A/N: I've split this episode into two parts because it was getting a bit too long.
Please enjoy PART I
Bela felt every hair on the back of her neck stand – she could feel the presence behind her, she could feel the warmth the body was emitting. With a slight tilt of her head, she caught a reflection of the intruder in the window of her car.
"It's rude to sneak up on people."
"Bela Talbot."
She slowly turned around, her eyes studying the man in front of her. "You have me at a disadvantage. I don't know who you are."
"Gordon Walker." The man smiled, flashing his straight white teeth.
Bela's fingers tightened around the keys in her hand, panic briefly flashed across her face before she composed herself. "I've heard of you. Heard you were in prison."
"Got out."
"Released early on good behavior?" Sarcasm was always her way of masking how she really felt – and right at this moment, she felt panic. She casually unlocked the car and reached inside when Gordon suddenly cleared his throat.
"Looking for this?" He removed the safety clip of the gun she was looking for, enjoying the perturbation rolling off of her in waves. "I know you were just in Massachusetts, and I know you were with the Winchesters. Tell me where they are."
"I don't think I know."
"You don't." Gordon decided to take out the bigger guns and aimed a much larger handgun at her. "Why don't you think a little harder?"
Bela gulped, eyes wide. "Put that down. What's so pressing about finding the boys, anyway?"
"Sam Winchester's the Antichrist."
"Mhmm." Bela nodded slowly, thinking this man had absolutely lost his mind. "I'd heard something about that … from my good friend, the Easter Bunny, who'd heard it from the Tooth Fairy. Are you off your meds?"
"It's true," Gordon gritted out. He knew when people were mocking him and Bela was exactly doing just that. "The world hangs in the balance. So you go ahead and be a smart-ass, but tell me where they are, or I shoot."
"Gordon, you and I don't know each other very well, so let me tell you a little something about me. I don't respond well to threats, but you make me an offer? And I think you'll find me highly cooperative."
"Okay, how about …" Gordon's tongue darted out to wet his lips. "You tell me where they are, or I'll kill you right now?"
Bela's eyes flickered to the gun but her gaze didn't linger. Instead she fixed Gordon's glare full on.
"Kill me. Good luck finding Sam and Dean."
Gordon grimaced. "I can wrangle up three grand."
She smiled. "I don't get out of bed for three grand."
Gordon cursed under his breath. This wasn't going according to plan. As he lowered his arm, Bela caught sight of a small cloth bag hanging at his belt. Her eyes sparkled in interest.
"Scratch that. Give me the mojo bag, and we'll call it even."
"Oh, hell no. This thing's a century old. It's – "
"Priceless," she interjected. "Believe me, I know. Now, how badly do you want the Winchesters?"
SPN
Sam's hazel eyes peeked over the newspaper, watching his little sister drag a chair to the bathroom. She returned a few seconds later, lifting Dean's duffel bag onto one of the beds. She proceeded to rummage through it, taking out some toiletries.
"What are you doing?"
Emmy looked up at her brother, a small grin connecting her dimpled cheeks. "Oh, Dean said that I could shave him."
"You're not gonna eat your breakfast first?"
"Later," she threw over her shoulder, already making her way back to the bathroom.
Dean tightened the towel around his waist just as she entered. He patted the chair, letting her climb on it. He felt a slight pang at the fact that she was nearly as tall as him – he remembered a time where she was this small little thing, even when she stood on a chair, he always towered over her. But his little sister wasn't so little anymore.
Emmy put down all the stuff she thought she'd need in the bathroom sink. Dean chuckled when he caught sight of a little pink bottle of perfume he once bought her, it smelled like cherries. She had liked the smell so he had gotten it for her.
"I don't think I'm gonna need this, sweetheart."
"Dad always used to spray some of his cologne on his face after shaving," she responded, big blue eyes flashing nothing but innocence.
Dean didn't have the heart to point out to her that men prefer perfume that smelled manly and not sweet. Oh well, if that's what she wanted. He'd go around smelling like cherries all day if that would put a smile on her cute little face.
"Alright, step one – we need to wash my face first."
"But you just got out of the shower," she pointed out.
Dean tapped her tiny button nose. "True, but let's just go through the standard procedure. You're gonna have to know this for when Sammy decides to let more than just his hair on top of his head grow long. Wouldn't want him to look like Bigfoot, right?"
"I heard that," Sam called out from the other room.
Dean winked at her, causing her to giggle.
He grabbed a washcloth and held it under the faucet. "Never use cold or hot water, go for something in between."
"Okay," Emmy nodded. She took the washcloth and used it to gently dab Dean's face, laughing softly whenever he pulled a funny face. "Alright, I'm done. What's next?"
"Step two – shaving cream." Dean held up the bottle and squirted some into her small hands. "Now rub it all over my cheeks and my chin."
Emmy did as she was told. "Your skin is really scratchy."
"Yeah? Well soon it's gonna be as smooth as a baby's bottom." Dean turned his head to give her a better angle. "Don't forget my mustache."
Emmy used her fingers to spread the foam on his upper lip, giggling when he wiggled his nose.
"Done?" he asked.
"Yup!"
Dean turned to face the mirror, examining her work. "Not bad, not bad at all."
"You look like Santa," she laughed as she washed her hands. Even Sam's laughter could be heard in the background.
"Still better than Bigfoot," Dean muttered under his breath. He had some shaving cream on his finger and wiped it off on Emmy's cheek.
She wasn't impressed. "Real mature." After drying her hands, she fixed her ponytail. "Now what?"
"Now, we start shaving." Dean threw the razor blade in the air, catching it single handedly. "Be careful with this, I don't want you to cut yourself."
Emmy cocked a single eyebrow. "I think you should be worrying about you. So how do I do this?"
Dean carefully wrapped her fingers around the razor blade. "Start with my cheeks, go up and down. When you move to my neck and jaw you do the opposite, down and up. Got it?"
"Uhu," she nodded eagerly.
She worked so gentle and accurate, it brought a fond smile to Dean's lips. He watched as the tip of her tongue poked between her lips in concentration, and he thought it was the cutest thing.
Emmy enjoyed how smoothly the razor glided over her brother's face. There was something oddly satisfying about shaving off the cream and turning the stubbled surface into soft skin. Emmy was almost done when she suddenly miscalculated the sharp edge of Dean's jaw , nicking him in the process.
Her eyes widened in panic at the sight of a drop of blood. "Oh no! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Does it hurt? I'm sorry – "
"Hey, I'm fine, cutie pie. It's just a little cut," Dean was clearly amused.
She gnawed on her bottom lip, eyeing the drop of blood leaving a trace down his jaw to his neck. "Does it hurt?"
"The fact that you think a shaving cut hurt me – me, your strong big brother, who kills monsters in his spare time, that hurts my feelings… and my ego."
"Stop joking around," she grumbled, picking up the washcloth and using it to dry his face. "There you go. How did I do?"
Dean didn't even have to check his reflection in the mirror to know she did great. "Thanks, it's perfect, sweetheart."
"Wait, I'm not done yet." Emmy got the perfume, spraying some on her hands before applying it on his cheeks. There wasn't any alcohol in it so it didn't sting. She cupped her brother's cheeks and kissed the little cut better. "Now I'm done."
Dean's eyes stung at the sweet gesture. Every time she did these type of things, he'd find himself wondering why he was deliberately going to hell again – then he'd remember Sam, his brother, and his gut would twist in a mix of turmoil, affliction and anguish.
"Hey," Sam suddenly appeared at the doorway of the bathroom, phone in his hand. "Bela just called. Something about a vamp's nest near Albany. Wanna take this one?"
"Sammy, you know me – I'm not one to turn down an opportunity to behead a bloodsucker." Dean's arm slid around Emmy's waist, effortlessly lifting her up from the chair. "Go eat your breakfast while I get dressed." He kissed her face twice before putting her back on her feet.
SPN
The Winchester brothers were getting ready, packing their bags with all the necessities needed to exterminate the vampires. Dean checked if their guns were loaded, knives and axes sharp enough to decapitate some fanged bastards.
Sam was looking for his phone when he remembered he had given it to Emmy to play with it. Her battery had died and she was too lazy to search for her charger, she most likely forgot it in the car again. Sam's gaze lingered on Emmy sitting across the room for a few seconds, his eyes slightly narrowing in thought.
He turned to Dean with an uncompromising expression. "We're not taking Emmy with us."
Dean's hand froze on his bag, just as he was about to zip it up. "Come again?"
Sam threw a quick look over his shoulder, making sure to keep his voice low. "Don't tell me you forgot what happened last time. First with Dad – those vamps could smell her on us, they went batshit crazy and that was just her scent. And then back at Wyoming with Gordon, you remember how they reacted to her blood?"
"Of course I remember, Sam," Dean nearly growled, as if he was ever going to forget about that. "We can't leave her here all by herself."
"It's only a two hour drive. Let's just check it out first, make sure Bela's right. If she is, we come back for Emmy and take her with us. We'll be back by midnight."
Dean didn't seem convinced. His jaw twitched as he glanced at their sister.
Sam recognized that look instantly. "Dean, she's not a baby anymore. I'm sure she can take care of herself for a few hours."
With a hand rubbing his forehead, Dean sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right." They were doing what was best for her, he had to remind himself.
"Emmy, honey, come here for a sec," Sam beckoned her over. She put his phone down and made her way over to them with a little skip.
"Yeah?" she perched herself on his bed, careful of all the gear spread out on top of the bed.
"Listen, Dean and I are gonna check something out, see if it's a case or not. Meanwhile, you're staying here … "
Her eyebrows bunched up as she looked up at her brothers. "You mean like, alone?"
Dean clenched his teeth, not liking that lost shimmer in her eyes. "Okay, this is a bad idea, we shouldn't – "
"Dean," Sam cut him off, throwing him that look that told him everything was going to be okay. A look Dean was used to perfect over the years, he never thought he'd get that same look from his younger brother.
Sam faced Emmy, he picked up his hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "We'll be back tonight, I promise. Do you think you can keep yourself busy for a few hours?"
Emmy wasn't going to lie, this was new to her. She was used to being left alone for few hours, but Sam was wrong – this wasn't a few hours, this was an entire day. But then she reminded herself that she was eleven now, eleven year old kids didn't need any babysitting.
"I'll be fine," she reassured them.
"You sure?" Sam needed to know, if she so much as gave away one hint of doubt he was going to call this off. He didn't want her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with.
Emmy nodded. "I'll probably just do some homework, watch some tv, finish reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, play some Mario Bros. You know, the usual."
"You're such a dork," Sam smiled fondly, flicking her forehead.
Dean still wasn't persuaded, he didn't like any idea where Emmy wasn't with him where he could keep a close eye on her. But he had to force himself to think of her safety again, she was better off here instead of anywhere near those leeches.
Emmy had to bite her lip to hold back a smile when Dean crouched down in front of her. His huge hands practically swallowed hers, his green eyes piercing hers.
Here it comes, Emmy thought.
"You stay inside until Sam and I are back. If you leave the room, believe me I'll find out. Keep doors and windows locked – "
"What if there's a fire?"
"There won't be a fire."
"But what if there is?"
"Emmy." Dean gave her a look, knowing all too well she was teasing him. "Don't answer the door, if anyone knocks you pretend you're not here."
"What if someone needs help though?"
"You tell them to go knock on someone else's door," he answered curtly. "I'll tell the lady at the front desk to keep an eye out, so no funny business."
Emmy's lips twitched. "So does that mean I can't invite the boy down the hall to play some Mario Cart with me?"
Dean wasn't humored. "Don't push it, little girl." He playfully pushed her back onto the bed, causing her to bounce and giggle.
It was close to noon when Sam had gone to restock the fridge while Dean went through the ground rules over and over again, until Emmy thought her head was going to explode. Many hugs and kisses later, Emmy let out a long breath when her brothers had finally left.
It was weird having the motel room all to herself, not that she was going to complain. Everyone needed some alone time, not to be lonely but to be alone with yourself. It gave her the chance to collect her thoughts, to think, to avoid conversation. But it didn't take long before Emmy found her mind recalling the thing that she was trying so hard not to think of.
Dean was dying.
Maybe being alone with her thoughts wasn't such an appealing idea. But Dean's time running out wasn't something you could just ignore. It was a fact, it wasn't something she couldn't change no matter how bad she wanted it.
Emmy shook her head as if to rid of the dark thoughts. She made her way over to the table where her brothers put some food. Emmy dug into the Styrofoam boxes, the smell of taco's making her mouth water. It wasn't until she cleared the table for more space, that she realized Sam had forgotten his phone. They had left for over an hour now so they were probably not coming back to fetch it. Oh well, maybe it was a good thing Sam forgot about it, Emmy's phone was still dead so at least she had this one in case of emergency. All the fuss Dean caused over her and he still managed to forget to check if her phone was charged.
Emmy was watching some cartoons while eating, her legs swinging under the table. Her eyes kept flickering back to Sam's phone for some reason when a sudden thought struck her.
Putting down her food, Emmy grabbed the phone. She pushed the home button, the screen lit up with a picture of her seven year old self on the screensaver. She was grinning into the camera, showing off some missing teeth, her cheeks covered in chocolate. Emmy changed her mind and put the phone back again.
Wanting something to keep her hands busy, she reached for her drink, playing around with the straw and ice cubes. Her gaze was fixed on the television screen but Emmy wasn't paying attention, her mind kept drifting off. She chewed on her bottom lip until the bitter taste of blood flooded inside her mouth. She let out a heavy sigh.
"Just get it over with, Emmy," she said to herself.
Putting her drink down, she once again grabbed Sam's phone. Typing in his password which was always some version of her birthday, the date was just in a different order. Emmy went to his contacts, scrolling down until she found the name she was looking for.
Trepidation starting gnawing at her, and Emmy almost gave up but she decided against it. She had to do this. For Dean.
Pressing the call button, she gingerly put the phone against her ear.
"Sam?"
Emmy cleared her throat. "Uhm, no it's me. Emmy."
"Emmy? What's up, you guys in trouble or something?"
"Oh no, not really … " she trailed off.
"Then what is it?"
Emmy pressed her fingers between her eyes, already regretting dialing the number. "I-I'm sorry, it's nothing. Sorry I bothered you, just ignore my call."
"You didn't just call me for no reason. You gonna tell me what's really going on or what?"
"I just thought – I just thought, my brothers are out of town and they're probably not coming until midnight, so I figured maybe we should do that thing we talked about the other day at Bobby's, that is if you're not busy of course, cuz I can wait – well no, actually I can't wait, it's pretty urgent but yeah whatever you want I guess."
Emmy knew she was rambling, a nervous habit of hers.
"Don't need to trip all over your words, sweetie. All you need to do is say please."
"… Please?"
"Alright, text me where you are and I'll be there in a few."
Emmy let out a breath of relief. She still wasn't sure about this, but there was no turning back now.
"Thanks, Ruby."
SPN
Two hours later, Ruby knocked at the door of the motel room, a paper bag in her hands. She could hear the scrape of a chair on the other side of the door. She looked up at the peephole and smiled with a wave. The sound of the chair being dragged away was followed by the sound of the door unlocking.
Ruby looked down at the young girl. "Hey you."
"Hey," Emmy replied, her voice wavering just a little. From fear or anxiety, Ruby couldn't tell.
"You gonna let me in or what?"
Emmy craned her neck to inspect the rest of the hallway, needing to make sure Ruby didn't bring any of her black eyed friends with her. When the coast seemed clear to her, she took a hesitant step back and opened the door wide.
"You sure I'm allowed to come in?" Ruby pointed down at the wooden floorboard.
Emmy followed her gaze to the painted devil's trap. She swallowed hard. "Oh right, I'm sorry." With the sole of her sneaker, Emmy rubbed at the trap until the outer circle broke.
Ruby could feel the spell was lifted, and took a step inside the room.
Emmy closed the door behind her, locking it again. "Uhm, just to be clear, you're not gonna tell any of this to my brothers, right?"
"I'm a lot of things, baby Winchester, but I'm not a snitch." Ruby dropped the paper bag on the table. She eyed the leftover taco's and decided to take a bite. "So, you ready?"
Emmy wrung her hands. "Not really."
"Let me rephrase the question, do you wanna save your brother?"
"Yes," Emmy said without missing a beat.
Ruby smiled. "Then you're ready." She clapped her hands together, her lips pulled in a wide grin. "Let's do this."
SPN
Emmy closed the curtains, making the room dark. The few candles here and there where the only sources providing light. Emmy eyed the circular sigil with curiosity. The sigil was separated by four lines into four areas. Each quadrant contained a different symbol. Outside the circle, four other symbols were written. Four objects were placed at the farthest points outside the sigil.
Ruby grabbed a bowl and filled it with various materials. Emmy thought they looked a lot like leaves, herbs and petals.
"You sure this is gonna work?" She couldn't help but ask for the millionth time.
"It's worth the try."
Emmy folded her arms across her chest as she watched Ruby work. "You ever summoned an angel before?"
"Nope. In case you didn't know, demons and angels don't get along that well, I doubt they'd answer my call," she smirked.
"But you're the one summoning the angel," Emmy pointed out.
Ruby got up to her feet, wiping her hand off on her jeans. "Correction, you're the one summoning the angel."
"What makes you think they'll listen to me? I've prayed a thousand times before."
Ruby put her hands on Emmy's shoulders, lightly bending over to reach the same eye-level. "I hate to bust your bubble, dollface, but praying doesn't work. It doesn't fix anything. Bad things happen anyway."
Emmy shrugged off her hands. "Don't say that. God always listens to our prayers."
Ruby's eyes squinted in interest. "That's not you talking, you know that right?"
"What?"
"You ever wonder where your faith comes from? I mean, after everything you've gone through, you'd think you would finally break up with that big guy upstairs. All he does is toy with your heart anyway." The demon picked up a blonde strand of Emmy's hair, twirling it around her finger. "But you still hold onto Him."
"What are you trying to say?"
"You're connected to God in some way, like he's got a tight leash on you. Whenever you feel like praying again, that's not you, that's him pulling at the leash." Ruby gently pulled at Emmy's hair without hurting her before smoothing it back like a caring mother would.
Emmy gulped. She remembered Gabriel telling her something similar. But as long as she couldn't wrap her mind around it, and as long as it didn't make any sense to her, she tried not to dwell on it too much.
"Are we done now," she said, trying to steer away from that subject.
Ruby walked over to the paper bag she brought along and took out some items. "One last thing." She turned around with a jar in one hand and a knife in the other.
Emmy felt her stomach tie up in knots. Just a little cut, she reassured herself, just a tiny little cut.
"Roll up your sleeve. It'll be quick I promise," the demon said.
As Emmy lifted up her sleeve, goosebumps popped up on her bare skin. Something in her mind told her to tuck her arm away and stop whatever she was doing. But the other part reminded her that if there was any danger, Gabriel would've long appeared to save the day.
"Alright, hold the jar under your arm," Ruby instructed. "It's better if you don't look."
Emmy's hand trembled as she held the jar under her other arm. The knife glinted as it caught the light of the candles. Feeling every muscle tense up, Emmy had a hard time relaxing.
"Close your eyes and count to three."
Emmy pinched her eyes close and started counting. "One, two – OWW!"
"Shhh," Ruby warned her. "It's done, see?"
Emmy sniffed as she dared to take a look at her arm. The cut was smaller than she had expected, but it didn't stop the blood from trickling down into the jar in a steady pace.
Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she tried to speak. "How much do you need?"
"Enough."
A full minute later, Ruby took the jar and handed Emmy a clean rag. Emmy wrapped the cloth around her arm, pressing it hard against the cut to stop the bleeding. She watched as Ruby proceeded to pour a few drops into the bowl in the middle of the sigil. Ruby twisted the lid onto the jar and put it away. Emmy wondered why the demon needed so much blood if she was only going to use a small amount anyway. But before she could voice her question, she was startled when Ruby set the ingredients on fire.
Ruby grabbed Emmy's arm, pulling her to the side. She handed her a roll and Emmy looked at the few written words in a weird language. It wasn't Latin, that's for sure.
"It's Enochian," Ruby told her as if she could read her mind. "Read it, and keep repeating it until I tell you to stop."
Emmy watched the small fire, seeing the leaves and other herbs burn in a pool of her blood. She cleared her throat with a cough and wet her dry lips a few time before reading the incantation.
"Zod ee r-reh doh? Doh noh koh ah b-beh rah ma g-geh. N-ah zod peh sah geh …"
The words were hard to pronounce and Emmy was sure she was saying half of it wrong. She turned to Ruby. "Did I do right?"
The demon shrugged. "You sure got an accent but it will do. Read it again."
Emmy took a deep breath. "Zod ee reh doh noh koh ah beh rah ma geh nah zod peh sah geh," she recited more confidently but nothing happened.
"Say it again," Ruby said.
"Zod ee reh doh noh koh ah beh rah ma geh nah zod peh sah geh."
Emmy looked at the small fire and realized it was slowly dying. "Is that supposed to happen?"
Ruby frowned, no this wasn't supposed to happen. "Say it louder."
"Zod ee reh doh noh koh ah beh rah ma geh nah zod peh sah geh."
"Louder!"
"ZOD EE REH DOH NOH KOH AH BEH RAH MA GEH NAH ZOD PEH SAH GEH," Emmy almost shouted. She could feel her heart beat so hard against her chest, adrenaline shooting through her veins. The cut on her arm was throbbing and her knuckles were white as they gripped the roll. And still, nothing happened.
"Maybe you should use more blood?" she suggested.
Ruby shook her head. "No, that's not it. Give it to me, I'll try."
Emmy was reluctant to hand the roll over to Ruby but she didn't see what else they could do.
Putting some distance between herself and the demon, Emmy settled near the window, her back pressed against the wall.
Ruby chanted the same words over and over again but there was absolutely nothing. However, she wasn't giving up so easily, and kept trying until the fire was out and nothing in the bowl remained. Ruby angrily smashed the roll against the dresser in utter defeat. She could've sworn she got the spell right and the symbols. She had hoped with Emmy's blood, that the summoning wouldn't go wrong, but it looks like she was wrong.
"It didn't work?" Emmy asked quietly.
"Stupid angels playing hard to get," she fumed. Ruby was about to kick the stupid bowl out of her sight when a sudden flame erupted from it, nearly reaching the ceiling.
Emmy screamed. Her eyes wide as she watched the flames grow out of proportion. Her arm flew up to cover her face, the heat of the fire biting at her skin. She backed up into a far corner and coughed as the smoke made its way into her lungs.
Ruby however was too late to step away – the fire reached out to her like an arm, wrapping itself around her throat. Emmy couldn't believe what she was seeing, her eyes almost popping out of her skull. She wanted to do something, anything, but didn't know what. Ruby was choking as the flame strangled her, even lifting her a few inches from the floor. Beads of sweat trickled down her face. The skin on her neck was sizzling as the fire squeezed tighter. She could barely manage to move her lips, mumbling something under her breath.
Emmy couldn't hear what the demon was saying. She was torn between keeping her eyes on the fire practically strangling the demon and protecting her faze from the hot flames. Suddenly a big whoosh of air swept into the room, knocking almost everything over. The curtain rods were barely holding onto the curtains. Several loose items were swept into the air, floating around. Emmy backed into a corner, wrapping her arms around her body to protect herself. Her hair circled around her face, and she winced when the remote control nearly hit her head. She slid down the floor and buried her face in her knees. She pinched her eyes closed so hard she was starting to see dots. She didn't know how long she sat in that position, flinching every time an object would collide against her.
The temperature in the room dropped abruptly. The heavy wind had died down into a soft breeze. The sounds of objects dropping to the ground were the only sounds in the room.
Emmy carefully and slowly picked up her head, blinking several times. The room was a mess, everything was all over the place. The sigil was destroyed, the symbols barely recognizable. Emmy startled when she heard a sound from across the room, without the candles it was hard to focus in the dark.
"R-Ruby?"
"I'm fine," the demon's voice sounded hoarse.
Coughing, Emmy winced as she dragged herself into a standing position. "What was that?"
"That was a warning."
Emmy flinched when Ruby flicked the lights on. She now had a better view of the damage in the room. But it was nothing compared to the damage inflicted on the demon. The skin around her throat was burned, almost black. If you looked closely you could even see smoke protruding from the wound. It looked so painful, Emmy couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"
"I said I was fine," Ruby snapped.
Emmy tried not to let the sharp tone get to her. "You said it was a warning, what does that mean."
"It's a warning for me, to stay away from you." Ruby stepped over the mess to one of the beds. She grabbed the sheets and ripped a piece of it, holding it against her throat.
"A warning from who? Gabriel?" Emmy sounded hopeful.
"Who cares! Look what those dicks did to me!"
Emmy jumped, shifting a bit on her feet. " … So, the summoning didn't work?"
"Does it look like it worked?" Ruby turned her back on Emmy as she grabbed all her stuff, haphazardly throwing it in a bag. Her gaze dropped on the jar with Emmy's blood and the corner of her lips pulled up in her trademark smirk. She picked it up from the ground and snorted – she knew what the warning was for but it wasn't her fault the fire tornado destroyed everything but the jar. Their loss, her gain.
Emmy didn't notice the missing jar, not when she was still recovering from the fact that she once again couldn't reach Gabriel. Tears prickled her eyes, that angel was her last resort. She had hoped that he would help her save Dean. He was an angel, there wasn't anything he couldn't do – at least that's what he used to say. But she was wrong, she put her faith into an angel, a god, that kept messing around with her like she was some toy to play with.
She was so stupid. So stupid to trust too much. Hope too much. Love too much. And now, that too much hurt so much.
Emmy snapped out of her thoughts when Ruby jiggled the locks on the door.
Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, she sniffed. "Where are you going?"
"Sorry, kid. We tried."
"Y-you can't just leave me here in this mess?! Aren't you gonna help me at least? I can't have Sam and Dean finding out about this, they'll kill me. Please, don't leave, don't leave just yet, please," she blubbered, fresh tears rolling down her face again.
Ruby closed her eyes. She wasn't supposed to feel anything towards this little human creature, yet she couldn't ignore the pull. She chuckled dryly, a demon with a heart – wow.
"Fine, I'll help. Just stop crying, okay?"
Emmy nodded fast, forcing her tears back. She tried to keep herself strong and brave but inside she was crumbling, broken and lost.
Ruby sighed and put a finger under her trembling chin. "Hey, keep your head up and put those tears away. Nobody said it would be easy, so don't give up when it gets hard. We'll find a way to save Dean. I promised Sam, and I now I promise you too."
SPN
The next day, Dean started waking up when he heard shuffling sounds in the room. He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. Squinting his eyes, he threw a quick look at his watch and felt the urge to throw the sheets over his head and go back to sleep even if it was almost noon.
"Morning," Sam said as he emerged from the bathroom. "I got coffee, and doughnuts."
At the sound of that, Dean forced himself to sit up in bed. He was tired and felt sore all over but knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. His eyes darted to the couch across the room where Emmy's soft snores could be heard.
"She's still sleeping?" Emmy was an early bird, she rarely slept in.
"Yeah, she probably didn't get much sleep," Sam said, fondly stroking his knuckles down her cheek.
It was close to three in the morning when Sam and Dean had gotten back to the motel room. They didn't stay long enough to smell the faint burnt smell, or some objects missing, or the fact that the curtains had a different pattern. They only came back to fetch Emmy and drive back to Albany where they had more pressing matters at hand – like a vampire who had taken a particular interest in young, gullible women, and Gordon frikkin' Walker.
Sam handed Dean his coffee and threw a newspaper in his lap.
"What's this?" Dean asked as he scanned the article Sam had circled. "Wait, another girl missing?"
Sam perched himself on his own bed, his hands cupping his steaming cup of coffee. "Yeah, and she was last seen at that club on Jefferson. The same club we last saw the vampire."
"Yeah, before he cut and run," Dean gritted out, taking a sip from his much needed coffee. "So, I guess Gordon's out of jail."
"I guess so. You know, how the hell did he know where to find us?"
Dean was about to lift his cup to his lips again when realization hit him. "That bitch." Before Sam could ask, Dean pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number. "Hi, Bela."
"Hello, Dean."
Dean put the phone on speaker. "You mind telling us why Gordon is on the same case you gave us?"
"He paid me to tell him where you were."
Sam rolled his eyes. Typical.
"Excuse me?" Dean commented. What was wrong with her?
Bela chuckled nervously. "Well, he had a gun on me. What else was I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, maybe pick up the phone!" Dean nearly shouted but quickly lowered his voice when Emmy stirred. "And tell us that a raging psychopath was dropping by," he whisper-yelled.
"Ah. I did fully intend to call, I just got a bit sidetracked."
"He tried to kill us!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such big deal. After all, there are two of you and one of him."
"There were two of them," Dean pointed out sharply. "Bela, if we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill you."
"You're not serious." Her voice was void of any sarcasm for once and Dean was glad he got through to her.
"Listen to my voice and tell me if I'm serious."
Dean hung up and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Emmy chose that moment to suddenly wake up with a start. She was lightly panting, her heart beating fast. Her eyes instantly took in her surroundings, she wasn't familiar with the room until she remembered they had moved to another motel in the middle of the night.
"You alright, sweetheart?"
Startled, she noticed Sam and Dean were up too. They were looking at her, concerned.
Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her dry mouth. "I-I'm fine."
Dean cocked his head questioningly. "Weird dream?"
She blinked. "Yeah, something like that." The events of last night came back to her and her throat tightened up when she remembered they had failed the summoning. They had failed to save Dean. Again.
Sam shook the paper bag with the doughnuts. "Come get yourself a 'Double Choc' before Dean eats all of 'em."
Emmy wasn't hungry, she couldn't stomach anything but she didn't want to raise any suspicion. She slipped from the couch, a shiver running up her spine when her bare feet touched the cold floor. Emmy was glad she had put on long sleeves the night before as she wasn't ready to explain where the cut on her arm came from.
When she was close enough, Sam lifted her up on his lap. His arms snaked around her waist from behind as he pressed a kiss to the back of her head.
"So how did it go yesterday?" Dean asked her.
Emmy purposefully casted her gaze downwards to focus on her doughnut, anything to not meet her brother's eye, knowing he'd see right through her the minute she'd open her mouth. "It was alright. I almost finished reading the book about The Civil War so I can start on that essay soon," she said more to Sam. "There was also a Scooby-Doo marathon last night, and I think I fell asleep watching it," she lied, trying her utter best to keep her voice steady.
She sucked some chocolate from her thumb and addressed her brothers in an attempt to change the subject. "What about you two? What did you find out last night."
Dean reached over to grab his own doughnut. "Turns out there's a vampire, turning girls into bloodsuckers by feeding them his blood."
"Did you find him?"
"No, we got a little preoccupied by something else."
"Gordon," Sam clarified.
Emmy stopped mid-chew. "I thought he was in prison."
"Well, apparently we thought wrong," Dean smiled, even though anyone could see the anger and frustration flash in his eyes.
"So, what are you gonna do?" she questioned as she took another bite.
Sam pulled his cup of coffee out of her reach when she tried to take a tiny sip.
"Gordon's clearly after the same vampire's nest. If we find the girls, we find him – it's like killing two birds with one stone," Dean reasoned. He got out of bed with a groan and stretched out his arms.
Emmy put down her unfinished doughnut and Sam frowned. "You're not hungry anymore?" Usually he was the one who had to make sure she didn't eat too much of the sugar loaded pastry.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'll finish it later." If she took one more bite, she was afraid she'd throw up everything. Her stomach was still tied up in knots from the day before.
"More for me then." Dean picked another doughnut, shoving half of it down his throat.
Emmy couldn't help but shake her head at the pink icing smudged on his lips. He was such a child sometimes.
Dean's eyes twinkled in mischief as he grabbed her face, kissing her hard on her freckled cheek.
"Dean!" she shrieked, trying to rub off the stickiness on her cheek.
SPN
Gordon groaned painfully as he slowly, yet gradually regained consciousness. He cracked his eyes open one by one, trying to remember what had happened. His memory started to get back to him and he remembered chasing a vampire when the Winchester brothers suddenly appeared out of nowhere. At first Gordon was more than happy they had followed Bela's instructions, leading them right to him. But encountering them at the crime scene wasn't the plan – in fact, it messed it up causing him to not only loose his trail on Sam and Dean but it also got him right in the vampire's clutch, hence why he was in his current predicament.
Gordon looked down, he was tied spread-eagled to a metal bedframe in a room where he apparently wasn't the only one tied up – two young blonde women were in shackles, dangling from the ceiling. Gordon recognized them as the two reported missing women. They looked out of it, moving sluggishly in their bloodstained shirts. They were in the vampire's lair he realized, there was no doubt about it.
The sound of footsteps approached, making Gordon freeze in a weary position.
A man around his late thirties walked towards the girls. He was dressed casually, jeans with a leather jacket. You wouldn't think that this man was two centuries old, or that he had fangs growing through his gums. He looked nothing out of the ordinary, just a regular guy, and that's exactly how the two women fell into his trap.
The vampire who had yet to be named, approached the first woman and fed her some blood which she gulped greedily, almost desperately. "I know you're uncomfortable... but this is just temporary. The hunger will pass, and then you'll feel much better," he talked soothingly, as if he was addressing a pair of children.
It wasn't until he moved onto the second woman that he noticed someone watching him. "You're awake."
"Who are they?" Gordon wanted to know. He knew who these girls were, but he wanted to know who they were to him? What made them so special?
"Family."
"You always keep your family in shackles?"
"We're still getting to know each other. They have just been reborn," the vampire explained while feeding the other woman.
"You mean you grabbed some poor girls off the street and made them monsters like you," Gordon sneered in disgust.
The vampire didn't look offended or affected by the comment. "I do what I have to. We're a dying breed. But then, you know that, don't you Gordon? Gordon. Walker. One of the greatest living vampire hunters."
"In the flesh," he smirked.
"You're a big part of why my people are nearly extinct, Gordon." The vampire's voice was contained, leaving the hunter to believe he was holding back.
Gordon snorted. "Your people are going extinct because you're a bunch of mindless, bloodthirsty animals."
"Right." The vampire laughed briefly, his sharp, white teeth flashing in the dark. "We're so much more bloodthirsty than you. Hunters slaughtered my entire nest like they were having a party. Murdered my daughter. I can't tell you how satisfying this is... catching a hunter responsible for so many deaths and making you lunch for my new daughters."
Gordon's eyebrows raised as he watched the vampire fingering the edges of a photograph. He showed it to him and Gordon saw a pre-20th century print of a young woman in sepia toned colors, presumably his daughter. The girl looked sweet and innocent but it did nothing to soften him up.
"Daughters? Try fang whores."
"Watch your mouth," the vampire spat, nearly crinkling the picture in his fist.
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Gordon grinned maliciously. "I'm sorry. I forgot you're just a misunderstood victim. Even though you murder and spread your filthy disease on pure base instinct. You got less humanity than a sewer rat."
"I'm sorry you have such a low opinion of my people."
"Oh, you have no idea," Gordon smiled, feeling pleased when he caught the vampire tremble with anger. There's nothing more satisfying than finding your opponent's weakest point and provoke them with it.
The vampire wasn't going to take the bait though, engaging in discussions and fights weren't worth it. Hunters like him thought they were the superior species, that they could get away with anything, well Gordon had another thing coming.
"Sorry, change of plans," the vampire suddenly announced. "I'll be going out to get your lunch. I've got a better idea for you."
He proceeded to take a knife and slit open Gordon's arm, then his own. Gordon was too slow in his reaction and stared in horror when the vampire pressed their cuts together.
"No! No! NO!"
SPN
Back at the motel, Emmy was having a hard time opening a jar of peanut butter. She hadn't eaten much that day but as the hours flew by, her stomach ache was slowly fading into a dull pain that wasn't strong enough to delay her hunger any longer. She decided to make a sandwich, if she could just open the stupid jar. After some more twisting and turning, almost hurting her fingers in the process, she gave up with an irritated huff.
Sam was at the table, looking at something on his computer when his sister appeared next to him.
"Sammy, can you open this for me please?"
"Sure," he smiled at the cute pout pulling at her lips, displaying how she wasn't pleased with the fact she had to ask him for help.
With a flick of his wrist, he easily opened the jar and Emmy had a hard time not dropping her jaw in bewilderment.
"Show-off," she mumbled under her breath.
Sam laughed and handed her the jar. Emmy extended her arm to take it when she suddenly felt his hand on her wrist, pulling her closer.
"What happened to your arm," Sam asked, the lines on his forehead drawn in concern.
Emmy wanted to slap herself for making the mistake of pushing her sleeves up. She tried to push them back down but Sam wasn't having any of it.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked form across the room. He was sitting on one of the beds, sharpening his machete on a whetstone.
"It's nothing, I just cut myself," she rushed out, still pulling at her arm but it only made her brother tighten his grip on her.
"Yeah I can see that. How did you cut yourself?" Sam wanted to know, his thumb brushing the crust of dried up blood. He looked up at her when she didn't answer. "Emmy?"
"I-I don't remember."
The way she said it made his brow quirk. "How can you not remember getting a cut this deep?"
Emmy was getting frustrated by this interrogation, couldn't he just drop the matter?
"What's the big deal, it's just a cut. You act as if I lost my arm or something," she shot back, finally managing to get her arm back. She angrily pushed her sleeves down.
"Honey – "
"Sammy, just drop it!" Emmy didn't intend to lash out on him like that, and she knew she was only rising more suspicion by reacting so defiantly; but the attention on her cut brought back memories she was trying to store in the far back of her mind. She didn't want to be reminded of her mistake.
Sam and Dean watched their sister turn on her heals and disappear into the bathroom – lately it was always her retreat when she didn't want to be in the same room as them.
"What was that?" Dean was the first to break the silence.
"I don't know," was all Sam said.
Oh, but he knew…
Unlike Dean, he saw that cut up close and he was experienced enough to recognize the cut. It could only come from a knife, and not just any knife but a dagger with sharpened edges. The kind they used not to cut deep enough to touch any artery or to inflict any permanent damage, but just enough to break the skin.
Oh Emmy, what did you do?
"So the vampire's still out there," Dean suddenly spoke, grabbing Sam's attention. "But first things first."
"Gordon," Sam nodded, forcing himself to get back on track. "What are you gonna do when you find him?"
"When we find him, or if he finds us..." Dean started saying, "Well I'm just saying he's not leaving us a whole lot of options."
"Yeah, I know," Sam sounded thoughtful. "We've got to kill him."
Dean stopped what he was doing just to stare at his brother in disbelief. "Really? Just like that? I thought you would have been like," he put on his best mocking-voice, "No, we can't, he's human, it's wrong."
"No, I'm done." Sam shrugged indifferently. "I mean, Gordon's not gonna stop until we're dead... or till he is."
Dean's phone rang. He looked at the caller-id and scowled.
Bela.
"What?!"
"I don't like it when people hold grudges against me, and more to the point, I'd rather you didn't kill me, so I went ahead and found Gordon's exact location for you."
Dean was puzzled. "You're a hundred miles away. How the hell did you—"
"Hello? Purveyor of powerful occult objects? I used a talking board to contact the other side."
"And?"
"Warehouse. Two stories, riverfront, neon sign outside."
Dean was about to hang up but she wasn't done yet.
"One more thing. The spirit had a message for you." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Leave town, run like hell, and whatever you do, don't go after Gordon."
SPN
Gordon awakened the second time that day, only this time he wasn't cuffed, instead he was hanging by his wrists from the ceiling. There was an incessant throb at the back of his head, he felt as if his whole body was on fire. Every nerve was incited, his senses intensified – he felt as if every light or noise was grating at his skin. It was all too overwhelming. He struggled with the chains, frustration biting at him. He wanted to rip something into shreds, he wanted to lash out, scream and shout.
The chains were suddenly ripped from the ceiling with a strength he didn't realize he had. Dust coated his dark, sweaty skin. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated. He was breathing hard, his nostrils flaring as he unwind the chains from his wrists.
He heard low moans, broken voices begging him pitifully and it took him a minute to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from.
"Please …" one of the women's voice whispered. "Help us. Please."
Gordon watched the woman eying him through her bangs, tears mixed with blood smudged her cheeks. A sob escaped her lips and all he could think about was how he could make her shut up. His hands cupped the sides of her face. The poor woman's eyes lit up briefly, a twitch of her lips flashed the only hope she still had inside her. But it was only short lived when Gordon's bare hands suddenly separated her head from her body.
SPN
The empty bathtub felt cold against her skin, almost numbing her but Emmy didn't feel like moving. She hugged her legs close to her chest, dropping her chin in the crease between her knees. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, tears of anger, tears of being hurt, tears of despair.
She never thought she'd say this but she truly hated Gabriel. He let her down in so many ways, her heart hurt just thinking about it. She also hated God, no matter what Ruby told her about the connection between her and Him, she was done begging on her knees. They could all rot away in hell for all she cared.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door. "Emmy?" Dean's voice echoed through the wooden surface. "C'mon sweetheart, you're not gonna sit there all day are you?"
Emmy sniffed back some tears. "Just go away."
"You think you can come out for a minute? You can't just lock yourself in every time something bothers you. You need to talk to us, baby."
"I don't wanna talk," her voice muffled by her knees.
"Okay, no talking. Got it. Can you at least come out here so I can use the bathroom?" he compromised.
Emmy couldn't help but roll her eyes, did he truly believe she'd fall for that. She was tempted to tell him to pee outside but decided against it. Arguing never led to anything.
"Just leave me alone, Dean."
Dean paused with an audible sigh. "Alright, well Sam and I are gonna go check out the address Bela gave us. We shouldn't be gone for too long. You got your phone on you?"
"Yes."
"Okay, call us if there's anything. We'll be right back, d'you hear me?"
Emmy didn't respond, she wanted them gone so she could go back to wallowing in her own misery.
"Emmy, did you hear me," Dean repeated more firmly.
"Yes!" she snapped, annoyed. If they could just stop treating her like a little baby, that'd be great.
There was silence at the other side of the door and Emmy could only imagine her brother clench his teeth, his hands balled into fists as he fought the urge to just smash the door in.
"Good. Don't leave the room," he reminded her once again and Emmy knew he wanted to say more. When she heard the door of the motel room close, she finally let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
SPN
Gordon watched as the Impala pulled away from the parking lot. His senses were on overdrive and he could barely keep up with all the impulses coming his way. It was like someone else was in control of his body, steering him in a certain direction. He followed his instinct, an animalistic force inside of him that only functioned by being fueled. And his fuel was blood – Gordon didn't know what heaven smelled like but he was sure that it couldn't be better than the scent of blood. The taste of it was arousing, empowering. He had a constant hunger for it and he had yet to grow accustomed to the different tastes. But there was one that stood out, a strong smell that led him right to this motel.
Gordon followed the scent, his mouth watering at the thought of getting a taste of the sweet aroma. It was easy, way too easy, to find the right room – and it was even easier to get inside the room. The set of different locks had nothing on his newly acquired strength. Her scent attacked his senses, almost knocking him off his feet. Her smell was all over the room, it was suffocating, yet it drew him to her like a moth to a flame. Gordon felt like an addict in search of his next hit, and it was right behind that bathroom door.
He could hear her blood rush through her veins, taunting him. The steady beat of her heart was drowned out by the sound of music. Gordon wanted to rip his ears from his head, going crazy at the loud noise. He could feel his fangs poking his gum, the beast inside of him fighting him to let it free. Gordon suppressed the compulsion even though he was craving it too.
With a single move, he separated the bathroom from its frame.
Emmy, who had been in the bathtub jumped up. She took off her headphones, her eyes growing like saucers when she recognized the man standing in front of her.
"G-Gordon?"
What the hell was he doing here? How did he find her? Where was Sam and Dean? Emmy calculated the distance between herself and the door but there was no way she could get there without him catching her. There was a window in the bathroom but it was sealed. She could still put up a fight but she had a feeling Gordon was bigger than the last time she saw him. His muscles bulged against his shirt, and she was sure that he would only do her more harm if she fought him.
She shrank back when he suddenly let out a growl, there was something so carnal about it, so not human … His eyes darkened, his whole body shook while sweat trickled down his face. Emmy's eyes darted to his mouth and her voice caught in her throat when he pulled back his lips, displaying his sharp teeth and fangs.
After she finally found her voice, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Gordon lunged at her and Emmy's mind sped up. She ducked under his arm and jumped out of the tub. The door looked so far away yet it was so close. Her hand barely touched the knob when Gordon backed her against the wall. Emmy winced, the back of her head throbbed.
"HELP!"
"Quiet!" the hunter snarled.
"HELLLL – "
Gordon backhanded her so hard, it instantly shut her up. Emmy felt her cheek pulse, her skin heated up, the pain was excruciating. Her tongue licked the corner of her lips where she tasted her own blood. It was a miracle he didn't knock her teeth out.
"If you so much as breathe the wrong way, I won't hesitate to separate your pretty face from your pretty neck. Got it?"
Emmy was too petrified to speak.
"GOT IT!" he shouted, his fist slamming into the wall, merely inches away from her face.
Emmy cowered, a tiny soft whimper leaving her lips. "Y-yes."
