“That was definitely the idea and also why I always blame the quote-unquote faulty smoke detector whenever I forget about dinner. Right? We have to keep our priorities in check here. We are hungry women on a mission. I would love to not remember that Clairebear but everything you do is just too darn memorable.” Jody laughed too remembering the brief moment of heartbreak before she laid those sheets to rest and hid in the kitchen with Claire so they could snoop in on the plumber. She’d loved it, you know. A house that was just…alive again. Noisy. Maybe even a little chaotic. “Sludge-y coloured and smelling like sewage, I’m gonna get that sewn onto a pillow. Your bedside manner is rivalled by no other. Hey, you’re good at a lot of things. Yes it is but that doesn’t mean you should go having them until you’re at least…way older. Way. Uh huh. Hey, you wanna take it up with the ref then be my guest but you know what you did. Oh, oh I see I’ve been duped then, huh?”
“A couple of seconds? Wow, that really is progress. I mean, I wouldn’t have Alex take you to work but we’re definitely getting there. Oh, okay. You know you’re not actually old enough to escape a grounding, I’ll ground you right now. Straight to the naughty step, only bread and water.” Jody grinned as she listened to Claire talk about Castiel. It wasn’t too hard to see that she cared about him and for Claire, that was kinda a big deal. It was nice. All Jody ever wanted for her was to be happy, to let people into her life who made her happy- who cared about her. Having something resembling not normal but…safe, domestic- familial- was important. “I could definitely dig out an apron for him. I think the only one we have has ‘kiss the cook’ written on it so I might have to hit the store for full kitten novelty. That does make perfect sense, let’s put our angel to work. Absolutely, there’s nothing better for TV than a spooktacular spookfest. To be fair though, I think every day is Halloween around here now."
“I totally knew it, you aren’t as subtle as you think you are.” Claire laughed. “But you’re always making up for it with takeout food, so I think I can forgive you. Probably. Oh definitely, our mission is to eat our way through at least half of the food stands around here. And I won’t go down without a fight.” She squinted and gave her best war face, though it was paired with her still-bright smile, which diminished the effect, she was sure. “Aww, sounds like I’ve made quite the impression on someone, mom.” She only used the nickname affectionately, rarely, and always jokingly. But she could never deny that it was true. Jody had given her everything she’d ever wanted and pretended to hate--stability. A home. A family. “We should put it on the couch next to the throw blankets. Which...also kind of look sludge-y, I’m not sure I ever mentioned it. Okay, thanks, but tracking down werewolves and memorizing latin is hardly resume-building stuff.” Not that she was thinking about making a resume, because she was a hunter, and that was her job. There was no time for anything else. Except...She might be stuck in town, and it wasn’t like the monsters were going anywhere. She could probably handle something on the side, too. Just so she could chip in on rent, and stuff. “Oh god. No. Yuck. Yikes. Did I say ew yet? Ew. I’m in no place to have kids. Who would I even have them with? The only people I spend time around are you, Alex, and Cas. That road is a looooong way off, don’t worry.” She paused, and tried to choke back another laugh. “Yep. And so the student becomes the master.”
“Hey, I could totally talk to old people and comfort kids if I wanted to. I just....don’t want to. Also I kind of don’t understand what exactly Alex does, so I probably shouldn’t participate in bring your sister to work day this year. I am so too old to get grounded! How old exactly is too old, because I’m almost thirty. A couple years off of thirty. Okay, I can see thirty on the horizon.” It occurred to Claire that despite still living with the woman, she hadn’t been spending nearly enough time with her. Even just taking a few moments to talk and laugh made her feel better, lighter, like the world was somehow kinder than she remembered it. It was what Jody did to a person. She fixed them. “Kiss The Cook? So cliche. He definitely needs a shopping trip for something special. Every day is halloween around here, and it’s kind of awesome,” Claire agreed, nodding her head. But the nod quickly turned into a head shake, and her expression turned more serious as she watched for Jody’s reaction. “I mean, it’s kind of terrible. There are more monsters and stuff trapped here than ever.”
