"So, I guess it's time." Dean announced as they all stood in the middle of the motel room the following day after the separation spell had been made. The older hunter was smiling broadly but Emma had come to know all too well the sadness hidden behind the happy glint in his eyes. Sam's emotion was obvious through his puppy-dog eyes, although every time he caught Emma looking at him, he gave her a reassuring smile as if to suggest he was please she was leaving. The angel was also present in the room and had the same expression on as always, mysteriously serious with innocent, piercing blue eyes that seemed like they were from heaven themselves.
"I guess," she whispered, the words coming out of her mouth automatically as if it was the right way to reply.
"Are you ready to go back home?" Sam asked in a false-enthusiastic tone.
"I suppose it's time. Are you sure Surozahl can't find me?"
"Yes, not unless the separation spell is broken this is technically impossible without your consent. I doubt you'll be in a hurry to give him that."
"Not in a million years. But what about his demon friends, they can still find me can't they?"
"I can perform a safety barrier around you." Castiel explained. "Without Surozahl, they will not be powerful enough to trace it."
"Thanks Cas." She smiled weakly.
"It has been an honour protecting you." The angel stated. "And I can now return you home where you left."
"Okay, just let me say goodbye." She said meekly before walking up to Dean, who pulled her into a tight hug, and feeling the presence of her fellow friend and hunter for the last time. She knew she'd miss Dean with her entire soul, hating that she'd never hear his smooth, rough voice again or enjoy his unique humour. He was her best friend and her brother and that she would never forget.
"I s'pose you get to go home, tiger." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.
"I didn't die." She said with a quick laugh.
"Yeah, I guess you didn't." he chuckled. "You're probably twenty-three right now, living some sweet apple pie life with a proper future and probably a car you can probably listen to your own music in."
"I liked your music." She admitted. "It was awesome."
"Awesome, you're speaking like me!"
"I suppose you rubbed off on me, huh?"
"That's probably a bad thing; I'm no good role model."
"Yeah you are, you're an amazing one! Before you, I had no idea how to stand up for myself of 'kick ass'…I never want to go back to the person I was two months ago ever again."
"I like any Emma."
"I thought Deans didn't like Emmas."
"Deans don't like Emmas…they love them."
"You're most probably right." She laughed.
"Go live Emma, go live the life Sam and I can never have and know that we will always be jealous of you."
"Will you miss me?"
"Miss?" he chuckled away tears. "I miss you right now."
"I do too."
Dean slowly moved his body away from her before his green eyes connected with her ones. "Goodbye Em."
"Goodbye Dean." She smiled with teary eyes before moving onto Sam and tenderly throwing her body on his, he gripped her tight, taking in the last moment of physical contact they would ever have.
"Your name is Sam Winchester, your favourite colour is red, you like salad and you loved To Kill a Mocking Bird." She told him.
"Correct." He chuckled. "Your name is Emma Viola, your favourite color is emerald, you want to be a journalist and your best friend is Alex."
"Correct." She giggled. "I can't believe you remembered all that."
"Of course I did, and I'll never forget it either."
"Neither will I. I just wanted to say thanks for being there in my darkest days and being there for me when nobody else was around." She told him before they broke apart.
"Who knew that the scared English girl could be the Emma standing in front of us now?"
"You helped with that a lot." She said standing back, now addressing Dean again as well. "You became more than these two guys who were kind enough to help me, you became my friends, my family and I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am to say that I was helped and saved by the Winchesters."
"We wouldn't hesitate to help again in a heartbeat." Dean promised.
"Emma, it's time." Castiel told her, she nodded before backing away from the Winchesters to go back to the angel, who had recused her all those weeks ago, and took his hand.
"I'm going to miss you lil sis." Dean told her, he was grinning as if to seem that he supported the whole idea but there was a shine in his eyes that suggested holding back tears.
"You're going to have a great life Em." Sam encouraged her but he was failing to smile.
Looking at the two men that were encouraging her to leave them behind, she was forced to close her eyes as she knew she would never see again and realising that it was getting too hard for her. She grasped Cas' hand tightly, the hand that had grabbed her from falling off the edge of death just two months ago. It was hard to think about how going back home would be like, going back to something that was exactly the same as where she left it. Sure, she would see Alex, Alfie and Kevin again, whom she had missed with all of her heart, but would it suit her? She had been hunting ghosts and had even hunted a goddess! How would she go back to normal, British life? How could she? The life she had lived here was dangerous, heck, it was life-threatening, but it had been the best months of her life, how could she just let that go?
Eyes suddenly opening in panic that the Winchesters had disappeared into a fold of an old life, she found relief to see that they were still in the motel room and it wasn't too late. "Will it be totally crazy if I said that I didn't want to go back?" she suddenly questioned nervously.
"Oh, thank God." Dean said in relief before going to hug her.
"So, you don't mind me staying?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course not," The older hunter grinned.
"Emma, are you sure?" Sam questioned.
"Yeah, it's just…I can't go back to that life…I will someday but just not today. I mean…there's still plenty of lessons that I have to learn, right? Just because Surozahl is separated from me, it doesn't mean that I have to be separated from you."
"But what about your family, your friends, they'll be missing you."
"I know and I still miss them but strangely…I think I've found a family here and I don't want it to end this soon…especially when I've found two brothers who I have probably connected more with these past weeks than I ever have with my own."
"Well I can't argue with that." Dean hooted. "How 'bout we celebrate, pie sound good anyone? Cas, you can come too grumpy ass."
Emma laughed at the two of them sounding happy at her extended stay, she knew that she was being selfish to everyone back home for not going back but a part of her was begging her to stay in America. So, she'd guess she'd have to stay a little bit longer with the Winchesters, which she was weirdly thrilled about, for this world was beginning to seem more like a home than the last.
X
The next two days seemed to sprint pass the three hunters rather quickly, with them not working on a job and taking a small holiday, going to Detroit to see a Detroit Pistons game. Emma had never been to a basketball game; she hadn't really been to any major sporting event in a matter of fact. By the expression of Dean's face, she could see that he was no big fan either. Sam, however, was eagerly watching the game, joining in with the rest of the crowd when they cheered for a hoop being scored by the Pistons. Seeing as he was as tall as Mount Everest, Emma could see a lot of similarities with Sam and the basketball players and wouldn't be surprised if he was a good player himself. At the end of the day she hadn't a clue of why they had gone in the first place, but she was glad that they had. The lively atmosphere and the probability that the biggest problem anyone had here was the fear of losing money on a bet seemed to create a calmer setting than the usual demon disarray they were used to.
Emma still had no feeling of regret or remorse about staying with the Winchesters, returning the same response, the two brothers continued to show their cheerfulness at the young girl deciding to stay with them. Knowing that Surozahl was far away and contained securely from the redhead hunter, she still felt her lips curling into a broad smile whenever she thought about it. The car journeys in the Impala felt shorter somehow, even when they were whole day trips, maybe it was because she always felt like she was running away from Surozahl instead of travelling to place to place aimlessly or with an aim less crucial. Dean's loud classic rock music and singing also seemed to have a kinder effect on Emma's ears now, seeing she heard them more as timeless songs rather than racket.
She went into their room that Sunday to find the two in a heated debate of some that she couldn't quite figure out the topic of. Dean was clearly pro, arms gesturing dramatically as he argued his unknown point whilst Sam was con, keeping his arms crossed as he looked at his brother as an escapee from the local asylum.
"I mean, Dean you have to be eighteen in the first place!" Sam reminded his brother, leaning forward in his chair and looking at his brother shrug at his statement carelessly.
"So? C'mon Sam, since when did we listen to the law?"
"Yeah but this isn't just 'having a beer', this is permanent."
"It's necessary, every hunter needs one."
"What are you talking about?" Emma interrupted the two Winchesters.
"Emma," Sam quickly smiled at her. "We were just discussing something."
"Was it about me?" she asked curiously, walking into the motel room and sitting on one of the motel chairs at the table.
"Yeah, it was but don't worry about it. Dean was just having another one of his dumb ideas."
"Hey, it's not a dumb idea!" his brother quickly responded.
"It is."
"What is it?" she frowned.
"A tattoo." Dean replied.
"A tattoo!" she almost yelled.
"See, I told you she wouldn't agree!" Sam informed his brother.
"Why? Why would I need a tattoo?"
"Look, it's just a safety precaution. See, seeing as your now officially safe from Surozahl, it don't mean he's not pissed. He can still use his other demon buddies to try and hurt you."
"But Cas said that he put a protection barrier around me?"
"Me and Sammy both know that those things aren't one-hundred percent effective, don't we Sammy?" Dean turned to his brother with raised eyebrows.
Sam hesitated before saying "It's still possible for demons to find you."
"Exactly!" Dean nodded.
"But how will a tattoo help any of this?" Emma asked, still as baffled as before.
"Have you ever heart of a pentagram?"
"That was the symbol painted on the ceiling the other day, right?"
"Bingo!" Dean nodded.
"They're used to trap demons getting out but also trap them getting in." Sam explained.
"Basically, it means that a demon can't possess you." Dean finished.
Emma nodded but still frowned, "But how does all of this link to me getting a tattoo?"
"C'mon, Sammy, presentation." The older brother said to the other before pulling the right-hand side of his shirt collar to reveal a small pentagram tattooed in black ink on his collar bone. Sam sighed before also showing Emma his tattoo.
"Oh," she said in realisation. "You mean, by having that tattooed on you, it means you can't get possessed."
"Exactly." Dean nodded.
"But you don't have to get one." Sam quickly reassured her, "I mean, it's only an extra safety precaution."
"But if I don't get one…I could get possessed?" she asked nervously.
"It's a possibility." Sam admitted.
"Couldn't I just get a necklace with it on or something?"
"Necklaces break." Dean simply answered.
"But I can't get a tattoo! I mean, my school doesn't allow it- I could get expelled- and my mother will kill me. She'd kill me if I got a tattoo of Jesus Christ let alone a demonic symbol! She's the biggest conservative ever, she'll put me in a mental hospital."
"I think demon possession is way worse than what your mommy will do."
"Dean!" Sam defended.
"What, it's the truth."
"Look," the younger Winchester said to Emma softly, "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to."
"But it wouldn't be the worst thing to consider." Dean added.
Emma hesitated. She had never considered getting a tattoo before, her mother had made it very clear that any sort of that reckless behaviour would cost her a severe punishment. Her mind flashed back to when her brother, Richard, came home from his 'lads holiday' in 2002 with his- now ex- girlfriend's name tattooed on the side of his right index finger. Her father yelled at him all night and he was only forgiven when he got into Oxford University later that summer. She had been so scarred from her brother's decisions, she had to deny Alex's request for them to get a joint tattoo when they were older. But then again, her mother wasn't Surozahl and compared to him, her reaction to her tattoo would be nowhere as scary as the encounter she'd had with that demon a few nights back. "I guess, after everything that has happened already, one little tattoo can't be that bad."
"That's the attitude!" Dean said happily.
X
"Are you sure you really want this?" Sam asked Emma a few hours later as the three of them waited in a tattoo studio about five miles away from the motel. The inside décor was dark, with the walls painted blood red and there being quite graphic art on the wall. Emma felt as if she were breaking several laws just by being in here.
"Do I want a satanic symbol?" she asked him with raised eyebrows. "No. But I guess it beats demonic possession."
"If it helps, it's not really a satanic symbol, it's actually the opposite seeing as it protects you from the devil- or demons."
"Yeah cos the devil's not actually on earth- he's in a cage." Dean chuckled.
"What do you mean he's in a cage?"
"Context Dean." Sam reminded.
"Cheer up, kiddo, just get it somewhere no one will see it."
"Yeah, do you know where you want it to go?" Sam asked.
She shook her head. "Any ideas?"
"What about the same place as me and Dean?"
"No, I like wearing vests in the summer."
"Okay, what about your ankle?" the older Winchester suggested.
"Dean, I show my ankles in the summer as well."
"Okay, what don't you show off in the summer!" he rolled his eyes.
Emma thought for a moment, "I guess, somewhere around here," she pointed to the left side of her torso, above the ribs.
"Okay, well there it will go." Dean nodded.
"Which one of you is Emma Jackson?" a man came over to them. He was covered in tattoos, his whole body looking like a canvas where weird images were painted on. He even had a snake tattooed under his eye. He scared Emma slightly, she would have never seen anyone like this back home in England, and if she did, her mother would surely call security.
"Take a wild guess." Dean chuckled at the fact that there were only three of them there and two of them were males.
"It's me." Emma answered nervously.
"Okay, hello Emma, I'm Jake and I'll be your tattoo artist today. Would you like to follow me through to the studio and we'll begin?"
"Can I bring these two with me?" She asked him, gesturing to Sam and Dean.
"Um…you can bring one- the studio's kinda small."
"Okay," she said looking at the two of them, "Dean, seeing as you're the one who wants me to get this, you can be my moral support."
"Okay!" he grinned happily before standing up and saying "Told you I was the favourite." To his brother, who crossed his arms and lent back in his chair in disappointment.
X
"How does it feel?" Sam asked at ten that night, where they were all in the Winchesters' motel room.
"It aches." She complained, going to touch her left side delicately with her fingers, where she touched the cling film wrapping under her shirt. She never thought a tattoo would hurt that much, why the hell did people want them?! It lasted less than an hour and she almost had to stop it fifteen minutes in in but, luckily, Dean was better moral support than she expected, with him letting her crush his hand and distracted her with the details of the hot lady he'd met at the bar a few days ago. Although, the tattoo artist did act a little ashamed when he heard of her tattoo choice and she was tempted to tell him that she wasn't a Satanist and instead wanted to protect herself from the demons out there.
"Don't worry, the pain is only temporary." Dean informed her.
"Well, can I skip forward to the part where I can breathe out without it hurting?"
"Ah, if only life were that simple." The man chuckled.
"At least the worst is over." Sam reassured her.
"Just promise me that you're not going to make me get another tattoo."
"Hey, you might want to get another." Dean chuckled.
"I sincerely doubt that." She replied.
"You never know, you've already got one."
"Hey, it's not like I wanted it!"
"Aw, Sammy, she's been with us how long and she's already been to a bar, killed a ghost, and got a tattoo."
"Shut up." She giggled.
"Lord knows what she'll do next."
"Guess, you'll have to find out." She replied mysteriously. "Maybe I'll rob a bank or start a fire."
"Yeah, like that'll ever happen."
"You never know. Only bad girls get inked."