"My head aches," Emma complained from the back seat. It was a strange, unwelcome sensation for the teenager. For the duration of her short life, she'd never been sick.
"It's probably just caffeine withdrawal," her uncle said sympathetically. Sam took Dean's half-finished cup of coffee and passed it back. "The way you chug soda, it'll probably take a couple days for you to adjust to drinking plain water."
They'd had to give up candy, soda, pastries, basically any processed food, after discovering that Dick Roman was using his latest company, Sucrocorp, to drug humans, making them docile.
Emma accepted the cup and sipped, involuntarily making a face at the taste. Black coffee was bitter and vile. Like beer, which she'd sampled without her dad's knowledge. Emma took another sip, making no complaint. Seeing a bunch of unsuspecting civilians doped up on junk food had convinced her of the necessity of quitting her favorite foods. At least the coffee wasn't nearly as disgusting as whiskey.
She angled herself to face the pallid young woman riding beside her. "So you haven't had any solid food in twelve years?" Emma asked, unable to contain her curiosity about the girl her dad and Sam had rescued from one of the Alpha Vampire's hideouts.
Emily nodded. "They fed me intravenously. So my blood's pure. Virgins are a delicacy," she said matter-of-factly.
Emma suppressed a shudder and drank her coffee. Emily had been through a terrible ordeal. She was grateful to be rescued, was doing her best to help the Winchesters find the Alpha. She couldn't help it that she creeped Emma out. So far, Emma had shared the back seat with a helpful demon, an unbalanced angel, a friendly ghost, and a twitchy, traumatized prophet. Out of all of them, Emma thought, Emily the virgin vamp-treat was probably the most disturbing.
And Emma just knew she was going to end up babysitting her.
Sure enough, her dad had managed to find the cheesiest hotel in Missoula, Montana. This one was bison-themed, with herds of the majestic bovines stampeding across the faded bedspreads, drapes, and lampshades. There was even a mounted buffalo head above the fireplace.
Emily sat in the middle of one of the beds, entranced by some news program on the television mounted on the wall. This time, Sam gave Emma instructions while her dad stashed Bobby's flask in the closet combination safe.
"You gotta hang here," Emma heard him murmur. "This is for your own good, Bobby. Capiche?"
Meanwhile, Sam was handing her one of his throwaway cell phones. "If we're not back by dawn, call Sheriff Mills. She's a friend," he explained, "and she's probably the best person we know to deal with a vampire kidnapping victim."
The two brothers headed for the door, but Bobby Singer apparently had other ideas. As Dean pulled it open it slammed shut again. Emily gasped softly at the loud sound.
"It's the wind," Dean reassured her. Then they were gone.
Emma sat down, tossing Sam's phone onto the nightstand between the two beds. The cell phone immediately captured Emily's interest.
"That's really a phone? It's so little." The pale, fragile looking young woman shifted to the edge of the bed, reaching for the phone.
Emma intercepted her.
"Oh. Sorry." Emily drew her hand back. "It's just the last time I saw a phone, it was, like, the size of my whole hand."
Emma felt sorry for her. "Here," she said abruptly, handing the phone over, "knock yourself out." What harm could it do to give her Jody Mills' number? Besides, she saw, Emily's attention was already back on the television screen.
"You didn't even have TV?"
"No." Emily looked up at her with big, innocent eyes. "My daddy really doesn't like modern technology much."
"Your... Daddy?" Emma felt her lip curl in disgust. She tried to compose her features.
"Sorry," Emily said again. "The vampire, I mean." She looked distraught.
"No, it's okay. I get it, I guess," Emma reassured the girl. It was sick, and twisted, but in a way the Alpha was the only family Emily had.
"What about you, Emma? Do you ever get to visit your mommy?"
Emma sat down beside Emily on the bed, hiding her pity and disgust behind a carefully neutral expression... Control. The young woman was several years older than she was, but so messed up by her ordeal, Emma thought. She had no idea how to function in the world outside a vampire nest.
"My mom's kind of out of the picture," she explained gently.
"Oh. I understand. My parents were divorced, too. Or separated, or something. I really don't remember."
"That's really sad. But I'm sure your mom remembers you," Emma tried to reassure her. "She must miss you so much. Think how excited and happy she'll be to have you back!"
"I hope so."
The two watched the television in silence for a few minutes. Emily seemed entranced, while Emma's mind wandered. When a commercial for Sucrocorp flashed on the screen she reached for the remote, but Dick Roman had already appeared, smiling his toothy smile and giving a sound bite. The lightbulb in the bedside lamp blew with a loud pop and the small fire Sam had built in the rustic stone fireplace flared up. Emily let out a nervous squeak. She looked at Emma, wide-eyed, as Emma clicked off the TV.
"'Scuse me just a minute, Emily." Emma stalked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. The air in the room was icy cold, frost spreading in a pattern of crystal snowflake shapes across the mirror. Emma leaned against the bathroom door and folded her arms across her middle, clasping her hands over her bare upper arms. She drew a deep breath, willing herself to remain calm.
"Uncle Bobby, please calm down before you scare Emily. She's been through enough, don't you think?"
A faucet on the chipped old-fashioned porcelain sink turned itself on. Within moments the stream of hot water had fogged the mirror. SAFE COMBO? spelled out on the glass in block letters, drawn by an invisible finger.
"I don't know the combination to the safe, Bobby." Emma sighed. "Dad told you to just chill, okay? I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to obey orders."
She heard the television come back on in the main room. Emily must have figured out the remote. The mirror had already fogged over again. BREAK IT appeared, followed by an exclamation point.
"No! I'm not going to break the safe. Dad would kill me. Jeez," Emma protested. It was time to be stern, she decided, and pitched her voice low. "Settle down and stop acting like a spoiled brat," she growled, and glared straight ahead. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then the frigid temperature began to rise. The faucet turned off.
"Thank you," Emma huffed. She stepped back out into the room, swiftly taking in the blaring television, the indent in the cheap, thin mattress where she and Emily had sat together. Sam's cell phone was gone, she saw with a strange, sharp sense of clarity. And so was Emily.
Her father's phone went straight to voicemail. Emma took a calming breath while waiting for the beep.
"Dad?" she squeaked, and silently cursed her voice for its betrayal. She took another breath and tried again. "Dad, I lost Emily. I think she called somebody to come get her. I mean one of the, the vamps," Emma blurted, stumbling in her haste to explain. "She totally thinks the Alpha is her daddy. Please be careful, Dad.
"And Bobby is... Um, I mean… I lost Bobby, too." Alone in the hotel room, Emma hung up the phone and let the tears fall.
Dean and Sam returned well before dawn. Emma could hear them in the hallway, bickering about dinner. She stood up and faced them as they walked in.
"Emma!" Her father took one look at her and strode over, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You okay?"
She blinked at him. "You left me to watch Emily and I lost her!"
"Yeah, she showed up. Hell of an actress, huh?" her father said. "And that 'daddy' business… She gets a trophy in Stockholm Syndrome." He shook his head.
"I lost Uncle Bobby, too. He got the safe open. The flask is gone," Emma pointed out.
"I got your message," Dean said briskly. He exchanged a look with Sam. Clearly the two had discussed Bobby at some point before their return. Dean looked back at Emma, brows arching.
"What, you didn't get my text?"
"Yeah. After hours! And then you just said 'OK'," Emma accused, hating the watery note that crept into her voice.
"Seriously, Dean?" Sam gave his older brother an exasperated look.
"We were busy! You know, fighting vampires. And a Leviathan that just happened to show up," Dean detailed. "And then, we were okay, so...'OK'." He tipped Emma's chin up. "You did okay, too. Emily fooled us all. And Bobby—"
"—Isn't himself," Sam broke in. "He's not thinking clearly. But if he was, he'd want us to keep going," he said firmly. "We got the Alpha's blood. We're almost there."
"Yeah." Dean ruffled Emma's hair. "Come on, we've got dinner. Well, rabbit food," he groaned. "We'd better be almost there, Sammy. I can't live like this!"