Esme just about growled at his comment about him seeing naked women before. Once he was out of the bathroom, she roughly pushed the door shut behind him. “May be so, but that doesn’t mean you can just go dropping in on them at any moment.” she said through the door. She walked over to the toilet and looked down at the clothes Cason had brought to her. Her head snapped to the door when he told her to stop being so violent, she smirked. “I’m only violent when I’m around you.” she commented. She picked up the black t-shirt and the black jeans, her eyebrow raised when she noticed a couple of items were missing.

“Leave it to a guy to miss those two items.” she whispered. There was no way she was going to go commando. “I think you missed a couple of things.” she called out to him as she sat the shirt and jeans back on the closed toilet. She walked over to her pile of dirty clothes and pulled out her bra and underwear, giving them a good shake out over the tub. As she walked back to the toilet, she unwrapped the towel from her and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. She then slipped into her undergarments before grabbing the black jeans and stepping into them. It surprised her they actually fit, even if they were a little snug in the ass.

Picking up the shirt, she slipped it over her head and pulled it down. Once again, it surprised her: it fit perfectly. Esme pulled her hair from the back of the shirt, then walked over to her pile of clothes and shook them out over the tub. Turning on the water, she washed the debris from her clothes down the drain, making sure it was all washed away before shutting the water off. Once done with that, she balled them up after pulling her socks from the pile and headed for the door after grabbing the boots. She opened the door and walked out, and saw him sitting on the bed.

She could tell he was thinking about something. She then threw her clothes in a chair that was in the room's corner as she headed for the table and sat down in a chair. After sitting, Esme set the boots next to her and put on her socks. “So, how reliable is the one you sent after my car?” she asked after a moment.

Cason scoffed when she mentioned she was only violent around him. In his eyes, he took that as almost a sweet little nod to his efforts. Although, he should have known better, considering how rough things had been. The thought kind of made him smile. She was scared of him, in ways.

As she walked back into the room, he looked up at her after a couple of seconds, his eyes trailing from her clean face, over her body, down to her bare feet, “You look…better.”

He watched her sit down, and shrugged his shoulders at her question. The demons picking up her car wouldn’t screw him over. They knew better. How good they were with driving, he didn’t really care, as long as the car got there in one piece. Sighing, he stood from the bed and stretched with a groan, “They won’t screw up, if that’s what you’re asking. Your car will get here in one piece, and if it doesn’t, I’ll kill them in front of you…you know…for damages.”

He said the words casually, snapping his fingers and causing a pile of clothing to land on the bed beside him. He rolled his eyes at the fact that his mind had conjured a leather jacket, a black t-shirt, and a pair of faded jeans. It was so…pedestrian. Sighing, he picked up the jeans and laid them out, before stripping his own long sleeve shirt over his head.

He paused, glancing over at her to see if she was looking at him, before causing his pecs to jump lightly. He chuckled with full teeth, and pushed his pants down, stepping out of his boots at the same time that he stepped out of them. He quickly whipped the belt from his old pants, and pulled the new ones on, hopping a bit to get them over his legs.

“And where do you plan to go?”, he asked her, buttoning his jeans and starting on his belt, “What are your plans today?”

Esme looked up at him after getting one sock on when he spoke about who was getting her car. His words caused her to narrow her eyes at him. “It better get here in one piece and in the same condition they found it.” she told him. “If you think I was violent when I shot you and socked you in the nose…… Then you don’t want to see how I can get if anything happens to that car.” she warned. She then placed her foot on the floor and lifted her other foot into her lap. “And nothing better be missing either.” she said as she slid her foot into the sock. The thought of a demon driving her car made her skin crawl, and the thought of them damaging it made her inwardly cringe.

No one but her and her parents had ever driven her car, and now there was some demon driving it from Illinois to here. Needless to say, the information did not please her one bit and caused her to sigh inwardly. After hearing his snap and clothes hit the bed, she looked up slightly from her foot to see him stripping off his shirt. When he caught her gaze and made his pecs jump with a huge grin and chuckle, she rolled her eyes and averted her gaze back to her foot as he pushed his pants down. “Really? It’s like you want me to shoot you again.” she whispered, taking a quick look at her gun on the table next to her.

As he took off his pants and boots and danced into his new pants, she focused on putting on the boots he had gotten for her. She knew the longer he hung around, the more her patients was going to be tested. She also had a feeling that she was going to be shooting him a few more times. Esme didn’t immediately look up at him when he asked his questions. She finished putting on her boots, then slowly looked up to make sure he had his pants on. She sat up, then leaned back in the chair, looking at him and crossing her arms over her chest. “That I don't quite know yet. Maybe grab a bite to eat.” she told him as she stretched out her legs and crossed one foot of the other.

“Why?…… You plan on tagging along?” she asked with a raised brow. As she looked at him and waited for his answer, she hoped that he’d stay behind so she could at least eat in peace. Then she wondered if she could really be that lucky since Cason had been like gum on the bottom of her boot.

As Cason finished buckling his belt, he glared over toward the table at her little smartass threat. He rolled his eyes, and shoved his feet into his boots. He knew she would shoot him if he didn’t stop, but he was having a lot of fun. What’s another bullet hole?

He picked his shirt up and fiddled with it in his hands for a bit as he approached and stood in front of her, taking in the response to his questions, finally. He shrugged his shoulders, “I could eat. I mean, it could be dangerous, you running around a town you don’t know. I might as well come along…you know…”

He reached his arms up, pulling the t-shirt over his head, his abs twitching as he did so. He inwardly laughed as his head popped through the neck, and he slowly pulled the bottom over his stomach and finally to rest around his hips.

“So, wanna go for a walk? Same town, greasy spoons…we can go find food.”, he quipped, reaching a hand out to her.

Esme watched Cason as she made his way across the room and stood in front of her as he fiddled with his shirt. Sure you could. she thought to herself at his response. She inwardly sighed at his answer and rolled her eyes at him, saying it could be dangerous in a town she didn’t know. “Yeah, really dangerous.” she said sarcastically. Little did he know, she had been here before a few years back. She continued to watch him, knowing full well what he was trying to do, but she didn’t give him a reaction. If he wanted to play games, she could do the same.

Once his shirt was fully on, she leaned up in the chair and grabbed her gun from the table. Like gum on my boot. she thought to herself at his words. After uncrossing her feet, she looked at his outstretched hand before she pushed it aside and pushed herself out of the chair. Esme walked a little past him before turning and tucking her gun away in the back of her pants and pulling her shirt over it. “Well, seeing as I don’t have a car at the moment, walking is the only way I’m getting anywhere.” she replied. Looking around the room, she noticed her jacket was nowhere to be seen.

She hoped that Natalia or Sam had grabbed it from the last room before leaving, especially since her car keys were in one of its pockets. She was about to walk to the door when she remembered she had left something in her other jeans. So she walked over to the chair in the corner, picked up her jeans and dug into one of its pockets. She pulled out a little pouch, and for once was glad she added the clip to it. There was now way she could slip it into a pocket of the jeans she wore now, they were slightly too tight for that.

She lifted her shirt just above the top of her jeans and clipped the pouch to one of the belt loops as she made her way back towards Cason, pulling her shirt down over the top of it. “Alright, let's take a walk.” she said, walking past him and to the door. “And see if we can’t find something decent to eat.”

MIKA CHAMBERS

During the night before she went to bed she did indeed help as best as she could, getting some of the books read but due to her headache from her cut, albeit a small one, she just couldn't stay up for as long as the men in her life. She also knew that if she fell asleep on the kitchen desk or on the couch, she would just feel even worse in the morning which left her with the only option she had. Going upstairs to her bed.

By the morning she was just about starting to stir awake, aware of it being morning but not awake enough to be able to open her eyes just yet. She did hear her bedroom door open however and feel Dean lean over her in a weird positioned hug, kiss her ear then whisper in it which made her smile before she fluttered her eyes open as he kissed her cheek. "Morning to you too good looking" she replied before yawning and tilting her head to be able to look at him properly. "How did you and Bobby get on last night?" she asked, turning round properly and slowly sitting up, being careful to not hit him in the process. She felt a lot more with it this morning and was thankful that the painkillers she took when they first got back and the decent sleep in her actual bed did her the world of good. She looked well rested and even the cut on her forehead looked a lot less angry and sore compared the night before. She also knew he would be worried about her but she also hoped he would know she was a lot more resilient than people took her for.

"Also, you heard from Sam or Nat yet?" she asked him, figuring they'd have checked in by now, at least to let them all know they were alright. Unfortunately though she had nothing on her phone when she went to bed last night, so couldn't help but wonder if he got anything from either of them. If they didn't then she knew one of them would have to get into contact to find out what they were going to do.

Annabeth was still sitting at the table with her hands on Sam’s bag when he walked back in. She turned her head toward the door to acknowledge him and sighed, “So, what was that all about? I’m assuming either a murder, or it was Cason.”

She didn’t honestly know what Cason was up to, but she knew that he had a way of rubbing people the wrong way. Someone shooting him, or him losing his temper and shooting some random guy wouldn’t surprise her at all.

She raised her hand up to the scarf still around her head and smirked, deciding to joke with Sam about her mostly blindness, “By the way…you look handsome today…”



Cason rolled his eyes heavily at Esme refusing to take his hand after not reacting to his abs in her face. He was truly playing games with her, testing limits. Normal stuff. He noticed she was looking for her jacket, which he kinda remembered Sam mentioning earlier.

“I’ll be right back…”, he muttered, disappearing from the room. He reappeared in Natalia’s room, next to her table. Without much hesitation, he grabbed the jacket, and smiled briefly at Natalia as she dressed, “Good morning!”

He then disappeared and reappeared in Esme’s room with her jacket in his hand. He held it up with a bright smile, just as she walked over to him. He stepped up close to her and shoved the jacket into her chest, “You might need this…”

Watching her brush past him again, he rolled his eyes and grabbed his own coat, jogging to catch up with her as she left the room.

“You pick. I’ll pay.”, he spoke, jogging up beside her and brushing his arm with hers, “I’ll just make sure to hide the knives.”



Dean smiled at her sleepy state, moving to allow her to sit up as he shrugged, “We didn’t find much. There’s not a lot of magical winged things in the world that don’t lead back to what the dude said…”

He stopped his words and sighed with his eyes closed, “I think he might be an Angel, like he said. But Bobby’s still looking.”

He opened his eyes and noticed the cut for the first time in the conversation, reaching a hand up to touch around the outside of it, happy that the swelling had gone down. At her last question, he shook his head.

“Nah. I’m gonna check in on Sammy here in a few. It’s not like him to be this quiet, honestly. And we need to fill him in on what happened last night. Hopefully, he had a good break.”, he joked a bit, wondering if his brother had been relaxing while they were gone, since he hadn’t heard from him, and he was surrounded by people when they left him. He stood from the bed and pulled out his phone, texting Sam.

“Hey. We need to talk. Where are you?”

SAM WINCHESTER

Walking back into the room he was sharing with Annabeth, he noticed she had managed to get to the table and chair where his bag was and smiled at her, even if she couldn't see it back. "Ah yeah that, Cason got shot in the head by Esme for being too close to her when she woke up" he explained, the smirk on his lips being evident in his tone of voice. "He stepped outside and had a smoke whilst it healed" he added.

He then walked over and went to go sit down opposite her in the spare chair when she made the joke about him looking handsome today, making him chuckle. He then sat down when his phone went off with a text. Picking it up off the table that was on, he looked at it, opening the message to see it was from Dean, making himself remember he hadn't checked in. 'ah right...gotta remember to check in with him again now he's back' he thought to himself.

"Hey,
in Missouri in a hotel, meet you at Bobby's later
Got a lot to talk about on our end as well."

NATALIA WINCHESTER

Nat was just about finshing getting ready, pulling on her old vintage high voltage tattoo vest when Cason suddenly appeared out of nowhere in her room next to the table that had Esme's jacket on it. "Bloody hell Cason!!" she cursed as he disappeared out of her room just as quickly as he entered it. Grumbling to herself, she made a point to curse him under her breath as she walked to the end of her bed, perched on it and pulled on her boots one at a time after putting on her socks then proceeded to wrap the laces round the ankles of the boots where it was particularly worn, showing she had done it a lot when she could be bothered to do so, then tied them at the front like normal. The very technique making the tops of her boots flare out slightly, giving her jeans more room to sit and not bunch up uncomfortably round her ankles.

She heard the gunshot earlier but also heard Sam go out and deal with it so figured there was no point to do so herself at the time, deciding her getting ready was far more important for her own sanity. When she was fully dressed, she went back to her bag, pulled out her makeup which consisted of eyeliner, mascara and a bold red lipstick, she walked over to the mirror and started applying it all making sure to purposely smudge the liner just enough to give a smokey eye then applied her lipstick with ultimate precision. It would take her about five minutes to accomplish this before she decided to grab her bag, shove her jacket on and exit her hotel room heading to her brother's room and knocking on the door. "Yo Sam! Let me in!" she called out casually.

after he sent the text back to his brother, he heard Nat call through making him get up and go to let Natalia inside his room so they could slowly start meeting back up with everyone.

MIKA CHAMBERS

Hearing that they found nothing but evidence that proved what this Castiel said was indeed true, she looked surprised and impressed all at the same time. She couldn't believe that angels actually existed, it was utterly insane to her. "If he truly is an Angel that's something seriously new for us to deal with" she replied.

She didnt even complain when he insisted touching round her cut on her forehead as she knew it was mostly for his own benefit as well to see it was really minor. SHe listened to his reply finding it strange that there was no reply from Sam or Nat. She could understand in some ways that Sam may have forgotten that he could indeed check in with Dean again but Nat was always so hot on checking in even with her to keep her happy that they were all okay. So for either of them not to hear anything felt rather strange.

She did though smirk at the idea of Sam treating his own route back as a break from everything. As he stood up from her bed to text Sam, she got out of bed realising she was still in yesterday's clothing. So she headed to her warobe to grab some clean clothes, changing into one of her many vests and leather jeggings before putting ehr boots back on. By the time she would have finished doing that, Dean would have gotten the reply they were waiting for.

Esme clutched her jacket to her chest after Cason shoved it there, giving him a look saying “You don’t say” as she pushed past him, then opened the door once she reached it. Once outside, she paused briefly as the brightness hit her face, causing her to squint. Once her eyes adjusted, she started walking, taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. Cason stole her moment when he came jogging up behind her and spoke, then came up beside her and brushed his arm against hers. She cast a glance over at him. “Hide the knives?” she questioned.

“Meaning from me in case I get violent again?” she said, emphasizing the word violent with air quotes. She then shoved him with her shoulder so she could put her jacket on. Holding it by the collar, she swung it around behind her and slid her arms in, then adjusted it around her and the collar. Esme then shoved her hands into her jacket pockets before looking around to see what was nearby, her stomach suddenly growling. She ignored it and continued to look at the surrounding building. “Looks like our only option is that small diner up ahead.” she told him.

“I mean, it looks the most promising for a good meal.” she added. As they made their way to the diner, she suddenly got the feeling of being watched, and not my Cason. She stole a quick glance behind her but saw no one that looked suspicious. She looked ahead of them and still saw no one that looked suspicious. Esme tried to shake the feeling and keep her shoulders relaxed, but it kept getting stronger as they walked. Just what I need to start off this day. she thought to herself.

And I haven’t even had breakfast yet. she continued thinking. She sighed as she adjusted her jacket around her once again, her eyes scanning everything in sight. “It’s still slightly too early for this.” she whispered to herself with another sigh. “Come on and show yourself already.” she mumbled.

Annabeth smiled at Sam’s chuckle, happy that she could make him laugh, after everything. She wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Cason had managed to get himself shot, although, Esme didn’t seem like the panicky violent type, to her. She thought it over, and mentally shrugged at the idea that Cason seemed at least contained, and entertained with her.

Hearing Sam’s phone vibrate, her interest was heightened, as she could feel his concern for his brother just in the air. She stood from her chair and walked over toward the bed, where her glasses were sitting on the table, next to the clock. Untying the scarf from the back of her head, she picked up the glasses and slipped them back onto her face. She was thankful, because she could see light and she could see Sam.

When Natalia showed up, she turned her head toward the door as Sam answered it, and waved at her subtly when she stepped inside. It was the first peaceful moment she had been in the same room with her, but she sort of remembered what she looked like.

“It seems like everyone’s awake, this morning.”, he whispered.



Dean grunted at the idea that Angels were something new to deal with. The very thought of it made his skin crawl, as he still didn’t believe it himself. He and Bobby had a long conversation the night before over the existence of Heaven and God. The conversation hadn’t gone well, and the very thought of either of them made him feel sick.

He sighed with relief as his phone vibrated, from Sam. Reading the message, he narrowed his eyes, wondering what could have happened while his brother was away from him. When he had left them, things were relatively calm, and Sam was away.

“Huh. Apparently something happened to Sam and the others, too. He didn’t elaborate, but he’s on his way here, I think.”, he explained to Mika as she finished dressing. He typed a message back to Sam, with a sigh.

“Is everyone okay? Do you still have the girl?”

He then turned to the door and opened it, “If Sam’s coming, maybe he has some info we don’t.”



Cason rolled his eyes once again at her, watching her put on her jacket after shoving him. He watched her intently, only shifting his gaze when she mentioned the diner ahead of them. He snapped his head to it and shrugged, “It doesn’t look too terribly gross, considering everything else around.”

He snarled his nose a bit at the idea of eating in this town, considering most of the shops were dead and it was quiet. To him, this meant either the food was really good, or really bad. Neither really mattered, to him, as he didn’t need to eat, but alas: Esme was a human.

As he was thinking, he noticed that Esme became suddenly uncomfortable, and he turned to look behind them, his eyes and ears scanning. He knew, just from being around her when she was with other humans, that she was intuitive in some capacity. So, if she was feeling off, there was probably a reason.

And the reason showed itself, with the click of a hammer being pulled on a gun. Rolling his eyes, he quickly turned around, pushing Esme behind him with his hand pressing against the small of her back. He held a hand out to the man, “Hey. It’s a little early in the day to get yourself killed, isn’t it?”

The man held the gun with a shaky hand and pointed it directly at Cason’s face as he stammered, “I n-need your car keys…and your wallet.”

“Well, I’m so sorry, but that’s not going to happen today. And you really shouldn’t point that thing at someone you’re not willing to kill.”, Cason explained to the man, making sure Esme was firmly pressed to his back. The man stepped forward, shoving the gun at Cason’s face.

“Who says I’m not?!”, the man screamed. Cason simply smirked, until the guy uttered the next words.

“And now…the things I’m going to do to her…”

Before the man could react, Cason growled and closed the gap between them, snapping his neck with one quick motion. The man’s body dropped to the ground with a thud, and Cason turned to Esme, huffing a bit before smiling.

“There. That’s better.”, he quipped before grabbing one of the guys legs, and dragging him over near a dumpster, and rejoining Esme with a sigh.

Esme shrugged her shoulders to his comment back about the diner, but he was right. As they walked, she could feel that Cason had caught on to uneasiness and saw him look around behind them. It showed her he had been watching her more intently than she had thought, and now they were both on high alert. She felt the guy come up behind them before she heard the click from the hammer of the gun being pulled. She hardly had time to cringe before Cason spun around and pulled her behind him.

She then heard him speak to who had come up on them, his words causing her to sigh lightly as she pulled her hands from her pockets. He knows I can take care of myself, doesn’t he? she thought to herself. She then looked around Cason at the guy when he stammered. The guy was nervous, she could feel it. She was about to fire off a comment, but Cason beat her to the punch. When Cason pressed her firmly against his back, she knew he wouldn’t let her do a thing during this confrontation. She could only stand there, pressed against his back, watching everything unfold in front of her.

She couldn’t wrap her mind around why he was so protective of her, even if he said yesterday and earlier that he owed her one. What did that have to do with feeling the need to be so protective and clingy? In an instant, the guy's emotions went from nervousness and straight to rage, giving her a bit of mental whiplash. She watched as he shoved the gun into Cason's face and screamed. It was of no surprise to see Cason not flinch and only smirk, but the guy's next words got to her and she went to move around Cason. “Why you no good son of a…….” Cason’s sudden advance on the guy cut her off.

Esme sighed as she looked down at the now dead mugger, then looked up at Cason as he turned and smiled at her. “Umm, thanks for that.” she said as he drug the body off near a dumpster. “But do you think killing him was absolutely necessary? You could have just taught him a lesson, you know?’ Her tone was calm, even if it held a hint of anger at the guy's last comment. Sighing heavily, she turned on her heel and headed toward the diner again. “Come on, let's get to the diner before something else happens and you kill someone else today.” she called over her shoulder.

Cason wiped his hands on his pants, with a grossed-out look on his face. He looked over at the mugger's body and shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean, there's no better lesson than Hell, right? I'm not the 'let a guy insult someone and live' kinda guy.", he explained, as she ran away from him to the diner. He sighed and ran to catch up with her, "I mean...right now the odds are against me not killing more than one person on any given day. You are like a chihuahua covered in honey. You attract trouble, it seems...but you want to fight all of it alone."

Esme sighed at his words. She knew he was right in what he said. She shoved her hands in her pockets once again as they walked to the diner. “A chihuahua covered in honey?” she scoffed, cutting her eyes over at him. She looked down at the ground as she thought about how trouble seemed to follow her wherever she went and balled her fists in her pockets. “You’re right. I do attract trouble.” she sighed before looking back over at him. “Over the years I’ve become accustomed to it, it’s nothing new,” she told him. “Fighting it alone…….. It’s nothing new either. No one has wanted to stay around long with everything that comes around.” She then looked away and towards the diner.

Cason cringed a bit at the fact that he had obviously hit a small nerve by mentioning that she wanted to fight her trouble alone.

He gave a sympathetic look he wasn't even sure he was capable of when she looked at him.

"Sorry I um...that I brought it up. But I'll tell you this...as long as I'm around, and you're stuck with me for now, you're pretty safe, love.", he explained as they approached the door to the diner. He stepped around in front of her and opened the door, ushering her in.

Esme shrugged her shoulders as he apologized for bringing it up. It really didn’t bother her all that much. Hell, she’s been alone, fighting a good fight for years. She never really thought that she’d ever meet back up with Dean or join a group of hunters.

She couldn’t help the small smile that came to her lips at Cason’s words. Feeling safe was something she never truly felt. “Thanks, I think,” she replied. After he opened the door for her, she stepped inside and looked for an empty table. There were plenty of empty tables. She made her way over and sat down.

As he sat down across from her at the table, he placed both his hands together on the top, looking her over to make sure she wasn't bothered by her body language.

He noticed he had made her smile. That was a start! Trust always seemed to start with a smile.

"So, you seemed to be making some eyes at the older Winchester, back at the hotel in Illinois...", he started, wanting to probe more while he had her captive, "What's up with that?"

Esme took her hands from her pockets and leaned back in the chair as she watched Cason take a seat across from her. By the way, he was looking at her, she knew he was trying to read her. When he spoke about making eyes at Dean, she couldn’t hold back the little laugh that escaped her. “I wouldn’t really call that making eyes,” she told him.

She then reached over and grabbed a menu that was sitting on the table and opened it. “I was a teenager the last time I saw him,” she said, looking over the menu. “I was just trying to figure out if he recognized me or not. Come to find out, he did.” Esme then tilted the menu down slightly to look at Cason, she had a feeling she knew what his next question would be. “And before you say it. We’re just friends.”

Cason tilted his head to the side and smirked when she said that she wasn't making eyes at Dean. He loved the drama of all of it, but he had also watched Dean with the other girl...Mika. So, he understood it.

He picked up a salt shaker, fiddling with the top carefully, as to not burn his hand with it as he stared at the contents. He sighed, glancing back up at her as she explained their connection and that they were just friends, "Well that's boring. But, I guess that makes me being around less...stressful. Dean Winchester is particularly possessive. Our arrangement wouldn't go unnoticed, or appreciated, I assume."

He sighed once again and adjusted himself with a frown, "You know the little blonde one...missing eyes and all that? I cared for her for months. She doesn't have a clue who she is...aside from what I've told her. And now she won't even look at me."

As he complained, he realized he needed a drink, pouting at the thought of Annabeth not wanting to be near him, but clinging like static to Sam.

Esme watched him as he carefully fiddled with the salt shaker as he spoke. “You would think that boring,” she said with a laugh. “Less stressful with you around. Are you sure about that?” she questioned, not really expecting him to answer. She hadn’t been around Dean long enough to see his possessiveness, so she couldn’t really give an answer to that. Though she was sure that Dean wouldn’t be too happy about their arrangement, as Cason put it, she only nodded to the statement.

When Cason’s demeanor changed when talking about Annabeth, she brought the menu down to rest on the table. She nodded as he spoke about her. She could feel the change in him. “You really do care for her, don’t you?” she asked in a soft tone. She wanted to ask him what he knew but knew that question would most likely come later.

“Can you really blame her for not looking at you?” Esme asked in the same soft tone. “You lied to her for some time. Then she learned the truth in a pretty shocking way.” She watched him to see how he’d react to what she said, hoping that she didn’t strike a nerve with her words. The last thing she needed this morning was a pissed-off demon.

Cason nodded lightly at the question of his caring for Annabeth. He had to admit, he had become a little attached to her, even if she was a means to an end at first. He turned the salt shaker to the side as she continued and watched the grains fall against the glass.

"Honestly? I can't blame her. I'm the one who tracked her down, after hearing buzz about her. I'm the one who convinced her to move me in...and just never got around to telling her the truth.", he explained, furrowing his eyebrows. He then sat the salt shaker down and shrugged, "But, now that she's near Sam Winchester, who undoubtedly can do no wrong, as long as they're connected, that's all...just done."

He smiled sadly at her, as the waitress came to the table to bring water and take their order.

As Cason spoke, Esme’s features softened as she listened to what he said. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the guy as he explained what happened between him and Annabeth. She sighed as he talked about how Annabeth was with Sam. She had no words as if they caught in her throat. She felt a pain well up in her chest as she looked at him and saw his frown and furrowed eyebrows.

When she found her words, the waitress had come up to their table. She looked away from him and to the waitress with a small smile. After clearing her throat, she gave the waitress her order. Eggs over easy, turkey bacon, and toast. She looked away and down at the menu as she closed it and put it back where she got it from. She took in a breath to rid her chest of the pain, then grabbed the glass of water and took a drink.

After setting the glass back on the table, she brushed some hair away from her face and looked down at the water glass. As she looked at it, she rested her arm on the table and hovered her hand over the glass, then moved her finger around the rim of the glass. She became lost in thought, not even hearing if Cason ordered anything or not.

Cason had watched her while she ordered, and became overwhelmed with her thoughts. He didn't address it while she ate, and he never ordered anything. He didn't really need to eat unless he felt like it. When it seemed she was finished with her food, he smirked over at her, looking down to text Sam,



He glanced back up at Esme, and clapped his hands, "Ready to dive back into Winchester-mania?"

SAM AND NATALIA

Seeing Annabeth give her a wave as she came into the room, Natalia smiled "Morning Annabeth, how you doing?" she asked her, genuinely interested in how she was doing. She felt incredibly sorry for the girl who hadn't long met them all (or so she thought) and then loses her eyes just because some Angel asshat thought it'd be absolutely hilarious. Without her really realising it, she found her right fist clenching tightly closed just remembering the whole situation. She let her fist open agan and relax, shaking the thought from her mind knowing at this current time, getting worked up over it was of no good or use right now. She then looked up at Sam and saw he still had his phone in his hand, "You checked in with Dean and Meeko yet?" she asked, "Yeah, Dean says he has info, I've told him so do we" he replied to her, just then his phone went off with another text from Dean, to which he read and then quickly replied,

'Long story, will explain more when we get to you
but yes we have Annabeth,
no not all is okay.
Annabeth has lost her eyes....literally'

He clicked send then turned to Annabeth, unsure of how she was feeling when it came to needing food or not, "You hungry?" he asked her, walking over to her and squatting down in front of her, taking her hands in his own. "Or do you wanna just get on the road? I know you're a bit scared of Dean but he's a softie really. Just...don't tell him I said that" he smirked, even though she couldn't see the smirk, she would be able to hear it in his tone. "Either way, we need to find out what he foudn out, and see if anything somehow connects to that Samael guy and if there's any way we can fix your eyes" he told her.

"Sam is right, I'm personally absolutely ravished and could do a massive fry up or at least a couple of bacon sandwiches" Natalia spoke up with a smile.

MIKA CHAMBERS

Mika finished up getting dressed and perched on the edge of her bed to pull her boots back on as she listened to what Dean had to say about Sam's reply. She could tell Dean was relieved to get an quick response from Sam, but his words told her that maybe not everything was all okay on Sam's end. "I wonder what could have gone down so drastically whilst we were gone" she remarked back, as he replied to Sam's initial reply.

With her boots on, she stood up and walked over to Dean by the door and nodded her agreement. "We can hope so. I'd reckon whatever happened with them, he'd be coming here to explain it." she said to him, just as another text from Sam pinged on his phone. With the door open she stepped through then looked over her shoulder, "By the way, please say Bobby has the coffee on the go" she smirked, deciding to try and lighten the mood even for a brief moment. She stepped forward and pecked his lips before walking downstairs, swaying her hips probably a little mroe than was actually necessary.

Annabeth smiled at Natalia, nodding her head lightly when she asked her how she was doing, “I’m honestly fine. I slept well…”

If she had eyes, she would have cut them over to Sam, which she attempted to do with her face. When she heard Sam’s phone beep at sending the text message to Dean, she shrugged at his question, “I could eat. And the eye problem isn’t getting any worse, so…we could go eat. Most of these one story hotels tend to have restaurants nearby.”

She wasn’t sure how she remembered that, or why the layout of the hotel in general felt familiar, almost like being around Sam. She felt a small smile creep onto her face, at the smirk she heard in his. She liked seeing him smile, what little time she was able to see his face.

“And we can’t have Natalia hungry the entire drive…”, she joked, saying Natalia’s name for the first time.



Dean reached out and ran a hand against Mika’s side as she started to the door, sighing at her words. He was almost afraid to know what Sam needed to tell him, after what they had experienced with the angel in the barn.

When the ping came in, he almost jumped, opening the message and hanging the phone down at his hip as he kissed her back quickly and shrugged his shoulders, “I’m assuming so. He’s been up all damn night, and since when does Bobby pull an all nighter without an Irish?”

He chuckled a bit, now alone in the room and read the text message with a gasp, “Lost her eyes…?”

He whispered the words to try and understand what the hell could have been happening, but he knew he wouldn’t get answers until Sam arrived. He stared at the message for a few seconds, running over the words again. The girl was alive, but without her eyes. What the hell could have happened in the short time he was gone, that would have caused that?!



He shoved his phone in his pocket and ran out the door and down the stairs quickly, needing to tell someone what Sam had said. He was met at the bottom of the stairs by Bobby and a cup of coffee.

“Found something about angels.”, he muttered, shoving the cup of coffee into Dean’s hands. Dean took it gladly, but narrowed his eyes as Bobby continued, “But nothing on any Castiel…yet.”

Dean rolled his eyes, and spoke loud enough for both of them to hear him, “Well, Sam’s got his own issues, apparently. Turns out, little blonde girl…um…Anna, yeah she lost her eyes.”

Bobby’s eyes widened, “What the hell?”

“That’s what I said…he should be here in a few hours. In the meantime, do we know of anything that would do something like that?”, Dean took a drink of coffee before sighing at Bobby’s shake of the head. He threw his hands up, “Books…again. Nice."

Esme took in a sharp breath of surprise when the waitress returned with her order. She pulled her hand and arm back from her glass so the waitress could place the plate on the table. She thanked her before looking over at Cason, giving him an apologetic look for zoning out on him. She then looked down at her plate, then salted and peppered her eggs before eating. It surprised her a little that he didn’t bring up anything about her zoning out on him, but was glad he didn’t. Though eating in silence and him watching her was awkward.

It wasn’t until she was pretty much finished eating that he spoke with a clap, causing a smirk to come to lips. She looked up from her plate at him, the smirk clearly visible as she swallowed her late mouthful. “Is one ever truly ready for Winchester-mania?” she asked with a laugh in her tone. Grabbing her napkin, she wiped her mouth off any food that might be there, then took a last drink of her water. Tossing the napkin on the table, she got up from the table and looked at him.

“But I am curious if Sam and Natalia have heard from Dean, Mika, and Bobby. I’m interested in what they may have found out.” she told him. Esme hoped they had good news to share with them and that they made it out alright. Not to mention needing to share with them what they went through after they left yesterday. The whole incident was still fresh in her mind, almost causing a sharp shiver to run down her spine. Shaking the memory from her mind, she focused back on Cason. “Shall we?” she asked him.

NATALIA AND SAM

Natalia was relieved when Annabeth said she was alright and she had managed to sleep well in this place. "Good, I'm glad." she told her back.

Sam couldn't help but nod his head to the side as he darted his eyes upward then back at Annabeth in the way most people did when they silently were saying 'fair point'. He knew Annabeth wouldn't be able to see it, but Nat certainly could which made Natalia scoff in a half snigger. "The girl's got smarts" she quipped amused. It was after all true, these kinds of hotels did have at least a diner nearby if nothing else and she could go pretty much anywhere that sold food right now and be happy.

Sam smirked and chuckled at Annabeth saying how they couldn't have Natalia hungry the whole way back, and it even made Natalia chuckle. "Got a point there, an hangry Nat is not someone nice knowing" Sam teased, which made Natalia give him the middle finger which made him laugh all the more. "Don't listen to him I don't get hangry" Nat quipped back toward Annabeth, "And call me Nat" she smiled, feeling like the girl earned the right to use her shortened name.

As Nat told Annabeth she could call her Nat, he felt his phone go off again from Dean texting him and sighed. He didn't text back but knew what his brother said was indeed true.

MIKA

"That's a fair point, I'm gonna go grab some" she replied to Dean, letting him check his phone as Sam had texted him back. it was a worry on her mind to what trouble Sam had gotten into now. He was like a little brother to her as well, or as he liked to see them, in-laws without the actual official link.

Downstairs, she greeted her uncle with a kiss on the cheek and sideways hug before going straight to the coffee and pouring herself a mug of the hot beverage. Gripping the mug in both hands, she gave a large sniff of the beverage, smiling contently as she smelled the bitter drink. Taking a sip from it she sighed happily as Dean eventually showed himself downstairs, with Bobby shoving a mug of coffee in his hands.

She listened to the guys talk and just like Bobby, she went wide eyed when Dean mentioned Annabeth missing her eyes. "Well lets get reading then, because bloody hell! I've heard of things making you blind but actually making you lose your eyes completely? That's insane. Hopefully we can find him some answers for when he gets here" she remarked, heading to the main room once again, grabbing a book and letting herself sit on the couch. 'this couch seriously needs replacing' she thought to herself as she tried to get comfortable.

Annabeth smiled at the fact that everyone seemed to at least be able to joke this morning. After the trauma filled day, before, it was welcomed. She pushed her sunglasses up on her nose, and looked to Nat, “Nat, then. Hi! Call me Anna…”

Saying her own shortened name caused a flash to hit her in the face, a vision of a dark cabin washed through her head. Someone screaming, that sounded like Sam’s brother, and at the end of the vision was a smiling Sam, looking a good decade younger, but with the same smile. She smiled at the vision, but also furrowed her eyebrows and sighed as she came out of it.

“On second thought, I’m not going to lie…I just had a vision.”, he whispered, her hands shaking as she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and turned to Sam, “Maybe a quick breakfast before we hit the road?”

Right as she finished the sentence, Cason showed up, smiling and clapping his hands.



Dean sighed and threw his hand up at Mika’s running to grab a book. He was so tired of books. He just wanted to kill something. This called for killing something, right? Surely something that could remove eyes was something to kill. Unless it was an angel. Then they didn’t know how to kill them. He worked over the thoughts in his head, calculating slowly on the outside as Bobby cleared his throat.

“Don’t hurt yourself, boy…”, Bobby muttered, stepping over to his desk slowly with a groan and a sigh. He sat down and leaned his elbow over the desk, flipping the page in the book he had been reading before.

Dean rolled his eyes, walking over to the couch and sitting next to Mika, much to the complaint of the old piece of furniture. It popped with his weight but he ignored it, throwing his legs over Mika’s lap and grabbing one of the discarded books lying on one end.

“You sure there’s not a spell we can do? Like…isn’t there something that we can call for and try to figure it out. Maybe something in the veil, or another hunter has heard of her, and what’s going on?”, he asked Bobby. Bobby simply looked up at him with a scowl and shook his head.

“After the nap Mika and Me took yesterday, you want to start summoning things, again? Read the damn book, and help me find something, if you want to help your brother…idjit.”

Dean frowned and leaned his head against the back of the couch with a loud groan. Hopefully, Sam showing up would make this less painful.



Cason smiled a bit brighter at how nice Esme was suddenly being. It was welcomed, and he felt as if he had made strides with her, and now maybe she would trust him. As he stared at her, and stood beside her when she asked if he was ready to go, he caught a sound in his head. One of his demon goons was calling him. Rolling his eyes, he spoke aloud, “Get out of here, and leave the keys in the seat.”

Turning back to Esme, he smiled and pointed a finger at her, to tell her to wait, “I’m going to check in with the others, since Samuel isn’t answering my text. Be right back.”

He disappeared and reappeared in front of Annabeth’s chair in Sam’s room, straightening his jacket as he did so.

“So, while I’m at the diner…would anyone like a sandwich? Esme’s car is here, and I think we’re headed out.”, he explained, without explaining his popping in. Annabeth’s head perked up, which caused him to look down at her with soft eyes, before glaring at Sam subtly, “I figure you want to get back to your brother as soon as possible, right?

SAM AND NATALIA

Natalia smiled as Annabeth accepted the offer to just call her Nat and that she herself could call the woman Anna. She was about to say something when it seemed that Anna’s body language tensed up and she looked a bit zoned out. She glanced at Sam and Sam glanced at Nat back wondering what was going on. Part of Sam felt like he could recognize what was happening to Anna, back from when he got visions a couple of years ago. “Anna…?” they both asked with concern and in unison.

When Anna did eventually come out of her vision and smiled as if to try and shrug off what happened neither of them believed it. So when Annabeth did actually admit she had a vision, Sam looked at her and nodded, even though Anna couldn’t see it. “we can talk about it later” he told her. He was about to add to his comment about eating when Cason popped in out of nowhere.

Nat willed her eyes when Cason showed his face. She didn’t know if it was because he was a demon or there was just something else about the guy, but he really rubbed her the wrong way for some reason. Sam glared back at Cason slightly as he got glared at. At his words his eyes softened knowing now wasn’t the time. “yeah we all do.” He replied. “I’ll take a full English breakfast sandwich if they do it and coffee with a side of hash browns” Nat spoke up deciding if she was going to be driving back to Bobby’s she wanted to be well truly well fed and caffeinated.

Sam smirked at Nat’s big order not surprised in the slightest, “eggs on toast for me and yeah we do wanna head back as soon as. Seems something big went down with the others” Sam spoke up his order before glancing at Anna to see what she wanted.

MIKA

She smirked when Dean acted in the way she did. Mika could understand why he was so frustrated with reading the books and not actually being out there doing something what he’d perceive as productive. She was feeling the same way as him but she was a lot more capable of hiding it than Dean was. She stifled a snigger when Bobby called him out on his antsy behaviour as she opened her book.

She heard the popping of the couch as Dean sat down next to her and yet again her thoughts of needing to replace the couch came back into her mind. She smiled and shook her head gently as he flipped his legs up and onto her lap, making her lift the book up so he could do it without getting them on the book she was going to read.

Hearing him ask about doing a spell made her glance at him and Bobby, not particularly liking the idea of dabbling in spell work once again, so when Bobby shut that idea down by reminding Dean about the nap he and her were forced to take, she silently sighed with relief. “the quicker we get through these books, the faster the time will pass and Sam will be back with everyone else.” She added, squeezing his leg slightly in a reassuring manner with one hand before she focused on the book and began reading by resting it on the other arm rest.

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders at Cason when he asked about breakfast. She could tell that he was softened up this morning, which meant he was having a nice conversation. That much she knew about him from dating him. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders at him, “I guess I’ll just take what Sam got…”

“Yes, ma’am…”, Cason muttered with a smile, remembering the orders. He pointed a finger around the room, “I’ll be right back. Get your stuff together.”

Cason seemed ultra worried and bossy this morning, and his mind only seemed to be on Esme. Anna could help but noticed how obsessed or possessive he was acting. But at the same time, he wasn’t her problem anymore.

As he disappeared again, she sighed.

“What are the car arrangements this time around? We have an extra car, so we don’t have to cram up in two this time.”, she gave a light laugh.



Cason disappeared from Sam’s room and showed up in front of Esme at the diner with a piece of paper in his hand. He smiled at her, and pushed a loose hair behind her ear, before stepping up to the counter and giving the orders to the waitress working it. He stepped back over to Esme and smiled.

“So, your car is outside the hotel, officially. I’m grabbing food for the others, to try and extend and olive branch, if you will. Then, we are headed to Sioux Falls, so that the brothers can do their…thing. So, I guess we are headed out after the food comes up. Are you good to drive?”, he asked her, looking over her with concern.



Dean felt ganged up on, as they both shot down his idea of spell casting and his complaints about reading. Everyone in this house knew that he hated the books. He loved the information Bobby could find in them, but he himself hated books. A lot of times, the books came up with dead ends or such huge gaps that ended up almost getting people killed. But no one had died yet…

He sighed, reading through his book about Angels. As he did so, things from the conversation with Castiel flooded into his brain. Castiel had brought him back from Hell, brain intact, body intact. Castiel needed him for a God Mission.

“He said he had work for me…”, he muttered, reading over a paragraph of text about nephilums and humans within the context of the Bible, “What if the work has something to do with Sam, or that girl Anna? What if heaven wants me to murder my brother, or some kid…”

He didn’t even know how close to right he was at that time, but as the thoughts swirled around in his head, he stared at the pictures in his book and frowned, before glancing back up at Mika as Bobby spoke.

“It wouldn’t be that shocking, honestly. There’s sibling murder, parents murdering kids, and all kinds of junk along those lines in the Bible. But typically, there’s a reason for all of it…like some type of evil being stopped or a part of a grand gesture to God.”, Bobby explained, taking a drink of whiskey, “And we haven’t exactly seen much proof of the big man, or what his plans are…just an angel in a trenchcoat who was feeling grabby.”

Dean stared off a bit as Bobby explained what he had read. Bobby finished off by pushing the book he was reading across the counter with a sigh, “At the moment, until Castiel decides to show back up, there’s not much we can do. Maybe your brother knows something. Missing eyes sounds like something.”

Dean nodded, his eyebrows still furrowed as his eyes traveled to Mika. He pulled his book back up toward his face, but put it down again directly after, “Fighting angels to keep from killing my brother. This is not something I expected, when thinking about my life…”

He gave a small laugh, and bit his lip.

Esme watched Cason, noticing how his smile had gotten brighter from her mood and tone softening. Eating and being in the diner's calm atmosphere had done her some good, even after Cason’s emotions had hit her. When he stood up next to her, she watched him, seeing his eye roll, and then spoke. It was clear he wasn’t talking to her at that moment. Taking in what he said, she figured it was a goon of his. Did the demon he sent after her car finally deliver it to the hotel? Before she could answer the question that came to mind, Cason turned to her with a pointed finger.

She stepped back a bit and looked at his finger before looking back up at him as he spoke, sighing when he disappeared. “That’s getting annoying.” she whispered. As she waited for his return, she sat back down at the table and fiddled with the water glass. She knew it wouldn’t take him long, but she needed to entertain herself somehow. She didn’t want her thoughts drifting again. As Esme waited, the waitress came by to check on her and clear the table. Esme ordered a drink to go, getting a smile from the waitress before she left to get it.

Soon after, Cason popped up in front of her, catching her off guard when he brushed her hair from her face and behind her ear with a smile. In all honesty, she didn’t quite know how to react to the action. The only ones ever to do that were her parents. As he walked to the counter, she shook it off and stood from the table and adjusted her jacket. She looked out the window as he ordered food for the others, then looked his way when he returned to her side. At the mention of her car, her face changed, clearly showing she was glad to have her car.

She nodded to the rest of what he said, having a feeling that’s how things would go. At him asking if she could drive with a conserved look on his face, Esme turned fully facing him now, a slight smile on her lips. “I may not be one hundred percent after yesterday’s events, but I’m fully capable of driving.” she told him. “So, stop worrying.” she added firmly.