“The Thought That Counts”
Supernatural
Dean/Jo
PG
Summary: “How much are you going to miss me?”
Jo’s heart leaps when the door to the Roadhouse swings open. Sam walks in--a tall shadow in the late afternoon sun. She knows Dean’s not far behind.
Sam sits at the bar, gives her a tired smile, and says, “Hi.”
“Hi.” Jo gives him a cold beer.
He drinks and takes his time swallowing.
“He’s outside,” Sam says.
She doesn’t bother to hide her smile as she hurries out of the place.
The sun shines down on the black Impala casting a red glow on the car. Dean’s half-in and half-out of the vehicle, his back facing her from the driver’s side.
She creeps up to him, but as soon as she’s five steps from him, he speaks up.
“You know I can see you in the window, right?” he says.
Damn it. So much for surprising him.
Dean turns the table on her and holds out a wilted bouquet of flowers. “Surprise.”
She lets out a small laugh at the sight of droopy yellow daises and white lilies held together by a thin white string.
Dean pulls the bouquet to his chest, jutting out his bottom lip.
“No, I love it.” She snatches the flowers from him and sniffs the petals. They smell like the road--wild, free, a bit of journey Dean has brought to her. “Thank you.”
He shrugs. “Sorry about--you know--” He points to the flowers. “It was a long drive.”
Jo shrugs with him. “It’s okay.” She stands on her tip-toes and kisses him. Long and hard. She’d been waiting four weeks to do that.
He smiles against her mouth. “So, how much did you miss me?”
“A lot.”
“A lot?”
“A lot.”
He raises a brow. “How much is a lot?”
Jo tugs on his hand, leading him to the Roadhouse. “As much as I missed you being a pain in the ass.”
He gives her a playful swat on hers. She yelps. He leans into her and says in her ear, “I missed you a lot too.”
**
They lay in bed together. Dean presses his chest to Jo’s back. She plays with his fingers, twisting the silver ring around and around.
The bouquet sits in a vase on Jo’s dresser. The flowers are in bloom again, petals open and smooth.
“See,” Jo says. “All they needed was some water.”
“Hmmm…” Dean mumbles into her neck.
She giggles. “Quit it. That tickles.”
He doesn’t. She lets him make a trail of kisses down to her shoulder.
“What are you going to get me the next time you come back?” she asks.
“What do you want?”
Jo looks out her window, to the night sky. “How about that?”
Dean moves closer to her. “What? The moon? The stars?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Would you settle for a Mars bar instead?”
She twists her body around to face him and hooks her legs around his. “I’d settle for this.”
He cups her chin. “I think that can be arranged.” And he kisses her.
She forgets about morning.
**
They say good bye the next day. Jo’s used to it. She even looks forward to it. Saying good bye means a hello will be coming up.
Before Dean leaves, Jo grips onto his hand. “Seriously, you don’t have to get me anything whenever you come by.”
“It gives me an excuse to visit,” he says.
She punches him in the arm. “Is that all?”
He grins and scoops her up into his arms. “How much are you going to miss me?”
She looks into his hazel eyes. They already know the answer. “A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
She presses her mouth against his. Lets it go on forever.
“That much, huh?” He sets her back down on her feet. “Guess I need to hurry back then.”
“Yeah, you better.” She touches his face one more time.
Dean calls for Sam, and the two brothers get in the Impala. She stands in the dust cloud they leave behind and begins to count the days until she will see them again.
THE END