Chapter 16

Jessie walked into Bobby's house just after ten in the morning. She was greeted by a surly looking Bobby with an even surlier attitude.

"Where the hell were you, Jess?"

She swallowed hard. "I was following a lead."

"Why did you go alone?"

Sam and Dean walked into the room at that moment, wondering what was happening.

She glared at the brothers, then turned back to Bobby. "You need to stop treating me like a helpess child. All of you."

"What did we do?" Dean asked innocently.

"If you'd stop acting like a child, I wouldn't need to treat you like one," Bobby replied frustrated.

"You know what? I'm tired. So unless you're gonna make me stand here and listen to this, I'm gonna go lay down."

He stared at her for a moment, then turned and walked out of the room.

She glanced at the brothers, daring them to say something as she swept from the room. She went up to her room, laid down in bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Jessie woke up shortly after one in the afternoon with a headache.

She desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but she was wide awake and her head was pounding too loudly to allow her to. So she climbed out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom, then downstairs.

As she walked into the kitchen, Sam glanced up at her from the table, then looked back down at his laptop. She took a glass from the cupboard, filled it with water then pulled a couple of aspirin from her pocket and took them with the water.

"If you'd slept last night you might not have a headache now," Bobby said. He'd walked into the room unnoticed by Jessie only moments before.

"Yeah, thanks for that advice," she replied sarcastically.

Bobby glanced at Sam meaningfully, who stood up from his seat and left without a word.

"Bobby..."

"No, Jess. Sit down, please," he said, gesturing to the table.

She sat down at the table, then Bobby sat in the chair beside her.

"I'm sorry for being so short with you, kid," he said, sounding weary. "I'm just incredibly worried about you."

"I get that, Bobby..."

"No, you have no idea," he replied sighing loudly. "This thing you're hunting, it's an Alpha. You do know that, right?"

She looked at him pleadingly. "I do. That's why I need to do this alone."

"How's that?"

"I can't let Sam or Dean get hurt. This isn't their fight."

"Why should it be yours alone?"

She gazed at him sorrowfully. "It killed my entire family, Bobby. And now it wants me."

"Not your entire family, Jess," he replied with a supportive smile. "Look. I'm not used to this, uh, girly sharing my feelings stuff."

"You do alright," she replied with a smile. "I'm not your typical girly girl anyways."

"Yeah, thank God for that," he said with a wink. "But please—let Sam and Dean help you, kiddo. I want you to be around for a long time."

She sat silent and pensieve for a moment, before replying. "Fine. But I want it to be clear I'm doing this for you."

He grinned, patting her hand with his before leaving the kitchen.

Jessie rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. She wanted to relax herself, hoping the headache would go away. She was trying so hard to relax, she didn't hear anyone walk in the room and was startled by a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"What the hell?" she said as she turned her head quickly. It caused more pain in her head.

"It's just me," Sam replied. "Why don't you let me loosen up the knots in your shoulders? I'll bet your headache goes away."

She thought it might just be an excuse on his part to touch her, but a good shoulder rub did sound too tempting to pass by. She nodded her head in response, then relaxed again and closed her eyes.

Sam's hands were firm, yet gentle as he squeezed and caressed her muscles. It only took a couple of minutes to make her feel one hundred percent better, but it had been so long since she'd felt so relaxed, she didn't want it to end. She became so relaxed, she thought she might be able to fall asleep sitting up, until he pulled his hands off her shoulders abruptly.

"How's your headache?"

She opened her eyes, feeling slightly delirious. "Uh, gone."

He walked around to the other side of the table where his laptop was and sat down. "Good."

Jessie felt a little silly as she sat there with a mellow, happy grin on her face. But her smile made Sam smile back at her.

"Thank you, Sam."

He smiled in response, then turned his attention to his computer.

His attitude seemed a little strange to her, but she decided to push it out of her mind. She made herself a quick sandwich, poured herself a glass of milk and sat at the table to eat. She was almost finished eating when her phone rang. She took it out of her pocket, looking surprised by who was calling her.

"Mike?" she asked as she answered the phone. Sam's head popped up from his computer as he heard her speak, watching and listening intently.

"Jessie. Are you at home?"

"No, why?"

"It, uh, it's uh, Gina," he stammered.

"What about her?" she asked, feeling her stomach sink with dread.

"She's dead, Jess."

"What happened?"

"The same thing that happened to Dennis."

"Are you sure?" she asked, feeling her breath catch in her throat.

"Yes. Tom told me."

She felt tears developing in her eyes, making her self-conciously turn so Sam couldn't see her. "How is Tom taking it?"

"He's a wreck, Jess. They were supposed to be getting married in a couple of months."

"I'm so sorry, Mike. I'm gonna come by and see Tom as soon as I can."

"I think he'd like that, Jess. But..." she heard him sigh. "Be careful."

"I always am."

"Bye."

"Bye," she replied, ending the call. She wiped a tear from her eye absentmindedly, then pocketed her phone.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked with concern.

She looked at him, then looked away. His eyes were filled with concern, but she was feeling too guilty to allow it to reach her. She didn't think she deserved his worry. She knew it was her fault Gina was dead.

"No, it's not, Sam," she replied regretfully. "I gotta go." She stood up abruptly, trying to fish her keys out of her pocket. Her hands were shaking so violently, she was unable to grab a tight hold of them.

Meanwhile, Sam had gotten up from the table and stopped beside her.

"Where are you going?"

She glanced at him sorrowfully. "You remember the bar we went to?"

"Yeah."

"The owner Gina is dead. Killed."

"Hey," he said softly as he took hold of her hands. "What's going on?"

"She was killed by that thing," she replied looking up at him. "It's my fault."

"No, no it's not, Jessie."

"Yes, Sam, it is. It's taunting me. Teasing me. Playing with me. We have to find this thing and kill it before it hurts anyone else I care about."

"I'm not letting you go alone," he said, gripping her hands more tightly to make a point. "I'm coming with you."

"Fine. I don't have time to argue with you," she said, pulling her hands free of his grip. "Just grab whatever it is you need and let's go."

"Let me go tell Dean and Bobby where we're going first."

"No, Sam, I'm leaving right now," she said dangling her keys. "Follow now or stay behind."

He was torn between his loyalty to his brother and Bobby, and his feelings towards Jessie and a need to protect her.

"I'm coming," he replied as he hastily grabbed his phone from the table. As he turned to follow, she was already out the door so he had to run to catch up.

He climbed into the passenger side of the car and had barely shut the door before she drove off in a hurry. He immediately took his phone from his pocket and called Dean so he would know where they had went. He sounded angry, but he only told him to watch out for her then hung up.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sam asked tenatively a few minutes into their trip.

She glanced over at him quickly, a strange smile on her face. "Of course, Sam."

"Why did you let me come along?"

"If I hadn't, you and Dean would have come after me. You already knew where I was going."

"That's true. But you could have been long gone before we could be ready to leave."

She sensed he was fishing for something, but she wasn't quite sure what that could be. She'd been honest with him earlier, telling him she wasn't ready for any close, personal involvement with him, so she was stumped.

"I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at Sam," she replied suspiciously.

He was silent for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "It has something to do with Dean, doesn't it?"

She narrowed her eyes, giving him a sideways glance. "Why would you say that?"

He snorted in disbelief. "Answering a question with a question, huh? I guess that's a yes."

"Sam. This could end up being a very long, awkward drive."

He shook his head with a grin, snorting again. "You are so much like Dean it's unbelievable, Jessie." He waited a moment for a reaction. But when there wasn't one, he continued. "Changing the subject to avoid discussing what's actually wrong. That's his M.O. and apparently yours too."

"Nothing's wrong, Sam," she replied curtly, ignoring his comment.

"I never asked if anything was wrong," he replied, slightly frustrated. "I asked if something was going on with Dean."

She bit her lip lightly, fighting the urge to scream and tell him it was none of his business, which was her first instinct. But she knew if she was going to hunt with the Winchesters, she had to realize that anything that happened with one brother, was always the other brother's business. They were too close to keep secrets for very long. The other always found out about it–eventually.

"It's between me and Dean."

"Yeah, okay," he said with disbelief. "It sure sounds like it."

She was about to dismiss his last comment, but suddenly, something else occurred to her. "He said something to you, didn't he?"

"About what?"

"Now who's answering a question with a question?" she teased.

"Touché," he replied, then sat silently.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, before Sam had the nerve to ask her questions again.

"What's going on with you and Dean?" he asked bluntly.

She glanced over at him quickly, then sighed in frustration. "He gave me a warning."

"He gave you a warning?"

"Did I stutter?" she asked harshly. She hadn't meant to sound so angry.

He sighed with irritation, then shook his head. Once again she reminded him of Dean.

"Will you please stop avoiding the subject?"

"Since you said please—" she replied sarcastically.

He threw his hands up in frustration, then took his phone from his pocket. He called Bobby, making sure Dean had told him where they'd gone. He hoped the distraction would calm Jessie down–not that it had ever worked with his brother–but he had to try something.

"Jessie—"

"Dammit, Sam!" she replied with obvious frustration. "Why do you want me to talk about this?"

"Because it's bothering you and you should be able to talk to someone," he replied with a supportive smile.

"Who are you, Dr. Phil?"

He rolled his eyes heavily. "I'd swear you're reading a script of Dean's old insults and comebacks."

She rolled her eyes this time. "I'll make you a deal, Sam. You tell me what he said to you and then I'll do the same."

He turned to glance at her, studying her face. "He just warned me to be careful where you're concerned."

She snorted in disbelief. "I'm not surprised."

"What did he say to you?"

She breathed in deeply, choosing her words carefully in her head. "He's afraid I'm going to hurt you. He's only trying to look out for you."

He looked at her with shock. "You're defending him?"

"No," she replied quickly. "But that's what his motivation is."

He looked like he was going to say something more, but he didn't. He decided to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the ride, or at least until he was spoken to again. He needed time to ponder some things.

The car fell into an awkward silence that lasted the entire ride. Neither spoke to each other as they got out of the car. But as they approached the porch of a small white vinyl sided house, Jessie finally opened her mouth.

"I've known this guy a long time, Sam," she said with sadness. "He loved this woman very much and she loved him just as much. Please let me talk to him."

He shook his head in agreement.

The man they had come to see, Tom, answered the door with a long face, but managed a slight smile as he saw Jessie. He hugged her tightly, trying desperately not to cry. Then he invited her and Sam into the house.

Jessie talked with Tom, while Sam made an excuse to look around the house. After a thorough search, he found nothing of interest. So he returned to the livingroom, where they were still talking.

Jessie gazed at Sam expectationally, but the look returned was not promising. She bid her farewell to Tom, then led Sam from the house.

"I need to get in to see that body," she remarked to Sam, as they were walking back to her car.

"Then let's go," he replied nonchalantly.

"What, break in?"

He raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "You mean you've never broke into some place looking for evidence?"

"Of course I have," she replied. "But not here in this town. I know too many people here."

"Fine. Then drop me off and I'll call you when I'm done."

She thought about it for a moment, then opened the door to her car. "Get in."

He grinned then hopped in the car.

Jessie drove the car downtown, stopping a block from the hospital. "Don't get caught, Sam. You've been seen with me. I don't need the hassle."

"I won't get caught," he replied, smiling confidently.

She rolled her eyes as he climbed out of the car. She watched him walk down the street, then turned the radio up loud to wait for him to come back. She really hoped he was as good as he thought he was. She really didn't need anymore complications.

It was almost an hour before Sam returned to the car. The sun had gone down while he was gone, so she was uncertain of the look on his face in the darkness. But he wasn't running which relieved her.

He climbed into the car with a smile on his face. "Told ya."

"Now who sounds like Dean?" she joked.

He laughed lightly, but didn't respond to her comment.

"Well, you were right. It was a werewolf that killed her," he said grimly.

"Dammit!" she yelled, slamming her fist down on the steering wheel. "I gotta catch this thing before it hurts anyone else I know."

"We will, Jessie," he said calmly. "Just relax."

"Would you be able to relax if he was killing your friends and acquaintances?"

"No, no, you're right. I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Sam," she said, starting the car. "I'm just frustrated. It's fine."

"Would you like me to drive?"

She looked at him strangely, almost as if she was amused. "Normally I might get angry if someone asked to drive her. But I guess I'm in a charitable mood."

He smiled and walked around to the driver's side, while she slid over to the passenger side. After he adjusted the seat and mirrors, he pulled away carefully and began to drive.

They hadn't made it too far out of town, when she turned to him and began laughing.

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

"You drive like an old lady," she teased.

"I do not," he replied, feeling insulted. "I'm just taking it easy with your car."

"She's not gonna break if you drive over the speed limit."

"Yeah, okay, Dean," he mocked with a grin.

"Ha, ha, very funny, granny," she replied with a laugh.

He rolled his eyes mockingly and laughed, then reached his hand over the seat and took her hand in his.

Jessie almost pulled away as he took her hand, but she resisted the impulse, even though she knew she shouldn't. She knew she shouldn't be encouraging his behaviour, but it was only hand holding. She decided she could live with that.

As they were just outside of Sioux Falls, Sam pulled the car into a diner parking lot.

"Are you as hungry as I am?" he asked.

She looked at him strangely. "It is getting late."

"Then let's go."

She smiled and followed him inside, making a quick call to Bobby so he knew not to wait on them for dinner.

They ate and talked, having a very civil conversation the entire time they were at the diner. Jessie felt confident enough to share some things with Sam she never would have shared with a casual acquaintance. And he shared some things about his life that he hadn't spoke about with anyone else, even his brother.

They argued about paying the bill when it came. Jessie won the argument, but they came to a compromise. Sam left the tip for the waitress. Both of them were able to walk away with their dignity and pride.

As they walked to the car, Jessie had walked up to the driver's side, forgetting Sam still had her keys. She turned around to say something to him, but he was standing right behind her.

"Can I have my keys, please?"

"I thought you said I could drive," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"But you did drive," she said impatiently. "Now gimme my keys."

He held the keys up for her to grab, but as she reached for them, he raised them higher. Dangling them just out of her reach.

She put her hands on her hips, clearly not amused. "You've had your fun, now hand 'em over."

"You're tired. I'm not gonna let you drive."

"It's my car, Sam."

"Then get your keys," he replied, lifting them higher.

She glared at him, unamused. She knew he was too tall for her to reach them, but she didn't just want to give in. As she tried to reach the keys, she nearly tripped, slamming against him.

He caught her firmly around the waist before she could fall, then wrapped his other arm around her. He leaned in, placing his lips on hers, kissing her lightly. She seemed surprised at first, but gave in, kissing him back.

They kissed for a couple of minutes, until an old couple walked by them, the old lady commenting on how cute young love was. That was enough to break Jessie out of the moment. She reached behind her back, snatching the keys from Sam's hand.

"Get in the car," she said with a smirk.

He smiled and climbed into the passenger side, looking in her direction. She ignored him completely, backing up the car and getting out onto the road. He waited until she seemed to be calm before speaking.

"Are we going to talk about the kiss? Or are you gonna tell me it was just an act to get your keys back?"

She glanced at him quickly with narrowed eyes, then turned her attention back to the road. He was right, and she didn't like it. That's exactly the excuse she was going to use. He had her so completely flustered, she couldn't even come up with another excuse, so she stayed silent.

He laughed in amusement shortly after he asked his question with no response. He knew he'd finally gotten to her.

Everything was quiet in the car until they were on the road just outside of Bobby's house. That was when she pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out, walking around to the front of the car.

Sam got out of the car a few moments later, stopping beside her, waiting patiently.

Jessie looked at him with frustration. "Sam, I told you we can't do this."

"I know you did."

"Then what's the problem?"

"That's just it, Jessie," he replied wistfully. "You're the one having the problem with this, not me."

She gazed at him with disbelief and sighed. "You're not being fair, Sam."

"No, Jessie, you're not being fair. To me or yourself."

She smiled in disbelief at his audacity. "I can't do this job with distractions, Sam. So I have to choose between a personal life and the job."

"Why can't you have both?"

Her frustration was beginning to turn into anger. "Since when? I don't see you or your brother with much of a personal life, beyond yourselves that is."

"I know but—"

"No, buts, Sam!" she said sounding irate. "I don't know any hunters who've had a happily ever after."

"You're right," he replied calmly. "But if you don't try, how will you know?"

"I just do," she answered calmly.

"What about your parents and grandparents?" he asked. "It may have ended badly for them, but at least they had many years of happiness."

She stared at him with dismay. "That's not fair."

He closed the gap between them, grasping her hands in his, squeezing them firmly. "Fair or not, it's true. Why can't we at least try?"

She tried pulling her hands away, but he grasped them tighter and pulled her closer as she fought against him. "Let go of me, Sam."

"I'm not gonna do that until you hear me out," he replied flatly.

She lifted her leg to kick him, but he had been expecting that. He moved out of the way, then grabbed her tightly, pushing her up against the hood of the car. She was fighting under his grip, even as he leaned closer, placing his lips on hers. The moment their lips made contact, she stopped fighting and began to kiss him back.

It wasn't long before he leaned her back on the hood, kissing her passionately, one hand supporting her head, the other was under her shirt, grasping her bare shoulder firmly.

While the warmth from the engine–which she could feel through the hood–helped to warm her in the cool May evening, it didn't take long before the heat was too much for her skin to bear. She pushed Sam off of her at that moment, crying, "Stop!"

He backed off instantly, helping her up from the car. He stood a step away from her, breathing heavily.

"Sam," she said, still breathing heavily. "We can't do this, not now."

"I think you need to explain to me exactly what 'not now ' means, Jessie."

She sat down on the bumper of the car, waiting until Sam did the same.

"I know it seems like I'm leading you on, Sam, but that's not my intention," she said, shifting her position on the bumper so she could face him. "I really do have feelings for you. But, it's been so long since I've even had a friend, let alone a lover and I'm not sure if I can handle it."

He smiled supportively. "I think you can handle anything."

She smirked, shaking her head. "Maybe, maybe not," she replied unsure. "But what I do need is a friend. Do you think we could slow things down and become friends first, Sam?"

He sat pensively for a few moments, pondering her question. "Yeah. I can do that."

She stood up smiling. "Then shake on it."

He stood up, smiling back at her. "I can do one better," he replied, then hugged her tightly.

She was taken off guard by the hug, but she didn't pull away. She stayed in his arms for a few moments, until his grip loosened.

"I think we better get going before someone comes looking for us," Sam said with a grin.

She nodded. "You're right. Now get in the car."

A/N: Seems to me, that Sam has been taking pointers from his brother, doncha think? lol. At least they spent some alone time together. Who knows what will happen between them now.

Thanks for reading!