[CLOSED] Family matters.

[lightgunhustler]

Who: Jo & Ellen Harvelle
Where: Ellen's room.
When: Backdated to the evening of October 14th.
Rating: PG
Summary: Now that Ellen's settled, it's time for Jo to fill her in on why things are so strained.
The Story:

It was early evening by the time Jo made her way to Ellen's room, complete with a six-pack of beer she nicked from the bar on her way over. The conversation they were due to have wasn't one she was particularly interested in postponing any longer - she had gone out of her way not to mention any part of the dispute that she and Dean had only recently begun to lay to rest, not because she was ashamed or embarrassed but because as much as she both wanted and needed to talk to her mother about what had happened, it was too much to heap on her when she was still adjusting to her new surroundings. Wonderland was a lot to swallow. Jo had been more than willing to put her personal life on hold to give Ellen time to settle in and wrap her head around the place.

Their brief conversation on the network earlier that day hadn't been unwelcome. She wasn't hiding anything, just waiting for the right time to talk, and apparently that time was now. She was prepared for the lecture that was sure to come. Hell, she might even welcome it. Anything that made her feel like life was normal and that this wasn't some strange shadow of an afterlife was always welcome, although she had a feeling she might feel differently once said lecture was underway.

Sighing softly to herself, she knocked. "Mom? You in?"

Comments

[justrunsasaloon]

Ellen gives a small, sad smile. It doesn't reach her eyes, but only because she knows that her baby has grown up. Even if she hadn't believed it in Carthage, this place is proving that she needs to let go of the apron strings a bit.

A deep breath, and Ellen just wants to hold onto her baby girl. To crawl into bed and cuddle her the way they used to when Bill was out on a job, or after he died.

"I'll straighten Dean out. For all he might like to think it'd be perfect, you'd have eaten him alive and spit him out, eventually." She smirks. "Winchester men can't handle women like us."

[lightgunhustler]

"We're just as stubborn as they are and twice as resilient," Jo agrees with a smirk of her own, leaning against Ellen and feeling infinitely lighter now that they had talked. It felt good to have it out in the open, to know that the person who mattered most to her supported her no matter what decisions she'd made. She probably could have used a lecture or two while the whole thing was underway, but Jo had done a hell of a job of putting herself back in line in Ellen's absence.

"I think after awhile he would have gotten tired of all the headbutting." They're too much alike in too many ways. Conflict would have been unavoidable. "But now you know why he was trying to stir up trouble."

[justrunsasaloon]

Ellen just holds her baby girl. She knows what it's like to want to have someone just say that you're doing okay, that all the work, all the sacrifice is for the good.

After Bill died, she didn't get it. She had to find it for herself. But damn if she wouldn't have liked to hear it.

"He would have gotten bored with it. Gotta keep a man like Dean on his toes or he's gone." Ellen shrugs. She knows too many like that. "And it sounds like he was trying to tattle." Because Dean is known for his maturity at times. "Again, don't worry. I'll handle him." She has the advantage of being mom and nothing else.

[lightgunhustler]

"Don't feel like you have to fight my battles for me." She knows it's not really what Ellen is suggesting, but she has to make sure. She smiles wryly, wearily -- it's been a long couple of months, and while she's glad she and Dean are on the mend and their friendship isn't irreparable, his pettiness is exhausting, even if she does feel like he has the right to be angry.

"Personally? I think he's in for a surprise, sooner or later. If he keeps pushing, he's going to get pushed back." Her mouth hitches up a bit higher on one side, a tired smirk. Tom may have been mild-mannered, he may have been non-confrontational, but he was stubborn as any hunter she'd ever known and he didn't like to let people walk all over him. There was a line to be drawn when it came to politeness, and he knew where Dean had been wronged, but he would only take it up to a certain point before he started dishing it back. Their fistfight in the hall had proven that, considering both parties had walked away from it with broken noses.

"... I'm really glad you're here, you know."

[justrunsasaloon]

"Oh, I'm not fighting your battle. Doesn't mean it won't get dropped on my doorstep now and again. I'm just reserving the right to kick it a little." Alright, maybe a lot, but honestly, sometimes, Dean is just like his father and too damned stubborn for anyone's sanity - including his own.

"And Dean can take it. He dishes it out, he knows it'll come back and bite him in the ass sooner or later." Usually sooner, but she hopes he's learned some.

She smiles and leans up to kiss Jo's forehead. "I'm always with you, baby girl. Don't worry." Because she knows Jo thinks about her. They've been together - just the pair of them - far too long.