Just realized I'd never posted this one, but I won't be continuing this farther, sorry!

Chapter 14:

"My mom's not careless," Jo said as Dean drove the Impala slowly out of the parking lot and onto the road. "She wouldn't have taken any unnecessary risks. Wouldn't have gotten herself into trouble. My main worry is that she tried to get someone else out of trouble and didn't succeed."

"Well, she's smart," Dean muttered. "She knows how to get out of trouble if she falls into it. But anyway, how'd you end up back at the Roadhouse?"

Jo considered the question, staring out into the darkness, the night air hitting her face. "I missed her. I called. Turned out she missed me too."

Dean nodded in understanding. He paused for a long moment as Jo put her cassette into his stereo. "Any signal I should be on the lookout for?"

"Nothing in particular," Jo replied. "But I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. And hopefully she is roadside and she'll hear the music and know it's me." She turned up the volume as Joe Walsh started playing from the speakers.

They fell into a long stretch of silence as they drove down the road at twenty miles an hour, their eyes peeled for any movement. They watched for signs that a car had driven off of the road or anything else out of the ordinary. No other cars passed them more often than one every twenty minutes or so, the other drivers careful to avoid eye contact. Dean and Jo did the same, knowing that they could handle a confrontation but not wanting to have to.

It was about an hour later that Jo narrowed her eyes and spoke up. "You see that—?"

"Yeah," Dean muttered, keeping the car at a steady pace but turning off the headlights, glad the moon was almost full. After another few seconds he saw it again: what was presumably a flashlight flickered S.O.S.

"That's gotta be her," Jo told him, leaning forward into her seatbelt, her back rigid.

Dean nodded tightly and continued down the road as Jo turned down the music. He slowed around the area that he estimated the light had flashed at, sliding his gun out of his jacket and into his lap. He relaxed when he saw Ellen come out from the cover of some bushes.

"Dean?" Ellen asked, surprised.

Jo leapt from the car and ran around to her mother. "Mom!" she cried, grabbing her in a hug, which Ellen instantly returned.

"I'm fine, sweetheart," she assured her, rubbing her back gently.

Jo pulled back to look at her mother from arm's length. "Where's the car? What happened?"

"Well, I saw someone in trouble and I did the stupid thing," Ellen murmured to her daughter. "I stopped to help." Jo followed her mother's gaze as she turned to her right and she blinked in surprise.

A young girl, no more than five years old, uneasily approached them. "Ellen?" she asked shakily, her voice barely audible.

"It's okay, Mia," Ellen assured her. "This is my daughter." She turned back to Jo and took her in another hug, whispering in her ear, "Her mama's dead."

Jo swallowed hard. She pulled back and nodded before turning to the timid young girl. "Come on, Mia. You hungry?" she asked gently. Mia nodded. "Let's get you something to eat."

"I was debating heading back and bringing Jo with me when I saw the car. I saw that nobody else was stopping to help, so I pulled over," Ellen said quietly. She briefly glanced back to Mia, who was silently eating a candy bar and taking long drinks of her bottle of water, as Dean drove the Impala down the road. "Mia was all right because she'd been in a car seat, but her mama…." Ellen swallowed hard as she heard Mia sniffle. "I got Mia outta the car, but some guy shoved a gun in my face and told me to give him my keys. I had my Sig in my jacket, but he woulda got a shot off, no question, so I just gave 'em to him. And with everything in chaos, I knew we'd do best to hunker down and wait 'til dark to get going. I managed to get my hands on a flashlight and we started walking."

"I'm just glad you're okay," Jo said quietly. Ellen nodded silently in agreement, staring out into the intense darkness. They passed groups of people occasionally, some huddled around bonfires, and remnants of the initial panic littered the streets, but otherwise the town was eerily quiet and locked-down.

"Sam's back at the Roadhouse with Max and Ash," Dean told her. "And Diana. We got a dog."

Ellen grunted her approval. "Good for you guys."

"We brought supplies with us," he added. "Got it into the storage closet. Enough food and water to last us a while. Two weeks, maybe, with the six of us…. Hey, is that Riley Street?"

Ellen squinted out into the darkness and nodded. "I think so."

"That's it," Mia spoke up quickly. "Fourth house on the left. It's green."

Dean made the turn off of the main road, going down to the house and pulling into the driveway. Mia instantly took off her seatbelt and made to unlock and open the door, but Jo stopped her with a sharp, "Mia. Wait."

"Let me go check it out," Dean said, looking back to the young girl. "Make sure your dad's home." Mia swallowed and nodded reluctantly.

Dean got out of the car, locking his door before he shut it, his eyes peeled for any movement as he took out his flashlight and lit his path to the front door of the house. It looked empty, but every other house on the street did as well. He rang the doorbell before pounding on the door a couple times. "Mr. Thompson? My name's Dean. I'm with Mia." There was a short pause before there was a frantic shuffling behind the door and the locks were undone, leaving only the chain to stop the door from fully opening.

The four inches revealed a slightly disheveled man, eyes wide and suspicious. "Who are you?" he asked breathlessly.

"My name's Dean. You're Will Thompson?"

"Yes. You said you're with Mia?" he asked urgently. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Mia's fine. She and your wife were in a car accident. Your wife didn't make it," Dean told him quietly. The man's face went slack in shock and his mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something. "I wanted to make sure you were home and it was safe before she got out of the car."

Will's eyes started to tear and he quickly slammed the door shut, taking the chain off of it and yanking it back open, bolting past Dean and over to the Impala. "Mia!" he cried.

The young girl hurriedly unlocked the car door and leapt out, darting into her father's arms. "Daddy," she sobbed.

"Oh God," Will breathed, holding her tightly. "Oh thank God you're safe."

"Mommy's gone," Mia whimpered as she wept. "She's gone."

"I'm here, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. He took in and let out a shaky breath. "I'm here. You're safe. You're okay. Everything's gonna be okay."