I stopped just outside the door, looking at the sad sight in front of me.

Sam and Emily were sitting together in the dirt. They looked so…fragile, like a strong breeze would be enough to break them. They were two of the strongest people I knew. The whole picture was just wrong.

Dean put his hand comfortingly on my back. "It'll be ok." He assured me again quietly.

I nodded vaguely.

"Go on." He nudged me gently, "Let her know that you're ok."

I wiped at my face, trying to rub away the tears, then moved slowly over to stand in front of Emily. After a moment I let Dean's hand go to crouch down in front of her.

She looked up at me and I could see the tears still running down her face. I didn't know what to say, so I just moved closer and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I dared without hurting her. She had her good arm wrapped around me almost instantly, holding me close. I realised just how close we'd come to loosing each other, and started to cry again.

"You're ok." She whispered in my ear, as if I needed to be reminded.

I gave a teary laugh. "Yeah Em, I'm ok, thanks to you." Thank God we knew each other so well. Still, I could hardly believe that she had walked in there after what she had clearly been through already to help Dean save me.

I shifted back a little to look her in the eye. "You were so brave in there. You…you saved my life."

She smiled at me, "Anytime." And I knew I felt the same.

Dean, still standing close by, cleared his throat dramatically. Emily and I laughed, and I turned to smile at him. "You too Dean, and Sam," I added, smiling at him too, "You two both definitely helped." I smirked at Dean, and they both chuckled.

Dean smirked at me for a moment, then gave me a genuine smile, "You're welcome. Now, let's get out of here." He looked at Sam and Emily, "I believe you guys have a promise to keep…time for a trip to the hospital."

I looked over the pair of them more closely, and couldn't help but agree that a hospital trip was definitely overdue. Later I'd ask exactly what had happened, but right now I was just glad that the monster was gone and we were all still here.

Emily nodded at him, "No arguments here." She wiped her face, looking suddenly exhausted and I was sure she was in a lot of pain.

I moved around a little so that I could wrap an arm around her waist and, with Dean supporting her from the other side, we got her to her feet. I could see the pain in her eyes as we moved her, but she didn't make a sound.

While I was watching her, she was studying me. "Did he…did it hurt you?"

Of course she was still worrying about me. I shrugged a little, "I'll have some bruises, but I'll be fine." Honestly it was only now the adrenaline was wearing off that all the aches and pains were making themselves known, and they could wait. "Looks like I got off a whole lot lighter than you guys." I told her, trying to keep my tone light.

She smiled at me, "I'm glad to hear it."

Dean looked at me from behind her. "You got her?" He mouthed.

I nodded, moving around to support her better so that he could go and help Sam. I had been so distracted that I hadn't realised that poor Sam was still sitting in the dirt silently, and it worried me. Emily and I exchanged a look as Dean helped him up with a careful confidence that said he'd carried Sam out of worse situations that this, and then we slowly followed them out of the woods.

Hi everybody! Once again I am so sorry for the long delays! I am just so busy at the moment and my studies have to take priority I'm afraid! When I manage to get to the end of this one I'm going to take a bit of a break to focus on studying before I start the next instalment so that I can do it justice!

Thankyou so much to tara hitge, Sallyannerenee and ncsupnatfan for your reviews! It keeps me motivated to keep going, however slowly, knowing there are people eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

Welcome to my newest followers! I love knowing that there are people still discovering and enjoying my stories!