Disclaimer: I am a devoted servant of the Great Kripke and would never, ever steal anything he's ever created. I'm just having a little bit of fun.

(Author's Note): Yeah, so I had to see what would happen in "Abandon All Hope" to keep this chapter canon, and then I was depressed so sorry about the wait. This is the last chapter, and when I can work up the chutzpah I'll write a tag for Jo for 5x10.

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Severed Heads

Chapter Nine: Take It Or Leave It

The first thing Jo does when they get back to the motel is go to the bathroom in Sam and Dean's room. Her fingers are throbbing, but at least she can move them now, although it hurts like a bitch. Trying to only use her left hand, Jo unbuttons Dean's jacket and lets it fall to the ground, staring at her wound.

It's disgusting. No wonder Dean looked ready to puke. There's no way in hell anyone would ever want to have sex with her, not with this oozing, green, repulsive tear.

Sam knocks on the door. "Jo? You alright in there?"

"I'm…" she can't say fine, because she's not. Sam opens the door and steps inside with her.

"It looks pretty bad," he says, grimacing.

"Yeah," says Jo, feeling herself get teary eyed. Dammit, she does not want to cry. "Is it totally shallow of me if I say I'm not as beautiful now?"

He looks at her, shocked. "I didn't know you cared about that sort of thing."

She presses her lips together, holding back a hysterical laugh. "Sam, do you think that, just because I'd rather hunt than work at Hooters, I don't care what I look like? It's not like I'm all bad ass, all the time. You can't expect that from me."

At that moment, she can hear her phone go off on the other side of the door.

"Britney Spears?" Sam asks, starting to laugh.

Jo chooses to ignore him; he just doesn't understand Brit. She pushes past him out the door and picks up her phone, seeing it's Rufus.

She flips it open. "What's up, Santa?" she says, not allowing a hint of her shock into her voice. Rufus seems to think he's some sort of protector when it comes to her. Not even in a good kick-your-ass way, just up close and personal. He'd freak if he knew about the vampire thing.

"I see you got out of the vampire nest," the old hunter says gruffly.

Dammit.

"Yup," she tells him. "Did mumsy let you in on our little adventure?"

"You're a cheeky girl," he growls. "And yes, your mother told me you and Dean Winchester got captured by the fangs you were hunting. Poor form."

"Sorry, gramps," Jo mutters. "In my defense, we were distracted."

Rufus makes a discontented sound. "I'm ashamed of you, Jo Harvelle," he tells her. "You've come so far, and then you go ahead and start canoodling with the first hunter you're alone with? That's not what I expected from you."

Jesus Christ. "We weren't canoodling," she snaps. Behind her, she can hear Sam laugh and sends him a death glare over her shoulder. "And by the way, keep up with the times. It's called hooking up now. But just so we're clear, Dean and I were arguing."

"So that's what they're calling it these days?"

"I can't talk to you when you go senile on me," grumbles Jo. "I'm alive, I'm relatively unscathed, and I'm hanging up now."

Before he can begin to protest, Jo snaps her phone shut and puts it back down on the table.

Sam seems to be choking on his laughter, which she doesn't find amusing. She walks over and smacks him on the head, and curses loudly as her scab stretches.

"Stop being so tall," demands Jo. All that accomplishes is Sam doubling over, shaking with mirth. "Oh, shut up!"

"Go put a shirt on," he advises. She goes to the bathroom to grab Dean's jacket, but Sam's voice stops her. "Jo," he says kindly. "You got hurt trying to do good. It makes you even more beautiful when I think about the person you are, who would risk her life for other people."

The sentiment (while entirely Sam, and feminine) reassures her somewhat, and Jo nods before grabbing the jacket off the floor.

Before she leaves the room to go next door, Jo puts her ear to the wall and listens for Dean. She can't hear him, so she opens the door and slips out, running on her toes and stepping inside daintily.

Jo heads into the bathroom and runs the water, climbing inside the tub for a bath. The hot water relaxes her until she puts her right hand under.

The sting of her enflamed fingers meeting the heat causes her to yelp and jerk her hand back out. She holds her breath in case Dean decides to burst through the door again to "save" her, but it's mercifully quiet.

She leans back, and tries not to look at the greenish bite on her breast.

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Jo's lying on her back in the soft sunlight, reclining on a park bench. The park isn't overly huge but it has a creek running through it and the sound is peaceful. She's playing a lazy game of thumb war with Sam and Sam's mostly winning, but in her defense she's not left-handed.

"You suck," she grumbles as he pins her thumb again.

"You suck, man, you keep losing," laughs Sam.

They hear Dean clear his throat, and Jo shifts herself up to recline on her elbows.

What she doesn't expect to see is the sexy trench coat guy/the angel Castiel standing next to Dean and looking at her and Sam curiously. She shamefully feels her face flush as his eyes meet hers, and he doesn't look away.

The seconds go by slowly as their eyes meet, and he has really pretty eyes… hot damn.

"Cas, don't do the eye thing, remember?" Dean says gruffly. "Humans get uncomfortable –"

"I don't mind," Jo says in a small voice, rolling her shoulders back slightly and flicking hair out of her eyes. She doesn't even notice she's doing it until Sam snorts beside her.

The angel looks expectantly at Dean, who shakes his head.

"I came here to tell you the Colt needs to be found," Cas says. "I gave you two days, and your task is done."

"Could we help?" Ellen asks from one park bench over.

Sam shook his head. "It's too dangerous," Sam tells her. "I don't want Jo or you getting hurt."

Jo glances over at her mother, whose face has the exact same expression Jo knows she's wearing. There's an understanding passed between them, and Jo looks back at Sam, raising her eyebrows. And he doesn't seem to get what she's trying to communicate.

So she smacks him on the arm. "We're in, Sam. Whether you like it or not."

"Thanks, but we can't-" he tries again.

"As soon as we know it's location, we'll call you," Dean interrupts. He gives Sam a pointed look as he says, "We need all the help we can get."

Obviously, Sam isn't happy about this, but Jo can tell he doesn't want to stir the waters anymore.

She looks back at Cas, who meets her gaze. The sharp piercing pain in her head from two nights before returns, and she blinks. The angel cocks his head to the side a little, and looks at her like she's some sort of alien specimen. Which is ironic because this is her planet and not some divine being's.

Dean grabs Cas and walks him away from the group, breaking her staring match.

"You know, angels aren't really interested in romance," Sam says next to her.

Jo blushes. "I'm sorry, some hot angel guy wants to stare me down, I'm not gonna complain."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Some hot angel guy?"

"Oh, like you haven't noticed," she snaps at him.

"I really haven't," he says. "I don't check out guys."

Jo smacks him on the arm. "You know what I mean! I think Britney Spears is gorgeous, but I'm not attracted to her. What, men can't admit other men are attractive?"

He snorts. "I think you're making Dean jealous," he tells her, his voice shaking with humor.

"He's got nothing to worry about," she mutters, looking away from the two men. To be realistic, she's always gonna find other men attractive, just like she knows Dean's eyes wander so much it's amazing they haven't fallen out of his head. But neither of them was made for monogyny.

It doesn't change how she feels about him, though. And she's stopped caring about whether it'll hurt or not.

She glances over at Dean and Castiel again, only to find that the angel has vanished. Jo blinks as Dean comes back over.

"Cas is right, we should go now," the older Winchester says.

"In that case," Ellen says, getting up, "We should get going too. There's been some demonic omens in Omaha, and Caleb wants us there."

Jo remembers Uncle Caleb. He's not really her uncle, but he was her dad's best friend ever since she could crawl, and Ellen talks about him from time to time. They've never gone hunting together before though, so she's anxious to see him again after all these years.

"I'll see you around, Jo," Sam says, smiling at her. She reaches over and gives him a hug, his bear-like arms cradling her. Sam hugs are pretty much her favorite, she decides.

"Boys," her mom addresses the two. She glances at Sam. "I've got some stuff I need you to carry. Come on."

Neither Jo or Dean is fooled by this as the two head off to the cars. They both watch Sam and Ellen walk off (rather quickly, to be honest), and then glance at each other. Dean starts to laugh, and she joins in, breaking whatever ice that might have frosted over in the past few hours.

He cocks his head towards their wayward companions. "I think they're trying to set us up," he says.

"I think you're right," agrees Jo. "Sam, I could see doing that. But I can't believe my mom's in on it."

"I always thought your mother would chop off my balls if I ever went near you," Dean jokes, starting to follow the other two. Jo catches up to him.

"So that's why you never made a move," she assumes.

"It's definitely part of it."

She casts a sideways looks at him; Dean's face is tight, guarded. It's recognizable because it's the face she wears whenever someone gets too close to the truth for her liking. But when it comes to Dean, she's not going to back down and neither would he if the roles were reversed.

Jo elbows him. "What's the other part?"

He actually squirms. "Well, I mean…" they reach the cars, and she can see both Sam and Ellen sitting in the passenger seats. Waiting. Dean rests against the bonnet of his car and Jo stands a couple feet away from him.

"Tell me," she insists.

"Here's the thing," he tells her hastily. Like he's spitting it out before it curdles in his mouth. "I like you a lot, Jo, and being with you only makes things more complicated than they need to be. 'Cause I'm not the kind of guy to settle down or whatever."

She gives him a lopsided grin. "Do I look like the settle down kind of girl?"

Dean raises his eyebrows. "Not really."

"It's okay," Jo says, trying to quench any romantic fuzzy feelings that didn't belong. "I mean, I've figured it out by now. We both have bigger things to do than sit around and talk about our feelings. I wouldn't even want a relationship like that."

"Yeah, me neither," he agrees quickly. "That's a Sam thing."

Jo shoves her left hand into her back pocket. "I guess I don't want things to be awkward between us," she tells him.

"I don't want them to be either," says Dean. He looks extremely uncomfortable, and she's betting he rarely does this. Rarely as in never.

"So… I'll see you around, then," she says (awkwardly).

"Yeah… see you," he mutters.

Neither of them moves, and then Jo groans. "Screw it," she says, and launches herself at him.

Dean catches her and pulls her against his body, hands on her waist. She reaches up and kisses him roughly, dragging her hand along his unshaven jaw. His right hand goes to her face, threading his fingers through her hair.

This is how their first kiss was supposed to be. It was the right place for it, the right time, and no one was proving a point.

Jo feels his belt buckle bite into her skin as her shirt lifts up, can feel his fingers grip her lower back with his nails digging in. the sharpness of it causes her to gasp into his mouth, and (she knew he would) Dean takes advantage of the moment to flick his tongue against the roof of her mouth.

She runs her own tongue on the bottom of his lip, greedily searching for his taste of cheap beer and the accompanying hint of salty French fries. Until now Jo didn't realize how addictive his flavor was.

His hand detangles itself from her hair and travels down her neck, to her collarbone, and drops to trace her scab.

For a moment, she can't breathe because the fear of rejection and the belief that she's no longer desirable both burst to the surface.

And then Dean's hand on her waist runs up her arm and cradles her neck, bringing her flush against him, leaving no gaps between his body and hers. Jo wraps her arms around his neck and pulls his head closer to hers. Throughout all this, he's continued to caress her wound.

Not in a longing way, like the rest of their bodies are reacting, but tenderly, gently. Almost as though he's telling her she's beautiful.

Jo wants the kiss to go on forever, but she senses that if they were to go on they would need to check back into the Silverado. So (with a hell of a lot of effort) pulls away from him and steps back, panting.

"What was that for?" Dean asks. His chest is heaving and she notes that with satisfaction.

"Take it or leave it," she says breathlessly, backing away.

Dean looks like someone just hit him over the head, and that's probably because the ball's in her court now, not his. For once, Jo's got the power in the twisted thing she'd have to call a relationship for lack of a better word. She's calling the shots and he can't do a damn thing about it.

She smirks at him as she turns around and walks to the drivers' seat in her truck. Jo opens the door and hoists herself in, and looks over to see her mom grinning at her.

"What?" Jo asks.

"You just stunned a Winchester man," Ellen tells her, pride exploding through her voice. "You're truly a Harvelle hunter now."

Jo into the rearview mirror and sees Dean still resting against the bonnet of the Impala, rubbing the back of his neck and with a curious expression on his face. She grins and puts the keys in the ignition, and drives away.

The End (for now)

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(Author's Note): *Sighs* It's over. And now, onto my other story, plus a couple of promised one-shots and tags. That reminds me... I have a question for you guys – if I were to post a one-shot featuring –ahem- Jo and Dean with smut, would you read it? Because the last time I wrote something explicit it was actually a rape scene and it made me cringe just writing it. I know, I know… slightly different context.

Please Review ^_^