Chapter 16

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Dean walked into the bedroom. He helped Emma out of bed and into her wheelchair. This had been their daily routine for the past three years. They woke up around the same hours, he helped her into her wheelchair. And together they went over what they had to do for the day. They spent their days fighting the croats, making sure their people survived. That they were no more infected people among them.

Emma had been bound to this wheelchair for three years. She had not been able to help Sam and Dean. She had failed them. She had failed her brothers. The world had slowly gone to shit five years ago. It was hell on Earth and there was no changing it. Nothing to do but to survive. The angels were no more. God was nowhere to be found. Just them humans and the Croats. And Lucifer.

This day was like any other. Dean went out with his squad to patrol while she and Chuck checked the supplies. Making sure they weren't missing anything. That the people got what they asked for. It was a day like any other. Except maybe for Dean bringing home a stray. A stray that strangely looked like him.

"What the hell is that?" She asked Dean as she looked between her Dean and the handcuffed and unconscious one.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Dean looked down at her.

"Well, he's human is that's what you're asking for." Emma told him.

Dean pulled out his flask of holy water. And splashed unconscious Dean. He then placed silver on Other Dean's skin. No reaction.

"Yep, definitely human." Her Dean confirmed.

"Told you so." Emma wheeled herself to the stove.

"What the hell is he?"

"You can figure it out after you ate." She placed a hot plate on the table. "You okay?"

Dean sat down. His eyes roamed her face before settling on her lips. "I don't like leaving you here, alone."

"And I don't like you going out on missions." Emma replied. "But we all have a job to do, right?"

"Right." He said softly. Then, he leaned in and kissed her.

A few minutes later, Other Dean stirred awake. Dean and Emma set their eyes on him. Both hunters were cleaning weapons, before Dean's big mission. The latter stood up and between Emma and Other Dean.

"What the hell?" Other Dean said.

"I should be asking that question, don't you think?" Dean said back. "In fact, why don't you give me one good reason, why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?"

"Because you'd only be hurting yourself." Other Dean retorted.

"Very funny." He replied seriously.

"Look, man, I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?"

"He knows." Emma came forward. Other Dean's eyes widened in shock. His eyes were fixed on her wheelchair. "Although, I told him you were as human as they come, he tested you."

"Silver, salt, holy water. Nothing." Dean continued. "But you know what was funny—was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh…resemblance, while you're at it?"

"Zachariah." Other Dean said,

"What?" Emma frowned.

"I'm him from the tail end of 2009." Other Dean explained. "Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."

"Where is he?" Dean asked him. "I want to talk to him."

"I don't know."

"Oh, you don't know?"

"No, I don't know." Other Dean retorted. "Look, I just want to get back to my own friggin' year, okay?"

"Okay." Dean rubbed his face. "If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."

"Rhonda Hurley." Other Dean said. "We were, uh…nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."

"Touché."

"You didn't?" Emma snorted. Dean only shrugged in response. "You need to tell me about that story."

"Later." Dean smirked at her. "So—Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?" He turned back to Other Dean.

"I guess."

"It wouldn't surprise me, coming from that dick." Emma commented.

"Croatoan virus, right?" Other Dean continued. "That's their endgame?"

"It's efficient. It's incurable. And it's scary as hell."

"Turns the population into monsters." Emma said. "Two years ago, the major cities were hit."

"World really went in the crapper after that."

"What about Sam?" Other Dean asked.

Emma and Dean glanced at each other. Dean exhaled. "Heavy weight showdown out in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."

"You weren't with him?"

"No." Dean said. "No, me and Sam, we hadn't talked in—hell, five years."

"We never tried to find him?"

"I got other people to worry about."

"Where you're going?" Other Dean asked him.

"I got to run an errand."

"Woah, you're just gonna leave me here?"

"Don't worry, I'll be with you." Emma smiled.

"I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there, with an apocalypse hanging over their heads. The last thing they need to see is a version of 'the parent trap.' So, yeah, you stay locked down."

"Okay, fine but you don't have to cuff me, man." Other Dean replied. "Oh, come on, you don't trust yourself?"

"No." Dean answered. He opened the door. And Emma followed him on the porch.

"Be careful out there." Emma told him as he put his bags in the truck.

"You know me." He walked up to her.

"Yeah, I do." Emma retorted. "Don't die on me, Winchester."

"I won't, Williams." He pecked her on the lips and forehead. And he left glancing at her over his shoulder.

Other Dean kept his eyes on her as she wheeled herself around the shack. "He doesn't trust me to let me go but trusts me enough to leave me here with you?" He asked her.

"No." Emma went over the list of supplies that Chuck and she had worked on earlier. "But I have a gun and I can shoot."

Other Dean let out an awkward chuckle. "So, what happened to you? Why are you…?"

"In a wheelchair?" Emma finished for him. "That's what happens when your grace isn't properly healed. I'm not made like the others. I used it against Raphaël, I only damaged it further."

"And your legs stopped working since that day?"

"Yep."

"What about your powers?"

"They're gone." Emma shrugged. "Although, I still can tell the difference between demons and humans. I've lost my mojo."

"What about you and me?" Other Dean asked. "It seems that we are pretty tight in the future."

Emma smirked. "I'm going to hit the hay." She retorted. "If I know you as well as I think I do, I'd say you be gone by morning." She wheeled herself away from him. "It was nice seeing you again, Dean-O."

He was her Dean before all of this happened. Before Sam died. Dean-O was who Dean used to be. Had she changed as much as Dean? Or was she the same woman? Probably not. She had seen him change. He had become harsher, sometimes even desperate. In other times, she would have tried to talk him out of certain of his choices. But today, his choices were the right ones. No matter how cruel they might seem to others. Sacrifices were necessary.

Why would Zachariah send him here? This was probably another one of his mind games. She hated this bastard for this. It was probably his way of convincing Dean-O to change his mind. To get him to say yes to her brother. However, this was her chance to convince Dean-O otherwise. Her chance to convince him to reconnect with Sam. They had a chance to change everything.

As she had predicted, Other Dean was gone when she woke up.

"Hey, Em!" Chuck said as he walked in.

"Hey, Chuck!" Emma greeted him back. "What's the program?"

"Perishable and hygiene supplies are still a problem." Chuck announced. "Dean said something about sharing but it doesn't make any sense."

"You've seen Dean?" Emma frowned.

"Yeah. Isn't he supposed to be out on a mission?"

"It's complicated." Emma grabbed the clipboard. "Let's see what we can do about those perishable and hygiene supplies."

Hours later, both Deans were back. Dean pushing Other Dean inside. "What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was that?" Other Dean repeated. "You just shot a guy in cold blood."

Emma glanced at Dean, frowning but remained silent as he explained. "We were in an open quarantined zone. Got ambush by some croats on the way out." Other Dean raised his eyebrows. "Croats. Croatoans. One of them infected Jäger."

Emma's eyes fell shut. Jäger was a good man. He had been with them for years now. But as it was often the case, the cratoan virus claimed good men. Condemning them to death.

"How do you know?"

"Cause after a few years of this I know." Dean retorted. "I started seeing symptoms about half an hour ago. It wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news."

"Troubling a good man? You blew him away in front of your own people." Other Dean countered. "Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?"

"This is 2014." Dean reminded him. "Plugging some croats it's called common place. Trading words with my freaking clone that might freaked them out a little."

"Alright, look…"

"No, you look, this isn't your time. It's mine." Dean said. "You don't make the decisions. I do. So, when I say stay in. You stay in."

Other Dean glanced at Emma who had remained a silent witness. "What about the mission? Did you find it?" Emma asked.

"Find what?" Other Dean looked between them. Without a word, Dean pulled the Colt out of his bag. "The Colt?"

"The Colt."

"Where was it?"

"Everywhere." Dean replied. "They've been moving it around. It took me five years but—I finally got it. And tonight—tonight I'm gonna kill the devil."

That had been their project for so many years. Since the moment her brother Lucifer had walked the earth. Since the moment they had lost Sam. Their sole plan was to kill Lucifer. The only solution to save thousands of lives, to stop the croatoan virus. The only way.

In spite of knowing that it was the only way to stop her brother, Emma didn't like this plan. She didn't like that Dean would be the one to do it. She didn't like that there was a high possibility that Dean would not make it out alive. She didn't like the fact that she would be left alone, to live in this world without him. She hated that plan. More than she hated her brother.

"You okay?" Dean asked stepping into the bedroom.

"Does it have to be you?" Emma sighed.

"It was my mom who started this, me and Sam who let the devil out—"

"And I failed in stopping him. Following your logic, I should be the one to pull the trigger."

"My brother said yes!"

"To my brother!" Emma took a deep breath. "My family had been ruining yours for years. They had planed everything so they could have the perfect vessels. I can't just sit here and let them take you away from me. Don't ask me to do that, please."

He crouched down in front of her and grabbed her hands. "Em, you know I can't walk away from this. People trust me to kill the devil and to save the world. And this is what I'm going to do. Tonight."

Emma knew there was no way to talk him out of this. He would do with or without her support. "Don't die on me, Winchester."

"I won't, Williams."

"So, that's it. That's the colt." Risa said as Castiel sat down at the table.

"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it." Dean retorted. Emma sat by Other Dean, her eyes on her lap.

"Great. Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?" Risa asked.

"He already knows where he is." Emma answered for Dean.

"The demon that we caught last week; he was one of the Big Guy's entourage. He knew." Dean explained.

"So, a demon tells you where Satan is gonna be and you just believe it?"

"Oh, trust me. He wasn't lying."

"And you know this how?"

"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth." Castiel explained.

"Torture?" Other Dean asked. "Oh, so, we're torturing again. That's—that's good. Classy."

Castiel laughed. "What? I like past you." He said to Dean who was glaring at him.

Dean spread a map on the table. "Lucifer is here." He pointed to a red circle on the map. "I know the block; I know the building."

"Oh, good! It's right in the middle of a hot zone." Castiel commented.

"Crawling with croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?" Dean asked him.

"No, you saying we, uh, walk straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the croats and we shoot the devil?"

"Yes."

"Okay, if you don't like 'reckless,' I could use 'insouciant' maybe."

"Are you coming?"

"Of course, but why is he? He's you five years ago. Something happens to him, you're gone, right?"

"He's coming."

"Okay." Castiel got up. "Well, uh—I'll get the grunts moving."

"We're loaded and on the road by midnight."

"All righty."

Emma wheeled out of the room. She couldn't bare looking at him. At them both. She hoped for him to survive the confrontation with Lucifer. But she knew better, Lucifer was powerful. Even more now that he was occupying his true vessel. She knew for certain that Dean would come out of this alive. She was going to lose him. For five years, she had tried to convince him otherwise. But she had never truly known how stubborn he could be. He refused to listen, even today. This was something Dean wanted to do. Out of guilt or out of some self-punishment. Dean had never let himself be happy, or try to see a happy ending. Especially not now, not with her.

"When you get back, call him." Emma said as Other Dean stood next to her on the porch.

"What?"

"Sam. When you get back, call him." She looked up at him. "You thought that Sam and you being apart would make you stronger. Truth is you are weaker when you are not together. Saying 'yes' to Michael won't make things right. Calling Sam might change things for the better."

"You coming or what?" Dean called to his twin.

Other Dean cast a last glance to Emma as he walked down the porch. "Call him."

"Dean!" Emma gasped as the latter popped back in their motel room. "Where the hell did you take him?" She glared at Zachariah.

"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas 'screw you.'" Dean said to the angel.

"Enough." Zachariah looked between them. "Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens? You are the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes."

"What?" Emma frowned looking between the two.

"How do I know if this whole thing isn't one of your tricks, uh?" Dean retorted to Zachariah. "Some angels hocus-pocus?"

"The time for tricks is over." Zachariah answered. "Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike." Zachariah walked up to Dean. "Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die."

Dean glanced down at Emma. She silently shook her head. "Nah."

"That's my boy." Emma said proudly.

"You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?"

"Oh, I've learned a lesson, all right. Just not the one you wanted to teach."

"Well, I'll just have to teach it again." Zachariah snapped. Emma protectively placed herself between Dean and Zachariah. "'Cause I got you now, boy. And I'm never letting you…"

The walls around her had dissolved. She and Dean were now standing outside on the side of a road. Castiel was next to them.

"It's pretty nice timing, Cas." Dean said to the angel.

"We had an appointment." Cas smiled at Dean.

Dean rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever change."

"How did Zachariah find you?" Cas asked him.

"Good question." Emma exclaimed.

"Long story." Dean pulled out his phone. "Let's just stay away from Jehovah witnesses from now on, okay?"

"What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done in the first place."

"Is anybody gonna fill me in cause I'm kinda lost here." Emma said exasperated, confused as what was happening.

She was in a dreamless sleep when she suddenly awoke in the middle of the night. Only to find that Dean was gone. At first, she thought that he might have been out and called him. But when he didn't answer her calls, she started to worry. She didn't want to call Bobby or even Sam. Where was he? And before she knew it, Zachariah had popped in with Dean. Where had they gone? And why?

"So, you changed your mind about calling Sam?" Emma squinted her eyes at him. "Why?"

"Isn't what you wanted me to do?" Dean asked back. Both leaning against the Impala.

"Yeah, but you've always refused to do it which brings me back to my question. Why now?"

"Let's just say I've learned my lesson."