Chapter 3:
"How long are you boys in town for?" Ellen asks them the next day.
"I dunno, it's up to Dean I guess." Sam replies.
Dean looks up from the sandwich he was eating. "Probably another night. I came to see if Jo wanted to go on a couple of hunts with us."
"How long will you be gone?"
"Could be a few weeks or a few months," he responds vaguely. "I know you don't like her being gone for long, Ellen, but I think she needs to go with us."
Ellen sighs. "I'd rather she go with you than off by herself."
Dean finishes his sandwich before he goes to find the blonde and tell her the news. He found her out in the garage. She was so focused on making new bullets that she didn't hear him come up behind her.
"How many have you made so far?" Dean asked, breaking her concentration.
"Only thirty-nine." she said. "What's up?"
"Tomorrow we're heading out," he tells her.
"Where are you headed this time?"
He shook his head. "Where ever we find another job. You're coming with us though."
"What?" she asks him. Sure they had hunted together before, but there was something different about this proposition. "What does your brother think about this?"
"I don't give a damn what he thinks about it," Dean responds.
Jo looks into his eyes for a moment. "You really think I'm in danger, don't you? Sam's girlfriend's death has you freaked out."
He sighs, leaning against the hood of Ellen's truck. "I'm not going to risk you, Jo."
"Really? And here I thought I was just monster bait," she teased, bringing up what he had first thought of her.
With one look at him, she knew that to him this wasn't a joking matter. "You're coming with us, and that's the end of it."
Dean Winchester was scared, Jo realized. He was scared that something bad was gonna happen and he wasn't going to be there to stop it. The lines had always been blurred when it came to the two of them. It wasn't clear whether they were friends or lovers. What was clear was that Dean cared for her, and she for him.
"I'll go pack my bag," she said.
The next day, they packed up the Impala with the addition of Jo's bags. Ellen stood on the porch hugging her daughter. It was always hard to see her little girl go off on a hunt. Despite her best efforts, Ellen could never keep Jo away from it. She had too much of her father in her for her own good.
"Promise me you'll at least try to call," Ellen said.
Jo sighed. "I'll try. That's the best I can do."
"Listen to what Dean has to say."
Her daughter groaned at this. "Dean's an idiot."
"He's still a more experienced hunter than you are," Ellen reminds her daughter. "Listen to him."
"I'll listen to him if he listens to me," Jo says, crossing her arms over her chest.
Jo and Dean bickered like children. Ellen had seen it more times than she could count on two hands. The two would feud over the smallest things. It was a wonder they hadn't killed each other on past hunts.
"Dean, take care of my baby girl," Ellen told him.
He nods. "You know I will."
They had been on the road for eight hours and the two kept arguing about where the next job was going to be. The research they had done before they left the Roadhouse left them with three possible jobs. Jo wanted to take the one in Georgia while Dean was all for going to California.
"Come on, Jo." Dean argued. "California has way better weather than Georgia."
"What does weather have to do with hunting?" Jo replies.
"Everything, Jo! It has everything to do with hunting!"
"Will you two shut the hell up!" Sam yelled from the backseat, gaining their attention. "I can't take the constant bickering."
The two sit back in their seats, grumbling. They road for another hour with only the sound of the radio. Much to Sam's surprise, Jo was in control of the radio. There wasn't a difference between her or Dean controlling the radio though. They both played the same old school music.
Once that hour of silence had ended, another argument between the two began.
"Let's eat Mexican," Jo said.
"No, pizza." Dean replied.
"Ugh, I had pizza the night before you came. I want Mexican."
"How's this for Mexican? No senorita."
"That's Spanish, dumb ass. Mexican isn't a language." she responds.
"And why would I give a shit?"
Sam groaned, banging his head against the window.
The arguing finally ended when they rented a motel room. Sam figured they would argue about who shared a bed and who didn't. To his surprise, they both laid down together on one of the beds, turning the tv on to some cheesy comedy.
Sam woke up before the other two the next morning. He glanced over to see them snuggled up together. Jo had her head on his brother's chest. Dean had an arm wrapped protectively around her.