HOLY MOLY. I STARTED THIS CHAPTER MONTHS AGO… I miss you all. I hope you're well. I suddenly got the urge to re-read all of Emily's story… and when I finished. I knew I had to keep going. I hope I get to write more. For the first time in months I sat and just started typing, and 3 hours later, here I am at 1am posting a new chapter for you guys. I want to be back. I want to be consistent… but life is busy. I promise I'm still trying. There is so much for you to still learn about Emily… please come back. Please stick around. Please drop a review if you're still there or you've come back home! I miss this… I missed writing. I want to come home too.
I stood at the hood of the impala next to Sam, brushing my teeth with a clean bottle of water in my hand. I turned as I heard Dean shuffling around in the front seat. I bumped Sam with my elbow and winked, with a toothbrush in my mouth and a water bottle in my hand I walked around to the door Dean was leaned against and watched Sam twitch into a grin as I prepared to pull the door open. I pulled and stepped back and all at once I watched Dean fall out backwards onto the ground. Laughing and spilling toothpaste drool down my chin.
"Assholes." Dean yelled as I jogged around to the other side of the car and rinsed out my mouth.
"Consider it payback." I laughed.
"For what?"
"Give me a second, I'll think of something." I shrugged.
Dean shot me a bitch face and reached down, throwing an empty coke can at me. I dodged it barely, Sam however wasn't as lucky when Dean aimed for him next.
"Hey. How'd you sleep?" Sam asked turning to Dean again.
"How do you think? I'm starving. Let's get breakfast."
"Where? We're like two hours from anything." I said with an eye roll.
"But I'm hungry now."
"There's probably still a sandwich in the back seat." Sam suggested. Dean reached into the backseat for the paper bag, pulls out a sandwich, sniffs, and then his face quickly turned sour.
"Oops." I mumbled. "I didn't finish my food last night."
"Obviously." Dean said bagging it back up and setting it outside of the car.
"Well we ca-"
A ringing phone stopped us all in our tracks…
"Its not mine." I said looking between the two of them. Sam reached in and dug through the glove compartment.
"Is that Dad's phone?" Dean asked.
"Yeah"
"Give it to me." Dean answered it hastily. "Hello?"
"Uh, is this John?" A nervous and unfamiliar voice floated out of the phone as Dean put it on speaker.
"He can't come to the phone. Can I help you?"
"No no no—I really—I need to talk to John. This is Adam Milligan. He knows me."
Who the fuck is Adam Milligan?
"Well, sorry to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago."
"What…." The man on the other end mumbled shocked. The silence that followed told me something was off.
A shocked sound.
"Who is this?" I stepped forward and asked into the phone.
"I'm his son."
My eyes instantly shot up to Dean's, then to Sam's. Just as I went to open my mouth and chew this mother fucker out Dean shoved his hand over my mouth.
"Where are you? We're coming to you." Dean said without another word. I shook my head. Surely, he knows this is a FUCKING JOKE. A SET UP. SOMETHING IS OFF.
"Dean you can't be serious." Sam said as the phone was tossed back into the car.
"Oh I'm serious."
"Dean you know this is bullshit. This is probably a trap or something." I demanded.
"Oh I'm sure it is… but I'm not fixing to let anyone get away with pretending to be one of us. We go. We find this kid. And we straighten this shit out in person. No one gets to pretend to be a Winchester. Not on my watch."
"I'll start looking the name up, I'll see what I can find."
"I'll text Judson. See if he can get us some celestial verification of who this fucker is while he's with Castiel."
"No. Leave the kid out of this one."
"Dean, come on… He might be able to dig up some information."
"No. Not yet… this is a family issue. Keep the angels out of it for now. We gotta figure out WHY someone would pretend to be dad's kid."
"Fine." I sighed putting the phone back down. Hopefully Judson will pop back up in a day or two anyways. For some reason the angels were insisting that he make a personal appearance at my next 'hearing'. I already feel like I'm going crazy without hearing from him.
…
…
…
By day's end we were sitting in a parking lot next to Cousin Oliver's Hilltop Café. Waiting… watching. The ride was too quiet. All three of us too lost in thought to talk things out. Too angry… too far into figuring out what the hell this guy wants from us.
"Dean, look, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real." Sam said pulling me out of my head. "Um, born September twenty-ninth, to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout. A couple years younger than Em… he's just a kid."
Dean got out of the car… we followed. He went around to the trunk and began pulling things out of the trunk.
"Dean. Use your words." I prodded.
"This is a trap." He responded before slamming the trunk shut and walking forward… I guess we're fixing to find out.
We walked into the diner. Dean took an extra minute to explore the open tables, positions close to the exit. Back doors. Windows. Access to the kitchen and the bathrooms, I can see exactly what he's mapping out in his head. Meanwhile I'm scanning every person in this diner trying to decide which one could be a demon, a monster in disguise… but I just don't feel the menacing presence. Dean finally took 3 steps to the right and then took a seat. We left a very specific seat open for Adam. Near the window. Between Sam and the wall, across form Dean, leaving me the closest to our escape and the furthest from Adam. I swear my brothers never change.
"Dean. We need to hear this kid out." Sam started after the waitress came and took our drink order. A water for our guest we're awaiting. Spiked with an extra special shot of Holy water.
"Great, so he's an actual person on the planet Earth. Sucks he's got a demon in him." Dean said as he discreetly poured half of it out into the plant in the window and then filled it with the contents of his flask.
"Holy water?" I asked. He nodded only once. Great minds.
"One sip of Jesus juice, this evil bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt."
"And what if he's not possessed?" Sam asks.
"Then he is a shapeshifter." Dean then stated swapping out the standard cutlery with the silver he slipped in through his coat. I would have done the same coin in my back pocket, but I guess he's beat me to it.
"Hence the silver." Sam sighed.
"Look, either way, this thing is gonna bleed. I mean, using Dad as bait? That's the last mistake of its short, pitiful life." 66+
"Agreed." I smiled shortly. Sam however frowned as he looked between the two of us, and then looked away.
"What?" I finally asked him.
"Em...listen. There's an entry in Dad's journal. From January of the year Adam was born… saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case. That's, roughly, oh, about nine months before the kid was born."
"No. No way Sam… it was too soon after Mom. No way." I shook my head.
"Coincidence." Dean shrugged.
"Coincidence. Next two pages of the journal—torn out." Sam then noted as he pulled it out of his jacket to show us the proof. The torn pages made my stomach turn. I wish Judson was here right now. Dean huffed and shook his head, looking away. "Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible. I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time, and he wasn't exactly a monk. Maybe it was his way of dealing with the grief. I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl...sometimes the girl's grateful."
"Well, now I'm thinking about Dad sex. Stop talking." I then said firmly.
"Maybe he slipped one past the goalie."
"Dude! Stop." Dean and I said simultaneously.
The door chimed as it opened, and a young man walked through… not a shred of familiarity on his face. Except maybe something in the eyes… No. NO way. Not possible.
"Adam?" Sam called out. Suddenly his head flipped over to us. He walked our way… he's skinny. Too skinny. Well… Sam's skinny too if we're being honest. He's not got the height. Not got the walk of a Winchester. There's just no way. He looked between the three of us with as much curiosity and caution as we did him. What the hell does this thing want? Does it think it's gonna get out of here alive?
"You Sam?" He asked.
"Yeah. Uh, this is Dean and Emily."
"Hey." He said as he set his backpack on the floor and sat in the empty chair. "So, um...how did you know my dad?"
"Uh, we worked together." Sam replied roughly.
"How did he die?"
"On the job." I replied stiffly.
"He was a mechanic, right?"
"A car fell on him." Dean chimed in.
"Hey, Adam. How you doing?" The waitress called out kindly, bringing a fresh glass of water to him. The other one was barely touched? Dude. I reached forward and grabbed it before she could set it down.
"Oh, I'll take that. I am very thirsty." I said with a grin as I downed half of the glass while she watched, she eyed me with distaste before turning back to Adam.
"The usual, Adam?"
"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Denise. You guys want anything?
"No thanks." We all shook our heads. We watched as Denise the waitress stepped away and Adam reached for his spiked water… I held my breath unknowingly as he took a sip and set the glass back down without even flinching. He even wiped a drop of it off of his mouth with the back of his hand… no sizzle. Shit.
"So, uh, when's the last time you saw John?" Sam asked him kindly… Why is Sam so sure this kid is legit?
"I don't even know. It's...a couple years. Maybe more."
I could feel dean next to me as he lifted his gun under the table and aimed it directly at Adam. I reached over and grabbed his shirt, twisting it in my fingers to distract my nerves.
"Why did you decide to call him now?"
"I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got. My mom's missing."
"Really? I'm sorry. Uh, for how long?" Sam asked as he and I shared a confused glance.
"It's tragic, really. But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?" Dean asked accusingly.
"'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years or so ago, anyway."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused… a few years ago. Like when he was off he radar? He was chasing yellow eyes… right?
"My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" Sam asked.
"My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."
"Yeah, well, who is these days?" Sam smiled.
"So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?" Dean asked. I could tell he was trying to build a time line in his mind… same as me. Damn him for raising me to be so thorough.
"When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and— and after I begged her—God, twenty-four-seven—she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."
… dropped everything. Like his REAL family? His REAL kids?... I just want him to stop talking.
"There you go." Denise chimed placing a plate in front of him, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Thanks." Adam smiled up to her, she smiled back before walking away, eyeing me once more as she went.
"Well, that's heartwarming." Dean mumbled.
Adam then reached for his napkin, the silver sitting underneath. I tightened my grip on De's shirt. I could tell he too was tense. Ready. Waiting…
"He would swing by once a year or so." Adam added as he picked up the silver… nothing. Fuck. FUCK… what is going on right now?! "You know, called when he could. But still..."
Dean sat back. I felt as he slid his gun back on the seat between us, then he slid it behind his back as he 'readjusted' to cover his movements.
"He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was way too young to have one. And, uh...he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala—"
"Oh, this is crap. You know what, you're lying." Dean accused cutting him off. I could tell he was panicking. Only Sam and I would be able to sense it in his tone… he's worried. Worried that Adams telling us the truth.
Me too De. Me too…
"No, I'm not." Adam argued.
"Uh, yeah, you are."
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?"
"We're John Winchester's ACTUAL children, that's who." I answered flatly.
"We are his sons, and his daughter." Dean emphasized pointing between the three of us. Sam sighed, not jumping to one side or the other. Adam looked between all of us, and finally landed back on me.
"I've got a sister?" He asked softly. The sincerity caught me off guard, I suddenly felt my stomach roll.
"No, you don't have a sister. Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here-" Dean started in on him.
"I have never been hunting in my life." Adam said confused and clearly upset.
"Whatever. We're out of here. Come on Em. Sam- lets go."
Sam sighed and went to say something but before he could, Adam spoke up.
"I can prove it." He demanded as he stood standing toe to toe with Dean in front of the table.
"Show us." Sam stated, ending that fight before it began. Adam threw some cash down on the table and indicated for us to follow him as he walked out. Dean turned to me as I still sat in the booth. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to get up. I feel… So. Damn. Confused.
"Come on, Em. Stay close." Dean said reaching out and pulling me towards him as I finally slid out and stood.
…..
…..
…..
"He took you to a baseball game?" Dean asked out loud as we stood in Adam's house, going through the photos in his bedroom.
His normal bedroom. Full of school stuff. Sports. A picture of him and Daddy at a baseball game… I've never seen Dad look so… relaxed. Laid back.
Normal…
"Yeah, when I turned fourteen. Dad was around for a few of my birthdays."
I closed my eyes and held my breath again, afraid it would betray me as my emotions began to scramble in my brain. Sam laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, reminding me to breathe.
"September twenty-ninth, One word. Minnesota." Sam held up Dad's journal for us all to see.
"He took you to a freakin' baseball game?" Dean asked again out loud. I could see it on his face. Hurt. Confused. Angry. More confused. Offended. Curious. He was rolling down the emotion highway himself, Sam however seemed to be well adjusted and accepting. HOW?
Dammit I wish Judson was here. I pulled out my phone, taking a step back from everyone as I texted him.
Emily: Please call me… soon. I need to talk to you. Love you.
I snuck it back in my pocket as I zoned back into the conversations across the room.
"Yeah. Why? What'd Dad do with you on your birthday?"
"Oh... Um." Dean struggled to reply. Frowning. Adam looked away from him sensing he probably shouldn't have asked.
"Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing." Sam asked him, pulling his attention off Dean.
"Yeah."
"How long has she been gone?"
"Three days."
"Who was the last person to see her?" Dean cut in. Obviously more willing to focus on this as a case than our lives getting more fucked up by the hour.
"Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor. He saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up to work on Wednesday."
I leaned over and found another picture of Daddy… hugging a woman. Kate I assume. She looked familiar. I then saw it, Mom. He saw her, and somewhere in his mind he saw Mom.
Twisted right?
I looked away, uncomfortable, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. Dean looked over my shoulder and stared at the photo for a moment before making brief eye contact with me. We both looked away, neither wanting to acknowledge it.
"Did you call the police?" Sam's voice found my ears.
"Mom's supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could… I should have been here."
"What'd the, uh, what'd the cops say?" Dean asked.
"That they, uh, they searched the house. They didn't find anything. But, she wouldn't leave without telling anybody. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"
"Yeah… We know." I laughed humorlessly. Feeling the emotions swirl in my stomach once more.
"You're upset." Adam said. I was caught off guard and looked up to him.
"What?"
"You're upset… It's obvious. But why? I mean… you guys had Dad your whole lives."
"Yeah. Yeah, we did." I smiled and nodded before walking out of the room. I wandered down the hall as Adam led Dean into his mother's room. Sam walked past me while on the phone, I assume calling to check with the police. He stopped for a moment, looking at me. I shook my head before he could ask. I finally wandered back towards Kate's room and stood in the doorway. Watching as Dean picked up more pictures… Daddy, Kate.. and a much younger Adam.
This guy had more pictures of my Daddy than I ever did. Daddy never took pictures with us. I had maybe one, two? Only because Sam or Dean took them while he wasn't looking. My heart felt like it was forming a fault line straight down the center… waiting to fall apart. My stomach in knots.
I wish that fucking phone never rang.
"The, uh, nightstand was knocked over. Was there anything else?" Dean asked.
"Oh, not really. The sheriff said there's no sign of a break-in. What, you think the cops missed something?"
"Maybe. Yeah. They don't have my eyes."
"You're a mechanic."
"Yeah. That's right."
"Dean, what else can you tell me about Dad?" Adam suddenly asked.
"You knew him."
"Not as well as you."
"Trust me, kid, you don't want to know."
Sam appeared behind us in the doorway, holding a handful of papers.
"Give us a minute." Dean said turning to Adam before leading me into the hall with him and Sam.
"You talk to the cops?"
"Yeah. Like Adam said, no leads on his mom."
"Shocker there."
"No but I did find this." He offered Dean a stack of old news headlines about missing bodies. I skimmed it over Dean's shoulder. "Um...here. In nineteen ninety, there were seventeen grave robberies in Windom."
"You think that's why Dad came through here?"
"I'd say so. Check it out." Sam pointed to the photo, with an almost unrecognizable man in the background, but I'd know that man anywhere. Daddy.
"All right, so he was hunting something. What?"
"No idea. Those were the pages he threw out of the journal. But last month, the corpse snatching started up again. Three bodies from the local cemetery."
"So whatever he was after, he didn't kill it. It's back."
"And, what, it's stepped up its game to fresh meat? I mean, Kate's missing, and, uh— So is a local bartender—a guy named Joe Barton."
"I'm sorry… so we're just working a case now?" I finally spoke.
"Em, somethings going on here. Its why Dad was ever here in the first place. We gotta get all the pieces before we can see the bigger picture." Sam explained.
"I think I've seen enough pictures today." I said leaning against the wall and looking down at my feet.
"I know you're upset. I get it Em, I do. But Adam is our brother, and he needs our help. Lets just… start there and see where it goes."
I could see Dean cringe out of the corner of my eye as Sam spoke the words. I barely nodded, never pulling my eyes up to him. He kissed me on the top of the head before walking away.
"Hey." Dean said when we were finally alone. "Look at me."
I didn't want to, but I knew if I didn't he'd just lift my chin. So slowly my eyes met his. He looked… lost. But I knew he was doing his best to put on a brave face.
"We're family Em. Me, you, and Sam. NOTHING. Changes that… no one. Not Adam, not Kate. Not Dad and his second personality, okay?"
"De…" I whispered feeling the pain constrict my words. "Why didn't he ever look that happy with us?"
"Don't do that… Dad was never as happy as he was when you were in his arms. YOU made him the happiest I've ever seen him. Don't let those photos fool you. Okay?"
I nodded, Dean pulled me into him with one arm, squeezing before guiding me back to the bedroom with Adam and Sam.
"Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" Sam asked as we rounded the corner.
"Uh, I don't think so. Why?"
Sam shared a look with us, and then his face twisted into confusion. I followed his eyes to Dean's face.. which was focused on something at Adam's feet. Again my eye's followed.
Scratches on the floor. This isn't good.
"What is it?" Adam asked confused at our sudden reaction.
"Watch out." Dean said moving him to the side as he lifted the edge of the blankets to look under the bed. "Give me a hand with this mattress."
Dean and Adam toss the pillows aside and move the mattress off the frame. There's a large air vent under the bed… scratches too close by for comfort. The vent was definitely small enough to fit a body.
When I looked up, both Sam and Dean were eyeballing me.
"What?... you. You can't be serious?!"
"You're the only one who can fit." Dean shrugged.
"Ugh…" I groaned as I pulled back my hair into a messy bun and slid off my jacket. Handing it to Sam as Dean pulled the grate off of the air vent.
"Every time." I grumbled as I slid down head first into the air duct. "Turn off the heat assholes!" I yelled feeling the warm air blowing towards me. A moment later it stopped, I lifted my flashlight and inched forward.
Blood.
Too much blood to just be a small animal or something trapped. I crawled ahead seeing a junction not far from me. My nerves rearing as I prepared myself for what might be around the corner. I pulled my gun for comfort more than anything. Shooting it in here would probably cause me to go deaf.
More blood. Lots of blood… flesh. Skin. Bone fragments.
I got the urge to puke, and the panic began.
"De, I'm coming out!" I yelled, my voice giving away my panic.
"Em, what's wrong?" I heard him call out, I could tell he had leaned down into the vent opening.
"Get me out of here!" I said turning around at the junction and crawling back to him as quickly as possible. Dean grabbed me as soon as I was within his long arms reach and pulled quickly. I finally felt like I could breathe as I was lifted out of the hole.
"What is it Em?" Sam asked. I looked up to Adam. He was panicking. I could see it in his eyes, trying to hold it together, but quickly losing his grip. Sam knew just by my reaction, he pulled his phone and dialed the police again.
"Adam.. I'm sorry. I don't think you want to hear what's in there."
….
….
….
I stood outside of the motel room door. Dialing Judson's number for the third time today. You would think Heaven would have decent fucking cell reception right?!
It was unsettling… why did he have to go this time? What's changed? He's never gone before, well.. maybe. I guess I really don't know.
Why isn't he answering.
I gave up and wandered back inside.
"Still no answer kiddo?" Dean asked as he was cleaning weapons on the bed.
"No. Something's up with that… why did he have to be there?"
"I don't know. But I don't like it either."
"Better there than here." Sam mumbled.
"Really?" I said shooting him bitch face.
Suddenly a loud knock on the door caused me to jump, Sam stood and when it opened Adam came charging in.
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded looking between the three of us.
"Adam, hey." Sam said calmly as he closed the door behind him. Dean threw the blanket over the rest of the weapons so as not to scare him further. "Take it easy."
"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you three—well, you call the cops, but you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?"
Silence.
I'm not taking this one. Sam can have it.
"Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier—something about grave robberies… You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on."
More silence. I looked to Dean, then to Sam.
"Please."
"We're hunters." Sam finally answered.
"Sammy!" I scolded him.
"He deserves to know, Em."
"What do you mean, hunters?"
I rolled my eyes. Dean shook his head, obviously not on board with spilling the beans to this guy. He's already freaked… yet here I sat for the next hour as Sam broke the levy on the dark world we truly live in. Adam sat in mostly silence as Sam talked.
"Okay, so...basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?" He finally spoke.
"Godzilla's just a movie." Dean smiled.
"We hunt them. So did Dad."
"Okay." Adam nodded.
"Okay? That's it?" I scoffed.
"What am I supposed to say?"
"That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says okay."
"Well, you're my siblings. You're telling me the truth, right?"
"Yeah." Dean nodded.
"Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"
Wow… I'm actually a little impressed with how well that went. I was expecting a rage, a meltdown, run to the cops… something.
"We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what." Sam explained.
"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill." Dean added.
"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam asked hopeful. Dean and Sam look down… Adam looks directly at me.
Fuck them for sending me down that damn air duct.
"Adam… I'm sorry." I said with genuine sympathy. I guess we're all orphans now.
"Oh." He said sadly. "How can I help?"
"You can't." Dean answered matter of factly.
"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in."
"No."
"Dean, look, maybe—" Sam started.
"Maybe what?"
"He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like."
"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"
"Because—"
"Because he was protecting him!"
"Dad's dead, Dean."
"Well that's about enough of this conversation for me." I said standing and going to find my gun and a jacket out of my bag.
"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes." Dean yelled.
"Do I get a say in this?" Adam interjected.
"No!" Sam and Dean yelled simultaneously. I threw on my jacket and walked towards the door.
"Em wait. Don't go. I can't have you out there alone until we know what Judson's got going on upstairs."
"Wait, what? Then where the hell are you going?!"
"Help Sam babysit the kid."
"Dean!"
"Em- I mean it. No arguments on this one. Zachariah already caught us off guard once. You're not going out alone, and I need to take care of something."
Dean slammed the door behind him. I picked up the can on the table and chunked at the door, watching it spill what little contents it still had as it bounced and fell to the floor.
"Are they always like that?" Adam mumbled to Sam.
"Welcome to the family." Sam laughed. I stood, not willing to turn around. Wanting to be anywhere but here.
"Here." Sam said, I could hear as he unloaded his gun and took the bullet from the chamber. "I'm gonna teach you a few things."
"Uh, Dean said—"
"I know what Dean said. And I know what it's like to want revenge."
I'm not sitting around here for this… I took off my jacket, digging my phone out of the pocket and walked into the bathroom. Locking the door behind me.
Please… please answer. I begged to myself quietly as the phone rang over and over again. Nothing.
DAMMIT!
I closed my eyes… whispering.
"Castiel, if you can hear me… please. I need him. Send him back to me."
Silence… well. Not exactly. I could hear Sam and Adam tinkering, Sam talking, it was muffled. But I could hear the excitement in his voice as he taught Adam new things.
… Why was I so angry at Adam. He's my... my brother? Right? I wish I could just ask Castiel, or have Judson here.
"Sam...how did Dad really die?" Those words rang loud and clear. Suddenly I felt the need to be present. You weren't going to discuss my daddy without me.
"Demon." I said as I opened the door. Cutting Sam off before he could start. "Powerful one too… not your average Buffy character.
"You hunted it down? Got revenge?"
"Dean killed him… but no before he spent his time hunting us too. There's a reason Daddy was protecting you, Adam. There's a reason he didn't want you to know any of this… the things out there. They are mean. They are vicious. They don't stop or slow down… they want to kill us. Every day we spent with Daddy was spent training. Learning how to kill or how to fight."
I stopped for a moment, letting the weight of those words fall on him. Sam looked at me sadly, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of eye contact. Angry at him for trying to bring Adam into our world of monsters.
"Emil-" Sam started.
"No. Sam… you want him to hear the truth well that's the damn truth."
"I'm sorry Emily." Adam said softly. "I wish… I wish he told me about you. I wish he told me about all of you. I would have been there for you… I would have helped if I could. Maybe not to fight monsters and demons. But. Maybe just give you an out. A place to lay low. A friend to talk to…"
"We don't have friends Adam. Every friend we have we either got them killed, or they live their life the same way we do… always on the run. Always ready to fight. Knowing you may wake up and die today… there aren't baseball games. There aren't family photos when Dad popped in for the weekend." I laughed to myself. "There was whiskey… there were nightmares, there were a dozen schools a year, a new fake name every six months."
"Emily calm down." Sam said softly as my rambling became more erratic.
"No! Sam he needs to know! He needs to know why he can't be a part of this family!... We will KILL him." Tears started to make their way down my cheek. The weight of those words filling the room. I looked to Adam… my little brother. Someone who needs to be protected. Someone who Daddy loved. Someone who got everything I could never have. I was jealous, I was angry, yet part of me wanted to love him too. "Adam… we can't offer you anything other than a fucked up mess."
"I can handle it." He said softly, standing and taking two steps towards me. "I… I've never had much family around, and you guys are blood. You're my sister. I want to know you."
I shook my head at him… he just doesn't know.
"I promise… you don't. I am not a good person."
Suddenly the lights go out, the ground rattles.
"Emily…" Sam said cautiously, I could faintly see him move towards me.
"What the-" Adam mumbled.
"Sam! Its not me… Its not me." I said making my way towards him in the dark. He grabbed my and pulled me towards him, I could feel and barely see Adam on my other side.
"Shhhh. Stay here." Sam instructed us as he pushed us back against the wall. He loaded and cocked the shotgun. I reached for the pistol on my backside.
"Adam don't let go of me… stay close." I whispered to him as I used the wall as a guide, moving us towards the bathroom incase we need to bust out the window and make a run for it.
Suddenly I hear noises… something between Sam and us. He turns, aiming towards the noise. As our eyes adjust I can see the outline of furniture in the room. The noise. Its above us now…
"Its in the vents!" Sam yelled. "GO!"
He pulled us in front of him and rushed us out the door. We rushed down the steps of the motel.
"Adam where's your car?!"
"There." He pointed as he hit the bottom of the steps, thankfully it was close.
"Keys!" Sam called out, Adam complied and tossed them over my head. Sam caught them deftly and we all run over to the truck parked at the end of the parking lot.
"Hurry up!" I chanted as Sam fumbled with the keys. Suddenly something pulls at my ankles and I feel myself being pulled under the truck, I grabbed the door to resist.
"Emily!" Sam yelled, Rushing over to me. Adam grabbed my wrists and pulled with all his strength.
"Saaam!" I cried out, feeling claws dig into my ankles.
The best sound I've ever heard floods my ears as the impala flys into the parking lot and Dean busts out before she even stops, firing under the truck beside me. Adam and Sam pull me up, Sam carrying me bridal style as we gun for the impala that's still running.
All the doors shut.
"Em! Emily let me see…" Dean panicked as he leaned over the seat, I hadn't realized it but I was leaned against Adam as Sam had lowered me into the seat, searching our surroundings for any movement.
"I'm okay." I answered shakily as Adam squeezed my shoulders, Dean drug his fingers over the scratches and tattered ends of my sweat pants.
"I think they're gone…" Sam said opening the door. He went to Adam's truck, getting in and backing out of the spot. Revealing a sewer grate underneath.
"How the hell did you know what to do?" Adam asked looking up to Dean.
"I winged it. Did you see anything?"
"I didn't get a good look." Sam answered as we examined the blood splatters on the edges of the grates.
"What the hell is this thing?" I mumbled standing closer to Dean.
"Why—who—should we go after it?" Adam asked as he kneeled down over it.
"No, no. In that maze? That thing's long gone." Dean shook his head.
"All right, so, we don't know what it is, but we do know who it's going after. Joe Barton, Adam's mom—" Sam started.
"And Adam. It was under his truck, just waiting for him." Dean finished for him.
"It set a trap, and we walked right into it." I nodded.
"Doesn't matter. You're right—there's a pattern. Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son." Dean said… So basically he left me behind while he went to investigate. Rude.
"All the people Dad knew in town." Sam sighed.
"At least we know why it's back." Dean looked up to us.
"It wants revenge."
….
….
….
"Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road." Dean instructed to Adam as we walked into his house, he nodded and flipped on the lights before heading up the stairs. Sam and I sat at the kitchen table while Dean paced.
"We shouldn't leave." Sam said. I sighed as I lifted my right, and most damaged, ankle onto the chair next to me. Realizing it's probably sprained as well. Great.
"Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked, and Emily almost got snatched. Good one."
"I'm serious."
"No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you and me are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started."
"You want to take him to Bobby's?" I asked in surprise. Dean was so against dragging him into this life….
No.
NO. Bobby is OURS. He is OURS… I have no choice but to share Daddy with him, but I will not share Bobby.
"Do you have a better idea?" Dean asked looking at me.
"We're not taking him to Bobby's." I said with a level tone. Never breaking eye contact with Dean, he looked like he wanted to argue… but he quickly conceded.
"Well then what… We drop him at a safe house? Then we can come back and finish what Dad started."
"How? We got no leads, no witnesses. We do have what this thing wants." Sam argued.
"You want to use the kid as bait? That's why you want to stay here?"
"Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam—get him ready."
"He could die, Sam."
"We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?"
"I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it." Adam said from behind us… shit. How long has he been there?
"First things first… Lets get somewhere safe. No sewers or air ducts. We can discuss it there."
….
….
….
I leaned against baby, she was parked on the edge of the road near an abandoned barn. No houses for miles. No sewers. No air ducts. You gotta love the backroads…
I jumped as the sound of a gun went off.
"Whoa." Adam breathed.
"It's easy. Just feel the recoil and time the trigger pulls. Three taps." Sam instructed him.
"Yeah?"
"Go ahead."
Three shots. All with a metal clink… he can aim. He must have gotten that from Daddy.
"Beginner's luck, right?"
"Nah, man. You're a natural. Good shooting."
"Thanks."
I sighed as I leaned and peered at Dean standing in the trunk… he wasn't happy with this. He doesn't agree… but for some reason he won't put his foot down on it. Why? Why is this so important to Sam… why won't Dean push back.
Why am I so bent out of shape about it…
Suddenly I could hear the sound of an engine coming towards us. Sam quickly stashed the gun and he and Adam moved back towards the car. Dean quickly shut the trunk and watched as a motorcycle made its way towards us…
My heart fluttered… is it…
The bike grew closer, and didn't slow. As it passed my hopes melted to the ground.
"Dammit." I whined.
"He'll be back soon Em." Dean encouraged coming to stand beside me. "Has he answered?"
"No. Its been days Dean."
"Time's different up there Em. You know that.. Castiel said it before."
"We should find a place to lay low, go over some stuff in the journal." Sam suggested.
"My house is empty… the police haven't been back. I mean, at least there we know where the vents are already." Adam chimed in.
"Yeah." Dean sighed, obviously not a fan of the idea, but again… he didn't push back.
….
….
….
"So, then we lit it on fire." Sam said excitedly as he finished ANOTHER story about ANOTHER monster. I sat on the couch, looking up at the picture of Daddy and Adam on the mantle.
"With a homemade flamethrower?" Adam asked matching Sam's enthusiasm.
"Yeah. They're easy to build. I'll show you."
"That is some job you got, man."
"Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam. It's life. You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend, friends?"
"Yeah."
"Not anymore you don't. If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections, ever. They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger, get them killed."
"Dean… really?" I asked quietly looking to him, when is he going to put an end to this?!
"That's the price we pay. You cut 'em out, and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family." Sam continued.
"Sam. Can I talk to you?" Dean finally calls, standing and walking towards the stairs. Adam picks up another book… this isn't right. I followed behind Sam. I get a say in this family too.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asked.
"What?"
"Hunting is life. You can't have connections? Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him?"
"Yeah, well, turns out Dad was right."
Am I fucking hearing this shit right now?!
"Since when?"
"Since always. Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see?"
"A normal kid." I chimed in.
"No. Meat. Because the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. But now I think I understand. So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad did right by us. He taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same."
"Sam…" I said shaking my head. "Listen to yourself. Come on."
"You think I'm wrong?"
"I think it's too late for us. This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor." Dean argued.
"What makes Adam so special?" Sam challenged.
"What, are you jealous of the kid?"
"Are you?"
Dean paused.
"How about you Em? A little jealous?"
"Shut up, Sam." I quickly answered.
"Em, ...all this...it's not real. The dad Adam knew—he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows—they are real. The world is coming to an end. That's real. Everything else is just part of the crap people tell themselves to get through the day."
"What the hell is wrong with you…" I whispered. Shocked at his new lease on life… this has got to be fucking Ruby's influence.
"Dad didn't have a choice with us, okay? But with Adam, he did. Adam doesn't have to be cursed." Dean cut in before Sam and I could truly argue.
"He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."
"No. No, whatever's hunting Adam, I'm gonna find it."
"You already looked everywhere, Dean."
"Well, then I'll look again!"
"I'm coming this time, Dean."
I turned to Sam before following Dean out the door.
"Sam… please. See why this isn't right. Adam doesn't deserve this."
Sam sighed and pulled his hand through his hair, turning away from me. He knows I'm right… I climbed into the impala with Dean.
"Where to?"
"Back to the tomb."
"Lovely…" I sighed.
…..
…..
…..
Dean and I entered the tomb, looking around for anything he may have missed.
"You didn't find anything when you were here?"
"Not really, no…"
I spot a small hole near a large stone. I walked up, noting the stone is loose.
"De… look."
I waved him over. He lived the stone with a toolbar.
"A tunnel. That can't be good." I said shining my light in. I pulled my gun and looked up to Dean.
"Let me go in first." He insisted. "Watch my back."
"Always." I nodded as I walked behind him, frequently turning to make sure nothing surprises us from behind.
"There's some kind of room down there… Look."
"De. I don't like this. This is sketchy as fuck… this place is barely holding itself up."
"Go back out, I'll go."
"Send you into the possible lair of the monster alone? Do you know me at all?" I deadpanned.
"Fine."
He pushed forward and we entered a large open room.
Blood… lots of blood.
"Home sweet home." Dean said as we looked around.
"Oh… Dean. I'm gonna be sick." I said realizing I had stepped in blood, and then suddenly shined my light on a severed arm.
"Shit." Dean said picking up black glasses next to the arm. "It's Sloppy Joe."
"Oh that's just wrong De…" I groaned at his poor joke. "Ghouls?" I asked. Finally putting the pieces together.
"Yeah… I think you might be right."
My phone begins to ring, I jumped. But then recognized the name on the screen as I pulled it from my pocket.
"Jud?!" I practically cried as I answered.
"Baby… where are you?! Castiel said you called out to him."
"We're in Minnesota. Jud… there's so much I have to tell you."
"Well.. sounds like we're going to have a long night because I need to talk to you too…"
My stomach rolled as those words floated into my ears.
Suddenly there's a noise behind me.
"Em, down!" Dean yelled as he fired a shot behind me. Then twice more.
"Emily?! Em what's happening?" Judson yelled through the phone.
"They're here!" I yelled back as I dropped the phone and picked up my gun, ready to fire. I fired once and just as Dean prepared to shoot gain the tunnel collapsed right in front of us.
"FUCK! No!" Dean yelled pushing his way to the pile of rubble.
"Judson!" I yelled into the phone, but the signal was barely there. The tunnel collapse must be distorting the signal. "Jud!"
I could barely hear him on the other end. Then the line went dead.
"Dammit! De… somethings wrong."
"Em sweetheart, lets get out of here first. Then we'll tackle whatever happened. Okay? One step at a time he said as he walked around the room. He moved towards a coffin against the wall. It had blood… fresh blood, on the outside.
"Do we really want to open that?" I asked as he handed me his light.
"I think we have to Em."
Dean carefully opened the coffin, I almost puked again.
"Kate…" I mumbled with my hand over my mouth.
"What's left of her." Dean added.
I turned away from him and the sight of the mangled body.
"De… there's another coffin over there. Fresh blood. Joe maybe?"
"Maybe… but I was pretty sure we found most of him on the ground." Dean said as he approached the other coffin. As he lifted the lid my hand flew to my mouth.
"Oh my god… Dean!"
Adam's mangled body laid in the coffin.
"Sam! Dean we have to get Sam!"
"I know! I know… Dammit!" Dean screamed, looking anywhere for a way out. He slams against the sealed doors with the crowbar. I scanned the room in panic.
"Dean!" I yelled getting his attention. "Look up, it's glass…"
Stained glass to be exact, depicting an angel. How fucking ironic.
"Think you can reach if I give you a boost?"
"We have to… Sammy needs us." I nodded. He handed me the crow bar and lifted me, supporting my feet in his hands. I swung wildly, pulling my face downwards as the shards of glass fell on both of us.
"Good girl!" Dean cheered as I cleared the glass near the edges, he pushed up one good time and I was able to pull myself up onto the ground. I immediately reached down and held out my hand.
"I can't reach… dammit." Dean sighed.
"Get taller!" I yelled back.
"Shut up…" He groaned, but then he pushed the coffins into the middle of the room, stacking them and climbing on top to reach for me. I more or less was just a helping hand as he finally got a grip on the edge and pulled himself out.
"Lets go get Sammy." He said as we both stood and ran for the impala. We flew back to the house, cutting the lights before pulling into the driveway just incase. Dean and I walked around and slid in through the back door.
"Revenge—it's never over, is it, Sam?" I hear Adam's voice in the kitchen, Dean and I look to each other and he puts his finger to his lips, nodding for me to go left while he goes right.
"First, it was John's cop friend, and then his slut, and then his son." A woman then giggled. Kate… well, not Kate but still.
"Then I called John, but the son of a bitch was already dead."
"So I guess you and Dean will have to do instead."
"Emily and Dean won't interrupt us this time. We're gonna feed on you nice and slow—like we did with Adam."
Fucking ghouls man… I hate ghouls.
"Oh, and, by the way, he really was your brother. You should know that." Not Kate added…
Bitch. For some reason hearing it from her mouth solidified something for me… now I was really angry.
"He was still alive when we took our first bites." Not Adam said smiling. I can see Sam tied down to the table… Dean, where is Dean? I can't make a move without knowing where he's at.
"And he was a screamer."
Just then they reached for Sam's arm and cut a large gash into one of them.
THAT'S IT! Dean or not I'm going in…
"Sam, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out. So you might as well lie back and relax."
"Hey!" Dean yelled from the other end of the kitchen just as I came around the corner. Aiming his shotgun and hitting Adam square in the chest.
"Dean, they're ghouls!" Sam yells.
I picked up the sawed off I carried into the house, and blew Kate's head off, her body collapsing against the wall.
"Which means headshot." I yelled back to my brothers.
Suddenly Dean is slammed into the wall by Adam.
"Dean!" I yelled.
"No! Get Sam" He yelled back as he struggled with Adam in the floor. I rushed over to Sam, who was quite literally bleeding out into the floor.
"Sammy… stay with me. Stay awake."
"I'm here Em… I'm here." He said weakly, blinking to keep his eyes open. I untied him and wrapped his open cut, applying as much pressure as I could. I look over to see Dean beating Adam's- not Adam's, head in with his fist… well I guess that's kind of like a headshot.
"Thank you." Sam sighs as Dean stands, walking over and helping me pull him off the table.
"That's what family's for, right? Keep pressure on that." He nodded to me.
…..
…..
…..
I sat on the trunk watching the boys build the pyre… we're getting too good at this. I texted Judson our coordinates, he was only a couple of hours out. He should be here soon… part of me is dying to see him, and the other part is terrified of what kept him away for so long.
I want to tell him all about Adam… about Daddy's secret life.
Why it hurt.
Why I was angry…
Why I was sad that Adam was gone.
Just as I lost myself in my thoughts, a voice brought me back.
"You sure we should do this?" Sam asks as they lift his body onto the pyre. Dean opened a bottle of lighter fluid and began to douse it.
"Ghouls didn't fake those pictures. They didn't fake Dad's journal." Dean replied. "Adam was our brother. He died like a hunter. He deserves to go out like one."
"Maybe we can bring him back. Get a hold of Cas, call in a favor."
"No, Adam's in a better place." I cut in as I walked to stand next to them. Dean nodded. He then tossed the match… we stepped back. Watching the flames grow.
"You know Sammy, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person." Dean laughed to himself. "I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now."
"I'll take that as a compliment"
"You take it any way you want."
I reached down as I stood between them and linked one of their hands in each of mine.
"I love you assholes." I sighed. They chuckled. Sam squeezing my hand softly.
"Em, you said some pretty harsh things back there…" Sam trailed off. "You aren't a bad person. If that had really been Adam. He would have been lucky to have you as a sister."
I looked up to him… speechless.
Sam and I have been back and forth at each other's throats so much lately… but tonight all that matters is that we're here. We're family. I leaned against his side as he bent down to kiss the top of my head.
Headlights coming over the hill behind us lit up the trees, I turned. I'd recognize those headlights from miles away. Judson. I let go of my brothers and rushed towards the road as the truck slowed and pulled to a stop. Running towards the driver door I could feel my emotions start to slip.
He jumped out and barely had time to step forward as I jumped into his arms. Clinging to him as if my life depended on it.
"Damn I missed you." He mumbled into my hair.
"Don't ever disappear like that again." I whispered back. "Things always go wrong when you disappear."
"… Who's funeral is this Em's?" He asked solemnly as he let me go and looked over to the large fire.
I looked at him for a moment, then at the growing flames.
"My brother. Adam."
When I looked up again, his eyes held such confusion and concern.
"We have a lot to talk about." I smiled sadly.
"… Yeah, we do babe."