Hey everyone!

I hope you like this chapter :)

We parked the car at the side of the road next to an abandoned structure, and Dean immediately went around to the trunk while Sam leafed through the book Bobby had given him and I sharpened my knives. Dean began loading up guns and putting them into his duffle bag, a solemn look on his face.

"You've been quiet, Dean," Sam spoke up, and Dean glanced up at him.

"Just getting ready," he replied tensely, and I shot Sam a look. I walked over to Dean and leaned against the side of the car, and he looked up at me, his brows furrowed and his face somber.

"He's gonna be fine, Dean," I reassured him, but he just looked back down into the trunk and didn't say anything. I heard Sam flip to another page in his book, and then the sound of his footsteps as he walked over to the trunk with a marker in his hand. He brushed some dust off of the corner of the trunk and started drawing something on it, much to Dean's dismay.

"Dude, what are you drawing on my car?"

"It's called a Devil's trap- demons can't get through it," Sam said absentmindedly, and I leaned over to get a better look.

"So?" Dean asked unhappily, and I could hear the pitch of his voice rising.

"It basically turns the trunk into a lockbox," Sam replied, walking around to the other end of the trunk and drawing the same symbol.

"So?" Dean repeated, and Sam looked over at him in confusion.

"So, we have a place to hide the Colt while we go get Dad."

I shot Sam a confused glance and pushed off from the side of the car, turning so I could look at him.

"Wait, what?" I asked in disbelief, and Dean stepped closer to me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you talking about? We're bringing the Colt with us."

"We can't, Dean. We've only got three bullets left- we can't just use them on any demon. We've got to use them on the demon," Sam replied, finishing the drawing and looking up at us.

"No. We have to save Dad, Sam. Okay? We're gonna need all the help we can get," Dean retorted, and I frowned at him. But before I could say anything, I was cut off by Sam, who was now looking at us in confusion.

"Dean, you know how pissed Dad would be if we used all the bullets?" Sam asked, and I winced involuntarily. John had only been mad at me a few times, but I had seen how he treated Dean- not exactly the highlight of my childhood. I looked over at Dean, thinking that would convince him to leave the gun behind, but his eyes narrowed.

"I don't care, Sam!" Dean barked, and I moved away from him a little bit. "I don't care what Dad wants, okay? And since when do you care what Dad wants?"

"We want to kill this demon!" Sam shot back, leaning forward. I looked between the two brothers frantically, not sure what to say. I had never felt as close to John as the boys did, but I still cared about him. He saved my life- how could I not feel indebted to him? But he was more like a mentor than a father, and I never really felt like a part of the family until I became a hunter. I stayed silent, letting the boys figure it out- they were his blood, and I was just the girl they took pity on.

"You used to want that too. Hell, I mean, you're the one who came and got me at school!" Sam continued, and Dean scoffed and looked away. "You're the one who dragged me back into this, Dean- I'm just trying to finish it!"

Dean paused for a moment and looked down at his feet, his jaw jutting slightly forward. He shook his head before looking back up at Sam, his eyes hard and cold.

"Well, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that?" he said harshly, and I could see the anger burning in his eyes. "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? We're gonna be the ones to bury you!"

At this, he motioned to me, and I looked over at him, speechless.

"You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge," Dean spat, and I shot him a cold glare before stepping closer to the trunk and slamming it shut. Both brothers flinched and looked at me in shock, and I glared at both of them.

"CUT IT OUT!" I roared, and they both looked down sheepishly. "We need to focus!" I stood in silence for a minute before taking a deep breath and continuing in a much calmer tone.

"Dean, we can't bring the gun," I said, and he started to say something before he noticed the look I was giving him. "They're expecting us to bring it- and if they get it, they will kill us all. I know you want to save John, but you can't do that if you're dead."

Dean nodded at me and looked back down at his feet, and I turned to Sam.

"And Sam?"

He looked up at me and managed a small smile.

"If you get yourself killed, I will bring you back to life and cut your hair."

With that, Dean laughed out loud, and the tension broke. Sam shook his head at me and pretended to be disappointed in me, and I stuck my tongue out at him before opening the trunk. I shot Dean a look, and he reluctantly slid the Colt from his jacket pocket and put it in the trunk. I closed the trunk (more gently this time) and grabbed my jacket, and we started to walk along the river.

A few minutes later, Dean stopped walking and elbowed me. I spun around to face him and he pointed to a sign on a nearby building.

"I think I know what Meg meant by 'sunrise'."

I looked over and swore under my breath, and I heard Sam sigh behind me.

"Son of a bitch," Dean cursed, turning to look at both of us. "That's pretty smart. I mean, if these demons can possess people, they can possess almost anybody inside."

"Which means anyone can attack us," I groaned, and Dean nodded at me.

"And we can't kill them- a building full of human shields," he said unhappily, and Sam shook his head in frustration.

They probably know exactly what we look like, too- and they could look like anybody," he added, and Dean groaned.

"Well, this sucks out loud."

"You got that right," I mumbled unhappily, and looked over at Dean. "So how the shit are we gonna get in?"

He looked at the building for a minute, furrowing his brows, before turning back to us.

"Pull the fire alarm, get out all the civilians."

"Okay, but then the city responds in what, seven minutes?" Sam pointed out, and Dean nodded.

"Seven minutes exactly."

"Great," I said sarcastically, and pulled my hair up into a haphazard bun before making sure the little bags of salt and the bottle of holy water that I had shoved into the hidden pocket in my jacket were secure. Once I was done, I looked back up at Sam and Dean, and nodded to let them know I was ready.

"Let's do this thing."

We sent Sam into the building to pull the alarm while we hid behind some trees. I entertained myself by playing rock-paper-scissors with Dean, and was beating him by about 3 points when we heard the alarm go off. People started streaming from the building, and after a few minutes, we saw Sam. He made his way over to us, and we stood by the curb trying our best to look like concerned civilians.

The firemen pulled up a few minutes later, and I motioned for Sam and Dean to stay put while I rushed up to the closest fireman.

"What's going on? Is it a fire?" I asked, pretending to be frantic with worry.

"We're figuring that out right now, miss. Just stay back," the man said, and I grabbed his arm and shot him a pleading look as Dean ran up to us.

"Sir, you've got to let us in there," he said frantically, and I shot him a confused look. "My wife and I… We've got a Yorkie upstairs, and he pees when he's nervous…"

I choked down a laugh and gripped the fireman's arm tighter, but he managed to detach me from his arm and gently push me back.

"Miss, you have to stay back."

"Come on, honey," Dean said, and slipped his arm around my waist. He started to lead me away, and I followed him, pretending like I didn't want to. We slid behind the nearest firetruck and saw that Sam had picked the lock of the compartment that contained the gear. Looking around quickly, he tossed me a yellow jacket and a helmet, which I caught. I put the suit on over my jacket and tank top, muttering unhappily about how hot the suit was. The two brothers did the same, and Sam handed both of us a breathing apparatus before putting on his own. I took the holy water from my jacket and poured some into each of our water tanks before shoving the mostly-empty bottle back into my jacket. I zipped up my jacket and nodded to the boys, and we started to move. We walked past the fireman from earlier and entered the building,clanking loudly.

Once we reached the main hallway, Dean pulled out his EMF meter to check the doors while Sam and I followed behind him.

"You know, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up," Dean commented.

"You never told me that," Sam said, and I shook my head.

"Me neither."

Suddenly, Dean's EMF meter started going berserk, and we all went silent. He raised his eyebrows and jerked his head towards the nearest door, and Sam stood beside him and knocked.

"This is the fire department- we need to you to evacuate," Dean demanded, and I got my hose ready. Someone unlocked the door, and Dean pushed his way inside. As soon as I saw a man and a woman inside, and I sprayed them with holy water. They screamed and steam rose off of them, but before they could retaliate, Dean punched the man and shoved him into a closet. Sam grabbed the woman from where she had fallen onto the table and threw her in the closet as well, and Dean leaned against the door to keep it shut. Sam pulled a canister of salt from his duffle bag and poured a line in front of the closet, effectively trapping the demons inside.

"Well, that was easy," I said, starting to take off all the gear. The boys did the same, and once we were all back to our normal outfits, we ran to open the nearest door.

I entered the room first, and, seeing John tied to the bed, ran over to him. I held my hand in front of his nose, and as soon as I felt that he was still breathing, I turned to the boys and nodded. Sam looked relieved, and Dean ran over and started shaking him.

"Dad, wake up. Dad!"

He pulled out a knife and was about to cut the restraints around John's wrists, but stopped when Sam spoke up.

"Wait, wait! He could be possessed for all we know," Sam said urgently, and Dean looked at him like he was insane.

"Give me a sec," I interjected, and pulled the bottle of holy water from my jacket. I sprinkled some on John, and nothing happened. We all took a breath of relief, and then John started to come around.

"Ella? Why are you splashing water on me?" he said groggily, and Dean leaned over to look him in the eyes.

"Dad, are you okay?"

"They've been drugging me," he replied as I pulled my knife from my boot and started to cut him loose. "Where's the Colt?"

"Don't worry, Dad. It's safe," Sam answered as John reached up to rub his eyes.

"Good," he said, and we helped him sit up. Sam and Dean helped him to stand, and we made our way to the door. Just as I was about to open the door, a man threw it open and rushed into the room, a fireman following closely behind.

"Go! GO!" Sam yelled, and shoved me towards the bedroom door. I stumbled, but caught myself, and ran into the bedroom with Dean and John hot on my heels. We slammed the door and locked it, and I grabbed some of the salt back from my jacket and made a line in front of the doorframe. I had just finished the line when an axe chopped through the door, and I jumped back and ran towards the fire escape. Dean and John were already out there, and I looked back at Sa.

"Let's go!" I yelled, and he tossed me the duffle bag before climbing through the window. I handed him the salt, and he ran it along the windowsill as I scrambled down the ladder.I reached the bottom and ran over to Dean and John just as Sam jumped down from the ladder.

Suddenly, a man attacked him from the side, throwing him to the ground.

"SAM!" I yelled, and rushed over to where he was pinned to the street. I kicked the man sharply in the face, but instead of collapsing, he looked up at me and grinned. I was thrown into a nearby car, shattering the windows, and fell to the ground. I saw Dean rush over to them and pull a gun from his pocket, and he shot the man in the head.

"What is he doing?" I groaned, and got to my feet just in time to see the man fall to the ground, unmoving. I rushed over to Dean, and he reached out to make sure I was okay. I nodded, and then noticed that he was holding the Colt.

"What the fu-" I started, but Dean shot me a sharp glare before helping Sam to his feet.

"Come on. We got to get out of here," he said urgently, and we ran over to John. Sam and Dean picked him up and started moving as fast as they could towards the car, and I followed close behind. The boys helped John into the backseat and I climbed in after him, slamming the door behind me. Sam and Dean got in the car, and we peeled away from the curb, tires screeching.

We drove for a while before we saw a cabin by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, and we decided to hole up there. Dean and I helped John into the cabin and got him settled on one of the beds before we went back out to the main room. Sam was pouring salt alone a nearby windowsill, but turned to us as soon as he heard the bedroom door close.

"How is he?"

"He just needs a little rest, that's all," Dean responded, and I looked at him more closely. He looked terrible- his lip was caked with dried blood and his cheek was starting to turn a rather unpleasant shade of purple.

"Sam,are you okay?" I asked gently, and he managed to smile weakly at me, taking a deep breath.

"I'll survive." He paused for a moment and shook his head, looking over at Dean with worry in his eyes.

"You don't think we were followed here, do you?"

"I don't know. I don't think so- I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up," Dean replied, and Sam nodded thoughtfully.

"Hey, uh… guys, you… you saved my life back there," he said slowly, and Dean grinned smugly.

"So I guess you're glad I brought the gun, huh?" he asked, and Sam rolled his eyes at as I reached over and smacked Dean's arm.

"Jackass!" I scolded, and he pretended like I had mortally wounded him before turning back to Sam.

"You're welcome."

Sam walked across the room and turned his back to us, and I flopped into a nearby chair and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. Dean stayed where he was, leaning on the table next to him. We sat in silence for a moment before Dean turned to Sam, his eyes downcast.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?" Sam replied, turning to face him. I looked up at Dean, and was startled by the emotion on his face.

"Dean, what is it?"

"That guy I shot? There was a person in there," he said slowly, and I got up from my chair and walked over to him.

"Dean, you did what you had to do," I said gently, but he shook his head and set his jaw.

"Yeah, I know. That's not what bothers me."

"Then what does?" Sam chimed in, looking at Dean with concern.

"Killing that guy, killing Meg… I didn't hesitate- didn't even flinch. For you or Ella or Dad… The things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just, uh… it scares me sometimes."

Sam and I were silent, not really knowing what to say. I knew what he meant- I would do the same for them any day. They were the only family I had ever known, and I loved them all in different ways- my life wouldn't be the same without them. It scared me too. Just how far was I willing to go to save them?

John came into the room, and I pulled myself away from my thoughts and looked over at him.

"It shouldn't. You did good," he said, and Dean looked at him in shock.

"You're not mad?"

"For what?" John asked, and I looked over at him in confusion.

"Using a bullet," Dean replied, and John shook his head.

"Mad? I'm proud of you," John declared, and I looked over at Sam in shock. I couldn't remember the last time John said he was proud of Dean, let alone any of us.

"You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you- you watch out for this family. You always have," John continued, and I frowned. Something wasn't right. I was about to say something when the wind picked up outside, and the lights began to flicker. We all went over to the window and looked outside, and John turned to us with a somber expression on his face.

"It found us. It''s here."

"The demon?" I asked frantically, and John nodded. I swore under my breath (well, I thought I did), and John glanced over at me before turning to Sam.

"Sam- lines of salt in front of every window, every door."

"I already did it," Sam responded, and I saw John frown.

"Well, check it, okay?"

Sam nodded and left the room, and I looked at John skeptically. Now I knew something really wasn't right- the last time I swore in front of John, I thought he was going to take me out. I turned to Dean, but before I could say something, John spoke up.

"Dean, you got the gun?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, not seeing the look I was giving him.

"Give it to me."

Dean took the Colt from his jeans, shaking his head.

"Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation- it disappeared."

"This is me- I won't miss. Now, the gun- hurry," John urged, and I walked over to Dean.

"Don't," I said quietly, and I saw Dean hesitate. He looked down at me like I was insane, but when he saw the look I was giving him, he froze, and understanding dawned on his face.

"Son, please."

Dean pulled me behind him and started to back away, and John looked at us in confusion.

"Give me the gun. What are you doing?"

"He'd be furious," Dean said, making sure I was safely hidden behind him.

"What?" John said, and I looked at him and narrowed my eyes.

"That Dean wasted a bullet," I growled, and reached for the knife I had strapped to my wrist.

"He wouldn't be proud of me. He'd tear me a new one," Dean said sharply, and he raised the gun. He pointed it at John and cocked it, and we both glared in "John's" direction.

"You're not my dad."