Raising Emma

Chapter One

Dean leant back in the creaky wooden motel-room chair. His arms were folded across his chest as his eyes surveyed the young blonde girl sitting on his bed with calculation and mistrust. His gun was resting on his lap, ready to be fired if she proved dangerous. On the outside she looked like any other teenage girl, save for the dark red brand that was barely concealed by the sleeve of her white denim jacket, but she was so much more. Dean had to admit that he was taken aback, he was fully expecting Lydia to break his door down and attack him, but not Emma. Not the sweet little baby he'd met just the other day.

'You don't believe me' Emma said eventually, not looking up from her hands 'I didn't expect you to.' She sniffled and Dean sighed, he unfolded his arms and ran his hands over his face. 'Please' she begged, looking right at him now with wide, fearful eyes 'you've got to help me, they'll kill me.' She paused for a moment 'You don't have to take care of me or anything, I'm sixteen, I can look after myself. I just need your help to get away. You're a hunter right? Isn't that your job? To help people?'

Dean dropped his hands from his face and sighed again, he didn't know what to believe anymore. She sounded genuine but he knew that she had probably been trained to say these things, trained to get inside his head. Well mission accomplished. 'Look. I'm not saying I don't believe you…it's just, well all of this is pretty strange. I know that they want you to kill me. How am I supposed to believe you?' they elapsed into silence again. Emma was looking down at her hands again and Dean leant back in his chair. He watched her for a moment, looking in vain for any sign of deceit and finding none. 'You hungry?' he asked eventually, breaking the silence. She looked up and the corners of her lips quirked up into a sheepish smile as a faint blush covered her cheeks. She nodded shyly and Dean clapped his hands against his knees before rising to his feet and moving over towards the fridge, happy to have something to do. He kept his gun in his hand, his finger poised and ready to pull the trigger if needed. He pulled open the fridge and peered inside, wincing when he saw how barren it was. They had beer, but obviously she couldn't have that. 'Ok, we got cheese and a leftover burrito.' He turned to face her and she shrugged.

'I wouldn't mind the burrito, if that's ok?' Dean nodded and pulled the burrito out, dropping it onto a plate and blasting it in the microwave for a minute. She smiled when he handed it to her and for just a moment he was caught off guard by how young and childish she looked. It was hard to think of someone as a monster when they looked like a typical teenage girl. Maybe that was the idea. He dropped back down into his chair and watched her eat silently. He had no idea what they were supposed to do next, how was he supposed to prove that she was guilty, or innocent for that matter?

Luckily he didn't have long to think, she was only halfway through her meal when the door to the motel swung open and Sam rushed in, gun poised and at the ready. He paused when he saw Emma sitting there and turned to look at Dean with wide eyes. 'Dean! It's not the mothers! It's the kids! She's here to kill you!'

Dean was on his feet within seconds, placing calming hands on Sam's shoulder's as he assured the other man that he knew the dangers. 'She says she escaped' he said eventually 'now I'm not saying that I believe her, but I think we should find out the truth before we kill her.'

Emma's head shot up at the mention of being killed, her eyes went wide and she clutched at her suitcase anxiously, her knuckles going white. 'And how do you plan to do that Dean?' Sam asked incredulously 'wait until she kills you first?' he pulled his gun from his pocket and pointed it directly at Emma's head. 'No, we should finish this now before you end up like all those other guys, without your hands and feet!' Emma raised her hands in defence, the burrito sitting on the bed beside her, quickly forgotten.

Dean slapped the gun aside 'put it away Sam' he snapped 'we both know you're not going to shoot a teenage girl.' Sam looked ready to argue, to protest that Emma wasn't a teenage girl, that she was an Amazon who was only out to kill Dean and steal his hands and feet. But he never got the chance to speak because just at that moment Dean's phone rang. He pulled it from the pocket of his leather jacket and glanced at the caller ID before holding it up to his ear. He moved away from Sam, drifting to the other side of the room as he answered the call. 'Calling to tell me something important?' he asked the person on the other end 'Like, oh I don't know, you're an amazon and you had a baby three days ago and now you've sent her here to kill me?' Both Sam and Emma's eyes went wide as they realised who had called and they listened intently as Dean argued with Lydia. 'You gotta be kidding me' he growled 'there's no way in hell I'm bringing her back to you. I'm not stupid, do you really think I'm just gonna walk into your trap?' there was a pause as Lydia answered. 'Oh yeah? You're not the first thing to come after me and you won't be the last.' Dean pulled the phone away from his face and hung up, shoving it back into the pocket of his jacket.

Sam turned to face his brother with questioning eyes 'that was Lydia?' he asked and Dean grunted in affirmation 'what did she say?'

The older brother sighed and ran a hand over his face in frustration 'she said that either we hand Emma over or she's coming to take her back.' He turned then to face the girl sitting on the bed 'guess you were telling the truth.'

Emma nodded sheepishly 'what're we going to do?' she asked and Sam and Dean shared a glance, already trying to formulate a plan to get them out of this alive.

-XXX-

The motel was dark when Lydia arrived with two other Amazons in tow. They carefully picked the lock to let themselves inside and then wandered slowly through the shadowy room. The impala was parked outside, a sure-fire sign that the Winchester's were home, but their beds were empty and made and Emma was nowhere in sight. Lydia motioned silently at the other two women to flank her as she headed for the wardrobe, stepping lightly so as not alert whoever may be waiting on the other side. She knew that Dean was a hunter and hiding didn't really seem to be his style, but there wasn't really anywhere else to look. With a quick glance back at her companions to check that they were ready, Lydia slowly twisted the doorknob and pulled the wardrobe open, bracing herself for an attack that never came. She only had a brief moment to ponder the whereabouts of the motel inhabitants before a shriek of shock sounded behind her followed by the thud of someone hitting the ground. Lydia spun on her heel to find Dean standing over the lifeless body of one of her companions whilst Sam clutched the other to his chest, a knife at her throat. 'I was expecting you earlier' Dean snarled, kicking the limp leg of the Amazon at his feet out of the way so that he could step closer.

Lydia's scowled 'this isn't a game, Dean' she snapped 'they are already angry at me for not knowing you're a hunter. If I don't kill you and bring Emma back to be punished then they'll kill me.' She pushed her knife forwards, threatening him. 'I have to do this Dean. I'm sure you understand.'

'No, I don't understand' Dean was angry now, practically spitting in her face 'how could you force her into this? How could you manipulate me into this? The way I see it you've got what's coming to you.'

Lydia's face flamed and she thrust the knife towards Dean, aiming for his chest. He dodged her attack with practiced ease and kicked at her ankles, causing her to drop to her knees before him. 'Go on' she snarled, looking up at him with anger in her eyes 'kill me!' But Dean didn't, he stood there staring down at her, hesitating just for a moment. But just a moment was enough, just as Dean raised his gun, ready to fire, Sam pulled the trigger and a shot rang out in the room. Dean flinched as Lydia dropped to the carpet.

Sam pushed the last woman away from his chest and aimed the gun at her chest 'you have two options' there was a dangerous note in his voice as he spoke 'either go back and tell them what happened, tell them to leave us alone, or I swear to god I will shoot you right now.'

She didn't need any further prompting, pushing past Sam and running out of the motel without another word.

-XXX-

'They're gone' Sam said as he hung up the phone 'Bobby tracked them all the way back to the warehouses just outside of town but they've disappeared, there's no evidence that they were ever even there.' Dean looked over at Emma, she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her eyes downcast. 'I think we can trust her' Sam said eventually, if not slightly hesitantly, and Dean nodded slowly.

'You should sleep' he told Emma quietly 'we're leaving tomorrow.' Emma looked up at him with the same green eyes as her father and nodded silently. The corners of her lips quirked up into a tiny smile as she shuffled her way to the bathroom to change. 'I guess I'll sleep on the couch' he said once she was gone, rubbing a hand over his face.

Sam shrugged 'I don't mind roughing it for tonight if you don't want to.'

Dean laughed humourlessly 'yeah right sasquatch, like you'll fit on that thing. Besides, she's my kid, I should sleep on the couch.' They fell into silence after that and an expectant pause filled the room. 'She's my kid Sam' Dean said after a moment, looking up at his brother with confusion and disbelief on his face 'I've got a kid. How the hell did this happen? What am I supposed to do with a kid? I'm a hunter not a freaking soccer mom.' Sam coughed and Dean looked at him in confusion until the younger Winchester tipped his head in the direction of the bathroom. Dean turned and sighed when he saw Emma standing in the doorway, tears glistening in her eyes. 'Look, kid-' she cut him off.

'My name's Emma. Not kid.' She told him 'and don't worry, I don't expect anything from you. I know you don't want me, I'll get out of your hair.' She moved across the room, dragging her suitcase behind her. Dean rolled his eyes and reached out to grab her wrist.

'Don't be stupid, you're in pyjamas and you don't even have any shoes.' She turned to face him, her face a mast of anger to cover the hurt she felt inside. 'Look, k-Emma, you get that this isn't a normal situation right? It's not that I don't want you, it's just that all of this is pretty messed up.'

'I wouldn't know' she replied bitterly 'three days ago I didn't even exist' Dean didn't have a response to this, he just stood there silently, waiting for her to speak. 'I'm a grown up, I can take care of myself.' She averted her eyes as she spoke and Dean scoffed.

'You just said it yourself that you're barely three days old. No, you're not going anywhere, you're gonna stay with me and Sam.' her breathing was heavy as she turned to face her father, the man that had offered her an escape from the harsh world of the Amazons. After standing in silence for what felt like an eternity she finally nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks with frantic strokes. 'Good, glad we're on the same page.' His voice softened 'we'll figure this out, okay? Because you're a Winchester now and that's what Winchesters are best at.'

Dean went to bed that night on the couch, afraid to sleep for the first time in a while, not because of the possibility that she would kill him in his sleep, but because of the possibility that she wouldn't. The idea of waking up as a father was far more terrifying to the hunter than not waking up at all.

A/N: Ok, this is the first chapter, please take a moment to comment and tell me what you think. No hate though please. I've never written a Supernatural fanfic before and so any support is appreciated