We're heeere! Second to last chapter! As always, reviews and messages are welcome! :)

CHAPTER 33

Emma Gordon was tired. The hum of the Impala vibrated her gently as they flew down the highway, tempting her with sleep. They had been on the road for an hour, and so far neither of them had said anything.

The bottom of Emma's back was throbbing, and she was sure it was going to bruise. The back of her head was cut, and blood stained down her cheek. She wasn't worried about any of that though. What she was worried about was the hell bitch that was inside her – and that was slowly making her way out. Of course, Sara couldn't wait until after they stopped the apocalypse to make her appearance – she had to cause trouble right now. With a silent roll of her eyes, Emma looked out the window at the fields flying by around them. Emma was also worried about Sam Winchester. He had walked out on his family, determined to kill Lilith. Emma understood that he thought the demon blood was going to help everyone – that he was going to save everyone. Dean Winchester didn't see it that way.

More than anything, Emma was worried about Dean, who sat stony faced next to her in the Impala, one hand on the wheel. He stared straight ahead and said nothing to her. Guilt welled up inside Emma like bubbles in a Coke, and it was threatening to spill out any second. Somehow she wondered if she hadn't been there for Sam to threaten if it would have been any different. Sighing and biting her bottom lip, she turned and looked at Dean.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?" he replied. His voice was soft toward her, but she could hear anger in his voice.

"I'm sorry." She said earnestly. "I shouldn't have gone – you were right. I gave him leverage. There –"

"Don't." Dean scolded her, glancing at her out of the side of his eye. "Sammy was gonna walk out that door whether you were there or not. I'm glad you're here." He finished his sentence like there was no arguing it – so Emma didn't. She nodded, and turned back to look out the window. It wasn't until she felt Dean's hand in hers that she started to feel better.

The last hour to get to Bobby's was long, and neither of them wanted to face him with the news they were bringing back. Emma understood that Bobby wanted Sam back, that Dean should stop at nothing to make sure that happened. But she had seen Sam, she knew what he had become. She wasn't so sure anymore that there was any stopping him.

Together, the two hunters walked wearily up to the front door where Bobby was already waiting for them. Bobby knew immediately that Sam was not in the car, and that they had failed to bring them back. He followed the two of them in the house and closed the door a bit harder than Emma liked. The three of them walked into the library without a word, and Bobby leaned heavily on the desk. "So I take it Sam didn't wanna come back." Emma shook her head at him. Dean stood by the window, staring out at the yard, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Bobby motioned for Emma to sit in front of him and he pulled out the first aid kit, moving to fix her stitches. "You need to call your brother, Dean." He spoke as he tugged out the ones that were there before. Emma hissed and glared at him. "There's still time enough to get him back. To stop all of this." Dean didn't reply. "Dean? Dean!" He jumped, "Did you hear a damn word I just said?"

Dean sighed, "Yeah I heard you."

"Don't make me get my gun, boy." Bobby said. Emma felt the needle go through her skin and hissed again, wiggling a little in her seat. She had never liked doctors, first aid kits, needles, or old men coming at her with needles. Bobby tapped her lightly with his foot like he used to do when she was young, and she stiffened immediately.

"We are damn near kickoff for Armageddon," Dean said as he turned around, "Don't you think we have bigger fish at the moment?"

"I know you're pissed." Bobby said, "And I'm not making apologies for what he's done. But he's your –"

"Blood?" Dean interrupted him. Emma sighed as Bobby finished the last stitch and tossed the needle back into the first aid kit. "He's my blood, is that what you were gonna say?"

"He's your brother." Bobby said earnestly, "And he's drowning."

Dean rolled his head back, "Bobby I tried to help him, I did. Look what happened! He threw Emma around like a damn rag doll. He tried to choke me to death!"

"Dean I think we should try again." Emma spoke up firmly.

"It's too late." He growled. Emma rested her forehead on her hand, sighing.

"No such thing." Bobby said tiredly.

"No, damnit!" Dean exploded, "No! I gotta face the facts. Sam never wanted to be part of this family. He hated this life growing up – ran away to Stanford first chance he got. Now it's like déjà vu all over again." Emma had heard the story of Sam leaving from Sam himself. "Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him, he can do what he wants."

"Dean," Emma said sternly at him. "Stanford is a great school. He had a chance to get out of this and he took it. Aren't you ever gonna get that? You were never going to leave this life and he was so unhappy it hurt him!"

"What do you know about it?" Dean shot at her defensively.

"I know him! Just like I know you!" Emma shouted at him. "I love that kid. He's scared and he's alone with a demon – he thinks he's saving the world. And god damn it, he's doing it for you!"

Dean shook his head, "He's doing all this for himself."

"You don't mean that." Bobby said.

"Yes I do, Bobby. Sam's gone!" Dean turned to look at Emma, "He's gone! I'm not even sure if he's still my brother anymore – if he ever was."

Emma leaned back in her chair, cracking her back softly and sighing. Bobby beside her, leaned against the table. He was fuming. His breath rose and fell in quick precession. Emma had seen this before. When she was 17 she had stolen one of his cars and gone to a bar. He was furious when she came back, and she could still see the rise and fall in his shoulders like she could see now. Quickly, Emma stood up away from the table.

In one sweeping motion of his arms, Bobby sent all the books and papers from the table onto the ground. Emma backed up a couple steps and watched as he advanced on Dean, who stood up just as Emma had.

"You stupid, stupid son of a bitch!" Bobby shouted at Dean. Dean looked surprised and defensive, "Well boo hoo, I am so sorry your feelings are hurt… princess!" Emma raised her eyebrows, "Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good?! Make you an apple pie, maybe?" sarcasm was dripping off his words, "They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!"

"Dean just listen," Dean rounded on her.

"I told him, 'you walk out that door, don't come back' – you were there – and he walked out anyway! That was his choice!"

"Don't you yell at her." Bobby said dangerously, taking another step toward Dean. "She's been dragged through the mud with you boys' demon angel crap. She takes all of it without question, and sticks with you two idiots, and here you're gonna yell at her?" Emma's eyes widened. There was a moment of silence. "You sound like a whiny brat." He said and Dean rounded around him before he got too angry. "No," Bobby continued, turning around, "You sound like your dad. Well let me tell you something. Your dad was a coward."

There was a moment of shocked silence as Dean turned around. "My dad was a lot of things, Bobby, but a coward?"

"He'd rather push Sam away than reach out to him." Bobby huffed, "Well that don't strike me as brave. You are a better man than your daddy ever was. So do us both a favor. Don't be him." Dean turned around to stare out the window as another voice could be heard in the hallway.

"Emma?!" The familiar redhead came running around the corner. Emma's eyes lit up as she saw her friend and threw her arms around her. Maggie squeezed her tenderly. "Bobby told me everything." She whispered in her friend's ear.

"Maggie!" Bobby turned around to look.

"What did I tell you about picking my damn locks?" Bobby said in a gruff voice. Maggie smiled.

"I hear we're singing the national anthem before kickoff right now." Maggie said in her usual chipper voice. She turned to look at Dean who was still standing in the window. "So brooding. Look at those tense shoulders." Emma smiled a little, and didn't let go of Maggie's hand. Instead, she turned and hugged her again. "You okay?" Maggie asked with a wink, "Ain't usually this touchy."

"I'm really glad to see you."

"We all are." Bobby said as he went back to lean on the desk, "We need all hands on deck at this point if we're gonna get Sam back." Emma heard Dean huff but when she looked in the direction of the window – he was gone!

"Dean?" she cried out and let go of Maggie's hand. She walked over to the window and looked outside. "Dean?!" Castiel was the only one she could see. In an angry huff, Maggie and Bobby following behind her, Emma stormed out the back door and rounded to where Castiel was still standing.

"Where is he, Cas?" she demanded. "Where the hell did you take Dean?" Cas looked at her oddly.

"He's safe." The angel said in a monotone.

"Don't give me that bull shit." She growled, "You spend half your time lying to us! You need us in Illinois – we all almost die – and now you have nothing to say but 'he's safe'?!" Castiel actually backed up a step, "I'm sorry but that sounds like a load of crap to me! I'm sick of you lying to us, Cas! Where the hell is Dean?!"

-+s+-

"Where the hell is Emma?" Dean was asking Zachariah, standing right in front of him. The man looked more like a stock broker than an angel. Castiel appeared behind him, sighing.

"She's with Bobby," Cas spoke up. "She's safe."

"I want her here." Dean demanded, pointing to the ground. "Right now." Zachariah shook his head.

"Afraid I can't do that." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "She's just as much a part of the final seal as Lilith is. She's a big puzzle piece, Dean. She's more use to us out there."

"If you so much as look at her wrong –"

"Dean!" Zachariah laughed, "relax! Lilith has to be the one to break the final seal. She's the only one who can. Tomorrow night – midnight." That's where Emma would be – that's where Sam was going to be.

"Where?" Dean demanded.

"We're working on it."

"Well work harder!" Dean exploded and looked around. Zachariah lifted an eyebrow.

"We'll do our job. You just make sure you do yours."

"Yeah? And what is that, exactly? If I'm supposed to be the one that stops her – how? With the knife?" Dean asked.

"All in good time." Zachariah said with a smile. Dean shook his head, bewildered.

"Isn't now a good time?"

"Have faith." Dean was angry.

"What, in you? Give me one good reason why I should."

Zachariah got close to his face, tilting his head to the side. "Because you swore your obedience." He said. Dean looked behind him at Cas, who was looking down at the ground guilty. "So obey."

-+s+-

"When all this is over, I want a vacation." Emma was saying as she huffed up the stairs to where Maggie stood on the porch of Bobby's house. She had been screaming for Cas now for an hour. "What are we supposed to do, just stand here?"

"Bobby's working on a spell to find Sam." Maggie said. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. "All we can do right now is wait. The two of us are gonna have to go get him now that Dean's MIA." Emma rolled her eyes and stared out at the lot. "Hey," Maggie finally said as she tapped Emma on the shoulder lightly. "You okay?"

Emma was still thinking about Jack Logan, still thinking about the feeling of his blood that she couldn't seem to get off her skin. "We've seen a lot of people die," she said. Bobby had already told Maggie the story, "But never like that. And I've never helped it happen."

"You couldn't do anything about it." Maggie said. "You owe a demon a favor, and there's nothing you can do – you have to do it. Them's the rules."

"I didn't even want him to beam us to Dean!" Emma said, turning to her friend, "Would a car have been that difficult? He tricked us. He tricked me. He wanted – needed – these stupid hands of mine and I let myself get tricked! I can't –" her chest started rising and heaving as she looked away, tears developing in her eyes. Maggie wrapped her arms around her friend again, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry." She felt Emma stiffen in her arms and the blonde shook her head as she stood back up straight.

"Don't be." Emma said, her voice flat. "We just need to get this done and maybe we can all take a break for a little while."

"I'm down." Maggie laughed. The sound of footsteps made them both turn toward the door of Bobby's house. "You find something?"

"I think I know where Sam's going." Bobby said as he held out the printed out page of a newspaper. Maggie took it from him.

"A convent?" she asked. Bobby nodded. As Maggie turned to show the page to Emma, she jumped in surprise. Her friend was gone. Bobby's eyes were wide. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Maggie looked back at Bobby. "Great."

-+s+-

"The end is nigh," Zachariah was saying with a smile, "The apocalypse is coming, kiddo, to a theatre near you." The angel was sitting on a white couch in the corner of Dean's "green room". Dean was staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes.

"What was all that crap about saving seals?" Dean demanded.

Zachariah laughed, "Our grunts on the ground – we couldn't just tell them the whole truth. We'd have a full scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it. Would we really let sixty-five seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?"

Dean shook his head, his first thought on Emma, "But why?"

"Why not?" Zachariah said in glee, holding his hands out nonchalantly, "The apocalypse? Poor name, bad marketing – puts people off. When all it is is Ali/Foreman. On a… slightly larger scale. And we like our chances. When our side wins – and we will – it's paradise on earth. Now, what's not to like about that?"

Dean turned around to face the angel, "What happens to all the people during your little pissing contest?"

"Well... you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. In this case... truckloads of eggs, but you get the picture. Look... it happens. This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." Dean, shaking his head, darted his eyes to the bust of an angel on the table, "Uh, no, Dean. Probably shouldn't try to bash my skull in with that thing. Wouldn't end up too pleasant for you."

"What about Sam? He won't go quietly. Neither will Emma or Maggie. They'll stop Lilith."

Zachariah inhaled deeply. "Sam… has a part to play. So does Emma. A very important part. Sam may need a little nudging in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

Dean's eyes widened, "What does that mean? What are you gonna do to him?"

"Sam, Sam, Sam. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Forget about him, would you? You have larger concerns. Why do you think I'm confiding in you?" Dean took a step back, "You're still vital, Dean. We weren't lying about your destiny, just… omitted a few pertinent details. But nothing's changed. You are chosen. You will stop it. Just… not Lilith, or the apocalypse. That's all."

"Which means?"

"Lucifer." Zachariah said with a smile. The two directed their eyes to the painting on the wall. Saint Michel terrassant le Dragon was hanging on the wall. "You're going to stop Lucifer." The angel chuckled with glee. "You're our own little Russel Crowe, complete with surly attitude. And when it's over, and when you've won. Your rewards will be… unimaginable. Peace, happiness. Two virgins and seventy sluts." He laughed.

Dean shook his head, "What about Emma?" Zachariah shook his head.

"Sorry, Emma you can't have. But who knows? Trust me – one day, we'll look back on this and laugh."

"What do you mean I can't have her?" Dean demanded. Now he was angrier than ever.

"Dean?" Emma's voice distracted him as he turned around to see her standing in the corner of the room. Zachariah watched as Dean ran forward and grabbed her, pulling her to him. He turned to look at the angel, holding the woman against him protectively.

"Say your goodbyes, Dean. It's almost show time." Emma cried out and buckled in his arms, and Dean struggled to hold her up as she crouched over, grabbing her stomach and screaming out again.

"Emma?!"

"Dean…" she whispered, and fell to the floor. Dean dropped to his knees beside her. He held his hands out over her hopelessly – he didn't know what to do. Blood began to drip from her eyes, and once again Emma screamed. "They're breaking!"

"Step back." Zachariah ordered and took Dean by the shoulder, pulling him back a few steps. Dean fought to get back to her. Zachariah leaned close to Dean's ear. "Remember this if you ever decide to defy us."

Dean watched with horror as Emma stopped convulsing on the ground, blood pooling on the insides of her cheeks. With sudden calm, Emma stood up. But it wasn't her. The blonde dipped her fingers in the blood, before sucking it off her finger. "Mmm, hey Dean." She said with a giggle.

"Sara…"

"Tell me something." Dean growled as he looked between her and Zachariah. "Where's God in all this?" Sara let out a shrill laugh, throwing Emma's head back.

"God?" she asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side. "God has left the building."