Dean was going stir crazy, and it had only been four hours since the Rangers left. Alex had stayed for three hours, and then she too had to leave in order to round up arrest warrants and search warrants.

Sam was napping, stretched out on the couch, and Emily was sitting in Dean's lap watching cartoons. Dean tried to pay attention to the tv, but his mind kept wondering. And he just couldn't figure out what was so interesting in two kids building a huge rollercoaster in their back yard, and their sister trying to snitch on them to their Mom. And the platypus slash secret agent really confused him.

Emily giggled at the tv, and Dean couldn't help but to smile also. The little girl's laugh was contagious, and Dean was determined to make sure she laughed a lot.

"Dean." Emily said, when a commercial came on.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Are you sure Daddy can't find me?" She asked with fear in her eyes.

"I promise you are safe." Dean assured her.

"But he said I could never leave, that…"

"He lied." Dean said. "I will not let him hurt you, not ever."

"Pinky swear?" She asked, holding up her small hand with her pinky extended out.

"Pinky swear." Dean agreed, hooking his large pinky around her tiny one.

Emily smiled, then turned her attention back to the tv. Dean wrapped a protective arm around her and she snuggled against his chest.

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Sam woke up and stretched, then sat up on the couch. "Any news?" He asked his older brother, who was sitting in a recliner with his eyes glued to the tv. Emily was laying on her stomach in the floor, drawing on a piece of paper.

"Dean?" Sam said, when the older man did not answer.

"Shhhh!" Dean hissed, waving a hand in Sam's direction. "Be quite."

Sam gave him a confused look, then he too turned his attention to the tv.

"Dude." Sam said. "You are watching a cartoon about a yellow sponge who wears pants?"

"It's interesting." Dean said, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Why is that squirrel wearing a fish bowl on her head?" Sam asked.

"Because she's in the ocean and squirrels can't breath under the water." Dean replied, rolling his eyes. "Duh."

Before Sam could respond, the front door opened and Dean quickly turned off the tv and put his hand on the handle of the gun he had tucked in his waist band. He relaxed when he saw it was Alex who had came in. She was carrying two large shopping bags.

"Hey Emily." She smiled at the young girl. "I have some things for you."

Emily stood up and started to walk over to the woman, but stopped and looked at Dean for permission.

"Go on." Dean said.

Emily smiled and walked over to Alex, who pulled out a light pink dress.

"It's pretty!" Emily exclaimed, taking the dress and hugging it to her chest.

"I thought it would fit better then Dean's tee shirt." Alex smiled. "I've got you a few more clothes and a few toys."

"Thank you."

"You are very welcomed. Would you like me to help you put the dress on?"

Emily looked at Dean with hopeful eyes. "Can I put it on?" She asked.

"Of course you can sweetheart." Dean smiled.

"Come on." Alex offer her hand and Emily took it and the woman and girl walked out of the room.

"You are really good with her." Sam commented.

"Of course I am." Dean smirked. "She is female after all."

"Who would have imagined you would be so good with a little girl."

"I had practice." Dean smirked. "I did help raise you after all."

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Dean's phone ringing stopped him.

"It's Walker." Dean said, as he looked at the caller id. "Yeah." He said into the phone. "That's great." "Yeah, she's here, I'll tell her." "Thanks, Walker." Then he hung up.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Thomas and Sara Patterson, and the doc, are in custody. The rangers have their confession on tape. It's over." Dean said.

"Dean!" Emily exclaimed, as she ran into the room. "Do you like my new dress?" She twirled around in front of Dean. "I got pretty shoes too." She stuck her foot out for Dean to see her shoe.

"Who are you?" Dean asked, with a confused look.

"I'm Emily."

"No you're not. Emily is a little girl, you look like a little lady in that dress."

"It's me, Dean." Emily giggled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She laughed.

"You look very pretty, Emily."

Sam motioned for Alex to follow him, and then they walked out of the room so Sam could tell her what Walker had told Dean, without Emily hearing them.

"I better go, this means I have a lot of paperwork to do." Alex said.

Alex left and Sam walked back into the living room, smiling at what he saw. Dean and Emily were going through the bag of toys. Both were laughing.

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That night, Dean carried a sleepy Emily into CD's spare bedroom and laid her on the bed. Then he sat next to her.

"Emily." He said. "We need to talk."

"Okay." She said, around a yawn.

"Your parents are in jail, they can't hurt you anymore. A judge said that you didn't have to live with them."

"Where will I live?" She asked, as she sat up. "Can I live with you?"

"No, but don't worry. I will make sure you are safe."

"Why can't I live with you?" She asked, as her eyes watered.

Dean felt a lump in his throat. The truth was, he would have loved to have a daughter like Emily. But he knew it would never work. The kind of life he lived was no place for a child. He was not his Father; he would not introduce a kid to a world of monsters. Even if the child had lived with worst monsters her entire live.

"You deserve a Mommy and a Daddy who can take real good care of you." Dean said.

"But I want to live with you." She said, as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"Oh, sweetheart." Dean picked her up and sat her in his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her. "I'm not able to care for a kid right now, I'm not the Father type."

He continued to hold and rock Emily long after the little girl fell asleep, as he too shed a few tears. He gently laid her back in bed and covered her up.

"I promise you." He whispered to the slumbering girl, as he stood up. "I will make sure that you are taken care of." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and then he left the room and headed down stairs.

He walked into the living room where everyone was sitting.

"She's asleep." Dean said, sitting on the couch beside his brother. "What's going to happen to her?"

"She will go to the HOPE center in the morning." Alex said. "It's a safe place for children and abused women."

"Will she be adopted out?" Dean wanted to know.

"We will do our best to find her a home." Alex assured him. "But it may be difficult."

"She's a great kid." Dean said.

"The system is full of great kids." Gage said.

"If we can't place her in a home, we will place her into a group home." Alex said. "Please believe me, we will make sure she is taken care of and is safe."

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The next morning, Dean and Emily went for a drive. He had asked to spend the whole morning with the young girl in order to say goodbye. The Walkers had told him to come by their house at noon for a bar-b-que. They were going to take Emily to the HOPE center after the bar-b-que.

Dean pulled into the Walker's driveway and saw a sight he never thought he would see, his brother was riding a horse. The rangers and Alex were also on horseback, and another saddled horse was standing beside them. Dean and Emily climbed out of the car.

"CD said we had an hour before the food was done." Walker said. "Thought we'd go for a ride."

"Sure." Dean smiled, he hadn't rode a horse since he was twelve. Then it only to flee a Wengingo, but he had enjoyed the ride.

"You can ride with me, Emily." Walker said.

"Can I Dean?" She asked, looking up in awe at the large horse the man was sitting on.

"Sure, sweetheart." Dean said, as he lifted her up and sat her in front of the older man. Then he mounted his horse.

The ride was filled with laughter and all too soon it was over. They took the horses back to the barn and Dean, Sam, and Emily were shown how to cool the animals down and feed them.

Emily giggled when Walker's horse nibbled on the hay she was holding in front of him.

"That tickles." She laughed.

"Amigo loves sugar cubes." Walker said, as he placed three cubes into her small hand. "Hold them out with your palm up."

She did, then giggled again when the horse ate them.

"Can I feed sugar to the others?" She asked, hopefully.

"Sure can." Walker said. He patiently followed her as she feed sugar cubes to all of the horses in the barn and the adjoining corral.

"Come on, honey." Alex said, once she was done. "Let's go get washed up."

"Okay." Emily smiled.

A few minutes later, everyone was seated around a long picnic table eating. Emily was sitting right beside Dean. The meal went as well as the ride, everyone enjoyed themselves.

An hour later, everyone was done eating, but they were still sitting around talking. Except for Emily who had been playing since she finished eating. The young girl was currently running around the yard being chased by a friendly Labrador retriever. Emily tripped and fell to the ground and the dog jumped on top of her and started nuzzling his nose against her stomach, causing her to laugh.

Dean watched her with mixed emotions. He was thrilled that she was having fun and enjoying being a kid. But he felt horrible knowing that this was just for the day, that later that afternoon she would become a ward of the state. That she would became a number on some social service worker's case file.

Emily managed to get untangled from the dog and ran over to Dean, climbing into the seat beside him. She was panting hard and laughing at the same time.

"Having fun?" Dean smiled at her.

She nodded her head with a huge grin on her face.

"Here Honey." Alex said, sitting a glass of water on the table in front of her. "Drink some of this and rest a minute."

"Okay." She said. "Thank you."

The adults went back to talking and soon Dean felt a weight on his side. He looked over and smiled, Emily was fast asleep and leaning against his side.

"Looks like someone wore themselves out." Dean said. "Got a place I can lay her?"

"Sure." Alex said, as she stood up.

Dean carefully stood up and lifted the slumbering girl into his arms. Then he followed Alex into the house and into a spare bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and Alex started taking off her shoes.

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An hour later, Dean walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Emily was still sound asleep. He softly stroked her hair, not realizing that she was half way awake.

"Hey Dean." Sam said softly, as he stood in the doorway. "Alex and Walker wants to talk to you."

"Okay." Dean said, but he made no effort to stand.

"You've really fallen for her haven't you?" Sam said.

"She's a great kid." Dean replied, standing up. "Come on, lets see what they want. Is Sydney still here?"

"Yeah, everyone is."

"I don't care about everyone." Dean smirked. "Only Sydney, she's hot."

"And she can kick your ass." Sam informed him.

"Might be fun."

"Dude, you are weird."

"I know little brother, I know. Admit it, you think she's hot too."

"Yeah, she's hot." Sam admitted.

"I love her headlights man." Dean said, licking his lips. "They're small, but very perky. Alex has nice headlights too, but not quite as perky. I give her a nine on the Dean-o-meter. Sydney is a solid ten."

The two brother left the room and went in search of the Walkers. They were sitting outside with everyone else.

"Dean." Walker said, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "Today has been wonderful, having Emily here. She's got us all wrapped around her little finger, and we can't give her up."

"We want to adopt her." Alex said.

"That's great." Dean smiled, a huge weight being lifted from his chest. He knew Emily would be happy with them.

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The next day, everyone was once again in the Walker's yard. Dean and Sam were about to leave and had already said goodbyes.

"Honey." Alex said, looking at Emily in confusion. "What are you doing?"

The young girl was looking at the headlights on Sydney's car.

"You were wrong, Dean." She said, looking up. "Sydney and Alex have the same headlights."

Dean gulped, and decided it was time to go. "Come on, Sammy. Daylight's a wasting."

"You said that Sydney's headlights were smaller but perky." Emily said, causing Sydney to glare at Dean. "And that Alex's were not as perky, but still a nine on the Dean-o-meter." That caused Alex and Walker to also glare at Dean.

"It was nice seeing you again." Dean said, backing up towards the car. "But we've got a thing we have to get to." Then he quickly jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine.

Sam was smiling, until the three glares became directed at him.

"Um." He said, as he also started backing up. "I didn't…I mean he….I…..um….Dean's right, we have a thing that really needs taken care of. It was nice meeting you." Then he too jumped into the car and Dean drove away.

THE END

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