesters into her sanctuary might mean to her. She wasn't ready to completely let her guard down just yet. Especially after everything that had happened.

She was gathering up all the sheets and pillowcases into a laundry basket, when she heard the front door open and close. She hoped it meant the brothers had worked things out, she didn't want to get in the middle of it–again–but she would if she had to. She didn't know Sam or Dean very well, but she did know how much they cared for each other. Anyone who'd ever heard of them knew. Their relationship was almost as legendary as their exploits.

She carried the laundry basket down the stairs, carefully listening. It seemed quiet, almost too quiet. She lugged the basket through the livingroom and into the kitchen, where Sam and Dean were sitting at the table. "There's stuff to drink in the fridge. Help yourselves," she said as she continued carrying the basket through the kitchen, to a door on the other side of the kitchen. She set the basket down, opened the door, then slid the basket through the door with her foot, then closed it. She turned to the brothers feeling lilke she needed to explain. "I'm not in the mood to do laundry right now."

Sam and Dean both shifted uncomfortably in their seats, avoiding Jessie's gaze as well as each other's.

"What's going on?" she asked them with irritation. "Am I gonna have to kick your asses, or what?"

Sam looked down, while Dean chuckled, mumbling. "As if."

"You sure you want to test me, Dean? I'm still angry enough with you. I wouldn't mind kicking your ass." He looked at her defiantly for a moment, before backing down.

"Fine, but you do know you're both staying here for awhile, don't you?"

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Well, you see it's like this," she said with an unusal look. "You wanted to stick your noses into my life, find out more about me, so that's what's going to happen." The brothers glanced at each other uneasily. "We're gonna hang at my place for a couple of days. Until we find something to hunt that is."

"I need a vacation anyway," Dean joked.

She eyed him angrily for a moment, before she decided to ignore his remark. "I'm gonna head into town for a few to grab some food. I've always got tons of non-perishables, but I don't have any fresh foods in the house. Help yourselves to whatever, but stay out of the alcohol...and my underwear drawer." Both of the brothers laughed, but Dean felt uncomfortable because she seemed to be looking straight at him when she'd made the underwear remark.

The drive into town took about twenty minutes. It wasn't a small town, but it wasn't very big either. It was the town she most felt comfortable in, and the only one she actually knew people. Jessie had a lot of time to think on the way there and while she was busy shopping, she even ran into a few old friends from high school. She didn't stay to talk for long. She wanted to get back home.

She was setting the groceries into her trunk when her cell phone went off. "Hey, Bobby."

"What's going on? Did you find Sam?"

"Yeah, we're all over at my place now."

"What?"

"Don't worry, Bobby. We're just going to hang at my place a few days and get to know each other. You were the one who suggested that, right?"

"I was. But aren't you pushing things a little too quickly? Small steps, Jess."

"After last night I can't afford to take small steps."

"Jess—"

"I'm okay, Bobby."

"Come on, kid. I know you too well."

"I'll explain things later. Bye, Bobby."

"Take care of yourself, Jess."

Jessie pocketed her phone, then headed back to her house. She had even more thoughts running through her head on the way back from town. Just talking to Bobby brought up memories she hadn't thought about in a long time. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to jump right into everything so quickly, but what did she have to lose?

When she arrived back at her place, Dean and Sam came outside the moment she pulled the car up to the house and helped her carry everything inside. Once everything was inside, they also helped her put everything away. She rewarded them by making a quick lunch, since nobody had really eaten anything yet.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Dean asked smirking, as he set his sandwich aside.

Jessie smiled sarcastically. "Well, first of all, I'm gonna wipe that smug smile off your face, if you don't." The smile disappeared from his face quickly, making Sam smirk lightly. "And then, I thought I'd let the both of you decide what to talk about."

Dean and Sam looked at each other questioningly, neither knowing quite what to say. Eventually, Dean was the one who broke the awkward silence.

"Why don't you tell us about the time our dad saved you?" he asked hesitantly.

It wasn't the story she was expecting to tell, but she should have expected it. She bit her lip for a moment, took a deep breath, steadying herself. She looked at the space between the brothers, seeing past them as if looking into the past. "I was only ten years old. John had been to visit a few times in the days before, but I'd never actually met him. Like any young child, I snooped in on their conversations, when they didn't catch me." She grinned for a quick moment, then went on. "My parents sent me to bed early that night. I still have no idea why, but I always figured it was because they were expecting John. It was dark, but I wasn't tired so I sat in my bed playing with my stuffed animals. It wasn't long before I heard my mom screaming from the livingroom. She was screaming my father's name, but he told her to get me to safety. She never got away, because she let out the most blood curdling scream I'd ever heard." She paused for a moment, fighting back tears that were beginning to build in her eyes. "After that, everything went completely silent. I was shaking so much, but I took my favorite stuffed dog and hid underneath my bed, just like my parents had taught me to do. I was as quiet as I could, laying on the floor, watching from under my bed. Then I saw feet appear at the doorway. I held my breath, but almost right after that, I heard two gunshots and someone–something– fell to the floor. I was still too scared to move, even when your father came in the room calling my name. I recognized his voice, but for all I knew, he was gonna come kill me too." She paused again, fighting back tears, shaking slightly. "He knew the safety word, the one my parent's told me if anyone ever tried to help me, they would know. So I came out from under my bed, tears in my eyes. I still remember exactly what he said to me. 'Hi, Jessie, my name's John Winchester. I'm a friend of your mom and dad. I'm going to take you to your grandparent's house.' I remember asking him why, but he only smiled supportively and held me against his shoulder. He tried to keep me from seeing my parents' bodies as he took me out of the house, but I was able to see. That's the one thing I regret. I wish I'd never seen their mangled bodies lying there, their limbs in odd positions, blood everywhereš–the blank look in their eyes." Her voice began to crack, so she stopped speaking, afraid to trust herself to keep her composure any longer.

"I'm so sorry, Jessie," Sam said sympathetically.

"Thank you, Sam," she replied sadly. "I can no longer remember what my parents looked like before that night, except when I see them in pictures."

"I'm sorry too," Dean said honestly. She nodded in understanding. She knew he'd seen his own mother killed in a similarly horrific way.

"How was lunch?" she asked, standing up from the table abruptly.

"It was delicious, thank you," Dean said. Sam nodded in agreement. "Yes, thank you."

She cleaned up the table, stacking the dishes neatly on the counter. "Now that I've tidied up, why don't the two of you follow me upstairs so I can show you which rooms you'll be sleeping in?"

The brothers nodded in agreement, following her upstairs. She showed them to their rooms, allowing them to put their stuff away, while she waited. When they came back into the hallway, she looked at them wearily. "I'm tired and my head still hurts, so I'm gonna go lay down for awhile. You're welcome to do whatever you want." She glanced at Dean. "I have a satellite, so you can watch whatever you want." She turned to Sam. "You can use my computers, but just a fair warning," she said smirking. "No matter how hard you try, I'll know whatever you did on it, so...no looking at porn."

"I don't do that," Sam protested, glancing at his brother.

She laughed lightly. "But seriously now, make yourselves at home. And if I'm not up by five, someone come wake me, please? We have plans."

"We do?" Dean looked at her curiously.

"Yup," she said with a light smile. "Did you think I was gonna keep you prisoner here, or what?"

The brothers passed each other questioning looks, but said nothing.

"If that's all," she said as she turned around, walking into her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

Jessie woke up shortly after four, feeling slightly better than she had before her nap. Her headache was completely gone, but she still felt a little lethargic. She laid in bed for a short time just thinking, before she climbed out of bed and began looking for some fresh clothes.

She rooted around in her dresser and closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear. Normally she could care less what she wore, when she was hunting it had to be comfortable and not restrictive, but this wasn't one of those times. She always liked to dress more like a woman whenever she visited the place she was taking the Winchesters tonight, especially on a Tuesday night.

She finally settled on her favorite strapless, knee length, leopard print dress, fishnet stockings and short, black leather jacket. She also had matching leopard print, shin high boots, but they were downstairs in the closet.

Once she was finished dressing, she went into the bathroom and quickly gave herself a partial updo. The hair on the back of her head was up in a neat, curly mass on the top of her head, while the sides hung down in loose curls. She played with her hair, until she was completely satisfied with it, then put on a little bit of make up. She hated wearing it, so she used it very sparingly. Just enough to highlight her eyes and cheekbones, and a bit of concealer for a blemish she had on her forehead.

It was shortly after five when she was finally ready to come out of the bathroom. She stopped at the top of the stairs, preparing herself to go downstairs. She knew, if not both of them, Dean would eye her up and down. She wasn't looking forward to it, but it was inevitable. The amusing part for her was that she wasn't getting dressed up for him, or even Sam.

She walked down the stairs carefully, making sure her stocking feet didn't slip on the hardwood stairs, then stopped at the bottom in front of the closet. She squatted down, searching through the several pairs of shoes and boots, looking for her leopard boots. She finally found them at the back of the closet, hidden behind a taller pair of boots. She took them out, brushing off a little bit of dust that was on them, then sat on the stairs and put them on.

With her boots on, she was ready to find Sam and Dean. She walked into the livingroom to find Dean sitting on the couch watching TV. He was surprised when she walked in, doing a double take, his mouth open slightly.

"Wow," he said quietly in surprise. "You clean up nicely."

"Well, thank you, Dean. I guess that's a compliment, since you've seen me naked," she answered sarcastically.

He looked uncomfortably for a moment, but kept his mouth shut.

"I'm guessing Sam's in the computer room," she remarked.

"Yup."

"If you want to get changed, you'd better do it now. We're leaving in a few," she said while walking away. She heard him make a comment, but she couldn't make out what he'd said so she ignored it. She knew it was probably something she didn't want to hear anyway.

She walked into the computer room, stopping behind Sam, who was seated in front of her main computer which had three monitors.

"This room is amazing, Jessie," he said in awe.

"I majored in computer technology, what did you expect?" she teased.

He smiled, then turned around, laying his eyes on her for the first time since she'd walked in. He was shocked by her appearance, he hadn't been expecting her to be dressed up. "You look beautiful," he said hesitantly, afraid to insult her.

"Thank you, Sam," she answered with a smile. "We're going out. So if you want to get changed or anything you should do it now."

He stood up quickly and left the room without another word, while Jessie sat down in the chair, checking out her computer. A few clicks proved he hadn't messed with her security system or sent any red flags to her antivirus program, which was all she was worried about. She didn't really care what he was doing online. She set her computer in sleep mode, then headed back into the livingroom to wait for the boys, where she sat on the couch hoping they wouldn't take too long.

Dean was the first to come down the stairs. She looked him over as he walked into the livingroom. He was wearing what looked like a new pair of black jeans, with his usual t-shirt, button up shirt and jacket. He'd polished up his boots, they were much shinier than usual. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch from Jessie, still wary of her wrath. He knew she was still angry with him–which he didn't blame her for–so he didn't push his luck by sitting any closer.

"Sam might be awhile, he's almost as bad as a woman when it comes to getting ready to go out," he joked with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes, pretending to be offended for a moment, then grinned. "It didn't take me too long to get ready."

"That's because you have natural beauty. Sam has to work at it."

She laughed. "And you just don't care, right?"

"Ha, ha," he laughed mockingly.

"You don't like it when someone's as much of a smart ass as you are, do you?"

"I think you're stretching when you say, as much of a smart ass," he grinned coyly.

"Okay. I guess I should've said, a better smart ass, right?" she retorted, grinning triumphantly.

He rolled his eyes, thinking of something sarcastic to say, but Sam walked into the livingroom interrupting his thoughts. He was wearing a pair of dress black pants, a dark gray dress shirt and a jacket. He'd also shined up his boots as well. Jessie looked him up and down, perhaps longer than she should have, until she realized she was staring.

"You boys clean up pretty nicely yourselves," she said, standing up. "By the way, Dean, you're driving."

Dean took that as his cue to leave. He stood up from the couch quickly and left, his keys dangling in his hand. Jessie walked over to Sam, who'd begun to follow his brother, she laid her hand on his back lightly. He stopped, turning towards her.

"Did the two of you talk while I was resting?" she asked.

"We did, actually."

"And?"

He smiled lightly. "Everything's okay. We worked it out."

She nodded her head and smiled, then took his hand and pulled him towards the door. She released the grip on his hand as they reached the doorway. She let him walk out first, so she could lock the door and set the alarm. He waited at the bottom of the porch for her, then walked with her to Dean's car. He looked at her strangely for a moment, then climbed into the backseat, allowing her to get into the front.

She turned around to glance at him, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks, Sam. I didn't want to try and climb into the back wearing this."

"No problem."

She answered him with a smile, then turned to Dean. "Take a left at the end of the driveway and keep going until we get into town. I'll let you know where to go from there."

He grinned sarcastically. "Yes, ma'am."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but grinned at the same time.

Things were quiet inside the car for a few minutes, except for the radio, which was turned down low. Both brothers were wondering where she was taking them and why, but neither seemed to want to ask. Until Sam finally got tired of the growing silence.

"Where are we going, Jessie?"

Dean glanced at his brother in the rearview mirror, grinning in expectation. He was hoping she was going to talk to Sam like she always did to him.

"I thought I would take you to one of the only places in the world I ever act like my old self."

The answer seemed to satisfy Sam, since he didn't follow up with another question, however, Dean was still curious. But he decided to keep his mouth shut.

As they drove through the small town, Jessie directed Dean down one of the side streets, stopping in front of a large establishment called; Frank's restaurant and bar. She grinned in delight as she climbed out of the passenger side, waiting for the brothers.

"I expect you to behave yourselves," she said, looking more at Dean than Sam. "I've known some of the people here since I was young. So if you embarrass me..." she trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence to be filled in by their imaginations. The brothers shared a knowing glance, before following her into the restaurant.

The Winchesters followed Jessie to a table close to the bar, which was on the far end of the room. She placed her purse on one of the chairs and directed them to sit, while she walked up to the bar.

"What's a lady gotta do to get service around here?" she asked loudly, looking towards the door in the back of the bar.

A tall, dark haired man walked through the door, smiling brightly at her. "Jessie!" he called loudly, walking around the bar. He approached her quickly, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly, nearly lifting her off the floor. "It's so good to see you, honey!"

She smiled happily at him. "It's good to see you too, Mike. How are you?"

"I'm good. What about you? You know I always worry about you."

She touched his arm lightly. "And I always say the same thing, you shouldn't worry about me."

He looked past her for a moment, noticing the men sitting at the table where her purse was hanging. "Who're those guys?" he asked, gesturing towards the Winchesters.

"They're friends. Come on," she said, taking his hand and dragging him towards the table. "Sam, Dean. This is my old friend, Mike."

"Don't forget ex-boyfriend," he said with a laugh, shaking each of their hands.

"Don't listen to him," she said to the brothers. "We dated back in the sixth grade."

"Oh, so you must know her pretty well then?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"Yup, that I do," he replied, glancing at her teasingly. "But if I say anything I shouldn't, she'll kick my ass."

She slapped him playfully on the arm. "You better get back to work before Gina finds out you're slacking."

He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, still smiling widely. "Definitely. I'll send three beers your way in a minute," he said as he began to walk away. But before he got too far, he turned, looking at her strangely. "Are you singing tonight?"

She laughed. "It's Tuesday, isn't it?" He nodded with a grin, then walked back behind the bar. She sat down at the table, sitting across from the brothers, smiling.

Dean looked at her as if he had something to say, not sure if he should. He could tell by the look on her face that she was expecting him to say something. "I know you're probably gonna hate me for this, but it's nice to see you smile so easily, Jessie."

It wasn't what she'd expected him to say, it caught her off guard. "Uh, thanks?" she stammered, not sure what to say.

He grinned, slightly delighted by her speechlessness. "Now, what's this about singing?"

A waitress walked up to the table at that moment, placing three beers down in front of each of them, then took out a pad of paper and a pen. "Are y'all ready to order?" she asked, staring at Dean with a flirtatious smile.

"Not yet, Betsy," Jessie answered with irritation.

"Oh my god, Jessie!" she exclaimed. "It's so nice to see you."

"Can you give us a few minutes, please?" she asked flatly.

"Sure," she replied, bouncing away with a smile.

Jessie looked at Dean seriously. "I know you're a big boy, but you don't want to mess around with her. Trust me."

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously for a moment, but something in her look told him she was being honest, with no hint of jealousy. He nodded his head, then picked up a menu.

"Order whatever you want, guys," she said absentmindedly, while glancing around the room.

Betsy reappeared at the table a few minutes later to take their order. Jessie let the boys order first, then she ordered. The waitress was about to leave, but she glanced at her, speaking hesitantly. "Gina wanted me to tell you to behave tonight, Jessie. She doesn't want any fighting this time."

Jessie grinned, biting her tongue. "Tell her not to worry about me."

Betsy opened her mouth to say something, but thought twice about it. Instead she left to place their orders. Jessie laughed as soon as she was gone.

"Fighting, huh?" Dean remarked with a grin.

She smiled at Sam, who was watching her with an odd expression, then glanced back at Dean. "The last time wasn't really my fault," she explained. "Some douchebag decided to beat up on his girl, so I showed him what it was like to be beat up on."

"Was that the only time?" Dean asked.

"No, but I'm not the one who starts them. I just finish them."

Dean was about to ask more, but the waitress brought their appetizers to the table and he couldn't resist stuffing his face as quickly as possible, he was starving.

The three of them made small talk while eating their appetizers and after their meals arrived, but Jessie had noticed Mike had been watching her as if he had something to say. She got up from the table and sat at the bar in front of him.

"What's going on, Mike?" she asked bluntly. "It seems like you have something to say."

He glanced around before leaning close to her, speaking quietly. "Not here. I'll come sit with you in five minutes."

She nodded, heading back to the table promptly. She began to pick at her food, but something in the way Mike had spoken to her made her worry.

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she replied, continuing to pick at her food. She picked at it until Mike finally sat beside her a few minutes later.

"Is it cool to talk in front of them?" he asked with concern.

She looked at him strangely. "Yeah, they're cool."

Mike glanced around the room quickly, leaning closer to her. "Dennis won't be by to cut your grass anymore, Jess. He was found dead on his porch two weeks ago."

She looked at him horrified. "What happened?"

He glanced around nervously once again. "Look, I'm not supposed to know this, so you have to promise not to tell anyone."
"Of course not, Mike. You should know me better than that."

He nodded nervously. "His body was mangled like a wild animal had attacked him, but he was missing his heart."

"What?" she exclaimed quietly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, glancing around. "Only a few people know the truth. They didn't even print it in the papers."

"I'll look into it, Mike. I swear."

He nodded as he stood up, placing his hand on her shoulder lightly. "Thank you, Jess," he said as he walked back to the bar.

Jessie looked at Sam and Dean sharply. "He's the only one here who knows I'm a hunter, so let's keep it that way."

"No problem here," Dean replied quickly.

She rolled her eyes, before gazing at Sam sadly. "Two weeks ago, it fits the lunar cycle, but it's strange. Why only one person attacked?"

"I don't know, but we can look into it," he replied.

"We?" she replied, looking questioningly. "I don't know."

"Jessie—"

"It's okay, Sam. We'll talk about this later," she interrupted. "We're not here to talk about any of this tonight." He nodded, gazing at his brother knowingly.

She pushed her plate of food across the table in front of Dean. "If you're still hungry..."

He grinned widely. "Only if you're not going to finish it."

She smiled, shaking her head. "No," she replied, then stood up. "Be right back. She walked across the room where a mass of people were hanging out, talking, moving about. She was there for a minute, before heading back to the table.

"It's Karaoke nights on Tuesdays, boys," she said with a grin. "That's what Mike meant about singing."

Dean narrowed his eyes, grinning. "No way in hell you'll catch me singing Karaoke."

Jessie glanced at him laughing, then to Sam, who was laughing at his brother as well. She winked at Dean, grinning slyly. "That's okay, you won't beat me anyway."

"What do you mean, beat you?" he asked quickly.

"There's a cash prize for the best singer, and I don't often lose," she replied confidently.

"Sorry sweetheart, my game is poker or pool, manly games."

She laughed loudly, grinning. "For one thing, Dean, I could probably wipe the table with you at both of those games, and secondly, don't ever call me sweetheart again, or you'll be eating through a straw." Sam laughed, while Dean gave her a sour look.

"One of these days you're going to have to put your money where your mouth is, Jessie," Dean said with an arrogant smile.

"You're on," she replied with a wink. "Betsy," she called as she was walking by. The waitress stopped, waiting. "Bring this man some pie," she demanded, pointing to Dean.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to bribe me," he remarked with a grin. Sam gave him a warning look, but she laughed, flipping her hair aside, then walked across the room.

Sam and Dean's eyes both followed her, until the pie showed up, then Dean gave his complete attention to eating. The instant he was finished, and he'd set his fork down, Sam grabbed him by the arm, pulling him across the room. They sat near the very back of the crowd gathered around the Karaoke equipment, neither of them were too keen on Karaoke, but they were interested in hearing Jessie sing, even though Dean had already heard her singing in the car.

Several women and men sang horrible renditions of songs, most of them were drunk and could barely sing the words, even with them on the screen in front of them. Dean rolled his eyes several times, wanting to gouge his ears out. Sam felt very much the same way, but he was eager to hear Jessie sing. There were a few decent singers afterwards, but none were as good as Jessie was. Even the way she stepped up to the microphone seemed professional, but her voice was even better. Her voice was so beautiful and melodic, everyone in the bar quieted down to listen until she was finished. The crowd erupted in loud applause, Dean and Sam included. A couple of other singers followed after her. They weren't too bad, but they weren't as good as she was. When those singers were finished, it was time for the DJ to announce the winner of the hundred dollar cash prize. It was Jessie.

She walked up on the stage smiling brightly, accepting her prize graciously. While she was walking off of the stage, a slightly drunk woman approached her. "Why do you always win? Are you fuckin' the DJ or something?"

Jessie's smiled quickly disappeared, replaced by an angry scowl. "You better sit your stupid, drunk ass down, Marie, or I'm gonna shut your piehole for you."

"I'm not afraid of you, Jessie. Never have been," she said, suddenly throwing the beer from her glass in Jessie's face.

Jessie wiped the beer out of her eyes, then ran at Marie. Her boyfriend stood up between them, but she was too angry to stop herself. She swung at the man, punching him in the face, which sent him flying backwards. A couple of the man's friends stood up to defend him, people around were scattering, trying to get out of the way, while Dean and Sam were trying to get between her and the two men. She swung, punching the one man in the face, then swung around the other way in one quick move, hitting him squarely in the chest with an outstretched arm, both of them flew backwards hitting the floor. The boyfriend of the woman had managed to stand back up holding a broken beer bottle. He was staring at Jessie with rage. She stood still glaring at him, until he tried to slice her with the bottle. She dodged the blow, kicking him in the chest, which sent him flying backwards again. The bouncers had come to stop the fight, holding on to the two friends of the man, and another had approached Jessie hesitantly, but Dean and Sam reached her first. They grabbed a hold of her, dragging her backwards. She shrugged them off, glaring at the bouncers, then turned around, grabbed her purse and walked out the door.

A/N: So do you think everything is ok with Sam and Dean now? Or is this the beginning of something? And while I've had comments that Jessie is like the female version of Dean, who knows if he's ever been in a bar fight. I just thought that was an interesting touch.

Thanks for reading!