Chapter 3: Apple Pie & Heart-to-Hearts
And there is no why, there is no how, it's like the sky, just one free flow
But you're here right now, and this is your show, so take a bow, cos the show is on right...
Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds
Once again taboo becomes your law
What you want seems taken by another tide turning
Away from our flower field where we used to lay beneath the sky,
riding dreams to some other side
Do they burn, the wishes whispered, like secrets, they yearn, just to be heard
I'm done with questions, I have no answers, the choice is yours
"Heal My Wounds"-Poets of the Fall
Jo stood there. Why would her Mom think something was going on with her and Dean? They were just hugging. He saved her life back there. What was hugging your rescuer illegal in Lawrence all of a sudden? Gosh, that woman overreacted.
She still couldn't get over what her Mom had said about not getting any ideas about Dean. It really bothered her that Ellen had said he wasn't the right kind of man for a Harvelle.
Jo had never felt like that before about Dean, but the more she thought about it, she realized maybe she really did like him.
Flashes of "what-ifs" played inside her head. Dean slipping a silver ring onto her finger. Jo wearing a white wedding dress walking down the aisle at the church. Dean standing at the altar smiling at her with so much love in his eyes she thought she would cry. Then she saw herself again, but with a large bump in her dress while Dean had his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
It was beautiful. It was the life Jo always wanted. But the one she could never have.
A stray tear had trailed down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand, and made her way inside the house forcing the thoughts of a life with Dean Winchester to the back of her mind.
Jo walked into the kitchen where Karen Singer was working. Karen's apron was covered in flour. "Hey, Jo!"
"Hey, Karen! What are you makin' there?"
"Apple pie. Bobby's been begging me to make him one."
"Do you mind letting me make another one with you?"
"I don't mind at all, sweatheart. Grab an apron from the cupboard over there and let's get started."
Jo grabbed an apron and put it on. She washed her hands and helped Karen roll out the dough. "So, does Dean like apple pie?"
Karen laughed. "Dean likes apple pie more than he likes breathing. Without it, I don't think the boy would survive." She looked at Jo. "Why?"
"I just wanted to make him something nice to thank him."
"Thank him? I thought you two hated each other's guts."
"Well, he saved me from getting hit by a carriage back out on the road."
Karen's voice had a panic in it and she grabbed Jo's hands. She had never had children and treated Jo like her only daughter. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"I'm fine. Not even a scratch."
Karen breathed out a sigh of relief and went back to working on the pie. "It's a good thing Dean was there."
"Yeah, it was. So do you know anything else about what Dean likes?"
Karen smiled. "Hmmm, it sounds like somebody has a bit of a crush."
Jo stopped. How did Karen figure that out so fast? She'd just deny it. "Nope. I just wanna-" She couldn't think of a good excuse. Damn!
"It's okay, Jo. I won't tell anyone."
"Including Bobby?"
"Yes, including Bobby. I won't tell a soul."
"You better not," Jo chuckled. The two women went back to baking the pies.
It was a few hours later, but she was finally done and cleaned up. Jo beamed with pride as she held the fresh-baked apple pie in her hands.
She was walking over to the Winchester cabin. It was near the back of the farm by the woods where all the other workers' quarters were.
There were four log cabins in the back near the large red barn. The wooden cabins were nice compared to others in the South. They actually had wooden floors not dirt, and two rooms in each with a tall chimney. Sometimes the roofs leaked, but it was nicer than no roof.
There was the Turner cabin where Rufus and his wife and children lived. Then Ash's cabin. Ash didn't have a last name. He was an orphan when Bill found him, but he took him in when he was a teenager and let him work for them.
Then there was the Singer cabin, where Bobby and Karen lived.
Lastly, the Winchester cabin, where John and Dean lived.
Black smoke was coming from the chimney. Good, Jo thought. Dean must be home having supper. She walked over to the door and knocked. She heard a shuffling from the inside and then a yell. "Coming!"
Dean opened the door. He saw Jo holding a pie in her hands. "Jo, what are you doing here?"
"I came to thank you again." She stood there waiting. "So, you gonna invite me in or am I gonna be standin' out here in the cold all night?"
"Yeah, come in." Jo walked into the cramped cabin. She looked around and saw two empty beds. "Where's John?"
"He's out at the bar in town. Won't be back till later." They walked into the adjacent room. It was a small kitchen area with a wooden table. She sat down and handed him the pie.
He smelled it and couldn't stop the excitement from creeping into his voice. "Apple pie! I love apple pie! How'd you know I love pie?"
Jo smirked. "I have my sources." Dean smiled and grabbed two plates and forks. He cut himself a big slice and then started cutting a tiny one for Jo. "Hey! Don't be skimping out on me."
"Don't girls not eat a lot?"
"I ain't most girls, sweatheart." He cut her a big slice just like his and dug in.
Dean all but licked his plate clean. Jo was laughing. "Karen sure played down how much you love apple pie?"
"So that's who told you I liked apple pie?"
"Hey! I'll have you know I baked that pie all by myself."
"Yeah right! Karen made that."
"Believe what you want, but I can cook, too, Deano."
"So you really made it?"
"Sure did."
"Thanks then."
"Don't thank me. I'm thanking you by giving you the pie."
"For the whole carriage thing? You already thanked me."
"Yeah, but my Mom interrupted. Plus, I thought you deserved a little something nice. You almost died saving me."
"Now let's not get all touchy-feely, Jo. I'm fine." Dean moved to stand up, but Jo grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"But you could have been hurt, Dean."
"And I wasn't. Just let it go and be grateful."
"Well, thank you."
"Your welcome. So why were you out so far?"
"What?"
Dean leaned against the counter. "You were out pretty far down the road before I found and saved you, the damsel in distress."
"I'm not a damsel in distress." Dean smirked at her. "I'm not!"
He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. But answer the question."
"I was just taking a breather."
"A breather from what?"
"Life."
"Life? Cuz' life as a rich daughter of a plantation owner must be so hard," he drawled sarcastically.
"Life ain't always what it appears to be," she snapped at him. She stood up to go. "Nevermind, I'll just leave. Tell John I say hi."
She was halfway out the door when he grabbed her hand. "Wait! Sorry, Jo. Just come back inside and we'll talk about it okay."
She nodded her head and Dean led her back inside the cabin. He sat her down on his bed. He let go of her hand. Jo felt kind of sad because of that. She loved how warm Dean's hands were.
"It's harder than it seems. There's all these rules of manners and etiquette, and society rules every aspect of my life. I can't do this. Or I can't do that. I probably won't even have a say in who I end up marrying."
"I didn't realize it was like that, Jo."
"Nobody does." Dean grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.
While hugging Dean, Jo noticed a gun on a small side table by the door. She pulled away from Dean. "Is that a Smith & Wesson Colt revolver?"
"Yeah," Dean looked at her curiously. "How did you know?"
"My Dad has one. He never lets me touch it. I asked him to take me hunting with him, but he wouldn't. Just another one of the perks of society life for me."
Jo ran her hands over the smooth metal. She had always been fascinated with guns and shooting, but her father never let her go anywhere near a gun.
"I could teach you how to shoot. My Dad taught me and I'm pretty good. I wouldn't mind teaching you. We wouldn't have to tell your Dad."
Jo grabbed Dean into another giant bear hug. "Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Dean smiled. "It'll be our little secret."
Author's Note: Please leave a review. I know that the Smith and Wesson Colt revolvers didn't come out until 1860, but I can alter history a bit for the sake of Chestervelle:)
If you love Dean Winchester, please review!
