When Dean had checked the first time, the car hadn't been ready yet. Two days later, however, it was done and in those two days, any work that he and Sam did seemed to be worthless. With each passing day, Sam seemed to go to bed earlier and sleep later. The translations were basically done and Dean thought he knew where this thing was hiding but he wasn't going to stick around to try to take it down. He couldn't do it if it could put Sam's life at risk.

At the moment, Dean was pulling out a credit card and handing it to the guy behind the counter. The mechanic eyed it suspiciously and then turned around to run it through the machine. Dean glanced over his shoulder at his brother, nervously tapping his index finger on the counter as he waited. He just wanted this guy to hurry so he and Sam could leave. Sam stood several feet away with his arms folded across his chest and wasn't looking at Dean if he could help it.

When he heard that the car was ready to be picked up, Sam knew what that meant. They were leaving. He'd never be able to finish this job and he didn't understand why Dean was being so adamant about them leaving. Not when they were so close. They knew where the damn thing was. Sam wanted to finish this but Dean wasn't going to let them. That wasn't like his big brother but in a small way, he understood. Dean was trying to save Sam from the same fate Emerson's little brother had suffered.

Dean signed for the charge and took his keys, enjoying for a moment the feeling of having them back in his hand again. "Thanks," he told the guy as he turned to leave, flashing the mechanic a quick smile. He grabbed Sam's shoulder and began pulling him out of the garage. "Let's go," he said, giving Sam a stern look.

Sam followed slowly. His feet didn't seem to want move with him, his legs felt heavy. He started to wonder if Dean and Emerson weren't right but his mind seemed hazy. Dean stopped walking and looked at Sam.

"Come on," he said impatiently. When he saw the glazed look in his little brother's eyes, Dean began dragging Sam to the car. "Let's go."

Sam looked like he was sleepwalking and Dean had to force his brother into the car. He sighed, not understanding what was going on. He ran around the back of the car and got in, starting it. The one place he thought to go was to see Emerson.

Dean pulled up in front of the store. Sam looked like he was sound asleep in the passenger seat. Dean had tried several times to wake Sam on the way. None of it had worked. He hurried to get out of the car, jogging around the back of it to get to the front door of the store.

Emerson opened the door before Dean could even grab the handle. They practically ran into each other but they didn't exchange a smile at the incident. Dean gave her a worried look and she nodded. She walked over to the car, practically pushing her way past Dean to get to Sam. "When did it happen?"

Dean shook his head. He exactly wasn't sure when it had happened. "It was like he was sleepwalking on the way to the car," he quickly explained. "I started driving here and before I even got here, he was out."

Emerson slowly nodded, her back to Dean. She tenderly touched Sam's face. She ran her fingers through his hair a little, to move some of it out of her way and then let her index fingers come to a rest on his temples. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. All she wanted was get a sense of what kind of damage this thing had done to Sam. When she opened her eyes again, her hands slid down Sam's face, her fingers gently brushing his cheeks. Emerson's left hand sat on Sam's shoulder as she turned to look at Dean.

"He'll be fine, Dean," Emerson softly said with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Just have to get him out of town. In a day or two, it'll be like nothing happened. It's doing this on purpose. To get you both out of town. How close did you two get?"

Dean swallowed hard, slowly licking his lips nervously before saying anything. "We've been working on it non-stop for the last couple of days," he admitted. "I wanted to get you involved sooner but Sam wouldn't ..." He shook his head. "He was being more stubborn than usual."

Emerson smiled a little at that. She looked back at Sam again and softly sighed, her hand sort of massaging his shoulder now. "This is nothing like what happened to Nathaniel," she explained, turning back to face Dean again. "Sam will be fine. I promise, Dean. Just ... Did you leave the stuff at the inn? Do you have it with you?"

Dean shook his head. "It's at the inn," he said. "Why?"

She let go of Sam and walked towards Dean. "Because I want it," she said. Her voice was calm but there was a strong determination in it. "I want to kill this thing once and for all. If you stay, Dean, it will kill Sam. You don't have much choice in the matter. That just leaves me."

Dean nodded his understanding. "I was headed there to grab our stuff. I'll get our work too. My first thought, though, was to come here. To get him to you." He gave her a soft, sad smile. "You sure you can do this?"

She smiled a little at Dean's concern for her and nodded. "With some help, yes," Emerson said, "but don't worry about that. Take care of your brother, Dean. Let me take care of this demon."

Dean had left Sam in the car. Of course, short of dragging his brother along, he didn't have much of a choice. He was throwing all of their stuff into the bags, not bothering to be neat about it. He didn't think he had the time to worry about that. He saw the papers, the copies of the ones Emerson had given them as well as the notes they had made, and stuffed them into his jacket pocket, crinkling them a bit.

He gathered up their bags and practically ran to the car. A couple of the townspeople were standing near the car and Dean glared at them. He didn't care if they were being curious or not. He didn't want them anywhere near Sam. As far as Dean was concerned, they were as much a part of the problem as this demon was.

"Get the hell away from my brother," he shouted as he got to the Impala. Dean opened the trunk and threw the bags in. He jogged around to the driver's side door. He didn't even bother to make sure everyone was clear. He just got in, started it up and put it in drive. A few people had to actually jump clear as Dean drove by them.

Emerson stood in front of her store. She was hugging herself, still wearing the cardigan sweater even though it was warm outside. Definitely too warm for a sweater and too warm for her to feel so cold. She was nervously chewing on her lower lip, waiting for Dean to come back. She had to stop herself from pacing, which she had started to do as soon as Dean had driven off. She heard the Impala before she saw it coming up the street. Dean stopped the car in the middle of the street and left it idling. Emerson jogged across the street. Before she even got to the car, Dean had the papers out, his hand out the window. She nodded and took them from him. "Let him know I said good-bye, okay?"

Dean looked at Emerson when he heard her voice crack. He gave her a little smile and nodded. "He'll be pissed he didn't get to say good-bye to you himself, you know."

Emerson smiled, fighting back the tears she could feel forming behind her eyes. "Yeah, I know and well, you guys know where I live," she said with a light sort of laugh. Her voice still cracking occasionally as she spoke. "I have Sam's number and I gave him mine so ..." Her smile looked a little pouty for a moment before it brightened. "Look, Dean. Don't be a stranger, okay?" This time she had to actually wipe away a tear.

Dean slowly nodded. "We won't," he said. "I promise that I'll call you as soon as he wakes up." He emphasized the word 'we' on purpose when he responded to her.

She nodded. She was hugging herself again, the papers crumpled against her chest. "Just go, all right? Before I get all sappy on you."

He put the car in drive and started down the street. Looking out the rear-view mirror, he saw Emerson was still standing in the middle of the road, watching him drive out of town. Dean glanced over at Sam and let out a little sigh. "Dude, you are one lucky son of a bitch, you know that," he told Sam. "A girl like that? Who's probably willing to die for you? You have no idea what you've got going for you, man. No idea."

THE END ...