Dean and Duke had been on what should have been a very simple vampire take down, when things had gone horribly wrong. Dean twisted his body, pushing the weight of the dead vampire he had just killed. As it fell in a pile on the ground beneath the platform he was laying on. With a gasp of relief, he pulled himself back toward the center, suddenly realizing that he had almost fallen to his death from such a high place.

"Holy shit. Shit. Okay. You're okay. Duke?!" He called out to his best friend. The air was silent and he could no longer hear any sounds of tools or Duke's voice and the silence brought a familiar pain to his chest. Duke was in trouble. Duke was always in trouble. "DUKE! Can you hear me, man?!"

Nothing.

Dean groaned as he struggled to sit up, the pain in his ribs intense but the need to find Duke more intense. He scooted toward the edge of the platform, to the ladder, and then reached for his machete. He slipped the cord of his machete around his wrist, and began to climb down the ladder, dreading what he might come across when he reached the ground. As soon as his boots hit the ground, the silence seemed even louder.

"DUKE! Say something!" He called out in the darkness and finally, the sound of a struggle caught his ear, and he broke into a run, toward the sound. "Hold on! I'm comin'!"

"Aw. You've come to save your boyfriend! That's the most adorable thing I've ever witnessed. It's almost like a mo-" A blonde vampire stepped in front of Dean, and before she could finish her sentence, Dean whipped the strap of his machete into his hand, and sliced her head off.

"Shut up." He grumbled, and kept walking down the alley, to the sounds of Duke struggling to breathe. He had to hurry, because knowing Duke, he was an inch from death and still thought he was on top. Finally, the sight of flailing cowboy boots came into view and Dean sprinted toward a saw mill that was definitely on, and definitely close to sawing his best friend in half. "Hey! Care for some two on one?!"

Duke laughed while struggling to breathe, as soon as Dean came into view. He reached up and grabbed the giant man above him by the collar. Without missing a beat, he pushed him up as hard as he could, and Dean kicked the back of the man's head. Slowly, the man's grip loosened on Duke's throat and with a deep cough, Duke released him and rolled out from beneath his weight, leaving the giant alone on the saw mill.

"What about now?" Duke asked, referring to Dean's comment about 'two on one'. He leaned down, running his hand along the side of Dean's calf until he found the syringe he was looking for, just as the giant wrapped his arms around Duke's neck. Dean raised his machete, threatening he large vampire, but he just tightened his grip around Duke's neck. "See...this ain't workin' for me. You gotta squeeze a little harder...a little to the left...OH! oh there it is."

As Duke teased the giant vampire, he reached down and jabbed the syringe into the vampire's thigh, emptying every drop of the Dead Man's Blood into his system. The response was instant as the vampire dropped Duke roughly to the ground, dazed and nearly passed out. As the vampire stumbled, Dean pulled up a booted foot, kicking him onto the saw mill. He then used his machete to chop his head off.

Duke stood from the ground, groaning and chuckled while pointing, "He's so big, he's just sittin' there."

He and Dean both broke into laughter, until the giant body fell over, directly onto the running saw. Within a second, both Duke and Dean were covered in blood, as if they took a shower in it. Spitting a bit from his mouth, Duke turned to Dean and began to laugh all over again, but this time, Dean didn't echo his laughter. He simply rolled his eyes, with a growl, and walked away.

"C'mon man! You know that's funny." Duke called out to him, before picking up his now bloody white cowboy hat from the ground near the saw. He plopped the disgusting hat onto his head, grimacing at the squishing sound his hair made, and followed Dean down the alley.

--------



"Don't say a word to Bobby about what you did." Dean ordered Duke as he attempted to unstick his dried bloody shirt from his chest and they walked toward Bobby's front door. He didn't even notice the other vehicle in the drive and he had no idea what he was walking into.

"Will he be that surprised though? He knows how I am. I ain't never said I'm smart..."

"No one has ever said you're smart, Duke." Dean grumbled, opening the front door and strolling in as if he wasn't covered in blood.

Bobby Singer stood from his desk with a start, nearly tripping over himself as he saw his boys, "Jesus Christ! What the hell happened to you two?!"

"Vampires!" Duke chimed, causing Dean to let out a loud sigh through his nose with his eyes squeezed shut. "We found the Vampire nest!"

"Yes. We did." Dean grumbled. And Bobby slammed his book shut on the desk as he aggressively crossed the room and stepped up to them both. Dean flinched, closing his eyes and standing a little straighter, as Duke seemed confused to his side. "But we took care of it, and this...this is not as bad as it looks. One of them kind of..."

"We accidentally sawed him in half. It was a mess. I mean...a mess." Duke chimed once again, his eyes big and excited as he beamed at Bobby. But the look that Bobby shot him, caused him to turn his own eyes to the ground, his cowboy hat covering his face as he straightened his shoulders and stood still and quiet.

"I have never told you what to do...but walkin' into a vampire nest half cocked without so much as a phone call, or backup nearby. How stupid are you, boy?!" Bobby practically yelled in Dean's face. It was then that Duke glanced past Bobby, to his desk and noticed two beer bottles sitting there.

"Bobby, you got company?"

Esme sat behind the wheel of a ‘68 Chevelle she shared with her father, glaring at a decrepit house she had just come out of. She was told this would be an easy one-ghost-and-done case. She had found three ghosts within its crumbling walls while also falling through its floors, thrown through its walls and doors, and into various kitchen, living room, and bathroom items. She was covered head to foot in bumps, cuts, scrapes, debris, and ectoplasm from the whole ordeal. “There's only one. It’ll be easy, they said. You won't need help, they said.” she grumbled. “Hell, if they call that easy. I'd hate to see what they call difficult.” Esme then placed her forehead on the back of her hand resting on the steering wheel, closed her eyes, and released a heavy sigh through her nose to collect herself. “This has been one hell of a day. It started with demons with Sassy early this morning. Then, it was the long drive to this place with these three ghosts: an older man, a woman, and a young girl. She could only assume that the woman and girl were victims of the man by what she found inside.

The man died of a self-inflicted gunshot after being cornered by the police. She was here for him, not the other two. Now that it was over, she could go to Bobby’s, get cleaned up, and take a breather now that she had nothing else to take care of. She sighed and shook her head. “Where did this guy get his information, and how did Sassy know him?” Esme sighed to herself. Suddenly, her car roared to life, with the keys still in Esme’s pocket, then quickly slammed into gear. “What the hell!” she yelled in surprise, lifting her head. The engine revved, and the car peeled out, heading straight for the house. “Oh, hell no!” Esme stomped on the breaks, but it was no good. She took hold of the wheel with both hands, trying to turn it, but the car kept its heading. She turned to the door and grabbed the handle, only to have the door immediately lock her in. Desperately, she tried to pull the lock up and open the door, but she couldn’t get either to budge. She moved to the passenger door only for that door to lock, and the car hit a bump.

She bounced up, hit the car's roof, and then face-planted on the seat. Groaning, Esme pushed herself up to sit in the seat. Quickly searching through her pockets, she finally found her phone and pulled it out, but before she could use it, the car jerked hard to the right, causing her to hit her hand on the window and drop her phone. Dazed, she felt around the seat, then bent down to search the floorboard for her phone. When her fingers finally landed on it, she quickly grabbed the phone moments before the car jerked to the right again, causing her to hit her head hard on the steering wheel. Sitting back up in the seat, she held the phone tightly in her hand, opened it, and selected Sassy’s number, but before she could call, the car swerved and hit a large planter sitting in the front yard. “You son of b…..” she started before another large planter was hit. Her car was now driving through the large yard in front of the decrepit house, hitting or driving over anything in its path. With a growl in her throat, Esme finally managed to dial the number and hit speakerphone.

She dropped her phone in her lap when the car went through an overgrown flower bed, which caused the car to bounce. Esme grabbed the wheel once more, trying to gain some control of where she was headed while listening to her phone ring. “Come on, Sassy, answer the damn phone!” she growled. Finally, she heard a hello on the other end. “Sassy, I need your help! That wack job you got your info from is a damn liar! There’s more than one here, and one has possessed my car with me in it!” she yelled. “I need you to find out who it is! I’ve already taken care of the perv, along with the woman and child that showed up!” There was silence on the other end of the phone after Esme had finished talking. An eerie disembodied laugh could be heard in the car. The laugh sent a shiver down her spine. “She’ll never get you the information in time. You'll be dead by the time she finds out who I am.” the voice said with another laugh. “SASSY!” Esme practically screamed the woman’s name into the phone. “I’m on it!” was the reply she got back. “Hurry!”

While waiting to hear the woman’s voice again, Esme was bounced around in her car, and was getting ever closer to the house. If this ghost weren’t so content with toying with her, she would have already been driven into the house. He was taking her on a joyride through the whole yard and taking out anything that got in the way. “Esme! I think I found him!” the woman’s voice came through the phone. “Damn!” the ghostly voice yelled. “You’ll never hear what she has to say.” The car turned sharply and drove for the house. “Talk quick!” Esme yelled before she felt invisible hands wrap around her neck. She gasped for air as she reached up to her throat. “Esme! ESME!” she heard the woman scream. “Who!” she gasped. Before Esme could hear the answer, her car smashed into the house, and her throat was released. Her car traveled several feet before coming to a hard stop after hitting something solid. She was thrown forward and hit her head on the steering wheel, making her see stars. Deep laughter in her ears drowned out the screams of panic coming through her phone. Invisible hands wrapped around her throat.

“You’re going to die here, Hunter!” the ghost breathed in her ear. He squeezed her throat tightly, pushing her back into the car’s seat, and she struggled against her unseen enemy. She needed salt. Esme checked the pockets where she usually kept handfuls of salt, which were both empty. “Dammit to hell.” she choked out. She had some in her pant pocket, but how could she get to it? It was going to take work. With effort, Esme worked her hand into her pocket and wiggled a vile of salt out of her pocket as she gasped for air and was close to blacking out. Esme popped the top and threw the salt around the car. The ghost screamed as he released Esme. She coughed and gasped for air as she slumped over in the seat. She grabbed her phone off the seat and held it up in a shaky hand. “Sassy? Who is it?” she asked hoarsely. There was a relieved sigh before she heard what she needed. “His name is Bartholomew Burgess. He’s the brother of…. Him.” she said quickly. “The two had done everything together. He owns that house.” Esme groaned. “Of course he does.” she sighed.

Rolling forward, Esme pulled out a belt of salt vials and an iron bar. Without another thought, she sat up and bolted out of the car, throwing the belt over her head and wearing it like a sash. Esme rushed through the house, collecting anything that could be linked to Bartholomew and using the salt and iron when needed. Throwing everything into a pile, she threw salt on it, then lit an old piece of cloth with her lighter to set it all ablaze. She waited to hear his scream but heard nothing. “Dammit to hell. It wasn’t any of that.” she growled loudly. “You're mine now!” Bartholomew howled as he appeared a few feet away. That’s when she saw it. Throwing salt at him, she bolted for the next room, grabbed an old hat sitting on a chair, and then ran back and tossed it into the fire. That was it, but she couldn’t stay to watch the job get done. The old house suddenly began to buckle in on itself. Esme bolted for her car as everything crumbled around her. Pulling the keys from her pocket, she jumped in, slammed the door, and tried to start her car.

The engine wouldn’t turn over. “No, no, no. Come on, girl. Don’t do this to me.” she groaned, wiping away blood from her eye from the gash on her eyebrow. “I’ll get you all fixed up at Bobby’s. I promise.” she said sweetly as she continued trying to get her car to start. The engine roared to life. Putting it in reverse, she stomped on the gas and backed out. The front of the car nearly cleared the house before it collapsed. “You really know how to make me panic, don’t you?”


After arriving at Bobby’s, Esme grabbed her duffle from the trunk and took a few steps towards the house. Then, she turned back to her car and winced at the sight she saw. “If Daddy were to see you like this, he’d kill me for sure.” Esme breathed. She did not attempt to knock on the door since Bobby knew she was coming. She called him to let him know she was a few hours away. He had met her at the door in his usual manner after walking in. “Hey, Bobby. Long time no see.” she smiled tiredly. He gave her a light scolding compared to what he usually gave Dean, even after she explained everything. He then sent her off to shower, telling her he’d have a beer waiting for her when she finished. “Thanks, Bobby.” she smiled warmly. After getting cleaned up, dressed, and her hair dried, she made her way to Bobby’s desk, where he poured himself over a book and two beers sitting on his desk. Esme then sat down, grabbed one of the beers off the desk, and took a long drink before setting it back on the desk with a silent, content sigh.

She talked to Bobby for a while about what had happened since she was last around and what had gone on that day, getting herself fired up again. That guy needed to be shot for what he had pulled today, and she would gladly do it if it kept him from getting other hunters in the mess she was in. She had gone silent for about twenty minutes, getting lost in her thoughts, before the boys came through the door. Bobby’s sudden movement pulled her from her thoughts, but she didn’t move from her spot, even when she heard Dean’s voice. She knew better than to walk in while Bobby was scolding Dean. Esme did listen in, though, and didn’t like what she was hearing from Dean and the other voice. It was causing her anger to rise more. When the company question was asked, she took that as her cue to show herself. Standing from the chair, she walked into view and looked directly at Dean, a fire burning with her blue eyes already. The sight of him didn’t help matters. She didn’t even look Duke’s way. “What the hell, Dean?!” she yelled, taking a few steps towards him.

“I thought we had talked about not going into things half-cocked and without backup before I left! I thought we had an agreement! But then I come back and find you like this! Looking as if you barely got away by the skin of your teeth!” she vented with clenched fists. The thought of him going into a Vampire nest half-cocked and not having enough backup infuriated the hell out of her. If she had had her beer in hand, she would have probably thrown it at him for his stupidity and knowing he was close to getting himself killed. She didn’t come back just to find him like this. She didn’t want to yell at him, but him like this, on top of everything else she had dealt with today, was just too much for one day.

Dean’s spine stiffened as Esme came into view, and he instantly knew she was going to be firing on all cylinders, ready to kill him. He held his hands up in front of him, putting a tiny bit of space between himself and Esme, as if she was going to stab him with a knife he couldn’t see yet. He looked to Bobby for help, and Bobby simply shook his head and stepped back, crossing his arms, “I ain’t touchin’ this with a ten foot pole. You did this to yourself, boy.”

“Bobby…” Dean started before Esme continued her rage at him, and his eyes widened even more. He hadn’t seen her this angry…ever. She never got fully angry with him. Agitated? Yes. A little bossy at times? Yes. But pissed…this was new. Dean took another step back, and pulled a chair in front of him, as Duke just watched with raised eyebrows.

“Now hold on…” Duke spoke up in his heavy southern drawl. He held up his hands, and took a step toward Esme, careful to not try to touch the angry woman. He had never seen her in his life, but it quickly dawned on him who she was, and he narrowed his eyes, “Hold on a minute.”

“Duke. Shut your mouth.” Dean warned him, closing his eyes, knowing that whatever was about to come out of Duke’s mouth was just going to make the situation worse. But Duke didn’t listen to him. Duke never listened to him.

“You’re the girl. The pretty blonde hunter that Dean’s all sweet on. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Duke. Will you shut up?!” Dean called to him. He tightened his grip on the chair in front of him, and turned back to Esme, his expression softening. “If we can calm down…just for a second, I can explain everything. Please? There were…complications.”

“Complications being me. It was me.” Duke chimed in, flashing a bright smile as if he was proud that he had almost got himself killed…but didn’t. Dean sighed, and closed his eyes, ready to knock Duke out himself.

“I’m gonna pour myself some more whiskey. This is better than anything on tv.” Bobby joked with a scoff, his own anger at Dean fading as he watched him navigate how to explain himself to Esme.

Esme stood there glaring at Dean, watching how he reacted to her lashing out at him. It was clear he could see how pissed off she was by his actions and facial expressions. Then, to make her mood worse, Duke spoke up and stepped towards her. She shot him a nasty look, and he repeated himself. She did her best to hold her tongue and not lash out at the cowboy as Dean told him to shut up, but he didn’t listen. The more Duke tried to talk to her, the angrier she became. She wasn’t talking to him. She was talking to Dean. Esme clenched her jaw and balled her fists tighter, causing her nails to dig into her palms so deep they bled. Her eyes darted back to Dean as he began to explain himself, only to be interrupted by Duke, who flashed a bright smile as he spoke as if he was proud of the whole situation they had been in. That was what pushed Esme over the edge. His proud smile caused Esme to snap and see red as she looked back at Duke with daggers in her blue eyes. She’d had enough of him speaking.

Esme stepped toward Duke, then shoved him into the chair Dean had pulled in front of himself. “Sit down and shut the hell up, Cowboy! I’m not talking to you! I’m talking to Dean!” she yelled at him, missing Bobby’s joke. If he opened his mouth one more time, she would punch him, making sure it was hard enough to knock him out of the chair. “Open your mouth again, and I swear you’ll regret it!” she warned. She didn’t care to hear whatever Duke had to say. She didn’t know the man and didn’t care to know him. Esme was half tempted to pull her gun on him to make sure he kept his mouth shut. She then lifted her daggered gaze back up to Dean. “Now! Explain to me why you went into a Vampire nest half-cocked with only this moron as back up!” she demanded. After everything they discussed about going into a hunt half-cocked before she left, she wanted to know why he went ahead and did it anyway. Esme was so zoned into him, and hearing what he had to say, she hadn’t noticed that the gash on her eyebrow had begun to bleed again. As she waited for his answer, Esme crossed her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to one leg.

Dean waved his hand at Duke, off to his side, as he noticed Esme’s eyes turn to what he only recently recognized as…off the edge rage. He reached toward his best friend, tempted to push him away and force him to go take a shower. Anything but piss Esme off further. But then she grabbed Duke and pushed him into the empty chair in front of him, Duke’s bodyweight rocking the chair briefly onto its back two legs, and then down onto the floor with a loud ‘bang’ that caused Dean to release the back with a flinch.

“Oh Jesus Christ…” Dean sighed as Duke’s demeanor changed from proud and slightly confused to irritated and annoyed. There were times that Dean forgot Duke even had those emotions, with how he carried himself. Luckily for Duke, when Esme threatened the cowboy, he did indeed shut his mouth, simply glaring up at her as he folded his arms across his chest like a petulent child. Dean’s gaze was brought back up to Esme, when he felt her eyes burning into his and he took a deep breath through his nose, preparing to, at least, attempt to explain himself. But once again, Duke chimed in, when Esme insulted him by calling him a moron, a verbal knife wound that Duke couldn’t have let go if someone had a gun to his head.

“Ouch! See that’s hurtful. You don’t even know me!” Duke scolded Esme and Dean’s instincts kicked in to protect his best friend. He reached down, wrapping his arm around the back of Duke’s head and instantly covered his mouth, holding firmly, and knocking Duke’s hat off in the process. He held the back of Duke’s head tightly to his stomach and sighed, closing his eyes for a brief second, and then opening them to try and smooth this over.

“Now. Would you believe me…” He started, suddenly distracted by the blood trickling from Esme’s eyebrow. He knew that if he didn’t finish his explanation, just to check on her, she would explode all over again. So, he chose to keep his attention on what seemed to be a very touchy subject…recklessness. “Would you believe me, if I told you that we didn’t go in half cocked…at first?”

“You wanna elaborate on that, Dean? I think we’re both all ears.” Bobby grumbled from his desk and Dean gave an awkward nod, tightening his hold on Duke’s head as he cleared his throat.

“We found one of them, right? We followed it back to this old building, and sure enough, there were two of them. Just two. Well, it turns out that the others were just…not outside.” Dean winced at how awkward the sentence was, coming from his mouth. “Two vampires, we could have handled in twenty minutes, no problem. We would have been back by dinner. But it was like they were calling them in. They kept showing up. By the time we fought our way back outside, there were ten…maybe twenty of them? I don’t even know anymore. I just know that I went on hacking and slashing…and we got separated. You know how that can go. They work on you. They separate you from your people, and that’s how they kill you. I know that. You know that. Well…Duke got snatched.”

Bobby grumbled for a moment, not wanting to interject too hard, but with Duke quiet, he had to help Dean. He believed him. Things simply hadn’t gone as planned. “And any reason you couldn’t use a phone? Call for backup?”

“I couldn’t just leave him behind, Bobby.” Dean’s eyes broke into sadness as the thought of Duke being ripped apart, just so Dean could call back up crossed his mind. He turned his eyes back to Esme. “I couldn’t take the chance and leave him behind. I fought. I killed. I brought him home with me.”

When Duke chimed in from her insult, Esme quickly shot him a glare, seconds away from reacting before Dean stepped in, saving Duke by covering his mouth. Her eyes shot back up to Dean as he began to speak, to attempt to explain his recklessness. When he paused, she started to ask if he wanted to elaborate, but Bobby beat her to the punch. So she remained quiet and let him continue. Esme’s eyes never left Dean as he explained what happened during their hunt. She took in his words, her gaze not softening a bit. However, as he explained, she couldn't deny that what he said was true. No matter how much she wanted to believe in that moment, thanks to her state of mind, they went in recklessly, knowing the entire situation. If he had been lying, she’d know it. She was practically a human lie detector, thanks to her empathic abilities. But then. Right now. She needed someone to vent all her rage and frustration on, and poor Dean and Duke just happened to be the ones to get it. Bobby had gotten an earful from her after her shower, but nothing like what the boys got.

When Dean spoke about how they knew how Vampires were, she nodded slightly in response. Her eyes then jumped to Duke when Dean mentioned him getting snatched. “Of course he did. He looks like the type to get into trouble.” she thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but yet again, Bobby beat her to the punch, echoing the questions burning in her mind. Dean’s reply caused her to sigh heavily. Of course, Dean couldn’t leave Duke behind. No matter how bad things were, it wasn’t in his nature to leave anyone behind during a hunt. She had seen that on a few occasions, and being one of those people, he hadn’t left behind. Relaxing her crossed arms, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh through her nose, her shoulders relaxing slightly. But it was clear her rage hadn’t dissipated.“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never been able to leave a man, woman, or child behind.” she said, fighting to use a calmer tone. Esme breathed in deeply and slowly let it out a few times, trying to calm herself without much luck. She still needed to get out her frustrations.

She still needed to beat, kick, and yell at someone or something or just go somewhere and scream at the top of her lungs to release it all. “I believe you, Dean.” she sighed. “I have no reason not to.” She fell silent as she continued to lean against the wall with her eyes closed. Then, she tilted her head, bringing a hand up and placing it on her now pounding head, and closed her eyes tighter. All this rage and yelling, on top of being thrown around earlier, had caused her head to ache as if someone were beating on it like a drum, and the smell of the two boys wasn’t helping it either. “Now go and take a shower. You reek.” she told him bluntly. She didn’t move from her spot on the wall, feeling she wouldn’t reach a chair before hitting the floor from the light-headedness settling in. “And don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you get out. I don’t plan on going anywhere after the day I’ve had.”

Dean watched Esme’s facial expressions, trying to read what stages of her anger she was in at that moment. She could be hard to read, but he was also getting to know her faces, all too well. When she finally sighed and explained that she believed him, Dean released a huge sigh, releasing Duke’s mouth.

Her comment about their smell caused him to pick up his shirt, and sniff it, his nose curling at the horrible smell. They really did reek, but there was only one shower, and what if Esme was gone before he got back, and he didn’t have a chance to check on her, or pick her brain? He wanted to see what she was thinking after all this, why she was so angry. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t too hurt, or hadn’t made any mistakes that had her in a bad mental space. For once, he cared about a woman he hadn’t known long.

As if reading his mind, she reassured him that she wasn’t leaving. He wanted to believe her, especially since she looked worse for wear. But, a pang in his stomach told him that she might actually run off. Like he pushed her away, or scared her away with his lack of care…for himself.

“There’s only one shower and I’m not showering with Dean. But I ain’t stayin’ out here alone with you either.” Duke spoke up, causing Dean to harshly slap the back of his head, ruffling his bloody blonde hair. Duke grabbed the back of his head and swung around to look at Dean, his eyes wide and hurt, “Ow dude!”

“You boys stop the two year old squabblin’ and go clean up. There’s a half bath in the basement. You know that. It ain’t a shower, but you know how to use a bucket and some towels, don’t ya?” Bobby chimed in, glaring at both boys in front of him. He raised his eyebrows to drive home the point, and Dean and Duke turned to each other.

“Winner takes the shower.” Duke held out both his hands for ‘rock, paper, scissors’ with a bright smile. Dean eagerly set his own hands up and leaned toward Duke. They counted, and finally laid out their signs, Duke holding scissors and Dean holding rock. “No! Best two out of three!”

“Nope! Winner gets the shower. And I’m the winner!” Dean gleefully chimed, walking around the chair and to the linen closet. He pulled a couple of towels and stopped at the bathroom door, looking back at Esme. “Please…don’t leave.”

Duke reluctantly stood from his chair, holding both his hands in front of his face at Esme, and also raided the linen closet. As he passed Esme to head for the basement stairs, he stopped and looked down at her, “Sorry we met under these circumstances. I really ain’t as bad as I probably seem to you right now.”

“Duke!” Dean yelled from the bathroom, causing Duke to roll his eyes, and stroll past her to the basement.

Bobby shook his head, and stepped around his desk. He walked up to the chair that Duke had been sitting in, moving it back to its place in front of his desk. Then he stooped, and picked up Duke’s hat, holding it in his hand with a sigh, “His head ain’t screwed on right…but he is one of the good ones, once you get attached to him.”

Esme dropped her hand from her head, crossed it over her chest, and opened her eyes when she felt Dean become uneasy. Did he think she would still leave after she said she was staying? Before she could reassure him she was staying with a warm smile, Duke chimed in about the shower. “I never…..” She was cut short by Dean slapping the back of Duke’s head. Esme stifled a laugh as Duke spun around to look at Dean. Duke definitely had that one coming. When Bobby chimed in, she held back the grin that threatened to show itself. These two were acting like a couple of two-year-olds, and then it was taken further as they decided to play a game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the shower. Esme lightly shook her head as the game played out in front of her, with Dean winning and Duke being a sore loser. If she was being honest, she was glad that it was Dean who got the shower, knowing that once he had cleaned up, he’d be at her side checking on her. Plus, you could only do so much with a bucket of soapy water and towels.

As Dean moved around the chair and to the linen closet, Esme didn’t move from her spot on the wall. She didn’t need him seeing her stagger to a chair or the couch. When he stopped at the bathroom door and asked her not to leave, she looked at him with a soft smile. “I’m not going to leave.” she told him reassuringly. Her gaze shifted to Duke, and her smile faded as he stood from the chair. She watched his movements as he went to the linen closet, his hands in front of his face as if she would lash out at him again. She sighed softly as he raided the linen closet and waited for him to pass her to get to the basement stairs, but he stopped and looked down at her. She looked up at him as he spoke. “As am I. And we’ll see about that.” she replied after Dean yelled at him. After Duke went down the stairs, Esme stood up a little straighter, getting ready to attempt to walk to the couch, when Bobby stepped around his desk. She watched Bobby move the back into place, then pick up Duke’s hat and sigh.

When he spoke about Duke, she sighed a little. She could agree with the first part of what he said but wasn’t so sure about the other. “If you say so, Bobby. If you say so.” she replied tiredly. After the first impression she made, she doubted he’d want to be anywhere near her anyway. She shoved him into a chair and told him to shut up, and she insulted him in less than five minutes. She wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he had nothing to do with her after that. “I doubt I’ll get the chance to find out after what I did to him.” she said, pushing herself off the wall. She slowly walked over to the couch, deciding it would be more comfortable than a chair, occasionally catching herself on something as she swayed. Esme lowered her sore body to sit on it with a wince and slight hiss. She sank low to rest her head on the back cushion and crossed her arms over her stomach. Once comfortable, she closed her eyes, sighed heavily through her nose, and tried to clear her thoughts. She needed to relax and not get herself all worked up again.

But her thoughts went to the guy who told Sassy about the haunting. She still felt she needed to track the guy down and let him have it. She felt her anger rising the longer she thought about the guy, so she quickly tried to think about something else. Her car, she needed to fix up her car, then thoughts of how it got damaged angered her again. What could she think about to calm herself? It was hard to think of anything positive with her head still pounding, but it was dying off now she was sitting down. As she sat there, she cleared her mind of everything and focused on the bracelet on her wrist and its charm, which she was rolling between her fingers. Esme could feel herself relaxing and the anger dissipating. At this rate, she might doze off before Dean got out of the shower.

Bobby smirked when Esme assumed so quickly that Duke would cut her out upon first meeting. That wasn’t Duke’s personality at all. In fact, the moment she began scrapping with him verbally, the boy probably fell in love with her. He shrugged his shoulders, “I wouldn’t be so sure…”

He walked back over to his desk, hearing the shower turn on, and the house fall into a lull of almost silence, just how he liked it. Pouring himself another drink, he glanced up at Esme from under the bill of his hat and scowled for a moment. As much as he wanted to force her to come sit in a chair and let him redoctor that cut on her head, he knew that she would just refuse. If anything, she was in good hands with Dean. The boy was head over heels for her, whether he liked it or not.



A few minutes later

“Fresh and…clean.” Dean sighed, cutting himself off as he rubbed at his hair, walking shirtless into the living room. His eyes landed on Esme, laid back on the couch, either sound asleep or just on the verge and in deep thought. He tossed his towel in the overflowing laundry hamper in the kitchen, and carefully walked over to the couch. Bobby said nothing, flipping the page on his book as if he had seen this song and dance a million times.

Dean slowly sank down onto the cushion beside Esme, and reached his hand out, brushing his fingers through her hair against her forehead.

“She’s awful cute when she’s sleepin’. Way more peaceful.” Duke chimed from the kitchen and both Bobby and Dean shot him a glare that said ‘shut the hell up and let her rest’. Bringing his hands up in defense, he wiped his messy blonde hair with a towel and lumbered over to Bobby’s desk. “I’m just tryin’ to diffuse the tension.”

“And you think callin’ someone who just met you…and instantly hated you ‘cute’ is that option?” Bobby teased Duke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Duke tilted his head to the side, signalling that Bobby had a point, then sat down, picking up Bobby’s half drank beer, and taking a swig.

Dean turned and in a loud whisper, he pointed at Duke, “Listen…after the night we’ve had, you don’t think it’s RV time for you?”

“This is my house too, you know…” Duke grumbled back, just as Bobby snatched his beer back from his adopted son with his own grumble.

“It is. And there’s a reason you have the RV. It gets crowded in here, and I’m taking the guest room. Esme always gets it when she’s here.” Dean narrowed his eyes, waiting for Duke to say something stupid, but Duke simply shrugged and Dean rolled his eyes. “Just go to the RV, Jason.”

“HEY! Hey. There’s no need for government names to come out here…You never call me that.” Duke suddenly errupted. Bobby reached an arm out and placed it on Duke’s shoulder, pushing him down into the chair with gritted teeth. “Sorry. It makes me feel weird…and he knows it.”

“Son. I suggest you just go to bed. By in the mornin’ maybe we can start over. You want to diffuse the tension? Go to bed.” Bobby whispered to him, putting on his best supportive father face. With a sigh, Duke reached over and plucked his now clean hat off the stack of books on Bobby’s desk and plopped it on his head. He stood from the chair and began to walk toward the kitchen to head out to the lot.

“I guess tell her I said goodnight when she wakes up. I’ll be in for breakfast. After all this, somebody better make me some bacon.” Duke grumbled as he opened the back door and headed out to his RV. Dean turned back to Esme with a sigh and brushed his fingers across her forehead, just as Bobby turned on his TV by his desk, settling in for his own night of sleep…right there in his office chair and later, the couch.

“Hey sweetheart. Why don’t we go get some rest. I wanna take a look at you.” Dean whispered to her sweetly, all of his bravado fading away the second he knew only she could hear him. After a moment of watching her eyes for any sign of waking, Dean sighed, glancing over at Bobby’s desk. He could tell Bobby was beginning to nod off, himself.

Dean stood from the couch, and reached for Esme, slipping one arm behind her and one under her legs, before hoisting her into his arms. He let her head roll against his cheek and turned his head to press a kiss to her hair, as he walked toward the stairs.

“See you in the morning Bobby…” He muttered on his way by the desk. Bobby waved at him, and Dean smiled making the trek up the stairs with Esme. Luckily the bedroom door was already cracked open, and all he had to do was nudge it with his foot. He quickly and gently walked to the bed and as if she was made of glass, lay her down against the pillows.

By the time Dean got out of the shower, Esme was nearly asleep on the couch. When Dean sat on the couch beside her and brushed his fingers through her hair, she inhaled deeply through her nose and rolled her head towards him. She was going to open her eyes until she heard Duke’s voice chime in from the kitchen. “Really? After everything, you want to call me cute.” she thought. She didn’t want to be that person, but would be tonight. She didn’t want any more tension between her and Duke tonight. Esme felt the glare Dean and Bobby shot Duke for his comment, forcing her to keep from smiling as she pretended to be asleep. She listened to the back-and-forth between the three, all while trying to stay still and keep her eyes closed, especially after Duke’s outburst at being called Jason. “Jason? His name is Jason? Where did the name Duke come from?” she thought. By the time the thought left her mind, Bobby had gotten Duke to agree to go to bed, which she was ready for. She was ready to crawl into bed, rest, and forget about everything that had happened that long, terrible day.

Esme heard Duke get up and walk towards the kitchen, then rolled her eyes at his grumble as he walked out the back door. “Well, that was kinda sweet.” she thought. When Dean turned to her and sighed, brushing his fingers across her forehead, and spoke sweetly, she gave a little groan and rolled her head slightly away from him. She wanted to see what he’d do if she appeared sound asleep. Would he try to wake her again or carry her to bed? She didn’t have to wait long for her answer. As she felt him stand, it was clear he planned to carry her. She kept herself relaxed, which wasn’t hard with how tired and sore she was as he slipped an arm behind her and under her legs, then hoisted her up into his arms. When her head rolled against his cheek, and he kissed her head, she couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips. He was just too sweet. Esme continued to smile as he carried her past Bobby’s desk, then up the stairs. Thankfully, her back was to Bobby when they passed. She had gotten out of having to walk up the stairs.

She knew she could have probably asked him to help her up, but it was more fun this way. Once she heard the door open, she forced her face to relax, but her smile returned, and her eyes opened as soon as he laid her down on the pillows as if she’d break. “I’m not that fragile, you know?” she teased in a soft, tired tone. She shifted a little against the pillows, wincing as pain shot through her sore body. Her smile faded as her mind drifted to what happened downstairs, causing her to sigh heavily. After all the yelling she did, he was so sweet to her. “Dean…. I’m…. I’m sorry about earlier. You didn’t deserve that.” she said softly, looking away from him. “I had two cases today, and one didn’t go according to plan because the information I was given wasn’t accurate. Which I believe was done purposely.” she told him with a heavy sigh. “My anger and irritation got the better of me, and I ended up taking it out on you and Duke.” Esme closed her eyes tightly, leaned her head back into the pillows, and ran a hand through her hair, feeling terrible.

She then brought her hand to rest on the side of her face. “It’s been weeks since I last saw you, and that’s what you come into after a day of dealing with Vamps. I’m a horrible person.” she mumbled into her hand. “No wonder you felt the need to say don’t leave.” As she lay there, Esme felt she needed to make it up to him somehow, but what could she do? It had to be something that genuinely showed how sorry she was for raging at him and that she wouldn’t do it again.

Dean almost jumped out of his skin when Esme opened her eyes, ruining his plans to just let her sleep the entire night. He had planned to talk to her in the morning, and hopefully, she would be a little more cheery to see him. But as she teased him, Dean couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face. He scanned over her face as she seemed to feel pain. He figured it was soreness from whatever hunt she had just come back from, but his worry wasn’t any less either way. He reached his hands out, hovering them over her body as if he could diagnose her just by having his hands near, but was afraid to touch her in case he hurt her worse.

He instantly shook his head as she began to apologize, “No…no, stop it.”, he started. But she continued her apology and he looked down at the mattress. Truth was, she did hurt his feelings, but he was also quick to get over things, when it came to arguments. As long as they were honest with each other, he would still be right there.

Dean furrowed his brow, concerned and wanting to hear more about her cases. But, she still seemed to be in apology mode, not complaining mode. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and brushed his fingers lightly against the back of her arm as she brought her hand down to her face, letting her finish her apology.

“You know what…” Dean started, a soft smile creeping up on his face, causing his freckled dimples to brighten up. He looked away from her for a moment and then turned his eyes back down to hers, “I was more concerned about that cut on your face than I was any of the mean crap you said to me. I’m just glad you’re here and you’re okay. Alright? Me and you…we’re good. I was just worried you were going to run off. You seemed so pissed at me. Duke is Duke.”

He leaned his body toward her, reaching his arm over to brace himself to where their noses brushed, sighing softly with a smile as he scanned her eyes, his lips brushing her upper lip as he spoke,“This doesn’t leave this room, or Duke will never let me live it down…being soft. But I missed you. A lot.”

Esme sighed heavily through her nose, still feeling Dean's touch on the back of her arm. She slowly let her hand fall from her face and rest on her chest moments before he spoke. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head to look at him. “What?” she asked softly. She watched his face light up, finding it infectious. Her smile almost faded as he turned away from her briefly. It remained as he continued. His concern for her well-being always made her smile. It faded a little when he mentioned she’d run off because of how pissed she seemed at him. Yes, she was pissed, but not at him. It was the situation that had her all worked up. However, she couldn't deny that she was upset about him running into a Vampire nest without backup. This was the first time she had ever taken her rage out on him. It was a side of her she never wanted him to see for fear of scaring him and never having anything to do with her again. If Dean left her, that meant Bobby would go with him. Sure, she had her father, godmother, and other family if that ever happened.

But there was only so long she could stand to be around them, and there was only so much she was willing to share with them. There was only so much she felt comfortable enough sharing with them. Sure, they knew about Dean and how she felt about him. They knew how she’d run off and help him and stay awhile, but they would always give warnings about him. So she stopped talking about him around them. They knew she was different from the rest of them but didn't know how. Her father and godmother were the only ones in her family who knew how different she was. The three feared how the rest of the family would take the news of her being an Empath and having the ability to affect their emotions, which she’d never do. Dean and Bobby were the only people she ever told outside her family. She felt it was only right when her relationship with Dean became more serious, and she didn’t feel right leaving him in the dark about it. Of course, they freaked out, but she swore she’d never use her ability against them without permission unless she felt she had to.

Esme didn’t move when Dean leaned toward her and braced himself over her. As soon as his nose brushed hers, her heart skipped a beat. Her smile returned as he scanned her eyes and smiled. Her smile grew at his words, and she laughed softly. “Don’t worry. Your secret's safe with me.” she said softly. She gently brushed her nose with his with a warm smile. “And I told you I wasn't going anywhere before you got in the shower. Even if everything in me screamed for me to leave, I couldn’t have. I would have only made it as far as the door.” Esme closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his before softly speaking against them. “You know what?..... I missed you too. Don’t let me stay away that long again. Okay?” She lifted her hand from her chest to his cheek, kissing him sweetly.

Dean’s heart fluttered as Esme admitted that she wouldn’t have been able to leave the house, after that fight. It’s everything he wanted to hear and part of him was afraid that she, like everyone else in his life, was just telling him what he wanted to hear. But judging by the way she brushed his lips, and the warmth he could feel in her body language, she seemed completely there with him. She was there with him, and she had always planned to stay.

An incredulous look covered Dean’s face when she ordered him not to let her stay away from him, as if he could just force her to stick around. He chuckled, “Since when does anyone ‘let’ you do anything? Hmm?”

He leaned into her a bit as her hand found his cheek, a touch that he had waited for since the moment had walked out that door the last time. He would never speak those emotions out loud, of course. He wasn’t one to get attached, especially now that he was on his own. But he was…attached. He returned her sweet kiss, inhaling through his nose as he crawled onto the bed a bit further, reaching a hand up to brush his fingers through her hair. He deepened the kiss briefly, gently brushing her blonde strands with his fingers.

After a few moments, he broke the kiss, and lifted his head to stare down at Esme, his forehead pressed against hers, “I feel like I need to be the responsible one here, and make you get some rest. You’re gonna be sore enough tomorrow.”

He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her upper lip, then the tip of her nose, and finally her cheek, “Do you need any aspirin or anything? Whiskey?”

Esme laughed a little behind her sweet kiss at his answer. He had a point. She usually didn’t let anyone make her do anything. She could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to be. When Dean returned her kiss and crawled further up on the bed, and brushed his fingers through her hair, she smiled behind the kiss. She missed this, the closeness. She missed being around the one person she felt she could be herself with. She didn’t feel like she could be that way with her family without being judged. When he deepened the kiss, she brought her other hand to his chest, feeling herself melt into his kiss and touch. When he broke the kiss then lifted his head and spoke. She opened her eyes and lifted an eyebrow in surprise at his words. Not believing what she had just heard.“Since when are you the responsible one? And when has being sore stopped you from doing anything?” she asked. This was new for her. She’d never seen him get things spiced up between them just to shut it down. It was a complete mind-blower. She sighed when he started kissing her face and asked his questions.

Usually, she would have said aspirin to knock the edge of the pain, but after everything the day had brought, all she felt she needed was Dean at her side, which felt odd for her to admit to herself. She had tried her hardest to keep from falling for Dean. She tried to keep it as nothing more than a friendship and failed miserably. Maybe it failed because he felt things stronger than most she had been around, and they had affected her strongly. Who knew? All she knew was that she had fallen for him despite all the warnings and didn’t want to be away long. “No, even though aspirin or whiskey would knock the edge off, but I’ll be fine as long as you don’t move.”she told him in a tone just as warm as her smile. Esme was curious to see if he would actually stay there or run off to get her some aspirin or whiskey for her pain. His concern for her pain usually won out in the end, and he would run off to get her something for it. Then would watch over her like a mother hen, ensuring she rested and healed.

Honesty, she just wanted him to lay next to her, hold her close, and fall asleep in each other's arms till morning came. She brought her hand from his chest to her mouth to cover a yawn. The longer she lay there, the more she could feel tiredness settling in. She knew he wanted to know what happened and how she ended up in such rough shape and so pissed off, but that was something they could talk about tomorrow. “I really don’t need it. Just lay here with me.” she whispered, rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

Dean chuckled at Esme’s very good point. He was never one to turn down sex, even if he was in the worst pain of his life. There were more than one way to navigate things. But he really did want to make sure she was okay, before he allowed himself to potentially injure her worse than she would admit she was feeling.

Her insistence that she was okay enough to forego the normal remedies for the pain she was obviously feeling caused him to frown, ready to argue. But the smile on her face was enough to win him over in any argument. It was a weakness. She had a chokehold on his emotions and as much as he tried to hold her at arms length when they first met, she had broken through something in his brain. All that pain, emotion and self hatred fell away when she was around, or at least it fell away enough to let her love him.

Did she love him?
Wait…did he love her? That wasn’t even a subject he knew how to navigate, at this point in his life. He was a hunter. Love, especially new love, was sort of out of the question. As Dean zoned out and scanned Esme’s face, trying to find answers to his own internal struggle, she reminded him that she didn’t need anything and for the first time since they had known each other, he conceded.

“Alright. Well…” He rolled over her, moving to lay flat on his back on the small bed. He then carefully slipped his arm under her head, pulling her to lay on his bare chest with a sigh, “If that’s all its gonna take to save the day, I’ll take it as a double win. I get the girl and the girl gets some much needed sleep.”

The next morning

Dean blinked as the harsh light from the window hit his eyes. He frowned and opened his eyes, turning them toward the window and wiping his right eye harshly with his hand. He wasn’t used to waking up with anyone, and so Esme’s weight took him off guard, and he quickly turned back to his left and took a deep breath. She looked so peaceful, sleeping on his chest. He couldn’t help himself, bringing his hand up to brush a bit of hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear, careful to avoid any of the overly sore areas he knew had to hurt.

The smell of bacon and coffee were filling the house a little more every second, and Dean just knew that Bobby and Duke were downstairs, gossiping away the morning, probably eating up all the food. With a reluctant sigh, Dean glanced toward the door, playing over in his head how he would be able to get out from under Esme’s head and out that door.

He began to shuffle, pulling his body, little by little to the side, until her head gently began to fall onto the pillow. He quickly reached his hand up and doubled the pillow, so her head wouldn’t fall too hard, and then gently laid her face against it. Hovering his hands, he made sure her breathing stayed even and she didn’t wake up, and then quickly shuffled off the bed and onto his feet, like diffusing a bomb.

As he padded downstairs, he buttoned his jeans he had just pulled on, and scratched absentmindedly at the back of his head. Before he could step into the kitchen, Duke stepped into view and smiled brightly. He was standing there, in the kitchen, his cowboy hat perched on his head, in only jeans. His smile was judgmental and caused Dean to roll his eyes.

“Mornin’ sweetheart!” Duke chimed, picking his piled plate off the counter, before sitting down at the table. Bobby didn’t even look up from his paper as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. Dean waved Duke off, smacking his cowboy hat over his eyes on his way to the food. “Rough night?”

“No. Not a rough night. Sleepy night. And keep your voice down. Esme’s still asleep.” Dean grumbled, making a plate for Esme with his back turned to Duke. Duke chuckled and took a bite of his bacon.

“Sure. I’m sure there was no way that after that little outburst, you just…went to bed.”

“I am capable of not having sex with a woman, just because she yelled at me. I know…foreign concept to you, right?” Dean scolded Duke, and Bobby cleared his throat.

“And if you don’t shut your mouths, that ‘Esme’s sleeping’ concept is going to be lost.” Bobby chimed in, glaring at both of them over his paper.

Esme watched Dean’s face contort into a frown when she decided to forego the usual remedies for pain. She could also tell he was ready to argue with her about it, but her smile seemed to have won him over. It was always funny to her how her smile could win him over in an argument. It made her smile even more. She had also noticed how he seemed to zone out before she reassured him she didn’t need anything for the pain she was feeling. Esme couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking before his attention was pulled back to her. When he conceded, she smiled warmly, letting her hand drop as he rolled her over. Esme did her best to hide her wince in pain as he did, and again after, he slipped his arm under her head and pulled her to lay on his chest. She gave a little laugh at his words, which she immediately regretted from the pain she felt shooting through her torso. “Would you have wanted it any other way?” she teased softly. Then she moved her arm just enough to rest her hand on his stomach, feeling completely content and relaxed.

Esme sighed softly, gently nuzzled her head against Dean’s chest, and yawned. She was becoming more relaxed by the minute and could feel herself drifting off, but she wasn’t ready to drift off just yet. She wanted to lay there for a moment and listen to his breathing and heartbeat while he was in “puppy mode,” as she liked to call it. Sleep soon won out, and she drifted off with a soft nuzzle against his chest and a sigh.

The next morning

Esme was in such a deep and peaceful sleep that she didn't feel Dean shuffle himself from under her head and then sweetly lay her face against the doubled pillow. When her face touched the pillow, she breathed deeply and shifted slightly but continued sleeping peacefully. She was so exhausted from the day before that it would take much more than Dean moving off the bed and putting a pillow under her head to wake her. Moments after Dean left the room, Esme’s peaceful sleep turned into the complete opposite. She began to twitch and softly whimper in her sleep, and her breath quickened. A few moments passed before she bolted upright in the bed, hissing as pain shot through her sore body. “Not again.” she whispered as she closed her eyes and sighed. Esme brought a hand up and carefully wiped the sleep from her eyes, then opened her eyes and looked around the room, momentarily forgetting where she was. “It wasn’t a dream…. I really am here.” she sighed. She then looked to her right to see Dean was already up and downstairs by the bickering she heard traveling up the stairs. She softly shook her head, smiling.

Carefully and painfully, Esme got off the bed, changed her clothes, and attempted to tame her hair while looking in a small mirror in the room. She sighed as she looked at herself. Her face was bruised and slightly swollen on the right side, and she had bruises on her neck and arms. “Don’t you just look beautiful.” she told her reflection sarcastically. She looked downright terrible. She could easily cause a child to cry with one look. Sighing again, Esme let her hair fall in front of the right side of her face, then turned from the mirror, headed to the door, and walked out to the stairs. She stood there listening to the bickering between Dean and Duke while also taking in the smells of bacon and coffee. Her gaze focused on the stairs before her, and grimaced. “This is going to hurt like hell.” she whispered. Esme slowly descended the stairs, wincing and gritting her teeth with every step she took. Once at the bottom, she stopped to collect herself, regulate her breathing, and wait for most of the pain to subside. She then made her way to the kitchen, stopping just shy of the doorway as she heard Bobby’s comment.

“You know…. You boys make it hard for a girl to get her beauty sleep with all the bickering going on.” she said after a few minutes. Esme crossed her arms loosely across her stomach as she tried her best to hide how much it hurt standing there, but she knew her eyes would likely betray her. Looking into her eyes would almost always tell you how she felt, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard Esme’s voice, turning with her plate in his hand. He was just about to pour her a cup of coffee to bring a whole tray to her, when she stepped into the kitchen. He quickly ran over to the table, and sat her plate down, strolling over to her straight after.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He called to her, scanning her face. It took less than a second for him to read every ounce of pain that she was feeling, which told him everything about the ‘are you okay’ question he was dying to ask. He didn’t even bother. “Come sit down and eat, alright? I’ll grab some peas for…for that.”

Dean guided her to the table, as if she was going to break under his touch, causing Bobby to raise an eyebrow as he watched them. Duke also narrowed his eyes at Dean’s behavior, but before he could say much, Dean shoved his feet off the chair at the end of the table and he nearly fell off his chair.

“Hey! I was comfortable.” Duke complained, pushing his cowboy hat back to show more of his face. His blonde hair fell in random strands over his eyes and he straightened up in his chair. “Good morning! You don’t look like crap at all. I promise.”

Duke smiled brightly, and Dean once again fought the urge to slap him. But Bobby was still staring at him as if he was an alien. Dean shot Bobby a ‘what?!’ Look, and Bobby simply shook his head with a shrug, going back to his paper. It was obvious that this would be a conversation later on, when he and Dean were alone. Dean stepped away from the table and poured Esme a cup of coffee, bringing it back over and holding his hands out with a smirk.

“There. Breakfast. You kick back, relax and eat. Ignore Duke. And we’re gonna have a day…off.”

He stepped over to the fridge and grabbed a bag of peas from the freezer, laying them next to Esme’s plate before taking his seat across the table from her.

“A day off? I thought we were goin’ out to do that thing at the Peterson’s farm…” Duke spoke up, genuinely confused. Dean kicked his leg under the table and Bobby once again spoke up.

“I sent Chuck and the others after that one.”

“And you don’t think we should go help them?” Duke asked, holding a hand out to Dean. Dean kicked him again with a scowl and Bobby shook his head at him.

“We are taking…the day…off. We have company, and our company had a long day yesterday. And it’s one werewolf. It’s nothing the other guys can’t handle.” Dean explained simply, taking a bite of his toast. He looked across the table to Esme and smirked, winking at her.

“Alright. Well…that just gives me time to get to know Esme, here! I need to redeem myself.” Duke beamed with a bright smile, his blue eyes almost glittering under the dim light of the kitchen. Dean simply rolled his eyes, dipping his head in annoyance before taking a long and annoyed drink of his coffee. “Maybe I’ll take you out for a shoot later.”

Esme nearly laughed at how Dean jumped when she announced her presence. A smile came to her lips as she saw the plate in his hands. “Was he going to bring me breakfast in bed?” she thought. Her eyes followed him as he quickly ran to the table and then to her. “Hey, yourself.” she replied as he looked her over. It wasn’t hard to tell that her eyes had given away just how much pain she was feeling. It showed in his actions. “Alright, I’ll try.” she replied to his question about sitting down and eating. She sighed softly at how he guided her to the table as if she would break. As sweet as it was, it sometimes made her feel uncomfortable. “I’m not going to break, Dean.” she told him softly so only he could hear. Once they reached the table and Dean pushed Duke’s feet off the chair, Esme nearly laughed again as Duke almost fell out of the chair and complained. She slowly lowered herself into the chair with a wince, holding back a yelp as her sore muscles screamed at her. Esme turned her head to look at Duke as soon as he spoke.

“Lier. I know how bad I look.” she replied with narrowed eyes. While talking to Duke, Esme missed the looks exchanged between Dean and Bobby. She then turned back to her plate, about to pick up her fork, when Dean returned with a cup of coffee. Esme took the cup with both hands and a warm smile. “Thank you.” She brought the cup close to her lips, taking in its warmth as Dean spoke, then grabbed the bag of frozen peas before sitting across from her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had a day off from anything supernatural-related. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it when Duke chimed in. Esme fell silent, looking into her coffee cup as the three talked, and Dean kicked Duke under the table. “Is this what I have to look forward to if I stick around more? Bickering and complaining.” she thought. When Dean repeated himself about taking a day off and then referred to her as company, she looked up from her cup at him. Was he using her as an excuse not to go after a werewolf? Maybe. Or did he just not want to deal with it?

When he smirked and winked at her after explaining to Duke, she couldn’t help but smile and lightly shake her head. Esme took a sip of her coffee as Duke spoke. She sighed softly through her nose as she set down her cup. Esme looked over at Duke, taking in his bright smile. She felt that he was trying way too hard to win her over after last night. “Maybe.” she replied. She then turned her gaze to her plate of food and then to the bag of frozen peas. She picked it up and held it in her hand, looking at it. “At some point, I need to work on my car. She barely made it here last night.” she said. Esme then moved the bag of peas to her left hand, used her right hand to push her hair away from the right side of her face, and gently placed the bag of peas on her aching face. She took a sharp breath through her nose at the contact and closed her eyes tightly. After a moment, she opened her left eye, picked up a piece of bacon from her plate, and took a bite, chewing it slowly.

Esme knew she had to give Duke a chance to redeem himself after what happened last night, but did it have to start today? She felt like utter crap. Like death warmed over. In truth, she would be fine doing nothing, just laying in a bed all day, talking to Dean and filling him in on what went on yesterday, which he knew he was dying to know about. She also just wanted to sleep off the soreness that was overtaking her. But she also felt the need to fix her car before her father saw the state it was in. Thinking about her car caused her to think about what happened last night, and she tensed up, growing angry again. “Easy, Esme, don’t get yourself worked up all over again. It’s too early for that.” she told herself. Esme took a breath to calm herself, then ate more of the food in front of her.

Dean watched Esme carefully as she nursed her coffee, and then seemed to be thinking of something. He was ready to ask what it was, and kick Duke one more time for good measure, when Esme replied to Duke and shut him up for the moment. Duke was one that would try to win her over with a bright smile, his best pretty boy blue eyes stare. It was like a damn super power with the kid, and women.

When Esme mentioned her car, Dean shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded, wincing with her as she iced her face. He wished there was some magic cure for the injuries they tended to come home with. Not just for the moment, when he wanted her to just…be okay, but also, it would make hunting more efficient. That was something to have Bobby research later on. He made a mental note and cleared his throat.

“I can take a look at it.” Dean spoke finally, and Duke quickly turned to look at him, his smile fading a bit as he scanned Dean’s face and then turned back to Esme.

“Yeah. We can look at it. You don’t need to be crawlin’ up under the thing, right now anyway.” Duke offered, his bright eyed smiling demeanor serious and helpful all the sudden. Bobby sighed from his desk, and folded his paper up, standing. He walked through the kitchen, out into the garage to go take a look at the damage to Esme’s car, without being asked, like the dad he was.

“And you can rest. A little beer. A little music. Rest.” Dean ordered, holding his coffee cup in both hands, as he pointed.

“And then we go shoot.” Duke chimed in and Dean rolled his eyes taking a long drink of his coffee, and fighting the urge to kick him again. “If you feel up to it, that is. I’m cool with just gettin’ dirty under the hood of a car. It’s been a while.”

“Then you take over the wrench and I’ll play dutiful best friend.”

“I wouldn’t really say you guys are friends, by the way you’re actin’…” Duke started, and Dean landed a heavy kick to his knee, signaling for him to shut his mouth, and Duke frowned, staring at Dean with wide eyes. They communicated silently, similar to how Dean used to be with Sam and Duke scoffed, turning back to his food. “I heard ya…”

When Dean and Duke offered to fix her car, she hardly knew how to respond. She didn’t look up from her plate until Bobby got up from his desk, walked through the kitchen, and headed out into the garage. “You two don’t have to trouble yourselves with looking at it.” she said, looking between them. “I enjoy working on that old car. I can fix her when I can move around better.” If she were being honest, she’d rather work on it than have someone else. Her father would probably flip his lid if he knew someone other than him or her had worked on that car, but he’d flip even more at the state it was in currently. When Dean spoke again, she shot him a slight glare with her good eye at his order. He should know she didn’t like being told what to do by now. Just because she was in rough shape and in quite a bit of pain didn’t mean she got to be ordered to do anything. She knew Dean wanted her to take it easy and heal; it was sweet, but she wasn't going to allow him to keep her under house arrest.

Yes, she wanted to rest and heal, but didn’t want to be trapped in the house. She needed air, especially with how these two bickered. Esme sighed heavily, eating a little more, and fell silent as the two boys talked, noticing the extra hard kick Dean gave Duke for implying they were more than friends. She also found it odd how Dean kept kicking Duke over certain things. Was he afraid Duke would charm her? She could have laughed at the thought. Esme picked up her coffee cup and took a drink. With a wince, she silently took to her feet and walked around the table to the doorway. “When you two are done with….. Whatever this is, I’ll be out on the porch getting some air.” she said without turning to face them. Then she walked out of the kitchen. Usually, she would have cleaned up herself, but she couldn’t be stuck between them a moment longer. After going through the living room, she opened the front door and stepped out on the porch, shutting the door behind her. Walking to the steps, she slowly and carefully lowered herself to sit on them with a light groan.

Resting her cup on her knee, she breathed in the morning air with a small smile. “It’s going to be hard getting any rest around here with those two.” she said softly. “The bickering and the kicking to shut one up is going to get old fast. It kinda already is.” She sighed before taking a long drink of her coffee and adjusting the bag of peas on her face.