A/N: Thank you my wonderful betas, you know who you are ;-p and thank you for those who are following my story. Please don't hate me, things always have to get worse before they can get better. :-)

Disclaimer: Nope not mine even though I wish ;-p

Chapter 3: Selfish Choices and Heartache

The drive to the Roadhouse was uneventful. Dean had Led Zeppelin playing loudly. Each brother quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Breakfast had been awkward at the beginning, but then after a while Sam started talking about apartments and schools. He wanted to get their minds away from what had happened. Dean gladly followed Sam's lead in that conversation. He was happy and relieved that his little brother still wanted to stay with him . They cracked jokes and made fun of each other just like they normally did. Like if nothing had changed, pretending that nothing had happened, but neither could forget. They could just wear their usual masks when they were hiding their true emotions.

When they arrived Ellen greeted them immediately. She hadn't seen them since the final battle against Yellow Eyes. She gave them each a hug and noticed that something was off with them, but didn't dare comment. She knew how the guys were and figured it was because of their last hunt.

"Hey boys it's so good to see you again and lookin' way better than last time." Ellen smiled.

"Yeah we feel better too, although it feels bittersweet at the same time." Dean returned the smile. "How so?" Ellen asked. "We've been hunting our whole lives, even while I was at Stanford not everything was "apple pie" as Dean would put it. I always worried about the thing that killed Mom and Jess, then we figured out what it was. Now it's over and we don't have to deal with any of it anymore." Sam replied.

"A lot of families are safe now because of you boys. You protected those families from tragedy. All of us are thankful for that. I'm extremely proud of you boys and I know you Father is too. You finished what he started, now he and your Mother can rest in peace." Ellen got a little teary eyed.

"Thanks Ellen." Both boys said, their cheeks and the tips of their ears turning red.

"Okay enough with this, go into the kitchen. I made you boys some lunch earlier. We'll sit and have some beers later and we'll talk about this last hunt of yours." She pushed them in the direction of the kitchen.

Jo was washing some dishes when the guys walked into the kitchen. When she looked at them her smile was bright, especially when she saw Dean. Everyone knew she had a crush on the older Winchester brother, even Dean knew.

"Hey guys Mom told me you were coming. Your food is in the oven, you might wanna heat it up." Jo turned back to the dishes.

Sam got the food while Dean prepared their drinks and sat at the table. The guys ate while Jo watched them. It felt a little awkward, the guys weren't used to being watched while they were eating. Luckily Ash decided to make his presence known.

"Woah dudes when did you get here and why is there no food out for me?" Ash stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"We just got here." Dean replied before Jo cut him off.

"You were sleeping and you don't have any servants here, you can get your own food. Actually you can make your own food." She said handing him his plate harshly.

"Damn girl you've never complained before." Ash knew she was trying to show off in front of Dean. He just stayed quiet and let her rant.

"Whatever, next time you're doing it yourself." She walked away to her room to think of ways to make Dean fall for her.

Sam and Dean looked at each other. They hadn't expected an outburst like that from Jo. They looked at Ash, he looked indifferent.

"Does she always do that?" Dean asked.

"No, but since a certain someone is here, her attitude changes." Ash had another bite.

"Oh." Dean knew Ash was talking about him. Sam did too and felt a tinge of jealousy.

Ellen showed them their room, they decided to take a nap. Both still felt tired and needed to catch up on sleep. Jo was helping Ellen in the bar while Ash tried to flirt with the girls at the pool table. Jo kept asking her mom questions about the guys. Ellen was trying to stay calm, but her daughter was giving her a headache with all the questions.

"So Mom how long are they staying here?" Jo asked as she wiped one of the tables.

"I don't know, a couple of days. I told them they were welcomed to stay here til' they found jobs and an apartment." Ellen served beer to a customer.

Jo thought, "I need to think fast, I don't want Dean to leave." Ellen knew what Jo was thinking about. She knew she couldn't voice her opinions about the issue, her daughter would do the opposite of what she said. She just hoped that her daughter wouldn't end up with a broken heart.

Later that night the guys went out to the bar. They didn't dare drink, still weary about the night before. After a while they got bored of sitting around and helped Ellen run the bar. Jo flirted with Dean everytime he was near her. He would flirt back, not noticing Sam in the background. Dean knew Jo wanted a relationship with him, he was going to give her what she wanted. He would work up to it just so there wouldn't be suspicions. He didn't want to live his life like a lie, but he just didn't want to end up by himself.

Sam had to blink back tears everytime he saw Dean and Jo. He didn't know how he was going to live with his brother if he decided to hook up with Jo. Sam just couldn't picture himself with anyone but Dean. He felt like he was destined to live life by himself without anyone loving him back. He didn't know that pretty soon someone was going to make itself known and that they were going to love him unconditionally.

Around one in the morning Ellen started kicking everyone out. None of the hunters complained, they knew Ellen was a feisty woman. Sam, Dean, and Jo started to clean up the tables. Ash was passed out on the pool table. Dean and Jo were on one side laughing and messing around. Sam was on the other trying to ignore the other two. Ellen watched Dean and her daughter for a couple of seconds then noticed Sam by himself.

"Hey sweetie how are you doing? Had a good sleep?" Ellen cleaned tables with Sam.

"I'm good, still a little worn out, but that nap earlier made me feel better." He looked at her and smiled.

"Good. Well we're done here. Let's go have some drinks and relax." Ellen lead Sam to the bar, he sat on one of the stools. Ellen prepared everyone's drinks.

Dean and Jo were in their own little world, they didn't hear Ellen calling them over.

"So Dean how long are you guys planning on staying?" Jo asked dreading the answer.

"Um, til' we find jobs and are able to afford an apartment. Why?" He knew why she asked. "No reason, just wanted to know." She really didn't want him to leave.

"Okay." He had a decision to make. He wondered what Sam's reaction would be.

"JO! DEAN!" Ellen yelled over at them. Both Dean and Jo looked over at Ellen with wide eyes.

"Finally we get your attention. I've been calling you two for the past couple of minutes. Come over here and let's have some beer." Ellen said to them.

They sat around the bar. Sam and Dean looked at their beers wearily, then looked at each other.

"So Sam are you going back to school or just get a job?" Ellen asked.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking about it. If I did go back to school I would study something other than Law. Maybe Philosophy or Journalism." Sam took a small sip of his beer.

"You planning on going back to Stanford?" Jo asked hoping that they didn't move that far away.

"No, that's in the past. I would find a school near whatever apartment we choose to live in." Sam replied.

"And you Dean, what are you gonna do?" Ellen asked.

"I'm planning on getting a job at a garage. I love working on cars and I'm good at it." Dean smiled.

"That's awesome Dean! Maybe you can fix Mom's car up." Jo exclaimed.

"My car is fine just the way it is." Ellen defended. Sam and Dean just chuckled.

After an hour of catching up, everyone went to bed. Sleep didn't come fast for Dean. He had a lot on his mind, he kept thinking about his future. He made his choice and was going to tell Sam. He thought, "We're staying here or somewhere very near here. Jo's gonna be happy and we can start working into a relationship…I hope Sammy stays if only for a little while." He looked over at his brother and sighed, "Love you little brother." He whispered then turned over and fell asleep.

TBC...

A/N: Please review :-)