Supernatural

The Other Side of the Tracks

"Faith"

Emily slipped a large blade into her boot as Sam passed her a tazer, checking the voltage and the 'on' light before nodding to them and running to the house. They didn't have long, those kids, with that Raw-head in there. Despite the heavy sound of their shoes, Emily still turned her head slightly to look, their comforting presence giving her the extra strength she needed. Having just experienced her rest, Emily was now almost mortal in the human sense. She felt weaker and emotions ran more rampant in her then she had felt in a long time. As they entered the building and made their way towards the basement, Dean took point, a move that, considering the last couple of weeks, didn't surprise her at all. Since her sleep, Dean seemed to always be watching her and putting more stress on keeping her out of harm's way. It frustrated her a bit but it was cute too. She understood that she looked Dean's age, if not younger, and she knew Dean must, sometimes, get caught up in her looks to determine her age. It was cute. Emily's mind refocused, realizing she was getting off the topic at hand. Raw-heads required full attention, and she knew it from experience. The wooden stairs creaked under the pressure of their feet, sending out eerie echoes to alert their prey they were here. Emily much preferred a silent entrance but you can't win them all. She held up her tazer, investigating one side of the basement as the brothers split off into another side. She swept her cluttered corner with a light, seeing movement just about everywhere, she felt. She was paranoid, a not-so wonderful symptom of mortality. She noticed that there were no rats or bugs of any kind that she could find. She broke from that thought as Dean hissed at her, her turning as they opened up a decrepit cabinet, pulling out two children. She hurried over and helped the children up, grabbing one of their hands. Sam beat her to the stairs with the other child, hurriedly grabbing the other to get them up the stairs faster. In a second on the stairs, something tripped Sam up, bringing Emily down on top of him. She pointed her tazer between the stairs but Dean fired first, hitting nothing but the wall. "Go Sam. Go!" she yelled, pushing his butt off the stairs as she raised herself off of him. Sam threw his tazer down to Dean and Emily jumped down off the stairs, landing in a low crouch, looking beneath objects for feet. "Emily, go with Sam." She heard Dean's tone, identifying it as authoritative rather than suggestive. "I am not having this discussion Dean." She whispered, standing straight. She held her tazer like a pistol, eagerly wanting to finish this job so Dean and her could have a nice chat.

She felt a change in the air for a moment, a stirring she didn't notice before. She felt the Raw-head before it even got close to them. She heard Dean grunt and turned, the creature knocking her tazer out of her hands, almost destroying it as it landed right beside a pool of water. Emily moved into a combative stance, quickly lunging and assaulting the boogeyman. While there was little effect, she hoped it would give Dean time to regroup. She leaned down and grabbed her knife out of her boot, spinning beneath the outstretched arms of the malevolent being. She stabbed twice, once hitting in the abdomen and another in his upper thigh. The hit to his leg, however, only lowered him down, allowing one massive blow to Emily, sending her across the room. She yelped as she hit the wall hard, the wind getting knocked out of her. As she fell, her head hit a table, making her vision a bit blurry. She moved herself up a bit as Dean distracted the Raw-head from her. It all happened so fast. Dean was disarmed thrown into the pool of water. "DEAN!" she screamed as he pulled the tazer trigger, effectively killing the boogeyman. She watched as he convulsed as the electric currents passed from the creature through the water into him. She got to her feet in record time, running to his side. She pulled him out of the water, looking down at his lifeless face. "DEAN!"

Emily looked up as Sam entered the hospital room, continuing to stroke Dean's hair, being very wary of all the wires that traced Dean's vitals. She sat behind him in the hospital bed, him sitting between her legs, resting his head on her chest. Sam couldn't maintain eye contact with her, just as she couldn't with him. Tears welled in her eyes just thinking about the grim news. She slipped her right hand above Dean's heart, hearing the irregular beat. She stifled a sob as she felt the damage, his body radiating a dying light. "Have you ever actually watched Daytime T.V.? It's terrible." Emily smiled slightly, turning to Sam once again. "This is all he's been talking about." Sam managed a tiny, barely noticeable twinge in the side of his mouth. Dean's attention finally pulled away from the television as he looked up at Sam. "Well, looks like you guys are going to leave town without me." He said, surprising Emily a bit. It wasn't out of character but it sounded like he actually expected them to leave him. "We aren't going anywhere." She whispered, gently hugging him around his neck as Sam reaffirmed the exact same sentiment. Sam demanded then that he stop talking like he was going to die, asserting that they had options. Emily looked at Sam with the same soulfully sad eyes as Dean. She wished she could be as optimistic as Sam. She wasn't the praying type but he prayed for strength to see Dean through this. Sam then pledged to fix the situation and left the room in a hurry, heading back to the hotel, leaving Dean and her alone. "You guys should leave." He strained after a few moments of silence, coughing slightly. She sat her chin on his head and frowned. "Never. We're too stubborn for that kind of thing." She paused for a second. "We will never leave you." She sniffled slightly, trying to keep her distress silent. A tear slipped down her cheek, landing on Dean's hospital gown. She felt his hand touch her arm, realizing that she was still hugging him. "Please don't cry, Emily." She rested her cheek against the top of his head, just sitting in silence with him. He had done this for her after her rest. Cared for her. The non-descript noises from the hospital corridor brought her back to reality, her eyes looking out into the dreary weather.

"What did you expect me to do? Tackle him?" she yelled back at Sam, standing in the doorway with Dean as he weakly made his way inside. Sam looked at her disappointed and she just glared right back. "In case you haven't noticed, Dean is hard headed. He just wouldn't stay in the hospital." Her gaze was drawn to Dean as his opinion was voiced. "Why would I stay in a hospital when the nurses aren't even hot?" As Sam looked back to her, she raised her hand as if saying 'And that's what I'm saying'. Sam shook his head and went back to his desk, Emily shutting the door behind her and peeling off her coat. "I'm going for a shower." She said, tossing her coat on a chair, nearly slamming the door to the bathroom. She undressed quickly and hopped in the shower, shutting off her raging mind for the ten minutes it took to wash her hair and clean her body. She slowly got out of the shower, savouring this time alone. While she loved being around the brothers, it was tough sometimes. Especially because she was a woman. She sighed, missing the days where she could prance around in the nude whenever she liked. While it wasn't a daily thing, it was something that could be missed. She wrapped a towel around herself and looked up at the mirror. Large dark spots were beneath her eyes and her skin looked hollow and splotchy. She looked like she hadn't eaten in a month. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore these seemingly selfish thoughts but, despite Dean's serious situation, she just couldn't. Again and again she tried to subdue her thoughts but all it led to was pent up frustration. She turned from the mirror, moving away. She pivoted sharply and smashed the mirror with an open palm jab, slicing her palm open and receiving a few more cuts on her hand. She sighed, knowing that they probably heard that, and looked at the cut on her hand. The skin closed up, slowly at first but then faster and faster until all that was left was a light red line. She tightened her towel and turned once more, opening the door and stepping into the room, grabbing her back pack of clothes. She looked up to see both of the Winchesters looking at her intently. "What? I didn't bring my clothes in." She said, standing straight. Dean looked towards the bathroom as Sam looked back at his computer. "What happened to the mirror?" She looked at the older brother, his sickly form almost making her heart collapse. "There was a bug." She said quickly. "I got it." Dean, naturally, didn't believe her. He wasn't dumb enough to. "So, I think I found something." Emily looked up at Sam in shock and disbelief, the idea that anything could help Dean seemed so unrealistic. She hurried into the bathroom without a word and emerged not more than thirty seconds later, zipping up her jacket over a light green tank top and some dark blue jeans. "Let's go."

Emily pulled herself out of the car about the same time Dean did. She leaned against the hood and looked at the makeshift tent. "Faith healing?" she asked, looking at Sam oddly. She had investigated thousands of cases like these over the years. While she didn't believe Sam was ignorant or naive, he seemed to believe in the power of faith. She shut the car door as she moved away, gently slipping her arm around Dean's waist, supporting him. She had watched his condition deteriorate during the drive and all she could do, really, was pray. She sighed as Dean openly disbelieved in the practices, the only logical action at this point for him. Emily knew he must have been scared, not just by his impending death but of false hope. She felt Sam was giving them all false hope, though he probably didn't mean to. "You've been awfully quiet, Em." She looked up at Sam, who seemed to tower over her and shrugged, looking forward once more. Dean commented on his disbelief in perfect time for a beautiful young woman to turn around. She introduced herself as Layla, forcing Emily to naturally think of Derek and the Dominos and one of her favourite romance songs. She loved the mindset of Eric Clapton when he wrote that song. She recalled hearing somewhere that he said he loved that woman until he had her and then it disappeared. It truly symbolized and embodied what Emily believed was love: Fleeting. She had never felt romantic love in all of her years, having always kept everyone at arm's length, but she had seen it. Affairs, divorce, et cetera. At least for humans, they only had one lifetime to deal with it. Had she experienced what most humans have to, she would have dwelled on it her entire life. She looked at Dean's face as he spoke to her, no matter how briefly. He thought she was attractive, that much was clear. Dean, she supposed, was an exception. He seemed to be capable of so much love, romantic and not. As Layla moved inside with another woman, this one older looking, so did Sam, Dean, and Emily. Strengthening her hold on Dean's waist, Emily simply followed Sam who sat them near the front of the room, forcing Emily and Dean to roll their eyes simultaneously. Sam moved in first with Emily moving carefully and sitting beside him, putting Dean on the aisle. She released him as they sat and positioned herself comfortably, crossing her slim right leg over the other. She felt Sam lean down to her in order to whisper something. Before he could even utter a word, Emily turned, putting their faces about an inch apart. "I have never seen one of these things work. I hope I am wrong." She said as she turned back to the front, watching as the preacher, a blind man, was helped onto the stage by his wife.

Emily smirked as Dean was overheard by the blind man, looking down slightly and covering her mouth with her right hand, gently patting Dean's leg with her left. Then, he was called onto stage. Emily looked up with wide eyes, Sam quickly reaching over her and pressuring Dean to get to his feet. Finally, she would see the truth. Dean, with some displeasure, moved to the front of the room and got onto the little stage. Emily's hand slipped into Sam's as she laced her fingers with his, squeezing a bit. This was the only moment they had been alone since the accident and she knew they both needed a bit of comfort right now. She felt Sam's big hand envelope hers and watched events unfold before her. Her eyes widened as the preacher, Roy, placed his hand on Dean's head. She felt her heart flip flop a bit as hope bloomed in her chest. However, it wasn't long before a dark presence leaked into her mind and her stomach began to flip flop instead. She squeezed Sam's hand tighter, forcing him to look at her. "There's something wrong." She whispered quietly, looking around the room. Dean then fell to his knees beneath the hand of the preacher, Emily holding Sam in place. Then she saw it. The wisp of shadow that revealed a form in between the worlds. Emily couldn't peer in between the world of the living and the world of the dead all the time but, knowing something was off, she mustered her mental strength and focused. Still, the figure was faint and dark. It could be anything. It could be the goddamn boatman from the river Styx for all she knew. Just like that, it was gone again and Dean collapsed to the floor, forcing both Sam and Emily to their feet, their hands breaking their bond as they ran to the stage, Emily crouching beside him. He seemed bewildered and confused but lively. His sickly pale flesh had become more healthy looking and his energy seemed to be returning. They had to get him to a hospital. "There is no way." She whispered, looking up at the preacher who was smiling to his followers. She looked to Sam as they lifted Dean up, practically running from the tent.

Emily sat beside Dean on the hospital bed, her head on his left shoulder, as they waited for the results of additional tests on his heart. "I can feel it, Dean." She murmured. He looked down at her as she lifted her head to look at him. "Your heart is no longer broken." Dean seemed surprised for a moment before looking down. Emily opened her mouth to say something but the doctor came in before she could. His heart was perfectly fine. All the tests had confirmed it. However, the doctor shared a thought concerning the death of a man of similar age to Dean involving his heart. As she left, Emily noticed that Sam seemed completely content with the results while Dean shared her dread. She knew something was off about this faith healing and with the information about this odd death; there was something at work here. Sam seemed eager to put this town in the rear view but Dean had a feeling. A dark feeling, as he described it. "It felt cold. And for a second... I saw someone. It was a spirit, Sam." Emily stood as well, looking to Sam. "I told you before Dean was healed that something was wrong. And I saw something too. It was a wisp of darkness. I didn't see it very well." Sam looked at both of them in utter disbelief, as if they were ungrateful for Dean's new lease on life. "I was there too, you know. If there was something there, I'm pretty sure I would've seen it too." Luckily, Dean was a very convincing individual and they quickly divided up jobs for research. Emily would accompany Dean to Roy's home and Sam would look at the death of the man the doctor mentioned.

Roy had a very moving story, and that was the truth. Surviving such a high level of cancer, and making a full recovery to boot. It was a true miracle... One that Emily didn't believe in at all. Emily felt that Dean was being pulled in by this entire thing, especially as Roy mentioned what he had seen in Dean's heart. She gently grabbed for his hand, reminding Dean of where he was and what was happening. She caught the eyes of Roy's wife on her and looked straight at her in intense eye contact. The woman just smiled that pleasant smile. Emily didn't trust either one of them and chose to break eye contact, eagerly leaving as Dean became satisfied with the answers he received. She released his hand and moved down the stairs, noticing Layla. "Hello there." She greeted, smiling. Dean did as well, hurrying into a conversation with her. Emily stood to the side, awfully wary of the older woman, Layla's mom, coming up the stairs. She looked up at Sue-Anne, Roy's wife, as she looked down at Layla, greeting her. She seemed very 'all-powerful' to Emily but, then again, it may have been the paranoia talking. As Sue-Beth refused them entrance, Layla attempted to diffuse the antagonistic personality her mother seemed to have for Dean. While Emily managed to stay silent, there were a few moments where she nearly inflicted harm upon the older woman.

It wasn't long before Emily arrived back at the hotel with Dean, stripping off her moist leather jacket. Sam looked like he had just been part of a funeral as she sat down with her back to the window, Dean approaching, asking what he had found. There was silence for a moment that Emily thought would last for an eternity before Sam spoke with a sombre, quiet apology. "I'm sorry, Dean." Emily's eyebrows furrowed together as she pondered the meaning of his apology. Dean looked crushed as Sam explained that the man who died, Marshall Hall, died at the exact same time as Dean was healed. And, for every person healed by Roy, there was a corresponding death at the same time. Roy was trading a life for a life. Dean was enraged, as he stood from the table, veiling his anger fairly well as he repeated that Sam should never have brought him there. For a few moments, Dean fumed out loud until his hunter mind took over and they all reasoned as a group. "I just don't understand how he's doing it." Sam murmured, looking from Dean to Emily. "He isn't." Emily asserted, looking up at Dean. "You know what's doing it." Dean nodded slightly and leaned over the table as Sam looked back and forth between them. "What then? What's doing this?" Dean sighed swiftly and loudly. "There's only one thing that can give and take life like that. We're dealing with a reaper."

They all sat at the table, researching Reaper lore as Emily pored over an ancient-looking text she had slowly accumulated. It was huge but at least Dean and Sam's questions concerning her limited clothes selection and giant duffel bag had been answered. "So you think we're dealing with the grim reaper?" Emily shook her head and Dean vocalized her thoughts, showing Sam examples of lore from all over the world. "In my travels, I've encountered Reapers. There, from what I understand, is one granddaddy Grim Reaper but there are millions of reapers in existence." She looked up from the book to see both Dean and Sam staring at her. "What? I've never had to kill one before. They preserve natural order...Generally. I would never harm a reaper." Dean leaned over a bit, drawing Emily's gaze. "What language is that in?" Emily looked down briefly and smiled. "Sumerian." Emily paused for a moment. "What? I'm old!" she exclaimed, frustratingly burying herself in the book. Dean and Sam took a moment but eventually hopped into their own conversation. Emily didn't really start paying attention until Dean suggested killing Roy. He looked up at him oddly as Sam firmly stated they weren't going to kill a human. "Don't even entertain the thought Dean. That is not a path you want to take. Trust me." She stated, looking from him to Sam and then back to her book. Dean looked to both of them in a huff. "Ok. We can't kill Roy and we can't kill Death. Any bright ideas, College boy?"

Emily looked up sadly at Dean as he had to interrupt Layla's healing. He clearly didn't want to do it but he couldn't let Roy kill that protester to heal Layla. She watched people evacuate the tent as Dean hopped on his phone, finding out from Sam if it worked. At first everything seemed ok. Dean's expression was calm and Sam's voice, from what she could hear, was steady. Suddenly, there were two voices yelling. Sam started yelling that the reaper was still coming at David and Emily immediately started looking around. Roy was already out of the tent. Who was controlling the damn thing? Dean saw the wife first and they ran over to her. Dean grabbed her arm and spun her around. In her hands she held a crucifix similar to the one Sam had mentioned, this one small, fitted to a necklace, and blood red. It took moments for Sue-Beth to start screaming for help as she tucked the charm away. Dean and Emily went quietly, the police officer practically lifting Emily off the ground and being unnecessarily rough. They practically threw her around outside until Sue-Anne, the oh-so-innocent preacher's wife established that she wouldn't lay charges. Emily took her leave as Layla approached, looking for Sam.

Emily frowned as she looked over the 'dark bible' in the hotel room, lying on her stomach on one of the tiny beds. "This is amazing." She murmured to herself, flipping through the pages, realizing just how strong this magic was. She hadn't seen much of this in the 20th century and beyond. "Roy's healing Layla tonight. We've got to stop them." Sam looked to Dean who seemed fairly apathetic to the idea of stopping the reaper before Layla was cured. However, with a brief argument, the three embarked on an adventure. It was time to stop death.

"Sam!" she yelled as he attempted to get out the sealed cellar door. Sue-Anne was on the other side, spouting off her righteous mission, gone completely insane from power. It crossed her mind that despite the fact that they had destroyed the altar and when they destroyed the crucifix, what were they going to do with Sue-Anne? It wasn't like she couldn't just do it all over again. However, the more pressing concern was escaping from this basement. As Sam rushed to meet her, she gestured to a boarded window beside them. Erratically, they both searched for something to break the window down with. Sam spotted a wood board first and smashed the window open. Emily hurried over and Sam grabbed her legs as she pulled herself up, gently cupping her bottom for support. Despite the desperate situation, Emily stopped and looked back at him. "Geez. You could at least buy me a drink first!" Sam made an exasperated sigh and pushed Emily completely through the window, then climbing out as well. "I have to find Dean. He's the next target. You break the crucifix!" With that, Emily ran off into the dark rows of cars and vehicles, trying to find the evasive Dean who was already hiding from the cops. A few frustrating minutes passed as Emily's fear began to tighten her chest. She heard the tent fall silent, forcing her search to become choppy and desperate. "Dean!" she hissed, looking beneath cars for feet as she ran through the water-logged field. Finally, she found Dean. She ran from the cars and looked to her right, seeing Dean standing there and the lights blink off in front of him. She was almost too late. She focused and saw the wisp appear, taking a fairly noticeable form but she couldn't see it clearly. She closed her eyes for a moment and clenched her right hand into a fist. A faint purple aura appeared, that she could see, though she knew humans couldn't perceive it. Slowly, it changed to a molten red. Focusing hard, Emily ran as hard as she could, closing the ten feet of space between them within seconds, and slammed her charged up hand into the face of the reaper. Dean's surprised expression was worth her weight in gold. She looked to Dean briefly and then back to the reaper who, now, was as clear as day. "Oh shit." She whispered, Dean frantically searching for the form. She had single-handedly made herself a target for an angry reaper. After an instinctive step back, the reaper reached for her, placing a frigid hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes, silently accepting that she would die defending Dean. Her heart was at peace with her decisions. She had no regrets about the decisions that had brought her to this exact point. However, after several moments, she opened her eyes. The reaper was simply standing there, looking confused and frozen. Slowly, he pulled his hand away and Emily nearly crumpled to the ground in relief. The reaper just stared at his hand for a few moments before looking up at her. She cringed again as he lifted his other hand, throwing her into a lamp post. The light flickered back on, as if her body's impact had shaken it alive from near-death. She watched as Dean was forced to his knees. She watched his skin and eyes go pale. She watched him gag for air. "Dean!" she forced, slowly standing. The damage had been done but her body was healing already.

Emily ran to Dean as he fell back on the ground, his skin and eyes returning to normal. She looked up at the shadow of the reaper who, once again, looked confused, if not relieved. As he disappeared, Emily hugged Dean around the neck, laughing slightly. They had both survived at the hands of death. Dean grabbed her arm and laughed a bit too, slowly moving to stand. Emily stood as well and they both looked around. "You see anything?" she asked quietly. She couldn't sense the reaper nearby but she felt it on the fringes of her mind. "No..." Dean sighed heavily and leaned down, putting his hands on his knees. "Man, I was sure that reaper was going to kill you for that." Emily paused for a second, realizing Dean hadn't seen the encounter. "Yeah... I thought so too, for a second." Emily appeared to be on a higher state of conscious thinking. Before Dean could comment, she turned quickly and suggested that they find Sam, walking ahead of Dean towards the tent with a weakened Winchester in tow.

Emily giggled as Sam closed the door behind him, leaving Dean and Layla in the hotel room together. "Should we give them 15 minutes?" she joked, smirking at the floor as they just kind of loitered around, lazily sauntering through the halls. She looked up at Sam who had an award winning smile on his face. "How did you fight off the reaper?" The question was so sudden that it knocked Emily off her game. "Fight off? I didn't really fight him off. I just kind of hit him once." She said, shrugging. She looked to the floor and then back to Sam's expectant expression. "What? I don't know all the secrets of my species. As far as I know, I am the only one of my kind. All I did was focus on keeping Dean alive. My usual attack just kind of changed and adapted to fit the circumstances." Emily stopped then and brought her right hand closer to her face. "I wish I had more answers right now. It seems like whenever I get close to humans, I want to know the secrets of myself. More than ever, I want to understand why that reaper put his hand on me but didn't kill me." She looked up at Sam, having revealed to him what she hadn't even told Dean. Sam sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Maybe you should just have a little faith." Emily laughed and gently elbowed him in the stomach, turning as the door to the room opened and Layla came out. She smiled and nodded to her, the action reciprocated, just as Layla turned down the other hall.

[[Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Due to the complete lack of impact Emily's character has on the story, I intend to skip 'Route 666' to 'The Benders'. I wrote the chapters and realized they sucked a lot so I refuse to unleash that crappy character placement on my pleasant readers 3 So, I'll see you in two weeks with 'Shadow' – Ichi

PS; Don't forget to review! 3]]