Title: Blood and Anesthetic

Chapter: 6

Notes: An alternate, milder version of this chapter is available at FF.Net.

~~~~~~~~~

Jo’s refusal to take Dean’s gift stung deep.

He brooded about it, dwelling on it more when he saw Castiel and Jo about to kiss in Cas’s cabin and then them actually kissing at the campfire. The more he thought about it, the madder he got.

He was trying, damn it! And she just pushed him away, running back to Cas.

They all ran to Cas, like he could heal their pains with a kiss, a feel, and a roll between the sheets.

It slipped his mind that he’d asked Castiel to look after her, conveniently forgotten as jealous pangs gripped him.

He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, seething in the dark. His thoughts were in turmoil, imagining Jo and Cas together. There was no way Cas wasn’t doing her. After all, she was still in his cabin, sleeping there every night. There had to be more than sleeping going on. Had to be.

He ended up sleeping for nearly eleven hours, though a good chunk wasn’t restful, waking with a crick in his neck and a mild headache. Dean sat up, flung the covers off and swung his legs over the side of his bed, staring at the wall. A shuddering yawn worked through him and he got up, heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Why couldn’t Jo have just taken the gift? Why did she have to refuse it?

He avoided his reflection in the mirror as much as possible, purposely taking a cold shower in an attempt to clear the fuzziness from his mind.

It was a gray, rainy day, of the sort where he wanted to go back to bed and sleep, curling under the covers and hoping his constant exhaustion would finally ease. Not many people were about, the dining hall mostly empty when he reached it. The sound of rain pattering on the roof was a constant loud drumming.

Geez, he needed a vacation from all of this.

Biscuits and gravy were the main offering and he took a double portion, eating slowly and nursing cup after cup of coffee until he felt somewhat human. When he thought he could function without screaming at someone, he headed over to see Chuck.

Melanie was there when he went in, stocking the shelves at the back, her hair loose. Her jeans and t-shirt molded to her curves and he studied her a moment, mapping those curves with his eyes. She did have a nice figure, the sight of her bending and the jeans clinging to her pushing some of his dark mood away.

Dean angled his chair so that he could sneak glances at her while they worked. May as well enjoy the sights.

Chuck had the papers they needed to study laid out on the desk. “We’ve got a couple newbies who’d like to go out. I put them on separate teams, partnered one with Mike, the other with Scott.”

“Sounds good.” Mike and Scott were excellent choices to baby-sit the newbies. Both were careful and observant and would keep mischief to the minimum. “You got a target in mind?”

Melanie turned and stood up on tiptoe, reaching high above her head to set something on a shelf, her t-shirt riding up and exposing her stomach. Apparently not satisfied with adding whatever it was to the shelf, she turned a little more, breasts thrusting out as she stretched up to shove the item back.

“Well, we’re getting low on prescription meds. I thought a pharmacy or clinic for one. Doc would be happy if we stocked up on pain meds and antibiotics, especially the non-penicillin types. He says we’ve got a few allergic to penicillin now.”

Dean cleared his throat, sliding his attention to the piles of papers and not the press of Melanie’s breasts to her t-shirt. “And the other?”

“We’re pretty stocked up on food and hygiene products, so…someplace for clothing? We should grab some heavier gear with the weather starting to cool. Then we can take a week or two off, maybe even three.”

“Pick a place.” He lifted the rotation sheets, studied them, and was about to comment when Melanie asked a question.

Dean looked at her, saw what she held in her hands and the hunger in her eyes. She wanted that bottle of sesame body oil that Jo had refused, wanted it with a fierce need. Why not, he decided on impulse. Jo’s refusal was Melanie’s gain -- since she wanted it so badly.

He flirted with her a little, enjoyed seeing her finally relax somewhat near him and wondered if that flush on her cheeks continued right down her chest. She was pretty when she wasn’t crying. When she’d gone, he returned to the desk, noticing Chuck’s expression. Wariness and censure rolled together. He almost laughed. “What? She’s legal.”

Chuck shook his head. “She’s too sweet. Naïve.”

“How naïve can she really be? She goes to Cas’s gatherings all the time, remember? If she was naïve, I doubt she’s that anymore. Believe me, Chuck, a girl who’s into free love and that sort of thing? She’s not so innocent.”

“She’s nice, Dean.”

He shook his head. “Relax, Chuck. I don’t plan to tap that.” Yet, anyway, he added silently to himself. Maybe in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Did this just come in?” Melanie whirled, the bottle of sesame oil in her hands.

Chuck opened his mouth to answer, intending on telling her it was on hold. He’d been hoping Jo would change her mind since Dean was upset and him upset wasn’t really something anyone wanted.

Dean answered before he could. “Sure did.” Getting up from his chair, he sauntered to her.

Melanie clasped the bottle tight to her breasts, her wide eyes holding the slightest hint of fear as Dean towered over her. It seemed to Chuck that she was afraid he’d snatch the bottle away from her and he swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, waiting for Dean to do just that -- pluck it away and say something caustic.

“You like this stuff?” Stretching out a hand, Dean touch a finger to the lid of the bottle.

Groaning softly, Chuck shook his head. Oh no. He recognized that expression on Dean’s face and the tone of his voice. He was flirting with Melanie, giving her that seductive steamy-eyed look that Chuck had always had trouble describing just right on paper. Try as he might, he’d never quite been able to accurately capture Dean’s expression with words, though he had heard it described by one woman as ‘sex in a glance’.

“Yes,” she admitted, face flushing a deep red, confusion replacing that fear in her eyes. She shifted her weight. “It’s my favorite.”

“Is it?” He smiled at her, that cocky little grin he used when picking up women. Chuck had seen that before too. “How about that?”

She bit her lip, breaking eye contact with him.

Dean’s fingers dropped from the lid to the backs of her hands, rubbing briefly before dropping away from her. “It’s yours. Take it.”

“Really?”

Chuck let his head fall into his hands, stifling another groan. This was so not good.

“Really.”

Her smile was shy. “Thank you.”

Not good, not good, not good. Chuck chanted that to himself in his head. Though Dean denied that he planned to ‘tap that’ as he put it, Chuck could see the lie plain on Dean’s face. He was thinking about it and if he did, those jealous women he’d been screwing would make Mel’s life hell.

Maybe he should tell Castiel or Jo and they could keep an eye on the situation.

~~~~~~~~~~

As much as Jo didn’t mind Melanie being in the cabin when she first woke up, she didn’t particularly care for her habit of sitting on the bed watching her sleep. She remembered Dean telling her how Castiel used to do that and, at the time, Jo had been amused by it. The reality of someone doing it, however, was not so funny. It was discomfiting to wake and see someone right there staring at her.

Jo sat up, adjusting the covers about herself. “Hey. Morning.”

“Hey.” Melanie nodded in a distracted manner. “Can I talk to you about something? I really need someone to talk to.”

“Sure. About what?”

She bit her lip, teeth grazing it as she hunched over, looking down at her crossed legs. “About Dean.”

Sleep disappeared in an instant, leaving Jo immediately alert. “Of course you can talk to me.” What on earth had he done?

“I’m confused,” she confided. “For three months, he was nothing but mean to me and then all of a sudden he’s…he’s smiling at me and I’m not complaining, Jo, I just don’t understand the switch. Like,” she turned, gesturing with one hand, “I found this body oil on the shelves in supplies and it’s this really good stuff, smells great, and it’s so good for your skin! I was the first to see it because it would have been gone otherwise.”

The oil she’d had Chuck put out. That gift from Dean. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, I asked about it and Dean, he got up and came over, and he was looking at me and…. The look was like when you’re with Cas and his eyes go all dark and smolder-y. You know, right? When you can almost see exactly what he wants and what he’s planning on doing and it makes your insides tremble. All you want right then is for him to touch you already, but you know he’s going to drag it out and make you wait.”

Yeah, Jo was beginning to be familiar with that look. “Go on.”

“That’s how Dean was looking at me. At me. He never looks at me like that. And then he smiled too, like he knew that I knew that he was undressing me in his head and he didn’t mind me knowing that. Maybe he even wanted me to know that.”

“And?” There was more, she could see it in how Melanie leaned towards her, her eyes getting wider and wider as she spoke.

“He touched my hand. Like this.” Taking Jo’s hand, she demonstrated and Jo had to admit, a touch like that wasn’t one of Dean’s more subtle gestures. It was about as subtle as a semi at high speed. “It was…. Jo, what do I do?” She wailed the last words with a touch of panic.

“It sounds like he was just flirting a little is all.”

“I know that, but why?”

Why was a good question. Melanie wasn’t Dean’s sort of woman at all. “I don’t know. Because he thinks you’re pretty and he likes pretty women?”

Her features scrunched up in an expression of doubt. “Pretty?”

“You are pretty, Mel. As long as he’s not yelling at you, right?”

“I guess. But what if they notice?”

“Who?”

“Them. The three N’s.” The way she said it made it sound like some sort of dark coven of witches when in reality she only meant Dean’s recent favorites: Nina, Nicole, and Nora.

“Relax. They’d have to go through half the camp to get at you.”

While she seemed to accept that answer, she asked another panicked question. “But what if he does it again?”

“Flirt back,” Jo suggested with a shrug.

“I couldn’t.”

“Maybe he won’t do it again.” Fat chance. If he liked how she’d reacted, he’d be back trying to get that same reaction from her over and over again. “Why don’t you just wait and see if it happens again and if it does, then deal with it then?”

Melanie sighed. “I suppose.” She got up from the bed. “Well, thanks for listening. I’ve got to get over to the school area. Later.”

Closing her eyes, Jo shook her head, then climbed from the bed and set about getting dressed.

Nearly an hour later, Jo made her way to the infirmary. There was little activity, the doctor -- Alan -- alone and organizing items on shelves along one end of the small room. He was a man of medium height, with graying blond hair, and a dry wit.

Turning, he peered at her over the tops of his bifocals. “Let me guess…. Birth control?”

“Yeah, how did you --”

“Do you think there’s a single person in this camp who doesn’t know where you’re sleeping?” He reached for a clipboard and pen, fitting several sheets of paper under the clip. “I’m only surprised you haven’t been in before now.”

Before now? But I’ve only been here a few weeks, she thought.

Did everyone just assume she was already one of Castiel’s women just because she was staying with him? Jo considered that a second with what she knew of Cas’s reputation around camp. She supposed it really was a fair assumption….

Snagging a wheeled stool, he dragged it to the table and motioned her over. “Give me a brief family history.”

Jo complied. There wasn’t much to tell. Both sides of her family had been healthy. He took her blood pressure, got her height, weight, and other pertinent health data.

“What have you taken previously?”

She listed off what she’d taken in the past.

His head dipped in an approving nod. “Perfect. We’ll start you back on that last one, unless you had any problems on it?”

“No, no problems. You mean you actually have that here?”

His thin lips turned up in a small smile. “We raid pharmacies, too. All the time. I’d rather be fully stocked than missing something essential in an emergency.” Going to a big box in one corner, he opened it. “We got lucky when we hit a clinic awhile back. They’d just gotten a shipment of that brand you need, so I’ve got plenty for now.”

She left the building with a paper sack holding six pill packets, not hiding the contents when Cas asked what she’d picked up. It could have been anything -- Chuck used paper sacks, too.

Picking up one packet, he studied it. “When do you start taking them?”

“A couple days.”

The packet was set with the others, his arms going around her, mouth lowering to nibble along her neck. Jo slid her arms around his shoulders, one hand curling in his hair. In another time, the reality of his other women would have bothered her. Here, now, it didn’t. It was simply a part of who he was. Someday she’d have to analyze herself and figure out why that didn’t bother her.

It wasn’t like he didn’t care about her because he did. He expressed concern for her in various ways daily. She never felt like he expected her to be anything more than who she was -- a main problem when she’d been with Dean. There’d always been the sense that he’d thought she should be different, as though his idea of her wasn’t anything near who she really was.

Castiel paused. “What’s wrong,” he asked in a whisper at her ear. “You stiffened up just now.” Drawing back a fraction, he slid his hand up to stroke his fingers across her cheek. “Was it something I did?”

“No.” After a quick inner debate in her head, she decided she wasn’t ready to explain. “Just a ghost of Christmas past in my head.”

“Dickens,” he said with a pleased gleam in his eyes. She’d noticed he was always pleased when he understood cultural references. Dean’s constant habit of tossing cultural references into conversation had often frustrated him in the past. Jo remembered Cas losing his temper with that habit on two separate occasions, telling Dean it was pointless to use such references when he didn’t know what Dean referred to. “A Christmas Carol.”

“Yeah. You saw the movie?” Likely.

“I read the book. The ghost of Christmas past….”

She could practically see him paging through the book in his head for the reference.

“The first ghost. Dean?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Context?”

Jo shook her head. “I don’t really feel like explaining it. Maybe someday, but not right now.”

He accepted her refusal with a shrug, his hands now on her hips, squeezing lightly. “Actually, I wanted to see if you’d like to round out a game or two of Pitch after lunch. I need a partner.”

“Cas, you suck at Pitch. You get the worst hands so consistently it’s almost funny. I’ve never seen someone so bad at it before.” Pitch was one of those games that they could play for hours.

“That’s why I need you as a partner. You tend to win. Between the two of us, we should balance out somewhere in the middle most games. Besides, you haven’t seen Chuck play yet. The last time we tried to teach Melanie the game she sat there and laughed at his hand every time instead of laughing at mine. Had the giggles for over an hour. Of course that might have been the wine Alexis gave her, too.”

Spending the afternoon playing cards sounded like a good idea. What else was there to do with the pouring rain?

~~~~~~~~~~

She was different than the others. Castiel didn’t really know how to explain it if anyone asked. Jo just was. She was special to him and he was pleased to see that his women recognized it and accepted it, treating her like one of their own. They included her readily in conversations and daily activities. He’d even noticed a couple of them coming to her for advice. Good. He wanted her to be comfortable and feel like she belonged here.

He wanted…her.

But not too soon.

He felt like taking his time and enjoying the process, however long it took.

~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel’s kisses made Jo feel like her body was bursting into flames. She melted into a little puddle of want and need with every deep probing caress of his tongue against hers, finding herself anticipating moments that could bring about another kiss. She supposed one thing that made each kiss so incendiary was the fact that while his mouth was wicked, his hands were chaste. He avoided every subtle and blatant hint she made that he could let his hands roam where they wanted, continuing to keep his touches to her the same as they’d been: friendly. Jo had the oddest feeling that he was savoring each moment.

For nearly a week, he teased her with those hot kisses…and then his hands turned naughty. Jo could honestly say she’d never anticipated a man’s hands on her bare skin as much as she craved Castiel’s hands on her. His lean fingers danced along her body in caresses that ranged from firm to light as a feather, at first treating the t-shirt and panties she wore to sleep in like impenetrable barriers. He’d drag his fingertips along her inner thighs while his lips nibbled at hers, and right when he’d reach either article of clothing, he’d change direction, leaving her gasping and trembling.

Her frustration increased when she realized he was in no hurry for more, content to tease her into constant higher levels of frustrated desire on a daily basis.

Jo groaned, fingers digging into his bare shoulders as though her grip could make him continue. “I won’t say no,” she told him.

Amusement flickered in his eyes and he smiled, running his thumb along her lower lip. “I know you won’t.”

That hand moved down her body, slipping under the t-shirt, fingers tracing the waistband of her panties before sliding beneath the fabric. Jo closed her eyes with a little moan. He touched her how she wanted and to that conclusion she ached for, yet the satisfying moment only left her wanting more.

“So,” she panted, “what do I have to do to get full ride privileges? Join up?”

He rested his hand on her belly, thumb sweeping back and forth. “That’s separate. This, between us, is different. It’s more than a pursuit of pleasure. The anticipation is a part of the journey.”

“A long journey? Because…I don’t know how much more I can take.”

He chuckled. “Believe me, Jo. You can handle more than you think.”

“I’d rather not test that theory.”

“I think you’d love testing that theory.”

She began to wear the perfume Melanie had given her. It was a light floral scent with an undercurrent of musk that she decided she really liked. When she’d asked Melanie why she’d given her the perfume, she’d smiled and shrugged. ‘It’s something good. I thought you could use that.’

Jo also wore the chemise, glad now that she’d accepted both of the gifts. It pleased her to see Castiel’s reaction when he walked in and saw her in the center of the bed with that little slip of next to nothing on.

He came to her, pausing to close the curtains at the end of the bed, giving them privacy, then bent, placing his hands flat on the mattress and leaning close. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more so.”

One hand raised. “I’ll do nothing that you don’t want,” he told her, tracing her features with his fingertips. “If you’re uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll stop.” His eyes seemed to darken to a deeper blue, his hand curving behind her neck and his mouth covering hers in one of those passionate kisses that caused an instant rise of desire inside her.

She reached for the buttons on his shirt, fingers fumbling with each one until the fabric parted and she could touch his bare skin. One kiss blended into two, then three, Jo raising up onto her knees to press against him. He wrapped an arm around her, dragging her tight to him, the buckle of his belt digging in to her stomach. Cas nibbled his way from her mouth, along her jaw, and down her neck. Jo explored his chest, stomach, and sides with her hands and then her lips, smiling a little to herself as his head tipped back, a ragged moan leaving him. His skin felt impossibly hot to touch.

Cas grabbed the hem of the chemise, tugging it up over her head and tossing it aside. “Lie back.” His voice was a hoarse whisper.

She did as he wanted, watching him remove his clothes and drop them onto the floor.

“Just like…” he shifted her legs apart slightly, “that. You are so beautiful.” He slid his fingers in swirling patterns up her calves. “I could look at you all day and night.” Slowly, he lowered his mouth to her knee, and began to work his way up her inner thighs, eyes never breaking contact with hers. The heat in his gaze seared through her. “Drink in the smell of you, savor the taste of you….”

He was infinitely gentle, Jo’s desire for him increasing with each caressing pass of his hands and mouth along her body. Pleasure coiled in her belly, then stretched tendrils outward into her limbs. It had been a long time since she’d felt so loved and adored together for such a long stretch of time. She basked in it like a flower opening fully in the sun.

A thin sheen of sweat coated their skin.

His teeth grazed her earlobe, voice a gruff whisper that was an almost palpable touch upon her. “I want to be inside you.”

Jo nodded, spreading her legs apart as he moved over her, arching up in invitation. The warmth of his body enflamed her further. She made a noise of impatience, sweeping her hands along his ribs, then up his back and down, feeling the play of muscles beneath the skin. The press of him against her, so close to entry, yet not slipping inside her was a sweet torment teasing her. She wanted this, had to have him.

Cas lowered his weight onto her, his thrust into her firm and sure. He began to move, her desire centering, intensifying, racing towards climax. Jo wanted it, needed it, aching for release. Shudders wracked her body and she clung to him. Ecstasy took them, wrapping them up and rolling through them, leaving them limp and sated.

They fell asleep a little while later, still twined together.