AN: As soon as I heard that Jo was coming back in Season 7 this was in my head. I honestly think this is pretty much what will happen. And because I doubt Destiel will ever become canon, I completely ship Dean/Jo. Jean? Do? Jane Doe? I don't know the ship name. But I like Jane Doe. I shall call it Jane Doe.

Castiel knew his decision to raise - or in this case, lower - Jo Harvelle was right when he found her heaven. The memory she was in at that point was a simple one. They were in what Castiel knew to be the Roadhouse. Castiel watched as Sam and Dean entered. It was remarkable to see Dean this way, unhaunted by memories of the Pit because he had not yet been there.

Castiel watched silently as the Winchesters crept towards a man lying prone on a pool table. Ash, he knew, although he'd never met him. The angel-turned-God watched as Ellen and Jo leapt out, shotguns trained on the Winchesters. Castiel took note of the expression on Jo's face: pure admiration for the older Winchester.

He stepped forward, making himself known to her. She looked at him for a moment, confused. "Cas?" she asked as the rest of the scene played out before them, unaware that one of the characters was no longer playing her part.

"Jo Harvelle, I am presenting you with a gift. But you must deliver a message for me."

Sometimes Dean felt like he could still taste her. It was his last perfect memory of her, their first perfect kiss. Their only kiss. He still hated himself for failing after she and Ellen had sacrificed themselves, but what didn't he hate himself for these days?

She had tasted like what he figured heaven would taste like. Underneath the iron tanginess of blood she had tasted sweet and indefinable. When he kissed her, lightly and far too briefly, he could taste all the future kisses that should have been shared between the two of them, but were never going to be.

At least, he'd thought that at the time.

But now he had Bobby on the phone, and Bobby was telling him the impossible. Jo was alive. He shouldn't have all that much trouble believing it, he'd made a habit of knocking on Death's door before running away like a Halloween prankster, and Sam wasn't exactly shy about being killed and resurrected either, but couldn't let himself believe that maybe something good had happened and Jo was back.

"Dean? Dean, you still there?" Bobby asked, sounding far away. Dean reigned himself back in, mind wrapping around the news.

"Yeah, I'm here. Me and Sam are gonna hit the road, we'll be there in a few hours," Dean said, snapping his phone shut. He sat down heavily on the side of his bed, running a hand through his short, bristly hair.

It had been three months since Cas had gone all super saiyan and demanded their worship. Dean still wasn't sure how he had talked them out of that warehouse alive, but he had. And whatever he said had apparently pleased the new God, because when they'd gone outside he'd found the Impala in perfect condition, maybe a little better than she'd been before the demon smoke had flipped her.

In those three months things had been relatively quiet, at least, what qualifies for quiet in the Winchester book. They'd had jobs, but they were just simple salt and burns, wendigos, a couple of stray vampires, a demon or two, nothing extreme. And that sort of worried Dean. It made him wonder what Cas was up to.

The bathroom door opened, and Sam came out in a cloud of steam, thankfully derailing Dean's thoughts. "Dude," he said, going over to his duffel and pawing through it for some clothes. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Get dressed and pack your stuff. We're hitting the road, going to Bobby's," Dean said, ignoring the question. He threw a couple of shirts into his own duffel, mind swimming.

"Dean, what happened?" Sam asked, getting worried.

Dean looked up at Sam. "Jo's alive," he said, embarrassed at the way his voice wavered with unshed tears.

Sam's jaw dropped. "What?"

"She's alive. She turned up at Bobby's, so we're going there. He tested her in every conceivable way. It's her, no doubt."

Sam stared at him for a second, but then grabbed a clean shirt and pulled it on. "Let's go."

The drive took four and half hours, but it seemed like it only took minutes. Dean parked the impala and was bursting into Bobby's house before Sam even registered that they were there.

"Bobby?" he called, not ready to call out the other name. Bobby had assured him that she was alive and that it was undoubtedly her, but he was still terrified that somehow Bobby was wrong. That he would have gotten his hopes up for nothing.

"In here," Bobby called from inside the living room turned library. Dean stepped through the entryway and stopped. Bobby was seated behind his desk, but that's not who Dean was staring at.

Jo was sitting on the couch like she owned it, but she stood when Dean entered the room. Dean took in the sight of her like she was the last beautiful girl, blonde hair and pale skin just as gorgeous as always. "Hey Dean," she said calmly. "Glad to know you haven't gotten yourself killed while I was away. Well, not permanently, at least."

"Jo," Dean said, crossing the room and pulling her in for a tight hug.

Bobby cleared his throat and they pulled apart. "I'm gonna go see if Sam needs help with your duffels," Bobby said, leaving the two of them alone. They sat, Jo going back to owning the couch while Dean just perched nervously beside her.

"Not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but… How?"

Jo tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear before answering. "Cas brought me back."

Dean's jaw dropped. He hadn't been expecting that. "Why?" he asked, incredulous.

Jo frowned a little and carefully didn't make eye contact with Dean. "I'm… Sort of a gift. A peace offering of sorts. He gave me a message for you. He says that you can never understand how sorry he is, but that he did everything for you. That he's going to keep doing everything for you. He said he's taken out the 'big bads,'" she used finger quotes on 'big bads' and Dean just knew Cas had as well, "and that's why everything's been so run of the mill lately."

"Wait. So he brought you back as a present? For me?"

"Seems like it."

"Once again. Why?"

Jo gave him a look that implied that she thought he was incredibly stupid, which he mostly agreed with. "I would say we have a bit of unfinished business, Dean."