Dean knew Jo was behind him before she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Feeling his body begin to tremble slightly, Jo held him tighter and Dean leaned into her.
"I'm sorry," Jo whispered.
The words weren't enough; they were far too simple. Jo didn't even know why she said them in the first place. She wanted to comfort Dean as he had done with her when she'd arrived at Bobby's house in tears over her mother's death, but this, this was a whole lot bigger.
Jo had seen everything from her seat in the hallway; she saw how Sam exorcised the demons in the restaurant, but, even more than that, she'd seen how afraid Dean was. Usually Dean was afraid for his brother, always wanting to protect him, but this time, this time Dean was afraid of his brother, and that just about made Jo sick to her stomach.
Jo had always done her best to push what had happened in Duluth out of her mind; Sam had scared her more than she'd ever willingly admit and there was a part of Jo that wondered if he'd ever do something like that again in his own body. Obviously it was the demon talking and doing those things to her, but Jo had always wondered why it had chosen to attack her in the first place. Was it simply because she was the closest hunter on the demon's killing radar or was it because Sam had some kind of secret crush on her?
Jo had gotten over it, really she had; she'd pushed all of those suspicious thoughts to the back of her mind and moved on with her life, but sometimes Sam would get this look. Something, a nostril flare or a tilt of his head, would make him look exactly like he had that night and it would send shivers up Jo's spine. The look would be gone almost immediately and Jo would remind herself that this was 'sweet Sam', the Sam that would never hurt her.
Now, after seeing Sam's demonic outburst, Jo wondered if 'sweet Sam' had never been quite as sweet as she'd thought.
Jo wanted to believe that Sam was good. Deep down she knew he was, of course he was, but after what she saw tonight…
Jo pushed her fear away with a firm hand. She had to focus on Dean now. She released Dean's waist and walked around so she was facing him.
His eyes were cast downwards and Jo could see the tears shining in them. "What am I going to do?" he whispered weakly.
"No, what are we going to do," Jo corrected, "and we already are doing something. Sam is detoxing right now and that's a step in the right direction."
"Is it?" Dean asked harshly. "What if he just does it again? What if this, what if this just made him want it even more? Do we have to start all over again? We don't exactly have time for demon-rehab!" Dean kicked the ground angrily.
"He'll get over it. He's strong, Dean, and he has us, and Bobby and Cas… Everything will be okay; we just gotta give him a couple days to get over this. He'll bounce right back – he always does," Jo reassured him. Dean looked at her then, tears finally beginning to spill down his face.
"I'm scared, Jo."
"I know, so am I."
#.#.#.#.
The two eventually wandered inside, where Sam's screams still echoed through the dusty halls of Bobby's house. Jo noticed that Dean flinched every time he heard his brother's voice, yelling and pleading with the invisible torturer to stop. At first, Dean tried to distract himself by doing research and trying to track down the other horsemen, but this proved to be futile, so he just sat dejectedly on Bobby's couch lap as he slowly downed an entire bottle of whiskey. Jo sat beside him, her head slumped against his shoulder as she shared his bottle.
About half an hour after Sam's shrieks began to subside, Dean fell asleep, his head lolling in Jo's lap. Jo stayed beside him, looking down at the man protectively and running her fingers through his short hair. Bobby wheeled himself in front of Jo and stared at Dean's sleeping form for a minute before turning his gaze upon Jo.
"I'm glad you're here, kid," he said sincerely. "I don't even want to think about where that boy would be without you."
Jo gave him a tired smile. "How're you holdin' up, Bobby?"
He shrugged meekly. "Be a helluva lot better once Sam gets off his high."
Jo nodded in agreement. "You can say that again. God, Bobby, you shoulda seen the look on his face when Sam showed up in that restaurant. The way Dean looked at him…" Jo trailed off as flashbacks of Sam killing Famine filled her brain.
"Scared of his own brother," Bobby sighed, shaking his head. He ran a hand over his face and Jo realized just how exhausted he was.
"Go to sleep, Bobby," Jo insisted.
Bobby's tired eyes met hers as he replied, "Yeah, alright… Wake me if anything interesting happens."
"Will do." Jo watched as Bobby wheeled away into one of the guest bedrooms on the first floor before letting her gaze drift back to the boy in her lap. She let herself slip into a daydream.
What if Death really allowed her to live once again? She and Dean would travel all over the country, saving people and hunting things… Maybe they'd buy a house somewhere, a place to escape to in those rare days between hunts. They could have a safe haven. Maybe somewhere in Oregon; Jo had always liked Oregon. Maybe they wouldn't have to hunt all the time. They could get normal jobs and go hunting on the weekends. Jo could waitress and Dean could get a job at a mechanic shop. Jo smiled to herself; yeah, Dean would like work as a mechanic. Being surrounded by cars all day… he'd be on cloud nine. Maybe they'd settle down, get a dog, a white picket fence, a couple of kids –
Jo stopped herself. Kids? She had never thought about having kids. Jo was a hunter, first and foremost, and rule number one, hunters didn't have kids. Sure, her parents did, but that didn't mean it was right. Innocent children shouldn't be subjected to the world of hunters; Dean would be adamant about that, but, now that Jo was on the subject, she couldn't help but picture how cute hers and Dean's children would be. Images of green eyed, freckle-faced youngsters popped up in Jo's mind and she couldn't help the smile that spread over her face.
She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Dean's temple and let herself get swept away in her utterly perfect daydream.