Thank you so much Blondie50000 for your feedback *hugs*! Heh Gemma definitely kicks ass here...at least I hope people think she does. I also gave Dean and Gemma a little moment together.

Thank you again and enjoy!

Val

Chapter 22

Gemma gaped at the woman in front of her. "You have no business here."

"Oh I have plenty of reason to be here!" The other woman hissed at her. "That fool Roy screwed up and I lost out on some serious cash but that isn't going to happen this time!"

Gemma pushed Jo behind her towards Dean who quickly pulled her close as she heard him urge Sammy to get Uncle Bobby.

"You're not getting anywhere near Jo. Now I'm giving you a chance to leave quietly." Gemma tried to reason with the other woman even though she knew it was like reasoning with a brick wall. She could see the woman was clearly jonesing for a fix.

"And who's going to stop me…you!" She laughed as she pulled out a knife she had hidden in her jacket.

Gemma's eyes flash yellow as she turned and looked at the children behind her. "Dean…Jo go now!" She commanded but saw that both children were frozen in place. She shook her head her heart breaking that another piece of their innocence being lost before turning back towards Jo's mother.

Ellen stared at the other woman frowning as she tried to comprehend what she had just seen. She backed up slightly when Gemma turned back towards her and watched in horror as she opened her mouth and she saw the woman's teeth were suddenly growing into razor sharp fangs as she lifted her hands and as her nails became talons before her eyes.

Ellen was so entranced by the transformation happening before her she didn't have time to react before this creature in front of her grabbed her around the neck and lifted her into the air. "What…what are you?" She choked out.

Gemma gave her a gruesome grin as she hissed, "your worst nightmare!"

Ellen dropped her knife as she clawed at the hands wrapped around her neck as she begged, "please…please let me go."

Gemma cocked her head as she level a hardened gaze at the the woman who had hurt Jo…had sent that bastard Roy to kidnap her so they could sell her to some pervert…that still planned to sell the innocent child.

She wanted to kill her…to snap her neck and it took all her will power and training to stop her from doing it. She wasn't a monster and she wasn't letting the bitch in front of her to turn her into one.

"You're going to leave and never come back here again! Do you understand me!" She growled.

Ellen nodded her head quickly. "I swear…please!"

Gemma made a show of flashing her fangs before using her strength to throw Ellen over the hood of the car into a heap on the ground by the passenger door. Ellen barely registered her brother running towards them with his shotgun as she scrambled to get up and into her car before speeding away.

SPNSPNSPN

Gemma slowly got her breathing under control and started to retract her claws and fangs. She could hear Bobby consoling the upset little girl behind her. She gasped when she realized she was having difficulty forcing herself to shift back as her fang and claws began to extend again. She hadn't changed deliberately like that while angry and anxious since she was seventeen and forgot how those feeling played havoc with her balance.

"Bobby…you need to lock me up…" she cried as she hid herself as much as possible from Jo and Dean so not to frighten them even more.

"You two…house now!" He ordered as he rushed over to Gemma. "This way," he told her as he ushered her towards the root cellar entrance. "I have a panic room that should contain you," he told her as they quickly went through.

He had just finished locking Gemma inside the panic room when John with Dean's help hobbled down the stairs. "Bobby?" The injured hunter called out.

"Over here." He turned to see John and Dean making their way over. He quickly grabbed a chair and put it down next to him. "Sit you fool," he said as he saw how white his friend's face was and how ragged his breathing was too.

John didn't have the strength to argue and sat down. He turned towards Dean, "Son…you go and watch Sammy and Jo. Bobby and I will take care of Gemma."

Dean looked at his father before looking at the door to the panic room. "Dad…you're not gonna kill Gemma, are you?" He asked, tears threatening to spill.

John cupped his son's cheek. "No…no I would never hurt Gemma. You go now."

"Yes Sir," the child said as he turned and headed back upstairs to take care of Sammy and Jo.

Bobby waited until Dean was gone before turning to John. "She's having a hard time turning back. Thinks it's because it's so close to the lunar cycle and she forced the change in anger. She can't control her emotions or her shifting."

John nodded his head as he asked, "does she need to feed?"

"Yeah, I'm going to call a guy who owes me a favor that has a pig farm 15 miles from here. I'll send Caleb to pick up a few hearts. She also asked me to call her cousin too…says she needs to be with at least a couple from her pack."

John nodded his head, "whatever she needs." John said as he looked at the door that separated him from the woman he loved and gasped as he realized that he was in love with Gemma.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure she's fine." He told him as he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "She protected them John…I don't think Ellen will ever bother that little girl ever again."

John nodded his head as he looked up at Bobby. "Would you mind…" he said tentatively.

"Just open the window to talk," he told the other hunter.

John waited until Bobby had climbed the stairs and heard the door open and close before he got up and slid the metal door aside so that he could look inside. He could see Gemma huddle in the corner, and it broke his heart at the way she kept repeating to herself, 'change back, change back'.

"Gem…Sweetheart it's me." John called out.

She lifted her head to look him in the eyes for a brief moment before dropping her gaze at her claws and began to cry. "Dean knows…he knows what I am…"

John was tempted to lie but knew it was pointless…she would have heard Dean ask if they were going to kill her. "He figured it out. He's worried about you…he was afraid we would kill you."

"Jo and Sammy?"

"Dean said Jo kept her eyes closed and Sammy was in the house with me."

"I'm so sorry John… Dean thinks I'm a monster."

John frowned, "you're wrong…the only monster he saw today was that bitch Ellen."

She looked up at the man on the other side of the door. "I never wanted the kids to find out like this. God I can't bare to think this is how Dean will remember me." She cried.

John could see how visible upset she was. "Stop it. You need to get your emotions under control." He said sternly before adding, "and who the Hell said this is the last time the kids will see you. I expect the woman I share a bed with to have a relationship with my boys."

Gemma's head shot up at what John said and could see how hopeful he was looking at her. "John…"

"Like Bobby said…I'm a fool. You're the best thing that happened to me since Mary." He finally confessed not only to Gemma but to himself.

John watched as Gemma gave him a smile and he swallowed as he saw her claws and fangs begin to retract. "Gem…"

She looked down at her hands in before they flew up and ran her fingers across her teeth. "John," she whispered in awe.

"Told you that you needed to calm down," he told her as he laughed in relief.

She laughed with him, but her laughter quickly stopped when she heard him begin to unlock the door. "No John…don't. I could change back just as easily."

He stopped and looked through the window. "Gem…"

"Please John, I need to be careful…my emotions are all over the place. I don't know if something could trigger another shift."

He sighed as he nodded his head in understanding as he turned the locks again. He looked up when he heard the basement door open and close. A few seconds later Dean was standing before him.

"Dean you shouldn't be down here."

"Dad, Caleb is here. Uncle Bobby says he's sending Caleb to get special food for Gemma. He also said to tell you Gemma's cousin and uncle are on their way too." Dean said as he delivered the messages.

The child kept looking at the door that Gemma was behind. John wanted to shoo him back upstairs but stopped when his oldest went over and placed his hand on the door. "Gemma?" he called out towards the open window.

"I'm here Buddy," Gemma said as she stood at the window and looked down at the boy.

Dean swallowed as he looked at Gemma. "Are you really a werewolf?"

"I am," she told him.

Dean frowned, "But you said a werewolf killed your real Mom and Dad?"

John put his hands on his son's shoulders. "Dean now isn't the best time to discuss this…"

"It's fine John, really." Gemma said.

"Okay if you're sure," he told her as he sat back down, and he watched as Dean sat down beside the door. He listen as Gemma explained about her family's murders, being kidnap, explaining what the mark on her shoulder meant, about being raised by her adopted parents, being part of a pack, that her pack only ate pig hearts and how she is an alpha werewolf, that is why she was able to shift outside of a lunar cycle and during the day.

"Do you have to shift when there is a full moon?" Dean asked.

"It's not like what you see in the movies, it's not that I can't control the shift when there's a full moon and I have forced myself a few times not to shift but it isn't pleasant…I get pretty sick if I don't allow my body to shift naturally during the lunar cycle."

"Oh," Dean said before asking. "Why couldn't you just change back today?"

Gemma sighed as she tried to explain about keeping her 'balance' and that was why she meditated and worked out so hard to manage the feelings that course through her body. That when Jo's mother showed up and threatened to take Jo….that her rage and need to protect him, Sammy and Jo was her main concern and how it overwhelmed her.

"And when I forced myself to change with all these negative feelings I couldn't get myself under control."

"But you're okay now. Why can't you come out?"

"Because I'm feeling anxious and I won't take a chance with you, Sammy or Jo ever getting hurt because of me."

Dean nodded his head in understanding before looking at his father. "Dad, can we talk man to man?"

John bite his inner cheek as Gemma looked over and smiled at the child's serious tone. "Sure," he said as he opened his arms and Dean stood up and walked over to him. The boy went into his father's embrace, making sure he was leaning into the side that didn't have the cracked ribs.

"Okay," the older Winchester said as he gave Dean an encouraging squeeze.

Dean sighed as he tried to think how to say what was on his mind. "Did Uncle Bobby know about Gemma before he left us with her?"

"He…we both have known all along," John told him.

The boy nodded his head as he considered this information. His father and uncle never would've left them with Gemma if they didn't trust her completely.

"Dad… is Gemma your girlfriend?" He finally asked as he ducked his head.

John looked over Dean's head at the woman in question. "Would you and Sammy be okay if Gemma was my girlfriend?" John asked knowing that they were entering a whole new territory for their small family.

Dean looked up at his father and then over his shoulder at Gemma, who was holding her breath as she waited for his answer. He looked into the eyes of the woman who he, Sammy and Jo had grown to love this past week and grinned as he said to Gemma, "Yes Sir…more than okay!"

TBC