All Roads Where They Lead 2/?

[deeperwonderment]

Title: All Roads Where They Lead 2/?
Author: not_from_stars
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing/Characters: Jo Harvelle
Rating/Category: PG-13, Gen
Summary: Days passed in the same routine for Jo. She'd go out on a hunt, take care of things, and then come back to Bobby's to recuperate from whatever wounds she had received.
Words: 689
Notes: This fic is part of a work in progress that was started last year for the j2_spn_bigbang. I plan to finish it at some point because I like the ideas that were running through my head aftertinylegacies and I came up with the original idea.



The next couple of months all passed by in the same sort of haze. She went home a few times so that her mom would know she was alive -- if not a hundred percent okay. After the first visit, Ellen stopped asking Jo as many questions. She decided that when her daughter wanted to talk, she would. In that way, she was a lot more like her father than even Jo knew.

When she wasn't on a hunt or with Ellen, Jo was spending time at Bobby's. He didn't seem to mind having her there, and Jo knew that it at least made her mom feel better that someone knew where she was and what she was doing. Bobby didn't push her to talk, but did insist on being told when she left on hunts and where they were taking her.

"And don't even think about making any deals with any damn demons," was his usual parting remark when she would leave his place.

Jo knew better. No matter how much she wanted to have Dean back, she knew better than to look to demons to bring him back. You couldn't bring the dead back to life again. You couldn't trust demons. There was also the matter that she knew if she ever thought about such a thing, Dean would be the first one trying to kick her ass over it.

Days passed in the same routine for Jo. She'd go out on a hunt, take care of things, and then come back to Bobby's to recuperate from whatever wounds she had received. There were a few times that she didn't get wounded, but where she needed time to sleep because she had been pushing herself harder than usual. She talked to Ellen a few times, but still wasn't ready to go home. She had to work this out on her own -- or at least in her own way. Most of the time, Bobby gave her space, but there were times that he ended up causing her to talk without trying.

"Your mom is pretty worried about you, Jo," he said one night, watching her play with her knife. "She says that you haven't really talked about it and that you won't go home."

"I can't right now, Bobby."

"You've been saying that for the past several weeks, Jo," he pointed out. "You won't talk much, you won't go see her." He shook his head. "Girl, it ain't her fault that Dean's gone."

Jo's hand flexed around the hilt of her knife and then she dropped it on the table, turning to look at him. "God, I know that Bobby. She hadn't seen them for about as long as I had, so how could it be her fault? That's not the reason I can't go see her right now.'"

"Then what's the reason?"

Jo was silent for a long moment, looking back down. "I remember what mom was like after dad was killed," she said quietly. "She was miserable and it hurt to see her in so much pain. She loved dad so much and when he was taken away from us, it was like something was killed inside her. She still worked very hard to keep things together for us right after that, but I knew. I knew how much she was hurting and wanted to be able to make everything better for her." She shook her head. "I'm not ready for her to see me like that and be upset because she can't fix things for me." She got up from the table, heading towards the door. Once there, she stopped, her hand on the knob. "I loved him, Bobby, and he's gone now. Nothing can change what happened, but I'm not in a place where I can go see mom. She can't fix this for me and I know that even if she won't show it, it will tear her apart to know she can't."

Bobby watched her go, not exactly sure what to say to that. He hadn't realized how attached Jo was to Dean and he wondered if Ellen had any idea.

Comments

[sxymami0909.livejournal.com]

*heavy sigh* Poor Jo...god this is so heartbreaking. I hate seeing Jo in so much pain, but it's so straight forward and well written with emotion that pops from the story that I can't stop reading! I still think it's ridiculous that reading stories like this make me tear up and cry. I'm such a sad person haha. This was wonderful. I can't wait for more! Thanks for sharing.

[auroramama]

She wanted to make everything better for her mom, and she remembers that yearning so much that she can't bear to see it in her mother? Every single one of these kids thinks the world belongs on their shoulders. That's not what a parent wants for their kids, but "do as I say, not as I do" never seems to work in the long run.

I can't help identifying with this Jo, and I wonder what she'll do.