"Always"
Supernatural
Dean/Jo
PG
Summary: On the day hell came looking for Dean’s soul, Jo sat on the hood of the Impala and prayed.
__________________________________________

On the day hell came looking for Dean’s soul, Jo sat on the hood of the Impala and prayed.

The last time she had folded her hands and bowed her head, God hadn’t listened--her father had never come home. Since then, she stopped believing in the power of prayer. They were just words that went nowhere.

But, she was looking for a miracle--a way to stop time--and she was desperate enough to move her lips and mumble a few words. Make her own deal.

Day 366 was around the corner and the new day meant a new year without Dean.

Dean was ready. He made sure everyone knew that.

“Put the books away,” he told Sam three months ago.

Sam never did.

“You think I’m scared of you?” Dean said to the demon five weeks ago.

Right before he shot it full of salt.

“You’ll move on,” Dean said, brushing the tears from Jo’s eyes.

No, she wouldn’t.

Dean never showed fear. He never wept, never cowered, never sulked. Every morning he picked up his coat, threw on his boots, and picked up his car keys.

“You ready?” he asked the other hunters.

Because he sure as hell was, and he wanted everyone to know that.

Not everyone was ready though.

Sam kept his head buried in books. Bobby tried to smack some sense into Dean. Ellen tried to soothe him.

Dean wouldn’t take any of it.

Not even when Jo said, “I love you.”

“No, you don’t,” he said with a small smile.

And she wanted to tell him, “I do.”

I do.

I love him.

And that was Jo’s prayer.

She unfolded her hands and lifted her head to find Dean walking up to her. In the late afternoon, the setting sun created a scarlet silhouette around his body. His stride didn’t falter even as the day disappeared behind him.

He joined her on the hood and turned his head to her.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked.

She looked up at the darkening sky. “Thinking.”

“About what?”

He knew what.

“How time flies,” she said.

He followed her gaze up. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

Dean put his hand on her knee. It felt so strong, so real, so alive. Then, he pulled it away. Jo winced at the absence.

He hopped off the hood and waited for her.

“Come on,” he said. “Everyone else is inside.”

“Do we have to go?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yeah.” He dropped his gaze to the dirt. “I do.”

Frowning, Jo slid off the hood and walked to Dean’s side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her close. He spoke into her hair.

“By morning, you won’t even remember me.”

Her bottom lip trembled as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

He cradled her face in between his hands. “What did I tell you about crying?”

She sniffed and wiped her wet eyes. “Crying makes you a baby.”

“And who wants to be a baby, right?” He gave her a crooked grin. “Smile for me.”

She couldn’t.

“Smile for me,” he said again. “Even if you have to fake it.”

Jo forced her lips to curve upwards. Dean lowered his head to kiss her. She sank into his frame, closed her eyes, and found her lips curving on their own.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Dean said.

The door to the cabin slammed shut. On the wooden porch stood Sam, Bobby, and Ellen.

“Dean,” Sam said, his eyes dark and somber.

“I’m coming, Sammy.”

Dean’s hand found Jo’s. She clung onto him as they walked up to the other hunters.

“You ready?” Dean asked them.

“Are you?” Jo said.

Outside, the day grew into night. Shadows crept over their feet and hung onto the soles of their boots. More seemed to collect at the bottom of Dean’s.

Dean shrugged and answered Jo. “You know me.”

They did. They all did.

They were quiet as they went inside the cabin. Only a couple more hours until the sun returned. They were going to make sure Dean wasn’t alone when it did.

Dean and Jo were the last to cross the doorway. He still had her hand.

“You will remember me, won’t you?” He spoke low enough that only she heard him.

She smiled at him. This time she didn’t have to fake it.

“Always,” she said.

"Always." He let the word linger. "I like the sound of that."

Satisfied with her answer, Dean reached for the door and shut it behind them.

THE END