Castiel rushed in, a wave of light engulfing the whole room as he broke through their protective forcefield. He took the long blade, shoving it through Azara's neck, lifting him up off the ground.

"Now!" he yelled.

Sam and Dean charged in, Dean running to untie Emilia, Sam running to untie his brother.

Azara pushed Cass away, pulling the blade out of his throat, turning the weapon on Cass. He zeroed in on him and Em pulled wildly at her restraints, desperate to help him. She jumped out of her ties, quickly waving Azara away with her hand. He slammed into the wall, hitting his head on the ceiling before crashing to the ground.

Sam, both Deans, Em and Cass inched closer together forming a tight barrier. If they went after one of them they'd have to get through all of them.

Em's three siblings formed a barrier of their own, standing in front of them.

Azara smiled at Em. "I'm gonna gut him while you watch, you know that?" he said, his eyes turning to past Dean.

Em just about charged him, but Cass put his arm up. "Not yet, Emilia."

She glared murderously, craving his death. Meanwhile, Cass was watching for something. He was eying each of them carefully, waiting for any specific signs of weakness in their stance. It would be their window to attack and their greatest chance at succeeding.

"You know, I think I might dig into that pretty scalp of yours, little sister." Clara said in a soft, romantic voice.

"Oh, you're not gonna get a hand on her, sweetheart." Future Dean said, with a smirk, his eyes blazing.

"Ooh, is that so, big boy?" she said, smiling, entertained. She took a step forward reaching for Emilia.

"Go!" Cass yelled, the fight erupting at his word.

Future Dean caught Clara's hand, shoving her away, taking a protective stance in front of Emilia. Em turned around, standing back-to-back with Dean, moving with him, not giving them an inch to get to him.

Ezekiel charged after Sam and Sam stabbed him with both of his blades, one in his shoulder, the other in his side. With a wave of his hand, Ezekiel pinned him to the wall.

Meanwhile, Cass was fighting of Azara and Clara was circling Dean and Emilia, waiting for a break in their defenses. But they matched her moves in perfect synchronization. Cass managed to grab a hold of Azara's head, sending a fire coursing through his brain. This would kill any person instantly but it only stunned Azara.. But that was all Cass needed. Sam hit the ground, Past Dean quickly running over to him

"Sam, Dean, stand back to back." Cass said urgently, still holding Azara's head. "Try and stay in formation, it will keep them from getting through your blind spots."

Azara roared in agony, falling to his knees. Sam and Dean did as they were told, swinging off Ezekiel as he tried to charge. Clara tried to charge Dean, Emilia quickly jumping between them, grabbing her throat. With a delighted smile, Emilia squeezed as hard as she could, snapping through all the tendons and bones until she was only holding her by her spinal cord. She turned Clara around in her hand, laying her on her stomach, keeping a hold of her. She put her foot on her back, pulling out her spinal cord, tearing the last vertebra away with a final tug.

"No!" Ezekiel roared. But it was too late. Emilia threw the spine and head aside, already braced for Ezekiel's attack.

But, it wasn't her he was now after. Ezekiel was smart - able to tell people's weaknesses. He knew Emilia's was Dean, but he also knew what would hurt Dean more than anything else in the world, even death.

So quick that neither Deans or Sam even saw it, Ezekiel had Sam on his knees, his neck held tight in his strong grasp.

"Let him go, you bastard!" past Dean yelled.

"If you hurt him, so help me God, I will kill you with my bare hands." future Dean said through his teeth, his voice deadly.

"Stop! Everybody just stop." Emilia said, tears in her eyes. She paced slowly towards Sam and Ezekiel. "I'll go with you and Azara, I'll do what you say, just let him go." she said, her voice, shaky, her eyes desperate.

She eyed both Deans carefully as they inched closer towards Sam and Ezekiel, matching their moves as they all closed in on them. Castiel dropped Azara, leaving him passed out on the ground. He turned towards the scene, preparing to help.

"This isn't about you anymore!" Ezekiel yelled with tears in his eyes. "You killed Clara! Now I'm going to kill him." he said, wrapping one arm around Sam's throat. She nodded just slightly to the Deans and they made their move, grabbing Ezekiel just long enough to distract him. Emilia swooped in quickly, taking Sam away. She handed him to Cass.

"Get him out of here now." Emilia said. Cass disappeared with Sam and she quickly rushed back to grab Ezekiel, but he managed enough energy to push both Deans away into the wall behind him. He kept them pinned there as he stumbled to his feet. She tried to grab his throat bit he was just a moment quicker, catching her hand with one hand and grabbing her throat with another.

"Let her go!" future Dean yelled. Both Deans panted, pushing with all their strength, urgently trying to fight the hold.

Emilia growled like an animal, her eyes shining bright white as she tried to summon enough strength to fight him off. She grasped at him with her free hand as he squeezed, trying to find purchase on him. Just as he started to break the skin on her neck, she managed to grab a fist of his hair, pulling as hard as she could. She pulled with all the strength she could muster and slowly, the skin on the top of his head started tearing away from his skull. His hold on her weakened, allowing her to gain the upper-hand.

She kicked him away and he hit the wall between the Deans. All at once, they hit the ground. In a last desperate act, he reached for past Dean, locking his arm around his throat, squeezing. Future Dean felt his life slipping just the same, his eyes wide as he tried to grasp for air.

Emilia gritted her teeth, pure fury coursing through her. She lifted her hand, contorting her fingers into a fist and suddenly, Ezekiel's hold on Dean loosened. He writhed and gasped on the floor as she twisted his insides. She growled, pinning him to the wall, ready to go for the kill. She shifted her focus, squeezing his heart until it broke in his chest. Lifeless, Ezekiel hit the ground.

Both Deans stood up, watching Emilia as she stomped towards his body.

"What are you doing?" past Dean asked.

"He's only gone for now." she began as she started squeezing his throat. "I've got to destroy any chance this body has at functioning again." She was all business as she ripped out his head and spine, but past Dean's face was wrinkled in disgust. Meanwhile, future Dean was practically high with relief.

She finished off Ezekiel and turned for an unconscious Azara. But he wasn't there. Fear instantly slithered through Emilia chilling her to the bone. Her knees started shaking as she glanced around for any sign of her most dangerous sibling. She found nothing.

Castiel reappeared, seeing the two mangled corpses and the three of his friends in one piece, but he immediately noticed Azara's absence as well. Emilia cringed into his chest, her hands covering her face. Castiel put his arms around her, his face angry. He was angry at himself.

"I shouldn't have left Azara. I'm sorry, Emilia."

She couldn't speak.

Past Dean was furious, but his rage was nothing compared to his future self in that moment. Future Dean's eyes were closed, his hands were fists at his sides, his breath was ragged and hard. Past Dean's eyes flickered back and forth between the devastated Dean and the doomed Emilia, understanding.

He always believed somewhere in his mind that future Dean was himself and he knew that Emilia was good, but after everything, he finally found himself able to grasp the concept that he would be that future Dean one day. He would feel the loss of that girl if he couldn't find a way to save her.

"We'll get him." past Dean assured. They all looked up at him. "We gotta keep on our guard, we gotta stick together and, hell, probably sleep in shifts too, but we will get the bastard."

Emilia didn't share his same enthusiasm, future Dean was all but crippled with grief but Castiel was already making up a game plan in his head. The odds were up in the air but the pessimism alone tilted them just a little more in Azara's favor.

Emilia, Sam and both Deans quickly got out of town, past Dean taking the wheel, Sam up front and future Dean and Em side by side in the back. After a while of tense silence, future Dean spoke.

"So, what happened with Lisa?" he asked his past self.

"You know what happened." he snapped, his eyes hard. Their experiences, however, differed slightly.

Future Dean grimaced, putting his head down.

Lisa wasn't a shaking mess the first time around. He thought back on how coldly she kicked him out and didn't enjoy watching himself go through it again. The shaking fear wasn't out of guilt for hurting Dean, but out of fear for her life. But Emilia didn't go with Dean the first time, she stayed hunting with Sam and at this time the first time around Sam and Emilia shared a tighter bond than her and Dean. Dean even joked with Sam after he got back about how he was going to be her brother in law.

But something in Dean shone to Emilia the first time she saw him and her bond with Sam - While still intact - was trumped by something much more powerful. Sam and Em quickly fell into their big-brother-in-law, little-sister-in-law roles, even though Dean and Em weren't anything yet.

Ironically, it was Sam and Em's already-established bond that made Dean trust her the first time around. But without that, how it would come to be now was a complete mystery to everyone.

They got along very well but they were both incredibly stubborn. This would lead to passionate screaming fights, tears and rage but they challenged each other like no one else could. She'd push Dean, he'd push back but that's how they worked. But with things changing and them so determined to defy their fates, it wasn't set in stone.

They laid low at a motel in Lafayette, Indiana called the Rose Bud. It was twelve bucks a night with cheap blue paint on the walls, a mattress and a box-spring buried in black bedding in the corner and one little lamp on a cheap side table to light the whole room.

Sam and Dean took the floor despite Em's protests. She'd sleep on the floor out of guilt and Dean would crawl into the bed, half-awake. It always made her smile.

She and Cass would make runs for food and drinks. Cass was always urgent but she always made sure to get the boys what they wanted. After all, having these people she didn't even know helping her was in her mind, so humbling. She wanted to repay the good they were doing for her but it could never be enough.

For two months, as Castiel worked to build an army, they stayed in that room, sleeping in shifts, watching the same seven videos on the ancient TV in the middle of the room.

Sam and the Deans were getting beyond restless, practically climbing the walls to get out. But they wouldn't leave. Not with the danger that loomed just outside of that door. If they let their guard down, if they were distracted, that's all it took for Azara to end them. Emilia understood that better than anyone as she spent a lot of her long life on the run from her family.

Having the boys in danger made growing closer to them extremely painful. They would often be left with nothing else to do but talk.

One night, past Dean climbed onto the bed, unable to deal with Sam snoring in his ear. Emilia laughed in the darkness. Dean peaked his head over the left side of the bed where she lay.

"I'll trade you spots." he whispered.

The street lights shining through the dirty little window casted a small ray of light across Em's face. She shook her head. "No, just go to sleep." she said, smiling.

"But I want to sleep on the floor."

"No you don't."

"I wouldn't ask you if I didn't want to." he pointed out.

She sighed, annoyed. "No, I know your shoulder's been giving you problems, you're not sleeping on this floor." she said, her quiet voice forceful.

Dean rolled his eyes, grabbing his blanket and pillow. "Sure I am." he said, climbing down to the floor by her.

She raised her eyebrows, angry. "I can snore too, you know."

He chuckled, rolling over on his side to face her. "You need to learn to be a little bit more selfish."

"I could tell you the same thing."

"Oh, come on, I'm plenty selfish." he said, smirking.

"What planet do you live on?" she scoffed, playfully.

"Planet Dean where I drink when I want, get laid when I want and kill when I want." he challenged with a grin.

"And why are you here now, exactly?"

"'Cause I like to kill some evil sons of bitches. It makes me happy." he said, enthusiastic.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to keep a smile off her face. "You don't enjoy the part where you save people?"

He shrugged and smiled wide at her. "Well, that depends on how they thank me."

She laughed, burying her face in her pillow. "Fair enough." she mumbled.

"So, you've really spent all this time running from your family?" Dean asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

She turned her head back to him, a small grin leftover on her face. "Yeah. Especially Azara." she said, pessimism leaking into her voice. "To tell you the truth, I don't know how much of a chance there is for me but if this gets too rough, you take Sam and you run, do you hear me?"

Dean shook his head. "Sorry, sweetheart, but we can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"'Cause we chose this life. We chose to save people."

"I'm not a person." she whispered.

"That doesn't matter, you're innocent. Just 'cause you're a whatever the hell you are, that don't give me a right to just let you die if I can do anything to stop it."

His kindness only made her feel worse. "I'm not worth it, I'm not worth you dying." she said, desperately needing him to understand.

"What I do, Em.. it's worth it. It took me a while to realize it and I fought like hell against it, but I know it's right and I couldn't live right again if I didn't stand my ground on this."

"But I'm not worth Sam dying." she said, pulling out the big guns, trying to get him to understand, wanting to keep them all safe.

He sighed. It was true to him. He'd kill anyone else in the world over Sam. "He makes his own choices. Believe me, if he's here, it's 'cause he wants to be. Hell, I'll always protect him but I can't control him. The guy does what he wants and as long as it's the right thing, I'm happy."

"But him getting himself killed isn't right."

"Hate to break it to you, but that's just not true."

She stared at him, not following. "How so?"

"I know you and Sam have been talking and I'm sure he's told you about Ruby."

She nodded.

"That evil bitch manipulated him a million and one ways, had me and him swinging at each other." Dean paused, his voice growing sad, remembering. "She was the one that used him to get Lucifer out of his cage."

She stared at him, her eyes sad. "That's awful."

"I always wanted to blame her - I still do, but he made those choices with her."

A strand of hair fell into her eyes and he caught it, tucking it behind her ear, wanting to look into her eyes as he spoke. "But Sammy tried. He did everything he could to try and set things right and he went down swingin', takin' Lucifer and the whole damn Apocalypse with him." he said, grinning proudly.

"Well, I see your point, but that's different."

"How?" he said, getting short-tempered.

She stared into his angry eyes, debating. "Doesn't matter."

He chuckled, angry. "Oh, it sure as hell does now tell me." he demanded.

She folded her arms, rolling onto her back. "It's not rocket science."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"You can't compare me to the world, it ridiculous. Now, is the world worth saving? Absolutely. But me?-"

She stopped, choked up by Dean as he glared murderously down at her. "What is wrong with you?" he asked, truly wondering. "Having that low an opinion of yourself isn't going to get you anywhere." she said, shaking his head.

"I'm sick of putting people in danger like this, I don't want things to be about me anymore." she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Have you ever considered the fact that maybe this isn't about you?" he snapped. "This isn't about you, this is about the people that care about you. They're all helping 'cause they love you and you need to suck it up and accept it. They want to see you happy but you know what they see?"

Em shook her head, a little frightened by Dean's intensity. They both knew what he really meant every time he said they.

"They see you grieving over the mess you think youcaused, they see you feeling sorry for yourself, but if you put your own bull shit aside, you could actually see how lucky you are and you might actually smile, now is that such a bad thing?"

She shook her head again. "You're right."

Dean glared, still angry. "Look, I know this is rough but you're missing the point."

"What's the point?" she asked in a small voice, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"To enjoy every day you got." he said, calmer, patiently catching the tear with his finger, wiping it away. He felt bad for making her cry.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, barely audible.

"Why?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

She shook her head. "I was wrong to make it about me like that, I was wrong to feel sorry for myself when I have these amazing people helping me."

"You need to stop being sorry. You can't control that your family's a bunch of dicks and we know that."

She grinned at him. "Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. You've been amazing beyond words, both of you have and your brother and Castiel." she said, smiling a little wider.

"Don't mention it, sweetie." he said with a grin.

Her eyes became sad. "But still-"

Dean put his fingers over her mouth. "Don't."

She closed her mouth and he sighed in relief.

He took his hand off her mouth, putting it on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Just relax. It's all okay."

She closed her eyes, reassured. "Good."

He slid a little closer, kissing her forehead.

"Dean?"

He pulled away, keeping his forehead pressed to hers.

"I think he's right." she said, her lips almost brushing his.

He knew what she meant. He kissed her softly, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him in return, kissing him back. This time, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, much to her enjoyment. Her heart started to race.

They were both done with fighting fate. If fate gave them each other, they didn't want to fight it.