Cason smiled at Esme’s reaction to touching Sarah’s head. Sarah groaned in appreciation of her new friend, nuzzling her smoky head into Esme’s hand. Violet, almost seeming jealous of the attention her sister was getting and strolled over, herself, offering herself to Esme without a prompt, which caused Cason to smile wider.

“While it will be these two who follow you around, any hellhound on this property knows the rules…”, he explained, patting his best girl on the back as she nuzzled Esme and sat on her rump in front of her.

“If you need private time, tell them. They can understand you, for the most part. They will just sit outside whatever door you’re behind. No salt lines, unless they are inside, or they can’t protect you…”, he explained, “And they can’t come near the vault. So, I would stay away from it, as well. Other than that, they’re yours until you decide to give them up. I think you’ll find it relaxing, once you get used to it.”

He looked out over the foggy junkyard, seeing the other hellhounds around the perimeter, patiently waiting for the worst to come. He could feel it in the wind that the demons were probably not going to play by the rules, but why would they? It wasn’t Alastair’s style. He heard the others entering the living room, as they stood with the door open, Bobby grumbling a bit about him wasting the air conditioning, despite the cool air coming through the door.

“We should probably see what the plan is, yeah?”, he said to her finally, nodding toward the open door.

Esme calmed a bit more when Sarah nuzzled her hand with a sound that sounded like appreciation. Esme then rubbed Sarah’s head, then looked over at Violet as she came over. She couldn’t help but smile a bit as Violet looked a bit jealous of the attention Sarah was getting. Esme slowly lifted her other hand and placed it on Violet’s head and rubbed it. This was one of the craziest things she had done in her life, and she had done some crazy things in her life. When Cason spoke, Esme turned her head to look at him.

Esme nodded to show she understood, then turned back to the two hounds in front of her as she was nuzzled by one. Esme rubbed their heads and patted the sides of their necks as Cason continued to explain everything she needed to know. She knew well that she wouldn’t be able to use salt lines unless absolutely necessary, but she was glad he mentioned the vault. She knew nothing about it except that it was there, since she didn’t go down with the other when Bobby had shown them. “Relaxing?” she repeated in a questioning tone. “Maybe.” she said, looking over at him.

She followed his gaze, looking out over the junkyard, taking in the fog and other hounds that roamed the grounds. If and when anything comes, they would be sure to hear with so many hounds around the house. Esme looked back at Sarah and Violet. Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes. Even with the extra protection, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about this whole situation, but they couldn’t let Annabeth go without a fight. She knew well that this all could end terribly.

They could be killed or seriously injured from all that was coming their way. She sighed again as she heard Bobby grumble about wasting the air conditioning. She then nodded to Cason as she opened her eyes. “Yeah, we should. I don’t want to be left in the dark on any of this.” she mumbled. She looked at Sarah and Violet as she gave them both a good pat, a small smile coming to her. “Thank you.” she whispered softly to them both. “I don’t see a problem with one of you coming in. I don’t think there is room for both of you in the living room. Just try not to make yourself known. We don’t want to freak out the others.” she continued in a soft whisper. Esme then turned to head back inside with the others.

MIKA AND NATALIA

Seeing Dean almost grumble in disapproval at her quip about how Dean used to like sleepovers also made Mika smirk smugly that she got one over on him for once. It made a change from playful jabs being made at her and she very rarely got one over on him, so when she did, she revelled in it and she noticed that Natalia and Sam noticed it also as she smirks on their lips. This was also her way of backing Sam up from the jabs, just like she always used to.

As Dean said about getting the blankets and sleeping bags, she decided she would help him if it came to it, by remaining out of the way of the cast iron door and letting him. She didn't notice it, but being this close was making her skin feel rather warm under her clothing but she thought nothing of it, just assuming it was because there was no real air conditioning in this basement of Bobby's.

She watched as Natalia stepped out behind Dean and then started walking toward the steps with her. "Can't believe you didn't say anything about this being down here" she quietly told Mika, "None of you asked" Mika quipped back with a smirk and light snigger. "Touche" Nat replied before looking back again as it was dicussed about the two of them helping come up with defence plans.

SAM

With the jesting done and over with, he looked back down at Annabeth as she walked back to him after studying every inch of the vault. He smiled at her at first but then she spoke so seriously and quietly, his smiel faded a little, not knowing where this was going but knew they did indeed need to talk. He wanted to tell her that he remembered her from when they were kids, remind her of that one brief meeting that night, but it seemed she needed to get what she had to say off her chest first.

The words that came out of her mouth did not sit well with him at all, and he shook his head lightly but he knew she was right, he would have to let her go if they were to get any kind of advance on Alistair, but he didn't like the idea. "I don't wanna let you go again...but...but I know I have to" he mumbled back to her. "We have met before Anna...in Minnesota, in some grubby motel parking lot. We ran to a cabin in the adjacent woods and my brother and Mika came after us. Just know I have never forgiven myself for letting you run off that night and if I fail you again by getting you hurt because I agree to letting you go with AListair? I won't forgive myself for that either" he explained to her, placing his forehead to hers.

Knocking on the door, the witch noticed that he could sense the presence of someone very experienced and skilled as a hunter. Benjamin politely gave just three more raps on the door and would wait for Bobby to answer. "I'm a friend of the Winchesters." He stated. "Name's Benjamin, I fell asleep in the car."
"Sorry!" He stated, as he was embarrassed. Sioux Falls was beautiful this time of year, he thought to himself.

Dean nodded to Mika, glad to have the company as he went up the stairs slowly to go fetch blankets. He noticed the front door open, hearing Cason’s voice and feeling a familiar presence he couldn’t quite pin down.

He stepped over to the linen closet Bobby kept downstairs for himself, since he often passed out on the small bed in the window, and his room was nearby. He opened the closet and was relieved at the piles of blankets inside, “Bingo…”

He grabbed an armful and dropped them on the floor behind him, reaching in for another as he waited for Mika to help him cart them downstairs.

Bobby grumbled on his way up the stairs as well, “Damn house full of kids and not a single one understands the basic concept of closing doors. It’s not like we’re waiting for an apocalyptic attack or anything…and you better clean up your damn mess…”

Dean raised his eyebrows at Bobby as the older man went to close the door, before realizing it was open because Esme was outside with Cason. Bobby grumbled again, sitting down at his desk, clearly stressed.



Cason smiled a bit brighter at Esme’s sudden acceptance of the Hellhounds being near her. He had hoped that she would warm up to them quickly, but hearing her thank them, already was reassuring. He stepped back into the house, the dogs following him slowly. Violet sat patiently outside the door as Sarah followed him inside, just ahead of Esme.

“So, what’s the plan here?”, he asked, as the door shut behind Esme. However, a knock at the door caused him to raise his eyebrows, as he had just walked through. He turned, at the same time that Bobby stood and Sarah began growling. If Sarah was worried, why wasn’t Violet attacking?

Bobby opened the door, looking surprised as Benjamin stood in front of him. He had only briefly met him, before, and couldn’t for the life of him understand how the boy had slept so long in a car, but he stood aside and let him in.

“Shh…”, Cason hissed at Sarah as she continued to growl at Benjamin. She ceased her growling, and stood a bit closer to Esme. He turned to her, “With her in the house, I recommend staying near the center of the house…or maybe there’s a room that you can chill in. I don’t mind you fighting with us, but if you don’t have to, don’t. The game plan will likely involve all of us, at certain points around the house. Center for you…so I can find you, and she doesn’t break anything.”

He smirked and winked to her.



Annabeth sighed, staring at Sam’s lip as she brushed it with her finger. Her sigh was that of relief as he confirmed that he would let her go, if he was forced to. The thought of him making a decision to keep himself safe, if the demons managed to get to her caused her shoulders to drop a bit of their tension.

However, when he confirmed that they had met before, the flashbacks that she had pushed aside as daydreams came flooding her mind.

Them meeting beside the vending machines, and how badly he wanted to get away…
The running and laughing through the woods.
The moments in the cabin that were interrupted by Dean, who now made sense in his familiarity.
Then the moment that she was kidnapped.

“I was kidnapped…”, she whispered, her stomach flipping a bit as their noses touched, pulling forward that familiar calm that Sam’s skin gave her, “I don’t remember anything in between…but I remember you. I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. If I go…I’ll do whatever I have to do to get back to you, like I should have done the last time we met.”
She glanced up at his eyes, taking a deep breath of overwhelm as she did so, “You’re the only person in this house that could talk me out of it, and I’m locked up with you…how appropriate.”

She smiled softly, soaking in the feelings from simply touching his nose, and barely able to contain the urge to relive those memories in the cabin while she had him so close. But she knew if she kissed him, she would never leave…and chances were, that wasn’t an option.

Mika AND NATALIA

Mika headed upstairs with Dean to grab all the blankets and sleeping bags with him to take downstairs. She stood behind Dean as he stepped into the closet and pull everything out, putting them on the floor for the time being whilst she leaned against the opposite wall watching him, smirking to herself as she used that moment to get a look at his ass.

She didn't even notice the door was open but did hear the voices of Cason and Esme outside and found it was only when Bobby surfaced upstairs with Natalia in tow that she noticed the door was open. She couldn't help but smirk and stifle a snigger by placing her hand over her mouth as he told Dean to clean up the mess. "Sorry Bobby, we won't be long" she told him, gesturing for Natalia to follow him to make sure he don't complain at anyone else and to help find some ideas they could use.

With the blankets pulled out, she pushed herself off the wall and squatted down pulling half of the pile into her arms and standing back upright, turning on her heels and heading toward the steps to the basement once more.

As agreed with Mika, Natalia followed Bobby into the main room he went to and perched over his desk in front of him. "how you holding up Bobby? I feel like no one has asked you how you're doing" she commented, looking at the books on his desk before rocking one up and flicking through it. She wanted to make herself useful whilst also not getting in the way of those downstairs. She had actually forgotten for this moment that Benjamin was even still in her car. She was so focused on getting inside and checking what Dean and Mika found out with Bobby, that she went on auto pilot and forgot she had a passenger in her car.

So when the door got knocked on and Bobby went to it to reveal Benjamin on the other side she slapped the front of her face with her palm internally groaning that she could be so forgetful. "Sorry about leaving you in the car!" she called through from Bobby's desk. "he's safe Bobby, you can let him in" she told the man she respected.

SAM

He watched her face intently, studying it as she remembered the memories that she had squashed far down in her mind. Seeing them register with her showed him that he wasn't being crazy and he was right. She was the very same Anna he met as a kid. Yet her mentioning of the fact she was kidnapped after she ran off on her own made him feel sick as kidnapping always angered him.

He looked at her sadly as she said she didn't remember much in between but she knew they would be okay. He nodded at her words and ran his hand through her hair at this point. "I know, you're a strong woman, if we can find a way of at least letting you go but with like..I dunno, a tracker of some kind or something I'd feel better about it. I get the feeling that Dean isn't being fully truthful about how he knows Alistair.." he replied to her.

He had to smirk at the irony of him being locked up with her and him being the only one to change her mind.

Dean reached down and grabbed the other half of the blankets, slapping Mika’s ass as she stood from her squat. He placed his tongue between his teeth with a small laugh, “You can’t just go squatting like that all over the house…especially when it could be our last night on earth. You know the line.”

He laughed a little harder, brushing past her to get down the stairs first. However, he skidded to a stop just outside the door, and pulled himself back, reaching an arm out to hold Mika back with a small smirk. He had seen his brothers look for the past few days, that look of familiarity, attraction, maybe even a bit of love or something. Seeing him this close to Anna was something he couldn’t barge in on, as much as he normally would.

He turned to Mika, “Um…we should hang out here, for a few. I don’t mess with goodbyes.”

He gave Mika a look, knowing she would understand what he meant after all these years. He then took a seat on the bottom step of the basement, trying not to sit too close to the door and intrude.



Bobby had just reached his desk when Natalia perched in front of him. He had to admit, she was his favorite to have around. She was thoughtful, and as much as she probably wouldn’t want to hear him say it…kind. He picked up the lore book on demons he had been reading earlier in the day, and only glanced up when she asked him how he was doing.

“I um…I’m a bit tired, if I’m honest.”, he spoke clearly, flipping to a page in the book with a sigil that caught his attention. He brushed it off, to speak to her, “I just want you kids to be safe. There’s so many of you. I don’t have enough brains to be able to protect you all. So, I’ll do the best I can, but I ask that you all do the same. You all need to prepare yourself for the loss that is probably coming…”

Bobby stepped over to the door and opened it, letting Benjamin in with a huff. Great, another kid to protect, added to the pile. He stepped back over to his desk, picking up a book and holding it out to Natalia, pointing to a sigil that Cason had used to expel angels. He tapped his finger against it with a wide smile, not believing that he had true angel lore in his house all long.



As she thought over what was happening, and the memories that continued to flood her mind. Everything about him suddenly felt the most familiar thing she had been able to know in the past several months. It wasn’t new, but it was exciting. She didn’t remember what the man who had kidnapped her looked like, only his voice, and the feeling of wanting to go back to Sam, in that moment, even at sixteen.

She closed her eyes as his fingers ran through her hair, the soft touch sending a jolt of electricity down her spine, as she listened to his words and breathed deeply. She had to admit that his idea for a tracking device was a wonderful idea, if something like that existed.

“It’s like the universe doesn’t want us anywhere near each other…”, she said sadly, as he spoke Alastair’s name. It was sad to admit, but considering everything they had been through, just being around each other, it truly seemed like the universe had some screwed up plan to make sure they weren’t able to know each other, or knew they were dangerous, together.

Not able to contain the emotional reaction to the memories, and the situation anymore, she closed the tiny gap between their lips, reaching her hands up to tangle into his hair with a pleasant sigh. His touch was relaxing, but this…this was familiar. This was safety, in the midst of the end of the world.

The thought nearly broke her heart as she kissed him, continuing to remind herself that this would likely be the last time they were ever in the same room, together.

Esme walked back into the house, watching as Sarah made her way in as well. She gave a last look to Violet before the door closed, only to hear a knock soon after. She looked at the door, confused. If they didn’t smell like the house, why wasn’t Violet attacking them? She then stole a glance at Sarah, who was growling. Esme looked back at the door when Bobby opened it to reveal Benjamin behind it. “How has he slept in the car all this time?” she whispered.

When Sarah stopped growling and moved closer to her, it was a bit of an odd feeling, but she let the back of her hand brush against Sarah. Esme looked over at Cason as he turned to her. Even before he spoke, she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, but she listened anyway. “I know, she’s quite large and could do quite a bit of damage in here.” she began when he finished. “If I have to be in the house, I’d prefer to be in the middle of it. I don’t like the idea of being in a room unless I were to rest after what happened earlier.

But while everything is going down, I will not hide in a room. I’m going to do what I can to help. Plus, it’s not like I’m going to be in here all alone.” she told him. She was firm in what she told him and looked him in the eyes as she spoke. She wouldn’t let anyone shove her in a room to hide while everything was going on. She was going to be a part of it all, even if she didn’t see any action while in the middle of the house. She knew that if Cason was pulled away or injured, she’d still have back up.

She also knew if she somehow ended up outside, she’d have back up there too. “I know you’ve vowed to keep me safe, but that doesn’t mean you can just lock me up somewhere when things get dicey.” she told him. “I mean, you could definitely try, but I’m sure I’d find a way out.”

Cason rolled his eyes at Esme as she told him exactly what he expected, which is why he had mentioned that she would probably fight with them. He knew she wouldn’t let him just lock her up, but he wanted to…badly.

“I’m half tempted to lock your ass in the vault, but…the dogs can’t help you, there. I know the Winchesters are more than capable of handling a few demons. But you have to think…”, he stopped, nodding his head toward the basement, “They aren’t strongest, when they’re apart. And they’re going to very much be apart during all this.”

He sighed, reaching a hand up to brush his knuckles against her cheek briefly, giving a small pout and letting his hand drop back to his side.

“But if you want to be out here, fine. Just be careful. I would probably kill everyone in this room, if you ended up dead, alright? I’m going to be honest with you.”, he rolled his neck a bit, “I kinda like having you around. So, let’s not ruin that…”

He then reached over and scratched the bottom of Sarah’s chin as he caught a glimpse of the sigil Bobby was pointing out to Nat. He recognized it intimately, as he had nearly stabbed through his hand to make it back at the hotel.

Esme watched him as he took in what she said. She knew he wanted to lock her up even before he said he was half tempted to. At his mention of how the Winchester’s weren’t their strongest apart, gave a sigh. “I’m aware of that.” She looked towards the stairs that lead to the basement. She knew that this was going to be hard on all the Winchesters with Sam being locked in the vault. She looked back at Cason as he brushed his knuckles against her cheek and saw his pout. His pout showed her that her words had gotten through to him, and that she would not change her mind.

When he spoke, she had to smirk a bit at his words. She knew that he’d go on a killing spree if anything were to happen to her during the fight, and she nodded to let him know she understood. She was about to answer when she saw Bobby pointing out a sigil to Natalia, then looked back at Cason. “I’ll be as careful as I can. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.” she said with a small smile. She then turned to face him, looking him in the eyes. “What I don’t get is…… Why the hell do you like having me around?”

It really did confuse her, she hadn’t really given him a reason to like having her around. Since they had met, she’s passed out, and he had to take her to a motel, she shot him, hit him, and now he had his hellhounds protecting her. If she was honest, she’s been nothing short of a handful and a pain in the ass for him. By all rights he should want anything to do with her and want to get away from her as soon as possible, or even want to kill her. But no, he flat out tells her he kinda likes having her around and doesn’t want anything to ruin it.

- Collab between Annabeth and Wolvena to not clog the thread. :)

Cason raised his eyebrows as Esme caught his eyes. He wasn't used to her being willing to have a conversation with him. For that reason, he didn't know how to answer her question. He rolled the question over in his mind, coming up with answers that made him cringe, and others that made him glance down briefly at her gun.

Peering back up at her eyes, he scanned the length of her face and shrugged, "You're a tad intoxicating, honestly. I noticed it the first time we were in a room together."

Esme watched him, waiting for him to answer the question. She could see his wheels turning on how to answer the question and even caught the glance at her gun. Had he learned to choose his words wisely yet? She wouldn’t know until he answered her, and he soon did. “Intoxicating?” she repeated the word with one eyebrow raised. Was this supposed to be some sort of pickup line? She inwardly cringed at the thought as her face slightly changed to a look of ew.

Cason was taken aback by the look on her face, as she realized what he said. He had to admit, it hadn't come out the way it probably should have, but it wasn't completely untrue.

"Um...yeah, intoxicating is a good word. It's like a drink of whiskey or a cigarette. You know?", he explained, scanning her eyes to see if her facial expression changed at all. He hadn't wanted to have this conversation just yet, with her.

Esme’s face changed very little as Canson explained what he meant by she was intoxicating. Was he comparing her to whiskey and a cigarette? If anything, his entire explanation confused her even more, and it was showing on her face. She felt like he was trying to avoid the question and was dancing around it.

“So, are you saying you get warm and tingly?” she asked, as one brow raised again. After she said it, she felt strange. A demon getting warm and tingly around a human, especially one that was a hunter, was just plain strange. She stood there, trying to wrap her head around it.

Cason rolled his eyes at Esme's retort, feeling oddly self-conscious as she continued to look at him as if he had three heads. He shrugged heavily, leaving his shoulders raised as he tilted his body to the side and looked away from her eyes.

"That's a very human way of putting it. I feel worried, all the time, like now. I want to kill everything and everyone near you, when there's actual danger...just in case.", he explained with a slightly higher-pitched voice, "So, I guess you could say it's warm...and tingly..."

Esme watched him, taking in his eye roll to her retort, his shrug, and the way he averted his eyes from her. Was that it? Was that how he was feeling while around her? That sounded like he was…… No, he couldn’t be. She focused back on him as he spoke, her eyebrows raising as she listened. It was just as she had thought.

His voice going to a slightly higher pitch said it all. It now explained why he had become so possessive and clingy towards her. She sighed and shook her head with a little laugh. “Dude, you got it bad,” she whispered softly. “And I was the one that brought it on, lucky me.” she sighed. She then looked over at Sarah and rubbed her shoulder. “Did you happen to catch on to this?” she asked her.

Cason sighed heavily and placed both his hands on his hips as she laughed at him. It was a far cry from shooting him in the head, but ouch. He narrowed his eyes at her and bit his lip, "Shut up. You're lucky to have me..."

He continued to stare at her, scanning between both her eyes when she made her little quip and then turn to Sarah, "Don't bring her into this. You're deflecting..."

However, as Esme turned to her, Sarah nuzzled against her side, basically giving her the answer of 'yes' as she accepted the petting. Cason rolled his eyes with a loud groan, "Great. So, what...you use this against me? I make a nice comment, and it totally makes me seem like some sort of junkless sap, right?"

Esme almost laughed again as Cason said she was deflecting by asking Sarah the question, but she held her composure as she waited to see if she would really answer her. When Sarah nuzzled against her in an answer of basically yes, she almost wanted to hug her. It seemed that her laugh and asking Sarah her question had struck a nerve. Esme collected herself more before she looked back at him, and she gently shook her head at his questions.

“No, but I could if I was that type of person.” She sighed as she thought about his other question. “No, it doesn’t make you look like junkless sap. It shows that you actually have a heart,” she told him. It probably wasn’t something a demon, like Cason, wanted to hear, but it was the truth. She looked back at Sarah for a moment to scratch her head and behind an ear. This was an awkward conversation to have with Cason, especially with the upcoming fight that was on its way.

As Esme spoke about his weakness for her as a human, as if he had some sort of soul, Cason scoffed, "It shows I have a heart. I protected Annabeth for a reason...a pretty selfish reason. I actually feel relieved that she's safe with Sam Winchester."

His eye twitched as he spoke the words, turning back to her. The way she scratched Sarah's ear made his lips turn up into a smirk. It was strange to see a human interacting with such a vicious creature, as a Hellhound, but something about it was endearing, also.

"Since we're all going to die tomorrow, I might as well go out on a redemption arc, right?", he quipped, still smirking fondly at her. He was being a realist about his odds of not going out in a blaze of glory.

Dean chimed in from nowhere, crawling up the stairs to point at Cason, as his head rounded the corner, "You watch your mouth. That's my line..."

Cason narrowed his eyes in confusion, as Dean slid back down to sit next to Mika once again. He then realized what he had said, and laughed, "I'm um...not...seducing you or anything, contrary to what your ex says."

Esme sighed a bit as Cason scoffed. Her smile faded a bit as he talked about what it was like with Annabeth. Though she couldn’t blame him for being relieved that Annabeth was safe with Sam. That should have been more proof of what she had said. “That just goes to show that you care for her,” she told him. “There is nothing wrong about caring for someone.” She looked at him to see his reaction to what she said. Then turned back to Sarah.

“But there is a point where caring turns into obsession,” she added. “I’ve seen it and I’ve experienced it before meeting up with this group. It wasn’t pretty,” she admitted with a small shiver. She shook her head lightly to keep the memory from invading her thoughts. It was in the past and should stay there. She could feel him watching her with Sarah, and could almost feel his smirk. She then whirled around to face him at his words, her eyebrows almost in her hairline.

That was a line Dean would use if she ever heard it. Esme looked at the stairs at Dean’s sudden appearance, then smiled and held back a laugh at his words to Cason. She then saw the realization hit Cason after Dean slid back down the stairs. Her eyebrows lowered as he spoke. “Yeah, sure you 're not,” she said with one raised eyebrow. She didn’t even bother to comment about him calling Dean her ex. She told him before that he wasn’t, and that the last time they met it was brief.

Cason lowered his eyes to the ground, realizing she was warning him a bit about his obsession. She was right, honestly. He needed to stop treating her like the fragile human she was physically. No matter how much he cared about her, she was capable, and wouldn't be under his wing constantly, whether he liked it or not.

MIKA

When Dean slapped her ass as she stood up she smirked and chuckled whilst turning her head to face him and giving him the amused look of 'seriously?' showing that despite her look she really didn't care that he slapped her ass. In her eyes he was welcome to whenever he pleased as it wasn't like that was all he ever did with her. "you are something else Dean" she told him, seeing him insisting on getting in front of her to go down the stairs again before he paused and stopped her.

She wondered why he stopped her from heading downstairs but when he said what he did, she understood it completely. Sam and Annabeth needed some time alone to get their goodbyes out of the way now so it wouldn't be all the more difficult in 24 hours time. She nodded and sat down next to him on the step, keeping the blankets on her lap as she did so.

"I can't help but feel like we know her from somewhere but I can't for the life of me figure out where" she spoke quietly to Dean, gesturing her head toward where Annabeth was, to show who she was talking about. She then rested her head on his shoulder, not even paying attention to the fact Cason and Esme were in eyehsot of her and Dean.

"and if it is our last night on Earth then Sammy deserves this goodbye and she deserves a moment of security that Sam always seems to give people" she added. She wanted to say 'if we're dying tomorrow then at least I can see you one last time before I finally kick the bucket and not die alone' but she refrained from doing so, deciding to think it instead.

NATALIA

Hearing that Bobby was tired wasn't much of a surprise to her. She knew how hard Bobby worked to try and keep them all safe and happy, something he didn't have to do but always did because he genuinely cared for them all. She knew she was a favourite of his and she did love to play on that whenever she could, always bring the one to jump up and help whenever she could.

He was probably one of the few people who saw her kinder side and she could totally understand why Mika treasured him as her last remaining blood relative. "it's not surprising, you've had a lot to shoulder, especially these last few months. I can only imagine how frustrating it must have been not having Mika do even the simplest of things like eat and I'll do all I can to help keep us all safe too, and you. You know I'll gladly help around the place if you ever need it" she commented back to him sympathetically. She just always felt bad she wasn't around in her eyes, nearly often enough.

When Benjamin came in after being let in and she had said her own apologies for forgetting he was in her car, she turned back to Bobby and looked at what he found, picking the book up and looking at it closer whilst also reading what it said beside it. "Holy crap Bobby! This could be our key to surviving this shitty situation" she remarked.

SAM

He let her remain close to him as he let her take in everything he was telling her before she replied with her somber take from everything that happened to the both of them. "don't think like that Anna, even if I feel like I understand where you're coming from" he replied to her when he felt her lips upon his, making him close his eyes.

He heard the stairs to the basement creak slightly when Dean and Mika sat down on them and knew they were hovering so not to interrupt them both. Something he appreciated greatly from them both. He kissed Annabeth back gladly, wrapping his arms round fully around her to try and give her a sense of security, even if it was only to be temporary.

He eventually pulled away from the kiss after letting it linger for a few moments. He gave her a soft smile and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "we'll figure this out, I know I've said this several times now but we will" he told her. "I'm so glad I remember you finally" he smiled at her.

Dean raised his eyebrows a bit at Mika, when she mentioned she felt like they knew Anna from somewhere. He had been having the same thoughts. It’s why he had stayed away from her. He was afraid she was…

“Hey, wasn’t that girl that Sam hooked up with back in Minnesota’s name Anna?”, he asked, thinking hard into the air, randomly. He then responded to Cason’s ‘last night on earth’ comment, raising his eyebrows as he came to sit back down beside her, leaning his own head against hers, before realizing she also gave him the line.

“Last night on earth, huh?”, he asked, leaning over enough to make her raise her head as he waggled his eyebrows at her. In his gut, he knew it was likely going to go south. There was no telling what Alastair was bringing with him, not including himself. Not to mention his history with Alastair would complicate things on his end, and make him a likely target. He didn’t let his face fall, wanting to keep her on task, and not letting his mind wander too far down a rabbit hole of scenarios. He knew there was no coming back from that, and he would be distracted.



Bobby smiled at Natalia’s offer to help, clapping her on the shoulder without much of a response. Although, the offer was tempting. Just having her on the phones would be better than being alone.

His smile grew a little brighter as she realized what he was showing her, “Right. One of those bad boys, and all our troubles are solved if the angels show up. I don’t want to mess with the panic room too much, while Sam and Anna are stuck in there, but if we make it through this…maybe we can find more of these.”

As he explained, he read the text directly to the side of the banishing spell, realizing it needed to be made in human blood.

“We might have to draw straws for that part…”, he muttered, pointing at the text and glancing over to Cason and Esme briefly, to make sure they were both still in the room. He didn’t really trust a demon in his house, but given the circumstances, he was almost relieved.



Annabeth sighed as Sam pulled away from the kiss, her eyes closed for a few seconds as she processed what had just happened. Her stomach dropped, when she thought about the fact that she was likely setting him up for an even harder fall, when she left. However, she matched his slight smile, leaning into his hand and letting her hands fall to his neck, as a stray tear betrayed her and fell onto his thumb.

“I hope so.”, she whispered, not believing him. She knew how this would go, in her gut. But Sam was so damned optimistic. It was hard to take that from him, with her own realism. She bit her lip and stifled a small giggle remembering the last time they were together, and how much smaller and innocent he seemed.

“I am too. It’s hard to believe that I used to be the tough one, dragging you away and nearly kidnapping you.”, she muttered with a smirk. She nuzzled his nose briefly, furrowing her brow a bit in sadness, “This feeling in my gut is incredibly familiar. Like we have cycled around…to be right back in this situation, and someone had hoped I wouldn’t remember any of it.”

Esme watched Cason as he lowered his eyes to the floor, realizing he picked up on her little warning, which she was glad. She hated to be too blunt with people, but knew there were times it was necessary. She was almost surprised that she had actually gotten through to him, but since he pretty much confessed his feelings for her, it was less surprising. She sighed a bit as she caught the brief look from Bobby. She could tell he was checking to see if they were still there. She then looked back at Sarah and gave her a smile.

She looked over at the door, then to Cason. “I’m going to go clear my head with a walk before everything hits the fan.” she told him. She then placed a hand on Sarah’s head and gave it a scratch before heading to the door. She placed her hand on the doorknob and looked back at him. “And don’t go worrying yourself. I’ll be fine.” she smiled. She then gave the doorknob a turn and opened the door, letting Sarah walk out first. She closed to the door behind her as she stepped onto the porch, then took in a deep breath of the cool air.

“Hey Violet.” she smiled, giving her a scratch under the chin. She then adjusted her jacket and zipped it up, then walked off the porch. “You girls coming?” she asked the two hounds as she turned to them. She then turned back to the junkyard when they joined her. She then set off and started her walk, taking in the vehicles she passed by. As she made her way through the junkyard, she began to hum to herself and the two hounds. She could feel her mind clearing and her body relaxing so she could think clearer about everything that was coming up.

MIKA

When Dean suddenly brought up a moment from a few years ago now, way back when Sam was just a kid and also being one hell of a terrible night for the two of them, and not just because they were worried sick about Sam inexplicibly running off with a unknown girl, Mika found herself really thinking back to the night and the realisation dawning on her. "Shit I think you're right. She was called Anna...you don't think..." she started saying before really putting the pieces together, "well bloody hells, I never thought we'd see her again" she commented back, finding her mind well and truly blown.

When she said what she did, she didn't even hear Cason say the same thing, deciding that she wasn't going to eavesdrop when he was talking with Esme. She noted how he was with the woman and she didn't want to get involved and she certainly felt she didn't have right to say anything after she so wrongly caused a scene involving her and Dean, and she was trying so hard to make things right by Esme.

She lifted her head when he did the recognisable shoulder shrug to make her look at him, only to be met with him wriggling his eyebrows at her making her chuckle and gently giving him a shoulder nudge. "Your mind is constantly in the gutter, you sure you're not thinking with your downstairs brain again?" she smirked at him, trying to keep the conversation lighthearted and fun instead of dragging it down into the negative territory. Not that she would ever complain about sneaking off with him but there were far too many people in the house and now really wasn't the time.

NATALIA

She smiled at Bobby's gesture knowing he would be too stubborn to ask for her help, but she would always offer no matter what and if she thought he could do with it, she would gladly hang back to give him a hand and not take no for an answer.

As his smile grrew wider at her realising what it was he found, she felt glad she was understanding what she was reading correctly. Putting the book back down on his desk, she let him read what was written beside the sigil design, "That must have been what Cason used to banish Samael in the hotel room. If it is then yeah, this bad boy will definitely get rid of Angels in a massive way. Filled the room in a bright light and banished the Angel." she explained to him.

She looked herself and saw he was right, it did require human blood. She followed his glance toward Cason and Esme before looking back at the book. "we'll figure it out, we always do in this family" she pointed out to him.

SAM

As Annabeth nuzzled into his hand, he used his thumb to wipe away the tear that fell from her eye. He got the feeling she didn't believe him but he had to keep believing no matter how hard it was to do so. He and his family had come out of some seriously hairy situations and in his eyes, if his brother could come back from Hell then there had to be a way to get Anna back from Alistair somehow. Even if it meant killing Alistair to do so.

Hearing her remember their brief first meeting together made him smile and chuckle as he remembered it the same way she did. He was nervous to be leaving his brother and father, to just up sticks and run away but there was something highly exhilirating about it when he was so young. Little did she know, it was that night that gave him the push he needed to eventually walk away from his brother and father and have a life in university.

"I agree, but if someone is to blame for making you forget that memory, then we'll fidn them and find out why they did it. Important thing is now though, that we both now remember. That I know you've been alive this whole time and living. I thought you got killed all those years ago, so you have no idea how glad I am to be proven wrong" he told her, stroking her cheek still before pulling her into his arms to hug.

Deep inside it was killing him that he'd have to say goodbye all over again and just hope she'll survive this without him...again. He didn't want to let her go now he had her back but he knew he had no other choice.

Dean nodded his head at Mika, squeezing his lips together as she put the pieces together about Anna. This was going to devastate Sam. He had seen his brother’s face, when she left the first time. The kid had figured out what he wanted, with her. To Sam, she was his ticket out, and the first person Dean had really ever seen him connect with romantically.

He furrowed his brow at the thought, glancing toward the door of the panic room. He wiped a hand over his mouth, dreading what was coming. However, Mika turning down his offer with a joke caused him to raise his eyebrows and stare at her with a smirk, “Old habits, darlin’. Old habits. After this is all over…”

He waggled his eyebrows again, before standing reluctantly and peeking around the corner at his brother and Annabeth hugging. He sighed, even more reluctant to step inside, but he did so.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to drop this off.”, he muttered, laying the blankets near the door and turning to grab Mika’s pile. He added them to the pile, stopping to give Sam an understanding and sad look, at the same time that he noticed Anna’s face fall flat, recognizing that look from his time with Sam, “Um. Anna, you okay?”



“Oh you’ve seen that?”, Bobby asked, his face a bit excited as Natalia explained how the sigil worked. He quickly looked back at Cason, and snapped his fingers at him, “Come here…”

Cason was lost in thought, staring at the front door after watching Esme leave. He was paranoid, and worried about her, and Bobby calling him over made him jump a bit. He turned to the old man, taking a few steps toward him. Bobby simply pointed at the sigil.

“You can make this?”, Bobby asked, giving leniency to the demon. Cason nodded his head, a frown on his face, “So, hop to it. I figure we can put a couple on some doors.”

“You want me to bleed for you? I don’t even know you.”, Cason laughed, but Bobby’s face didn’t change as he leaned a hand against his desk, almost shielding Natalia from Cason.

“But you know that girl out there. You know that the dogs you’ve brought onto my property…yes I can feel them, won’t be much good against Angels. So, if you want her to make it out of here, with you alive…get cuttin’.”, Bobby demanded, pulling his long hunting knife from his belt and slamming it on the table in front of Cason.

Cason picked the knife up with a sigh, realizing he was right, and stepped away to make sigils.



Annabeth relished his words, so happy to just be back near him. As he pulled her in for a hug, she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding on for dear life. Listening to his heartbeat caused her own to slow, as she nuzzled into him. As with most things, the good couldn’t last.

Just as Dean stepped into the room, Anna’s eyes clouded over and a voice appeared in her mind, a voice she didn’t want to hear, ever again.



She gasped out of the call, and instantly began feeling up Sam’s chest, pulling away from him. She ran her hands all across his chest, and then down to his legs, making sure he was real. She brought her hands up to her hair, and tangled her fingers there, racking her brain for any answer for what was about to happen.

“Anna!”, Dean called, still waiting for an answer to his question.

“No. I’m not okay…They’re…”, she started as a Hellhound howled loudly in the distance, sounding the alarm that trouble had arrived.

“They’re already here… Dammit! Mika! Guys!”, Dean yelled in realization, sprinting out of the panic room and out to Mika, “They’re here!”

Esme continued to stroll through the junkyard, still humming as she went. She had placed a hand on Sarah and Violet as they walked by her side. The two of them both seemed to enjoy themselves. She didn’t realize how deep she had gone into the junkyard until she heard one of the other hounds howl. Esme stopped in her tracks and fell silent as she pulled out her gun, scanning the junkyard. Sarah and Violet moved closer to her as they growled, their eyes scanning the junkyard as well. “Alright girls.” she said, still scanning the area. “Looks like they have decided to start the party early. I hope you two are ready.”

She released the safety on her gun, then judged the distance between her and the house. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t get back to the house before she ran into at least one demon. “Alright, let’s move back to the house.” With her gun held at the ready, she walked back to the house, a shiver running up her spine on the way. Sarah and Violet moved as if they were an extension of her, a growl in their throats as they moved through the junkyard with her. Esme could feel that they were being watched, but she couldn’t pinpoint where they were. “Stay on your toes, girls.” she whispered to them.

She went a little further, keeping her eyes open for a sudden attack, but it never came. She knew they were there and couldn’t help but wonder what they were waiting for. Another shiver ran down her spine. “Come on, you cowards! I know you’re there!” she yelled out into the junkyard. Laughter erupted in the junkyard after her words, echoing all around her and the two hounds. Just then, six demons popped up out of nowhere and surrounded them, wide grins on their faces as they stared her down. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a male demon said. “Looks like a hunter all on their own.” a female said from behind her.

“Mmmmm, shame we have to kill something so fine.” another male chimed in. They then closed in on her and Esme took a shot, hitting one square in the head. “Sarah! Violet! Now!” she yelled. Both hounds charged the demons and pounced, making quick work of three of them. Esme got off a couple of more shots before making a run for it. She didn’t get far before a demon appeared in front of her, and punched her in the face before the hounds could reach her. Esme groaned and hit the ground on all fours. The demon laughed before kicking her. “Thought you could get away, did you?” he sneered as Esme grunted and rolled onto her side, clutching her stomach.

He went to land another kick, but Violet tackled him and ripped him to shreds. “Thanks, Violet.” Esme gasped as she struggled to her feet. Sarah came over and gave her help standing, letting Esme lean against her and she stood. Violet came to her side with her gun in her mouth, Esme took it with a weak smile. She could feel more coming. Taking a breath, she ran towards the house again as she held her bruised ribs, at the rate they were coming, she’d be a complete mess if she tried to take many more on. Esme finally made it about half way when a large group of demons showed up. “Hellfire!” she complained as she took aim.

“You know what to do girls.” she said then shot at several demons. She watched as each shot hit its mark, then cursed under her breath as she took her last shot. She tucked her gun away and pulled a good sized hunting knife from her belt. It was a silver blade that had been bathed in salty holy water. The blade wasn’t large enough to decapitate, but she hoped it would be enough to slow them down. Esme flew into the group of demons when Sarah and Violet, slashing and stabbing her way through. That was until she felt herself being lifted from the ground and thrown through the windshield of a vehicle. She gasped and fought for the air that had been forced from her lungs.

Her vision slightly blurred from the impact, she closed her eyes and shook her head to clear her vision, then made her way off the vehicle as Sarah attacked the demon responsible for throwing her. She leaned against the vehicle to regain herself while Sarah and Violet fought off any demon that got near. Looking up head, she could see she was almost there, she could clearly see the house. She bolted just as another hellhound came out of nowhere, which she was thankful for. She was almost to the porch when two more demons showed up, a male and a female, both with smirks upon their faces. “It ends here.” the female sneered.

“Not if I can help it.” Esme sneered back. She cut a quick look over her shoulder, the three hounds were busy fighting the other demons. Esme took her stance, her knife held firmly in her right hand. The demons attacked first, both coming at her at once. She dodged what she could, and managed to get a few hits and slashes in. Finally she managed to trip them up to where they collided, Esme took this chance to stab the female in the back and threw the heart. Pulling her blade free she faced off with the male, his eyes burned with rage. He charged and they exchanged blows, moving to the porch stairs.

He landed a blow in Esme’s stomach, sending her to all fours holding her stomach. As she looked up, he punched her in the face, then stomped her ribs forcing her to the ground. She groaned in pain as she fought to get back up on her hands and knees. Only to be kicked in the ribs and then thrown at the front door, sending her crashing through it with a yelp.

Cason had just finished his last sigil, wrapping his hand tightly in a bandana. He wiped the blood from Bobby’s knife on his jeans, and handed it back to him, handle first.

“There.”, he muttered, pressing his lips together tightly in a sheepish smile, and then walking back over to stand near the window. He was patiently waiting for Esme to think over whatever it was that she needed to, and come back to him. He wanted to work on the whole ‘not keeping her prisoner’ thing, but this was a situation that was a bit out of the norm…honestly.

His ears twitched a bit at the sound of one of his younger hellhounds howling in the distance.

“Singer, do you have what you need to ward off demons?”, he asked Bobby, not looking at him as his breathing quickened. Bobby shrugged his shoulders.

“I mean, all the usuals. Why, what’s going on?”

As soon as Bobby got the words out of his mouth, gunshots rang out from the junkyard. Bobby stared at Natalia with big eyes, as Cason sprinted toward the basement stairs, headed for Dean.

“Take this…”, Bobby told Natalia in a bit of a panic, bending down to grab a gallon of holy water off the floor. He stood and handed the gallon to her, “And take the kitchen. They’ve all been salted, but you can’t be too sure. We gotta protect that basement. Be careful, you hear me?”

He then kissed Natalia on the forehead, and shoved her away from him, toward the stairs Cason had just sprinted down.

As Cason practically flew down the stairs of the basement, he smashed into Dean, both of them falling to the ground. Cason began patting Dean’s body down, as he got up first, causing Dean’s face to twist into a ‘wtf’ look, staring down at him as he made it to his hips. Cason finally found what he was searching for, and pulled Ruby’s knife from Dean’s pants, shoving away from him.

“Bring that back! We’re sitting ducks down here without a weapon!”, Dean screamed up the stairs as Cason ran away from him, sprinting toward the front door. His mind was in tunnel vision, as it raced through scenarios for Esme, not the greater good.

As he hit the center of the living room, Esme’s body was flung through the door, causing Cason to slide to a stop and then run to her, dropping the knife beside her head, “Esme! Hey…heyheyhey…I got you…”

As the demon entered the living room, Bobby splashed his face with holy water, smirking as he sizzled, “Everyone be on the ready! We don’t have much way to kill them but don’t forget your Latin!”

MIKA

Mika could see that Dean was remembering the night suddenly just as vividly as she was, remembering how Anna was the start of Sam having a way out of the job and eventually excelling in school and university before he was dragged back into the life thanks to Azazel. Luckily, her joke as she turned him down brought the smile back to his face which in turn made her smile again also.

At his quip and the wriggling of his eyebrows once again she sniggered, "Oh you bet your cute ass" she replied to him before the mood turned back to seriousness as they saw how Sam was holding Annabeth, finding herself starting to root for the two of them, knowing that after Jessica, Sam deserved some kind of happiness and someone to look out for who wasn't family. She stood up when Dean did, and stepped down the stairs holding the blankets which she handed to Dean as he handed the other two by laying them down near the door.

It was then she saw how Annabeth was reacting to something in her head and she instantly got concerned, but instead of stepping inside the vault, she let the boys try and help in any way they could. She wondered what was happening to Annabeth, and wouldn't stop worrying until she came to and finally answered Dean after he tried asking her if she was okay several times.

Then came the sound of what she was dreading the most...demon infiltration. This was her home, her uncle's home. Demons had no right to be in this house and she knew Bobby had done all he could to demon prove this place, but they already had one demon on the premise, so she was certain it wouldn't take much for more to get inside somehow.

She went to get to the stairs to rush on up with Dean after he yelled about the enemies being here when Cason came rushing downward and crashed into Dean with a massive painful thud. "What the hell Cason!?" she cursed, seeing him patting Dean down before grabbing for Ruby's knife. "Son of a bitch" she cursed again, going to the locker in the basement and grabbing the one remaining spare sawed off shotgun, "Dean! Take this!" she called to him, chucking it to him when he would look at her. She was glad in this moment that she kept a spare down here, even if Bobby once swore that it would be needed.

Satisfied that Dean had the shotgun, she pulled out the rounds and slammed them on the table for him to load it before making a dash for upstairs, knowing her weapons were upstairs and if she didn't go up there they'd only be good for so long. As she started heading for the steps, she only got up the first two bottom steps when four demons blocked her entrance. "Well shit..." she muttered seeing the demons smirk and look like they were face to face with the best day of their lives.

"well well well, seems we hit the jackpot!" one of the demons chuckled as they headed downstairs, making Mika step backwards and toward Dean as he was the one with a weapon. She fumbled her hand around to find a crowbar which she grabbed, knowing it was useless but it may just help enough to give them an opening and the upper hand. She gritted her teeth tightly shut before making a swing at the one demon that was most forward between them, hitting the side of their head but it seemed effect them like she just hit them with a feather.

Next thing she knew she was flung across the basement like a ragdoll, making her skid across the floor to catch herself, flipping her head up and back to get her hair out of her face as she stood up. She then remembered her handgun was in the back of her pants, as she brought it out and aimed it at the demons. She fired off a couple of rounds, getting one of the demons right in the chest having purposely aimed for the heart.

NATALIA

She nodded smiling at Bobby seeming excited that not only what he found could work, but that she had seen it work first hand. She smirked as Bobby told Cason to go round his place and actually do the sigils so that if it came to it, they could each get into positions and banish the asshole with whoever was closer. She noted how Bobby was practically shielding her from Cason, a protective action that she knew was out of habit from having to protect Mika for so many years, but she respected him for it none the less.

As Cason did eventually agree to go and do the sigils, she sighed with relief that someone was actually doing something they needed. What was to come next was a shock to the system and one she wasn't expecting in the slightest. Everything just seemed from 1-100 in a matter of seconds, looking at Bobby she nodded as she grabbed the gallon of holy water and with the kiss on her forehead she gave him a brief smile, "I will, you too" she told him back, rushing to the kitchen and being on standby.

It didn't take long before demons came rushing into the kitchen making her open the holy water bottle and start swinging it to spread the holy water out far and wide, seeing it hit the demons and make a sizzling sound as it burned them and made them wince and stumble backwards a couple of steps before going to rush her. She kept up the holy water trick until she just couldn't fling it anymore, the weight taking it's toll on her arms.

Throwing the whole thing at them, dousing them in the holy water, she got enough of an opening to pull out her handgun and start shooting, trying to hold them back as long as possible until she was grabbed and thrown into the kitchen cabinets, making her body bounce off of them and crumble to the floor with a groan and wince. She sadistically got a kick out of it, smirking and spitting the blood out of her mouth and onto the floor, forcing herself back onto her feet.

"oH now you're asking for it" she sniggered, standing up onto her feet.

SAM

As Annabeth suddenly got the voices in her head, he instantly bent down enough to try and look at her, seeing her eyes glow white once more and he just knew that someone was trying to speak to her in her head. When she came back to them mentally, his head darted upwards as the sounds of utter chaos came crashing in and all over the place.

Instinctively he pulled Annabeth behind him, not being prepared to have her in front of him again and risk her life once more. Seeing her die in front of him once was more than enough. He stepped them both further into the vault, letting Mika and Dean take charge of this situation, knowing that there was plenty of them upstairs also to deal with this.

That was until demons came down and started fighting Mika and throwing her across the basement. He had never felt so thankful that the vault was surrounded with demon protection knowing that if he and Annabeth didn't leave the vault, they would be safe. Even though every part of him wanted to help his brother and Mika, he knew he had to protect Annabeth as well.

He was antsy, twitchy even as he continued to try and keep Annabeth behind him and keeping himself in the vault. He did know however that if it came to it, he would leave the vault to help as best he could.