On the way back, they'd decided to head to Harvalle's for a bit of a rest at least, stretch out their legs. When they got there, things seemed a little bit off, but the place was bustling, full of other hunters. Dean, for his bit, was nervous. His dad had kept him mostly out of this scene, and part of him wondered if that wouldn't be the safest thing to do for Alex and Sammy.
Alex headed towards the back to the ladies', and Sam sat down at a table with Dean and Bobby.
"What'cha lookin' for, Sammy?" Dean smirked at him.
"What? Nothing; it's just crowded in here is all."
"Right, not looking for a cute little blonde?"
"If Jo were here, she'd be in your lap by now." Sam said wryly.
Dean laughed a little bit, and Ellen came over with three brews for them.
"Hey, how y'all doin'?"
"Lookin' nice tonight, Ellen." Bobby smiled at her.
"Uh-huh... you can just keep that to yourself." she smirked back, then looked at the table again. "Where's Alex? Thought she was usually with you."
"Ladies room; probably a line or somethin'." Dean shrugged.
"Line? Not likely. Ain't see too many ladies come in..."
As if on cue, Alex came over and sat down, quiet and subdued.
"Somethin' wrong, sweetheart?" Ellen asked her.
"I'm fine; just... don't feel real good. Can we go?" she asked, looking up at Dean.
Dean eyed her. "You were just fine a minute ago. What happened?"
"Nothing."
Now all four of them were looking at her.
"When I came out there were these two guys blocking my way; tried to get me into a different room..."
The sound of chairs scraping against the floor was the response she got, as Sam and Dean moved towards the back so fast you'd've thought they were teleporting...
Ellen put an ice pack on Dean's hand, then handed another to Sam for his eye. After they had started the fight, it ended up errupting into an all-out brawl, leaving Ellen's place... pretty trashed.
Ash, though bruised and shirtless, looked content. "Good fight." he said with a smile. "Hadn't had a brawl like that in here for ages..."
"Was kinda fun..." Dean agreed.
Sam rolled his eyes. Yeah, he'd wanted to beat on those two, but... taking on an entire bar full of hunters? Wasn't really his idea... But lately, Dean... ever since Dad died, mostly what he wanted to do was fight and hunt...
"There's a reason for that, Ash!" Ellen said, putting her hand to her forehead.
"Aw, don't y'all pay any attention to Momma." Jo said, having come in after the fact. "She don't mind much."
"No, not when it's for a good reason." she said. "What about you? You all right?" she asked Alex.
"I'm okay." Alex said in a small voice.
She kind of felt like this was her fault... if she hadn't said anything... Dean slid an arm around her with his good hand.
"We'll help you clean up." Sam offered.
Ellen nodded. "Bet your ass you will. Broken glass and wood everywhere. Joanna Beth, come on; we'll get everybody brooms and dustpans."
And, the room fell silent, except for the sound of brooms scratching the concrete floors and the low hum of the REO music Jo and placed on the jukebox...