entrancelogs | [OPEN/EVENT] Anything can be a weapon if you're holding it right;

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[OPEN/EVENT] Anything can be a weapon if you're holding it right;

Who: Jo Harvelle & you!
Where: Throughout Abel Township.
When: August 9th & August 10th
Rating: PG
Summary: As an honorary Abel Runner, Jo is doing her part to help keep things going smoothly around town-- plus snooping.
The Story:

[The first couple days of the event, Jo doesn't stray far from Simon, helping out wherever he seems to need her, taking inventory of supplies and assisting in making sure things are being rationed properly down in the mess hall. By the morning of August 9th, she feels comfortable enough with the lay of the land to go her own way.

She starts out at the med tent, looking for any spare first aid supplies that they might be able to keep up at the farmhouse-- just in case. Once she's through there, she goes to take inventory in one of the supply caches, complete with a clipboard and a pen, same as she's prone to do concerning the resistance hideout's stash when Wonderland is just a little bit closer to normal. She'll stop in the mess hall to eat about mid-day, although the plate of beans and canned meet she ends up with looks seriously suspect on top of being meager, and she'll offer the second half of it to anyone who's hungry enough to risk it if they happen to be around. She'll spent the better part of the afternoon on top of the walls and playing lookout. She'd managed to find a shotgun locked away in the farmhouse on the first day and broken it out, although she's saving the ammunition in case of emergency-- can't have any Runners getting grabbed by zombies when they're just about through the gate. When she's not on watch, she'll be mimicking Simon and carrying a baseball bat instead.

On the morning of August 10th, she lets herself into the farmhouse again, without Simon this time. She's heard so much about its proper owner from both Sam and Maxine that it's impossible not to be curious, and while she'd resisted doing any prying and restricted previous use of the house to common areas and borrowing necessities, it's personal things she's looking for now. Simon has never talked about Janine if he could help it, but she knew enough from Sam and Maxine that even without having met her, Jo likes her-- she feels like they would have gotten on well, been great friends despite the occasional clash of wills, and that in itself makes her feel just a little guilty sometimes.

While she's downstairs and nosing around, she's careful to check over her shoulder and make sure she's still alone, slowly walking through and examining various items in what looks like it had once been a comfortable living area. Once she's upstairs, she's a little less careful-- especially when she finds her way to what must be the master bedroom. Once she starts looking through things there, she'll be too engrossed in her private investigation to hear if someone happens to come up the stairs behind her, particularly once she gets her hands on any photos.]

(OOC: If none of the above scenarios work for you, feel free to provide your own! Prose or action are both fine, I'll match you.)

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[Jo proceeds to help herself to her own lunch, unwrapping her burger and carefully balancing it in one hand while helping herself to a fry. Good that Ellen could recognize when to lay off the drinking-- not that she'd ever known her mother not to know how to look after herself. Ellen Harvelle was a woman to be reckoned with in all respects, even if Jo often opted to butt heads with her instead.]

It takes some people longer than others, but having people you know here helps. You're in good company, at least.

[She smiles, hoping that's as much of a reassurance as she feels it might be. She sure wishes Ellen had been here when she'd shown up, but she'd had Dean, and he'd made a good tour guide at the time. It was nowhere near the same as having her mom, but she had her now, and that's what mattered.]

Bar's doing good. Cami's watching it for the afternoon. Goes self-serve sometimes when we're all busy, since it's not like we're makin' any money here, but-- I like working. Makes me feel normal. You're always welcome there if you find yourself missin' the life. I'm told the boss is a real hard-ass, though.

[She grins. Usually, it's Simon she hears that from.]

Yeah, she seems like a real piece of work.

[ Ellen gives Jo a sideways glance as she picks up her own burger, but before she can take a bite a glint of something catches her eye on Jo's hand. There's a ring there. Odd if only because Jo isn't exactly the type to wear jewelry. Must have been a gift from Simon.

She lowers her burger, unable to resist the chance to give Jo a hard time. Especially seeing as how she should know better than to wear it on that finger. She frowns, gesturing towards Jo's hand with her burger.]

What the hell is that?

[She's right, Jo's never worn a whole lot of jewelry outside of special occasions, especially not rings, but even so, she'd always been bright enough to know what wearing a ring on a particular finger meant-- and what it broadcasted to everyone around you if they happened to take notice.

She'd been prepared to talk about it, planning on breaking that particular news to her mother as soon as it seemed humane to do so-- today had seemed reasonable enough. It wasn't something that she wanted to keep hidden, but even without considering Ellen's arrival and her needing time to adjust before she had any anvils dropped on her, the timing had been all wrong thanks to current events. There hadn't been any kind of announcement yet, and she'd wanted to tell Ellen first, except now that her mother has noticed the ring on her own, asked her about it with that frown on her face--

Suddenly she feels about seven years younger and like she's about to ask about extending curfew.]

I'd wanted to talk to you about that, actually.

[Still better to focus on this than other recent life events, even if Ellen doesn't end up approving.]

Didn't want to drop it on you while you were still getting used to things. It's an engagement ring.

[ Any joking that she'd had in mind evaporates at the look that Jo gives her. Ellen knows what wanting to talk to her about things means. They've had this conversation a dozen times. She can still remember when Jo wanted to talk about going on her first hunt. Or wanted to talk about coming home from college.

Alarm bells are going off in Ellen's head as her face shifts into one of disbelief. Ellen sets her burger down and turns towards her daughter, levelling all of her attention on her. ]

Simon?

[If it sounds accusatory, well, it is.]

[Jo doesn't miss the tone in her mother's voice, feeling herself immediately shift to prepare to play defense. Her teeth clench without her realizing; she'd been unsure about whether or not Ellen would have been happy for her or simply disapproved, but she'd bet on the latter, at least to begin with-- she didn't know Simon yet, not really, but she would, and Jo wanted to believe that would make all the difference.]

Yes. Simon.

[He's not particularly subtle, which is one of the things Jo likes best about him. She has no idea how she's kept the fact that they live together under wraps for the last two days, but she's sure that's about to come out, too.]

What, you don't like him?

I don't know him.

[ It comes out before she can even think about it. She'd known they were together, but pancakes and whatever else was different entirely from marriage. Two days ago Jo had gotten herself ripped to shreds by a hellhound for Dean Winchester. Today she was engaged to a smiling blonde with enough sass to get himself into trouble ten times over.

It wasn't that she didn't approve. It was just that she was completely blindsided.]

Have you really thought this through?

[Logically, that's fair. Ellen doesn't know him, but it doesn't change the fact that Jo can't remember a single relationship that her mother hadn't disapproved of-- largely because she'd gone out of her way to keep the only serious one a secret, not that it had lasted long. She'd seen the faces her mother had made at Dean whenever the two of them would stand a little too close, and now, despite the fact that she's an adult, she still feels remarkably like a teenager who's all too concerned about her mother's approval.]

I've been here for two years.

[It comes out defensive, more than she means for it to, bordering on hostile.]

A lot's happened that you don't know about-- stuff that rivals some of what we've seen back home, except worse, because some of it got personal. For the last year, Simon's been one of the few people I can always trust to have my back, even when Sam and Dean fell through, people I consider family. I can't sum everything up in a day, and some of it, you probably don't want to hear-- I'm not even sure I'm ready to talk about all of it, but I'm not sure I would've made it this far without him. So yeah, I've had a lot of time to think about it-- and I've thought it through.

[Not to mention it's not as if she has anything to go back to-- neither she nor Ellen does, and really, by a very small margin, neither does Simon.]

Whatever life I'm gonna have here is all I've got. This place isn't perfect, but I don't see a reason not to try my damndest to be happy.

[ Ellen knows Jo has been here for two years. She's been trying to turn it around in her head for the last two days. She's seen first hand the kind of response that mentioning Jo's name brings up from those around them. How many people had stopped to tell her where Jo was? How many had reached out to Ellen simply because she was Jo's mother? She knew that Jo had made her mark on this place, had made a life for herself here and she was as proud about that as a mother could be, but...

But that didn't make swallowing this new bit of information down any easier. How long had Ellen alternately hoped that someday Jo would have the love that her and Bill had and dreaded that her daughter would ever have to experience the kind of pain that came from losing the man that she'd built a life with. When Jo was little Ellen used to tell her stories of drive in dates and small, country weddings with a handful of close friends as she pulled her hair back into pigtails. When she was older she had told Jo of widows and orphans. Of broken homes and broken dreams and why it was important to at least try the normal life.

She'd hoped that she'd meet some nice boy at school. That the promise of a home and family of her own would be enough to get her to settle down and give up the dream of being a hunter. And even when that had gone to hell, Ellen had still held out some kind of hope that someday, someone would come along and change Jo's mind.

That day had never come. And sitting here staring down her daughter and hearing the frustration and anger in her voice, Ellen is hit full force again with the fact that things were never going to happen for Jo that way.

Ellen's jaw tightens, not in anger, but in an effort to control her grief from getting the better of her. She looks away from Jo, blinking upward and then away from her.

She's right. Ellen knows she's right, but she wanted so much more for her. Ellen clears her throat, turning her head away from Jo.]

And is this going to do that for you? [ Ellen's voice is gruff. ] Make you happy?

[Her face falls when Ellen turns away, making it impossible to get a read on her. She can't tell if its disapproval or anger or grief, but any one of them would cut, and Jo swallows hard as she fights to calm herself, to keep the hostility at bay, keep this from turning into a needless fight. It's a lot. She knows it's a lot, and Ellen hasn't had anywhere near the time that she has to accept the fact that this is the only life she's going to have.

But it's not settling. She believes that completely. She's happy, happier than she can remember being in a long time-- maybe ever. That's not something to grieve, not in her opinion.]

It is. It already has. I wouldn't have said 'yes' if I didn't believe that. I've got high standards about that sort of thing.

[She would never settle for anyone who didn't treat her the way she felt she deserved. Another reason she and Dean hadn't made it-- not because they didn't care, but time and circumstance had driven them too far apart to have a real or equal relationship. She'd been heartbroken, for awhile, until she realized there were ways for both of them to be happy, maybe-- it just wasn't together.]

He's really good, Mom. [Even Sam Yao might agree with her on that one now, say that Simon had changed for the better here.] And I know you'll love him if you give him a chance. He's-- he's really good for me. We're good for each other. That's what it's supposed to be like, right? People should bring out the best in one another.

[ She's already made up her mind and Ellen knows that there's nothing she can say that would change it. It doesn't mean she doesn't feel the urge to. Even if Jo is right. Even if this is all she gets... Ellen doesn't know Simon enough to know whether or not this is Jo just setting herself up for some heartbreak.

She would do anything to shield her from that, but then again she'd been willing to do anything to shield her from death and when it came down to it, she hadn't been able to stop that.

Ellen clears her throat and looks back at her daughter. She just takes her in for a moment and then let's out a low breath, her shoulders falling slightly. ]

I can't tell you not to. [Ellen reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind Jo's ear. ] And like you said, I don't know him. But I know you.

[Her hand falls on Jo's shoulder and gives it a small squeeze.]

If you think he's good enough, I'll take you on your word.

[Jo smiles just a little when Ellen's hand brushes against the side of her face, tucks her hair behind her ear, letting her own hand come to rest atop it when it comes to find her shoulder.

It's going to take time, just like everything else. She knows that full well-- but it means a lot to her that her mother trusts her judgement. That in itself is a testament to how much their relationship had grown over the years.]

Thank you.

[Even if she hadn't needed Ellen's approval-- she wanted it. She was well beyond the years of stubbornly choosing paths simply because she'd felt like her mother would have frowned at her for them.]

I know it's a lot to take in. I know everything here is, but I hope you'll get to know him. And-- I'm really glad you're here. [In general, of course, because God she'd wanted nothing more than to see her mother again for the longest time, but also for this.] I don't know how I'd feel about getting married without you there.

[She'd said yes regardless, and she would have continued to go through with it because it was what she wanted-- but it wouldn't be the same without Ellen. It felt right that she should be there.]

[ She feels old and tired as she looks back at Jo. But she has to admit, she hasn't seen Jo look like this in a long time. The job had gotten to her - to them - the way that she knew it would. They'd managed to save a lot of lives, but there had still been those they couldn't get to in time. The life of a hunter took a toll. She knew it more than anyone, but since she'd gotten here Jo hadn't been quite as run down or her humor quite as dark.

She had seen the way her and Simon had looked at one another and even if she'd been blindsided by the prospect of marriage, she'd have to be blind not to see that they were in love. She would never want Jo to put her life on hold for her sake. She'd always wanted her to do the opposite. ]

I know I pushed you. Hounded you. Told you over and over what to do with your life, but you have to understand... [She pauses.] All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy.

And if you've found that here. Good.

[She squeezed Jo's hand.]

As long as he knows I'm part of the package too and I'll kick his ass if he hurts you.

[Her smile starts to bloom all over again, slowly at first, tugging at one side of her mouth as she listens before it fully grows into itself. She knows how hard this has to have blindsided Ellen, but it would have been worse to keep it under wraps for too long-- especially since there wasn't much chance of that happening, not with how social both she and Simon had been around this place, not with how fast news tended to travel.]

I know that's all you wanted for me. Even if I wasn't great at showing it.

[She knows full well where that rebellious streak of hers comes from, knows that she and Ellen butted heads as often as they did because they were so damn alike, even if she'd never wanted to admit it.

She didn't often say as much, but there wasn't a single woman in the world Jo respected more than Ellen Harvelle, even when she was digging her heels in and being as stubborn a daughter as she knew how to be.]

I mean it when I say I'm happy. [And she knows she doesn't have to say it-- Ellen can see that much.] I don't regret anything from back home. I'm still glad I did the job, because it felt right-- but this does, too. After everything that's happened here, I can't imagine life without him. I don't want to.

[Nobody has ever managed to make her feel as safe as Simon has-- and she's never wanted anyone to, not until now. She'd wanted to take care of herself. It had taken time and unfortunate experience to teach her that wasn't necessarily the best way to live, or to be happy.]

You're definitely part of the deal. And if anything goes bad, you can line up right behind me for ass-kicking, because you know I won't take that lyin' down.

[But she smiles when she says it-- clearly, she doesn't think that's ever going to be an issue. Not with him. She's been through enough of that with other people already.]

[ Still glad she did the job, even after it cost her the life she put on the line to do it? Ellen isn't immune to feeling some kind of pride about that, but the pain is still a little too fresh. She'd known what she was getting into when she agreed to be Jo's partner, but she never thought she'd actually have to live out the worst case scenario. Not after already having lived out one with the loss of Bill.

She swallows, pressing her lips together because she doesn't think she can speak without her voice giving away her true feelings. She may have come to terms with Jo's decision, even supported it, but that doesn't mean she doesn't regret that she couldn't talk her into another kind of life.

But here she is, living something in between what Ellen wanted for her and what she chose for herself and Ellen thinks maybe she can get behind this. She can see that every word she's saying is the God's honest truth. She loves Simon. Wants to make the most out of what she's got left. And Ellen can't stand in the way of that.

She smirks and nods, her voice is steady when she speaks.]

Alright. I can get behind that.

[ She picks up the burger and takes a bite. ]

He does know that he's still got to ask my permission, doesn't he?

[ But her eyes are shining with amusement as she glances over at Jo for her reaction. ]

[Jo looks nothing short of relieved, her smile growing broader before she reaches to return to her own lunch, having put it on pause while they'd discussed the weight of the situation. She knows Ellen is still going to need time, still needs to get to know Simon before she actively supports them, most likely, but this is a hell of a good start-- and she's glad her mom gets it.]

Good. It means a lot, you know.

[She laughs, taking a pull of her beer.]

I could not-so-gently remind him, if you want. Be kinda fun to watch, actually. Think he's afraid of you.

[Jo will never stop thinking that guys being terrified of her mother is hilarious.]

Good. He should be.

[ She's smiling though, if anything because it's good to hear the sound of Jo's laugh. She's only kidding about making Simon ask for her permission, they're both grown adults, but she also doesn't mind the idea of making him squirm a little.

Being a mother is more of a power trip than she ever thought it would be.]

Do it. He needs to know the kind of family he's marrying into.

[ She took another bite of her burger. ]

How'd you two meet up anyway?

I think he has a pretty good idea, but it won't hurt to remind him.

[It feels good to be laughing and teasing about this with her, like their lives are almost normal, like that encounter with the hellhounds in Missouri had never happened and they were back home in Nebraska. Like the roadhouse had never burned down and their lives hadn't been derailed by it. Jo had already been gone by then-- but she'd always thought that home would be there to return to. It had been a sobering experience when it wasn't.]

It was during an event, not long after he got here. [She smiles wryly as she thinks back. She'd had a rough run of it not long before then, and she and Dean hadn't been getting along so great.] There was a dance? School dance-- long story, but everyone was younger than they are now, just for a few days, unless they were already teenagers. I got stood up and Simon thought it would've been an awful shame if I spent the whole night pissed off. Cheered me up some. He came by the bar a couple of weeks later and offered to help out-- I was having a rough time then. Needed a friend. His timing was good.

[ Ellen smiles faintly as Jo tells the story, trying to picture it in her head. It's not hard to imagine Jo the way she was in high school. All arms and legs and restless energy. She probably should've seen back then that school would never work but she had wanted it to so badly she has steam rolled everything ahead.

Still, it's a sweet story and it goes a long way in warming her up to the idea of Simon. Seeing how he acts around her now is one thing. Learning about how he acted in the beginning is something else. She's just sorry she wasn't here to see it. Or maybe she had been and just didn't remember. ]

I'm glad he was here for you, then.

[ She reaches for another fry. ]

Did I ever tell you about how me and your father met? He used to have this '72 gold camaro. Fast car. [She paused.] Small backseat.

I feel like you might have glossed over some of the details when I was younger.

[She grins, leaning back in her seat with her burger in hand, making herself more comfortable-- settling in for the long haul, as it were.]

Gold camaro, huh. No wonder you couldn't resist.

[Though she's not sure she wants to imagine what her parents probably did in that small backseat. She smirks, reaching for her beer.]

Tell me the whole thing. I've got all afternoon.

[She'll stay there and talk as long as Ellen will have her, really.]

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[OPEN/EVENT] Anything can be a weapon if you're holding it right;

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