Thanks for sticking around, y'all. And hello to all the new readers I may have acquired. Long chapter coming this time! We're almost to the really really good stuff, hope you like it! Again it's gonna follow kinda closely, sorry about that. But the next chapter will have a lot more originality. This is just one of my favorite episodes so I wanted to stay true to it. Review please, whether or not you like it! :)

CHAPTER 21

"Your brother's drunk." Emma said as she leaned against the bar and watched Sam argue with someone by the pool table. Dean turned his head around as he took another shot, and sighed. He handed Emma his beer who took a long swig of it as she watched him walk away. With a wink at Sam, she saw as they argued. "Five hundred dollars!" She scratched the back of her head and grinned. She listened to the soft country music playing from the speakers and sang along softly.

"... We talked about God's grace, and all the hell we raised... then I heard the old man say
God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy..."

"Five hundred, your break." As Emma hummed along to the song she had come to love, she felt a wrenching at the bottom of her stomach. As she blinked, she felt her eyes turn to the woman who had just walked into the bar. Her beer nearly slipped out of her hands, and she saw as the woman looked around the room before meeting eyes with her. Her eyes narrowed and she glared. Emma stood up to tell the woman to get out - whoever she was, she was bad news. But before Emma could do that, she saw Sam stand up and walk around the pool table toward the woman. Dean's eyes widened and he looked like he was going to kill someone. Emma quickly stepped down from the stool and came to stand with them.

"Well, you got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me." Dean growled. Emma narrowed her eyes and watched the exchange.

"Ruby," she said out loud. She didn't know how she knew the woman's name, but she did. Ruby lifted her eyebrows.

"Sarah... oh, sorry... Emma, I mean." Immediately, Emma didn't like her. "I just have some info, and then I'm gone."

"What is it?" Sam asked. Emma gave him a look, and shook her head slightly as she glanced at Dean. He would explain later, his eyes told her.

"I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Oh good," Emma said sarcastically, "Demon whispers. How reliable."

"Somehow I knew I wasn't going to like you." Ruby said, taking a step toward Emma. "You got something against me, bitch? With your little fingers and your little past. Wanna take it outside?" Emma just glowered. "Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday." she continued, still locked eyes with Emma but she was talking to the Winchesters. "The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some really heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt."

Emma could admit she was curious. "Why?" Sam asked to her left. "Who is she?" both of the brothers stared at the women, both intent on not being the first to look away. Emma narrowed her eyes and Ruby finally rolled hers and turned toward Sam.

"No idea. But I'm thinking that she's important. 'Cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl bfore the demons do." Emma laughed, as if she couldn't believe Ruby actually believed they were interested. Sam, however, took her by surprise.

"Look, maybe she should check it out." he said. Emma thought about all the nights he had been unreachable, out on his phone. As she looked between the two of them, she thought about picking up Sam's pool cue with her bare fingers. That would offer a lot of answers. But she was above that - she liked to think. She'd figure it out sooner or later.

"Actually, we're working on a case, but thanks honey." Emma said, venom dripping off her words.

"What case?" the demon asked, not looking her way.

"Uh," Dean said, "We've got leads. Big leads."

"Sounds dangerous." Ruby said sarcastically, lifting her eyebrows at Dean.

"Yeah well, it sure ain't goose chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist. Just because you say she's important."

"I'm just delivering the news. You can do what you want with it. As far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done." Ruby gave the boys a smile and a scowl at Emma. "Bye Sarah." she said and turned to walk out the door. Emma looked for a moment like she was going to jump her, her hands playing with the holy water in her back pocket. Dean held her hand in his, though, and whispered an 'I know' into her ear.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sam called after her. The demon turned around. "This hospital Anna escaped from - it got a name?"

After Ruby had given Sam the information he wanted, she continued out the door. "You're shitting me, right?" Emma asked as she sat in the backseat of the Impala. She leaned forward and looked at Sam, her arms on the back of their seat. "You're not actually... we're not actually... You're shitting me." Sam hung up his phone and looked at the two of them.

"Well, Anna Milton's definitely real."

"Don't mean the case is real." Emma said, trying to be the voice of reason in this situation. When she was angry her slight southern accent got stronger, and Dean loved to hear it. "And this hospital's a three day drive."

"We've driven further for less, you guys." Dean shook his head. "C'mon, Dean. You got something to say, say it."

"How about I say it?" Emma exclaimed. "She's a god damn demon. And no less rude than the rest of them. Since when were we in the business of trusting demons?" Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Dean started driving without a word toward the hotel. On their way, Sam filled her in briefly on how she had been useful to them in the past. How he trusted her to an extent. Emma rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

"You gonna say something?" she asked Dean. The brother didn't say anything to her and she growled, climbing out of the car and into her own truck. "Fine. But if this is a trap or some bullshit I'm out of here." she warned. Dean's eyes widened and stepped out of the Impala.

"I told you, Dean," Sam said, "She helped me go after Lilith."

"Well thanks for the thumbnail - real vivid. Want to fill in a little detail?" Dean demanded.

"Sure, Dean," Sam shot back, "let's trade stories. You first. How was Hell? Don't spare the details." Dean didn't say anything. He only slammed his door.

"Drive." he told Sam and walked around to the passenger's seat of the cab of Emma's truck. She followed and climbed into her own seat. Off onto the road they were, as Dean began their conversation with "Look I'm just as unhappy about this as you are but..."

When the brothers and Emma pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, Emma was calmer, and Dean was curious. Sam stepped out of the car, nervous as the two walked over. He glanced at Emma warily and she just patted him on the shoulder. "Look," she said, "I'm sorry for blowing up. I get that you have as much of a reason to hate demons as I do, and... if you say it's okay, it's okay with me." Sam smiled a little bit, and ran his hand through his hair.

"Hey, yeah, thanks Emma."

"No problem." she said and they turned toward the building. "I'm still gonna kick your ass if we even get a scratch." Sam smiled and followed the woman into the building.

"Of course I want to help however I can." a man was telling them. Emma was looking around the room that they were in as Dean and Sam asked the psychologist questions. Quietly, she pulled her gloves off her hands and began dragging her fingertips along the surfaces, the bed, the dresser. The psychologist glanced at her more than once, but the brothers kept his attention.

Emma was getting all kinds of crazy thoughts. Flashes of the apocalypse, messages from whispers in the walls. There were voices she didn't recognize, but they were all saying the same thing, talking about the same thing. The apocalypse. She heard whispers of the Winchester brothers as well, and herself. Emma turned and saw the boys looking through a sketch book. She took it out of Sam's hand and flipped through. She saw the Rising of the Witnesses and Samhain. Her own face stared right back at her, with black eyes. With a frown, she handed it back to the boys as thoughts went rushing through her head from her fingertips.

We're all going to die. There's too many seals. Where are they? The Winchesters. Emma. This is Emma. Where is she? She's supposed to be the savior...

The savior...

Emma blinked a few times, as the psychologist looked at her. "Are you alright miss?" he asked. Emma could tell it was not the first time he had repeated himself.

"What? Yeah. Sorry... just thinking. This is so sad y'know." She pressed her hand to her mouth, reaching for her gloves again.

"Lieutenant Terra is a bit new." Dean explained. Emma scowled at him from behind the doctor's back and walked out the door. As she waited in her truck, she rested her head on the steering wheel and sighed. The savior? What was that supposed to mean? Who was she supposed to save? What was she supposed to do?

"This is bullshit..." she mumbled to herself, feeling the prickle of tears on the corner of her eyes. She felt someone getting into the car.

"I agree." she heard Dean say. "But then what else is new?"

Emma was staring at the two bodies of Anna's parents on the ground. Their throats were slit, and they stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes, as if they were staring into Hell itself. Emma hoped they weren't. With a run of her hand through her hair, she walked out the door and stared at the dull sunlight shining on the rest of the neighborhood.

"Sulfur." Sam said, "The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal with this Anna girl -"

"Yeah, they want her. They're not screwing around. All right, so, I'm 'Girl, Interrupted' and I know the score of the apocalypse. Just busted out of the nut boc... possibly using superpowers by the way. Where do I go?" Emma came walking back in and held out her hand.

"Let me see the drawings you snatched." she said. Dean looked at her, surprised, but handed them over anyways. She handed him her gloves and began running her hands along the drawings. One after another, there's a stained glass window. One after another, a thought of her father's church.

"I know where she is."

The church that they were pulling up to was large, but simple. As the Impala parked outside and the truck next to it, Emma was the first out the door and into the building. The moment she stepped in, though, she felt a prickling on the back of her neck. She tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't go away. Shaking her head, she ran up the stairs two at a time, the boys behind her. When they made it into the attic, Emma looked around. The three of them spotted a person hiding.

"Anna?" Emma asked quietly. All three of them put their guns away.

"We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother Dean. And his gir- our friend, Emma." Emma only glanced at him for a moment.

Anna peeked out from her hiding place, and Emma offered a kind smile. "Sam? Not Sam Winchester?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And you're Dean. The Dean?"

"Well, yeah. The Dean, I guess." Emma smiled.

"And you. You're Emma. You're going to save us all." Emma froze as she stared at the young girl. She heard Dean's shift in weight as he looked at her. Emma took a deep breath and nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I am."

Anna let out a breath and stood up. "It's really you. Oh, my god. The angels talk about you. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out, and some of them think you can help save us, and some of them don't like you at all. They talk about you all the time lately. I feel like I know you."

"So, you talk to angels?" Dean asked. Emma swallowed and stood closer to him. Her head was still spinning.

"Oh no. No, no way. Um, they probably don't even know I exist. I juts kind of... overhear them."

"You overhear them?"

"Yeah, they talk, and sometimes I just... hear them in my head." Emma let her breath out and made eye contact with Sam, running one hand over his hair.

"Like... right now?"

"Not right this second, but a lot. And I can't shut them out, there are so many of them."

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just... tuning into angel radio?" Dean asked. Anna nodded.

"Anna, when did the voices start? Do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly - September 18th." Emma turned and looked sharply at Dean. The day he got out of Hell. "First words I heard, clear as a bell - 'Dean Winchester is saved'." Emma let out her breath, and turned with her gun drawn as she heard someone on the steps. Ruby rushed into the attic, breathing hard.

"You got the girl, good. Let's go." Emma had rushed to stand in front of Anna, her arm around the girl's waist.

"Her face!" Anna screamed. Emma turned and put her arm around the girl.

"It's okay, she's here to help. Ugly girl, isn't she?" Ruby scowled at her.

"We have to hurry." Ruby said frantically. "A demon's coming. Big-timer. We can fight later, Emma."

"Well that's pretty convenient - showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail?"

"I didn't bring him here. You did!" Ruby said to Dean. "He followed you from the house. Let's go! Now!"

"Dean... Emma..." Sam pointed at a statue. Emma's eyes widened as she saw the blood seeping from the eyelids. "He's here." Sam reached over and grabbed Anna, tugging her to the closet and telling her not to move. Emma pulled out her holy water and Sam followed suit.

"No, Sam." Emma said, "You got to pull him right away."

"Whoa..." Dean said.

"Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going darkside. He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die." Just as Sam was putting his flask away, the door opened. Sam threw his hand out, trying to exorcise him, but nothing happens. The demon makes eye contact with Emma and she feels a wrenching in her gut, and goes down on one knee, letting out a scream.

"Emma!"

"That tickles..." Emma heard the man saying, but apart from that it was nothing but pain. She saw his face in his mind - the face she would know him by. Like a hook in her stomach, it was pulling at something behind a locked door. When it finally let go, she collapsed onto the ground.

"Wow, she's in there good." Alistair - that was his name, finally said. Emma was lying on the ground, breathing hard. Her eyes were shut tight and sweat poured from her forehead. She was gasping as she struggled to her feet, holding onto Dean's arm. She let him hold her up, and heard Anna's scream as Ruby pulled her out of the closet. Emma mumbled something, but all that came out was blood. Dean grabbed onto her tighter, his entire body rigid.

It happened in an instant. Dean mumbled 'hold onto me' and Emma was doing so, and the next thing she knew the three of them were flying out a window. She felt a searing pain in her leg, and when they hit the ground, all Emma saw was black.

"Emma?" Dean's voice was pulling her back, shaking her. She opened her eyes, and looked around the room. She felt dried blood on the side of her mouth, and the cool night breeze was brushing against her legs. Looking down, her head pounding, she saw that she was in her t-shirt and panties, her bloody leg was bandaged and clean. She looked around, still not able to say anything. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." she said thickly, and sat up. Just like that, just like normal, she was back to it. Her voice was even and her eyes were alert. "What happened? Where's Anna?"

"Ruby's got her." Sam said, "I'm sure she's okay."

"You sure about that?" Emma asked, sitting up completely with Dean's hand on her back and leaning over, resisting the urge to vomit. "Because I think it's just as, if not more, likely she used us to find radio girl and then brought that demon to kill us."

"No, she took Anna to keep her safe." Sam said with a shake of his head. He pulled his over shirt on over his bandage and made his way to the window.

"Well, why hasn't she called us?" Dean asked.

"Because that demon is probably watching us right now, waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That's why he let us go."

"This isn't letting us go." Emma groaned out cynically. Dean wanted to talk to her about what had happened, but his head was spinning in every direction, and most of them involved her. He wanted to keep her safe, he wanted to know what had happened back there, he wanted to know what all this savior business was. But now was not the time.

"Yeah it is. Look," Sam said to them, "Killing us would've been no problem to that thing. Look what it did to Emma." Emma lifted the bottle of whiskey to Sam before pressing it to her lips. "That's why, for now, we just got to lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us."

"How's she gonna do that?" Dean asked, then he thought of a better question. "Why do you trust her so much?"

"I told you." Sam said. Emma lifted her hand.

"Y'never told me." she said. "I'd sure as hell like to know, now that I'm neck deep in your shit." What she said hit Dean in the gut, the amount of guilt that he was feeling. How did he think he could keep her safe when they had dragged her so far into their shit? He ran his hand over his eyes, and looked at his brother.

"You gotta do better than that. Hey, and I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I really want to understand. But I need to know more. I mean, I deserve to know more." Emma watched the two brothers looking at each other, and sighed. She made to stand up, but Dean held her hand in his.

"Because... she saved my life..." Sam said. Emma frowned a bit, and tilted her head to the side. Sam sat down in a chair. "It was only a few days after you were gone, Dean, and... I was drunk ..."

+s+s+

"And she... we... she was kissing me, and I was kissing her back and..."

"Sam?" Dean interrupted. Emma had listened to the whole story with an open mind. She could understand where Sam was standing, all alone, looking for a way to get the world back, but she wasn't sure.

"Yeah?"

"Too much information."

"Hey, I told you I was coming clean." Emma smiled a bit at him, just to make him feel better. Sam blinked a gave her a little smile of his own.

"Yeah, but now I feel dirty. Okay, well, uh, brain stabbing imagery aside... So far all you've told me about is a manipulative bitch who screwed you, played mind games with you and did everything in the book to get you to go bad." Emma was trying really hard not to take a side here, but she had to agree with Dean. This is all the story sounded like to her as well.

"Yeah, well there's more to the story."

"Just... skip the nudity please." Emma laughed weakly.

"Pretty soon after... that, um... I put together some signs... omens."

"Saying what?" Emma asked.

"Lilith was in town. And I wanted to strike her first."

Emma again listened to Sam's story with an open mind. Again she was less than convinced, but she could understand what Sam was saying. Her hatred for demons was only going to let him get so far in her mind. Dean was nodding slowly as he sat back down on the bed beside Emma.

"Ruby came back for me. Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me. What she said to me.. it's what you would've said. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here." Emma frowned as she looked at Dean. She wished more than anything that she could have been there for them both during this time. She wished she would have known them.

There was a knock at the door that all three of them turned to look at. Dean pulled out his gun and all three of them stood up. "Housekeeping!"

"Not now!" Dean cried at the door.

"Sir, I've got clean towels." the maid pressed. Emma watched as Dean walked up to the door and threw it open. The maid walked into the door, her arms loaded with towels.

"Couldn't you just leave 'em at the door?" Dean growled. But Emma knew something he didn't. She stepped forward and took his arm in her hand.

"I'm at this address," the maid's body was saying.

"What?"

"Go now. Go through the bathroom window. Don't stop. Don't take you car. Don't pass go. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot." Emma's shoulders slumped down and she looked at her leg.

"Ruby?" Sam asked.

"Okay, yes, so I'm possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me." Emma couldn't help but laugh.

"What about -"

"Coma girl?" Ruby asked, "Slowly rotting on the floor back at the cabin with Anna, so I've got to hurry back. See you when you get there. Go!" and the maid was out the door as Emma was pulling on her jeans. The three of them slung a bag over their shoulders, guns in their hands, and made it to the bathroom window.

"Emma..." Dean said as he turned toward her, as Sam pushed himself out the window. His long legs were giving him a problem.

"I'm not out of this." Emma said to him. "I'm not staying here."

"Salt up the windows, put devil's traps around, stay here. Please Emma."

"No." she said to him, and that was it. "Gimme a boost." Dean leaned down and put her unhurt leg in his hand and effortlessly lifted her up into the window. Struggling against the blood seeping against her jeans from her leg, she hopped down where Sam caught her. Dean was out the window shortly after and they were running into the woods.

"Glad you could make it," Ruby was saying as they walked in the door to the cabin. Emma was limping, and immediately sat down when they came through the front door.

"Yeah, thanks." Sam said. He turned to Anna. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I think so. Ruby's not like other demons. She saved my life." Emma glanced over at Ruby, who was looking at Dean and shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah," Dean said, "I hear she does that. I guess I ... y'know..." Ruby lifted an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I guess I owe you for... Sam. And I just wanted... you know..."

"Don't strain yourself." Emma laughed a little bit.

"Okay then is the moment over?" Ruby nodded, "Good, cause that was awkward." Emma rolled her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Hey, Emma?" Anna asked as she came over to sit next to her. "I was - oh my gosh your leg." Emma adjusted Dean's long flannel shirt over her leg to hide the blood. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive," she said with a smile. "What's up?"

"Do you think I could make a quick call? Just to my parents... let them know I'm safe? They must be completely freaked." Emma froze as she looked at the girl.

"Uh..."

"What?"

"Anna, sweetheart." Emma turned to look at her. "Um... your parents..."

"What about them."

"I'm so sorry..."

"No," Anna said forcefully, "They're not..."

"I'm so sorry honey." Emma leaned forward and Anna pressed her face against Emma's shoulder, closing her eyes as she held Anna in her arms. Dean watched quietly. One orphan holding another.

"Why is this happening to me?" she sobbed into Emma's shoulder.

"I don't know..." Suddenly, Anna stopped crying, and she sat up. The corners of her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet.

"They're coming." she said.

"Back room." Dean grabbed a hold of Emma's hand, pulling her to her feet. Emma and Anna rushed into the back, and Emma came back just as Ruby was rolling her eyes and throwing her hands up into the air. The knife.

"Great, just peachy. Impeccable timing, guys, really." Emma gave her a sh! as the door opened violently and hit the wall behind it. Emma was poised to fight, her holy water in her hand, but stood up a bit straighter, her breath coming out in a sigh as Castiel and Uriel walked into the room.

"Please tell me you're here to help." Dean said, "We've been having demon issues all day." Castiel glanced at Emma and they met eyes for a moment. She was seething. She had questions. He had better answer her, was all she had to say.

"Well, I can see that. You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?" Ruby scowled.

"We're here for Anna." Castiel said, looking away from Anna.

"Here for her like... here for her?"

"Stop talking," Uriel said. Emma scowled. She hated this one. "Give her to us."

"Are you gonna help her?" Emma asked as she took a step back toward the door that Anna was behind.

"No." Castiel said, looking Emma in the eyes, "She has to die."

Stopping it right where the episode did. I'm gonna be writing the next one today probably. Either have it uploaded later today or tomorrow. Review please, I'd really like to know what you think. :)