Starting from zero
Title : Starting from zero
Author : Joans23
Rating : PG
Paring : Dean/Jo
Prompt : Extension of Anyplace is better, one of my last drabbles. I really loved this idea (inspired by Tracy Chapman's Fast Car) and enough of the back story finally came to me to make it into a complete fic.
Jo quit school when she was fifteen. Ellen had finally lost her job because of the drinking and since everyone knew about her problem, no one else was willing to give her another chance. So Jo got the job at the diner. The aircon was always broken and they made them wear these funny white hats to go with their funny pink outfits, but it paid for the food. And the booze. She didn’t even know Dean Winchester existed.
Dean remembered Jo. He remembered when the Harvelles and the Winchesters were practically one family. Especially after his mom died. Ellen just took newborn Sammy out of John’s shaking arms while Bill gave him and little Jo piggyback rides out back until they practically passed out laughing. Sammy was five and about to start school when everything changed. There was a rock slide at the mine and Bill didn’t make it. John did and Ellen could never forgive him for that. Dean would see her hurrying home from school sometimes when he waited to pick up Sam.
One day he realized he hadn’t seen her in a while and tried to remember the last time he did. But just then Sam came running up with his latest report card and darn if that boy smiling from ear to ear didn’t make him forget all about her. The first thing Sam wanted to know was if Dad was home so he could show him. Dean just didn’t have the heart to tell him John was going to be home late again and even then he knew what his reaction would be. He’d look it over with his usual gruff scowl and pin it to the refrigerator before going out to the porch with a cold beer. So instead he told the kid that he’d just gotten paid and how would he like to be treated to a chocolate milkshake over at the diner to celebrate?
She looked right at them and didn’t see them. She was that way with everybody. All she saw was the worn leather jacket and the single milkshake order and knew the tip would be lousy. But Dean saw her and when she came to pick up the dollar fifty he made sure to accidentally drop the money on the floor. Scrambling down to help her pick it up, she finally noticed how intently those hazel eyes were fixed on her when he took hold of her hand and wouldn’t let it go. He said All right, Jo, see you later and was gone and even though they don’t wear nametags, she never once wondered how he knew her name.
*****
Dean still helps Sam with his homework in the afternoons. He doesn’t mind that he doesn’t see Jo. They’ve got a plan. She’s working double shifts at the diner, helping with the late shift ‘cause that’s when the truckers come in and they’re the ones who really tip well. His own job down at Al’s Garage pays next to nothing, but the old man lets him fix up his car for free in his spare time. He found the Impala in a junk yard just before he turned sixteen and his Dad helped him buy it. Now he saves every spare penny in an old coffee can he hides under a loose floorboard under his bed. Every dollar puts them a little closer to another gallon that’ll take them another mile.
Jo doesn’t really mind the extra hours at the diner. Her mom’s usually passed out by the time she finally makes it home. It’s much easier getting her limp form into bed than it is to try and evade her questions and accusing eyes. The days are long and her feet want to kill her each night when she crawls into bed, but somehow it’s worth it. Feeling the strain in her shoulders and hearing her back crick back into place is the closest to happy she’s been in years. They’ve got a plan.
*****
They come alive on Sundays. They drive a couple of miles out of town and park under an old oak tree in the middle of some forgotten field. They build their dreams out of dapple shade with her head on his lap. It’s her favorite, so he plays her Creedance even though he likes Zeppelin. She says it’s because Fogerty’s a fox and he knows better than to dig deeper. Someday she’ll tell him how the songs remind her of what her mother was like … before. How when she closes her eyes, she can still see her sitting on the hood of her Dad’s old Chevy truck with his arm slung around her shoulders, her carefree hair floating in the breeze. How it reminds her of being loved.
It’s on a hot night in July under the starry night sky and that old oak that they finally go all the way. Jo starts to cry in the beginning, she can’t help being a little scared. But Dean is gentle and takes it slow so in the end it doesn’t hurt that much. They lay awake after, whispering softly until the sky starts to turn red with the rising sun. Before they leave Dean carves their initials into that tree with the little knife Jo has of her father and always carries with her. Together forever.
*****
They’ve loaded the car with everything they own, everything they’ve managed to save. John doesn’t say anything, but he’s known for a while that they were leaving. He can see him trying to find the right time and the right words, but in the end Dean just gives him a sad smile and sits down next to him on the porch for a while. Their only goodbye is when John rests his hand on his shoulder for second before going inside. Sam has no idea and it breaks Dean’s heart to have to leave him behind, but he knows Sammy will be gone soon too. He made sure of that when he sent out all those college and bursary applications. They all came back accepted and lay waiting for Sam with the note saying goodbye. Dean finds a little peace in the fact that at least Sam will be able to be someone, to find a place to belong. He leaves while Sam is still in school, he knows he won’t be able to get in the car and drive away with him staring at him in the rearview mirror.
Jo sits with her mom and tells her she’s leaving. Her eyes are glazed over as Jo plants a kiss on her slack cheek. Ellen’s so far gone, she’s not even sure she can hear her, let alone understand her. But when she gets up, swings her duffel over her shoulder and takes a last look back before letting the screen door swing shut, she sees her sitting there in the semi dark with silent tears streaming down her face.
They don’t really know where they’re going, where they’ll end up. But for know they’re here, living the dream, driving 120 miles per hour, the black car hungrily eating up the road to a destination unknown. They’re stocked up on hopes and dreams. Maybe they’ll be back sooner than they left. Maybe they’ll end up in the suburbs, in a little house with a white picket fence and a couple of kids running around in the yard. Maybe they won’t. Maybe together they can make it.
Author : Joans23
Rating : PG
Paring : Dean/Jo
Prompt : Extension of Anyplace is better, one of my last drabbles. I really loved this idea (inspired by Tracy Chapman's Fast Car) and enough of the back story finally came to me to make it into a complete fic.
Jo quit school when she was fifteen. Ellen had finally lost her job because of the drinking and since everyone knew about her problem, no one else was willing to give her another chance. So Jo got the job at the diner. The aircon was always broken and they made them wear these funny white hats to go with their funny pink outfits, but it paid for the food. And the booze. She didn’t even know Dean Winchester existed.
Dean remembered Jo. He remembered when the Harvelles and the Winchesters were practically one family. Especially after his mom died. Ellen just took newborn Sammy out of John’s shaking arms while Bill gave him and little Jo piggyback rides out back until they practically passed out laughing. Sammy was five and about to start school when everything changed. There was a rock slide at the mine and Bill didn’t make it. John did and Ellen could never forgive him for that. Dean would see her hurrying home from school sometimes when he waited to pick up Sam.
One day he realized he hadn’t seen her in a while and tried to remember the last time he did. But just then Sam came running up with his latest report card and darn if that boy smiling from ear to ear didn’t make him forget all about her. The first thing Sam wanted to know was if Dad was home so he could show him. Dean just didn’t have the heart to tell him John was going to be home late again and even then he knew what his reaction would be. He’d look it over with his usual gruff scowl and pin it to the refrigerator before going out to the porch with a cold beer. So instead he told the kid that he’d just gotten paid and how would he like to be treated to a chocolate milkshake over at the diner to celebrate?
She looked right at them and didn’t see them. She was that way with everybody. All she saw was the worn leather jacket and the single milkshake order and knew the tip would be lousy. But Dean saw her and when she came to pick up the dollar fifty he made sure to accidentally drop the money on the floor. Scrambling down to help her pick it up, she finally noticed how intently those hazel eyes were fixed on her when he took hold of her hand and wouldn’t let it go. He said All right, Jo, see you later and was gone and even though they don’t wear nametags, she never once wondered how he knew her name.
*****
Dean still helps Sam with his homework in the afternoons. He doesn’t mind that he doesn’t see Jo. They’ve got a plan. She’s working double shifts at the diner, helping with the late shift ‘cause that’s when the truckers come in and they’re the ones who really tip well. His own job down at Al’s Garage pays next to nothing, but the old man lets him fix up his car for free in his spare time. He found the Impala in a junk yard just before he turned sixteen and his Dad helped him buy it. Now he saves every spare penny in an old coffee can he hides under a loose floorboard under his bed. Every dollar puts them a little closer to another gallon that’ll take them another mile.
Jo doesn’t really mind the extra hours at the diner. Her mom’s usually passed out by the time she finally makes it home. It’s much easier getting her limp form into bed than it is to try and evade her questions and accusing eyes. The days are long and her feet want to kill her each night when she crawls into bed, but somehow it’s worth it. Feeling the strain in her shoulders and hearing her back crick back into place is the closest to happy she’s been in years. They’ve got a plan.
*****
They come alive on Sundays. They drive a couple of miles out of town and park under an old oak tree in the middle of some forgotten field. They build their dreams out of dapple shade with her head on his lap. It’s her favorite, so he plays her Creedance even though he likes Zeppelin. She says it’s because Fogerty’s a fox and he knows better than to dig deeper. Someday she’ll tell him how the songs remind her of what her mother was like … before. How when she closes her eyes, she can still see her sitting on the hood of her Dad’s old Chevy truck with his arm slung around her shoulders, her carefree hair floating in the breeze. How it reminds her of being loved.
It’s on a hot night in July under the starry night sky and that old oak that they finally go all the way. Jo starts to cry in the beginning, she can’t help being a little scared. But Dean is gentle and takes it slow so in the end it doesn’t hurt that much. They lay awake after, whispering softly until the sky starts to turn red with the rising sun. Before they leave Dean carves their initials into that tree with the little knife Jo has of her father and always carries with her. Together forever.
*****
They’ve loaded the car with everything they own, everything they’ve managed to save. John doesn’t say anything, but he’s known for a while that they were leaving. He can see him trying to find the right time and the right words, but in the end Dean just gives him a sad smile and sits down next to him on the porch for a while. Their only goodbye is when John rests his hand on his shoulder for second before going inside. Sam has no idea and it breaks Dean’s heart to have to leave him behind, but he knows Sammy will be gone soon too. He made sure of that when he sent out all those college and bursary applications. They all came back accepted and lay waiting for Sam with the note saying goodbye. Dean finds a little peace in the fact that at least Sam will be able to be someone, to find a place to belong. He leaves while Sam is still in school, he knows he won’t be able to get in the car and drive away with him staring at him in the rearview mirror.
Jo sits with her mom and tells her she’s leaving. Her eyes are glazed over as Jo plants a kiss on her slack cheek. Ellen’s so far gone, she’s not even sure she can hear her, let alone understand her. But when she gets up, swings her duffel over her shoulder and takes a last look back before letting the screen door swing shut, she sees her sitting there in the semi dark with silent tears streaming down her face.
They don’t really know where they’re going, where they’ll end up. But for know they’re here, living the dream, driving 120 miles per hour, the black car hungrily eating up the road to a destination unknown. They’re stocked up on hopes and dreams. Maybe they’ll be back sooner than they left. Maybe they’ll end up in the suburbs, in a little house with a white picket fence and a couple of kids running around in the yard. Maybe they won’t. Maybe together they can make it.