Hopefully I have some readers left! xoxo

CHAPTER 20

"A teddy bear?" Emma's eyebrow was lifted as she propped her cell phone against her ear and continued typing on the laptop in the hotel room. "A real... talking teddy bear? Why did I get stuck here researching there's a live teddy bear!" Dean's chuckle could be heard on the other side of the line.

"You're the one who flipped the coin, angel. Did you find anything on wishes coming true?"

"I'm trying to find old lore but all I'm finding is Disney movies. You really need to stop watching all that porn. This computer is really slow." Dean made a sound as if he was going to cut her off. "It's becoming really annoying. Please come get me. Please."

"What will I get if I do?" Dean asked, and Emma heard Sam scoff and Dean's smirk. She lifted her eyebrow higher and leaned back in her chair, one hand keeping the phone on her ear.

"I'll tell you what you're not gonna get if you don't." she replied. Emma could almost see Dean's horror, and Sam's laughter came through the earpiece. She stood up and looked for her boots.

"We gotta go get her, Sam. Be there soon, angel." Emma shut the phone without saying anything as she buckled her belt, and a smirk was resting on her face.

"That's what I thought."

+s+s+

It had been a week since Emma's brush with demons and death. She had gotten her tattoo re-inked, and although she had raging nightmares some nights, she felt just like she had before - except for the fact that she was pretty sure she was in love.

That was a nightmare in itself.

Dean, she could see from a completely different point of view. Of course he was handsome, strong, and funny. Of course he had a great car. But there was something else about him that Emma had never seen before. There was something about the way his hand brushed against the small of her back as they walked, or the way he would walk on the side of the sidewalk where the cars were. Emma had always been the kind, when she was a kid, to understand that there would be no knight in shining armor to come and save her - ever. She was always going to have to protect herself. And while Dean's jealous looks at the waiters who brought her her beer or the police officers she spoke to were annoying - very annoying - there was a part of her chest that was learning how to be wanted.

"I'm just waiting for you to puke up that sub all over the place." Emma said through a grimace.

"You'll still kiss me, right?" Dean aid as he swallowed his last bite and Emma and Sam both rolled their eyes.

"So the fountain grants wishes." Emma glanced over at it. "I wonder what started this... some kind of spell? The fountain itself?"

"Excuse me!" a little old asian man exclaimed. "You can't eat outside food in here!"

"Well, you don't expect me to eat food here do you?" Dean asked, incredulously. "Health Inspector Stanley, these are my partners Jim and Sally." Emma made a face at him. "You got a big rat problem, buddy."

"Rats! I never have no rats! Not in my restaurant!" the man cried.

"They seem to be stemming from that fountain," Emma said kindly. "Coming in through that pipe. If we could inspect the area we can solve your rat problem in no time." she flashed him a winning smile and reluctantly the man let them stand up and move over to the fountain.

By the time the restaurant guests were gone, the fountain had been cleared and the last of the coins had been swept away. All except one. "Look at this!" Emma said, calling the boys over. They had been talking about what Sam would wish for. She had respectfully turned a blind ear.

"What about you, angel?" Dean asked, coming to stand next to her. "Anything you'd wanna wish for?"

"To mean as much to you as your car." Emma teased him. Dean scoffed, smiling, and pinched her side.

"C'mon, babe, you and that car are equals." Emma scoffed and Sam laughed. "What are we looking at?"

"This coin's stuck." Dean leaned down and tried to pry it up with his fingers. After a frown, he grunted and pulled.

"Lift with your legs," Sam suggested.

"Wow that little mother's welded in there." Emma frowned. "I think I got a hammer in the car, hang on." While Dean was gone Emma idly picked at the fountain around the coin.

"So.. the teddy bear, the lottery winner..."

"Some girl's parents are in Bali, um ... I'm betting that." Emma turned her head to look at the couple going by - geek and supermodel. The geekish looking man was looking at them very closely, but turned away after he met eyes with Emma. "You okay?"

"What?"

"The possession. How are you feeling?"

"Oh." Emma smiled, "The same as I felt yesterday, Sam. And the day before, and the week before that. I'm fine, thanks. Whatever Cas did, it worked." she had told neither of them about the nightmares, but she didn't really see why it mattered. "Thanks, Sam." Sam squeezed her shoulder affectionately.

Emma had never had an older brother, but if she had she'd have wanted him to be like Sam. Where the absence of a family throughout her life had left her cold and unfeeling, Bobby, Maggie, and these two boys were doing something they weren't even aware they needed to do - fill a long empty hole. When Dean came back in with the crowbar and hammer, Emma was pulled from her thoughts as the owner of the restaurant began shouting again.

One broken hammer later, Sam was etching the coin pattern onto a paper. He handed it to Emma, who squinted at it. She took a sharp breath as she suddenly looked up. "You guys go ahead. Check this out. I'll meet up with you."

"Where are you going?"

"Something just occurred to me."

A woman was coming out of the gym shower as Emma walked in. She could see wet footprints appear on the ground behind her and in one swift movement reached out and firmly grabbed a shoulder that had not been there a moment ago. As she did, a young man came into view. The woman turned and gasped at the sight. "It's okay ma'am, I'm with the health department." she said and the woman rushed out. As the door closed, Emma narrowed her eyes and stared coldly at the boy. "So you can turn it on and off, huh?" she asked with a glare. Her voice came out a growl.

"I..."

Emma might not be as tall as Sam, or as menacing as Dean, but hell could she be scary. "Really?" Emma pressed, putting her free hand on her hip. You could tell she was intimidating the kid. Good. "You dropped a dime into a well and wished to be invisible so you could spy on women in the shower?"

"What?" he asked incredulously. "I... N-no! No, that's crazy!"

"Get some clothes on," she glared, "and stay visible." It was a moment before the guy disappeared again and the bathroom door closed.

+s+s+

"Dean? Honey, open the door."

"The wishes turn really bad, guys." Dean was saying as he stumbled out of the bathroom. Emma stepped aside and out of the way. He sat down on a bed. "I found the coin. It's Babylonian. It's uh..." Dean looked sick again and turned into the bathroom. Emma and Sam made faces at each other as they heard him gag. "I'm good," he said as he came back out. "The uh, Serpent is Tiamat. Which is the Babylonian god of chaos. They made the coin. You wish on it, and the fountain starts granting all the wishes."

"But they go wrong." Emma said, "You ask for a talking teddy bear..."

"You get a bipolar nut job," Dean answered.

"And you get E. Coli," Sam said with a tiny smile. Emma smiled apologetically at Dean. "We did tell you so."

Dean only rolled his eyes. "This coin's bad news. Turned towns upside down. Wiped a couple off the map. One person gets their wish, its trouble... but everyone?"

"It's chaos.

"Mhm..."

"Okay," Emma said as she pulled her hair up. Her gloves slid over her curls easily. "So how do we stop it?" Sam looked at Dean.

"We have to find the first wisher. Whoever dropped the coin in is the only one who can reverse it." Emma sighed and leaned her head back before falling backward onto the bed she had been sitting on. As Sam went out to get food, Dean sat down next to Emma and put his hand on her knee.

"How you feelin'?"

"Like if you or 'Tall John' ask me one more time I'm gonna kill you both." was her only response. Dean leaned in and kissed her cheek. Emma grimaced. "No, you just threw up."

"Aw, c'mon. I rinsed."

"Brush our teeth." by the time Dean came back, Emma was already sleeping, curled up on her side.

+s+s+

"You think you got away, little blonde bitch. But I'm still here... just waiting. And when I get out. Dean's the first to go." Emma shook her head as pain erupted all over her skin. She felt like she was on fire. "You can't hide from me in your own head, Emma. A harsh laughter.

Dean, meanwhile, was rolling his eyes at Sam. "I wanna work - not talk about this - okay? So you got something for me, please?"

"Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lyn Casey have announced their surprise engagement." Sam sad, holding up a paper. The beauty and the geek couple.

"Well, it's a lead." Dean said. He could feel Sam still wondering, still wanting to ask him about Hell. He didn't say anything as he dragged himself to his feet. He just wanted Sam to shut it.

Before Sam could say anything, though, both the Winchester brothers were distracted by a low, groaning sound. Emma was curling in on herself in her sleep, one of her fists clenched as her breathing got faster. "Emma?" Dean asked as he whirled around to the other side of the bed. Sam was frowning, reaching forward a hand as if to help. "Emma?" Dean shook her. "Angel, come on. Emma!" Her green eyes shot open and Emma tried to untangle herself from the sheets, frantically. She was muttering something about her skin.

"Hey," Sam said in a soothing tone. "Your skin's fine."

"No," Emma frantically pulled her shirt up. "It's burning. It's..." she was shaking as she fell silent. Dean wrapped his arms around her.

"You're okay." he whispered to her, "It was just a nightmare, okay?" Sam grabbed his toothbrush and retreated into the bathroom. "Angel? Look at me." When Emma looked at him with sleepy eyes, he smiled. "Just a nightmare."

"I'm losing my shit, Dean." she started to sound like herself. "Jesus..." she ran a hand over her face and Dean leaned forward to kiss her softly. She returned it.

And just like a switch, Emma pushd it all aside and was getting up. She pulled her sweater closer and went to nag Sam at the bathroom door.

"Wes! You didn't tell me you called the florists for the wedding!" Hope was calling as she opened the door. Immediately, Emma was struck by how beautiful she was. Normally, Emma didn't care. She had worked with supermodels before. She tugged on her shirt and made a tiny glance at Dean. "You're the best!" she cried, "I'm gonna go get my folders!" Dean and Emma exchanged a glance as Hope ran out.

"Wesley, how's it goin?" Dean asked as they walked into the living room to see Wes sitting on a chair.

"It's Wes... Aren't you guys from the health department?" Wes asked, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Yeah," Sam said, "and florists on the side."

"Plus FBI." Dean glowered, "And on Thursdays, we're teddy bear doctors. Doesn't matter who we are. Matters is what we know." Emma was standing by the window, looking at the coins lined up on a shelf.

"So, coin collector, Wes?" she asked, turning around. She glared when she saw his eyes dip down past her back.

"Oh, yeah... my grandfather gave them to me."

"Did you happen to lose one of those coins lately? And by lose, I mean drop into a wishing well at Lucky Chin's and make a wish on it?" Wes looked from left to right, running his hand over his neck.

"No, I ... I don't know what you're... what you're talking about." Hope came back into the room with papers and folders. Emma tuned out of their conversation, as Dean made glances at her over Hope's shoulder. Emma instead turned to look at Wes, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"...a Japanesey... ikebana... kind of thing."

"Yes!" Dean exclaimed, "I can see it."

"Tell us how you two lovebirds met." Emma cut in. Hope turned and looked at her up and down, as if seeing her for the first time. She glanced at Wes before violently grabbing Emma's arm and dragging her away from her fiance. Emma raised her eyebrow and tore her arm from the woman's grasp.

"You can stand by me." Hope said. "It was the best day of my life, meeting Wes."

"I bet." Dean said.

"Hey Hope, can you get us some coffee?" Emma watched as Hope left the room, keeping her arm far away from the woman's. She stood close to Dean, slightly behind him. As Dean glanced over his shoulder at her, she made a scared face, and he smiled at her. Sam sighed and crossed his arms, looking down at Wes.

"Wes, we know. So tell us the truth."

Emma could hear the Impala's engine running from her own car behind it. Her window was down, allowing the cool wind to blow her hair from side to side, but she had the heater on at her feet. Her phone was on speaker, connected to Dean's. Just in case. She could hear snippets of conversation on the other line as she drove, one arm propped up against the open window sill, her hand on her head.

"I don't get it. So, my wish came true..."

"Because the wishes go south, Wes. Your town is going insane." Sam's voice came from her phone. He was louder. His voice was closer to the microphone. As the men in the other car spoke, Emma let her mind wander off. She thought about Dean. She wondered if there was going to be a time when the two of them would quit the job. She thought about the little house she wanted on a field. The sounds of feet pitter-pattering on the ground against the hardwood floors. With a little smile, she daydreamed her fantasies with one hand on the wheel.

But at the end of the day, when she really thought about it, she knew that this was not something that could be possible for them. While Emma liked the idea of moving away, not thinking about the end of the world for once in their lives, she knew that Dean would never turn his back on the family business. And to be honest, she didn't know if she would be able to either. She thought about her possession, Sarah dwelling inside her for those days. She let her breath out and let her thoughts dwell on the

"You know who says that? Good-looking jerks like you guys, the ones who've got it so easy because you happen to be handsome." Emma's direction was seized and she glanced down at the phone. She lifted her eyebrows and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips as Sam and Dean both questioned him ("Easy?")."Yeah. Women - women look at you right? They notice you. That blonde in the car behind us is in love with you guys." Emma laughed under her breath as she listened to the boys continue to talk to them, again letting herself slip into thoughts.

"We are miserable. We never get what we want. In fact, we have to fight tooth and nail just to keep whatever it is we got."

"But you know what?" Emma jutted in, picking up the phone and holding it closer to her mouth. "That's the whole point, Wes. People are people because we're all miserable. We never get what we want. That's the point of fighting for what you want. That's the way you prove you're worthy of what you have."

"You get what you want you get crazy." Sam added.

Emma heard Wes laugh cynically from the other end of the phone. "You know what? Hope loves me now, completely. And it's awesome. Besides, look around. Where's all this... uh... insanity you guys were talking about?" Emma opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, a four wheel drive car drove into the street in front of them.

"Dean look out!" she cried and slammed on her breaks. Behind her a car honked, and Emma exhaled as she saw Dean's brake lights, loud and clear with a squeal of tires. She saw the car lift up, a small boy under it. Dean's voice could be heard on the phone as Emma debated getting out of the car but instead just pulled to the side.

"Well that should cover it." Emma jumped out of the car, leaving her phone sitting on the seat. She didnt need it to hear what Dean said next as the child screamed.

"Kneel before Todd! Kneel before Todd!"

"I'll handle Todd." Dean said as he climbed out of the car. "You get Wes to Lucky Chin's. Go!" Emma saw Sam scramble into the driver's seat and Dean run out toward the car that was rocking under the child's hands.

"Hey!" Emma said as she walked up. "Hey, Todd is it? Can I talk to you for a second?" she felt the familiar energy of Dean behind her.

"Get out of my way!" the child screamed.

"Okay, okay," Dean said as he came and knelt next to Emma. "Hey, I can dig it, Todd. It's - it's Todd, right? Look, I... I know the score okay? They're bullying you." Emma frowned as she tried to make her way to the car and pull the other children out.

"Stop!" Todd roared at her. Emma stopped immediately, and turned to look at the two. "Every day. Every day! You do not know what it's like!" Emma waited for Dean to say something intelligent - something that would change the situation. He didn't, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"No, no I don't. But, y'know... you're you and I'm me so..."

"Dean!"

"I couldn't stop them." the little boy looked like he was about to cry. "I couldn't do anything. Then Audrey Elmer told me the wishing well worked..."

"Todd," Emma said and took a hesitant step toward the kid and Dean. "Look, we get it. I get it. I was bullied. They're mean little jerks, all of them. But they're not superhuman like you. Right?" the little boy looked at her as if he was going to listen to her.

"You see," Dean continued, "with great power comes great respon-" Emma had to force herself not to laugh in shock as Todd walked right up to Dean and punched him in the stomach. With a great whoosh of air from Dean's lungs, he flew into some garbage cans and trash bags. Emma stared at the boy in horror as Dean got up and moved over to the kid.

"Get away from him, Emma." he growled. "Hey kid, I didn't want to have to do this." he punched Todd right in the chest, but the kid didn't move. He only lifted Dean up and started to choke him. Emma tried to shout some things to get Todd's attention, but he wasn't listening to her.

"Hurry up, Sam." she thought.

+s+s+

Only a few miles away, Sam was lying on the ground, dead. His eyes were shut, and there was a scream from a woman as she saw the body lying on the ground.

As Wes ran into the restaurant, he saw Hope standing by the well. "Hope?"

"I had to do it, didn't I? He was gonna make you wish away our love!" her voice was hysterical.

"You wished a man dead?" Wes asked in horror. Hope looked at him as if nothing had happened.

"I love you more than anything."

"Stop saying that. Stop it!" Wes shouted. Hope stumbled back a step.

"But I do," she mumbled out, her voice breaking. "More than anything. More than me - more than life. Oh, Wes, please don't hate me. Please..."

"It'll be okay." Wes said as he looked out at Sam's body on the ground. "I'll make it okay. It's gonna be okay." With shaking hands, Wes reached down into the fountain and pulled out the coin. With a whoosh of air, that blew Emma's hair back, the wishes were gone.

+s+s+

Dean dropped to the ground and Todd looked at his hands, dejected. Emma watched as the little boy looked to the car where the boys were starting to climb out. Dean coughed a few times before looking at Emma and winking. She shook her head at him, one hand propped on her hip. Dean stood up on shaky knees and turned to the kid. "Okay, follow my lead and you won't have a problem, c'mon." Emma watched as the boys climbed out of the car and looked at the man kneeling in front of Todd. "Okay, man, no more! No more, okay?" he turned to the other boys, Emma following his eyes to see them staring with their own wide eyes. "I wouldn't mess with this kid any more if I were you."

"Stay back!" one of the boys shouted, and they all ran away. The little boy looked up at Dean and gave him a smile.

"Thanks." he said, and took off running. Dean stood up onto his feet, Emma pulling him up by under his arm. He looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Got your ass kicked by a kid." Emma teased him and Dean slapped her hip gently. "You're never living this one down."

Emma was standing in line at a restaurant on the pier. She glanced behind her to see Dean and Sam leaned against the side of it. She had a feeling they needed their space. After grasping Sam's gun earlier with her bare hand she had heard his worry, and after a brief chastising from Emma, Dean agreed to talk to his brother. Emma didn't think it was fair that she knew he remembered hell, and he wouldn't talk to his brother about it. Not that he was willing to talk to her anyways. She had walked into the restaurant and left the two of them alone.

"It's not going to change anything," Emma heard Dean say as she walked out to them, setting the food on the table. She made a point not to look at them. "I'm not talking about a bad day here. I couldn't ever make you understand." Dean sighed and looked over at Emma. "So I'm sorry. I'm not talking about it." Sam sighed and Emma gave him a wink as he glanced her way.

"C'mon boys," she said gently. "Grub time."

Next one will be out as soon as I can.