NATALIA

Hearing that Cason said they needed to have a talk, just her and him made Nat wonder what on earth they could possibly need to talk about that was so important. She didn't remember Cason from the asylum despite having that weird sense of familiarity around him and what he did to defend her in front of her brothers. A dangerous move in her mind, but one he took nonetheless. ".....okay" she mumbled just about audibly enough for him to hear. She was just about aware of him coming closer to the bed, but she was just too exhausted and emotionally vulnerable to really care or move or even to possibly tell him not to go anywhere near her. Her mind was fully of contradictions in this moment, one part of her wanted him nowhere near her, wanted to swap him out for Sam, like she was used to, but a bigger part of her wanted him to stay, hold her, act like a human even though he wasn't.

She felt his weight make the mattress dip as his knee was the first to go onto the bed, then felt the weight shift as he crawled up and sat upright on the bed beside her. Whilst she still remained un-moving from her position, she listened to him spiel words that she never thought would come out of his mouth. They sounded like something Sam would say to her, not Cason. She was trying so hard to compute that he was, infact, in his own way actually being caring. It surprised her so much that she didn't even flinch when he brushed strands of her hair away from her tear stained face with the back of his hand. It yet again felt familiar to her and she wished she could figure out it felt so familiar.

Then when he was finished, she actually grimaced at how corny it was before actually breaking out the tiniest of smiles as he told her not to tell a soul he actually said what he said. "That was disgustingly corny Cas---" she sleepily began to tell him but she couldn't finish her sentence as exhaustion hit her and she fell asleep before his name finished falling from her lips. It didn't take her long to fall into a deep sleep, enough so that her hands had dropped from their tight grip from her cardigan and round her body, and fell lightly beside Cason.

"the girl put up a fight today" was heard in a foggy state of Natalia's well being as she got wheeled back to her room, hands tied to her wheelchair. "I'm surprised she has any fight left in her at this stage. I truly thought we had finally broken her" another foggy echo was heard in reply. She tried to make her mind more focused on what was happening, but her head hurt like a bitch. She felt like she could still feel the electrodes on the sides of her head, throbbing each and every vein and muscle and nerve in her head. It wasn't long before she found herself back strapped to her bed in her solo room. "water...." she gasped sluggish from the torture of the day. "You ain't getting a damn thing until you say where the damn Winchesters are" a voice spat back.

Then she could have sworn someone else stepped in but it honestly felt like a dream until she felt water being gently poured into her mouth, fingers brushing her hair out of her face, off her temples as what she could only imagine, was an inspection of the severe dark bruising that was now evident on them. Seconds later she had passed out.

It wasn't the worst memory she had when sleeping, but then it went from sad to downright terrifying. Her body starting to shake and her voice beginning to whimper. "No...p-p-p-please...I...I don't know a...an...anything" she whimpered out in her sleep as the night terror took full control.

A slap across her face was felt, her skin stinging as it instantly turned red from the sharp contact. "You think we don't know how you hunters and Winchesters will lie through your teeth to save your own skin!?" a black eyed demon practically barked at her. Eyes as dark as the blackest night, dirty blonde hair being the only light she could see in the man standing before her. Blood splattered all over his scrubs from another victim of his. The victim that laid dead on the floor in a puddle of their own blood as it ran down the nearby drain. "I'm not a hunter! I...I don't know what you mean by hunter!" she cried, her only knowledge of a hunter being someone who hunted and killed animals. "liar!" the blonde demon yelled again, waving his hand to another demon in the now not so sterile room, causing them to walk over and with a sharp knife, carve into her stomach, making her yell in pain, tears streaming down her face.

"You can make this stop by just telling us where John is!" the blonde told her, but Natalia couldn't speak anymore, the pain over taking her very being. "carve again!" he ordered to the other demon, to which they took great delight in doing so as the knife carved into her skin, following the natural curve of her hipbone and waist. The pain was so excruciating that Nat passed out, only to be woken moments later, healed up and for the torture to start all over again.

MIKA AND SAM

Mika knew Dean wouldn't like the plan, hells, deep down she didn't like the idea. She was used to Natalia going to Sam for comfort and her refusing to let Cason leave was a change that surprised her, but she still was standing by what she said. She too was going to say something but when she saw Dean silence Anna so he could continue talking, she decided it wasn't even worth trying to speak up in this very moment.

When the discussions were done between Anna and Dean, Mika simply nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "oh believe me, I don't trust him, but I trust in Nat and if he tried anything, even in this PTSD dip she's having, she will kick his ass out the room if he tried anything. I trust her to come to us when she's ready to and like we've all seen, he does seem strangely gentle around her. I can't help but feel like he knows something we all don't." she admitted, her eyes glancing back toward Nat's room, wondering if she was onto something or if it was her mind just playing tricks on her.

"I also agree with Anna, this isn't the end of it but all we can do now is rest up and hope Nat becomes more open in the morning" she agreed, noticing how out all of them, Sam had been the most silent on the subject. She could only imagine that it was because he was purely worried for Natalia and he didn't know what to do with himself now he wasn't the one she was turning to. "Sam? any opinions on this?" she asked, snapping out of his thoughts. "uh, no. I agree with you all as I see all the points valid. I just don't like she's not coming to me like she usually does" he admitted.

It was at that point, Duke had made his presence known and asked where Natalia was. Like Dean, he looked over Duke's appearance, wondering what on earth was going on for Duke to be in a towel, boots and his stetson. Also like Dean, he wasn't going to ask about the appearance and instead focus on giving the answers to Duke's questions. "There is tension. We were...kinda blew the lid off of Nat's PTSD mental wall due to Dean lecturing her about drinking on the job tonight." he started saying, running his hand through his hair with a sigh, letting his words sink before he began talking again before Duke could interrupt him.

"Long story short, it turns out when we saved Nat from that asylum? The demons there had been torturing her for months...if not more. Electroshock therapy, out and out torture until she was close to death, starvation, ice bath shock therapy, if you can think of anything illegal and disgusting, it was done to her. All to get information on dad. I guess she had been struggling more than we all thought deep down and now she's in her room alone with Cason because she refuses to have anyone but him in there. We don't know why" he explained as best he could without choking up as he listed just some of the things that she went through. It made him sick to his stomach to say those words out loud about his baby sister.

"So we've been discussing if it's a good idea to leave well and alone for the night and convince Dean not to go in there and just kill Cason out of principle" Mika added. "Which we have done, but none of this is sitting well with any of us" Sam said, getting the final word in. He knew Duke had a soft spot for Natalia in a brotherly manner and that usually meant, he was unpredictable as Dean could be when it came to keeping her safe. Sam knew even he could be reckless when it came to keeping her safe, but now they knew all of this and a demon was involved in keeping her safe and feeling safe over night? He couldn't say which way this news would go with Duke.

Esme opened her eyes when she felt Duke approach her. She was so lost within everything going on in the moment, she really hadn’t realized that he had followed her outside after her invitation. She still couldn’t believe that she had broken down this much in front of Duke. It was the one side of herself she never wanted him to see, because she knew how much it would hurt him, and she didn’t want to come off as vulnerable and weak. No one in her family, including Dean, had ever seen her state of mind. She was still mentally kicking herself for letting herself fall into such a state, but then again, it had been some time since she had been hit with so much raw emotion in such a short period of time. Plus, becoming a demon nuke didn’t help either. She felt drained and sleep deprived from it all. All she wanted at that moment was a decent night's sleep so she could recharge and get a handle on her empathy once again. Being an Empath with sleep deprivation wasn’t a good mix, there was no telling what could happen if they came across someone in a state of pure rage.

A tired smile came to her lips when Duke spoke. She couldn’t help but smile from the way he called her darlin’. Esme turned slightly as she brought her gaze down from the sky to meet his gaze, as he brought his hand up and brushed his thumb across her cheek, then gently kissed the tip of her nose. This time she didn’t flinch at his touch, both actions caused her to smile a little more as did his words. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Plus, I’d have to steal a car if I did.” she replied with a small laugh. She watched him as he backed away and then jogged away. It was then she noticed the others. She wondered what could be going on to have them all outside talking, and assumed Duke was thinking the same. She didn’t feel the need to follow him over, because she knew Duke would relay any important news to her when he got back. She also didn’t want to go over in nothing but a blanket and have to explain to everyone why she was in a blanket and Duke was in a towel. She wasn’t feeling up to being put in an awkward situation, but knew it would more than likely be brought up later.

Turning her gaze back to the parking lot, she breathed in more of the cool night air, before she felt a gentle nudge against her leg followed by a whine. “I’m alright, Sarah.” she said as she worked a hand out from under the blanket and placed it on the Hellhounds head. “It seems that this is a trying night for not just me but everyone.” She looked down at Sarah as she scratched her head and ears. After a little scratching, Esme retracted her hand and held the blanket tight around her frame. Looking up, she saw Duke’s truck was a lot closer than she had realized. Picking up the blanket from around her feet, she walked over to his truck and to the back. Being careful not to drop the blanket, she worked her hands free and put down the tailgate of his truck. Then carefully, and with some help from Sarah, Esme climbed up into the truck bed. Once she was seated, she patted the spot next to her, inviting Sarah up. Without hesitation, Sarah hopped up in the truck bed and laid down behind Esme, curling up around her slightly in a protective manner. Esme then leaned back against the Hellhound, feeling everything around her being drowned out.

Once comfortable, Esme adjusted the blanket and curled her legs up close to her body to make sure her feet were under the blanket. Leaning her head back, she looked up at the sky and what stars could be seen. Slowly her body relaxed against Sarah’s, now that she could feel her mind and emotions relaxing from everything that had gone on the past several days. Sitting under the stars and having a shield from all the emotions he felt on a daily basis was something she had desperately been needing since meeting up with all the Winchesters. She never could have imagined that her empathic ability would get such a workout being around them. Yes, she went through some emotional rollercoasters with Dean and also Duke in the past, but nothing like she experienced being around all of them. She sighed heavily as she stargazed. Even though her emotional state had settled, the dreams of her past were still fresh in her mind and she wished she could forget the worst ones so she could have some peace of mind for the night.

Cason smirked as Nat began to speak about how corny his words were, scrunching his nose up again, ready for a retort. However, before her thought could even began, she dozed off and Cason sighed sadly. He simply stared off into space for a while, as she slept, not sure whether he should actually stay or if he should sneak out and hope she slept well enough to not need support. Eventually, he made his decision, sliding a hand carefully behind her back to force her body down the bed, until she was lying. He protected her head with his other hand, carefully laying her head against the pillow.

He brushed her hair from her forehead, as her hand fell onto the bed, near his leg. Sighing again, he pulled the covers up around her shoulders and lowered himself back into a seated position against the headboard, his hand falling to rest against her palm.

At some point during the night, while he stared off into space, he felt her stir. Her hand moved from under his, balling into a fist as she whimpered in her sleep. He loosely caught the words, as she relived what he could only imagine was the worst days of her life.

“Nat…”, he murmured, falslely assuming that she would wake up just at the sound of her name, but she continued to dream, and it only seemed to get worse. Not sure what else to do, he scooted himself down the bed until he was positioned with his face not far from her own, “Nat. Hey…you’re dreaming sweetheart. I’m right here. You’re safe. Shh. You’re safe…”

He whispered the words as close to her ear as he could, brushing her hair with his fingers as he spoke. He wished at that moment that he could do some sort of telepathy, and move through her memories to just let her get some rest, but he couldn’t decide in his mind why he cared so much.

“You’re safe with me…”, he whispered one more time, pulling his face back from her ear to settle his nose against hers, hoping the touch would calm her.



Dukes face changed from a variation of shocked to angry to confused and back to surprise as the group explained what was happening. He knew about Cason. Hell, he had helped save Cason, along with Esme. From what he could tell, the demon cared a great deal about her, considering the pet hellhound.

Then again, the idea of Nat being left with demons, considering the loose history he knew about her time with them made his skin crawl. He cracked his neck, his nostrils flaring as he tried to decide how to react to the news, but as soon as he glanced up at Dean, his face softened a bit.

“We’re gonna keep an ear out…”, Dean explained simply, communicating with his other little brother through his eyes. Duke stared hard for a few seconds, finally coming to a resolve. He sighed, and nodded his head gently as he finished his silent conversation with Dean.

“If you’re sure…I’m sure.”, Duke said simply, nodding his head again.

“Good. Now, we should probably get some rest before whatever happens tomorrow comes. Like Anna said, this isn’t the end of it. It never is.”, Dean said simply, glancing to Anna and then Sam, before wrapping an arm around Mika’s waist, “Everything okay with you and Esme?”

“Yeah. She’s a little banged up. Nothin’ a little rest and whiskey can’t fix.”, Duke chuckled, and glanced back at Esme, “I just gotta convince her to either go to bed or at least be still. She’s…not having the best go at it mentally.”

“Anything I can do?”, Dean asked.

“Nah. I can handle her. You know that. Just gotta get her used to me being around.”, Dean nodded once again, but narrowed his eyes.

“And how long you planning to stay around?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. But I don’t need to go worryin’ her about it tonight. It’s been a day, man.”, Duke deflected, shaking his head. Dean simply sighed, tightening his grip on Mika’s waist.

“Take care of her. Get some rest. We’ll all reconvene in the morning…Sound good?”, he asked, looking around the group.

NATALIA

All she wanted was to wake up and find none of what she feeling or seeing was real, but right now all Natalia was convinced of was that she was replaying her life in the asylum all over again. It felt so real to her, more real than the previous night terrors she had had at times when Sam had to break her from the terror's grip. in her slumber, she felt her body restrained to the bed, tied and left there, unknowing when the next round of torture would appear or if she would be given more kindness by the stranger who gave her water, showed empathy and sympathy. Even then most of the time that stranger didn't even feel real and felt like a mirage instead. It's why she never could see the stranger's face in her night terrors ever since she got out of there.

Eventually Cason's actions and words got through the barrier the night terrors had put up in her mind, making her jolt awake, slightly back instinctively thinking that she was, for a split second, with Sam and not Cason. "Dad!" she cried out, as if she was begging for him to save her. Breathing heavy, eyes full of fear as she tried to compute she was safe, darting side to side as she slowly took in who was laying beside her. It wasn't the familiar look of her brother, and it most definitely her father. Instead it was Cason, the one person no one expected her to ask to stay with her.

"C-Cason?" she questioned, forcing herself to focus on his face, looking at his eyes as she tried so hard to even out her breathing. "Cason" she said yet again to continue forcing herself back into reality. Then came the action that would even surprise her- she scrambled close to him and clung onto him. She needed that hold and grip of security, something every fibre of her being was telling her she had right there- with him. Despite her hatred of his kind, he was different and she wished she knew why. Not even the smell of him was putting things together in her mind, but she was slowly becoming aware that his smell did smell familiar. "Why do I feel safe with you?" she asked as she buried her face into him.

MIKA AND SAM

Neither Sam or Mika were particularly surprised by Duke's reactions to the news of what had transpired between them and Natalia. They both knew as well as Dean did that Duke liked Nat just as much as the rest of them and if she needed saving from anything and he was closest, he wouldn't hesitate to rush in and save her ass. There was just something about Natalia and being half Winchester that made them all willing to lay their lives for her, especially after everything she had already suffered. At least now, Duke was on the same level as the rest of them about what truly Nat went through. Sam was also glad that it wasn't just Dean and himself that wanted to rip Cason as far away from Nat as possible and was unnerved by the fact Nat wanted a demon of all people with her, and not one of her brothers.

Mika out of instinct placed her hand over Dean's when she felt his hand on her waist during the conversation that lead into the all too well known silent conversation between him and Duke. She let it all go on before they decided to actually talk between each other once more. The tightening of the grip round her waist told her so many things about what Dean was possibly thinking, but right now she wasn't going to ask him about it. She knew talking about Esme was a delicate subject when she was around, but she didn't want Dean to feel he couldn't mention her name in front of her either. So for once, she behaved herself an remained silent.

"Sounds like a good plan. Our room is closest to Nat's, so if either me or Anna hear anything we'll let you guys know. But Duke and Anna are both right, we all need a proper rest and sleep before deciding on what the next steps are to do with Nat." Sam chimed in. Mika nodded her agreement to Sam's addition, seeing clearly that they all had the same thought process. "See you all in the morning" Mika replied, patting Dean's hand on her waist as the signal to get to their room. She was well and truly done with this night, even if she didn't know if she would sleep after Natalia's confession.

"Come on babe" she said to Dean, sliding her fingers in between his own and guiding toward their room, with Sam saying goodnight to everyone and nodding toward his and Anna's room at Anna. "Lets get some sleep" he suggested to her, holding his own hand out to her.

Esme continued to lie in Duke’s truck bed with Sarah, staring up at the stars and making out the constellations. At one point, she lifted herself up off Sarah to look over the sides of the truck bed to check on the others. They looked to still be in deep conversation. Whatever it was about seemed to have them all on edge, but that was only a guess, since she couldn’t feel any emotions from anyone being close to Sarah. She then settled herself back down against Sarah, making herself comfortable by snuggling into the Hellhound. Which made Sarah curl around her more and rest her chin on Esme’s arm. Esme tilted her head to look at Sarah, giving her a tired smile. Pulling her free hand from under the blanket, she shifted so she was laying more on her side, then placed her hand on Sarah’s head. She lay there in silence for a bit, just looking at Sarah as her mind and body relaxed from the silence that surrounded her from the Hellhound. She noticed Sarah was watching her as she looked at her as if she were making sure she was really doing okay. Esme gave her a reassuring smile and a scratch on the head to let her know her presence was helping her out.

After a moment of silence and staring at each other, Esme sighed softly before speaking to Sarah in a soft whisper. “I know you’re still unsure about Duke since he seemed to have shown up out of nowhere and joined up with us.” she started, then paused for a moment. “But he’s a good guy and I trust him with my life. Years may have passed since we’ve seen each other, but nothing has changed between us. He’s still the same man I knew back then.” she smiled as she scratched Sarah’s head. “Give him a chance and please don’t do anything to him.” Esme watched Sarah take in her words and then sigh heavily. She then nuzzled her as if saying okay. “Thank you.” Esme smiled. She continued to scratch Sarah’s head as she tilted her head to look back to the sky, a tired smile still resting upon her lips. She knew Duke was wary of Sarah, but she hoped he could get used to her being around and get the opportunity to prove themselves to one another. She didn’t like the tension Sarah caused between everyone, but she also found herself not wanting to be without her. Esme sighed and let the thought slip out of her mind and made herself relax again.

As she lay there, fully relaxed now, her mind drifted off to another time she was in this truck bed. It had been a long day of working a case involving a couple of elusive Wendigos. Just when Esme, Dean, and Duke thought they were on top of them, they vanished without a trace and they would have to start over again. After finally finding their lair and torching their bodies after a good fight, the three found themselves in a field, taking a breather. She and Dean used the stream nearby to clean up a bit before they both hopped into the truck bed of Duke’s truck. Then they laid back staring up at the darkening sky wrapped up in each other's arms. His cheek rested against her head and her head on his shoulder while Duke cleaned himself up. As the memory played out, her eyelids grew heavy. She tried to fight against the sleepiness to wait for Duke to get back, but she lost the fight, and the memory played on. After some snuggling, making sure each other was good, and a couple of kisses on top of her head, Duke showed up and sat on the tailgate. “Alright, lovebirds. Break it up.” Duke teased them. Both Esme and Dean laughed as they sat up, an arm still wrapped around one another. “What? Too much affection for you to handle?” Esme teased back before Dean could say anything. Both men laughed and Duke shook his head. “No, I’m starvin’ and it’s Dean’s turn to make a food run.” he stated flatly with his signature smile.

“Oh, that so? I’m almost sure I made the last run.” Dean told him, eyebrows raised. “In fact, I know I made the last food run. What are you planning?” “Nothing.” Duke replied quickly. “Fine….. I just can’t see well enough to drive after taking a blow to the head.” he admitted. Dean released a heavy sigh through his nose and agreed he’d make the food run. Before Dean pulled himself away from Esme, he gave her a one-armed squeeze and a kiss on the head, then told her he wouldn't be gone long. She nodded and watched him leave before making her way out of the truck bed and walking around to the passenger side of Duke’s truck. Opening the door, she reached under the seat and pulled out the first aid kit he kept there. Esme could feel Duke’s eyes on her the whole time. Closing the door, she made her way back and sat next to him on the tailgate, placing the kit next to her. “Alright, let me have a look.” she told him after looking at his eyes for any sign of a possible concussion. When he turned, removed his Stetson, and showed her the spot, she got up on her knees to have a better look. She carefully moved his hair away from the spot and examined his head. There was a clear lump on his head, but no broken skin. She gave a sigh of relief that she didn’t have to stitch him up for once after a case.

“I think you’re going to live.” she teased him as she put his hair back in place. Taking to her feet, she walked to the front of the truck bed and to the cooler he kept there. She opened it and pulled out a bandana from her pocket, knelt down, and laid it out over her leg. Grabbing a couple of handfuls of ice, she wrapped the bandana around it, then grabbed some water before closing the cooler and made her way back over to Duke. Esme placed the makeshift ice back on his head and waited for him to take it before sitting back down next to him. She then pulled some painkillers from the first aid kit, opened them, and handed them to him, then the water after opening it for him. “What a day this has been.” she sighed heavily. Some time went by and they talked about the Wendigos and if she was alright after being knocked around some, at one point they moved so they were resting against the side of the truck bed with their legs stretched out to the other side.

Cason kept his nose pressed to Nat’s, stroking her hair. His eyes fluttered closed and he attempted to calm her breath with is own, as if it was possible. With the jolt of her body, he pulled his face back, expecting a massive punch to the face. After a moment, the pain never came, as Nat processed what was happening, “Hey! Hey you’re good. You’re…you’re good.”, he whispered in the darkness.

His name falling off her lips caused a heavy and tired sigh to leave his chest, as he nodded gently, brushing more of her hair from her cheek. And the resolve in the second dropping of his name relaxed his shoulders even more, only for them to tense again immediately as Nat scrambled close to him. He froze for a moment, taking his time to realize that she was willingly touching him, holding him close.

After that beat to make sure he was assessing the situation properly, he wrapped an arm around her, burying his fingers in her hair as he pressed his lips to her forehead and held her close. Cason pressed a tiny kiss there, and then rested his chin on the top of her head as he allowed her to catch her breath and process her surroundings. Her question, however, hit at the heart that he didn’t even have, and he frowned, “I um…”

He paused for a moment, frowning deeper as he contemplated her question, himself. What was this pain in his chest, that seemed to radiate all the way to the back of his head? Was it confusion? Fear? Anguish? He wasn’t sure, but it felt oddly…human. He swallowed it down, mustering up enough of a voice to answer her, “I…I wish I knew the answer to that.”

Actually, he knew at least a partial answer to that question, but he didn’t even know where to begin explaining it to her. How could he explain that even though he was forced at times to hurt her with the others, he was also the only reason she survived in the asylum? How could he explain that even though he cut her straps, he didn’t bother carrying her out of the asylum himself…when he had plenty of opportunity? How could he explain how many times he wanted to…how many times he wanted to just run away with her from that place, before any of the trauma or the pain that he was now trying to clean up…one nightmare at a time?



Anna glanced up at Sam as he held his hand out to her. The air felt heavy. It felt as if they were being watched, and the atmosphere would collapse on them at any moment…out of nowhere. She frowned, glancing around them for a moment as she disassociated, but then reached out her hand and took his with a small but fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Later that night, after she and Sam had fallen asleep…

Anna laid on her side, her arm stuffed under her cheek, and Sam’s arm slung over her waist protectively. Although they hadn’t crossed intimate boundaries since the night they locked themselves in the panic room, having each other close seemed to just…work. She stirred from her sleep, becoming instantly aware of Sam’s breath moving her hair as she laid there, staring into the darkness. It was oddly comforting, though the feeling in the pit of her stomach was not. She felt sick, and she felt watched. Slowly, she rolled from under Sam’s arm, hoping that his head would hit a pillow and he wouldn’t stir, in case it was nothing she was feeling. To her relief, his head barely moved as she slipped away, slightly pulling her hair from under his face in the process.

“Aren’t you two just the sweetest couple of love sick for each other but untouchable idiots I’ve ever laid my eyes on…”, an unfamiliar voice sounded in the darkness.

Anna froze, her heart leaping into her throat as fear gripped her and she slowly glanced back at Sam, “Don’t worry. He’s harder to wake up than you think, and it’s just…me and you, in here. Look closer.”

As Anna turned back a bit further, she realized that while she was standing next to the bed, she was still wrapped up in Sam’s arms, his face buried in her curly hair as he slept soundly. She was dreaming.



“Who are you and what do you want? Are you an angel? I’m honestly about tired of…”, she started, but the woman quickly laughed. The sound seemed loud enough to break the windows in the room and Anna flinched.

“An angel?! Oh honey, no. I’m the one you’ve been running from! Your whole life has been spent running from…the idea of me. Destiny. Bloodline stuff. Yada yada. The same song and dance Sam knows he’s running from, but with someone much much worse than me.”, she giggled, finally coming into view.

She was tall, thin and blonde. Her cheeky smile seemed to stretch from earlobe to earlobe, caked in bright red lipstick. She reached over the edge of the bed and pushed a strand of Sam’s hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear.

“So what do you want?”, Anna asked in a shaky voice, crossing her arms over her chest. She suddenly felt cold…and angry. But it was an angry fear that chilled her bones.

“What I want is simple. I think you already know the answer.”, the woman nearly whispered, breathing over Sam’s face before kissing his cheek gently, “You.”

“M-me? Why me?”



“Don’t you know, silly?! You’re mine. You were promised to me before you were even born. Your mother was pathetic…asking for a way out of her stupid life. Her stupid relationships and her…family. She all but fed you to me the second I offered. Poor thing. Pregnant and desperate, but didn’t give one tiny little shit about you.”

“Shut up…”, Anna growled, her eyes beginning to cloud with tears. She wasn’t even sure if she was surprised by the woman’s words. She knew she was meant for something. She knew there was a reason she had been hunted her entire life, and ended up in bed with a demon…and then…Sam.

“I only asked her for access to your bedroom. She said yes. I said okay. And then your stupid idiotic stepfather got in the way.”, the woman continued, “And so he died. Your house burned down. Oh…oh no. You didn’t even know, did you? Azazel got to you, but then your mother tried to run. The idiot.”

“Why I was hunted…”, Anna realized suddenly, zoning out on the wall near the woman’s head. Her world spun for a moment as she realized that the problems started while she was still in the womb. She was marked, hunted, put up for slaughter from day one, “And um…and the demon blood?”



“That was my idea. You were a…failed experiment of sorts. I didn’t necessarily agree with torturing you, if Hell didn’t have a plan, but Azazel made me a promise. I could have you, when you came of age and just…look at you.”

Anna’s stomach lurched in disgust at the way the woman sized her up. She tightend her arms around herself a bit tighter, snarling her nose, “And that would make you…”

“Lilith.”, the woman explained simply, tugging at Sam’s ear with her fingers, playfully. Anna’s blood ran cold. Lilith. That was a name she had heard before, but the idea of her standing in the room sent chills down Anna’s spine. A few tears escaped her eyes as she stared blankly at her, her body beginning to visibly shake, “And here’s what I want you to do for me…for him.”

Lilith ran a finger down Sam’s jaw, causing Anna to reach a hand out, her jaw clenched and her fearful expression turning to one of rage.

“Oh my. You really are struck with him, aren’t you? That’s depressing and cute, all at the same time.”, Lilith chuckled, brushing her fingers over Sam’s lips, “I need you to just be ready. Stay strong. Be willing to kill anyone, and I mean anyone when the time comes. I need you…to be a good little soldier. If that means getting away from your cute little family, then you do it.”

“And if I don’t?”



“Don’t leave them? Well, if they become a distraction, or they become need for collateral damage, I’ll kill them. One…tiny…pressure, and Sam’s neck will snap, right here. Right now.”, Lilith murmured, her lips close to Sam’s chin as she wrapped her hand around his throat, gently.

Anna stood, shivering as she watched Lilith slowly tighten her fingers around Sam’s throat, until she couldn’t stand still any longer and took a step forward, “Stop…”

“There she is.”, Lilith cooed at her, releasing Sam’s throat and taking a step back from the bed. She placed both her hands on her hips expectantly.

“Fine. I’ll leave.”, Anna choked out, more tears streaming down her cheek. She hadn’t expected this to happen, tonight. Although she didn’t know where she stood with Sam, she didn’t want to leave him, friend or more, without saying goodbye, “Can I at least say goodbye?”

“No. No, because then, you might be tempted to send some sort of message to my little boy next door, and I’ll have to rip his throat out, while I kill your entire family right before your eyes. I would hate that. That would ruin my day.”, Lilith explained, as if it was a minor inconvenience such as forgetting your keys at home.

“Then leave. You can watch from afar and I’ll leave a note. I’ll at least let them know I’m alive, and not to look for me…and I’ll go.”

“Perfect. See to it that you’re gone before he wakes up or…”, Lilith explained simply, pulling her thumb across her throat to signal she would kill Sam, “Higher ups won’t be happy with me, but that’s not really my concern. I’m out for me. You understand.”



And with that, Anna awoke with a start once again, stilling herself almost immediately as a sharp sob rocked her body under Sam’s arm. She slowly removed his arm from her waist, again, pulling her own hair…like some sort of twisted deja vu.

She stepped out of the bed, and over to table, where she pulled the hotel notepad and began writing the note to say at least a small goodbye. She didn’t know how she would get back to California, but she would figure that out when she forced her body to pick up her backpack and leave Sam behind. As much as she wasn’t sure of their relationship, she was sure that beside him was the warmest bed she had ever known, and that counted for something.



Duke said his goodnights, almost silently as Nat’s situation weighed on him heavily. But he didn’t let on too much about it. He knew Dean would shut him down at any turn. So, instead, as the others dispersed, he turned and headed in the direction he had left Esme.

He glanced at his truck, and pretty instantly figured out where she was, walking toward it. As soon as he approached, his theory was proven correct as he caught a glimpse of her blanket over the side. He smiled softly, and placed his hands on his hips, wondering how the hell he was going to either get her inside, or convince a damn hellhound to let him get in with them.

“I can’t see you, you know.”, he said softly, glancing all around the truck bed to try and catch Sarah’s eyes somewhere along the way. Sarah simply huffed, growling softly to let him know where she was, “Alright. I hear you.”

He chuckled, approaching slowly as Sarah calmed back down. He noticed that Esme’s face didn’t seem to be unpleasant or as if she was having a bad dream, but rather a happy one. His face softened once again, and he sat down on the tailgate of the truck, scooting himself back until he bumped into Sarah, who once again huffed.

“Calm down. I can’t see you, remember?”, he growled back at Sarah in a whisper, lowering himself to lie in front of Esme, “Darlin’? Hey…you wanna go in and get some sleep?”

He scanned her face for a moment, brushing his fingers along her jaw, in hopes that it would stir her, but it didn’t. Sighing, he glanced up in the general direction of Sarah’s breathing, and then down at his own torso and legs, “Because I don’t wanna give you the pleasure of seein’ me run around naked out here…I guess we’ll just hang out here. You gonna bite me in my sleep?”

Sarah let out a huff that almost sounded like laughter, but eventually, Duke felt her shift in the truck bed, as if she was getting more comfortable, while her hip stayed under his head, a peace offering. He relaxed his body, and pulled his hat from his head, laying it on the truck bed beside him. Then, he wrapped his arms around Esme, pulling her close to his chest, and eventually dozed off with her, much needed sleep coming fast.

NATALIA

Cason freezing in his spot at her scurrying into him wasn't much of a surprise to Natalia, but she wasn't letting it really compute in her mind properly. Yet the moment he reacted positively after a few moments and wrapped an arm round her, even kissing her head she began to slowly gather herself before she asked the question she did. She wasn't expecting him to answer her question as she was barely realised that she even said it out loud, that was until he went quieter than quiet and she felt him tense up. She wished she could take back the question but it was out in the air now, so she couldn't take it back no matter how much she wished for it.

Then came a predictable answer but not the answer she wanted to hear. 'I don't know'. She nuzzled her head into him and nodded lightly against him in her own way to accept his answer of 'i don't know how to answer that', but she hoped he would find a way to answer her at some point. She just wanted answers for why of all people back in their group, it was HIM that she wanted to be around, it was HIS calmness she craved and felt she knew so well. Not Sam's, not Dean's.... Cason's. The demon of the group when all she ever wanted in life was to kill every single demon that ever crossed her path, but here she was wanting nothing but the comfort from a demon. A demon that almost tore her family apart by sleeping with her pseudo sister-in-law (or how she always saw Mika at any rate). None of this made sense to her.

Little did she realise just yet that he did know the answer, at least partially because he was the comfort and empathy she received at the asylum. He was the one that doing subtle things that kept the hope alive in her for someone to come and rescue her. She just wished that whatever the chat was that he wanted to have with her, it was to do with her queries and her questions in her mind. She hoped that he'd find the courage to tell her and put those pieces back into her mind to complete the missing parts of her memory. It was the one thing she never fully told her brothers, still didn't even when they had gotten a lot of her secrets out of her. There were still, even to this day, parts of her memory from her time in the asylum that were foggy or just outright blank.

"I hope we find an answer" she mumbled to him, refusing to let go but did eventually show her face to him again.

MIKA

Back in their room, Mika chucked her jacket off and threw it onto the chair haphazardly before walking over to the bed, sitting on the edge and sighing deeply. "Man what.a.day" she spoke, brushing her hair back and behind her ears. She was exhausted, more so than she thought moments ago. The case had been a difficult one, a hectic one and then there was everything Natalia said to them after spilling everything thanks to Dean's over protective yelling at her. They truly were a mess of a group and family, but despite all of that she wouldn't take it any other way.

"I'm still trying to compute everything she finally told us, let alone everything else. If I get any decent sleep tonight I will be very surprised" she admitted, using her feet to kick and pull each of her boots off as she multi-tasked and removed her vest top. "I'm glad she told us at last though....no matter how hard it was to hear. No wonder she closes off at times or snaps. It suddenly makes so much sense now" she continued to say as she finished changing out of her hunting clothing and climbing under the duvet.

She just hoped that Dean would be able to relax a little, or at least enough to get some sleep himself. She was more concerned about him sleeping than she was herself. Once under the covers, she stretched her arms out toward him as a way to signal for him to follow her into bed, whilst also being her silent way of saying 'you need to come to bed and just try and let go of everything this night has thrown at us'. She knew he would know what she was implying, it wasn't the first time she had done this kind of movement toward him when things got tense. She also had a feeling that Natalia shouting at him the way she did, and what she said would still no doubt be playing on his mind.

"And Dean? She'll forgive you by the morning. She loves you dearly, no matter what she says in her heated moments" she reminded him.

SAM

Sam noticed how Anna seemed a bit distant from him and almost hesitant to take his hand which he found a bit unusual and out of character for her. Was he doing something wrong? Was he unknowingly pushing her away? He couldn't figure it out and he hoped the answer to his worries were 'no', but he just couldn't tell right now. Taking her hand, he went back to their room and got ready for bed, one part of him hoping Anna wasn't becoming distant from him again and another part of him keeping an ear close to the walls in case Nat started screaming or something in her room and he needed to run like a man on a mission.

By the time they fell asleep, he had fallen into a deep sleep. Lilith wasn't joking when she said it was harder to wake him in that moment with Anna. If it didn't feel too close to the nose, one could even say he was dead to the world, but in their lives and job that wasn't a saying that was particularly liked by him. The whole time he was completely oblivious to Lilith touching his hair, face and neck. Nothing in his brain was alerting him to a danger in the room and that he should wake up.

----

Moments after Anna left the hotel, hearing a door shut Sam stirred ever so slightly but he was still very much bleary eyed and more asleep than awake. He looked beside him and saw that Anna wasn't in bed but he assumed the door he heard had been the bathroom door closing and Anna just needed the bathroom for whatever reason and so he thought nothing of it and closed his eyes yet again before in seconds falling back asleep, right up until morning and his alarm went off at 7am.

Groaning awake, his eyes closed, he went to pull Anna closer to him for morning snuggles but he felt nothing beside him, making his eyes shoot open. "Anna?!" he called out just loud enough in case she was in the bathroom. But there was nothing, no reply, no sign of life anywhere in the motel room. Sitting up, he grabbed a t shirt and yanked it back on over his head whilst climbing out of the bed. He went into the bathroom first, opening the door but saw no one in there and so went back into the main part of the room again. Wondering where she went, he began to get worried before laying eyes on the note she had left for him.

Picking it up, he read everything she wrote, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "I've done it again...." he muttered to himself. "I've lost her yet again because I'm a bloody dumbass" he complained at himself, angry that he could have been so stupid all over again. He couldn't imagine any other reason for her to leave and definitely couldn't blame her for it. It had to be his fault...didn't it? That's what he was thinking.

Getting dressed again, he shoved the letter in his jeans pocket and stepped out of the room, wondering who to go to first for advice. He didn't want bombard Nat with his love life problems when she was going through so much worse, but did he really want to go to Dean? Or Mika? Or even Esme and Duke? He found himself pacing in front of his room trying to decide which was best to do.

Esme’s memory dream continued to play out with the two of them sitting and talking while waiting for Dean to return with food. Time had seemed to pass by slowly that night, giving them what felt like a rare opportunity to just sit and talk without worrying about injuries or concussions. If one had a concussion, the talks were random just to make sure they didn’t fall asleep. But this night, they had a true conversation that led to them learning even more about one another. Some of what they talked about surprised them, since they swore to themselves they would never tell another soul about it. Of course, teasing followed after secrets were revealed, which only strengthened the bond they had already started to form. They had both admitted that the secrets they shared were ones that couldn’t be pulled from them unless they were drunk, which sent them both into another fit of laughter and wincing from their bruised stomachs. After calming down and collecting themselves, Duke had set down the makeshift ice pack, then grabbed his Stetson as he got out of the truck bed, and walked around to the driver’s door as he placed it on his head. Esme watched him open the door, turn the key to where the battery kicked on, then turn up the radio.

A single eyebrow rose as she watched his movements. He rolled down the truck windows before closing the driver’s door and walking back to the tailgate. His signature charming smile rested on his lips as he held out a hand to her and asked her if she’d care for a dance as he bowed slightly. If it had been anyone other than him or Dean, she would have called them crazy and would have turned them down in a heartbeat. With a warm, soft laugh in her throat, she scooted herself to the tailgate and took his hand, accepting his offer. How could she refuse an offer like that? Plus, a good song was playing on the radio. After Duke helped her out of the truck, he took her into his arms and led her around the field. What made the moment even more memorable was they both started to sing along with the song as they danced in the field. The two of them danced to a few songs before they could hear the Impala in the distance signaling Dean was back with the food, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to dance and sing along with what was playing on the radio. The memory dream faded as Dean pulled up in the Impala, parked it next to Duke’s truck, and then got out.

In the middle of the night, Esme woke to find herself wrapped up in Duke's arms and held close to his chest, and still in the truck bed with Sarah. A tired smile graced her lips as she realized he must have tried to wake her without success. So instead of risking waking her or losing his towel, he climbed in with her. She could only imagine what played out between him and Sarah at that moment. Carefully lifting her head so she didn’t wake him, she looked at Duke and noticed his head rested on Sarah’s hip, which was a good sign to her. She then noticed he didn’t take any of the blanket for himself, causing her tired smile to grow a little. He was obviously worried she’d get cold if he did. He was just so caring, and that was one thing she loved about him. Being careful once again to not wake him, she worked some of the blanket free and draped it over his body. “There you go, Bright Eyes.” she softly whispered. Esme then planted a soft kiss on his cheek before settling back down and snuggling up as close as she could to him. She fell asleep in no time with a sigh and nuzzle, as she always did, listening to his heartbeat, his breathing, and his slight snoring with a smile on her lips.

Esme slept soundly and deeply wrapped in Duke’s arms the rest of the night and through the morning. Being outside, you would think every loud noise would have woken her, but being exhausted and sleep deprived, she was, for a lack of better words, dead to the world. She had gone into such a deep restful sleep; she didn’t hear Anna when she left. She didn’t even hear Sam that morning when he came out of his room and started pacing in front of his door.

Cason smirked as Nat pulled her face back to look at him after a few moments, brushing more of her hair behind her ear as her breath washed over his lips, “I just hope when you find that answer, you remember how safe you feel, right now…”, he whispered, trailing his fingers around her face to help her fall back to sleep.

“Get some rest. I’ll be right here.”

—-

The next morning, Cason glanced over toward the window, seeing the light peeking through the thin curtains. Nat was sleeping somewhat soundly, and he didn’t want to wake her. But he also knew it would only be a matter of time before Dean started his normal banging on doors to start their day. The last thing he wanted was to let her oversleep and put her at any new odds with Dean.

“Nat…”, he murmured, brushing a thumb down her cheek as he scanned her closed eyes. He winced at how deep her slumber seemed, feeling a bit guilty, but he still tried again, “Hey, it’s morning. You know as well as I do, your brother will be over here in the next ten minutes.”

He chuckled, and tugged at her ear gently.



As Dean and Mika returned to their room, Dean closed the door behind them and let out a stressed sigh. He ran both his hands through his hair, his eyes closing with stress, and then dropped them to his sides heavily.

“You can say that again…”, he retorted to Mika’s first statement. Luckily, it seemed like the ‘it can’t get worse and then it does’ part of the day was finally over and they could get some rest. At the same time, it never seemed to be that simple. There was always something worse around the corner. It made him not even want to sleep.

“I think she told us because she thought it would scare us off or something. That seems to be her thing. She’s too broken. She’s too mean. She’s too…something. What she doesn’t understand is that we’ve seen just about everything. How am I going to judge her when I have Sam for a brother?”, he chuckled at the end of his sentence, kicking off his own boots and unbuckling his belt as he watched Mika undress in passing. Any other time, he would have wrapped her up and had a little fun while they were finally alone, but tonight, they were both on the brink of collapse.

“I just don’t know much else to do with the Cason situation. It’s not like I can make her stay away from him, you know?”, he asked, pulling his shirt over his head and then dropping his pants to strip down for bed, “At the same time I want to tie her up…and make her listen. But. I can’t do that.”

He finished his sentence with a sad look toward the floor, but then noticed that Mika was gesturing for him to come to bed. With a small smirk, he crawled toward her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her before collapsing with her wrapped in his arms against his chest. He instantly closed his eyes, hearing her words with a frown.

“I know she will…she always does.”, he muttered, before drifting off to sleep, with a tight grip on Mika’s body.

———

The next morning, Dean’s alarm blared like a shotgun blast through the room. He groaned loudly, and reached for the bedside table, finally landing on his phone, and turning off his alarm, “Ugh. It’s morning. Mika…”, he groaned again, shaking Mika’s shoulders a bit. He finally slid his arm from underneath her, knowing that if he stayed in bed, he would likely fall asleep and sleep all day.

“I’m gonna go get some breakfast sandwiches or something, while we wait for the others to get their lazy asses out of bed.”, he grumbled, quickly grabbing a tshirt from his duffel and a pair of jeans. He slipped them on as quickly as he could and shoved his feet in his boots, before stepping out of the room.

At first, he didn’t even notice Sam pacing outside his room, as he walked sleepily across the parking lot, toward the Impala. Passing Duke’s truck, he noticed the cowboy hat sat on top of the toolbox, and his stomach plummeted for a second, thinking something had happened to Duke, until he got a bit closer.

“Well aren’t you guys disgusting…”, he chuckled, before slapping the side of the truck with his flat palm. Duke quickly turned over, toward the sound, as if Dean had fired a gun near his head.

“What the hell is your problem, man?”, he groaned, as Sarah huffed but simply stared at Dean.

“I mean, I would say this brings back old memories, but if this had happened when we were all together, I think I would have killed you…”, Dean laughed, and Duke simply flipped him off, curling back up on Esme, in case she woke up to the noise, “Get your ass up. I’m going to run for grub.”

“Don’t hurry back, dickhead…”, Jace teased, flipping him off one more time as Dean walked away. But before Dean could open the Impala door, he noticed Sam. And boy did Sam look worried. He tossed his keys back into his pocket, and strolled back across the parking lot, toward his worried looking brother.

“Sammy?”, he asked as he approached, lowering his head so he could gaze up at Sam’s eyes, trying to judge what kind of crisis this was, “You alright? What’s going on? And where’s Anna? She hasn’t left your side since you guys met…”

NATALIA

Before she fell asleep again, she wondered what Cason meant by that statement but she was just too tired to ask him. Instead she decided to do what he suggested and try and get some rest. "Don't be gone by the morning" she sleepily asked of him, her way of asking for him to stay in case another night terror hit her. Something she was incredibly scared of happening. She was always terrified of the night terror coming back when she fell back asleep from waking up due to one, but truth was she never did. The second attempt to sleep was always successful but that fear of having another night terror never went away. There was also a part of her right now that was scared of waking up alone in the morning and finding her solace and freedom to be the real dream.

----

When morning arrived, she was still initially in a deep sleep and if she had her own way, she would have gladly stayed asleep for a few more hours, yet it seemed Cason had other ideas and his ideas were incredibly valid. The feel of him gently tugging at her ear made her grumble and sleepily scrunch up her face. "that's because he's an ass..." she complained in reply as she slowly fluttered her eyes open, still partly wanting to protest at being awake. Looking across at him, she was honestly glad that he did indeed stay with her, even if her mind was seemingly to her, being her rational self again. Or at least, so it seemed for those few sleepy moments.

"Thank you...for not leaving me alone" she finally said, finding it unbelievable she was actually thanking him. With a yawn and stretch, she slowly forced herself to sit up a bit in the bed and that was when everything she said to Dean in spite finally hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh man....I was a real bitch to Dean last night....wasn't I?" She said, then groaned and covered her face with her hands. Even if what she said was valid on any level, she always felt bad for talking to him like that. He took her in when he didn't want to all that time ago and that was how she repaid him last night? Spouting shit about his time in Hell? That was a low blow even for her. She was half expecting him to truly hate her and give her the silent treatment this morning when they came face to face with each other.

MIKA

Dean's thought process on why Nat told them all what truly happened was, dare she think, impressive. He had actually come to some pretty solid theories in her opinion and Mika most definitely agreed that Nat was more broken than they had ever thought before. His little quip about Sam did make her chuckle as he wasn't exactly wrong. She had seen many sides of the brothers growing up with them, and she knew it didn't matter what Nat said to Dean, they weren't going to abandon her. Abandoning her is what John did, and she was defiant in deciding that Nat could do anything to try and push them away but they would not do what John did. Nat was family and they did not leave family behind.

His thought process on what to do about the Cason situation made her nod in agreement. She could understand why he would want to tie Nat up and protect her from Cason, no matter what but she also was proud of him for acknowledging that he couldn't stop her from being around him either. She was an adult and no matter how much they hated it, they had to let Nat decide for herself if Cason was safe to be around. It made her all the more glad that she had gestured for him to come to bed and change that sad look on his face to a smirk.

------

When Dean's alarm blared through the room loudly, she woke up instantly but she refused to open her eyes just yet. So instead, she let him shake her a bit before smirking ever so slightly as she couldn't pretend to be fast asleep any more. Opening her eyes, she sighed and sat up in bed as he rolled over and got up. "alright, oh and grab extra has browns for Nat, a peace offering of sorts" she suggested, forcing herself to get out of bed so she didn't fall back asleep when he left.

With Dean exiting the room, she used this moment to grab a quick shower as her hair felt like straw from all the dirt that was flying into the air of the crypt they were all stuck in the night before. Stepping her bare feet across the floor and into the bathroom. The moment her feet touched the cold floor she winced, making her speed up as she skipped and hopped into the shower and got the hot water running quickly. Getting into the shower was like a sharp awakening as the steam and heat of the water hit her skin, making her sigh with relief as it cleaned her and woke her up more. as she scrubbed her hair with the water, she used one hand to stretch over to grab some shampoo she left the day before on the shelf nearby and got to work washing her hair, dirt and grime running out of it and down the sink hole.

"Oh yeah...I definitely needed that" she sighed happily once she was done and stepping out, grabbing a towel and drying herself off a bit before wrapping it round her body and going into the main room to her duffel where she could grab some clean clothes. Pulling out a black top that was her usual go to and some wet look jeggings, she got dressed after drying off more.

She hoped Dean wouldn't be too long getting the breakfast for everyone as she got herself ready and made herself feel a bit more human. Then her thoughts went back to Natalia and whether or not she should go check on her. "Girl you should give Nat space" she warned herself, but whether or not she listened was proving a case of it going either way.

SAM

Whilst he was pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do, who to turn to for advice, he just about noticed Dean step outside. He figured Dean was taking it upon himself to do the breakfast run if Mika was nowhere to be seen and that got him pondering whether he should ask Mika for advice if she was alone in the room. As he was pondering his options, he was aware of Dean bantering with Duke, to which he only then noticed himself that Duke and Esme were in the back of Dukes truck and less than dignified in the process.

Shaking his head, he mentally was prepping himself to go see Mika for advice on what to do, so much so that he didn't even notice that Dean had spotted him and came over, that is, until Dean spoke to him. Hearing the words 'Where's Anna' felt like a punch to the gut and he could answer in one way- a shrug. "I don't know man. I woke up and she was gone, with just this note left by her. She did a runner during the night, with all her stuff and I have no idea where she's gone. Did I seriously screw up that badly with her that she felt like leaving was the only choice?" he explained and asked his brother.

"I don't know what to do Dean" he admitted, trying to not look defeated but it was proving difficult. At that point Mika stepped out of her and Dean's room and saw Dean talking with Sam. "So much for the breakfast run" she muttered under her breath to herself, as she sighed and walked over to the two. "what's going on?" she asked, looking between them before gazing down at Sam's hand and seeing a handwritten note.

"Oh....which of the girls left?" she asked. Sam turned and looked at her, "Anna" he simply replied.

Esme continued to sleep soundly until Dean slapped the side of the truck, causing her to jump slightly as Duke rolled over to look at Dean. She half opened her eyes to see Dean looking down at Duke as the two of them bickered. It was all she could do to hold her grin and laugh at bay as it brought back similar memories of when it was just the three of them traveling and hunting. But instead of her wrapped up in Duke’s arms, she was in Dean’s arms, sometimes in the same attire she was in now. She was also pretty sure that Dean would have killed Duke if he ever found them like this when they were a team, but she would have never done that then to keep from hurting Dean and causing tension between them. Esme loved them both back then, and she was sure both of them knew that, but her heart had fully belonged to Dean, there wasn’t any questioning it. If she was being honest with herself, she missed those days, and still mentally kicked herself for leaving the way she did. She knew there was a better way of going about it, but the next step Dean wanted and was willing to take in their relationship scared the hell out of her at the time. There had been so much she still wanted and needed to take care of, she had feared it wouldn’t get done or even get Dean killed.

Duke rolling back over and curling back up to her pulled her from her thoughts of the past. She was about to snuggle back into him when she heard Dean tell him to get up and he was going for food. Duke’s next words caused her to laugh softly, breaking the illusion she had been asleep the whole time. As Dean walked away, Esme rose up and propped herself up on her arm, being careful to not let the blanket fall from her shoulder and chest. “Hey, Dean?....... Do you think you could pick me up some clothes while you’re out? Please?” she asked him. Before waiting for an answer from him, she settled back down next to Duke, snuggled up to him once more, and adjusted her head to where her nose was just inches from his. “So, how did you sleep?” she asked Duke as she softly nuzzled his nose with hers. She barely heard Dean walk past the truck to go talk to Sam. In the back of her mind, she thought it was someone else even if she hadn’t heard the Impala’s engine roar to life. As she waited for Duke’s answer, she got lost in his baby blue eyes.

She was pulled back by a gentle nudge to the shoulder by Sarah. Adjusting herself so she could see her, Sarah turned her head to look over the side of the truck bed. Raising up and holding the blanket in place, Esme looked over the side of the truck to see Dean, Mika, and Sam talking just outside his and Anna’s room. Sam had a look of extreme worry plastered on his face. The peaceful look that was on her face was now gone and replaced with concern for Sam. Esme sighed heavily as she turned back to look at Duke. “It looks like we may have a situation this morning.” she told him sadly. “I think we should go over and see what’s going on.” With that said, she reluctantly slid from Duke’s arms and scooted to the tailgate, and off. All the while being careful not to pop one of her stitches or lose the blanket. Once her bare feet were on the cold cement, she held the blanket tighter around herself and waited for Duke before making her way over to the group. She was aware of the growing emotions as she closed the gap between herself and them, she took a deep breath to help herself keep herself from getting overwhelmed this early in the morning.

“What’s going on? Is everyone alright?” she questioned in concern when she had closed the gap. It was on seconds after she asked the questions, she felt the emotions from the others fade and a slight pressure against her side. Sarah had gotten out of the truck and followed her over, then sat down by her side as an emotion shield and in a protective manner.

Cason smirked as Nat grumbled, her scrunched face amusing him enough to almost laugh out loud. But he stifled his chuckle only long enough to hear her insult her brother, and then his chest shook against hers with soft laughter, “Eh. Don’t be so hard on him…”

He stretched his legs, releasing her knee from between them. He didn’t sleep, but at times he would zone out, and her knee being pinned meant that at the least she wouldn’t hurt herself thrashing around if she had another bad dream. He watched her face for those few moments of silence, doing his best to read her expression, but before he could ask her what she was thinking, she thanked him.

He nearly laughed out loud again, but instead, he softened his face into a relaxed smile and shrugged his shoulders, “I meant what I said. You’re safe as long as I’m alive.”, he explained simply, as she sat up and began showing her remorse for what she had said to her idiot brother the night before.

“I don’t think you were a bitch at all. But then again, I was resetting my nose after being assaulted by the idiot, and so…I might be biased. You were emotional. You were understandably on edge, after what I…you know. I don’t think he’ll hold it against you for more than the time it takes you to inevitably apologize.”, he explained simply, with an amused look on his face. He sat himself up against the headboard beside her, and reached a hand over, pulling her hands away from her face, holding one of them in his own, “And if you want to get that inevitable apology out of the way before we talk, I definitely understand. They are not far outside the door…I can hear them.”



Dean winced at the look on Sam’s face when he mentioned Anna’s name. It was an instant reaction, and thus answered his own question. When Sam explained further, Dean couldn’t help the miserable groan that left his chest. He glanced down at the note, right as Mika stepped up and asked about the situation.

“I mean, she couldn’t have gone far, right? She doesn’t really know anyone, and she’s never had any reason to leave your side. Even with the…attacking Cason thing, you were right there. You guys even…you know…seemed to get along fine.”, he awkwardly tried to talk his brother down. But he realized quickly that the approach he was taking was probably not the right one. The last thing he wanted to remind Sam of was his…attachment to her.

“Where would she have gone? She must have mentioned something, right?”, he asked, trying to be a little more professional about things as he took the letter from Sam’s hand. Reading it, he frowned, looking up at Sam right after, while handing the letter to Mika.

Sam,
I hate myself for doing this to you…again. It’s just not fair to either of us to pretend that this can work. It never has. We barely speak. We barely look at each other outside of hunting together, which tells me that time has not been kind to whatever connection we made all those years ago.

That’s why I think it’s best that I let you go, for good this time. I shouldn’t have stayed. I shouldn’t have held onto you, as if you were mine to lose. We weren’t each others to lose. So please be safe. Please don’t lose that shine in your eyes, and your smile. Don’t lose yourself in this horror show, and give all that love that I know you have buried somewhere in there to someone who can hold it for you.

I’ll miss you for the rest of my life. Don’t look for me. Please.

Love forever,
AnnaBeth

Part of Dean’s solumn look came from the fact that she signed the letter with her full name. He hadn’t heard that name in months, and just reading it almost made him choke up.



Duke smiled as Esme nuzzled his nose with hers, sweetly asking how he slept. Truthfully, he had slept better than he had in a while, between the warmth of the Hellhound pillow he was laying on, and Esme being wrapped up in his long arms. He nuzzled her nose back, brushing his lips over hers with a bright smile, “I actually slept pretty amazing. I’m assuming by the smile on your face, it was good for you too.”

He laughed softly, but quickly pulled back from her as she sat up, Sarah pulling from under his head, and hopping over the side of the truck bed. He sat up and glanced toward the others, as Esme turned back to him. With a nod, he reached down and tightened the towel around his waist, “Yeah none of them look very happy to greet the morning.”

He slowly scooted himself down the tailgate, until his booted feet touched the ground, and then reached out to wrap his arm around Esme, making sure that if the blanket fell, at least he would be able to grab it. He walked with her over to the group, and sighed as soon as he stepped up and saw Dean reading a letter, “Who is it, Nat?”

“Anna.”, Dean said simply, nodding at Esme to tell her good morning. He ran both his hands through his hair, and Duke instantly placed both his hands on his hips.

“What do you need me to do? Need a bounty hunter?”

“No. Duke not yet. We’re…we’re letting Sam decide how to handle this. But…do we know if she knows anyone? Anyone that might know…”, Dean started, before it dawned on him, “We do know someone she knows. Someone she knows very well.”

Dean turned to Mika and then glanced back toward Nat’s door.

As Esme stood there waiting for an answer to her questions, she was starting to feel she hadn’t been heard and a little ignored after Duke asked and received an immediate answer. Though she did acknowledge Dean’s nod of good morning to her, that was at least something. Right? But hearing this was about Anna and not Natalia, she grew concerned for her. She may have not known her for long but she still cared for the girl. At Duke’s next words, her head snapped towards him in surprise. A bounty hunter? Why the hell would a bounty hunter be needed in this situation? Her attention went back to Dean as he spoke once again, turning down Duke’s offer of a bounty hunter and saying they were leaving it up to Sam. She continued to listen in silence as Dean had an epiphany about Cason, then watched as he looked to Mika and then to Natalia’s door, which confirmed her thought of who they were talking about. Out of everyone in the group, Cason was the one that knew Anna better than all of them. When she met Anna and Cason, they were dating and had been together for some time from what information she managed to gather. As she let this process in her mind, her gaze shifted to the ground, before she soon came to a conclusion, at least one of them would have to go and talk to him to get the information they needed about Anna.

Lifting her gaze, her eyes darted to each member of the group that stood outside with her. Dean was obviously a bad choice to go with. That was just asking for things to go wrong. Sam could go but he would probably be reluctant to. Duke hardly knew him, so he was out. That left her and Mika. She still wasn’t fully sure where she stood with Cason after the whole cupid thing, but something told her she wasn’t the best choice either. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out through her nose and looked at Sam and then Dean. She hesitated a moment, still feeling like the odd member of the group. Plus, she didn’t know Anna as the others did. Adjusting the blanket around her, she finally decided to speak. “I know I don’t know Anna as well as the three of you…… But I’d like to help out in any way possible.” she started. “I’m not sure why Duke suggested a bounty hunter and I’m curious about why the hell one would be needed in this situation, but that sounds drastic to me.” she told them. Her gaze then landed on Sam’s worried face, she was still getting to know him but seeing him in this state really got to her.

“Do any of you know if she has anyone to go to or anywhere to go?” she questioned. She fell silent for a moment, giving a slight shiver as she finally started to feel the chill creeping up on her from her bare feet on the cool concrete. At her shiver, Sarah moved closer to her and lay next to her, placing her head on Esme’s bare feet. Esme couldn’t have been more thankful for the action and wished she could have thanked her at that moment. Pulling her mind back to the situation at hand, she looked around at everyone that stood there, then to the door Dean had looked at, then back to everyone again. Even though she didn’t have all the information, she still couldn’t get the thought out of her head and felt there wasn’t any other option at that moment. Esme’s gaze went back to Sam, her features softening even more than they were. “Sam? I know you care deeply about Anna, and you’re probably at a loss as to what to do…… But if you plan on finding her and going after her, I can offer to help get you the information you need.” she offered. She fell silent to let her words sink in, then carefully slid her feet from under Sarah’s head, and moved closer to Duke, only to have Sarah move with her and place her head back on her feet. Esme looked up at Duke and leaned in closer to him. “What did you mean by asking if a bounty hunter was needed?” she asked in a whisper.

NATALIA AND CASON (PART COLLAB)

Of all the people in their group, Cason being the one to tell her 'don't be too hard on Dean' was not the one she was expecting to hear those words from. Sam, Mika, Anna... even Esme she could picture any of them saying those words to her, but Cason? That was a new experience for her to say the least but feeling him shake from the withheld laughter felt comforting to her.

Nat also found it calming that he still stood by his words from last night and that he was determined to keep her safe and be there for her even though she hadn't done too much before last night to make him exactly like her. Or at least in her mind she hadn't. Not only that, he reassured her that she wasn't that much of a bitch to Dean and he would forgive her for what she said to him, and that her outburst was justified and valid, even if she thought it was uncalled for. She sighed in her hands until she felt him pull her hands away from her face and held him.

Cason's offer for her to get her apology to Dean out the way first was appreciated, but she didn't think she was ready to see Dean just yet. She needed to muster up that courage to look her eldest brother in the eye and truly apologise, not to mention, do so in fresh clothes and not the ones she fell asleep in. "I'd rather have our talk first. And judging by the faint talking I can hear, they're deep in conversation anyway out there" she replied honestly, after letting him remove her hands from her face and hold one hand. "Also if I put off our talk, I'm afraid I'll never have the courage to have it." She admitted.

Cason nodded, turning his head straight forward as he pondered the talk that they needed to have and how to even start the conversation. He knew it was likely better to rip off the bandaid. It wasn’t like he could make her situation much worse.

With a deep breath, he nodded, “Alright. So, where to begin…”

Cracking his neck, he glanced down at his own hands, and just bit the bullet, “I’ve known you…well…of you for a while. Like, a good while. One of my first assignments after my last little trip to Hell was to work undercover, I guess you could say, to drag information out of people.”

He took another deep breath, not even wanting to say the words, but with a wince, he blurted the words out, “As a nurse.”

The moment Cason turned his head to Infront of them both, she knew this talk had to be bigger than she ever realised last night. But there was no backing out of it now. So she did all she could do in this moment and listened to him. She listened as he said he knew of her for a long while and wondered how that was even possible. Wasn't he with Anna for years before this? She looked at him, even if he didn't look at her as he spoke, confused and curious as to where his words were going. Undercover? Dragging information out of people? It wasn't making an ounce of sense to her, that was until he said the last three words.

She froze in her spot on the bed, but unable to remove her hand from his grip, despite her blood running cold. "Y-you were at my...asylum?" She asked wearily. Her mind began racing a million miles a second as she tried to compute the true depth this talk was taking.
Cason cringed again as Nat’s brain finally computed what he was saying. He himself wanted to run away, which would be as simple as disappearing and leaving her on edge, but he honestly couldn’t do that. It was worth it to just get the information out, even if she hated him for it after.

“Y-yeah. I was there.”, he admitted, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Clenching his jaw, he continued, “But I never hurt you, like the others. I swear that to you. I came out of Hell, fully ready to just leave. Disappear. But I couldn’t leave without knowing that I did something to bring my own torturers down. That’s how it started.”

He shrugged his shoulders, letting her know that at first, his motives for helping her weren’t for her benefit. He squeezed her hand, “But then I guess I grew attached to you being…alive. I decided that if I was going to take them down, I was taking you with me. I made sure you had food, water, and that your wounds were somewhat clean. I changed your clothes, and left the doors open for your brothers to find you. Once you were gone, I killed them all…well, all the ones that were left.”
She continued to listen, even whilst seeing him visibly cringe as her memories started to piece things together as he spoke. Yet at the same time it made so many more questions. Why her? Out of every victim in that dreadful place, why her? Why was she so special to get solace in such a place? She glanced down at their hands as he squeezed her hand, then glanced right back up at him as he continued speaking. His words coursing through her mind like a cannon ball as it tore through those walls in her mind, unblocking those memories she couldn't remember or at least, were fogged over.

It was then she began to see everything play out in her head clear as day. His face leaning down over her to help her sip water when she could barely hold her own head up. Or loosening her restraints as they cut into her wrists, causing bleeding and bruising. The door...opening and staying open on that night of freedom. The words spoken.... "It's freedom night. Shout for them Natalia" before he was gone from view and minutes later Sam showed up as she crawled to the door begging for help. Every time it was Cason's face. "you helped save my life...you guided Sam to me..." She realised, tears pricking at her eyes, her hands shaking.

Cason debated running everything that he said back as the silence overtook them for a moment, until Nat spoke again, her voice soft and he could hear the tears behind her words. He nodded in admission to her, and shrugged his shoulders lightly, barely moving them.

“I wanted to send a message and I wanted you to survive.”, he stated plainly, letting out a deep sigh, before slowly glancing over at her face, “And now you’re here.”

Nat's memories wouldn't stop replaying through her mind but it was like her present and past were weaving between each other in her head. She didn't know at first what to do, or how to react but she looked at him , truly looked at him this time. A hand reached up to his face as she let those few foggy memories clear up completely and now it made sense to her. Why him sweeping hair from her face and holding her felt so familiar. Why his scent smelled familiar and comforting to her. "You're the one who gave me hope that whole time. The only reassuring memories I have of that place." she spoke softly and slowly before just engulfing him in a hug. It was the only thing she could think of doing. "You gave me hope, saved my life and gave me family. I'm sorry I didn't remember until now" she told him.

MIKA AND SAM

Whilst Natalia and Cason were having their heart to heart discussion in their room, both were still very much involved in their conversation outside with the others. Sam let Dean read the note just after Mika had walked over to the two of them, before seeing his brother give it to Mika to read, which she did. He honestly didn't know what to say initially but once they read the note Anna had left him, he finally found his voice. "I don't know where she could have gone. I mean, over the years she's been all over the place like we have. The list could be longer than we even realise it is" he replied to Dean, seeing the power of Anna signing the note with her full name hit Dean as hard as it hit himself.

"I can't believe I messed up this badly to have pushed her away. I thought she knew how much I love her" he replied, seeing the look of utter sympathy on Mika's face as Esme and Duke made their way across to the three of them. "Sam you didn't mess up. I can't believe these are her real thoughts on the matter. She was all about staying close to you last night, this feels so out of character for her" Mika told him, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

Mika shot Duke a look of disapproval when he offered the idea of a bounty hunter to find Anna, after Dean explained what they were all talking about. She didn't need to say how much she disapproved of that idea so quickly to make her opinion known on that matter. She then looked at Dean as he glanced at her, followed his gaze to Nat's room and back at the group and it seemed that Esme was cottoning on to what he was hinting at just as well as she herself was.

"I hate to say it, but Cason is our only hope right now to finding out where she's got to." Mika spoke up, "If that's what Sam wants that is" she added, giving her pseudo baby brother another soft glance.

Sam gave everyone's comments and thoughts a real thought over before sighing and nodding. "Cason is the key but I don't feel comfortable going to ask him for help. Not after everything. It's hard enough knowing he's in there with Nat and he was wanted more than me as well as this situation" he admitted to the group, feeling like he could be open with them all. "So can someone else do it?" he asked of them, looking them all in the eye one by one.

"I don't think it's a good idea myself or Dean go. I'd prefer staying with you Sam right now. So that leaves you two" she said, looking from Sam to Duke and Esme, even though she wasn't exactly impressed with the choice of 'attire' Esme was currently in.

Cason flinched slightly when Nat reached up and touched his face. He couldn’t place why he half expected her to just slap him, or pull an Esme and shoot him in the head for not dragging her ass out of there. But instead, her touch was gentle, and he leaned his face into it, opening his eyes to scan her eyes.

“I…”, he started, after her words, before she engulfed him in a hug. At first he was still, but then he gently brought his arms up to wrap her up, placing one hand on the back of her head, blanketing his fingers in her hair.

“Trust me, I didn’t want you to remember any more of that place than you were forced to.”, he answered back, flexing his hand against the back of her head, “But if any good could come of it, you should hear it from me. You don’t owe me anything. I know, weird to hear from a demon.”

He chuckled softly, before forcing her to pull back from him, cradling her face in his hands, “And I’ll go…if it’s too much. I’m not sure your brothers would understand my side of things, as much as you might think.”



Dean shook his head immediately as Sam began to blame himself after breaking the news to them and himself that Anna was likely going to be very hard to track down. He reached a hand out to Sam and shook his head again, “No. No, you’re not going to blame yourself for this. We don’t know who got to her. It’s not out of the question for it to be any of the sons of bitches we have dealt with. Remember Alastair?”

He held his hand out toward Mika as she basically said the same thing. This wasn’t normal for Anna. She had been stuck to Sam like glue. For her to just bail, it didn’t seem natural. It seemed forced.

But then Esme spoke up, and Dean tilted his head. She had a point. Of all the people in the current group, Esme would be the quickest one to get information out of Cason. Mika was probably the last person he should talk to. Dean and Sam were a non starter and Duke barely knew him.

“I agree with Esme and Mika.”, he spoke finally, in agreement with Mika. Duke however, was still frowning at Mika, as if he was genuinely confused as to what was wrong with the idea of bounty hunting. They were quick and effective, and they wouldn’t hurt her…most likely. But he kept his mouth shut and instead lifted his eyes to meet Mika’s gaze as she looked toward him.

“Sammy we’ll figure this out. Esme can um…she can go over there and butter him up. Maybe he’ll have an old address, or even just narrow it down to a state. He can pop in and out of wherever. It beats driving around with no lead.”, Dean explained with a shrug.

“I still think we should hire a bounty hunter and leave the demon out of it. I mean…is there a reason we shouldn’t just kill him.”

“We’re NOT killing anyone. Will you shut your mouth? Nat will cut off your head if she’s found any sort of comfort in him. Demon or not, he’s off limits.”, Dean quickly corrected Duke who held his hands up to each side of his head in surrender.

“Fine! Fine. But if he…”, he started, before Dean shook his head and gave him a hard look, “I’m not doing it.”

“Then that leaves Esme. Go get dressed and we can get this show on the road.”, Dean said simply, waving Esme toward her room, before placing his hands on his hips.

“Only one problem, chief. She ain’t got no clothes, here.”, Duke chimed in with a sigh.

“Where’s her bag? Where’s your bag.”

“No bag. No car. No things. We came here to get her patched up, man.”, Duke explained and Dean sighed loudly, wiping a frustrated hand down his face, before he turned to Mika with a stone cold face.

“Then Mika can lone her something. Why don’t you go get her something to wear…I can make it up to you or something.”, Dean barked at Mika, before softening his face slightly with a sweet smile, “Please…”

“Honestly, with all this trouble, we should just hire a bounty hunter…”, Duke chimed again, shrugging his shoulders as he hid his eyes under his hat brim.

After spilling her thoughts to the group and offering her help, Esme hoped that she didn’t show how desperate she was to help and show she wanted to be helpful, especially after not being able to help with the last case. She silently looked around those gathered as the discussion continued, catching Mika’s look as she took in her attire. It wasn’t like she wanted to go around in a blanket, but it was better than going around in torn and bloodstained clothes. Her eyes landed back on Dean when he spoke saying he agreed with her and Mika. Finally, she could do something useful after being out of commission. When Dean said she could butter Cason up, she winced a bit. She wasn’t sure just how much this was going to be a buttering up, but she was definitely going to try and get the information they needed about Anna. Her eyes darted back to Duke as he spoke about the bounty hunter again and then mentioned killing Cason, which caused her eyebrows to raise. She knew that Duke, like herself, wasn’t fond of demons, but at that moment, she knew that killing Cason wasn’t the answer to any of this. They needed him right now. Without him, they would be up the creek without a paddle.

She was about to say something but Dean beat her to it, she didn’t like the thought of having one going after Anna. Esme sighed softly when Duke finally surrendered to not having a bounty hunter come in and having Cason killed after Dean said they weren’t killing anyone. Though she was surprised to hear that Natalia might have found comfort in him. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind to focus on the rest of the conversation that led back to her. Dean was now telling her to go get dressed so she could go and talk to Cason. “I don’t….” she started, but was cut off by Duke. As soon as the words left his mouth, she felt slightly uncomfortable, and slight embarrassment crept up on her, especially after Dean asked where her bag was. Again Duke answered for her before she even had time to open her mouth this time, paraphrasing the events that led up to her being stranded without clothes. She hid her wince at Dean’s frustration the best she could. Though she couldn’t blame him for being frustrated even if it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know she was going to be kidnapped by demons, beaten, stabbed, and almost burned, then rescued by someone she never thought she’d see again, and not have the chance to retrieve her car.

Dean saying Mika could lend her something caused her to tense up. Esme’s eyes then went wide as he barked the order at Mika to get her something to wear, then added a sweet, please. Yes, he would playfully bark orders at her when they were together, and she would do the same to him but Mika didn’t seem like one you would bark orders at without some repercussions following. She knew Mika couldn’t be happy with the idea of lending her boyfriend's ex some clothes, and to be honest, she was too keen on wearing Mika’s clothes either. It was an awkward situation, even if she did need something to wear. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything in the matter, wanting Mika to take the next step being Dean’s girlfriend and being her clothes. While she waited to see what Mika would do, she turned her attention to Duke as he chimed in once more about the bounty hunter. She had heard enough about hiring a bounty hunter, and he had also ignored her question when she asked about it. Sliding her feet from under Sarah’s head once more than pulled a hand from under the blanket. Taking Duke by the arm, she pulled him a small distance away from the others, then used her index finger to push up his hat so she could see his eyes. The look on her face wasn’t a happy one. “I’m surprised at you, Duke. Are you that hell-bent on hiring a bounty hunter, that you’ll throw getting Anna back unharmed to the wind?” she said angrily.

“Hell, you and I both know they don’t handle situations like this gently. They can also be unpredictable and throw any rules you lay down out the window.” She had run into a few in her life and she had sworn to herself she would never do business with them if she could help it. She turned and stepped away from Duke running a hand through her hair in frustration. “Hellfire!” she said through gritted teeth under her breath in even more frustration. They had the one person they knew Anna better than any of them, and Duke still wanted to go with his option. Which in her opinion, that she was making clear, was the wrong one. The sweet Esme he had seen last night and earlier was now replaced with a fired-up Esme, one that she was sure he remembered from their days together. “We can’t have one of them come in on this for Sam’s sake, and I know you know that somewhere in that brain of yours.” she continued angrily. She then spun back around to face him, a heavy sigh leaving her nose while catching Mika reluctantly heading into her’s and Dean’s room. Which meant she had given in to Dean's request. “We’ll talk more about this later, there are more pressing matters at hand.” she told him while giving him a look that said he wasn’t going to get out of it.

Esme then walked past Duke and back to the others without looking back at him to see if he was following her. As she waited for Mika to return with the clothes she worked on calming herself with Sarah’s help, by the time Mika came out with the clothes, she was calm enough to handle what she needed to do. Taking the clothes, she thanked Mika and headed back to her room to get dressed. Once dressed, she came out and looked at everyone but Duke, she was still a little upset with him, her eyes landing on Sam last. “I’ll get him to tell me where she is. I want her back just as much as you do.” she told him with a kind hand on his arm. She then looked at Dean and Mika. “Just make sure someone keeps an ear open in case this goes sideways.” she asked. She wasn’t saying it would but she wanted to make sure someone had her back if it did. “Wish me luck.” she said before walking over to the door. Once at the door, she gave a knock on it. “Hey? Can we talk?” she called out.

NATALIA

Engulfing Cason into a hug wasn't something Nat would ever have thought she'd do but right now, in her eyes and in mind, he was the ONLY one who knew what she went through in that asylum. As far as she knew, no one else in the group went through what she did or even saw the true horrors of that place. No one except for Cason. She was aware of his hesitancy at first but the moment he held her back and weaved his fingers into the back of her hair, she just wanted to remain clinging to him.

She listened to him speak, understanding his reasoning for it but she was glad he had finally told her he was the person she could sort of remember but was a blur up until now. It gave her a little bit of peace to start trying to move forward from her past. He even made her break the tiniest of smiles for the briefest of moments when he told her she didn't owe him anything. Every part of her wanted to insist she owed him her life, her freedom but those words alone made her know it would be pointless in doing.

She frowned ever so slightly when he pulled her back to make her look at him, raising her hands to place them over his on the sides of her face. She gently shook her head when he offered to leave her for a while. That was the very last thing she wanted from him right now. "No... I don't care if they wont listen to your side of the facts, or even accept them. I need you here. You're something solid and affirming for me right now. You were a comfort to me then, and you're that to me now. If my brothers can't accept that then that's a them problem, not mine or yours." she replied to him.

Then came a knock on the door which made her jump as she wasn't expecting one so soon, not only that she was focused so much on Cason and their conversation she had completely forgotten that someone would come knocking for her. Esme's voice coming through the door made her sigh with relief and relax again beside Cason, "bloody hell" she sighed slightly annoyed. "Guess this...moment of calm is over" she told him, lifting his hands off of her face and crawling out of the bed to open the door.

"What is it? Tell my dumb headed brother I'll be out soon" she complained, leaning on the door as she held it open.

SAM AND MIKA

Sam sighed and nodded when Dean told him not to blame himself. He listened to both him and Mika telling him that wasn't normal for Anna to do, but all he kept thinking was that this wasn't the first time she just upped and left him. It gave him bad memories of when Mika would up and leave Dean all those many years ago, then just pop back into his life again. He didn't want to go through that emotional turmoil that Dean did, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it when there was so much already on all their plates.

With Esme and Duke still beside them in very questionable clothing choices this morning, he decided he would listen to them and like the others he did not approve of the bounty hunter option, no matter how much Duke tried to convince them of otherwise. He even did a little wince when Duke suggested just killing Cason. That would NOT go down well with Natalia in the slightest, even if he wouldn't complain about seeing Cason no more but Dean was right when he said Natalia would cut Duke's head off or similar if she heard what was just suggested.

"Dean's right, as much as I don't like him being near Nat, she's somehow finding comfort it seems in him. Cason is off limits" he agreed, just before the others continued all their conversations and coming to the conclusion that it was Esme who would have to go as no one would be suitable for the task. What did surprise him however was Dean barking the order of loaning clothing to Esme at Mika. He gave her a look of 'just don't argue...please?' which Mika knew all too well.

Mika then sighed and huffed in annoyance, but nodded when Dean said 'please' slightly nicer but still with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Fine, I'll be right back" she said flatly, trying to play nice as she was aware Duke didn't know about all the tension between her and Esme. As she turned on her heels to head to the room, she leaned into Dean's ear and whispered "you're lucky you're hot when youre bossy" then walked back to the room, where she shuffled through her clothes, purposely grabbing her oldest pair of jeans that she barely wore now and a t-shirt, then headed back where she shoved the clothes into Esme's hands. "best I could find that would fit you" she told the woman, trying her hardest to play civil.

---

As Esme went to Nat's room, she stood with the boys waiting to see what would come of this moment. "We'll find her Sammy, if it's the last thing I do, I will find her" she told him, to which Sam gave a small nod and hugged her briefly from the side before letting go and looking toward the door that was now open and he just about saw a tiny glimpse of Natalia from his angle, still in last night's clothes.

"Cason better help, if he still cares for Anna" he commented.

Dean sighed in relief as Mika listened to his brother and simply nodded at him. But as she passed, her words in his ear both perked him up and frightened him. He swallowed heavily, not even glancing at her with a simple, “Noted.”

Duke frowned, glancing down at Esme’s arm as she pulled him to the side, and quickly pushed his hat back on his head so that he could see the fire in her eyes. He had either really messed up, or she was needing something, and judging by the brand of fire he saw, she was pissed.

“Now hold on…”, he started, as she laid into him over the bounty hunter comments. He had no intention of sending some hack job after Anna, though he couldn’t guarantee they would follow instructions…

This Esme definitely brought back memories. Slightly less physical than she used to be, which he chalked up to the fact that she still had stitches (and he was thankful for that), but when she continued, he winced. He opened his mouth to speak, after she finished, feeling very small. But he was cut off before he could speak, turning his eyes down to the ground like a scolded little boy, “Yes, ma’am…”

Dean couldn’t help but notice the exchange, knowing that he likely had his own scolding coming…luckily not from Esme, this time. But Esme was right. Bounty Hunters jobs were to bring back bodies. If the bodies were banged and bruised, they still got paid. If they were dead, they got paid less…but still paid. Duke knew this, but then again, Duke himself had done some bounty hunting with Dean for a bit, during their dark years. It almost made Dean feel bad for him.

“You alright?”, he asked Duke as Mika showed back up behind him. Duke simply waved him off, and leaned against the post in front of the rooms, waiting to see what went down in the other room.

Dean instead looked down at Mika with a sigh, “He’ll help, or he’ll deal with Sam. I’m sure that’s a decent incentive.”



Cason listened to Nat essentially beg him to stay. It’s not like he would leave if she didn’t want him to. He didn’t have a reason to. She was safer with him near her, and she was safer mentally if she wasn’t alone. At the same time, he knew the tension between her and her brothers wasn’t exactly productive. There was work to do, and as much as he wanted to blip her out of the game completely, he couldn’t. He opened his mouth to argue with her, when the knock at the door came and he dropped the issue for the time being, smirking at how jumpy Nat was, being wrapped up in their conversation.

“It seems we’ll have to continue this later.”, he agreed, dropping his hands onto his lap, before scooting himself off the bed behind her. He followed her to the door, but stood back, wanting to be the last body in the path of her brother, but what he saw on the other side of the open door caused him to frown in confusion.

“Esme? Why um…why would they send you of all people?”, he asked awkwardly, his pride still a bit wounded by the shunning he felt like he had received after their meet up with the demons. He fully expected her to still be wrapped up with Duke, her knight in shining armor, and though he didn’t fully know what jealousy should feel like, he still felt a bit…hurt.

NATALIA

Part of her wanted to stay around and hear what Esme had to say, but the fact that Cason also came to the door and asked her what she wanted, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. For all she knew it was to do with something from the kidnapping incident and getting her car back, especially as Nat noticed she was wearing some of Mika's old clothing.

Giving Esme a chance to say something first, she then decided to just hold her hands up and go and apologise to Dean as she could see him watching the door like a hawk with the others. "I'm gonna go talk to Dean...if you need me holla okay?" she told Cason for two reasons, 1) to let him know where she was and 2) to tell him she was there for defend him if it was required. She may not owe him anything, but she still felt like she could lend her skills to something to help him out every now and then. Group member or not.

Leaving the room, she awkwardly wandered over to Duke, Dean and Mika, seeing Sam in his own little world opposite them. "Uh...Dean, can we....can we talk?" she asked, running a hand through her hair, feeling the most nervous to talk to him since the day Sam tried to convince him to let her stay with them. She rocked back and forth on her feet for those few moments waiting for Dean to agree, then walked slightly off away from the others, unable to even look anyone else in the eye. Even Duke and she didn't even yell at him.

"Dean I'm sorry for how I spoke to you last night. I wish I could excuse it but what I said about you and Hell was well below the belt...." she verbally vomited out at him. "I was drunk and hurting....it's not an excuse but an explanation. But...there's more....Cason is the one who got you to me...dropped the clues and hints for Sam to find me. That's why I feel comfort from him, despite everything...." she sighed, swallowing deeply to stop herself from crying all over again.

"I hate that this is a reality, but I need him as much as I need you and Sam... Dean I've been vile to you because I can't get my shit together, I'm so sorry" she continued before she couldn't talk anymore.

SAM AND MIKA

When Natalia exited the room and headed straight for Dean, Mika perked up and stood upright, wondering what was going to happen and mentally preparing for another sibling argument, but instead she witnessed Nat just not look at any of them except for Dean and ask quietly for a private word. The clue that an apology was coming or something along similar lines.

"I think what she said to him is weighing heavily on her" she commented to Duke. "They had quite the argument last night" she clarified.

Sam still couldn't look anywhere but the door where Cason stood with Esme, though he did still unknowingly glance every now and then at Natalia and Dean in case he had to stop anything between them. He was a mess right now, his sister was hurting and he wasn't wanted by her and now the love of his life was also missing and left him as well. It just too much right now.

As Esme stood at that door waiting for it to be opened, Sarah came over and sat on her left side so she was out of the doorway. Esme shifted her hand slightly to lightly brush the back of her hand over the hound. “Should have known you’d follow me into this.” she whispered to Sarah. When the door opened, Esme was half expecting Nataila to open the door and complain, and that was exactly what she did. She knew how Dean usually got everyone up and ready for the day. “I’m not here to tell you to hurry and get up from Dean.” she told her. It was when Cason spoke she even knew he was there. She had focused on Natalia benign right there in the doorway, she hadn’t even seen him. “I’m actually her to you about something, Cason.” she said, looking over at him.

Cason approached the door a bit as Nat excused herself, sighing at the idea of being alone with Esme. He nodded at Nat's supportive goodbye, waving his hand at her before awkwardly wiping his hands on his pants, and closing the door behind Esme.

"So, what did they send you to do? Ask me to leave? Hey girl!", he both asked a question and exclaimed as his face spread into a wide grin at Sarah standing on her hind legs, and wrapping her front paws around his neck. He scratched behind her ears, and gave her kisses, before sighing and forcing her down, his hand still rubbing her back.

"They want me to leave, don't they?"

After Natalia excused herself, Esme let Sarah enter the room before herself. As Cason closed the door behind her, she turned so she could see him and properly listen to his questions and speak to Sarah. His affection towards Sarah was actually kind of cute in a way. She sighed heavily at his last question and thought about her words. “I know I’m the last person you thought would come to the door and want to talk to you.” she started. “But no, I’m not here because they want you to leave.” she added quickly as she looked at him. “They….. We…. We're hoping you’d be willing to help us with something that came up.” She paused to take in a breath, not truly knowing just how difficult it might be to get him to help her. She knew she hurt him when he found her with Duke last night. “Anna ran away last night, leaving only a note for Sam. Since you know her better than all of us, we thought you might know where to look for her.” She just came right out and said it, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush.

Cason looked up from Sarah and narrowed his eyes as Esme began to speak, acknowledging the fresh upset of her brushing him off, and ending up alone with Duke. But what piqued his interest the most, was the stuttering when preparing herself to ask for help.

He leaned his head back, nodding a bit as she finished, pressing his lips together in both annoyance and amusement, “So, ex-boyfriend stuff…”

He stepped over to the table, and slipped his feet into his boots, not saying anything for a moment as he picked up his jacket and slipped it over his arms. As he straightened the collar, he frowned again, “No.”

Esme saw Cason’s eyes narrow as she spoke, which wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting when she acknowledged she had hurt him. She watched his actions to her words, his annoyance and amusement quite obviously showing. She raised an eyebrow at his first words. What the hell did this have to do with ex-boyfriend stuff? She watched him closely as he said nothing as he put on his boots and jacket. His simple “No” caused her to anger slightly, but she kept her cool.

“No, you don’t know where she is? Or, no, you won’t help?” she questioned. “Is this because of Duke and that’s why you’re refusing to help? I know I hurt you and I’m sorry for that.” She held back a sigh that was threatening to escape her. “We have a history, he helped clean and patch me up last night….. But I don’t know what I’m even explaining to you.” She turned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest.

She was trying to be nice about all this, but his simple “No” because she hurt his feelings had gotten to her. She took in a calming breath and slowly released it. If he was going to hold this over her, she could hit him where it really hurts. “Alright, that’s fine.” she said, breaking the moment of silence that fell on the room as she turned back towards him. “I’ll let Sam know…. I’m sure Natalia will be thrilled to hear you’re refusing to help when you're quite literally the only person who knows anything about her life. But maybe Sam will just…. Move on.” she told him.

Cason watched her reaction to his words, almost missing it as she kept her cool nicely. Her not leaving told him that she was going to press this no matter how calm she seemed. So, when her next question came, he rolled his eyes.

“No, I won’t help. Why would I help any of you?”, he asked with a genuinely confused expression on his face. But she cut off his next thought with bringing up Duke, stabbing him in the chest. Heart or not, just thinking about the night before hurt his feelings, and he growled a bit under his breath, hoping she would stop explaining herself. He didn’t want to hear it. In all honesty, he didn’t want to look at her, or Duke…or think about any of it.

When she finally stopped speaking, he sighed in relief, checking his pockets for his money and knife, leaving the room in complete silence, until she spoke up again, and he stopped his movements completely, staring at the floor in front of her feet as she spoke. The manipulation hit him so hard it almost knocked him off his feet, and he turned his eyes up to her face, glaring at her.

“Really? That’s how you’re playing this?”, he asked through gritted teeth, “If I don’t help you on your little goose chase, you’re going to run to Natalia and what, get her to hate me too? That’s just great. I love it. Fine. I’ll help. But I find her. I relay the info. I come back. I’m out. If that’s not enough for them, too bad.”
With the final snap of his words, he brushed past her, and walked out the door of the room, shutting it loudly behind him.

As soon as the words left Esme’s mouth she hated herself for it but she didn’t let it show. She felt that was the only way to get him to help them. She shifted her weight onto her good leg, her arms still crossed over her chest as she saw just how hard her words hit him. She didn’t react or try to say a thing as he spoke harshly to her in his fit. When he finished, she remained silent, letting him walk past and out the door. She flinched as the door slammed behind him, and dropped her arms with a loud sigh that echoed through the room. Stepping back towards the wall, she leaned against it, bringing a hand up and wiping it across one side of her face with another sigh. After a moment, she pushed herself from the wall, opened the room door, and left with Sarah at her side.

She made her way over to Sam, Duke, and Mika, stopping next to Sam and placing a hand on his arm. “It’s done. He’s going to find her, then come back, and let us know where she is.” she told him in a softer tone than usual. Esme then gave him a small smile before removing her hand from his arm. Without another word to anyone, she walked away and headed to her’s and Duke’s room, the door still propped open by the trash can. Opening the door, she walked in with Sarah, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of the bed. Resting her elbows on her knees, she placed her face in her. “God. I feel like such an asshole.” she breathed into her hands. Sarah then came over and sat by Esme’s feet, placing her head in her lap to comfort her.