A/N: I wrote OC Kait as a love interest for Dean in The Green Eyed Monster, but I also write Dean and Jo. I debated for a bit about whether to make #9 Kait or Jo because each woman would bring something to the equation because of her relationship with Sam.
Obviously, Jo won...
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Chapter 9: Jo
It's been 7 hours and 28 minutes since Dean had nearly broken the door down trying to get Sam inside. And it's been 6 hours and 32 minutes since she managed to push Dean out of the room so she could work on Sam's injuries. It took 64 stitches and two rolls of gauze to patch him up this time and between the look on Dean's face and Sam's determination to fix what he had broken while his soul was trapped in the pit, she's sure the Winchester brothers will be the death of her...again.
She loves them both, but she's not sure how long she can keep this up. How long she can watch them come back beaten and broken. How she would cope if one of them came back alone. Movement from the bed catches her eye and she scrambles to sit beside him.
"Jo?" he whispers, a big clumsy hand reaching to touch her face in the darkened room.
She cups his palm to her cheek. She's long since put the events of the past behind her. The closer she gets to Dean, the more they become family and she honors her mother's legacy by taking care of those she considers her own.
"Dammit, Sammy," she says softly. The fact that she's tough does nothing to keep the tears from filling her eyes. "You're killing him. You're killing us both..."
She hears him draw a shaky breath. "I gotta fix it, Jo," he whispers, his voice almost childlike.
She thinks about how they struggled to regain their friendship following his possession, but she knows this is worse. It's worse because he doesn't remember what happened while his soul was in Hell, being tortured as the shell of his body tortured the creatures he hunted. "Whatever it is, Sam, we'll get through it. We can..."
"Not this time, Jo," he answers, his voice strangled. "Too late..."
She knows it's the combination of drugs and pain talking. She's almost certain he won't remember their conversation in the morning. She smiles ruefully. He's lost much of the innocence he once had. She knows there are things that eat at him. Things like Duluth, even though he's apologized. Things that, not unlike his big brother, he doesn't talk about.
As his eyes drift closed, he mutters a name. It's so soft that she almost misses it. Halley. She presses her hand to his cheek. He's burning up. Standing, she brings the hand she holds to her mouth and dusts her lips softly over his knuckles before placing it across his chest.
She dips a washcloth into the basin of cool water on the nightstand. Wringing it out, she makes her promise as she mops his forehead. "I'll find her, Sam," she tells him. "I promise I'll find her for you..."
Next up: Who is Halley? What is her relationship to Sam? Join me for the final chapter to find out! Until next time...