Title: Thicker Than Water [1/2]
Author: alakewood
Warnings: General spoilers for Supernatural up through mid-season 4, and True Blood for season 1. Will be SLASH.
Rating: PG-13 for this part.
Word Count: 2400+
Summary: Dean and Sam find themselves looking for Jo in Louisiana and Dean ends up at Fangtasia with Jason Stackhouse.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

oxoxo

"I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to this," Dean said to Sam as he slowed the Impala down to a crawl as he passed Fangtasia – the vampire bar in Shreveport. Ever since the Devil's Gate opened, it seemed, a lot of vampires had gone 'mainstream.' And there were a hell of a lot more vampires than they had ever thought possible. Even Gordon would've been surprised.

But they were in Louisiana in search of a completely different beast altogether. A beast that went by the name of Jo Harvelle.

After everything with the raising of the witnesses, Dean and Sam and Bobby had tried to get in touch with every hunter they knew and every one was accounted for (alive or dead) except for one – Ellen hadn't heard from Jo in months, but now she was afraid that her daughter's lack of communication was something more than her typical rebellion.

So Ellen and Bobby had headed north to Minnesota, to the bar where Jo had last worked, while Sam and Dean headed south to talk to a few of Ellen's completely off-the-grid contacts in the freaking bayou.

The only thing Dean was looking forward to about the whole trip was the food. He and Jo hadn't spoken since he'd left her at the Sandpiper in Duluth damn near two years ago and he wasn't too keen on being the one to find her.

Dean shook his head, partly clearing his thoughts and partly in incredulity as he watched a group of scantily-dressed, college-aged girls hurry across the street in front of the Impala. "I don't understand why any sane human being would willingly get bit by one of those things. Or how they could have sex with one. I don't care how hot some of those chicks are, I draw the line way before necrophilia. Or, have you heard of those people that drink vampire blood to get high? What's the world coming to? Before you know it, it's gonna be perfectly acceptable for people to be ridden by demons." He glanced at Sam at that point, expecting his brother to agree, but Sam just looked uncomfortable. "What?"

"Ridden by demons how?"

Dean stared at Sam immediately understanding what he was implying. "You didn't." At Sam's chagrined expression, Dean groaned in frustration and disbelief. "I thought you of all people had higher - much higher – standards than that."

"You were dead, Dean, and I was in a pretty bad place. Ruby was there for me."

"I can't tell you how much I don't want to hear about this. Ever. And? That's so not what I meant when I said 'ridden.'"

oxo

"That's not disturbing at all," Dean said of the alligator skull that dangled from the ceiling and twisted in the breeze from the open doorway, casting strange oblong shadows up and down the walls as it spun and swung in the dim light of their hotel room. Dean approached the offending decoration and noticed the small bones attached to the line like some kind of morbid wind chime. "Hoodoo, voodoo, whatever the hell you want to call it – that shit's not right. This is the last time I let you pick the motel."

After that, Sam only listened half-heartedly to Dean's complaints as they half-assed settled in, finally paying attention when he heard Dean mention "beer at a real bar. Hell, I'd even take one of those hillbilly, redneck, backwoods bars over that damn vamp bar."

"You aren't even the slightest bit curious?"

"Hell no. Why? Are you?"

Sam shrugged. "A little bit. Remember Lenore? She wasn't that bad."

"You really are a freak! Jesus, Sammy."

"You're overreacting, Dean. Like really overreacting. It's not like I'm saying I'd let one of them bite me." The expression on Dean's face at that said more than any words ever could.

"I need a beer."

oxo

Sam found Dean at the bar across the street a few hours later. He slid onto the stool beside his brother, gesturing to Dean's beer and holding two fingers up towards the bartender. "So I just found us a lead on Jo," he said, taking a swig from his bottle. "Talked to Ellen's contact Robichaud over at this hole-in-the-wall, strictly locals-only bar on the edge of town."

"They let you in?"

"I just mentioned that I was a friend of Ellen's and that I was looking for Jo and Robichaud came right over. He looked suspicious, sure, but I told him about the situation – as far as Ellen being worried about Jo after what happened to all those hunters. Robichaud said he'd found a few of his own friends in similar states."

"That was all it took? As low-lying as these guys are, he just turned over information about Jo to you?"

"There's a little more to it than that."

"Like?"

"That she's...kind of involved with a group of vampires."

"Involved involved?" Dean asked, nearly choking on his beer.

"Robichaud couldn't be sure. Just knows that she's 'fallen in with the wrong crowd.'"

"No shit. Jo associating with vamps? She should know better than that." Dean finished off the last swallow of his beer. "Okay. So where is she?"

"He gave me an address but, if you don't mind...I'd kind of like to talk to her myself. I never really got the chance to apologize to her after...you know."

"You sure?" Dean could barely keep the relief out of his voice.

"Yeah."

"I guess. But...be careful, okay?"

"Dude, it's just Jo."

"Yeah, and now she's friends with vampires so who knows how much she's changed."

Sam just nodded and emptied his bottle. "I'll see you in an hour or two then."

Not too long after Sam left, a guy – a kid, really – took the abandoned barstool next to Dean. He cast a sideways glance in Dean's direction. "Hey."

Dean nodded. "Hey." The kid was sweating, looked nervous. "You alright, man?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Fine. Thanks."

"You ever been to that vamp bar across town? Fangtasia?" Dean asked.

The kid looked shifty. "Uh, no. Been thinkin' about maybe checkin' it out, though."

Dean nodded again and took a drink of his beer, then offered his hand. "Dean Winchester."

The kid hesitated before shaking it. "Jason Stackhouse."

"So, do you know any vampires?"

"Knew a few fang-bangers," Jason said, picking at the label on his beer bottle once it was set in front of him. "And my sister's kind of dating on – a vampire, I mean. But I don't think I've ever really met one. Not even this Bill guy Sookie's seeing." Jason shrugged. "What about you?"

"A few. But that was before all this 'mainstreaming' crap."

Jason looked surprised. "Really?" And it took a few more beers before Jason said, "You can come with, if you want. To Fangtasia. Check it out or whatever."

Dean could tell that Jason was apprehensive about going, but was determined to go just the same. Dean nodded. "Sure."

oxo

As Sam approached the building at the address Robichaud had given him, he saw a familiar blonde crossing the street ahead of him. "Jo!"

The girl stopped and turned. "Who's there?"

Sam left the shadow of the trees crowding over the sidewalk and entered the light from the street lamp outside what appeared to be a small art gallery. "It's Sam. Winchester."

Jo took a step back. "Sam?" She glanced from the gallery to the shadows behind Sam.

"I need to talk-" He was cut off when something hard hit him from behind. It felt like a ton of bricks but was definitely in the shape of a man – a vampire, Sam guessed. "It's – it's okay, Jo. Ellen sent me."

Jo slowly walked over to where Sam was being held face-down against the sidewalk. "Why would she send you after me?"

Sam craned his head back to look at her. "I'm sure you heard about what happened to all those..." He glanced back at the man holding him, unsure as to whether or not he should continue. "To our colleagues."

"What do you mean?"

"All those people that died? About a week and a half ago? Robichaud said there were a few down here."

She stared at him skeptically before nodding to the vampire. "Let him go, Tony. What about it, Sam?"

Sam climbed up off the ground, rolling his shoulders. It was then that he noticed the dress Jo was wearing. "Where've you been?"

"With Tony and a few others at a private opening for his art exhibition," she gestured to the gallery. "Not that I need to explain myself to you, or anybody else for that matter."

"Art exhibition?"

"Tony's an artist. Now, quit trying to make smalltalk and tell me exactly why you're here."

"I told you, your mother sent me to check on you."

"Where's Dean?"

And it felt like that night in Duluth all over again. "I asked him to let me do this alone. I'm so sorry about what happened the last time I saw you."

Jo looked away as tears formed in her eyes. "Wasn't really you."

"But you didn't know that then."

"Doesn't matter. What did you need to tell me?"

Sam sighed. "Just call your mom. She's really worried about you."

"Then why didn't she come down here?"

"She headed up to Minnesota with Bobby to look for you. Me and Dean came down here."

Jo nodded. "Well, message received. You can go now."

"Can't we talk about...what happened?"

"No, Sam. I don't want to. I just want you to leave."

"Jo." Sam moved to take a step forward, but Tony was immediately blocking his path.

"I believe the lady told you to leave. So you best be leaving." Tony stared down at Sam with cold, dark eyes.

"I really am sorry, Jo," Sam said, heading back towards where the Impala was parked down the street.

"Yeah. Me, too." With Tony at her side, Jo watched as Sam walked away.

oxo

Dean and Jason approached the velvet-roped entrance to Fangtasia and had to wait in a short line with a bunch of black-clothed twenty- and thirty-somethings. The bouncer was a woman, which surprised Dean at first, but then he remembered: vampire bar – with the superhuman strength and speed the things possessed, it didn't matter whether the bouncer was a male or a female, they'd still be many times stronger than anybody that tried to mess with them.

More surprising, though, was when she looked at Dean and said, "ID?"

"Are you serious, lady? I haven't been carded in, like, nearly ten years." But he pulled his wallet out anyway, trying to recall which of his aliases he was that day.

Meanwhile, Jason showed her his driver's license. "Stackhouse?" she questioned. "You got a sister Sookie?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Dean handed his ID over to the woman. She glanced at the photo, the name, then at Dean. Her mouth quirked in a half-smile. "Pop culture references aren't lost on me." She fixed him with an intent stare. "What's your real name?"

"Dean Winchester," he replied, even though that was not the answer he'd been prepared to give. Her mind-control ability was much stealthier than Andy's had been.

She glanced between Dean and Jason. "Whatever your secrets are, there's no need to be ashamed of them here." She stepped aside to let them in before either of them had a chance to respond to her implication.

On the inside, Fangtasia looked like the typical goth bar, just a highly commercialized version. But the main room was much smaller than the exterior of the building let on, so Dean was certain that there were darker, sinister things going on in back rooms.

They couldn't have been inside for much more than half an hour before the female bouncer approached them. "Eric wishes to speak with you."

Dean and Jason shared a glance. "Who's Eric?" Dean asked.

She nodded towards a small stage just to the left of the bar where a man was seated comfortably in a throne-like chair. "Come."

Eric leaned forward when they stood in front of him. "Dean Winchester," he said, nearly in wonder. "The man behind the legend. I've heard rumors of you, but...I never thought I find you in my bar."

It felt as though every pair of eyes in their immediate vicinity was watching the scene unfold. "I wouldn't say there's a legend."

"Of course there is. A mortal man, to Hell and back. That's legendary."

Dean was aware of Jason's stare, of his curiosity at the comment.

"I must also say," Eric continued, "that, while I'm well aware of your life's mission, I am still honored by your presence in my humble establishment."

"Um, thank you?" Definitely not how Dean had imagined this pseudo-investigation to go.

"And you," Eric said, addressing Jason. "Jason Stackhouse. Are you as talented as your sister?"

"Uh, no. No, sir."

"What brings you here?"

Jason's nervousness was apparent. "I-uh-I."

"What's your purpose here?" Eric questioned again, his expression similar to that of the woman's when she'd asked Dean for his real name.

"I need V."

Eric eyed Dean with keen interest. "Perhaps something could be arranged."

"Sorry, I don't swing that way, buddy."

Jason laughed nervously and Eric stood from his chair. "Follow me." And neither man couldn't not obey.

Eric's hold on Dean's mind was broken by the ringing of Dean's cell phone. Dean shook his head as his freewill returned to him. "Dude, I'd really appreciate if you wouldn't do that," he said as he dug his phone out of his pocket. "Hey, Sammy, I can't-"

Eric directed his stare at Dean again. "Your brother is with you?"

"Yes."

"You should invite him."

"Sam, I'm Fangtasia. You should join me." He paused as Sam spoke to him. "It's different than I expected. I'll see you in a few?"

"Both Winchester's under my roof. This should be an interesting night."

Dean slipped his phone back into his pocket and he and Jason continued to mindlessly follow Eric down the dark hallway.