Greetings! I have absolutely no excuse for the incredibly long time since I've written anything, but life happens. It's been years and I feel terrible about it. I've never forgotten about this story and I will finish it. This is a short but sweet chapter. I could've kept going, but I like where I ended it and I already have the next chapter in the works. I will not make any promises as to how soon I will post it, but I will finish this story! Also, the character's name playing Jo's boyfriend is Ryan. I know it says Rick the last chapter, but that was a mistake. Apologies. I love you all!
Jo's smile fades as she takes a second look at the phone to realize it's her cell phone and not Dean's. Jo looks at Dean with mild horror and he comes to the realization that Sam is not on the other end of the phone.
"Ryan! Hey!" Jo stammers as she gradually recovers from the shock.
"Yea, uhm, who's Sam?" Ryan questioned.
"Oh, he's a hunter as well. His dad used to be long time friends of the family. He's like a brother to me." Jo says as she adjusts herself to sit up on the bed while Dean gets up to put his clothes on. It's time to come back to reality, unfortunately.
"Sam." Ryan repeats his name slowly as if he was trying to jog his memory. "Sam Winchester? Does he have a brother named Dean?"
"Yes, he does. How did you know? Do you know them?" Jo curiously retorted.
"Well, I don't personally know Sam and Dean but, their reputation definitely precedes them and, you know, hunters are a small group of people so word gets around fairly quickly." Ryan casually replied. "So, what was he calling to gloat about?"
"Gloat? Oh, yeah. Sam and I just had a silly bet. It's really not worth mentioning." Jo replied, quickly changing the subject. "By the way, we're in Minnesota. Sam and Dean we're also checking on this Doppelganger and when I told them you were hunting the same thing, they wanted to help. They've dealt with something similar before, but it turned out to be a shape shifter instead. I decided to bum a ride with them."
"Really? There was brief silence on the other line forever before Ryan replied. "Hmm, that's actually great!"
"Seriously?" Jo looked at Dean who was already dressed and sitting next to her on the bed, boots in hand, returning her gaze briefly before he puts his boots on.
"Sure, why not. This one's a real bastard and I always seem to be one step behind. I know hunters tend to work alone, but help wouldn't hurt. Plus I get to team up with Sam and Dean Winchester. Seems like a win/win situation. Wouldn't you think?"
Jo shakes her head in disbelief at what she's hearing. "Well, yea sure. Glad to know you aren't upset I decided to tag along."
"Not really. I mean, I'd rather you stayed, but who am I to tell you what to do." Ryan replies.
"Hmm, ok. Well, we should be on the road in about an hour so we'll see you soon." They say their goodbyes and she closes the flap on her cell phone, placing it back on the night stand.
"You alright?" Dean asks as he rubs the small of her back.
"Yea, I'm fine." Jo leans into Dean, resting her head on his shoulder. "It was just a little weird. He's actually heard of you and Sam and wants to meet you."
"We get around. You know, we're considered celebrities in the hunter world." Dean jokes to try and lighten the situation.
Jo chuckles softly, rolling her eyes. "Someone's getting a little besides himself.
"Well, I hate to make it weirder but, how you want to handle this?" Dean asks as he kisses her forehead.
"I'll handle it. This is something I need to discuss with him in person; just Ryan and me. When we get to St. Paul we'll split up and I'll talk with him."
"Ok. I'm going to head back. Come over when you're ready." Dean cups her face in his hands and softly kisses her before getting up to leave.
Jo sits on the bed a little while longer pondering how she is going to tell Ryan before getting up and heading towards the bathroom. "I'll tell him after we find and kill this thing. No sense it doing it beforehand." Jo thinks to herself.
Meanwhile, Sam is back in their motel room already showered and dressed, clicking away on his laptop when Dean walks in. A smug smile rises on Sam's face as he keeps focus on the laptop, eyes darting over to Dean briefly.
"So, uh, how was your night? I see you didn't come back. Do I even need to gloat?"
Dean rolls his eyes but smiles as he takes his shirt off, throwing it on his untouched bed. "Spare yourself. I'm gonna hit the shower. Jo should be over in a bit."
Thirty minutes pass when Jo knocks on the door. Sam opens the door to let her in while Dean finishes throwing the rest of his clothes in his bag.
"Hey! You ready to go?" Sam asks as she walks in, bags in hand. Smile still as large as ever.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She stated looking at Dean.
"Well, let's hit the road then." Sam says as he grabs her bag, along with his, and heads for the impala.
Dean walks up to her, throwing his arm over her shoulder giving it a squeeze. "Everything will be just fine. We need to focus on whatever this thing is, if it's even a Doppelganger. After that, tackling the Rick situation will be a piece of pie." Dean smiles at her while they walk out the door.
"Piece of pie?" Jo rolls her eyes, faking annoyance although a small smile graces her lips. "I believe the correct term is 'piece of cake'."
"No sweetheart. It will always be a piece of pie in my book." Dean casts his famous wide grin as he closes the motel door behind him.
