"What do you mean," Dean asked softly. He didn't want to scare the girl.
"He said I brought the fire," she whispered. Tears filled her innocent childlike eyes.
Dean sighed and looked from the girl to Sam. Worry filled the older man's face. "Emily," Dean said quietly. "Is it all right if you come with us? We'll take care of you." She looked at him with fear at first. She was reluctant to go with them. Emily eventually agreed though. Dean picked her up but she insisted on walking by herself. He sighed and walked behind Emily. After stumbling several times, Emily finally gave into letting Dean help her. Dean took her arm and draped it over his shoulder, and then he put his arm around her waist to steady her. As they walked to the car, Sam ran into the house and grabbed some clothes for her. Her steps were slow, as if she had to consciously think about putting effort into walking. Dean helped her most of the way. Her body was so tiny in his arms. Dean was finally able to get a good look at her when she stood. She was covered in bruises and her arms were littered with scars. Most of them seemed to be from needles. That worried Dean as he helped her into the car. After Sam and Dean got in the Impala, Dean looked back at her and smiled. She was staring contently out the window at the sky. Dean pulled out of the driveway and made the thirty plus minute drive to the hotel. As he pulled into the parking lot, he looked back at Emily. She had fallen asleep. He chuckled to himself as he got out of the car. Dean picked up Emily and carried her into the room, placing her gently on the bed.
Emily woke up from the movement and looked at the boys. Dean sat down next to her and smiled. "Do you think you're strong enough to take a shower? I think you'd feel better if you got yourself cleaned off a bit." She nodded slowly and Sam handed her some of the clothes he had taken from the house. Emily stood and walked slowly into the bathroom. Sam looked over at Dean. Both boys sighed in unison and sank down on their corresponding beds. "What are we going to do with her," Sam asked.
"Well, first off, I want to figure out what the hell her father did to her. I mean, how did he make her sleep so long without any medical equipment. There's something off about her, other than the obvious," he said with a sigh. "It was just creepy, the way she looked at me back there. It was as if she was looking through me." As Dean finished speaking, they heard a piercing scream from the bathroom. Dean ran to the door. It was unlocked but he still couldn't get in. "Emily," he shouted, banging on the door. "EMILY!" Finally, Dean was able to open the door. He ran into the room and found Emily sitting in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest. The water was still running in the shower. Dean ran over to her and knelt down in front of her. She was shaking violently as she cried. Dean tucked her wet hair behind her ear. "Emily what's wrong? What happened?" Dean was consumed with concern. The fact that the girl was completely naked didn't even register, a first for Dean Winchester.
Emily slowly looked up at him. "Don't… don't let him find me," she whispered. Her voice was still hoarse and soft. "Pl… please," she pleaded with him.
"Who, your father?" Dean asked softly.
Sam stood in the doorway watching the scene. As soon as Emily looked up and saw him she screamed sending Dean flying across the room. Dean slammed into the mirror. "Dean ," Sam shouted as he ran to his brother's side. Dean stood slowly, brushing the glass out of his hair. He looked at Emily then at Sam.
"Don't… don't send me back," she said softly, rocking back and forth. "Daddy will be angry," she whispered closing her eyes.
"Emily, he's dead. No one will hurt you," Dean said softly.
"Lies, games," she whispered. "Playing games with my head," she said softly. "Shhh, he'll hear you. He's always listening, always. Emily in big trouble," she said closing her eyes. "She should have listened, should have stayed asleep." She shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears as if trying to block out some sound.
Dean walked over to her and took her arms, forcing her to stop rocking back and forth and she looked up at him. He grabbed her clothes and handed them to her. "Why don't you get dressed and calm down. Then we'll talk about your father." She looked at him and nodded. The boys left the room and she got dressed. Emily walked out of the bathroom slowly and she sat down on the bed. She leaned against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. Sam and Dean looked over at her. "What happened in there?" Dean rubbed the back of his head to dull the lingering pain from the mirror. Emily didn't answer. She simply stared blankly at the wall across the room. Dean sighed and sat down in front of her. "Emily," he whispered, "we can't help you if you don't tell us what happened."
Emily looked down and hugged her knees to her chest. She bit her lower lip and a few tears fell from her eyes. Dean felt so bad for this girl. He scooted closer to her and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. "Bad," she whispered. "Brought fire."
"No," Dean said with an amazingly soothing voice. "You didn't Emily. Did your father tell you that?" Emily slowly nodded. Dean looked back at Sam almost pleadingly and sighed. Then he turned to Emily. Dean placed two fingers under her chin and raised her head to look at him. "Emily," he said softly. "How long have you been in that room?"
"As long as I can remember," she said softly. Dean hated making her speak. Her voice was so hoarse he was sure it had to hurt. "Once a week, every Wednesday, Daddy would tell me 'Time to go to sleep Emily.' I would go to sleep and wake up on Friday night," she whispered. Her voice was broken, frightened. Tears fell from her big brown eyes.
Dean wiped her tears away once more. "Emily, why did you scream when you saw Sam?"
"He had fire in his eyes, like the eyes from my dream." Emily looked over at Sam as he turned away from her. "Fire gone now," she whispered. There was a long silence then finally, "Don't let him find me," she whispered. Emily buried her head in her hands.
Dean sighed and moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and gently patted her back. Emily lay down and rested her head on his lap. Dean didn't know what to do for her. He wasn't used to someone like her. This was Sammy's area. The people always clung to Sam. Sam knew how to talk to them. Yet this girl was clinging to Dean and he didn't know what to do. "Shh," he said softly. Dean gently stroked her hair and looked over at Sam as he sat down on the bed across from Dean and Emily. Both men were silent for almost an hour as Emily cried herself to sleep. Dean picked her up when he was sure she was asleep, and gently set her down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her and grabbed the extra pillow next to her head. Dean put it on the floor between the two beds, then he lay down an stared at the ceiling, his fingers laced over his stomach.
"Dean," Sam said quietly as he lay back on the bed. "There's nothing here. There's nothing to hunt, nothing to fight."
"She saw something Sam," Dean said quickly, almost interrupting his baby brother. Something in there scared her."
"Dean, what are we supposed to do with her," Sam asked. "I don't want to be the one to say it but she needs help Dean." Sam turned on his side and looked down at his brother as Dean glanced up at him. "She needs help we can't give her."
"Are you saying she should be locked up? That's she's insane," Dean said sitting up. "Sam the girl's been locked up all her life. You want to put a girl an entire town thinks is dead into an institution?"
"Dean," Sam said with a sigh. "Listen to her," he said coldly. "Listen to the way she talks. We can't help her."
"Hell yes we can," Dean said quickly. "Sam, she saw something in there. Something about what her father did is still there. Her mother, the fire. There's got to be something here. We can't just lock her up before we get any answers about Mom. She said she saw fire in your eyes, like the eyes in her dream. Maybe, maybe she's seen what did it." Dean sighed and shook his head. "All that aside, I don't think its safe for her to be locked up." Sam gave him a confused look. "Sam, the people here thing her father killed her. How can we explain what happened to her? She's been asleep for three years with no assistance from technology. No ventilator, no heart monitor, no I.V. How can we explain that without sounding crazy ourselves?"
Sam sighed and lay on his back. "We can't take her with us Dean. She's a liability," he said simply. "She'll only get in the way, get one of us killed."
"I know that Sam," Dean said simply. "I say we stay until we find out exactly what her father did to her, and what the hell happened in that room after she went to sleep. You saw the blood, the marks on the ceiling, her father's body. We need to find out what happened. I don't think she saw something in there because she's crazy. Well, I mean she's crazy but I think there might have been something in there. She was terrified. I also think she was holding the door shut," he said simply. Dean looked over at his brother and sighed, "And she sent me across the room." Dean lay back down and sighed. "We'll figure out more tomorrow," he said simply. Dean yawned and Sam turned out the light. The two were asleep within seconds.
When Dean woke up the next morning Sam was still asleep, a rarity with the brothers. He sat up and looked over at Sam. Dean rolled his eyes and slowly pushed himself off the ground. He stood and stretched before turning to check on Emily. When he turned and looked at the bed she was gone. "Shit," he mumbled. "Sam," he said shaking his brother. Sam sat up quickly, shocked by the sudden movement. "Emily's gone." Dean looked over and noticed the door was open. He ran to the door and looked outside. He stepped outside and searched the horizon for the fragile girl.
Sam eventually walked up behind him. "How long ago do you think she left," he asked groggily.
"I don't know. I wish I knew where she'd go though," Dean said with a sigh. He ran his fingers nervously through his hair and looked around. "Emily," he called to her. Dean ran to the street and began walking down the street. It wasn't long before he found her. She was lying on the ground covered in blood. "Emily," he shouted running to her. Dean picked up the lifeless girl and carried her back to the hotel. "Sam move," he shouted as his brother got out of the way. Dean set her on the bed and looked for injuries. There were none. The girl was covered in blood though. Dean looked up at Sam with a look of worry in his eyes. "Sam, I don't think this is her blood."