I don't know how long Dean held me cuddled against his chest, but it was long enough that I started to nod off. Then he shrugged the shoulder I was leaning on and shook my arm gently.

"Don't fall asleep yet, sweetheart," he said softly. "You still need to eat dinner and we need to talk about what just happened."

"That's okay, everything is okay now," I murmured sleepily, not lifting my head. "I don't need food."

"Emily, wake up," Dean said in a slightly firmer voice.

I sighed and lifted my head from his chest. "Fine," I grumbled and put my hands back in my lap. My stomach started fluttering worriedly and before I could even start to figure out why, Dean spoke again.

"I'm not sure we should do this," he said hesitantly. "You're so young…"

I stiffened and got off his lap quickly, dropping into the desk chair that he had been sitting in before he lit the fire on my butt. Pain radiated, but I ignored the ache. I raised my head and met his eyes firmly. He ran his hand down his face, avoiding my eyes.

"Not that young," I argued quickly. I wanted him and I didn't want my age to be the issue. "I'm 24. That's old enough to do everything in this country. I'm allowed to drive, smoke, drink, get a job, get married, shoot a gun, join the military, and own my own everything. And you can't say I'm not mature enough. I took care of my family for years. I know responsibility."

Dean's eyebrows drew together and he tightened his lips. I could tell he was still doubtful.

"Emily," he said slowly and carefully. "You're ten years younger than I am." He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and looked at me. "I hate to ask this, but I have to. Have you even had a relationship with someone before, with all your time split between taking care of your family and working at Rick's?"

My face reddened. "No," I admitted, reluctantly. "Maybe a few make out sessions here and there, but no relationships."

Dean's eyes widened. "So I'd be your first?" He bit his lip and looked away for a second before meeting my eyes again. "And you're coming out of a traumatic situation. I'm taking care of you. I feel like I'm robbing the cradle and taking advantage of you when you're vulnerable."

I had to fix this. I had to convince him that it was okay, that I was able to make this decision for myself. My defensive urge to drop into sarcasm rose and I pushed it away with difficulty. This was not the time. It wouldn't lighten the mood. This was really serious to me, and to him too, if what he was saying was true.

"Dean," I said, and I leaned forward and put my hands on his cheeks lightly, holding his face so he couldn't look away. It wasn't in me to beat around the bush, well, unless I was in trouble. "I want this. You aren't taking advantage of me. I tell you all the time that I'm a grown ass woman and it's true despite all your insistence on spanking sense into me. I can make my own decisions and I want you. Old man John and Sam have been taking care of me too and I don't feel like this about them. Only about you." I dropped my hands from his face to take his hand in mine.

"But…" Dean started, but he faltered, like he didn't know how to counter that.

I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Look, there's this rule about ages you can date without it being creepy. I heard about it at the bar," I laughed a little. "I heard about a lot of things at the bar, but in this case, it's not creepy to date someone if their age is half your age plus 7 years."

Dean blinked at me, leaning towards me and holding his breath a little.

I continued, making sure to keep solid eye contact with him, putting weight to my words to convince him. "Half your age is 17 and 17 plus 7 is 24. I may be on the young side, but I'm still in the range." I smiled at him, pushing aside the guilt weighing my stomach down about lying about my age. It was a measly three years and everything else I'd said was true. "We can be together, Dean. Please let us be together. I want this so much. I've never wanted anything as much as I want this, except getting my family back."

Dean swallowed and dropped his eyes for a second. "I want it too," he admitted. Then he raised his eyes to meet mine again. "I want you too, but if we're going to do this, we're going to take it slow. Really slow. Turtle slow, sloth slow, snail slow."

I sucked in a breath. Slow was not what I wanted. I wanted him now. "But…"

Dean shook his head and held up a hand. "Slow, Emily, or not at all. I don't want either of us to feel like I'm taking advantage of you. I want you going into this with open eyes." He shifted then, clearly uncomfortable with this line of conversation. I held my breath and let go of his hand. "And speaking of open eyes, you know I'm a hunter and hunters have a short shelf-life. I could get injured or killed on any hunt, with no warning. Are you okay with that? That when I go out on a hunt, I might not come back?" He met my eyes again, steadily, frowning.

Mind racing, I let out my breath. "I… I think so?" I said, a little uncertainly. "It would be the same if I were dating a cop or a fireman or a paramedic, right? Or even someone in the military. There's risks with your job."

Dean nodded. "You have to let me know if that changes, if you're not okay with the risk of losing me to some monster or accident on the road."

I rolled the office chair closer to him, putting my hands on his wide, hard shoulders and looked at him with the most sincere expression I could muster.

"I think any time I get to spend with you is worth the uncertainty when you're hunting," I said, my voice quiet and firm. "You'll go on a hunt, and I can stay here. Or if it's going to take a long time, maybe you could get a motel room, and I could stay in the room there so I could be with you when you weren't hunting." I moved my hands from his strong shoulders to his knees, leaning in, my sore butt on the edge of the office chair seat. "You're worth it," I told him.

And that's when the office chair rolled backwards out from under me and I yelped, certain that I was going to land on the floor on my sore and aching butt. But Dean had quick reflexes and he caught me, pulling me up so I didn't fall. His arms closed around me, and he kissed me this time.

I threw my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes, kissing him for all I was worth, our tongues intertwining, heat rising between my thighs. I wanted this man so much. This kiss lasted much longer than the first. We were lost in it, in the haze of desire and need.

Then my thigh panged in protest and I gasped in pain through the kiss. Dean pulled away immediately and sat back down on the bed, pulling me into his lap to get me off my leg.

I brushed my hair back from my face. "Sorry," I said to him, feeling a little ashamed. "I forgot about it again."

He chuckled. "I did too, and I'm the one who pulled you up to start with so I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"Let's just not tell John I stood on it without my crutches? Okay?" I asked him, smiling. "I don't want another spanking today. My ass can't take any more."

Dean tilted his head as if realizing something. "This doesn't change our agreement," he said, his voice stern. "You break any of the rules, and I'll still bust your ass even if we are dating."

I flushed in embarrassment and dropped my head. "I know," I said even though that had been the farthest thing from my mind right then. A thought occurred to me. "So… If we're dating, does that mean only you can 'bust my ass' about stuff now?" I made sure to make air quotes as I spoke, a slight smile on my face.

Dean shook his head. "Probably not," he said. "Maybe with Sam, that'll be up to him. But whatever this power struggle is that you've got going on with Dad…" he trailed off before finishing. "You're gonna have to deal with that on your own."

I frowned and sighed. "Okaaaay…" I drawled out. John drove me crazy with his attitude that just because he's older and had been in the military that he somehow had some right to tell me how to behave. It galled me.

Dean laughed. "All right, let's get you back to the kitchen so you can eat. You finally hungry now that you're out of trouble?"

I checked, and I was. My stomach was actually growling and I was feeling more relaxed than I had been, probably since forever ago.

"Yeah. Are you gonna carry me again?" I asked , smiling hopefully.

"We left the crutches in the kitchen, so I guess there's no choice," he said, grinning. He tapped my hip and I stood, making sure to keep all my weight on my uninjured leg. Then he got to his feet and swooped me up into his arms. He kissed me again, quick on the lips, and then carried me out the door and back to the kitchen.

When we got back into the kitchen, Sam was washing dishes at the sink and John was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. My food and Dean's food still sat the way we'd left it probably an hour before. Dean set me down by my seat and I gingerly lowered myself onto it, holding onto the table with my right hand while I did so, to keep any weight off my thigh. Dean grabbed our plates off the table and carried them into the kitchen area.

"I'll just heat these up," he said, winking at me as he moved away.

"I can eat cold food," I responded, not wanting to put him out. "It's still food. I don't care what temperature it is." It was true. I'd gone without food often enough that it just didn't matter to me.

Dean opened the microwave and set my plate inside. "So can I, but I still like it warm better, and I bet you do too." He smiled at me. I smiled back.

John shook the newspaper and turned a page. "You two get your business taken care of?" he rumbled.

I slumped in my seat and tilted my head in annoyance. "Yes, grandpa, or we wouldn't be back out here. Duh."

John lowered the newspaper and regarded me with a frown. "You need to watch yourself, girl. You're pushing me."

I stuck my tongue out at him and then smiled so he'd know I didn't mean it. He closed his eyes and shook his head, raising the newspaper back up so he could read whatever he was trying to read. I straightened up and grinned, turning to look at Dean. Now Dean was shaking his head at me, but he seemed more amused than annoyed. The guys generally spoke to John with some deference and respect, unless they were in a shouting match about something, but they didn't poke the bear the way I did. I didn't know why not. I thought it was fun.

With that in mind, I poked John's newspaper with my index finger from my side of the table. He ignored me, so I did it again in a different spot. "Emily," he rumbled from his side.

"What?" I asked innocently.

John sighed and lowered his paper again to give me a stern look. I responded with a mischievous grin. The microwave beeped, and Dean brought my food over and set it down in front of me, glancing uneasily at John. I tilted my head up and smiled at him, but he looked away quickly. I touched his hand as it slid away from the plate. He headed back to the microwave to heat up his food.

I looked at John again and his eyes were narrowed. "Why do you read actual newspapers anyway?" I asked, still smiling, and picked up the chopsticks. Now that I didn't feel like I had a cloud hovering over my head, the chopsticks didn't bother me. "Don't you know you can find all that and more online?"

John didn't answer right away. He looked at me and then he turned to look at Dean, who was standing at the counter with his back to us just watching the microwave. John frowned and turned back to me. "I like the news on actual paper," he responded.

"Okay, old man," I said with a grin and brought a piece of sweet and sour chicken to my lips. The microwave beeped again and Dean took his food out. He came back to the table, not looking at me. I watched him, reaching out to touch his arm as he sat.

John folded his paper and set it down on the table in front of him with a soft thump. "All right, what the hell is going on between you two?" he asked.

My hand dropped and I turned to John, but Dean just dug into his food, ignoring John like he hadn't said anything. Sam stopped what he was doing and dried his hands on a dish towel. Eyes narrowing, he crossed the kitchen towards us, tossing the dish towel onto his shoulder.

"What?" I asked, my heart speeding up. "What are you talking about?"

John tilted his head. "You look entirely too happy considering you just got your ass roasted and he's avoiding looking at you. So, I repeat, what is going on?"

Sam's eyebrows went up and he stood behind John on the left side with his arms crossed over his chest, looking from me to Dean and back.

"I don't know what you mean," I responded and dropped my eyes to my food, quickly grabbing another piece of chicken from the plate.

"Dean?" John rumbled. My eyes still down, I glanced at Dean from the side.

Dean's head rose so he was looking at his dad. "Yeah?" he said through a mouthful of rice and General Tso's chicken.

John's frown deepened. Did the man never smile? "You wanna weigh in here?" John asked, glaring at his son. "I know you've got a soft spot for her. Did you even spank her?"

My mouth dropped open and before Dean could answer, I huffed, "I am right here and yes, he spanked me! Between the three of you, I'm gonna be sleeping on my stomach tonight." I glared at John, but John did not take his eyes off Dean.

"Yeah," Dean said and shoved another wad of chicken and rice into his mouth, almost like he thought if he kept his mouth full, he wouldn't have to answer his dad. It would've been funny if the stakes didn't feel so high.

"Then why is she all smiles and sunshine?" John demanded. "Answer me!" Dean finally stopped shoveling food into his mouth and swallowed what he was chewing.

Sam's hands dropped down to hang at his sides. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened. "Dean, you didn't…" Sam started, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Didn't what?" Dean demanded, sitting up straight. Sam didn't answer and neither did John. "Are you accusing me of… of…" He couldn't seem to come up with a term he liked. "Seducing her?" he finally spat out.

I kept my head down, dropping it even lower so my hair curtained my face. I didn't want them aiming whatever this was at me.

"Did you?" John barked. Dean frowned and stood up, putting his palms on the table and leaning forward on his hands.

Before he could answer, Sam shot out, "Dean, I know how you are about women, but this is beyond the pale. She's still a kid!"

My head shot up now. "I am NOT! I have told you over and over that I'm an adult! I can make my own decisions and even if we had…" I stuttered to get the words out, "had sex, it would be my choice and none of your business!"

All three of them ignored me.

"You actually think I would do that?" Dean demanded. "Well thanks a fucking lot for your vote of confidence." He shoved away from the table, standing up to his full height to glare at both Sam and John, crossing his arms over his chest. "I did NOT seduce her. I did not take advantage of her. I spanked her ass for the crap she pulled just like the two of you did."

I'd had enough. I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring my throbbing thigh, ignoring my aching butt. "And then I kissed HIM!" I shouted at them.

It was like I'd rung a bell to start a boxing match. Dean rounded the table and John stood up. They were clustered together now, all yelling at each other and nobody was listening to anyone. They were all completely ignoring me. Three deep voices got louder and louder, almost echoing off the tile walls in the kitchen. John shouted something about me still being a kid and Dean thinking with his little head and not his brain. Sam yelled about transference and how I wasn't in a state of mind to make good decisions after all the trauma I'd been through. Dean bellowed about how they didn't trust him to make good decisions and how could they think he would take advantage of me like that.

I couldn't make out a lot of what they were saying with their voices overlapping each other, but I got the general gist that apparently Dean had been a bit of a player when he was younger. Sam even yelled at him that Dean apparently preferred 'experienced women' and asked why the hell was Dean all over me.

What I didn't hear, though, was anything about my feelings and how I was half of the equation that they were yelling about. It was like I was a child to be coddled and protected, any decisions were to be made for me, and what I wanted didn't matter at all to John and Sam. Angry heat flushed through my body and my muscles quivered with indignation. I'd had enough of them babying me. It was bad enough I was letting them spank me when I broke one of their stupid rules while I lived with them. I was not going to put up with them policing my romantic life.

I shoved my plate to the side, grabbed one of my crutches, and used the round wooden seat to climb onto the table, ignoring the pain in my thigh even while I tried to keep my weight off it as much as possible. Heart pounding, I stood up on the table as straight as I could, planting my legs wide apart and putting my hands on my hips. I leaned on the crutch to keep as much weight as possible off my now throbbing thigh. For once, I'd be the one towering over them.

"Hey!" I yelled, but my voice didn't penetrate through their deep male voices. I took a deep breath and lowered my tone as low as it would go. Dropping into my barmaid drawl, I yelled, "Hey! Big daddy and his little men!"

All three of them stopped and turned towards me. John's eyes popped and his expression darkened. Sam's eyes widened and he took a step in my direction. But Dean's face went white with worry and I had to push aside the guilt that spread through my chest.

"Maybe you 'alpha' males could lower yourself to consider my trivial opinion on the subject?" I inquired, my tone laced with sarcasm.

John took a step toward me and I wagged my finger and my eyebrows. "Ah ah ah! You don't want me jumping down off this table do you?" I slid to the side of the tabletop to add weight to my threat, even though I had no intention of following through.

John stopped immediately and glowered. "Do it and I'll spank you every night for a week," he growled, but he didn't come any closer.

"Well now that we've got that cleared up," I purred without worry. "How 'bout you listen to me for a second?" None of them said a word or moved even a step towards me, so I kept going, secure in the knowledge that my threat kept me safe. "You're all arguing over what Dean did and what Dean said and Dean's history, but you're forgetting one thing: me and what I want. This is half my decision! And if I'm old enough to decide that I can live in your bunker, agree to follow your rules, and get spanked when I don't, then I am damn sure old enough to make the decision on who I date! So lay off Dean and mind your own business!"

My eyes went from John to Sam to Dean. John was clearly furious, his chin lifted and his nostrils flaring. The muscle in Sam's jaw was twitching and his lips were pressed together, but his brows were drawn together in thought. Dean was stiff but stood with his weight on his toes, as if he were poised for action.

John went very still and bit out, "Yeah, you've done a stellar job showing us that you can make good decisions up to now."

My eyes narrowed as hot anger shot through me. "Screw you, old man!" I snapped and threw my crutch at him.

My thigh screamed at the added weight and I stumbled towards the edge of the table. Dean moved then, rounding the table and grabbing me around the hips to pull me off the table and onto his shoulder. He set me down quickly in front of one of the round seats attached to the table.

"Sit," he growled at me. I sat, panting as my anger left me. Dean whirled around and stood in front of me, blocking me from John, who was approaching scary fast.

"No," Dean said to John.

"Dean, move. She not only risked her leg, she threw her crutch at me. I'm not letting that disrespect stand!"

"Pot meet kettle," I leaned to the side to yell at John. "You disrespected me first, refusing to listen to me, like my opinions don't matter. You don't get to run my love life, sweet cheeks!"

Dean half turned to me and said, "Emily! You're making it worse!" I flushed and shut up, still mad. Dean turned back to John. "Look, like it or not, Emily and I are gonna try to make a go for it. You don't get a say in that. She's old enough to make up her own mind and so am I."

"Dean, she's 10 years younger than you," Sam pointed out. I glanced at him and he hadn't moved, but his body was relaxed now. I thought that despite his words, he was probably on our side now.

"Yeah, but we're both adults. I'm not taking advantage of her and there are plenty of people in relationships with a larger age difference, so that's the last I wanna hear about that. You get me?" Dean snapped. I couldn't see his face but his back was as stiff as a board.

"Yeah," Sam said, proving me right.

John didn't say anything for a moment until Dean prompted, "Dad?"

I peeked around Dean to look at John. Emotions warred on his face. He was clearly still pissed, but he managed to ground out, "Fine."

As I gave a satisfied smile at John, Dean stepped to the side and turned to me. "You need to apologize," Dean said.

The smile slid off my face and my mouth dropped open. "He started it!" I objected.

"And you threw a crutch at him," Dean pointed out, looking down at me.

I gave him the biggest eye roll of all the eye rolls in the last fifty years and huffed. Dean's brows drew together. "Or, I could hand you over to him and let him spank you for disrespect," Dean said.

Defeated, I sighed. It irked me, but I knew Dean was right. I let my expression soften and looked up at John with complete sincerity. "I'm sorry, John," I said. "I shouldn't have thrown my crutch at you. I lost my temper and I know that's no excuse. I'm really sorry."

John's tight shoulders dropped then and I knew he'd accepted my apology, but then he said, "You better never throw anything at me again. You hear me, little girl?"

My back prickled with indignation, but the expectant look on all of their faces quashed it. "Yes, sir," I sighed. "I won't."

"You hurt your leg?" he asked gruffly.

Now that I was sitting, it wasn't throbbing anymore. "No, sir," I said. "It's not hurt."

John gave a quick nod and strode from the room. Dean and Sam exchanged looks that clearly meant something, but I had no idea what. Then Sam turned and went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning it up, and Dean sat down next to me and pushed my plate back in front of me.

He took a breath and sighed. "Well, I can't say bringing you into the bunker hasn't livened up the place."

A little worried at that comment, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye but his expression was wryly amused. "Maybe it needed livening up," I offered, smiling at him.

He shook his head and smiled back. "Maybe it did, now eat your dinner."