Sorry this has taken so long, this is why I usually write one-shots...
The ending didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, I had the third part in mind, but it didn't quite work out in reality. Hope you enjoy it anyway!
x
"I don't see why we have to drive all the way out here."
Sam chuckled at the pout in his brother's voice, "Ash says he has something to show us."
"He could have just told us over the phone, we're going back on ourselves." They were on their way back to the Roadhouse for the first time in three months, for the first time since the Harvelle women had left Dean in a motel.
"He says he needs us to see it for ourselves."
"Well you could go see what Ash needs to show us and I could carry on towards the hunt." Dean suggested.
Sam burst out laughing, "Dean suck it up will you? I never had you pegged for such a wuss."
"I'm not scared." Dean insisted, Sam eyed him sceptically, "I'm not."
"Yeah right, your not at all bothered that she might be there." Dean didn't even have to look at his brother to see the smug grin on his face.
"I don't know what your talking about. Just drive would you?"
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Dean wasn't about to admit to his brother that the thought of seeing Jo again was terrifying him. Since the last time he had seen her he had barely stopped thinking about her. He wasn't accustomed to being so consumed by someone, and now he found himself uncertain. Part of him wanted to apologise, needed to have her forgive him, but there was another part of him that was terrified by the effect that she had on him.
It had been three months since he had last seen her and she was still at the front of his mind. He kept thinking about that day and his stupid plan. How could he have forgotten that Ellen was coming out to meet them? He knew how, he could see that nightgown in his mind every time he closed his eyes, so short it was nearly indecent, feel her hands on his body, and her face as she kissed him. He knew exactly how he had forgotten Ellen was on her way.
They pulled up outside the Roadhouse and Dean slowly exited the car, he glanced over at his brother who was grinning at him. "Don't say a word." He ordered before taking the lead inside.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." Ellen said when she saw the brothers enter.
"Ash has something he wants to show us." Dean offered by way of explanation.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Ellen replied sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, how've you been?" For his part Dean actually sounded genuine.
Ellen fought back a retort and just smiled weakly, "Go on through boys." She said instead getting back to her work.
A cursory glance told him that Jo wasn't here, whether that was a relief or not he wasn't sure yet. "Let's get on with this." Dean muttered to his brother walking over to the door to Ash's office.
They spent the better part of an hour in there, by the time they had finished Dean was feeling much more comfortable with his surroundings. She wasn't there, she could be gone for hours, "You wanna grab a drink before we hit the road?"
Sam tried not to show his surprise, "Yeah sure."
They sat in silence drinking their beer, it was still early and there weren't many people in the bar so he noticed right away when she made her entrance. "Oh shit!" He muttered just loud enough for Sam to hear.
Sam turned his head at the same time she noticed them. She purposely walked toward them, "Sam, how are you?"
"I'm good thanks, it's good to see you again."
"Yeah." She turned to the other brother, "Dean." It wasn't a greeting so much as a statement, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Dean sat for a moment in contemplation, he didn't know what to do next but sitting there with a stunned expression on his face didn't seem to be the right answer. "Go talk to her." He heard Sam say from beside him.
"I don't know what I…I don't know what to do next Sam." His eyes pleaded to his brother to provide him with the answer. "You're the sensitive one, I don't know how to fix this."
"What happened between the two of you Dean?" Sam asked his brother the question he had been dying to ask for three months. "I've never seen you like this before."
Ignoring the question Dean rose from his chair. "I'll be back." His legs were moving as though beyond his control. The left and right sides of his brain seemed to be at war with one another, one half screaming at him to turn and run the other way, the other guiding him toward the kitchen where Jo would be. When he got there she was alone her back to the door her body hunched in sadness.
She didn't even turn when she asked, "What are you doing here Dean?"
"Ash needed to show us something." He offered in response.
She turned to face him as she responded. "Oh." She seemed to be disappointed, and he thought to himself not for the first time that he was way out of his depth here. "So you'll be leaving?"
"Yeah, we were just getting a drink, we'll be on the road before sunset." He paused trying to think of what to say next. "I'm sorry." It was simple, it lacked eloquence but it seemed to strike something in her and so he continued. "It was an ambush, you didn't deserve that."
She laughed scornfully, a short sharp laugh and a second later all trace of humour was gone. "No I didn't." For a moment they just stared at each other, "I started to fall for you Dean, you let that happen knowing full well you didn't give a damn about me."
"That's not…"
"Don't. It doesn't even matter anymore. You guys got what you wanted, I'm back here, I'm not going anywhere, you don't have to give me a second thought." She turned away from him again not expecting a response.
He surprised them both when he spoke next, "If only it were that easy. I can't stop thinking about you Jo. I'm sorry for the way things worked out but I swear I never meant to hurt you. That night when it was you and me together the rest of the world fell away, and maybe I should have been honest with you from the start about the plan."
"Maybe."
"I know. But I was honest about everything else, and I'm telling you the truth now when I tell you that I care about you."
"You care about me?" The anger was fading, but it was still present.
"Could you cut me some slack here? I don't know how to do this, I… I… I'm crazy about you alright? Everytime I close my eyes I see you, see the two of us and it's driving me insane. I don't know what I want telling you this, I'm not a relationship kinda guy, I just know that I've missed you, and if there were someway that I could have you in my life…"
He trailed off and she just looked at him her expression unreadable. For a few seconds he just waited hoping she would offer some encouragement. When none was forthcoming he spoke again, "I'm just going to go, see you around Jo." This time he didn't wait for a response, he turned to the door and left the kitchen, he strode over to the bar where his brother was sitting, took a long drag from what was left in his bottle and turned to his brother. "Let's go." He didn't wait for his brother but instead left the bar and walked over to his Impala.
He had the keys in the lock when he heard the footsteps behind him, he paused for a fraction of a second, and in that time he heard her voice behind him. "You're a pain in the ass do you know that?"
"In my own defence I do know that." He joked turning to face her.
"What am I supposed to do about this Dean?"
"I don't know."
"It would be so much easier if I could just hate you." She finally offered him a smile. "I'm crazy about you too."
"I have that…" He was about to crack a joke but she cut him off.
"I'm giving you honesty here. Don't ruin this." He nodded. "I don't want to be an afterthought with you Dean, someone you come to when your bored or lonely or desperate. I can get that from any one of those guys in there."
"I'm always gonna move around, I can't change that." There was an apology to his tone.
"I wouldn't want you to. I just need to know that I'm still gonna be on your mind, I know you think you're not built for relationships, but I'm not built for a cheap affair." She blushed, "I'm sorry I'm jumping the gun a bit."
"No, you're not. I've got this hunt now, we have to hit the road soon, can we pick this up in a couple of days?" He was beginning to feel an excitement he had never felt before, there was something thrilling about the prospect of a relationship with this woman.
She nodded, "Sure. I'll be here."
He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her lips, he pulled back and smiled at her, "I'll be as quick as I can." He kissed her again. "Now go inside before I can't make myself leave." Another kiss.
"Be careful. I'll see you soon." She reached up this time to kiss him. "See ya." She turned and ran inside and he climbed in to the drivers seat to wait for his brother.