DEAR JACK,
Beneath my happy words,
Underneath my hidden meanings,
Reminds me of a time before you.
Now it makes me feel like I'm dreaming.

𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚—
𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙗𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩

❂

MISSOURI MOSELY HAD BEEN IN NEED OF THE HELP OF THE WINCHESTER BROTHERS.  Sam had thought that it was only best to stay behind and help Jack find how far his abilities could stretch. Of course Dean had hated this idea and decided that since Sam had put Jody on the case, he would head out and help her.

This had left the bunker Dean Winchester free. It was the perfect chance for Sam to work with Jack without listening to the complaints that his brother would bring.

As of now, Jack had been unaware of what was planned for the next few days and with him had been Rose. It had only been a short time knowing one another, but spending time in the bunker only with each other had allowed them to grow closer as friends. However, the bunker wasn't always the most exciting place to be spending time in without a case to work on.

Today, both had been in Jack's room, attempting to bring some life to it. Placing the books that Rose had given him to borrow beside his bed, Jack smiled to himself for a brief moment. Turning to hopefully see Rose smiling in just as much approval, he was surprised to see her not paying much attention at all. "What are you doing?"

Glancing up from painting her nails, she had been startled after all the silence. Holding out the nail polish, a frown came to her lips. "Sorry, did you wanna join in?"

Heading her way, he was curious about what she had been doing. "I'm not sure what it is." Without a word, she waved her hand in hopes of getting his in return. Though hesitant, he had placed his hand in hers, watching as she began to paint his nails. The smell of the nail polish hadn't bothered him in the slightest when he was having what he had believed was a moment with Rose.

Lifting his hand towards her mouth, she said nothing as she blew lightly on his nails. Unable to contain it, Jack had felt his stomach twist into knots, unsure what he had been feeling— all he had known was that he had liked it. "Can I ask you something?" His question fell from his mouth before he could stop himself. Now that she had dropped his hand down and looked to him in question, he knew there was no going back. "Was Kevin... was he more than a friend to you?"

Laughing nervously, Rose shifted in her spot. "Like a boyfriend?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Yeah, he was. Why?"

Grabbing his laptop from the foot of his bed, he placed it in his lap, taking a seat. "Sam gave this to me." Rose was instantly fearful of what history Dean had left on it for Jack to come across. The last thing she had wanted was to give him the talk when it sounded more like a job for Sam Winchester. "Uh, what'd you find on there?"

"Movies," he stated happily. "They were all really good. Interesting... But I was confused. A lot of people had boyfriends and girlfriends... How do I get one?"

"Well, first, you should probably like someone," she laughed. "You know, you gotta actually like hanging out with them. Maybe you'd think they're cute... I don't know. I'm not great with all that stuff. If I had to take a guess, I don't think it'll be too hard for you once you actually start understanding everything. I like hanging out with you, so other people probably will." Rose paused with a shrug of her shoulders. "And you're cute."

Ears peeking up, Jack had lost all sense of embarrassment for asking. "I am?" While he had been glowing from such a compliment, Rose couldn't help but find herself unusually flustered when he had returned the compliment.

Opposite Jack's bedroom door had been Sam Winchester with a grin stuck to his face. When he had told Dean that both Jack and Rose had bonded, he wasn't sure how close the bond had been. Now he had felt he had it all figured out.

Knocking on the door, he didn't bother for a response and popped his head in. "Sorry if you guys were in the middle of something, but, uh, I was gonna see if you guys wanted to watch a movie with me?"

Turning to Jack with a point, Rose raised her eyebrows in excitement. "I'm down, if you are."

Nodding his head, Jack stood from the bed and headed right out the door. Unable to hold back a laugh, Sam turned to Rose with a smirk. "He's eager. Maybe you two can sit by each other... share a popcorn. You two are just so... cute."

Walking up to him, Rose gave a sharp smack to Sam's chest. "You are so not funny. Can I have one conversation with him that doesn't involve a creepy guy sitting outside the door?"

"Not with Dean around, you know that. Now this was a one time accident." Attempting to flip his hair, Sam pursed his lips together and spoke in a high pitched tone. "So, I won't go and tell Jack you just think he's super cute."

Giving him another smack, Rose ended up shoving him out of the bedroom with a groan. "You're such a pain, you know that? You're just jealous that I have some else to..." flipping her hair over her shoulder, Rose batted her eyes at Sam in a ridiculous manner, "daydream about."

"Ah, got it. Nice to know you think I'm cute too. Or was."

"Well, Jack doesn't have your kinda hair... so you got that going for you if you ever want to win me over."

Scoffing, Sam shook his head towards her. Always the two had tended to be playful with one another with their teasing. Sam had thought of Rose as his best friend as she had always been easy to speak with and he had felt he could throw anything to her and she'd toss it back with much more attitude. It's what he liked about her and to hear her teasing today had made him feel like things were starting to become normal.

But normal wasn't enough for him. He had to ask because he had to know. Dean hated opening up and no matter how hard Sam had pushed, he would push him away further. Rose had hated opening up just as much, but she was easier than Dean. He knew if he asked her and she was ready, she'd tell him the truth.

Heading into the kitchen, the two had wanted to grab some popcorn for the movie. Sam had seen this as his chance to wiggle his way into a real conversation from their last few days they had gone through. There was no Dean or Jack to interrupt or close her off. "Do you think they'll come back?" His words had poured out of him so fast he hadn't even prepared himself to take Rose's answer or to prepare to answer hers if she threw one his way.

Rose had paused beside the counter with her back to him. She drummed her fingers on the counter as she had debated not only the answer, but also if she should tell Sam. She had chosen to focus on the latter and continued with preparing popcorn and ignoring Sam.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. It's hard. But you can't bottle this up. Not like him. Dean can barely even look at me right now, I can't have you do that too."

Rose had licked her lips as she had listened to Sam. He had always known how to get her to at least give him something to satisfy him for the time being. Turning to him, she rested her back on the counter and crossed her arms. "All of them?"

"All of them," he confirmed. Four had been lost, and the least he could hope for was one.

"Mary's coming back. I know you know that too." Mary Winchester had fallen in another world but she had also fell with Lucifer. However, Rose had known she was tough and someone like Lucifer wasn't going to step in her way. A sigh had escaped her lips as she tore her eyes away and began to pour the popcorn into a bowl to look as disinterested in the conversation at hand before she continued on. "The others? Cas, I don't know, maybe. Small chance but I guess Chuck liked him."

"And Crowley? Rowena?" Sam had spoken as gently as he could. It was a touchy subject as talking about Mary had been for him. The difference was that he had hope for her since he had not seen her die before them.

Swallowing hard, Rose kept her back to Sam as she gave a lazy shrug. "Uh, not really, I guess. After what he said, not a chance. I think he knew it was the end forever. Rowenas got tricks, but so does Lucifer."

"They could, you know."

"Please don't give me false hope, Sam." Picking up the bowl, she turned to him with a small shake of her head. "I can't sit here hoping and not get it. I hoped for Gavin to come back and he never did. My whole family is a little screwy. Witches and demons, we don't exactly get the free pass from God. The only way we come back is through magic."

"Chuck liked you," he said but he was uncertain himself.

"Chuck liked you and Dean. And you guys like me." Seeing that this had hurt Sam, Rose gave him a small smile to make him feel at least a little better. "Hey, it's okay."

"I should be the one comforting you," he chuckled.

"Dean and you have gone through hell more than anyone. Literally and figuratively. You're allowed to have someone look out for you. Besides, you guys are all I got left now. He hated saying it, but Crowley liked that I ended up with you guys. He knew you guys took care of me."

"Did he know you looked out for us just as much?"

Laughing, Rose passed the bowl of popcorn to him as she grabbed the drinks. "Don't be such a cheeseball. Can we just go watch a movie and forget about everything for a moment?"

Liking the sound of that, Sam and Rose both headed out of the kitchen. Now instead of their heads filled with their own agony, they had fallen back into their playful nature just as they had wanted. Even if it had been for a small bit of time, everything was okay.