6. Flint, Michigan

I do miss sleeping. I miss the dreaming, whether good or bad. It was my escape when things got a little too rough and realistic for me to handle. Now, I can't avoid that. Being a demon means no rest.

Thankfully, that doesn't keep me exhausted or anything, because shortly after our downtime, my brothers and I get ourselves a case up in Durham, Washington. The monster of the case: werewolves. Sam and Dean had met one on a previous case, named Kate, and really it turned out that we had been hunting Kate's sister, Tasha. Kate was trying to help her little sister adjust, because apparently there was a way to keep your werewolf self in control. But Tasha had other plans, turning people and wanting to become a leader of her own pack.

We'd come close to killing her, more so Dean and I had been close. The darkness in me had egged me on to do it. Thank God I saw reason, because Kate would've tried to rip my throat out. We let the sister werewolves go in the end, hoping we didn't run into them again.

So, now, we're holed up in a motel room. Since my truck is back at the bunker, we've just got Baby with us.

I step outside, making sure to keep the door shut quietly. My brothers are knocked out on the beds. The sky is lightening, promising morning sun. I lick my lips as I casually walk over to Baby, smiling nostalgically at her. She was my home after I lost my actual, physical home in Kansas. Most of that night isn't clear, as I had only been 2 at the time. All I got out of that is my fear of fire and being trapped in a burning building.

Hey, demons have to fear something.

"Sometimes I wish you were mine, but then I'd be breaking my truck's heart," I whisper to the Impala. As far as I can recall, I never got put behind the wheel of her. I'd only been in the passenger's seat or the back. Thankfully, I've had no appearances in the trunk. I've never been in the driver's seat, never really felt how she moved at the touch of my foot.

I look back at the closed motel door. I could slip in and snatch the keys away, take her for a small test drive. It wouldn't be hard, my brothers have been sleeping like the dead lately. Quiet noises won't wake them. And I've found as a demon, I've become lither.

Feeling a little mischievous, I head for the door. But by the time I get to the door, it's opened, and a very sleepy-looking Dean is my greeting.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," I tease him.

"I know better than to ask why you're up this early."

"I think I should be asking you that question." I ruffle my dark hair.

"Figured I'd do some work on Baby. You know, clean her out and whatnot."

"Want some help? Clearly I'm not out here for my health."

Dean smooths back his bedhead. "Yeah, uh, sure. Whatever you want."

"Come on, wake up some, chief." I pat him roughly on the back to jolt him a little more.

"Hey, you wanna go get a paper, scan through it and see if we can pick up a case?"

I purse my lips. "I thought we were taking it easy?"

"We weren't since the case in Durham, Jo. I'll start in the trunk."

"I guess I'll get the paper, then."

I leave Dean and the Impala behind to find the newspaper stand outside of the motel. The sun's rising, more light is shining now. I pick out a paper, walking back. Dean's already popped Baby's trunk open, shuffling around in there. Casually, I lean against her, unrolling the paper and skimming through it.

"Find anything worth our time?" Dean calls from the trunk.

"I'm looking," I say, eyes skimming the small print.

"How's your, uh, you know...?"

"What?" I look up from the paper, over my shoulder at Dean.

"Your demon half."

I sniff. "It's in control. I'm telling you, Dean, I got this. Worry when things get really bad."

"Tell me what qualifies as 'really bad' then."

I shrug. "You'll know it when you see it, I guess." I go back to the paper. "Hey, I think I got something. Flint, Michigan. Teacher at an all-girls school went missing. She was heading to her car, vanished, and nobody's seen her since. Sounds like our thing, right?"

"You know I'm all for it. You just gotta get Sam on board. And if that's all you're gonna give him, I'm telling you now, he won't see it as a case."

I fold the paper back up. "Well, guess that means we'll just have to convince him, then." I slink around towards Baby's trunk, looking at the arsenal inside. I whistle lowly. "If my truck had a trunk, this would so be in it."

"You don't have your own stash?"

I give Dean a pointed look. "I was out of the game for years, Dean. I just came back into it recently. I didn't have the time to build up a stockpile."

"Fair point."

I lick my lips, leaning against Baby. "So, how's your thing doing? The...the Mark?"

"Jo, you've seen me. I'm fine."

"Doesn't mean anything. Words are one thing, actions are another." I look up at the motel door opening again. "Hey, Sammy."

"How long have you guys been up?" Sam asks. Sometimes I keep forgetting Sam doesn't know I'm a demon. Let's keep it that way.

"Long enough to find a case," I say proudly.

"Long enough to..." Sam looks at Dean. "I take it that means you're feeling back to normal?"

"Yeah, whatever normal is in our world," says Dean.

"Take a look," I tell Sam, handing him the paper. "Teacher at an all-girls school in Flint, Michigan disappeared after going to her car. Hasn't been seen since then."

"Jo, there's nothing here that even remotely suggests there is a case."

"There is nothing that even remotely suggests there isn't a case," Dean retorts. "Boom!"

"Come on, you guys."

"Sam! Out there, hunting. It's the only normal I know."

Sam looks at me, pleading. "You can't seriously agree with him."

I shrug. "Better to look that not look at all."

"See, Jo knows," Dean boasts. I roll my eyes. He sticks a rifle back in Baby's trunk. "We got work to do."

* * *

"Thanks, officer." I get off the phone as Dean pulls up to the high school. I pull myself out of the backseat of the Impala. "So, the last place Ms. Chandler was seen by anyone was in the auditorium. Turns out she's the drama teacher."

"Ugh, theater kids," Dean groans. "Great."

"What?" Sam asks. "I was a theater kid."

"Barely. You did Our Town, which was cool. But then, you did that crappy musical."

"The—Oklahoma? Hugh Jackman got cast off of Oklahoma."

"You ran tech, Wolverine."

"Shut up."

We head inside and meet the principal in our Feds gear. We get the introductions out of the way before she leads us to the auditorium.

"If you need anything else, let me know," says Ms. Salazar. Her name almost made me think her last name was just a first name. I swore I thought her last name would be "Slytherin". We thank her before heading inside the auditorium.

My eyes take in everything. I've always admired drama kids. To be able to be on stage and pull off their parts flawlessly. I'd had the wild dream of becoming an actress when I was little. Whenever Sam, Dean, and I ever played pretend, I always made sure to give my performance 110%.

"You, idjits!"

I look around for the voice. There's only one person I know who's ever said that word.

"You, idjits."

I hear it again. But my eyes fall on a young girl, dressed almost eerily similar to how I remember Bobby Singer. I'm a little perturbed by the beard she's got on her face. I feel my heart crack a little. The last time I'd seen Bobby Singer was before I'd ran away from the family business. I haven't seen him in ages, and I can't really visit him now because he's dead.

I look at Sam and Dean. They've got the same expression as I do on my face.

"Hey, ass-butt!" shouts another voice.

This turns my attention to another young actress who's dressed very similar to Cas. So similar that it gives me chills. I clear my throat uncomfortably. She looks like she's got a bottle of something. I tilt my head curiously.

My ears pick up the piano notes, and my eyes are directed towards the stage. I feel sick inside as I see another actress, this time dressed as Dean. The setting looks to be a bedroom. This musical number doesn't seem like it's gonna be light-hearted.

Actress-Dean starts singing, and watching the scene as she sings, I don't pay attention to the lyrics at all. There are actresses as John and Mary Winchester, and Mary is holding a prop baby, which has to be Sam. I'm nowhere to be found.

Wait, why am I worrying about that? This should be freaking me out. It is.

I feel like I've walked into a different universe.

"Cut!" someone shouts, pulling me from my stupor.

"What in the holy..." I stammer weakly.

"If there is a case...It probably has something to do with all of this," Sam says.

"You think?"

The scene has stopped, and I watch as the girl—who's supposedly the director—is talking with someone else. The director runs down off the stage, with the girl in tow. I'm just waiting for her to trip up the steps, but she never does.

"Hi!" she says. I have to take a step back. "Oh my gosh...Are you from the publisher? I'm Marie, writer slash director. This is Maeve, my stage manager, and I was just, uh, dir—"

I don't understand why Marie stops until I notice it. Sam has pulled out his badge, and Dean is about ready to do the same. But I notice the actresses who are playing my brothers—this is so weird—are practicing their proper FBI badge reveal.

I clear my throat and gesture for Sam to put it away.

"I'm special agent Smith," says Sam. "These are my partners, special agents—"

"Smith," says Dean.

"Black," I say. Dean just looks at me, I shrug.

"No relation," says Sam, trying to cover our tracks. "We're here to look into the disappearance—"

"There is no singing in Supernatural!" Dean blurts out.

I have no idea what the fuck is going on. This is weird even for me, and I crawled out of Hell and came back to Earth in a different body as a demon.

Maeve and Marie look just as confused as I do.

"Well, this is Marie's interpretation," says Maeve.

"Well...I mean, if there was singing, you know...And that's a big if! If there was singing, it would be classic rock. Not this Andrew Floyd Webber crap—"

"Andrew Lloyd Webber," Sam corrects Dean in a whisper.

"What?"

"Well!" says Marie. "You know, do we sing a cover of Carry On Wayward Son, in the second act."

"Really?" I ask.

"It's a classic!" Marie and Dean defend the song.

"Hey, whoa, easy." I put my hands out in defense. "I was just asking."

"Anyways," says Sam. "We're here to talk about the disappearance of Ms. Chandler. Any chance you two saw her, before she vanished?"

"Hum, yeah," says Marie. "She left around, like, what? Nine-thirty?"

"Any idea where she would be headed at that time of night?"

"A bar?" says Maeve. "Or a liquor store? Both?"

"Wow," I say. "Really?"

"She had a nasty divorce, last year," says Marie. "Most of the time, she's sipping on her, uh, grown-up juice, or passed out. Usually, in that order."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame her." I shuffle. "I'm gonna need fifty yellow shots and a oz down to get this stick off of me."

"Maeve, right?" asks Sam before she can jump down my throat. "You're the stage manager?"

"And I understudy Jody Mills."

My eyes widen. I heard that name once, from my brothers. They've run into her a few times. I never got the chance to meet her.

"What?" asks Dean.

"That's great!" says Sam. "That's great. Jody Mills, that's great." I nudge him from behind. "So! How about you give a...behind the scenes tour, while your director shows my partner Ms. Chandler's office?"

The girls nod.

"Great," I butt in. "Give us a moment, please."

Maeve and Marie leave.

"I'm gonna throw up," says Dean.

I pat his shoulder. "Too bad we can't access the grown-up juice right now." I blow out a breath.

"I mean, I gotta say, it's kind of charming," says Sam. "The production value, and the...No?" Dean's giving him a severe look. "No, no. I'm gonna check for EMF. You look for...cursed objects."

"I'll go with Sam," I volunteer. As I lead Sam away, I whisper, "Tell me what's going on."

"With what?"

"That." I gesture to the stage, all the characters, props, backdrops. "How...?"

"There's a book series that's based on our lives."

"What?"

"Shh!"

"Sorry. But, seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

I look at the stage. "So...I see you, Mom, Dad, Dean, Bobby, Cas, and supposed there's a Jody Mills. But...no me."

"What, you disappointed?" he teases.

I punch him on the arm. I flinch as I see him wince. "Sorry. No, I'm not. I'm just really confused."

"Well...you weren't around for a while, Jo. You weren't in the books, just probably mentioned. You never made an appearance."

"So, these books...would I be able to use the said books to figure out what I've missed?"

"It's not recommended, but they only go so far. We still know a huge chunk."

"Right." I sigh, rubbing the creases on my forehead. "Okay, let's—let's just get through this. The faster we do, the faster I can erase this from my mind."

**I would've regretted not doing "Fan Fiction". For real.

But, this one was a toughie, considering Jo wasn't around for the majority of the Supernatural book years.**