Thanks again for the messages and the reviews! Keep them coming please!
This one ended up really long – I couldn't find a good place to stop except where I did – so let me know what you think! Two more chapters and then we're at the end!
CHAPTER 32
Bobby and Dean were standing in Bobby's library, listening to the sounds of Sam shouting down below, when the sound of broken glass made them both stop talking immediately. They exchanged glances as each of them pulled out their guns and slowly moved toward the front of the house.
"Did you leave the door open?" Bobby hissed and Dean shook his head. Moving silently and slowly, the two of them crept toward the kitchen, where the sound of rustling and shuffling was coming from.
"Don't move." Dean warned as he rounded the corner and held his gun out. What he saw made him drop it immediately in shock, Bobby doing the same right behind him. "Emma?"
The woman that was standing at the counter was shaking from head to toe. Her long blonde hair was matted with blood. She was desperately trying to wipe the blood off the front of her white shirt, and she still hadn't looked up at the voice in the room. "Emma?" Dean quickly stepped forward and stood in front of her. She didn't stop her desperate scrubbing, and her breath was coming out ragged. Dean tried to grab her hands, but she was unresponsive as he did so. "Emma, hey. Angel? Look at me. Hey." With big green eyes, Emma slowly turned her eyes to Dean's face. It was blurry behind all her tears. Dean gasped at the black eye forming under her eye, and the slice across her cheek.
"Dean?" And that was when she collapsed against him, having lost all feeling in her body. Dean caught her easily, and looked over at Bobby at a loss. Bobby was watching with a heavy heart, setting his gun down on the table. Emma was normally so strong, and responded to traumatic experience with a cold stare and a move forward. He had seen her like this only once before – and he knew that this time it wasn't his job to fix it. He gave Dean a significant look, pointing with his eyes up the stairs, and Dean nodded and gathered Emma against his chest, lifting her up as she made a strangled and pained sound.
"Yeah it's me." He assured her. "We're gonna go upstairs and get you cleaned up, okay?" Emma didn't respond and Dean looked at Bobby with a troubled look before heading toward the stairs. "Listen for Sam," he said and Bobby nodded.
The next ten minutes were grueling for Dean, and mindless for Emma. She stared at the wall, silent, as he peeled her shirt off of her and searched for one of his own oversized flannel shirts. She lifted her arm and slipped it into the armhole without even looking at him as he sat her down and began stitching up her cheek. She didn't flinch in pain, didn't hiss, simply stared the other way. "Jesus, Emma, what happened to you?"
Emma, herself, was listening to the sounds of Jack Logan screaming in her mind over and over again. She heard the sound of Crowley laughing, and felt the blood splatter all over her body. The guilt was eating her from the inside out until she couldn't feel anymore. She shouldn't have done any of it. She should have let Crowley kill her. The images of Jack's family kept flashing in front of her eyes, and just as Dean was finishing stitching up her cheeks she felt them begin to sting as tears fell from her eyes.
In a flash of fear and guilt and anger she suddenly violently pushed away from Dean, scooting across her childhood bed and against the wall. She started breathing rapidly as Dean held up his hands, "Whoa, whoa it's me. Hey!"
"Don't touch me." She choked out, "Don't touch me!" Dean leaned forward, ignoring her, and took her hands in his. She tried to struggle out of his grip but Dean only grabbed on tighter.
"I'm not going anywhere. What happened?" When she didn't respond, Dean grabbed her chin and directed her eyes toward him. "Do you know where you are?"
"Bobby's house." Emma replied in a whisper. "He brought me here when I was done."
"Done what?" Dean questioned gently. "Emma, done what?"
"I owed him a favor." She said, her breath hitching. It made speaking hard. "Owed a demon a favor. He helped me get to you when you were with Alistair." Emma looked up, trying hard not to cry, but was forced back to look at Dean when he pulled her chin again. Dean was taken aback, but decided just to let her explain. "He needed me to use my fingers to find someone." Emma leaned her head down and this time Dean let her – he could figure it out from there. "He – he – he said he'd kill all of us if I di-didn't hold up my end of the favor. And then there were hellhounds and they… they tore that man apart." The last of her sentence was drowned out by a strangled cry that came from her mouth and she collapsed forward into Dean's arms. Dean held her tightly to his chest, and glanced up at the ceiling of her room.
"What was his name?" Dean asked, his voice brimming over with anger. Emma let out a strangled sob, shaking her head. "Emma, what's the bastard's name?"
"Crowley."
For a long time, Dean stayed knelt by the edge of her bed, Emma sobbing into his shirt, curled up on his lap in his shirt. His arms were wrapped tightly around her body as they wracked with sobs and she kept repeating over and over again that she was a murderer – and that it was her fault. Dean kept her face turned to the right, careful to make sure she didn't tear through the stitches and just let her cry. "Shhhhhh," he whispered against the top of her head, "Shhhh it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could have done. We'll get the son of a bitch." Emma only cried harder.
By the end of the hour, Emma was passed out in Dean's arms. His knees were aching, and he was breathing slowly and quietly. Laying her quietly onto the bed and covering her with a blanket, kissing her forehead when she began to stir, Dean gathered up his jacket and went outside.
"Well it's about time," Dean said as he saw Cas appear, "I've been screaming myself hoarse out here for about two and a half hours now."
Castiel said nothing in apology, "What do you want?"
"You can start with what the hell happened in Illinois." Dean demanded angrily. Castiel didn't know what he was talking about. "Cut the crap. You were gonna tell me something."
"Nothing of import." Castiel replied.
"You got ass-reamed in heaven but it was not of import?" Castiel sighed and looked pained. Dean blinked a few times.
"I can't. I'm sorry. Get to the reason you really called me. It's about Sam, right?"
"And Emma." Cas's face fell even further. "What happened to her?"
"I don't involve myself in the favors demons call." Castiel said shortly. Dean gave him an icy look. "But from what I've heard – we had a confident. A human named Jack Logan." Dean listened closely. "He was in contact with the demons. Did work for them on earth – more because he didn't have a choice than anything. He was not a bad man." Dean sighed, "But we were trying to extract information with him when his ten years was up – he had made a deal with a demon. Emma helped that demon get to him."
"You pissed?" Dean asked quickly.
"I do not care." Castiel said. "We had all the information we were going to get out of him. His death means nothing to us."
"Yeah well it means something to her." Dean said angrily as he stepped forward. "She's up in that room completely broken. Where were you and your angel friends during all of this?"
"Jack Logan no longer concerned us." Dean simply huffed and glared.
"Well now it does concern you."
"I do not see how." There was a long silence.
"Can he do it?" Dean finally asked, "Can Sam kill Lilith – stop the apocalypse?"
"Possibly, yes." Castiel said, nodding his head, "but as you know, he'd have to take certain steps."
"Crank up the hell-blood regimen." Dean said, shaking his head. He knew all about the demon blood Sam had been sucking down – even had Sam locked downstairs in the panic room to detox.
"Consuming the amount of blood it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever. Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. There's no reason this would have to come to pass, Dean. We believe it's you, Dean, not your brother. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role. You are the one who will stop it." Dean took a step back and frowned.
"If I do this, Sammy doesn't have to?" Castiel just stared at him, "And Emma will be safe?"
"If it gives you comfort to see it that way." Cas replied, his voice flat.
"God, you're a dick these days." Dean sighed, stepping away from the angel. He ran his hand through his hair and walked a few steps away. There was a long pause before he turned around and looked at the angel. "Fine, I'm in."
Castiel stepped forward. "You give yourself over wholly to the service of God and His angels?"
"Yeah exactly." Dean said, nodding his head.
"Say it." Dean's attention was drawn as he watched Emma come out onto the porch. She was wrapped in his shirt, a pair of shorts hanging off her hips, and was staring at the two of them with wide awake eyes. He had never seen her look so small. This demon crap was getting out of control.
"I give myself over wholly to serve God and… you guys." Emma's little gasp didn't distract him, but Castiel looked over at her. For a moment, Dean thought he saw a small sad smile, but it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.
"You swear to follow His will and His word as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?" Dean hesitated for a second and nodded his head.
"Yes, I swear. Now what?"
"Now you wait, and we call on you when it's time." Castiel appeared in a flap of wings in front of Emma, and looked down at her with a strange look. Emma said nothing, her breath hitching as she looked up at him. She could hear him swallow, and he leaned forward and rested his cool lips against her forehead. "No one is angry with you." His voice echoed in her mind before he disappeared again.
-+s+-
Dean and Emma were standing outside on the porch, neither of them saying anything to the other for a long time.
"You okay?" Dean asked as he looked at her. She didn't look up, and didn't say anything. He noticed a slight shiver in her body and he walked up to her and put one arm around her. She turned in toward his side.
"I'm sorry." She whispered and Dean frowned at her.
"Why?"
"I totally fell apart." She said hoarsely into his side. Dean's arm tightened around her.
"It's gonna be okay now." He said, and brought her inside the front door. The shouts from the basement had quieted, and Dean was grateful for it as he walked behind Emma up the stairs and back into her room. Emma climbed into the bed again, and curled up against the side of it. Dean watched her as she quickly passed out, before climbing in to lie next to her on his back, staring at the ceiling. Feeling overwhelmed, he closed his eyes.
-+s+-
"You look beat." Bobby pointed out after Dean had relayed to him the events of the night before. Dean only shrugged. The light shone through the windows and glinted off his coffee cup.
"Emma had nightmares. All night." He said, rubbing his face. Dean picked up his cup of coffee and downed another scalding hot swallow. Below them, Sam was screaming for their help.
"So Crowley, huh?" Bobby asked and Dean nodded, checking the stairs to make sure she wasn't coming down.
"She's devastated. I've never seen her like this."
Bobby shook his head. "You better hold on tight to her, boy." He warned. "It's only a matter of time before she tries to leave again after something like this."
"She promised she wouldn't." Dean pointed out as he tried to block out another shout of Sam's.
Bobby only sighed, before changing topics. "So correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angel's bitch?" Dean looked up at him, offended. "I'm sorry. You prefer sucker? After everything you said about them, now you trust them?"
"Come on," Dean said, holding his hands out to his side, "Give me a little credit, Bobby. I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from the planet Vulcan."
"Then why in the hell did you –" Dean cut off Bobby.
"Because it was either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon!" Dean said forcefully. "Because we're nearing kickoff for the apocalypse, and I'm the only one left!"
"I see your point." Bobby said, and looked over Dean's shoulder at the movement of blonde hair, freshly clean from the shower. Dean turned around and saw Emma standing at the bottom of the steps. "Hey, Em." Bobby said, and walked around Dean to stand in front of his pretty-much-adopted daughter. "How you feelin'?" Emma just looked at him and gave him a little smile.
"I'm okay, Bobby." She let Bobby wrap his arms around her, and she hugged him back quietly.
"You've picked your head up and moved on through worse." Bobby whispered into her hair. Emma nodded that she knew, "just don't leave. These boys need you – right now more than ever." It was then that Emma heard the screaming of Sam downstairs. Immediately pulling away from Bobby, she stared from him to Dean.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice cracking with being so loud. She adjusted her off-the-shoulder sweater and looked toward the stairs. Sam screamed again. "What are you doing to him?" she was angry.
"Sam's been drinking demon blood," Dean said tiredly. "He needs to detox." Sam screamed again. Emma's jaw dropped – she had known there was something going on with demon blood, but she didn't know that it was this bad. What had she missed while she was away?
"You're killing him!" Emma protested loudly, and started to make her way toward the stairs quickly. Dean and Bobby hurried to catch up with her as she ran down the stairs into the basement, her boots thumping on the floor. "Sam?!" she cried through the door, and hit it with her hand. There was no sound on the other end.
"That's a little too much nothing." Bobby said, and yanked open the window on the door. Emma peered in and saw Sam on the ground, his body convulsing.
"What if he's faking?" Dean asked. Emma stared at him in shock.
"Open the door!" she cried.
"You really think he would fake that?" Bobby asked skeptically.
"I think he'd do anything." Dean replied, looking from one of them to the other. Sam was suddenly thrown up against the wall and dragged by some invisible force. Emma gasped and Bobby bumped her out of the way to throw open the door.
"That ain't faking." She said as the three of them rushed in. Sam flying through the air knocked Emma back a couple steps but she was able to reach up and grab his arm. Dean grabbed the other and Bobby grabbed onto his legs. With much effort, they lowered him onto the cot and held him down there.
"We're gonna have to tie him up for his own safety." Bobby shouted and Emma nodded. Dean was just staring at his brother. "Dean? You with me? Dean! Before he has another fit!"
Emma grunted as she fought to hold Sam down. "Dean!"
The hunter seemed to come out of his trance, and looked back up at her. "Yeah, let's just get it over with."
A half hour later found Emma sitting on the couch, nestling a teacup in her hands. Dean stood next to her. Bobby ran his hand over his face and sighed.
"I'm gonna ask one more time." He said slowly, "Are we absolutely sure we're doing the right thing?" Emma frowned into her tea, and looked up at Dean. Moment by moment he could see the color returning to her face – the fight back into her bones – but it all felt very precarious, like any moment now she could start crying again. He didn't know how to help her, so he simply left her alone about it until she came to him. She would want that anyways.
"Bobby," Dean replied, shaking his head, "You saw what was happening to him down there. The demon blood is killing him."
"It looks more like we're killing him." Emma said. Dean looked down at her sharply.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Dean, but keeping him locked up down there is killing him. Cold-turkey doesn't work on everything. If Sam doesn't get what he needs, he's not gonna last much longer." Dean shook his head and looked away from both of them.
"No." he finally said firmly, "I'm not giving him demon blood. I won't do it."
"Dean," Emma said. She stood and put her hand on his shoulder, "What if he dies?"
"Then at least he dies human!" Dean exploded and turned around. Emma's hand fell down to her side and she took a step back. After a moment, Dean collected himself, but there was still a hint of gruff anger in his voice. "I would die for him in a second, but I won't let him do this to himself. I can't." Emma looked down, "I guess I found my line, I won't let my brother turn into a monster." Emma watched as Dean grabbed a bottle of whiskey and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. Emma glanced at Bobby and he nodded, indicating that she should follow. Quickly, Emma pushed open the door and followed Dean out to where he was standing in front of his car. He ripped the top off the whiskey bottle and took a long swallow of it.
"Mind if I get a swallow?" she asked as she walked over to him. Her voice was still timid, as if she was in trouble for something – as if he was going to decide any moment that he didn't want to be around a cold blooded murderer, or someone who worked with demons. Dean handed it to her, and Emma climbed on the hood of the Impala, settling down next to him. Her body was still sore, but she reached out and took his hand in hers. "It's gonna be okay." She echoed his words from the night before, and kissed the back of his neck. Dean turned around and kissed her hard against her lips, careful not to rest his hand on her cut cheek. His kiss was hungry and fierce and desperate, and Emma mirrored his feelings back to him through her own lips. Slowly, Dean lowered her down onto the hood of the car and ran his hands over her sides. When he pulled back to breathe, his breath was coming out in little gasps. She looked back up at him, biting her lip, and said nothing as he lied down beside her on the hood of the car, wrapping his arm around her waist. She curled up beside him and put her head on his shoulder, and the two of them just stared at the sky for the longest time – hoping perhaps for some kind of answer.
Emma's nightmares tonight weren't any better.
"Emma! Hey open your eyes!" Emma's green eyes shot open and she stared around the room, before her eyes landed on Dean. He looked panicked as his hands rested on her shoulders.
"Just a dream," she mumbled groggily, and Dean nodded. "I'm sorry." Emma said, sounding defeated and frustrated. She had apologized a million times in the past two nights.
"It's okay, angel." Dean replied, smiling tiredly at her. "Don't ever be. Let's go back to sleep."
"Should we check on Sam?" Emma asked, looking toward the door of her room worriedly. Dean pulled her back to lie down with him again.
"Better to get some sleep." He replied quietly, and within seconds he was snoring softly beside her again. Emma, this time, was the one awake, staring at the ceiling.
Her own feelings inside herself were too jumbled to explain. Emma didn't know how to feel about what had happened, and she tried to keep her minds away from Crowley and Jack Logan. It had only been a day since she had gotten back, and already she knew she needed to get her head back in the game – there wasn't any time to go falling apart. That could come after. Emma felt guilty and stupid for falling into the situation that she had fallen into, but with every new moment, she knew that she was going to get Crowley back for this one day – back for what he had made her do – and so ever so slowly her despair was turning into anger. She was simply sick of the demons, she missed the ghosts and ghouls and even the vampires. It was always something else with them, always something new to save, always another demon on their tail.
Emma was simply waiting for Sara to break out. She could feel the walls that Castiel had put up starting to crack, and in fear she knew that they would need to face Lilith sooner or later – to stop the apocalypse and to stop Sara from taking over. That was what scared her most, but she put on her brave face and said nothing to the other two about how scared she was. Dean hadn't forgotten - and neither had Bobby or Sam – but none of them knew what to do about it. They didn't have the slightest clue.
As Emma turned her back to Dean's chest, feeling him tighten his arm around her, she fell asleep.
-+s+-
"How the hell did he get out?" Dean was angry. He was standing in front of the panic room, the door wide open. Emma was coming down the stairs tiredly, and as she noticed the situation, her eyes widened.
"Sam's gone?" she asked in surprise. Dean nodded.
"Maybe he had some kind of help." Bobby offered, "With all the broken demon traps."
"Demons?" Dean asked. Emma walked toward the panic room and glanced inside. There was a scratch through most of the demon traps. She walked forward and took off her glove, running her hand along the edge of the door. She picked up nothing.
"I can't hear anything." She told the two. She looked at the men, "nothing on the outside of the door. Nobody touched this."
"Ruby knows about your thing." Dean pointed out. "She could have worn gloves."
"Ruby'd be my guess." Bobby agreed with him.
"How did she even touch the door?" Dean asked, bewildered. Emma ran her hand through her hair before slipping it back into her tight leather gloves.
"You think she's got the mojo?" Bobby asked. Emma went back to inspecting the area.
"I don't think so." Dean shook his head, "I don't know man."
"What difference does it make?" Emma piped up from the stairway. "How he got gone ain't as important as where he got gone to."
"Well, I'll tell you something." Dean said to the two of them, "At this point I hope he's with Ruby."
"Why?"
"Because killing her's the next big item on my to-do list." Dean growled and started walking toward the stairs. Emma followed him up the stairs, her own anger welling in her throat.
"I thought you were on call for angel duty!" Bobby called after him.
Dean didn't stop walking as he replied. "I am on call. In my car, on my way to murder the bitch." Emma hopped up the stairs after him, and began to follow him toward the kitchen.
"I'm coming with you." Emma said. Dean shook his head.
"No you're not." Emma planted her feet firmly apart and crossed her arms over her chest.
"The hell I'm not! I want to help Sam, and you're not going alone. It's too dangerous out there right now." Dean rounded on her.
"You just came back from something that left you in ten pieces on the front porch." Dean said, his voice softer, "I don't want you going. I don't want you to get hurt. Please just stay here and let me deal with my brother."
Bobby came into the room close after the other two.
"Sam don't wanna be found," he was saying, "which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find."
"Yeah, we'll see." Dean said and walked outside. Emma and Bobby exchanged glances.
"I'm going." Emma said again, firmly, as she tossed a bag into the passenger's seat of Dean's car. He sighed again and rubbed his face. God damn was she stubborn. "I don't want you going alone. You can't just walk into this bull shit without backup."
"No you're not. Emma, this is between me and Sam. You don't need to be getting into it."
"I'm just as involved as you are, or Sam, or anyone else." She said hotly, "In fact, if they've already jumped on Lilith I need something from her – so I'm going. This isn't something that doesn't involve me. How am I supposed to be some 'savior' if I'm not even there." There was a moment of silence, "You need me, Dean. And if you don't let me go with you, I'm following you."
"She's right." Bobby's voice could be heard as he walked forward. "Emma's a part of this family, and I think she's right." Emma smiled at him but Bobby was only looking at Dean. "But it's up to you."
Dean said nothing as he slammed the hood to his car down. He looked at Emma with a pleading look, but she didn't reply.
"Fine."
"Good." Bobby said, "Police found my car. Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."
-+s+-
Emma and Dean pulled into the motel as quietly as they could, and waited in the car. They had said nothing to each other on the two hour drive to the motel. Emma turned and looked at Dean, finally choosing now to speak. "Dean," she said, reaching out and putting her hand on his arm. "You okay?"
Dean didn't reply for a while. "I'm worried about you." He finally said gruffly. "You shouldn't be here."
Emma sighed, "This isn't just about Sam, is it?" Dean shook his head.
"You could go demon on us at any second." Dean finally said what neither of them had wanted to say so far. Emma sighed and looked away. "I know it's not your fault, but I'd rather you were back with Bobby."
"I can feel her every day," Emma said, finally, "I'm holding her back, and the walls are still holding – but I don't know how much longer that's going to last. But I'm not just gonna sit in a room while you come out here and fight it. I'm just as much a part of this as anyone else. Dean look at me." Dean turned and stared at her full on. His eyes were wide and pleading, but there was determination strongest in them. "I will warn you, if something is going to break. I'll have that much time." Dean just sighed and shook his head.
"I-"
"Sh!" Emma suddenly whispered, and gestured to where the hotel door was opening. The two of them crept out of the car and hid behind the stairs. It was Sam leaving, and Dean motioned for Emma to stay there "please" he mouthed, and quietly headed up the stairs toward the door that they knew Sam would be coming out of. As soon as Dean was gone, Emma turned and began to follow Sam.
But he knew they were going to be there. As soon as Emma turned around a car, Sam was there and he grabbed her.
"Emma?" he asked in surprise and let go of her. Emma pushed away from him and backed up a step.
"Sam," she said quietly, "What are you doing?"
"Where's Dean?"
"Sam!" she said louder. The Winchester acted quickly, reaching out and grabbing her. Emma only had a moment to react as she twisted herself out of his grasp, but was overpowered by him. Sam painfully twisted her arm around her back, whispering "sorry" to her, before dragging her up the stairs.
When they entered the hotel room, Dean was inside, fighting with Ruby with a knife, struggling around the room. Sam forcefully let go of her and reached forward, grabbing the knife from Dean. He backed up a few steps as Ruby went to stand behind him. Emma picked herself up from the floor, watching the two of them after a glare in Ruby's direction.
"Let her go." Sam was saying, "Just take it easy."
Dean was furious, "Well, it must've been some party you two had going, considering how hard you tried to keep me from crashing it." He glared, "Well solid try, but here we are."
"Ruby get out of here." Sam said and Emma made a move to grab the demon but she was out the door before Emma could get to her.
"No she's not going anywhere." Dean protested. What Emma met as she rushed after the demon was the end of the knife in Sam's hand. Emma looked up at him and frowned.
"You gonna stab me, Sam?" she asked quietly, dangerously. Sam just stared at her. "You gonna kill me right now? I kept your secret and this is how you're going to repay me?"
Dean stared at her with an open mouth, "You knew?" Emma sighed as she looked at him.
"The day I left I heard it in his thoughts." Emma explained. Dean was stunned. "I was going to tell you when I came back – we were going to deal with it together." Dean just stared at her before looking back at his brother. Emma fought back another wave of emotion as the two brothers talked. Sam suddenly had Emma's arm in his hand, the knife still too close for her comfort.
"And here you are, holding a knife to her?" Dean continued, pointing at Emma. "With everything she's done for us? What are you gonna do, kill her?"
"I'm gonna do what it takes to take down Lilith." Sam said firmly. "Whether it takes tying you two up or killing anyone that gets in my way."
"Sam this isn't you." Emma said pleadingly. Sam didn't even look at her. "This isn't who you are."
"You know what this makes you?" Dean asked angrily. Sam stiffened.
"Don't say it."
"It makes you a monster."
Emma was barely aware of being let go when she saw Sam's arm reach out and he punched Dean across the face. She reached out to stop Dean from hitting him back, but Sam shot out his hand, sending her flying across the room. She cried out as she felt the back of her head hit a mirror, hearing it cracking against the back of her skull. "Stop!" she shouted as she watched the two boys fight each other. She painfully got to her feet, rushing forward just as Dean went crashing through the glass divider in the room. Sam pushed Emma again, and this time the bottom of her back rammed into the dresser. She fell painfully to the ground. Struggling to contain the shout that was gathering in the bottom of her throat, she watched as Sam hovered over Dean, broken glass littering the floor. Sam immediately, jumped on top of his brother, his hands clasping around Dean's throat and squeezing. Emma struggled to her feet and jumped on top of Sam's back. "Sam! You're killing him!" Sam pushed her off of him, letting go of Dean's throat in the process. Again she went flying into a wall, but this time by Sam's own physical force. He had punched her square in the cheek. Emma felt blood trickle down her cheek where the stitches had torn. Sam was left standing over his brother.
"You don't know me," he said to Dean, "You never did. And you never will." Dean was breathing heavily, as Sam turned toward the door. He didn't even look at her as he reached the door.
"You walk out that door – don't you ever come back!" Dean shouted painfully from the ground. He looked on the verge of tears, and Emma struggled to crawl over to him. Sam simply looked down at his brother, and then over at Emma, and turned and walked out the door. Emma gasped softly, and watched as Dean began to unravel. He rolled onto his side with a pained sigh, trying to get up.
"Dean?"