A/N: Thank you for bearing with me with this somewhat unusual story. The plot is rather fragmented, I know, but I hope there's some 'pay off' in the end. Especially when the next story is done and I start posting that. In the meantime, thank you for reading. I know there are some people reading and that makes me feel good. Reviews always tickle me even more but I'll take knowing that someone's checking this out over nothing at all so thank you! Enjoy!
Emerson and her mother had rushed out of the house so fast earlier that she'd barely had time to grab anything. Just her jacket, her cell phone and her keys and they were out the door trying to chase after something it seemed. The lead that her mother had didn't pan out like they would have liked but they'd found a few more things that Grace wanted to check out while they were out. It wound up just one big wild goose chase for the most part and it had worn Emerson out more than she could say. She was tired of chasing after one thing after another and coming up empty handed.
It wasn't long before Grace suggested that her daughter take a break, that it wasn't something that she couldn't handle on her own. After first she was going to argue since she wanted to be there if her mother finally ran across something worth looking into but when Grace promised to call Emerson if that happened, Emerson decided that some rest would be a good thing. She left her mother at the motel and headed home for a shower and some food. More than anything else, she knew that she needed to get away from her mother for a little while.
When she got home, she tossed her jacket onto a chair in the living room and headed straight for the kitchen. Emerson practically slammed her keys down on the counter when she got there. There had been yet another argument between her and her mother over how to handle this on the drive over to the motel. Emerson wanted to gather more evidence before doing anything and Grace wanted to act. It seemed too dangerous to Emerson to jump right in like that but her mother insisted that it was the only way to do it and the two spent the entire ride from the church in the town square to the Tuckaway Inn arguing about how to go about the rest of their 'investigation'.
Emerson went to her refrigerator and pulled out a foam takeout container. Besides feeling a little frustrated, she was hungry and it would be quick and easy. After considering it for a moment, she pulled out a bottle of beer as well. She put the container into the microwave and opened the beer, taking a long drink from the bottle. Emerson reached into her pocket for her cell phone. There was one missed call. Emerson checked to see who had called since her phone had been on silent after they'd made it to the church to look around. After seeing it had been Becky and seeing that there was a waiting voice mail message as well, she still decided to call Sam. Right now she needed to talk to someone and he was the first person that she thought to call.
The microwave beeped as she listened to Sam's phone ring, hoping that he'd pick up this time. She didn't bother to pull out her food right now. It was late in the afternoon but she thought that she might catch Sam if she was lucky. It seemed like they played a lot of 'phone tag' lately and this time she was hoping that Sam might actually be there to pick up the phone. She started to slowly pace as it rang and rang. The longer it seemed to take, the more her anxiety level seemed to increase. Emerson took another drink of her beer as Sam's voice mail picked up her call.
"Hey, Sam. Sorry I missed you," she said. Her voice was steady at the moment. "Things here are just … We actually seem to have a lead but my mom and I …" Emerson heavily sighed as she sat down on the floor, her back up against the cabinets. "This is just so hard, trying to work with her. I wish you and Dean were here. Actually I wish just you were here." She softly chuckled at that thought and shook it off. "I'm … Oh God, Sam, if this is what it sounds like it is, then I'm scared. I'm scared that my mother's going to do something stupid and reckless and … Just …" There was another heavy sigh as she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stay calm. "Please call me when you get this. I need to hear your voice."
Emerson was visibly shaking when she finally hung up the phone. Her voice had even been shaking before she hung up. She pushed herself up off of the floor and opened a cabinet near the refrigerator. Emerson pulled out a bottle of whisky and opened another cabinet, pulling out a glass. She poured enough for a big gulp and downed it as quickly as possible. After drinking it, she poured herself some more. Grabbing the container out of the microwave, Emerson moved everything to the kitchen table. She suddenly wasn't very hungry but she knew she needed to eat something. She sat down with a sigh, ready to get a little something in her stomach before she had any more to drink.