"This place was built in 1924. It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago" Jo explained as she read the blueprint while flicking a knife around. Sam and Kaylee were also sitting at the desk doing research.
"Yeah? What was here before 1924?" Dean asked pacing behind Jo, angry that he lied to Ellen.
"Nothing. An empty field" Jo explained.
"So, the most likely scenario… someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell" Sam theorized.
"I already checked. In the past 82 years, zero violent deaths, unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor. Would you sit down, please?" Jo snapped at Dean. Kaylee noticed Dean smirk before sitting down next to Jo.
"So, have you checked the police reports, county death records?" Dean asked smugly.
"Obituaries, mortuary reports, and seven other sources. I know what I'm doing" Jo snapped.
"I think the jury's still out on that one" Dean mocked as Kaylee watched the two interact and silently fumed.
"Would you put the knife down?" Dean teased and Jo did.
"Okay. So, uh, it's something else, then" Sam said trying to break the tension.
"Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it" Kaylee offered trying to forget about Dean and Jo and focus on the hunt.
"We got to scan the whole building" Jo said nodding to Kaylee.
"Right. So, you and me… we'll take the top two floors. Kaylee, you and Sam get the rest." Dean said standing up.
"We'd move faster if we split up" Jo argued.
"Oh, this isn't negotiable" Dean snapped before Jo and Dean left the apartment. Sam and Kaylee left shortly after.
"Look, despite what it… looks like. There is nothing going on between Jo and Dean" Sam said because he saw how Kaylee was watching them back in the apartment. Kaylee snorted in response to that.
"It's not what I saw Sammy, it's what I smelt. I could smell the attraction from the moment Jo saw Dean in the hallway" Kaylee said bitterly. Sam scrunched up his face at the fact Kaylee could smell arousal.
"So, what? it's just a little school-girl crush. You must have smelt that nearly every one of the females we have saved. Surely you'd be used to it by now?" Sam asked and Kaylee shook her head before sighing.
"You don't understand. It wasn't just Jo" Kaylee said silently telling Sam that she could smell Dean's attraction towards Jo. Sam opened his mouth to say something to help but shut it quickly when he didn't know what to say.
"But he doesn't love her. He loves you" Sam said finally and Kaylee sighed.
"Does he? The way he looks at her, the way he is… attracted to her. It's the exact same way he looks at me. The same way he smells around me. So, either he loves us both or he doesn't love me. He just loves the idea of being with a 'huntress'" Kaylee explained hiding her heartbreak. Sam went to pull Kaylee in for a hug but she stepped back.
"I knew what I was getting myself into with Dean. I knew this… thing between us wasn't going to last. I went in knowing this so I'm okay. I appreciate every moment Dean and I have together because I know it won't be forever. I have accepted that" Kaylee explained numbly before walking off, leaving Sam stunned and sad.
….
"So, are you gonna buy me dinner?" Jo asked as Dean and she walked down the hallway.
'What are you talking about?" Dean asked really hoping Kaylee wasn't listening.
"It's just if you're gonna ride me this close, it's only decent you buy me dinner" Jo taunted.
"Oh, that's hilarious. It's bad enough I lied to your mom, but if you think I'm letting you out of my sight… I don't know if you noticed, but your kind of the spirit's type" Dean snapped.
"Exactly" Jo said simply.
"You want to be bait?" Dean asked annoyed.
"The quickest way to draw it out, and you know it. What?" Jo asked when Dean scoffed.
"I'm so regretting this" Dean muttered wishing he had Kaylee knock some sense into Jo.
"I've had it up to herewith your crap" Jo snapped.
"Excuse me?" Dean asked as they stopped walking.
"Your chauvinist crap. You think women can't do the job" Jo accused.
"Sweetheart, this ain't gender studies. Women can do the job fine. In case you haven't noticed Kaylee is the best hunter I've ever seen and she is a woman. Amateurs can't. You got no experience. What you do have is a bunch of half-Baked romantic notions that some barfly has put in your head" Dean insulted.
"And now you sound like my mother" Jo said softly.
"Oh, and that's a bad thing? Because let me tell you…" Dean started to say before sighing.
"What?" Jo asked.
"Forget it" Dean muttered.
"No, you started this" Jo argued.
"Jo, you got options. No one in their right mind chooses this life. My dad started me and Sam in this when we were so young. I wish I could do something else. And Kaylee… Kaylee was born into this life" Dean explained softly.
"You love the job" Jo said.
"Yeah, but I'm a little twisted" Dean said.
"You don't think I'm a little twisted, too?" Jo asked sadly.
"Jo, you got a mother that worries about you, who wants something more for you. Those are good things. You don't throw things like that away. They might be hard to find later" Dean explained softly before turning on his EMF and walking off. Jo watched him sadly before sensing something behind her. She gasped and spun around quickly but nothing was there.
"What?" Dean asked appearing in the hallway again.
"I'm not sure" Jo admitted before Dean walked over to her and sniffed.
"Do you smell that?" Dean asked.
"What is it, a gas leak?" Jo asked confused.
"No. It's something else. I know it. I just can't put my finger on it. I wish Kaylee was here. She has the best nose for these things" Dean muttered before watching Jo kneel and the EMF radar went off near the vent.
"Mazel Tov. You just found your first spirit" Dean said putting away his flashlight and looking around the hallway.
"It's inside the vent" Jo explained looking into the darkness.
"Here" Dean said getting on his knees and using the flashlight to look into the vent before handing it to Jo as he pulled out a screwdriver and unscrewed the bolts, pulling the vent off the wall.
"There's something in there. Here. Someone's keeping souvenirs" Dean said putting his arm through and pulling out a piece of blonde hair attached to a piece of sculp.
…..